“His glare?” said Alexie.
“Yeah, you didn’t see the way he looked at me after I sparred with Butch? I don’t know what that guy’s deal is.”
“Marcel just wants to be the best. He’s a bit of a control freak. If I had to guess, he’s probably worried you’ll surpass him with the progress you’ve already made in such a short period of time. I think your abilities could eclipse his if they continue to advance. You’ve done pretty well so far and it’s not a stretch to think you could become just as talented with an exo as your dad.”
“Thank you for saying so. Some of that may be true, but my skills could plateau at any time. And in that case, it’s possible that I could equal or surpass Marcel’s skill level, but not be even close to yours,” said Jack.
“Ha, nice. Have you considered I may not care much for flattery?” said Alexie, smirking.
“I’m not trying to flatter you. Your skill with morphacite is unparalleled and I think you know it.”
“Well . . . thank you,” she said, turning her head to hide any evidence of a real smile. “Anyway, I came here to see if you wanted to read through some of your dad’s notebooks. We don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I thought we might learn a thing or two from what he wrote.”
“Yeah,” said Jack, smiling, “that sounds like a great idea.”
Side by side, they began to pore over James’ writings, learning more about the division and each other through conversations about what they read and new insights they developed together.
Jack felt optimistic the next morning about his place within the Searcher division. He enjoyed the time spent with Alexie the previous day and continued to feel the connection with his exo growing stronger. After a good breakfast, surrounded by the team members who were becoming his fast friends, Jack was ready to take on whatever the day threw at him.
On the outside field, the sparring began with Marcel and Bridgett. Although Marcel was the typical victor in most brawls he fought that didn’t involve Alexie, Bridgett was able to bring him to submission this time by using her newly discovered ability to perform mind control. She momentarily caused him to freeze in place while forcing him to the ground with her brute strength. She received rapturous applause for her triumph while Marcel clambered to the sideline like an injured fawn. Richard and Butch went next, which turned out to be a battle of brain over brawn. Butch was most adept with his physical strength while Richard was primarily a mentalist. It was a good opportunity for Richard to practice controlling Butch’s heavy attacks. Richard held his own, dodging and even stopping some of the strikes mid-swing, but Butch still came out on top by the end of the skirmish. Jack was hoping to spar with Alexie again, which seemed inevitable when the twins paired up to fight with each other. Garnet and Ferra made their way to the weapon table before heading to center field. They both chose to wield a shinai this time, which made everyone excited to watch an old-fashioned sword fight.
“Hey, ladies,” said Alexie, addressing the twins, “Jack told me he thinks he could take on the both of you at the same time!”
“What! I never said that!” he told her, under his breath.
“And he also just said he thinks it’ll be easy!”
“Oh easy, huh?” said Garnet. “Get over here and show us what you’ve got!”
“U-um, no, that’s all right. I think Alexie misheard me or something.”
“No, Jack, I think I heard you say it too,” Marcel said with a devilish grin. “Now back up what you said so we all don’t think you’re a boastful liar.”
“Marcel, he wasn’t—”
“There’s no need to protect him, Alexie. He’ll do what he said because he’s an honorable guy, like his father was . . . am I right?” said Marcel, crossing his arms and waiting for Jack to respond.
Jack looked at Alexie, who mouthed the word “sorry” to him and furrowed her brow. The other Searchers were waiting to see what his response would be. Instead of further arguing, Jack walked over to the twins and summoned a block of morphacite for him to use during the spar.
“Get ‘em, Jack!” cheered Butch.
Alexie watched anxiously, shooting Marcel intermittent glares whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“I hope you know we’re not going to go easy on you,” said Garnet.
“I’d expect nothing less,” said Jack, trying to keep an eye on both twins as they began to circle.
He formed the morphacite into two tall rods that deflected any blows Garnet or Ferra tried to land on him. Even so, the twins worked as a team and moved in such a way to cause the two rods to run into one another and leave Jack vulnerable for a moment. As his defense went down, they both struck him with their bamboo swords. He winced in pain, not realizing the hits would be so biting. Using evasive maneuvers, he started running away and then upward as he formed morphacite stepping stones to elevate himself out of the twins’ reach by a good ten feet in the air. Garnet and Ferra threw their shinais like javelins at him and ran to the weapon table to grab something more effective. Jack was able to dodge one shinai, but the second one was thrown anticipating his location, striking him in the back of the head. He lost his balance and, with spotty vision, began to fall from his perch. Thinking fast, he was able to shift the morphacite below him to support his fall and not hit the ground. By the time he regained composure, the twins were hurling dull throwing knives in his direction. The first one struck his right shoulder, sending a sharp pain through his arm and chest. He started dividing morphacite into smaller disks that stopped or diverted the remaining knives being flung at him. Unbeknownst to the twins, Jack had taken control of another block of morphacite sitting on one of the tables behind them. As they lobbed their final blades, Jack took the opportunity to encase their upper bodies together in a black, crystalline cocoon.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to fight with all the morphacite!” said Garnet.
“Well, you and your sister switched from swords to knives. What was I supposed to do?” said Jack, out of breath and smiling.
Cheering began to emerge from the sideline as Jack unbound the sisters.
“Great job!” said John. “Some of the best sparring I’ve seen for some time. You may even surpass your father’s abilities, before too long.”
Noticeable rage filled Marcel, who expected Jack to be easily overtaken by the twins.
“I challenge Jack to a match!” he yelled.
“Relax, Marcel, you dumb hothead,” said Alexie. “You can quit whining and spar with me, unless you’re worried you’ll lose to a girl again.”
Marcel ignored her and summoned a small amount of morphacite to him as he approached Jack.
“Get ready to show me what you’ve got,” he snarled.
Jack, surprised by Marcel’s audacity, didn’t hesitate to form a shield from the remaining morphacite to protect himself.
“Marcel, that’s enough!” yelled John.
“Let’s see if you really are your father’s son,” said Marcel.
Jack started backing up as Marcel hurled a barrage of morphacite shards at him. He was relieved to find his makeshift shield stopped all of the projectiles from hitting him.
“MARCEL! GET BACK ON THE SIDELINE!” said John.
While Marcel turned to give John an indignant look, Jack formed a heavy morphacite sphere and landed a forceful strike near his diaphragm. The wind was forced out of Marcel’s lungs, causing him to double over on the ground. Jack, knowing any future fellowship or tolerance between him and Marcel was quickly dissolving, looked over to the other Searchers who stood silent and worried.
“That was a cheap shot, you little bastard,” said Marcel, coughing the words as he gasped for more air.
“I thought you were still looking at me, not away from the fight you started!”
Marcel sent more shards of morphacite toward Jack in anger while also attempting to gain dominion over the protective shield. Unable to fend off Marcel’s power any longer, Jack’s shield was cast aside and a
sharpened piece of morphacite was sent straight into his upper left thigh.
“AGHHH!” Jack cried in agony.
“NOOOO!” screamed Alexie.
John and the surrounding Searchers began running to aid Jack. Alexie, in a furious rage, took control of all morphacite on the field as she ran closer and encapsulated Marcel from head to toe, causing him to hit the ground with a dull thud.
“Geez, this isn’t ideal,” said John, looking at the injury while wondering what he would do about Marcel.
“Isn’t ideal!” said Jack. “I have piece of morphacite in my damn leg!”
Marcel broke himself free of his bondage and hurried inside the building without saying a word to anyone.
“Where do you think you’re going?” yelled Garnet.
“I’ll take care of him later,” said John. “But I need someone to grab the coagulating agent from the first aid kit below the right-hand weapon table.”
“Ferra already went to grab it. She’ll be back with it in a second,” said Garnet.
Alexie knelt down beside Jack and put her hand on his shoulder.
“I didn’t plan on you getting hurt,” she said, looking at his injured leg with concern.
“I’m okay. Although, I think we need to enroll Marcel in anger management therapy.”
Alexie smiled at the remark while Ferra returned with the first aid kit.
“Brace yourself. This won’t be pleasant,” said John, grabbing the shard and pulling it out of Jack’s thigh so he could add the coagulant to the wound.
The pain was excruciating. John had to start applying the liquid at the bottom of the deep gash and work his way to the top. Jack writhed in pain but was able to keep himself from screaming in agony. As John was halfway done addressing the wound, he gasped and stopped what he was doing. A faint blue light similar to that of an in-use warp crystal began radiating from the laceration. All watched in awe as the wound completely closed and healed itself.
“Well now, there’s something I haven’t seen a relic do before,” said John, amazed.
Jack thought he heard Bridgett ask, “I wonder if he made his exo heal himself or if he did it all on his own.”
“No, it just decided to do it on its own. I guess it could detect that I was injured and then it healed me,” said Jack.
“What?” said Bridgett.
“I thought you asked me whether or not I made my exo heal me.”
“Wait, you heard me ask that?”
“I mean, yeah. Wasn’t it you who said it?”
“No, you heard right,” said Bridgett. “It’s just that you heard what I was thinking to myself. I didn’t say anything about it out loud.”
“Are you saying I telepathically heard you? I didn’t even realize I was doing it,” said Jack, standing to his feet. “I wasn’t trying to read anyone’s thoughts.”
“That’s how cognitive linking usually starts. As the time with your exo goes by, you’ll be able to control the ability more—possibly even take control of someone’s mind. The injury you received may have somehow catalyzed your telepathy to appear,” said Bridgett.
Jack marveled to think he stumbled on a new, fledgling ability. He also became puzzled when he saw Alexie with an expression of concern on her face.
“This is great news, Jack,” said John. “I’m sorry you were injured and roped into an unfair spar with Marcel—whom I will certainly deal with—but it’s remarkable to see how fast you’re gaining new abilities from your exo.”
“To be honest, I’m shocked by it too,” said Jack.
After a more stressful than usual morning training session, all of the Searchers vacated the field and went back inside the facility.
Jack enjoyed the praise he continued to receive for his spar with Garnet and Ferra, as well as for putting up a capable defense against Marcel. The person he most wanted to speak with, Alexie, was nowhere to be found. As the adrenaline spike he received from the morning excitement began to wane, Jack went back to his room to meditate and see if he could gain new ground and strengthen his link with his exo. En route, when he was almost to his room, he decided to continue down the hall and see if Alexie was in hers. He knocked on the closed door, hoping for an answer.
“. . . Who is it?”
“It’s Jack.”
“Do you need something?”
“Just to talk, I guess,” he said.
She cracked her door and peered through to look at him.
“Yeah, you should probably come in for a minute so we can talk,” she said, opening her door all the way and shutting it behind him.
“Is there something you’re upset about?” said Jack.
“Look, just . . . just don’t talk for a second and let me say what I need to say. I’m not good with this sort of thing. I know you’re not oblivious; there’s been a spark developing between us. But I’ve been an idiot. Any sort of relationship is an impractical thing to pursue for people with our level of responsibility. I mean, we barely know each other. What we need to be is two professionals who work together, and that’s it. I know I’ve been flirting and leading you on in some ways, and that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have started anything.”
“I don’t get it,” said Jack, contemplating what Alexie told him. “Nothing we’ve done together has been an accident. You didn’t accidentally lead me on just as much as I didn’t accidentally reciprocate the flirting. Everything’s been intentional. I’d just like to know what’s changed for you to be saying this.”
Alexie thought about what to say for a moment, realizing the truth would be the only valid explanation.
“I’m very happy you’ve been seeing rapid results with your exo. I’ve never seen anyone unlock skills so fast. Increased strength, agility, vision, greater morphacite control—you’re doing amazing for being here such a short period of time. I’m not disparaging you for that. I’ve only been a Searcher for a few months and yet my skills have surpassed others that have been here longer. But you need to know how much value I put on being a strong, formidable, and self-reliant person.”
“You can still be that—”
“No. I don’t know that for sure right now. To be honest with you, I was excited to see where this thing between us could go. The issue I’m having isn’t just that I barely know you, it’s coupled with the fact that you’ll likely soon outmatch me. I’m not jealous about it, but my exo hasn’t given me the ability to do any kind of telepathic or cognitive linking yet like yours did today. Hell, it may never happen, which would still be okay with me. My worry is that because you can now form cognitive links, you could find out what I’m thinking without my consent. Even worse things could happen.”
“But I wouldn’t do that to you. I’m not that kind of person,” said Jack, trying to show his sincerity.
“How do I know that when we barely know each other? It’s going to take time for me to develop enough trust with you to maybe one day pick up where I’m pressing pause.”
“You have nothing to be fearful of, I promise,” said Jack.
“And I hope to find that out for myself, in time. But as fast as you’re progressing, your cognitive linking skill could evolve into mind control. I need you to understand that I’m protecting myself by putting more emotional distance between us. And if you truly are an honorable guy, you’ll respect my decision. I need us to be just a couple of team members until I can sort things out more. We’ll still hang out some and get to know each other, but I need time to mull things over. It could take a few days, weeks, or I don’t even know how long. I’m sorry.”
As Alexie went to open the door, Jack grasped her other hand.
“With time, you’ll see that I’m a good guy.”
“I may be a fool for hoping so,” she said, staving off tears, “but I do have hope.”
As Jack stepped into the hallway, the door closing behind him, he felt profound sorrow about his relationship with Alexie. He wondered if he should consider his new ability a gift or a curse.
&nbs
p; CHAPTER SEVEN
SIDELINED
Jack shut himself in his room, not wanting to see anyone after the conversation with Alexie. He used the opportunity to read more from his father’s notebooks until his mind became still enough to do some meditation. There were knocks on his door from time to time, beginning with Butch asking if he was hungry and then Bridgett asking if he was doing all right. Jack gave simple responses to their questions but didn’t venture out of his room. It was much later before he succumbed to exhaustion, and only after thinking through things to gain some clarity on the situation with Alexie. Of course, Jack wished their relationship would continue to progress like it had been. But Alexie was right, they only just met each other. His job was to train hard and help the Searchers discover more of the relics. That’s what John asked of him when he joined, so that’s what he needed to focus all his effort on.
When morning came, Jack was determined to be undaunted by the previous day. He had a good sparring session with both Richard and Bridgett during the group training, and afterwards practiced his skill at controlling morphacite on the open field. Alexie glanced over several times to watch, but neither made an effort to talk with one another.
“It looks like you’re getting more creative with the stuff,” said John.
“Thanks,” said Jack. “I’m always trying something new to keep my progress moving forward.”
“That’s the best thing you can do, really. It seems like morphacite is one of the few things limited only by the imagination of the user. And the more novel things you do with it, the greater your improvisational skills will be when using it in a fight.”
“That seems pretty logical,” said Jack. “And I’m sorry to keep asking, but is there a way for me to gain online access today so I can contact my mom? I don’t want her to be worried, and I have a feeling she is.”
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry, Jack. Let’s go inside right now and we’ll get you in touch with her.”
The Relics- The Keystone Trilogy - Part 1 Page 12
