Preserving Will

by Alex Albrinck

  “You aren’t stupid, Gena. You were manipulated.”

  Her head snapped to him. “Manipulated?”

  He nodded. “We can influence people’s thoughts and actions. Can, not do. We’ll teach you how it’s done, so that you can ensure that as your skill grows you avoid doing it… and avoid having it done to you. Our friends in the Aliomenti perform those manipulations on a regular basis. The man you met would consider anything fair game to find out more about Will Stark. He knew many things, but wondered if there was something you knew, due to your association with Mark, that might be critical to their having a successful mission. Nudging you to trust him, to talk freely? That was an easy decision for him.”

  “I told him something important, didn’t I?” Her head slumped back down.

  “Relax, Gena. We want them to succeed. What you told him was important, but…”

  “Why do you want them to succeed?”

  He sighed. “Will is the key to everything. He doesn’t know that yet, though. The events that will happen later today are the trigger that will help him achieve his destiny. Anything that helps that to happen is a good thing.”

  “Even if it means I lose Mark forever,” Gena said, her tone laced with heavy sarcasm.

  “We knew that would happen, knew it wasn’t fair, and that’s why we gave both men a choice to escape a permanent fate. That’s why we gave you and Dana and Dash a choice as well. You’re not to blame for what is to come, and though we couldn’t move everyone out of the way, we could offer all of you the chance to escape permanent death.”

  “You know what’s coming, and won’t stop it? How do you know? Why don’t you stop it? And you still haven’t explained how I’m able to hear… that stuff.”

  Adam nodded. “I know.” He held up his hand, and let a small amount of Energy escape, coalescing into a sphere floating above his palm. The sphere gave off a light that brightened the darkened room. Gena watched, fascinated, as the sphere moved toward her, the sound from the vibrating Energy reverberating like a welcome memory in her very soul.

  “Energy is an amazing thing. It can illuminate a darkened room, allow the transference of thought and emotion, transport people and things from place to place… and it can heal.” The sphere plunged toward Gena and surrounded her in a protective cocoon. “You know that sound like most children remember a loved one’s voice or a special blanket, because for you, it served as both while you healed. You spent months surrounded by a field of Energy, just like you are now. That’s why you recognize it, in your own special fashion.”

  Gena gazed in wonder at the light surrounding her, poking at it with her finger as if unsure it was real. She looked at Adam. “I shouldn’t be able to feel this though, should I? Not until I start to learn how to… use this stuff?”

  Adam sighed. Her intuition was spot on. It was no wonder she was frustrated at being deceived by Porthos. “In theory, yes. Some people seem to take to it more naturally, though. We aren’t quite sure why. You appear to be a natural.”

  She frowned. “You said you basically had me surrounded in this stuff for a long period of time, right?”

  Adam nodded, remembering just how long it had actually been. But she didn’t need to know. It was a clue, however tenuous, to her parentage, and he didn’t want her to find out about that.

  “Well… maybe that’s the explanation. If you’re exposed to Energy, even if you haven’t gone through whatever process is supposed to enable you to use it, you’re just naturally better at it. If you had me living inside an Energy cocoon for a long time… well, that would explain a lot.”

  Adam considered it. Could it be that simple? “I’d never thought of that, but it makes a lot of sense. We’ve never really pursued an understanding of why some people seem more predisposed to Energy development, but perhaps we should. I wish there was a way to test out your theory.”

  Gena shrugged. “The best way to test it would be to separate identical twins at birth, expose one to this Energy and keep the other one away from it, and see what happens. But that would take a long time to evaluate, wouldn’t it?”

  Adam was startled. Could she be the answer to her own question? Could they figure out the impact by checking…

  But no, that wouldn’t work. He’d been exposed to a lot as well. It did suggest his future pupil would have a strong knack for Energy work when the time came to train him.

  “Gena, I think your theory merits testing. And don’t ever let your ideas be limited by something like time. As you and the MacLeans will soon find out… time is something we have in ample supply.”

  It was just a matter of using that time in the best manner possible.

  He wondered what Gena would do with the unlimited amount of time life now afforded her.

  XXII

  Spectator

  January 7, 2030

  The media room was full when Adam returned from his conversation with Gena. Aaron and Peter were tinkering with a device positioned in the back of the room that would control audio and video feeds coming in from their army of cameras, projecting selected streams to the largest screen in the room. Smaller screens enabled them to follow activity in other parts of the neighborhood throughout the day. At the moment, the screens were blank. Adam positioned himself in one of the chairs as Gena entered the room, blinking rapidly to adjust her eyes to the bright screens and lighting. She located Adam and settled into the chair next to him.

  Food and drinks were set out on a table at the back of the room near the door, and close to where the controller was positioned. Their record of events suggested that the action would start in the late afternoon and continue for several hours, and they couldn’t pause the live video feeds to eat. Today, they’d serve as eyewitnesses to the upcoming events for past, present, and future members of the Alliance, and record those events for posterity. Perhaps, just perhaps, they’d find something in the video or audio on this journey through the time stream that would improve everything for everyone during the next cycle.

  The screens sprang to life. Several of the displays showed views of the interior and exterior of the ground level guard station and the elevated tower, as well as the area between the two buildings. Others provided views inside the Starks’ home and around the perimeter. They’d be able to record sound from each location, but only one audio feed would play in the room at any point in time.

  “Any chance we’re forgetting anything?” Judith asked.

  “No,” Eva said. “We have done our parts. We must now allow events to unfold, as painful as those events would be.” All eyes flicked in Gena’s direction, and she drew in a deep breath. Dana, who had taken the seat next to her opposite Adam, squeezed Gena’s hand. “I must remind each of you, especially those trained in the use of Energy, that we may intervene only in the case of an obvious failure in the objective, not in the case of injury or… worse.”

  Gena winced again, and her face burned red and her breathing became shallow. But she said nothing. She located Mark on one of the screens and watched him, barely daring to blink. The man was working through checklists, watching different screens, occasionally turning on the communication link with the tower to talk with Deron, his friend and coworker. It was an eerie scene to watch, knowing, as they all did, that Deron was a clone and both would soon be dead.

  And in Mark’s case, he’d be dead permanently.

  Adam glanced at the Stark house video feed and glanced at Eva. “I promised Hope that I’d hide out in her house, just in case something goes wrong.”

  “I am not certain that is wise, Adam,” Eva replied. “We are watching video feeds to ensure we can move into position as needed. Your presence in the house is not necessary.”

  “Probably not,” he agreed. “But I gave my word.”

  Eva gave a pointed glance at Gena, who didn’t notice, who saw nothing but Mark’s every move on the screen consuming her vision, and then cast a worried glance back at Adam. Adam sighed. She’s fine now, Eva. This is her chance to grieve
. She’s no threat to hurt herself anymore.

  “Hey, no whispering!” Peter said, his own voice a stage whisper.

  Adam gave Peter a withering glare. “Stop snooping, Peter. I gave my word, and I intend to keep it.”

  “Won’t it get a bit, um… toasty over there?” Peter asked, his voice filled with concern.

  Adam shrugged. “By the time that happens, I expect to be gone. I can take care of myself.”

  Peter shrugged. “Your funeral.” His eyes fell on Gena, who didn’t seem to have heard him. “Sorry,” he whispered.

  Adam rolled his eyes, headed for the door, and walked outside. He shivered as the cold wind struck him, and then took off at a run for the Starks’ house. He arrived a few minutes later. The back door heading into the laundry room at the rear of the house was unlocked, and after entering he flipped the lock closed. He walked through the kitchen and dining nook areas and the sliding glass doors there, and through the first floor living areas of the house, but found no sign of Hope. Was she still sleeping? It shouldn’t take that long for her to recover from the memory blocks he’d set up. He hoped he didn’t need to forcibly wake her.

  Adam removed the mobile phone in his pocket and activated one of the hidden apps. The app allowed him to receive and display the signals from the miniature cameras the Alliance had installed throughout the primary venues for the action yet to come this day. With the app, he could keep an eye on the events unfolding throughout the neighborhood, including those taking place inside the Starks’ house.

  He silently climbed the stairs, opened the door to Will’s office, slid inside, and shut the door quietly behind him. The room was expected to remain unused throughout the day and would make a perfect place for him to hide out without using Energy. He sat at Will’s desk and used the holographic projection capability of the phone to display the images from the cameras, and muted the sound. As interesting as the dialogue might prove, he couldn’t risk Hope or Josh hearing him or the phone.

  He flicked through the images from each camera to get a quick status check. Hope slept. Josh slept, with Smokey nestled by his side. The house was silent and otherwise empty.

  For now.

  ●●●

  “What’s he looking at?” Gena asked.

  Heads turned to the smaller screen showing the scene inside the ground level guard station. Mark’s attention had shifted from his checklists to something outside.

  Eva looked at the clock hanging on the wall in the room. “I suspect he has spotted the Hunters. The time of day is in line with their expected arrival.” She exhaled deeply as the tension in the room became palpable to human and Energy user alike, and glanced around, her face taut with the weight of the moment. “It has begun.”

  On the screen, Mark stood and walked slowly toward the window and the external communication system, appearing to talk to himself. His face registered concern.

  “Where’s the Assassin?” Peter asked.

  Dana gasped. “He’s in the tower!” she shrieked.

  A man with a hideously scarred face had suddenly appeared inside the upper room. Deron, who had been looking out the window on the opposite side of the tower’s interior as he watched the Hunters approach, didn’t see the killer.

  “Run!” Dana screamed.

  Deron turned slowly toward the killer. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound ever emerged. The Assassin’s blade was a blur, moving from scabbard to hand and carving a vicious arc across the screen in an infinitesimal fraction of a second. Deron’s throat vanished in a shower of blood and gore.

  He fell to the ground, eyes wide, unable to make a sound, hands grasping at his throat in a futile effort to seal the fatal wound in his neck. Dana’s screams more than made up for his silence.

  ●●●

  Adam sat watching the video feeds from the cameras. The Assassin had appeared and claimed his first victim. Hope still wasn’t awake, and it was getting late. Should he wake her up? He was hesitant to do so, as the memory blocks would make him a stranger, and she’d spend time worrying about his presence rather than preparing for the man who’d soon be on his way to kill her. Then he wondered about yet another loose end in their plan, one they’d not needed to worry about until he’d performed those memory blocks.

  How would Hope know to prepare herself for a man like the Assassin? It wasn’t as if one of the neighbors would call and alert her.

  He was still wondering what he’d do to wake Hope when a powerful wave of emotional Energy coursed through him, heavy with feelings of fear and hopelessness. It was the Energy mark and calling card of the Assassin.

  On his screen, Hope bolted upright in her bed, eyes wide, jarred from her deep sleep.

  He flipped his screen to the camera in Josh’s room, watching as the boy woke as well.

  Adam breathed a silent sign of relief. The Assassin had taken care of the problem of waking the Starks for him.

  ●●●

  “Run, Mark,” Gena begged, her voice strained with emotion. Her teeth were clenched with such force that it was a wonder they didn’t crack. “Please. You have to leave. You have to get out. You have to run before he comes after you.” She gripped the arms of the chair, her nails tearing into the fabric. Her face, moistened by sweat and tears, tightened, and the pulsing vein in her forehead was clearly visible.

  Her plea went unanswered. Gena and the others watched on the video screens as the Assassin hurled Clone Deron’s lifeless body through the bulletproof glass and through the roof of the guard tower below.

  “He had to use Energy to do that,” Archie muttered. “Bulletproof glass doesn’t shatter that easily, and the body should have fallen to the ground below after slowing down when it went through the glass, not made it to the roof across the driveway.” He caught Ashley’s withering glare. “What?”

  Dana, who had rushed to the corner of the room and vomited at the sight of Deron’s injuries, returned in time to see his body impaled and lifeless on the floor of the guard station. She spun around and moved back to the same spot, overcome with dry heaves. Judith went to put a comforting hand on her back.

  “Get out now, Mark!” Gena screamed. “Run!”

  On the screen, Mark turned as the Assassin leaped from the gaping hole in the tower, landed on the station roof, and dropped to the floor inside.

  “Nimble for a five hundred year old guy, isn’t he?” Peter remarked.

  Ashley, Judith, and Eva all shot him withering glares. Peter held up his hands.

  On another screen, Josh, still trembling after waking from his nap, found a baseball and tossed it against the wall. Smokey chased after the ball, retrieved it for Josh, and barked at him.

  Hope, who had just retrieved a loaded gun from the safe in her room in response to the horrific sense of fear that had jolted her awake, snapped her head toward the sound of the baseball. Her face made it clear: she thought the noise indicated that Josh was in danger, and that Smokey was barking at an intruder.

  Hope flipped off the safety of the gun and ran toward her son’s room.

  “She’s… she’s not going to shoot Josh, is she?” Judith asked the screen. “Doesn’t she realize it’s her son making that noise?”

  Nobody responded, and none of them dared to breathe.

  On the screen, Josh paused, and his expression went blank for a moment, as if he’d heard something inside his head. After a moment, he nodded, and then tossed the ball against the wall again.

  Smokey barked with glee as Hope, eyes wide, burst into the room with the gun in her hand.

  In the media room, someone screamed.

  ●●●

  Mark sat by the telephone in the guard station, trapped there by an Energy-wielding maniac with red eyes pointing a sword at his throat. Gena’s eyes were riveted on the screen, her terror so great that her body nearly forgot to breathe. They’d stopped playing audio in the media room. They’d given up trying to switch the sound around, and everyone had moved forward to watch the myriad o
f screens. Every bit of video and audio was being recorded, and they’d be able to go back to watch and listen as needed.

  Gena watched Mark, and would watch the events only once.

  The others were focused on the scenes in the Starks’ home. Hope, thankfully, had not shot her son. Rather, she’d put the safety on and put the gun down before smothering the little boy with her hugs. She made a call, tears streaming down her face, before chatting with the boy and showing an ever-growing level of concern on her face.

  Gena could wait no more. She leaped from the chair and raced out of the media room, but not before slamming her hip into the table holding the barely-touched food. She bounded toward the stairs, needing to get to him, wondering if the miraculous Energy development she’d shown would help her get there in time. Her breathing came in rasping gulps of air, and she’d nearly ceased blinking.

  As she reached the front door, a hand grabbed her from behind.

  Gena whirled on Ashley, slapping the woman’s hand off and pushing her with more force than she’d intended. Gena then spun back to the door.

  The cocoon was nothing like the one Adam had demonstrated earlier. The sound was different, and she was well aware that Ashley wasn’t doing this to save her from her own genetic deficiencies.

  “Let me go!” Gena screamed, her eyes full of a malice that would leave even the Assassin withering. “I have to help him! I have to go to him!”

  “You cannot help him, Gena,” Ashley told her. Her voice was calm, but full of genuine sympathy. “Even if you reached the station in time, what would you do? You cannot best the Assassin. If you go now, you’ll do nothing but sign your own death warrant.”

  “You told me I wasn’t a prisoner here,” Gena seethed. “Is lying a required skill to join this group?”

  “No, not this one,” Ashley replied. “Gena, you aren’t a prisoner, and I’m not doing this to trap you. I’m doing this so you think through what you’re considering before you do it. Tell me what you’ll do if you get there and Mark’s still alive, still held hostage by the Assassin.”