“About an hour ago…” Corbin shot her a mildly panicked look, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “Why? What am I missing here?”
“Wait—what?” Derrick demanded. He made a “t” with his hands, signaling a time out. Apparently, he was no longer going to accept being ignored. “One minute you’re sitting in the office. The next, you’re holding your head screaming like a freaking banshee on steroids. You pass out for eight hours, to the point where you have him”—Derrick angrily jabbed a finger in Corbin’s general direction like there was actually a question to with whom he was currently ranting like a mad man over—“pacing the floor like an overprotective and worried mama bear, checking your pulse every twenty minutes or so.”
Derrick jabbed a finger at Corbin again, his eyes shooting daggers in the other man’s direction. “Which, of course, nearly gave me a heart attack or two, because, Evans”—he spit the name out like it left a foul taste in his mouth just uttering it—“knows a hell of a lot more about what is going on than I do.”
Derrick paused to breathe, looking at Megan with wide eyes and a very confused look on his face. “Then suddenly, you open your eyes and jump off the bed like you are ready to run a freaking marathon. You’re acting like you didn’t just spend a third of the day on the verge of slipping into a permanent coma.” His eyes took up half his face and he gestured rapidly in her direction, reminding her of a hyperactive squirrel. “Oh, yeah. Let’s not forget to mention that the bruises on your face are completely gone and you’re moving around like you no longer have a cracked rib. What. The. Actual. Fuck?”
Corbin held up a hand, signaling the other man to take a breath or two before he passed out. “Derrick, I know you’re flipping out here. Believe me when I say, thank you for holding back your craziness for so long—especially since you haven’t been able to interrogate Scott like this is the Spanish Inquisition since he woke up. I need you to take a chill pill, preferably the whole bottle, but that’s just personal preference speaking, and shut the hell up for a minute.” Corbin turned back to Megan. “Okay, Megs. Spill the beans. What’s up?”
She looked from Derick, who looked about one comment away from a padded room and a comfy hug me jacket, to Corbin, who looked like this was just another day in Crazy Town.
MEGAN!!!
Ouch!
Megan winced, cradling her head in her hands. He really needed a volume button. She knew he was desperate, but she couldn’t very well help him if he fried her brain.
She needed to get to him.
She raised her head, rubbing her temples. “He’s in trouble, Corbin. They’re all in serious danger. I’ve got to go help before my brain explodes.” She pointed at Derrick. “Sit. Stay. Try not to have a brain aneurism. Keep him here at all costs, Evans.”
She headed for the door.
Derrick grabbed her arm, causing her to pause.
“Ah…Lavi…I wouldn’t touch her right now. There is a very good reason as to why I’m still on the opposite side of the room from her,” Corbin warned.
Derrick ignored him. “All comments from the peanut gallery can cease now. They are unwanted and unneeded.” He turned his angry stare on Megan. Was that steam coming out of his ears? “You, on the other hand, aren’t going anywhere. You just woke up from an eight hour unplanned nap. It’s four in the morning. Scott’s a big boy. As are the others. You and I need to have a nice, long coming to Jesus like discussion.”
Megan looked pointedly at his hand holding her arm in a vise grip. “And we will talk,” she said calmly. “But I have to go now. Please let go of my arm, Derrick. I won’t ask politely a second time.”
“Dude, let her go. Trust me on this one. It’s in your best interest to just let her go.”
Derrick glared over her head at Corbin. “Stay out of this, Evans. Why are you even still here?”
“Trying to save your ass,” Corbin muttered under his breath. “Apparently, you have a death wish.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time for the macho bullshit.” She pulled her arm from his grasp and elbowed him in the stomach.
Derrick doubled over with a surprised cry. Megan took advantage of the easier access and hit the pressure point on this neck with the side of her hand. Derrick dropped onto the bed, out cold.
Corbin shook his head. “I told him to let you go.” He inclined his head towards the door. “Go. I’ve got him sweetie.”
“Thanks!”
She was out the door and down the stairs before his next breath.
Megan crossed the dirt driveway to the barn, stopping just outside the barn door. She slowed her breathing down, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She couldn’t believe she was actually about to do this. It had been so long since she had accessed this part of herself… She had spent so much time running from this part of herself.
Oh, for Pete’s sake. Pull up your big girl panties and do it already.
Good pep talk. Sometimes she scared herself.
She closed her eyes, letting her mind probe the structure as it searched for his unique mental signature.
The desperation hit her like a tidal wave as the mental picture began to form. Scott was in the back of the barn, surrounded by Brian and Logan.
Wait. When the hell had they gotten here?
More importantly, why were Halia and Piperel here?
Scott now. Them later. Priorities.
Megan probed Scott’s mind deeper, finding that he was becoming more and more exhausted. He hadn’t had a chance to calm down and get control of his issues. The moment he had been brought out to the barn, away from Derrick’s prying eyes and mental break down, they had been attacked.
No wonder Scott was so desperate for her help. He was quickly losing what little control he had over his abilities and that was dangerous.
A mental picture of a cornered animal popped into her head.
Yeah, yeah. Hang in there a few more minutes there buddy.
Unfortunately, Scott wasn’t her only problem at the moment. Where there was two of the terrible trio, the third usually wasn’t that far away. She needed to know what she was dealing with if she was going to stop the human ticking time bomb safely.
Megan pulled out of Scott’s mind, ignoring the dull pounding that was beginning at the base of her skull. The person hammering the ice pick into her brain stem was going to have to take a number and get to the back of the line. Stretching her psychic net to encompass the entire two story structure, she tried to get a feel for where everyone was and what exactly was going on.
Max was on the other side of the barn. He had his hands raised in surrender and he was staring down the barrel of an automatic weapon, which was in the hands of…
Jay Beres?
What the…
She was so confused. The last time she had checked—which was within the last twenty-four hours—Jay and Max were on the same side.
Just what in the name of God happened during her eight hour escape from reality?
She mentally stepped away from the standoff, hoping Jay didn’t decide to pull the trigger in the next few minutes. She explored the inside of the barn, finding Julian. He was in the hayloft, his breathing labored, leaning against a stack of hay. She watched as he pulled his hand away from his side. It was covered in blood.
He’d been shot. Who the hell had shot him? Once again, everyone else was on the same side as him.
Megan felt an unfamiliar push against her mental net.
Don’t worry about me. Take care of the unstable human reactor before rural Montana becomes ground zero.
The push was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
Well, then. In that case…
She sought Scott’s mind out again and saw that the situation downstairs was quickly escalating towards critical mass. Scott’s back was now against the far wall of the barn and Brian had his weapon pointed at his chest. Logan had the barrel of his pistol flush with Scott’s temple.
If she didn’t do something now, this was
going to go nuclear fast.
She had seen enough.
Before she could pull out completely, a shout of surprise on the other side of the barn caught her attention. She probed over that way and what she found surprised the crap out of her.
Kelly Firuz had come out of nowhere and was now standing beside Max, his hands in the air as he tried to reason with Jay.
She wished him all the luck she could muster on that endeavor.
Megan felt another strange push against her psychic net. She watched as Kelly smiled. He placed one hand behind his back, raising his middle finger.
Megan smiled. Karma and all that.
Watch this, Nox.
Kelly made a small motion with his hand still in the air. The gun went flying out of Jay’s hand.
Stop gawking and do it. Now.
The push stopped.
What? How? Why? And back to what?!
MEGAN! Do it now!
AHHH!! Megan grabbed the sides of her head as her expanded psychic energy recoiled with the force of a snapped rubber band.
Damn. Point made.
Her ears rang and the Anthrax concert raging in her skull was gearing up for the next set, warring with the ice pick being hammered into the back of her skull for dominance. She pushed back the pain as her mind readjusted.
She cracked her knuckles.
Okay, she could do this. It was like riding a bike. She never really forgot how to use her power, she just ignored it in pursuit of other hobbies.
Yeah, she’d go with that story.
Megan held her hands out, palms up. She felt the energy stretching its legs throughout her body, testing its boundaries after being locked away, on what she referred to as a much needed hiatus, for the last three years. Once free of its constraints, she allowed it to run freely, filling her body with a comforting burning sensation.
She called up the sensation, feeling the familiar shock as a small ball of pure white energy appeared in her cupped hands. She tossed it casually from hand to hand as she walked into the vast open space of the nearly empty barn.
She spotted Scott against the far wall by the open floor-to-ceiling doors. He was fighting for control, the blue tinged hue of his energy jumping to life around him.
Shit.
If he lost total control of his powers, he was going to level the building and reduce anything within a three mile radius to a giant crater. She wouldn’t be able to stop it if it got to that point.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Julian stumble down the stairs leading up to the loft. He was holding onto the railing, his knuckles white, like it was his last lifeline.
Once she had the three men outside the barn in her sights, she let the ball of energy go. It hovered in front of her, at chest level, awaiting further orders. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind. Raising her hands, palms out, in front of her, she surrendered herself, letting instinct take over.
Keeping her breathing even, she expanded the energy wall to encompass the injured Julian on the stairs. Once the energy touched him, he froze. Time essentially stood still for him, freezing him in a stasis like state on the bottom step, his hand still pressed to his side. While he was alive and still breathing, to the average eye he looked like a mannequin in a store window.
Megan allowed the rippling air to continue to expand while still holding Julian firmly in place. It reached the far wall, effectively freezing Brian, Logan, and Scott in place. It then continued the few feet outside the barn to where Kelly, Max, and Jay were standing, repeating the process.
Once everyone, except for her of course, was playing the role of human mannequins, she stopped the energy field’s progression.
Stilling the movement of her hands, but still keeping them up in front of her to maintain control, she cast her psychic net out again. Instead of casting it out whole this time, though, she broke it down into seven different lines, similar to cable lines. She now had individual control of and a private psychic link into their now wide open minds.
She exhaled slowly, concentrating on the task at hand. She was careful to keep control of the energy field. It wasn’t as easy as it sounds. The physical toll it was taking on her body was immense.
Okay, first things first. She needed to get Scott to calm down.
Raleigh.
She felt the answering push, but just barely. His mind was weak from the exhaustion of trying to hold back the equivalent of a nuclear explosion.
Sighing in relief, she sent feelings of calm into his mind, followed by a relaxing mental picture of small waves lapping at a sandy beach. He loved the water. It was the perfect scene to get his mind to relax from its stimulation overload.
Relax. She sent the telepathic order with the accompanying picture of a calm mountain spring.
Only when she felt his desperation ebb and the push against her mind grow considerably stronger, did she attempt a conversation with him.
You okay?
Yeah, I’ll live. Thanks for saving the day. Even if was for self-preservational reasons.
I’m going to release you now.
The push against her mind disappeared in acknowledgement.
Megan moved her left hand, recalling the tendril of energy that controlled Scott like a puppet on a string. The energy released him, all the while keeping everyone else right where they were.
The white ball of sizzling energy danced in front of him as he pushed away from the wall. The bouncing ball of matter followed him like a lost puppy as Scott easily maneuvered himself through her energy field, making his way towards her.
Seriously? That was so not fair.
She was tempted to throw a tantrum that could rival a frustrated and pissed off two-year-old, but quickly reigned the urge in. Not only would she lose control of the situation if she gave into the petty urge, but she would like to believe she was above such childish ways.
After all, she was a mature adult.
Well, most of the time.
It really depended on the situation…
Megan glared at the traitorous ball of matter. It belonged to her. It was a part of her. Instead of coming back to her like ordered, it danced around Scott like a dog begging for attention as he approached her.
Scott stopped next to her, taking in the scene around them. He held out his own hand, palm up. Her energy crackled in delight and landed in the palm of his hand. He petted it like a friendly cat. She swore to whatever holy being was listening that if the traitorous energy ball could have purred like a contented cat, it would have.
Laughing, Scott released the ball and it came home to her, rubbing against her face like a mildly remorseful, but highly amused cat before it bounced off towards Julian, which is where she had originally ordered to go.
“At least part of you still likes me.”
“Shut up and let me focus,” she snapped.
Scott mock saluted. “Yes, ma’am. Is there anything I can do for you while you’re barking out orders like a pissed off drill sergeant?”
Megan turned her attention back to the dancing ball of sizzling light as she mentally rolled her eyes. The light stretched and twisted, wrapping itself around Julian’s body.
She cocked her head, listening to the whispers as it fed her the damage report.
Shit.
Healing Julian was going to take more of her energy than she originally thought.
“As a matter of fact, Scott, you can do me a huge favor.”
“Name it.”
“Do a quick psychic check of the house and see what Twiddle Dum and Twiddle Dee are up to.”
“Consider it done.”
While Scott spied on Corbin and Derrick, Megan had the sparkling light around Julian’s body go to work on extracting the bullet from his body. While it completed that small task, she set to work on trying to figure out how she could free up some more energy without making waves.
“Rick is still passed out on the bed.” Amusement filled Scott’s voice as he shot her an equally amused look. “Do
I really want to know? His last memory is an interesting one.” Scott wiggled his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth turning up in a grin. “Evans is watching out the window, swearing under his breath.”
“Thanks. Can you take care of Halia, Piperel, and Beres? Julian isn’t doing well and I need all available energy to heal him.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
He conjured up an energy ball like it was nothing.
Show off. She was rustier than a hundred-year-old nail.
The blue tinged light danced in the space between his hands. He sent the popping energy out and it merged effortlessly with the tendrils of hers that controlled Brian, Logan, and Jay.
“Bring your light home and focus it all on Julian.”
Megan did as he ordered, pulling the tendrils holding them in place slowly back towards her body.
She watched in amusement as a cell, complete with sizzling blue bars, appeared in the space on the other side of the barn’s floor-to-ceiling doors.
As she sent orders to the returning energy, she watched as Jay, Logan, and Brian were bathed in a flash of blue. Before her own energy could reach Julian to complete its healing mission, the three assholes materialized in the cell, slumped in a haphazard heap that didn’t look comfortable and would raise some very interesting questions when they awoke.
“Anything else?” Scott inquired.
She nodded. “Could you do a quick psychic scan and see if you can sense any danger within a five mile radius? I don’t want any more surprised tonight.
“Your wish is my command.” He bowed at the waist. Straightening, he looked at Max and Kelly, cocking his head to the side. “I guess we really should do something with them, too.”
Oh, yeah. Them.
Oops.
Megan released them as Scott rubbed his hands together. Kelly and Max blinked, scratching their heads in confusion. When they saw the other three in their blue makeshift jail cell and her energy working on Julian, they put two and two together.
They jogged towards them.
“What do you need us to do?” they asked in unison.
Megan looked at Kelly. “Are you just telekinetic or do you have other powers?”
Surviving Today Page 21
