Gnotret (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles Book 1)

by S. E. Cyborski

  you want to have a good night’s rest, you need to sleep deeply now and not dream.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but Jane clapped her hands sharply and darkness oozed

  in and covered my eyes. I felt myself sinking into a deeper sleep and stopped fighting it when I

  realized how tired I actually felt. Dreamwalking took a lot of energy and I knew that I had a lot of

  work ahead of me.

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------

  The next few days passed slowly and yet quickly as well. I practiced my shapeshifting as

  much as I could, turning into all sorts of things. I soon found there was a pattern to how my body

  changed: if it was a familiar shape I was changing into, I shifted faster. However, if it was a

  completely unfamiliar one, I had to concentrate hard and it took a while. Turning back into my

  own body now was almost instantaneous and I barely noticed the popping and shifting of my

  organs and bones.

  I’d decided to try an aquatic form with Billy’s help when Sandra, Michael, and Amy were

  all busy playing cards in the lounge. I filled the sink with tepid water and sat on the counter,

  staring down into the clear water. I was trying to decide what I wanted to turn into and decided to do a small fish. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Aquatic and tiny. I focused on the form

  of a beta fish and felt myself shrinking slowly.

  As I shrank, I shifted closer and closer to the lip of the sink, hoping I fell into the water

  and not onto the floor or something. Billy stood in front of the sink, watching me carefully and

  making sure I didn’t tumble off the counter. Finally, when I was about the size of a small cat, I

  leaned over and fell into the water. I finished the rest of the change underwater, my gills forming

  quickly so I could breathe. Once I was a beta fish, I swam quickly around the sink a few times

  before stopping and studying myself. I was a bright red with silver streaks on my fins.

  Well, I told you aquatic forms would be no problem, Billy told me, his mental voice

  crackling with laughter. You believe me now?

  Yeah I do, I replied, flicking a fin up at him. But Icouldn’t know for sure until I tried it,

  right? Besides, it’s kind of fun being a fish. I love swimming as a human and now I don’t need to

  surface to breathe.

  Quiet now! Billy snapped suddenly. I tried to look up through the surface of the water

  and saw a dark, blurry shape I assumed was Billy. It turned quickly and I wondered, with an

  edge of panic, what was going on. Suddenly, I could hear everything and I could only assume

  Billy had done something to let me hear.

  “Hey, Michael, what’s up?” Billy asked, trying to shield the sink from Michael’s view with

  his body.

  “Just wanted to get some water,” Michael replied, holding up his empty glass. He looked

  curiously around Billy, trying to see what was going on with the sink.

  “Oh, I see,” Billy said, thinking quickly. “Sorry, I had to take over the sink for a little while.

  Spilled some juice on my favorite shirt.”

  “That so?” Michael asked, a tinge of suspicion on his voice. “Then why do I see a fish in

  there?” Michael stepped forward and around Billy, shoving him aside slightly. He looked down

  into the sink, studying the bright fish that was swimming idly around in the water. Michael was

  certain there had been no animals here before they all got here, so where had the fish come

  from?

  “Yeah, practicing another part of my telepathy,” Billy lied desperately, hoping Michael

  didn’t catch on. “I’ve been wondering if I could make people see something that wasn’t actually

  there and not see something that was. Guess it works.”

  With a fierce look of concentration, Billy delved into Michael’s mind and moved towards

  the parts of his mind that dealt with visual stimuli. Carefully, Billy erased the picture of the fish

  and replaced it with a white t-shirt floating in the water. With a silent sigh, he withdrew from

  Michael’s mind and studied the other man’s face.

  “Well, it works,” Michael said, poking at the surface of the water and a fold of shirt he

  thought he saw. “I could have sworn there was a fish in here. Good luck with your shirt, man.”

  With a nod, Michael turned away and got something else to drink out of the refrigerator.

  He walked down the hallway, bouncing higher than normal because he was lowering the gravity

  around himself. Billy waited until there was noise from the lounge again before turning back to

  the sink.

  Sorry about that, Billy apologized to me. Were you able to hear what was going on? I

  wasn’t sure that was working.

  Yeah, I heard, I replied, still swimming idly around the sink. Thanks for making it so I

  could hear. I was really confused and worried.

  No problem though I think it might be a good idea if you shifted back now, Billy replied

  wryly.

  Sounds like a plan, I replied cheerfully. Can you pick me up and put me on the counter?

  Billy didn’t reply but reached down into the water. I swam up to his hand and held still as

  he carefully lifted me out of the water. I didn’t panic but I couldn’t breathe at all once I was out of the water. Billy put me on the counter and I shifted back to my normal shape quickly, breathing

  a deep sigh as my lungs settled back into place.

  “That was fun,” I said when I was done changing. “Now I want to experiment in a bigger

  place. Maybe a swimming pool or a lake?”

  “That’s going to take some time. We’re still stuck here for another week and a half,” Billy

  responded pragmatically. “But at least you know you can change into fish now.”

  “Now it’s your turn,” I countered, crossing my arms. “You need to work on your

  telekinesis some more. And I need to go talk to Amy. She’s been avoiding me the past few days

  and I don’t blame her. But I need to fix this, or at least try.”

  Billy nodded and an impish smile crossed his face. Backing up, he lifted a hand towards

  me and I felt myself floating off the counter. I yelped quietly, my hand flying up to cover my

  mouth so I didn’t draw any attention from the others in the lounge. I floated slowly down to the

  floor and got my feet underneath myself.

  “Seems weight is no problem,” Billy smirked. “You’re the heaviest thing I’ve lifted and it

  didn’t feel any different than if I were lifting a coffee cup.”

  “Good to know,” I grumbled though I couldn’t help but smile. There were some

  interesting pranks that each of us could play if we put our minds to it. Michael had taken to lying

  in wait as we walked down hallways and then either raising or lowering the gravity in the area. It

  was becoming a bit hair-raising to walk and wonder if you were going to float away, feel like you

  were getting smushed to the floor, or just walk normally. And the paper shuttles were almost

  constantly hovering above his head.

  I waved to Billy as he headed to his physical with Dr. Carnesby and walked through the

  hallway to the lounge. Michael was occupied by dealing the cards and Sandra so I moved

  normally. I paused at the entrance to the lounge, my eyes automatically finding Amy. She was

  laughingat Michael’s extravagant movements, her legs curled beneath her on the chair. A pang of hurt went through my chest again; I really missed her. Clearing my throat, I walked into the

  lou
nge and stopped next to Amy’s chair.

  “I know I’m probably the last person you want to see right now,” I started, staring down

  into Amy’s narrowed blue eyes. “But I was wondering if I could talk to you for a few minutes?”

  “Sure, talk,” Amy replied, waving a hand negligently at an armchair near her.

  “I meant privately,” I said, hoping Amy would take me up on it. I really missed talking to

  her, even if all that happened was I talked and she listened. Sighing, Amy unfolded herself from

  the chair and waited until I started walking down the hallway. I went to my room and held the

  door open for her. She walked in and sat down on my bed with an annoyed look on her face.

  “What do you want to talk about?” she asked, her voice hostile.

  “I want to talk about the argument we had and you breaking up with me,” I began, taking

  a seat in thewooden chair across from the bed. “I’d appreciate if you’d hear me out before

  arguing with me. Please?”

  “All right,” Amy said after staring at me for several seconds. I could tell she was

  interested, but Sandra’s manipulations were still running deep.

  “You know Sandra controls emotions, right?” I began, hoping I wouldn’t immediately

  alienate her by discussing Sandra. At Amy’s nod I continued, “Well, once I cooled down from

  the argument, I realized that the anger I was feeling came out of nowhere. I think Sandra flamed

  my anger and caused me to fight with you after you told me you wanted to break up with me in

  the group. And I think she has been manipulating you to distance you from me.”

  “I’m not saying I believe you, but why would she want to do that?” Amy asked, her head

  tilted to the side with a look of confusion on her face.

  “Because she wants to create... allies, I guess would be the best word,” I replied. “Adam

  and Jane both believe that Sandra craves power. She would have gotten power if she had

  become a district attorney. But now, she has a far different sort of power, one that is far easier

  to use. She can gain complete control over someone just by manipulating their emotions.” “Really?” Amy snorted, shaking her head. “She’s not some sort of criminal, George.

  She’s a good person. You just don’t know her because you’ve been spending all your time with

  Billy.”

  “Then why is she separating you and Michael?” I asked, growing a little desperate.

  “Maybe Sandra doesn’t want to turn into a dictator or something, but you have to admit, she

  hasn’t been all that ethical in the use of her powers.”

  “So that’s the problem you have with her,” Amy said, pointing at me. “She isn’t doing

  what you think she should do with her ability and it pisses you off. So what if she wants friends?

  I like being around her and I think she’s a lot of fun. What proof do you really have that Sandra

  is doing something wrong?”

  “Nothing concrete,” I admitted quietly. “But Billy can read thoughts and intentions. He is

  suspicious of her. Doesn’t that count for anything? I can feel her trying to manipulate my

  emotions and I can usually fight against it. They’re never positive emotions. It’s always anger

  and rage that Sandra’s trying to manipulate in me. I think she did that to you to get you to break

  up with me to further isolate you.”

  “Do you realize how ridiculous you sound?” Amy asked, laughter wheezing out of her.

  “She’s not manipulating me. I was genuinely angry you had abandoned me. What else was I

  going to do?”

  “But that’s the thing, don’t you see?” I argued desperately, trying to make her

  understand. “We’ve been together for years and one week of not seeing each other constantly

  was enough to make you break up with me? Don’t you see how overly dramatic and excessive

  that is?”

  “Really? I’m overly dramatic and excessive now?” Amy asked, her voice dangerously

  quiet. “I don’t think I am. I think I had a perfectly reasonable reaction to what you were doing.

  I’ve talked with Sandra since then and she agrees with me. You were the one out of line. You were the one who left our relationship. Now, I’m done talking to you. Please leave me alone until

  we finish the trial and leave the facility.”

  “But, Amy, please,” I begged, reaching out a hand for her as she stood up and headed

  for the door. “Just listen to me, please. Sandra is trying to manipulate all of us. She’s succeeded

  with Michael and she’s manipulating you. Just listen to me.”

  But Amy just shook her head and walked out the door. She slammed it behind her, the

  simple motion voicing loudly that she was finished with me. I sighed and scrubbed a hand over

  my face, wondering what I could have done to make the conversation go better. But I didn’t

  think there was anything I could have done. I hadto tell Amy about Sandra’s manipulation. The

  influence of the other woman was very strong, though, and I could only assume that Sandra

  strengthened the positive feelings Amy felt for her whenever they were together. So far, there

  didn’t seem to be a limit to how many people Sandra could control but she could only

  reasonably affect two of us.

  I shook my head and stood up since it was about time for my own physical. I was the last

  one today. Dr. Carnesby seemed to be changing the order every day and I could think of no

  idea why. Maybe he wanted to see if doing the tests at different times would change our results.

  So far, he’d had no luck in separating out a marker or something in our blood to tell him why the

  drug had worked on us and not on previous test subjects.

  As I walked out of my room, I ran into Billy coming down the hallway. He nodded at me

  and then pointed back towards Dr. Carnesby’s office. He could probably tell from my thoughts

  that I didn’t want to talk right now. I nodded back and smiled my thanks, slowly making my way

  through the building to the doctor’s office. I felt agitated and angry and depressed, worried that I

  hadn’t made Amy believe and fearful of what Sandra might do.

  When I got to his office, Dr. Carnesby was taking notes in his ever-present notebook. He

  waved me over to the examination table and I sat down. Watching curiously, I tried to read his writing but it was too small for me to make any sense of. Finally finishing, he put away his

  notebook and turned to me.

  “Well, George, how are you today?” Dr. Carnesby asked.

  “I’m all right, I guess,” I replied, shrugging. I didn’t really want to get into my failed

  conversation with Amy, though I knew it was probably something he and Billy should know. “I

  tried talking to Amy.”

  “Oh? How did that go?” he asked curiously. Dr. Carnesby sounded as if he didn’t know

  what had happened and that might very well be true. Jane probably wouldn’t have interrupted

  him while he was dealing with Billy’s tests.

  “Badly. She didn’t believe me at all that Sandra is manipulating her,” I replied bitterly, my

  mouth turning down in a grimace. “She thought that it was a natural progression of our

  relationship that I pulled away and she broke up with me. Amy won’t hear a word against

  Sandra.”

  “I’m sorry, George,” Dr. Carnesby said sincerely. “I wish that could have gone differently

  for you. However, we expected that. Sandra seems to have mastered her ability very well.”

  “I know, but it still feel
s horrible,” I snapped. “Can we just get these tests over with? I’m

  not good company right now.”

  Dr. Carnesby nodded and went about thephysical with his usual efficiency. I still didn’t

  feel the needle prick from the blood draw but I’d gotten used to that by now. Whether it was a

  side effect of my ability to shapeshift or of the drug adapting to me, I didn’t know and, to be

  honest, didn’t really care. I held the gauze over the small wound, waiting for it to stop bleeding

  as Dr. Carnesby finished labeling the little tubes.

  “All right, you’re done George,” he said, turning back to me. “However, after dinner, I

  want to have another meeting with all of you. I believe it would prove instructional as to

  everyone’s mental health and intentions. You will not be exempt from it.” “I understand,” I muttered glumly and hopped down off the examination table. I made my

  way out of his office and to the kitchen. I pulled out the ingredients to make a stir fry since it was

  my turn to cook dinner tonight. Billy wandered into the kitchen as I cooked but just took a seat at

  the table in silence. I was grateful for that; talking was the last thing I wanted to do right now. I

  watched the stir fry cooking, letting the silence continue. Finally, when everything was done and

  I was setting it on the table, I broke the silence.

  “Dr. Carnesby wants to see us all after dinner,” I told Billy as the others came in. “He

  wants to have another group discussion.”

  “Boring!” Michael exclaimed, sitting down and piling his plate with rice, vegetables, and

  chicken. “Besides, we’ve all pretty much mastered the abilities we’ve got. What else do we need

  to talk about?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered. “He didn’t really get into it.”

  I let the real reason float through my mind, knowing Billy would be able to pick it out. He

  nodded as he spooned food onto his plate. This telepathy thing was actually kind of fun. Now if

  only it was used for a much less serious thing. Dinner was strained, talk circling around the card

  games Sandra, Michael, and Amy had played. Billy interjected a few comments here and there

  since he’d played a similar game before but I stayed silent.

  After the terse dinner, Michael and Amy cleaned up while Sandra, Billy, and I headed out