Winters Family Psi Chronicles 2: Project Onyx (9 page)

“The treatment will last for five hours per day and should be completed in five days,” Adam said. “It will consist of a combination of psychic healing methods and self-help, one-on-one sessions with a tutor.”

“Interesting,” Teresa said.

“After Brian has completed two sessions, you are welcome to visit him during the rest of the treatments,” Adam said. “Lin would like to speak with you. I’d like to start right away.”

“I wish to observe the first treatment,” Teresa said.

“It’s perfectly safe and we will require only trained healers to interact with Brian for the first two sessions,” Adam said firmly.

“All right,” Teresa said.

“We’ll go talk to Lin,” Jason said.

Teresa stood near the doorway gazing at her son with indecision. Jason gently grasped her left arm and she reluctantly left the building.

“Please have a seat,” Adam said.

Brian chose the rocking chair closest to the bed and Adam sat down beside him on the other one.

“I’m going to perform touch healing on you. Let me know if you feel any discomfort,” Adam said conversationally.

“Okay,” Brian acknowledged.

Adam reached out and gently grasped Brian’s upper, left arm. Adam closed his eyes and directed a flow of psychic energy into Brian. After several moments, Brian felt a strange sense of motion as if the room shifted slowly around him. He closed his eyes and felt psychic energy tingling throughout his body. Brian lost all sense of time and started when Adam withdrew from him. A middle-aged woman with friendly, green eyes and curly brown hair that flowed down her back stood silently in the doorway. She wore a turquoise blouse with black pants and a large amethyst pendant around her neck.

“I’m Melissa, your tutor,” she said.

“I’m Brian.”

“It’s good to meet you.” She stepped into the room and smiled warmly at him. “I’m a level ten connectivity psi so I’ll also be spending some time on your treatment.”

“I will return after your tutoring session is over.” Adam smoothly rose to his feet and left the room.

Melissa seated herself in the rocking chair he’d just vacated.

“Are you one of the tutors then?” Brian asked.

“Yes, but my main duties are maintaining the Zen Network and ensuring it remains isolated from other unwanted connections and networks,” Melissa said.

“I see,” Brian said.

“You have about a dozen connections to energy transference psi. During our everyday lives, we come into contact with individuals who form connections with us unconsciously and sometimes consciously. Those who possess energy transference psi can tap into your psychic energy and siphon some of it to enhance their own energy. It’s a common secondary ability that many don’t realize they have. Of course, you already know the common name for this type of individual is energy vampire. Normally, it doesn’t pose a danger to our health and its influence is rarely noticed but in your case, it is serving to further destabilize your weakened nervous system. I’m going to sever these connections. It will take me some time to do so. Do you have any questions before I get started?” Melissa said.

“Can you tell if the connections are intentional?” Brian asked curiously.

“I can tell that three of them are. You have three energy transference psi who have deliberately tapped into your energy for quite some time. The common culprits for those your age are casual friends and classmates,” she said.

“You said casual friends,” Brian said slowly as he mulled this over. “What about close friends?”

“It’s possible you may have a close friend doing this but usually if they are aware of their ability, we subconsciously avoid becoming too close to those individuals. You’ll find you come up with reasons why you’re too busy to spend too much time with them.” Melissa paused for a moment. “Now, I want you to close your eyes and relax.”

“Is this going to hurt?” Brian asked.

“Not at all.”

Brian closed his eyes and relaxed. He could barely sense her energy as it swept lightly over him. After awhile, his body tingled with energy as though he’d just drank some coffee without any of the jittery side effects.

“It is done,” Melissa said. “You feel perkier, don’t you?”

“Yes,” he said.

He opened his eyes and saw that she was smiling cheerfully at him.

“That’s because you no longer have a bunch of energy transference psi draining your energy. Your psionic shield will greatly slow down the pull of energy but it won’t completely cut it off. Your mother has a bunch of them but her protection is so strong that there is barely a trickle being pulled from her and the connections are very weak,” Melissa said. “If she joined Phoenix Enterprises, I could cut those ties completely.”

“When my treatment is over and I go back home, I’ll have new connections hooking into me from psychic vampires, won’t I?” Brian asked.

“I’m afraid so. However, I recognize a kindred talent when I see one. You are a connectivity psi like me so you can learn to sever those ties on your own,” Melissa said. “I’m going to teach you to utilize your abilities. How much skill do you have with your connectivity psi talent?”

“I’ve only experienced it in my dreams that I have about other people. I haven’t used it yet,” Brian said.

“I see.” Melissa smiled and her eyes twinkled merrily. “We’ll start with the basics. Open your senses and link with me telepathically. I’ll show you.”

Brian soon lost track of time as he learned how to see the connections which appeared as various colored beams of shimmering light. It was beautiful to watch. Melissa showed him telepathically how to weaken and eliminate connections as well as create and strengthen connections. Unfortunately, it would take a lot of time and practice to master. Brian barely understood the basics but it was still an overwhelming amount of information to process. Adam returned and Melissa left. Before Brian knew it, his session was over and Teresa came to pick him up.

He and his mother walked toward Jason’s house in the early evening.

“I can’t believe it’s so late,” Brian said.

“You seem to be doing a lot better. How do you feel?” Teresa asked.

“I feel great. I haven’t had this much energy in a long time,” Brian said.

“That’s good to hear.” Teresa eyed him appraisingly. “Everything seemed completely safe?”

“Don’t worry, it was,” Brian said definitively.

When they reached their destination, Brian discovered his grandfather was absent.

“Where’s Grandpa?” he asked.

“He’s with Melissa. Apparently, she can sever his ties to the Global Net completely and connect him to the Zen Network within a couple of hours,” Teresa said.

“It usually takes days to do that,” Brian said.

“This place has some impressive qualities,” Teresa said but with a note of reservation.

“Do you think there’s some big dark secret here or something?” Brian asked sardonically.

“Maybe,” Teresa said. “Haven’t you ever heard of the expression, if something is too good to be true, it probably is?”

“I’ve heard of it,” Brian said dismissively.

Chapter 9

Ashley threw her sweat soaked sheets off her body and tumbled out of bed. Her body burned with an intense fever unlike she had ever experienced. Even though she had known to expect this, it didn’t change the reality of the pain and discomfort. The room spun madly as she weakly trudged into the bathroom and grabbed a couple of specially formulated pain killers that would knock her out for at least another six hours. She swallowed the pills and followed it with a glass of water. It was unfortunate that a retrovirus had to be utilized for altering the DNA as the severe flu that accompanied its work was life threatening. Ashley injected herself with a formula that was comprised of a variety of nutrients as well as a compound that strengthened the body. She leaned against the counter for support as fatigue gripped her body. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and gathered her inner strength. Time to go back to bed. She gazed at her reflection and gasped in shock at her pallid face and the deep, dark circles under her bloodshot eyes.

Fear lanced through her as she wondered if she would be one of the unlucky few who died from the retrovirus. Sometimes the body simply couldn’t handle it. She stumbled back to bed and lay down. Unfortunately, the sheets were still damp and had now chilled. She didn’t have the strength to fetch clean, dry ones. Exhaustion and drug induced sleep pulled her back into unconsciousness. The scene rippled as though Brian were watching a movie projected as a reflection on water that suddenly moved. After several seconds, he saw a spacious sky-blue office. Lin sat behind a massive, polished oak desk facing his mother. A framed Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, one in Parapsychology, and one in Sociology hung on the wall off to the side. A couple of oak file cabinets were positioned behind the desk while a couple of beige, cushioned chairs faced Lin’s desk. Teresa sat with her back straight in the right-hand seat with her attentive eyes honed in on Lin with unwavering intensity.

“How is it that this company is so profitable? How can it afford such expensive housing and office buildings?” Teresa asked.

“We have a team of employees called the Profitability Psi Group consisting of nine members at the moment. One of their most important functions is to offer suggestions for how best to utilize employment in order to maximize revenue. Virtually everyone on the team are aggregate intuitives,” Lin said.

“There are businesses worldwide that have the exact same type of team in their employment but they don’t share your success,” Teresa said.

“One of our advantages is the Zen Network which actually strengthens the psychic abilities of our members exponentially compared to all other existing networks including the Global Net,” Lin said.

“That’s impossible. It’s a statistical fact that the more members who are linked share a greater psionic enhancement in their abilities. The Global Net is by far the largest psychic network in the world,” Teresa said firmly.

“The Zen Network is maintained by connectivity psi with special training. All members of the Zen Network undergo extensive tutoring that allows them to emit only positive energy rather than a combination of negative and positive depending on individual moods set at any particular time. We commonly refer to the negative or neutral energy that virtually everyone gives off unconsciously as junk energy. It takes skill to control yourself into being able to not radiate any junk energy. These are the main qualities of the Zen Network that allows us to live pain free and to enhance our psionic strength at a much higher level. It also allows greater control of our gifts.”

“That’s interesting,” Teresa said skeptically. “Assuming that I believe everything you’ve just said about the Zen Network. Your employees must accept assignments that take them outside this compound. Don’t they experience pain at that point?”

“Not usually. The strength of our network is enough to prevent the outside influence from bombarding our senses until an extended length of time which is why we offer so much vacation time in between assignments.”

“How much time before we begin to feel the negative impact once you’re outside the compound?” Teresa asked.

“It takes about two weeks before that happens,” Lin said. “Keep in mind that you only start to feel the negative impact. It still isn’t much and slowly progresses after that point. I know the advantages of the Zen Network sound incredible which is why I can arrange for you to meet with one of our connectivity psi. They can link you to the Zen Network and temporarily block the Global Net for up to an hour to allow you to experience the advantages for yourself.”

“That is a generous offer,” Teresa said smoothly. Her neutral expression didn’t betray the surprise that this proposal engendered.

“I can set up an appointment for tomorrow, if you’d like,” Lin said.

“I accept your gracious invitation. Thank you,” Teresa said.

Brian abruptly awakened and mulled over what he’d just seen. He couldn’t remember beyond the last two dreams but knew that he’d seen a lot of other scenes. He almost felt like a peeping tom the way he randomly glimpsed people’s conversations and experiences. He shrugged aside the guilt as he realized his mother had kept yet another secret from him. She worked for the military with top clearance so he understood that but she hadn’t mentioned she had an appointment today to experience the Zen Network. Brian quickly showered and dressed in jeans and a black polo shirt. The aroma of bacon and eggs greeted him as he stepped out into the living room.

“You do realize you shouldn’t eat food like that at your age?” Teresa’s disapproving voice floated from the kitchen.

Brian joined his mother and grandfather in the kitchen. Teresa’s arms were crossed over her chest and her blue eyes flashed in reprisal. Jason smiled back at her with unconcern as he stirred the pan of eggs with a black turner. Another frying pan contained sizzling bacon. It was unheard of to see him cooking like that.

“Hey there, Brian,” he said warmly. “I’m making enough for all three of us.”

“Thanks. What a treat,” Brian said, inhaling appreciatively.

“You should take a few pointers on manners from your son,” Jason chided his daughter.

Teresa’s expression softened but remained mostly neutral as she turned to gaze appraisingly at him. He felt her scanning him which was something he could never do before. Now that he possessed strong telepathic talent, there were many new skills he would need to learn.

“Your connection to the Global Net is more stable now,” she said.

“I feel better than I have in a long time,” Brian said.

“Did you have any nightmares?” Teresa asked.

“No, but I saw your conversation with Lin. Why didn’t you tell me?” Brian asked, intentionally choosing vague wording in case his mother harbored other secrets that she might slip up.

“You heard about the appointment I have today to experience the Zen Network?” Teresa asked.

“Of course,” Brian said irritably. “I don’t know why you would keep that from me.”

“It seems that with your connectivity psi, it will be next to impossible to keep anything from you. As I have top level clearance in special military operations, this is a troublesome situation,” Teresa said.

“I noticed you didn’t answer his question,” Jason said pointedly. “Why on Earth would you not tell us about your appointment today?”

“I knew you would hope I would work for Phoenix Enterprises if I gave in with this small concession and probably hound me incessantly with the perks of employment here.” Teresa turned to fix a cool look at her son. “And I knew you would tell your grandfather since you tell him everything.”

“I do not!” Brian exclaimed indignantly.

“Yes, you do. You tell him things you don’t tell me. I’m a level ten telepath so I know some of those things, young man,” Teresa said coolly.

“Hmm,” Brian said irritably as he wondered what she was referring to but didn’t want to risk pressing the issue.

Jason turned his attention completely to the eggs and bacon as he began humming softly. Brian and Teresa regarded him with surprise. He had never been this cheerful and hadn’t hummed in many years.

“You seem a lot perkier than usual,” Teresa said.

“You bet! I feel fantastic! I’m connected to the Zen Network and I’m a believer in what they have to offer. I wish I would have known about them before,” Jason said. “Unfortunately, they’ve only recently began advertising and working aggressively at growing their numbers.”

“There are many aspects of this place that are reminiscent of a cult,” Teresa said authoritatively.

“I understand what you’re saying but the rules they’ve made are necessary,” Jason said.

“If you say so,” Teresa said skeptically.

Jason shrugged and sprinkled shredded cheese over the eggs. Soon, the three of them sat down with their breakfast and a glass of orange juice.

“How did you come up with the time to stock up the refrigerator?” Teresa asked.

“I didn’t. It came that way. Lin offered to have it done when I told her I was coming with you and Brian,” Jason said.

“I see,” Teresa said.

“The food is great, Grandpa,” Brian said.

“Thanks,” Jason said.

“You cooked the eggs and bacon to perfection,” Teresa said conversationally.

“Thank you.” Jason smiled briefly at her then shot his grandson a questioning look. “Are you receiving any training while being treated at the wellness center?”

“Yes, Melissa is helping me with my connectivity psi. She says it will be beneficial to me to learn to sense and remove unhealthy connections,” Brian said.

“I agree. There are so many psychic vampires out there.”

“The correct term is energy transference psi and there aren’t too many of them,” Teresa said.

“There are a lot of undeclared energy transference psi out there because they are ashamed of their ability. Virtually everyone who has the ability takes advantage of others which tells me that its determined by one’s character,” Jason said.

“That’s nonsense. Studies have proven that there is no correlation between psionic talent and moral character or temperament,” Teresa said adamantly.

“You’re wrong. There have been many case studies showing certain talents do correlate to moral character, temperament, and even personal interests or hobbies.”

“I’ve read the research and it is inherently flawed due to choosing only particular talents.”

“It’s proven that some talents are determined by certain individual characteristics,” Jason said stubbornly.

“I’ve done extensive research and those case studies are wrong,” Teresa said adamantly.

“Whatever,” Jason said with a casual shrug.

Teresa’s lips curved into a very slight frown but she refrained from further argument. She fixed an inquisitive look at her son.

“How much have you learned about your connectivity psi?” she asked.

“Just the basics. I was able to actually see the connections around me briefly by the end of the day. Melissa said it will be a lot easier for me to do today. She told me there isn’t time for me to learn more than just the basics though. My treatments will be over soon,” Brian said. “By Friday, I should be completely stable.”

“That is what Lin told me as well,” Teresa said.

Guilt stirred in Brian as his most recent dream about Ashley reminded him he’d dreamed several times about his captors. He had chosen to keep this information to himself but after accusing his mother of hiding things from him it made him feel like a hypocrite.

“You might as well tell me,” Teresa said coolly.

Jason cocked a bemused eyebrow and waited for him to speak.

“I’ve seen something that I didn’t want to think about,” Brian said hesitantly. “I hoped it was just a fluke and that I wouldn’t see it again.”

Jason’s expression turned anxious as he waited for his grandson to continue. Teresa merely gazed unflinchingly at him with anticipation. Brian took a deep breath and then just gushed out the dreams he’d experienced about his captors.

“No,” Jason whispered with horror.

Brian cringed inside at his grandfather’s terror which he usually couldn’t feel but for just an instant, it radiated in a sharp spike that made his insides clench painfully. His mother was unable to repress her own icy horror that continued to dig relentlessly at Brian’s empathic and telepathic senses. Her face remained emotionless except for the fear that reflected from her vivid blue eyes. After several moments, she managed to level out her fear and maintain a cold calm.

“You must not tell anyone about this except for your father,” Teresa said.

“Why?” Brian asked.

“You haven’t heard the stories about connectivity psi that work for the police or the FBI?” Jason asked.

“No,” Brian said with bemusement as he puzzled over his mother’s and grandfather’s reactions to his dreams.

“Connectivity psi that work for the FBI and police can look at a photograph or touch an object in a murder investigation or kidnapping. If their connectivity psi tunes into the energy, they will dream about the victims or the criminals until the case is solved,” Jason said.

“But there’s no case,” Brian said.

“Yes, there is. Your situation is unresolved because the kidnappers experimented on you and countless others. They killed many innocent children for the sake of science and power,” Teresa said in calm, measured tones that made her words all the more chilling. “You will dream about them until they are apprehended.”