The Pull (The Emanation Saga Book 1)

by R. J. Lloyd

  “Money.” Ian looked him in the eye. “He wants the millions that lab rakes in.”

  “Bull.” Kyle stopped running his hand over Michelle’s back and leaned his elbows on his knees. “What else?”

  “He just said money. He said it would be the perfect cover since nobody who couldn’t be bought off would wonder why someone who didn't age was running a company that experimented, successfully, on people’s souls. And he’d be rich. So, money and immortality.”

  “I’m not buying it. That sounds too lonely for someone that maniacal.” Kyle visibly shivered. “There’s got to be another angle.”

  “Me?” Eva looked over at Ian. “I could be part of his master plan.”

  Kyle interjected, “That’s probably true since you’ve said he seems pretty obsessed. But there’s got to be more. What about these abilities you talk about? Can both of you do things? More, or just what he can do? What’s up with those?”

  “I haven’t been able to do anything yet. But up until today, I didn’t think I could. Eva says I can, so who knows.” Ian put an arm around Eva’s waist.

  She gave him a quick smile. “Something happened to me in Alpena, and I figured out that in the state we’re in, we have a lot more control over the energy and everything around us. I'm going to work with Ian on developing some abilities, but, honestly, I’m just starting to figure it out myself. I think I’m sure about how to go about things, but thinking about something and doing it can be very different. So, we need to try before we know.”

  “What kind of things?” Michelle asked.

  Eva chewed her lip for a moment, thinking. “Well, I teleported us places. And I’ve been able to send out energy pulses, blasting people and things away. I don’t know what else yet, but I feel like there’s so much more. Like I said, we need to delve into that yet.”

  Ian slumped back against his chair. “Hopefully, we can figure out some things before he comes for us.”

  Twenty-Four

  Class Is In Session

  One would think learning new tricks like moving inanimate objects or mentally connecting with another being would be the hardest part. But Eva found thinking up the abilities to begin with was even more difficult.

  It seemed so absurd to believe you could do anything like that, even with proof. But letting your brain grasp on to one ability and to start pursuing it was like tossing one of those rings into the bin of bottles at a carnival, hoping it catches and rests around the neck of just one of them.

  “This is almost as hard as picking a name for the business.” Ian got up from the dining room table and went to the fridge.

  “Hey. Grab me a water?” Kyle looked up from his laptop.

  Eva leaned over to look at his screen. “They all just seem so superhero like. We’re not superheroes. We’re the ghosts of dead people who just happen to have become solid and human-like again.” She sighed in frustration.

  Michelle shifted on the couch. “Maybe you are. Maybe that's the point of all of this. Maybe superheroes don’t come from genetic mutation, but rather from the unnatural materialization of energy that should have dissipated.”

  Eva knew that Michelle was being sarcastic, but Michelle was rarely sarcastic without believing a level of truth behind her statements. And that was a statement that chilled Eva to the bone. Her eyes met with Ian’s, and she could see he felt the same chilling realization.

  He nervously chuckled. “Superheroes? No. I mean, maybe Eva. But I’m no superhero. I barely believe I own a small company, let alone have the ability to run around saving people.”

  “I’m not either.” Eva waved her hands. “I just want to live as close to a normal life as I can… or a hundred since I know I’m doomed to have to move around since I don't age anymore.”

  “What you need to do is focus on figuring out how to get rid of this ghost guy villain of your story.” Kyle clicked through a few more screens.

  “Well, if they kill us and bring us back, we could all travel the world for eternity.” Michelle started filing her nails.

  Kyle eyed her, a smirk forming on his lips. “Well, that might not be all bad.”

  She flung the file at him. “Not in a million years, buddy!”

  “So, I have to wait a million years? Sounds like if they don't get their acts together, we will have the time.” He threw the file back at her.

  “Alright, you two,” Eva scolded them like children. “Focus. We need your help.”

  “Okay, okay.” Kyle pointed to his screen. “What about this? Here's a list of supernatural and paranormal abilities used in various books, comics, movies, television shows. Maybe we can just pick one and start from there, ruling out the ridiculous like Arm-Off Boy. He takes his arms off, grows new ones and beats bad guys with the one he ripped off.”

  Michelle cringed. “I think I'm going to be sick.”

  Kyle laughed. “Well, that’s not as sick as…”

  “No. Stop.” She feigned throwing up.

  Ian scanned the web page. “I can’t say that's a bad idea. There's bound to be something on here to spark a possibility.”

  After printing off the list, the group spent the next few hours sifting through it, scratching out the ones that seemed unfathomable and those that were just too strange to comprehend. Then, they put a star next to all those they wanted to test out first. Occasionally, they would stop and try something that sparked an interest.

  Eva seemed to take on the abilities with ease. Ian, however, struggled. Seven abilities and well over fifty attempts later, he hadn't managed to see even a spark of anything manifesting from himself. A sense of failure overshadowed his frustration as he thought about Mitchell coming and not being able to help.

  He balled his fists. “Maybe not all of us have the powers. Maybe I won’t be a superhero.”

  “Don't do that. You're convincing yourself you can’t. You have to believe, Ian.” Eva rounded the coffee table, wanting to wrap her arms around him. She could see the exhaustion painted across his face.

  Eva passed Michelle, who was still lying on the couch. But before she could make it past, Michelle dropped her leg and stuck her foot in front of Eva, causing her friend to stumble forward and lose her balance.

  Ian, seeing Eva going straight for the corner of the coffee table, shot his arms out. “No!”

  It was a normal reaction for a normal person, completely dismissing the fact that neither of them could get hurt. But the timing couldn't have been better. The ottoman in front of the nearby chair slid out of its place and stopped right in front of the swiftly descending Eva. She landed on it, bouncing slightly and coming to a stop half on the cushion and half on the floor, laughing.

  Ian crossed is arms. “What are you laughing at?”

  “What am I laughing at?” She got to her feet, pushing her landing spot back into its place. “Don't you realize what you just did?”

  He blinked, completely oblivious.

  She pointed at the stool.

  He shook his head. “That wasn’t me.”

  She looked around the room.

  Michelle threw her hands up. “Not me.”

  “Nope,” Kyle chimed in.

  “I didn’t do it. I was too busy falling.” Eva shrugged.

  “No.” He refused to believe it. “I just wanted you to land on something that wouldn't hurt.”

  “Ian, we can’t get injured.” Eva planted her hands on her hips

  “Not injured, no. But we have nerve endings, and things hurt. That fall would have still hurt,” he explained.

  “So, like I thought, you just needed a little tangible motivation.” Michelle yawned and stretched.

  Ian’s mouth fell open. “You tripped her on purpose?”

  Michelle shrugged it off. “So? Like you said, you can’t be injured.”

  Ian scowled. “But…”

  “Hey,” Kyle interjected. “You finally did something. Don't bag on her, man. You weren't cooperating. She got you to do what you needed. Now we just need to ge
t you to do it again.”

  “Without attempting to hurt her.” Ian’s voice was stern.

  “Fine. But move something again,” Kyle ordered him.

  Ian concentrated on the ottoman, thinking he'd done it once, it should be easy to do again. After a moment, he raised his hand, palm out, and stared at it. Yet, the stool stayed planted.

  His face was beat red as he exhaled. “Nothing is happening.”

  Eva walked up to him and placed her hands on either side of his face. “Ian, it’s not about forcing it. You’re not in Star Wars. You’re not using the force. Just think of it doing something, anything. Will it to do whatever you want it to do. It’s just as simple as that. Just see it doing it in your mind.”

  “Like imagine it moving in my head while focusing on it in front of me?” He blinked. “How do you split your mind like that?”

  It was her turn to blink, confused. “I don’t know. Once you do it once, it just makes sense, I guess.”

  “But I did it once!” He threw his hands up.

  She reached up, clasped his fingers and brought them to her chest. “You did it in the heat of the moment, like the first time I sent out that pulse. It will click when you’re not in that frame of mind. Just try again.”

  A week had passed, and Ian made some progress on being able to work the energy around him. They’d moved on from moving items to creating a shield to communicating through thoughts. While Eva was leaps and bounds ahead of him for capability and the ability to do more things, Ian worked hard and did far more than he’d imagined.

  “Did you move the stack of files?” Eva searched the desk and file cabinet in the office. “I swear I left them right there.”

  “No.” His voice was still groggy as he shuffled in, fresh out of bed. “Did you take them into the living room again?”

  “No. I haven't done any more research in days. They were right here.”

  He glanced around the room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Did you check with Michelle and Kyle?”

  “Yes. Neither have seen them.” She began to panic. “Ian, I can’t find them.”

  “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  She shot him a look. “Eat? We are missing those files, and you want to know if I’ve had breakfast?”

  “Chill.” He leaned against the desk. “We all think better with food in our stomachs. Maybe you will figure it out if you’ve eaten.”

  She walked over to him and leaned in, resting her forehead on his chest. “You're right. I’m sorry I snapped at you. Food. Food is good.”

  Heading into the kitchen, he pulled eggs and bacon out of the fridge and started cooking. “I am going into the café today. I need to get some work done and check on things.”

  She took a seat at the kitchen island. “I think Michelle went in with Kyle earlier.”

  “Good. Maybe she can help with some things like paperwork and straightening up. It would help Kyle and me, but it would also give her something to do. She seems like she’s getting a little sir crazy.”

  Eva agreed. “Since she told work we were away on a family emergency, our company has been sending us things to do remotely, but we’re raking through them quickly. It leaves her with a lot of down time that we’re not used to when we’re not sitting in meetings most days.”

  “Do you want to go, or do you want to stay here?” he asked.

  She peeked into the pan and felt her stomach growl. “I’m going to eat. Then, I’m going to find those files. That’s all I know right now.”

  He chuckled. “By the sounds of your stomach over there, I am surprised you even remembered the files. I would imagine food would be the only thing you’d be thinking of.”

  “Food and files.” She pursed her lips. “Food and files.”

  “I really don’t like leaving you home alone these days.” He flipped the bacon. “Mitchell is still out there, and I’m surprised we haven’t seen him yet.”

  She patted her stomach. “Once I fill my belly this with delicious food, I’ll have my wits about me, and I’ll be just fine.”

  “But…”

  “Ian, go work. Do something semi-normal. I’ve been fine all week. I’ll be fine today.”

  Ian reluctantly agreed. He finished cooking, ate and ran off to get ready, leaving Eva in the office, opening drawers and throwing open doors once again. He gave her a quick kiss before heading out to the cafe as she crawled under the desk to check there.

  After he left, Eva moved through the house, checking the garage, texted Kyle and Ian to check the cars and trunks and even looking on the patio. The files were nowhere to be found.

  Positioning herself in the middle of the living room, Eva closed her eyes and concentrated. Nobody could have seen what happened, but if you were sensitive enough, you might have felt a shift around you as she took down the shield she’d locked around the house.

  Alright. Give them back, she thought.

  “But where’s the fun in that?” Mitchell was suddenly lounging in the chair behind her.

  She jumped. “How?”

  He looked at her with a smirk.

  “Damn it, Mitchell. How?”

  He took in a slow breath and exhaled. “You can put up a shield, but if you allow people to come in and out that don’t know how to block, they can be convinced to do certain things within your shield. Non-energy related things like carrying a box of files outside and setting them on the sidewalk.”

  “What?” She was chilled at the idea that he could use mind control. It wasn't something she had even attempted.

  “Your friends, Michelle and Kyle. They don't know how to… or rather can’t, actually. They can’t do what we can. And they can’t block things. So, it was pretty easy to get one of them to bring me the files.”

  “So, you’ve been around?”

  He casually propped a leg up on the other knee. “Yeah. And I’ll tell you one thing. It’s nauseating to watch you and lover boy. But I have enjoyed watching your living friends fall in lust with each other. They’re very cute.”

  “How did you get the files?”

  “I asked for them.”

  She growled, “Mitchell!”

  “I can’t tell you. It’s something I’m still in the works of perfecting. But once I have, I look forward to teaching you over some wine and candlelight.”

  “Screw you,” she spat.

  He shrugged. “Maybe that, too.”

  She crossed her arms. “What's your deal?”

  “My deal?” He examined her for a moment. “Well, I figured you’d expect me to run off with Michelle again or take Kyle this time or something predictable. But I don’t like being predictable. So, I have a surprise brewing.”

  “What do you mean a surprise?” Her knuckles were white on her arms.

  He stood and put his hands on her shoulders. “You'll see.”

  She shrugged him off, a chill running through her spine at his touch. “Don’t touch me.”

  For a second, he looked hurt. But he quickly forced a smile. “Soon.”

  Then, he was gone.

  She screamed out loud and forced the shield back around the house. Closing her eyes, she reached out to Ian. He was here. He’s gone. I'm fine, but he has the files.

  How did he get them? Ian responded.

  She dropped down on the floor and put her head in her hands.

  Eva?

  She sighed. He can control living people now.

  He what?

  His thoughts were so strong they reverberated through her head. He had Kyle or Michelle bring them to him. He wouldn’t say which.

  I’ll ask them about it and be home in a minute, he growled.

  She didn’t reply. She just sat there, feeling completely knocked back. They’d done so much to prepare for him, but things like mind control seemed out of the realm of possibility, let alone unethical. But that was it. Mitchell wasn't ethical. He was insane. And he was dangerous. And Eva had no idea how to beat him without stooping to his level, which was out
of the question.

  Ian appeared in the living room and immediately started searching for her. “Eva? Eva!”

  She was still in the center of the floor, head in hands, doing her best to hold herself together. "Here."

  He looked around, trying to figure out where her voice came from. “Eva?” Spotting her, he pushed the chair out of the way and knelt down beside her. “He didn't hurt you, did he?”

  She spoke through her hands. “No.”

  He pulled her hands down. “What happened? What do you mean he had Kyle or Michelle bring him the files? Neither of them know anything about taking them to him.”

  She looked completely defeated. “He claims he asked them to do it while outside of the house to bypass my shield around it. Ian, he got into their minds and had them do something. Mind control. Mind control, Ian. How the hell are we supposed to fight that?”

  He sat down and wrapped his arms around her. “We will. I don't know how, but we will.”

  “How do you know?” She looked up at him. “He is mastering things we haven’t even considered trying. We have no clue what he can do.”

  “So, why hasn’t he taken Michelle again or Kyle? Or why not you? What’s his angle?”

  “I don’t know that. I don’t get it. He’s playing a game with us. He didn’t want the others. He said taking any of us was predictable. He said he has a surprise coming instead.”

  His fingers ran through her hair. “Did he say when?”

  “No.”

  “He’s been quiet for a while now, so who knows what he’s managed to plan, let alone execute.” Ian felt the pit of his stomach churn.

  Michelle came in the front door. “I brought your car back, Ian. Is everything alright?” She saw Eva in his arms, on the floor. “Oh, crap. Is she hurt?”

  “No,” Ian replied. “Mitchell didn’t do anything to her. But he will be back. He said something about a surprise.”

  Kyle wasn’t far behind her, bursting through the door. “Eva? Ian? Michelle?”

  All three answered in unison, “Here.”

  Eva explained the visit to both of them as they stared at her in disbelief.