Winters Family Psi Chronicles 2: Project Onyx (6 page)

“I don’t want to be a weapon,” Amy said.

“There’s always other options. You don’t have to be in the military but you will need to start preparing yourself for another field right away. You graduate from high school next year and haven’t looked into college yet,” Teresa said.

“You’re reading my mind,” Amy said bitterly.

“Your mind is like a foghorn,” her mother said coolly. “You will need to discipline your thoughts if you don’t want level ten telepaths to eavesdrop on you.”

Amy’s face reddened with embarrassment as she remembered how many of her peers in her psychic control and attunement class sometimes picked up on stray thoughts and mocked her. But that happened to everyone who wasn’t a level ten telepath.

“If you learn to establish the Quiet, people won’t be able to hear you,” Teresa said.

“That takes years and years of training and practice. I don’t have that kind of time,” Amy said dismissively.

On the other hand, she would be working with many level ten telepaths and they would always have a leg up on her as long as her private thoughts leaked out.

“It’s not too late to start,” Teresa said. “If you ever need any help, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“Thanks,” Amy said grudgingly.

She still didn’t think she had much of a chance of working outside the military but lately it was starting to really bother her that she would be viewed as little more than a weapon. The self-doubts and anxiety had crept up on her only recently as she was faced with the reality of how soon her schooling would come to a close and her military career would begin.

“Even if you do end up in the military, you will be a great asset to this country,” Teresa said emphatically.

“My nightmares have gotten worse the last few days,” Jason said.

“That’s because of how worried you are for Brian,” Teresa said. “You need to stay calm and centered to keep control of your abilities.”

“My shield has been so weak no matter what I do. I have an appointment to see Dr. Bettinger tomorrow.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Dad.”

“Mom, you should learn to build other people’s shielding. You could help Grandfather and Brian and Dick,” Amy said.

“I’ve told you before, I simply don’t have the time to learn that technique. It takes special training and besides, I wouldn’t have the time to work on our family that often,” Teresa said.

Chapter 6

When Samantha stepped into the room, her energy leaked impatience but her disciplined mind still maintained the Quiet. From what little she’d told them, they should have developed at least one new ability yesterday if the new retrovirus had been successful. It was becoming increasingly unlikely that the gene sequence she’d hoped would activate multipathic abilities was effective. She had already waited years to find the correct combination in order to regain her original aggregate intuition so Brian knew she must be getting tired of waiting. They gathered in the far corner of the room and Samantha began with the cards. Brian suddenly realized that Samantha wasn’t enveloping his mind at the moment, it was someone else. Last night, as he was falling asleep, he felt a new mind take over. It was someone other than Samantha’s usual relief and had to be a member of the team. Brian wondered why that individual hadn’t taken over before. It had to be exhausting for Samantha to interact with both her subjects while maintaining a psionic shield over their minds.

“Pay attention,” Samantha said in a brittle tone.

Brian flinched as he realized she’d been holding the card up for him for an extended period of time. Abruptly, he realized he could see the other side of the card very clearly.

“A triangle,” he said.

“Brian is correct,” Samantha said in a voice that indicated she was far from impressed.

After all, this was his only correct pick for the session so far. She held up the next card.

“A circle,” Russell guessed.

“An X,” Brian said as the image fixed very clearly in his mind’s eye.

“Brian is correct,” Samantha said.

Her energy sharpened with interest as she held up the next card. Russell guessed incorrectly but Brian picked the right one again. As she continued to hold up the cards, Brian picked the correct image with one hundred percent accuracy.

“You’ve gained a new ability,” Samantha said with a pleased smile. “Congratulations.”

Her excitement over the remote-viewing caused her to slip out of the Quiet for a moment and disjointed thoughts crept along the edges of his mind. Brian was careful not to actually try to probe Samantha’s mind because she would probably feel it. Brandon often made sniping remarks to Samantha and she often fantasized about firing him and sometimes killing him. The research assistant, Ashley, was the youngest in the group of four. She was the one who was currently ensnaring Brian’s and Russell’s minds. Even though she was only a level three telepath, they had a drug that temporarily increased all abilities of the subject to level ten capability for about two days. It was Ashley’s turn to take a double shift to allow Samantha and Norman relief. Once her turn was over, Norman would inject himself with the drug and take over. The formula became ineffective unless it was completely out of the system when taken again which took about two weeks.

Samantha quickly slipped back into the Quiet and Brian lost the stream of information. She regarded Russell pensively as if trying to figure him out.

“Do you feel any different?” she asked.

“No,” he said.

“Strange. I wonder why the retrovirus would work on Brian but not you. This is the fourth day and it usually doesn’t take this long for new abilities to crop up. I’m wondering if it’s a delayed reaction. Maybe it’s better this way,” Samantha said.

“What do you mean?” Brian asked.

“If it takes longer for new abilities to show up, maybe they will be more stable,” Samantha explained. “All right. We’re going to move on to the next test.”

She got out the single die and passed it to Brian. He sensed the flare of hope and anticipation in her. He took his turn trying to roll a one but only succeeded once out of six tries. Next, it was Russell’s turn. Neither one of them showed an aptitude for telekinesis until it was almost time to move on to the next testing exercise. At that point, Russell managed to get a hit four times out of six.

“Good work, Russell,” Samantha said. “You might be starting to develop a new ability.”

They continued the exercise longer than usual and Russell succeeded in rolling a one for four or five times out of six for every turn he took but without any improvement over that. When they move on to the next exercise, Samantha took out two pages with text written over it.

“This is written in a code. I want you to figure it out and read the message,” she said.

She set one of the pages in front of each of them. This was a brand new exercise and Brian surmised it was supposed to test them for aggregate intuition which allowed one to see patterns and to correlate seemingly unrelated facts into a solution. His eyes danced over the gibberish and he wondered how this could possibly translate into a message. Abruptly, something clicked into place in his mind and it made perfect sense. He could read it. It was historical facts regarding world war one. Brian didn’t wish for Samantha to learn he’d acquired more than one ability today so he feigned ignorance. He knew she wouldn’t be angry because they had both already demonstrated one new skill which proved her experiment a likely success. He was afraid that if they developed abilities too quickly, she might kill them before the seven day period was up. This was the fourth day so he had three days left to think of a plan. Hopefully, his aggregate intuition might help him figure something out.

“I’ll be right back. Keep working on the puzzles,” Samantha said.

She walked briskly out of the room and Russell smiled widely at Brian.

“It worked! We’re multipaths!” he exclaimed.

“Yes, it did,” Brian said with a weak smile.

He couldn’t muster the same enthusiasm as his peer as they were still captives and he knew their days were numbered. Keeping this information a secret from Russell was starting to eat at his conscience. However, he suspected Russell wouldn’t take the news very well and would confront Samantha. The element of surprise was crucial. Brian would tell him only if an opportunity arose to escape. Fortunately, Russell was completely oblivious to Brian’s anxiety. Samantha soon returned hefting a large cardboard box piled with miscellaneous items. Samantha wore plastic gloves over her hands and she quickly pulled out a bulky, tarnished silver vase.

“Since Russell already has psychometry, the next testing is just for you, Brian,” she said as she set down the vase in front of him on the table. “I’m going to place objects in front of you and you’re going to see if you can pick up any impressions from them.”

“All right,” Brian said.

He immediately reached for the vase and gently grasped the top with his right hand. He closed his eyes and emptied his thoughts. After several moments, he admitted to her that he wasn’t picking anything up.

“Try actively reaching into it like you would if you were trying to read its thoughts,” Samantha instructed.

“I’m not able to read people’s thoughts unless they project them to me. I’m only a level three telepath,” Brian said.

“Of course.” Samantha shuffled through the items in her box with a pensive frown then gazed up at him again. “You’re a powerful empath. Reach to the vase as if you can read its emotional energy.”

“All right,” Brian said obediently.

Brian suspected his telepathic abilities were a lot stronger now but he hadn’t tested it yet. For one thing, he’d gleaned all kinds of information from Samantha and had never been able to read anyone before. It was best to keep her in the dark though. He followed her instructions but couldn’t pick up anything.

“Try this.” Samantha pulled out a rubber ball and set it down in front of him.

Brian picked up the ball and his hand tingled as if static electricity was gathering up his fingers. He reached out with his mind to probe it for any psychic imprint.

“I don’t sense anything from this either but my hand feels kind of tingly,” Brian said.

“Excellent,” Samantha said as she marked something on her clipboard. “That could be a sign that you’re beginning to develop psychometry.”

She continued pulling objects from the box. Every time Brian worked on a different item, he felt more and more of that peculiar tingle. He wasn’t sure how long Samantha would continue this exercise and was relieved when she finally gave up. Samantha swiftly returned everything back into the box and set it on the floor.

“We’re going to practice remote-viewing again. It will help you to sharpen your new ability, Brian, which may in turn help develop some new abilities more quickly. This will also give Russell a chance to see if he can remote-view,” Samantha said.

Russell’s eyes had glazed over with boredom as he’d been watching Brian try to perform psychometry. Now, his eyes focused again and he gazed intently at the card Samantha held up. Brian’s remote-viewing remained reliable while Russell showed no aptitude toward this particular talent. Samantha’s energy leaked disappointment but she hid it behind a cool poker face.

“It’s time for a short rest. I’m going to get some dinner for you. First, I have some questions to ask. Russell, are you experiencing any unusual symptoms? Any headaches, fatigue, or nausea?” she asked.

“No, why?” he said with concern.

“I just want to make sure there aren’t any side-effects,” she said smoothly. She turned her attention to her other captor. “How about you, Brian?”

“No, I don’t have any of those problems,” he said.

“What about psychic burnout? Are you suffering any symptoms?” she asked.

“None at all,” Brian said.

“You feel like you have enough energy? Your empathy isn’t bothering you?” she asked.

“No, but since my mind is being blocked with the psionic shield, it isn’t possible for me to feel any effects from psychic burnout,” Brian said.

“I see,” Samantha said. “Actually, you could suffer from psychic burnout. The symptoms would just take longer to manifest and they wouldn’t be as intense as what you’ve experienced before. You don’t feel any mild symptoms at all?”

“Nothing,” Brian said.

“What about the nightmares? You mentioned before that your family suffers from nightmares when psychic burnout is a problem. You were having difficulties just before you took up residence here.”

Brian straightened in his chair and abruptly realized that the nightmares had completely stopped as soon as he’d been captured. He informed her of this fact even though he wondered if this was something he should keep to himself.

“Interesting,” Samantha said. “Do you think it’s because the psionic shield is helping you?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve never had one this strong for such a long period of time before. When I went to a shielding specialist, it was built up for me but after my session was over, I had to maintain it on my own. Since I’ve been here, a psionic shield has been erected and maintained without me having to reinforce it. It’s been constant protection,” Brian said.

Samantha nodded her head and jotted down some notes.

“Is this helping your research?” Brian asked.

“I’m not sure. I just want to obtain all useful and pertinent information,” Samantha said. “Your mother is a level ten telepath. Does she have nightmares?”

“Not anymore. She used to when she was younger,” Brian said slowly.

He was uncomfortable sharing so much of his personal information with a cold-blooded killer but he didn’t want to piss her off either.

“What about Jason Mackenzie? I realize he’s a multipath. He has quite an impressive range of skills. Not only does he have a very rare talent for pyrokinesis but he also has telekinesis, botany psi ability, empathy, and psychometry. That is a very potent combination.”

“How do you know so much about my family?” Brian asked warily.

“I have top secret clearance. Everyone’s abilities are kept in the government database,” Samantha said smoothly. “Now, I need you to tell me about your uncle Jason. Does he have nightmares?”

“Yes, he does,” Brian said reluctantly.

“How frequently does he have them?” she asked.

“I’m not comfortable sharing so much about my family,” Brian said uneasily.

“You are required to provide me this information,” Samantha said coldly.

“I’m sorry. I’ll cooperate in any way I can but I’m not going to rat my family out,” he said firmly.

Samantha’s glacial blue eyes turned deadly as a pressure squeezed against his mind like a vise. Pain radiated from his head to spread throughout his body. Brian reflexively reached up with his hands to cover his scalp to block out the painful psychic waves.

“Tell me what I need to know,” Samantha said forcefully.

Brian pushed back with his mind and the pain dramatically lessened. He inhaled deep and concentrated on keeping her out of his thoughts even as she pressed firmly against him with impossible force. Brian didn’t have the training or experience to keep her away. He could feel her slipping through and the pain began to slowly increase.

“You can’t fight me,” Samantha said coldly. “Tell me about Jason.”

“You lied to me!” Russell exclaimed.

The pressure that crushed against Brian’s mind abruptly released as Samantha turned her attention to her other captor. Anger and fear spilled from Russell as he glared at her. His emotional energy caused a low-level thrum of pain in Brian’s body and triggered his survival instincts. Adrenaline pumped through Brian’s veins and it was difficult to think. Russell grabbed the bulky, silver vase from the box on the floor and swiftly raised it over his head to strike Samantha. Before he could do so, he gasped in pain and his knees buckled. The vase slipped from his weakened grasp and he clutched his head in agony.