He knocked on Dee's door late that night, not sure exactly when she would answer or in what manner. With psychics you couldn't be too careful of what they were planning to do--as soon as they found out you were injured there was a possibility they would say “fix yourself up.” Dee's dark side ran pretty deep and he was hoping she wouldn't turn him away, especially with blood on him like this. Thankfully the pain in his chest was dulling.
Psychics haven’t been trusted since before the wars. Having been the cause of the deaths of thousands of magical folk, plus being the creators of violent races which never died down, hadn’t made it any better. From the manipulation of peaceful creatures to the changing of memories, they had made it a high priority to create havoc between the races of creatures and men, and never changed it back once the race of men prevailed. No one was sure how as the psychics had many allies, but the psychics backed down on an attack and man claimed victory. The manipulators were banished to the dark realms and few were left to sort out the spoils. These days the most pathetic of them were deviant and tried to manipulate your actions before you touched their territory, preferring the silent solitude of defeat or fighting to scrape up a living. Smart people could avoid them if they had some experience. Most of the time, deviant psychics got what they wanted. They knew how to use their gift to get money and gifts, but there were other extremes. Timid psychics, if in the right frame of mind, were hard to understand as flashes of memories that didn’t belong to anyone flooded her mind. They had to be led or trained by someone trustworthy, and there were none willing to train.
The worst of them were ever unforgiving, scheming, and bearers of the darker arts. Thieves of memories and petty change were near the top of those remaining, but there weren’t any around these days, usually. Heaven help them all if he made that asusmption in this town. Psychics created the distrust were also creators of the creatures that roamed the world in order to fulfill a darker purpose. Balu, Cryes, Obadanas, everything was connected to psychics, so when an honest one popped up people were surprised and quick to hide her. In a world where these arts were nearly forbidden, an innocent and natural reader was not going to survive unless guarded. All aspects of her mind had to be protected, and Benjamin knew there was one part of her which she hid most often. Her heart. Vulnerability was something she didn’t allow in her daily life.
Benjamin was something fresh if she turned his pretty face away. Dee didn’t approach him often, and the looks he’d received told him she was fighting the good fight for her own sanity. If anything, he could convince her to at least let him in for bandages. The door opened before his second summoning and she appeared in the frame with a wet towel in hand. “In the bathroom, remove your clothes. I need to cleanse the wound in case there's an infection.” Psychics, always with the showing up ready for him. The infection she spoke of was one of the worst kinds--becoming the thing he most hated right now, a Crye. He headed towards the bathroom, trying to remove his tattered shirt along the way. After the first try, he was certain to make some progress, but the pain forced his arms down.
Dee came up behind him, turned him, and held up a pair of scissors. A wry smile was on her lips, and he knew she would take care with him. When she made no move to hand them over, Benjamin leaned back so she could rip the shirt. She looked down and grabbed his shirt with tense hands, slicing it open until she reached his neck. He lifted his chin and she carefully sawed away the rest, baring his chest. She stepped forward a little, her cheeks flushing a bit. “Nice shears.” For a moment, her gaze lingered on his bare chest. He had a feeling that she wasn’t looking at the scratches. She then looked at the scissors before putting them down to help him out of the torn material. She was careful to avoid touching him, knowing if she wanted to see something bad all she had to do was lay one finger on his chest, even graze his chest hair.
“Jessica sharpened them.”
“Are you sure you should be using them on me?” Dee looked at him with a little bitterness, distracted. One or two occasions he’d seen that look in her eyes, more intense than she was using now. He wanted her to never look at him like that again.
“Be glad she’s not here, then, or she might want to.” He wasn’t surprised considering the same idea would’ve crossed his mind. That was why he came to Dee first, to avoid unpleasant circumstances. She tossed the rags that were his shirt into the dust bin, and when she spoke again it was softer. “What did you find out.” Benjamin took a seat on the counter and cringed as his chest stretched at the edges of the wounds. Dee shuffled around the small bathroom until she came across the anti-septic. When he fixed up some friends a year ago or so, they’d ached for days just on the idea of the ‘funny bubbles,’ as his parents so eloquently called it. Wow, he thought, haven’t recalled them in a while.
“They’re scampering around, scared. Their actions were different and Jessica was right to be concerned.”
“They seemed shifty. Were they adapting to new fighting styles?”
“As though I’d never gone up against one before. They were faster and must’ve picked up a taste for playing with its food.” Dee paused with the bandages, then continued.
He really didn’t care what happened, so long as it was him healing instead of changing into a horrible beast. That was something he could live without. She leaned him back against the mirror, forcing him to use his stomach muscles for balance, when she leaned over him to administer the peroxide. His teeth bit a deep cut into his tongue, and he saw her hand rise to his forehead. A stiff pause kept her from completing the motion she'd planned, but with a breath she brought her hand up to comb through his hair. The muscles along his back relaxed at the familiar touch.
It was then that he realized that she was trying to get into his mind, to gather information regarding his mental pressure points. The hand-in-hair motion was something Sarah had come to love when they were together, and Dee had been digging for that. Her hands weren’t as perfect as Sarah’s, but mental stimulants were never picky. Psychics were strong in that way. He released all tension and let her into his mind, to show her whatever she required for both their sakes. She smirked, thanking him with a caress to his neck, a spark shooting through her fingertips to his skin, and their eyes met. It was one of those moments you never understood until it was there, staring at you point blank. Then she licked her lips, muttered an apology, and poured.
Benjamin let the psychic draw him into a comfort zone so he could take the pain he knew he was coming. She’d managed to pull him onto a green forest path. It was a comfortable place for him, something he didn’t have to fight to imagine himself in. He guessed she was in his mind, but from the looks of things it was the other way around. The stinging sensation was there but his mind wasn’t occupied with the pain. The trees and warmth were everywhere. Dee knew how to make the senses change. Through the trees he could sense a benevolent light coming from above. Unfortunately, it was all short-lived when the sky turned to a dark gray and a woman appeared before him on the path. The pain was fading from his chest, but building in his mind. She was Dee but she was angrier, more rugged in torn jeans and shirt. Her eyes were dark, and every part of her was telling him that she wasn’t his friend. She held the shears, gleaming with malice, possibly not real. They were harlmess, but he couldn't quite convince himself. Anna of Moxer was staring him in the eyes and blocking the signal to Dee, who probably thought she was projecting the same image as before. If Dee believed that Anna was smart enough to kill with precision, Benjamin would believe her. She shears were suddenly gone, and Anna lurched forward.
She grabbed him about the neck and dug her nails into his brain. Hot fire. He cried out as she touched his mind and his anger was going to win out if he found himself free of the pain soon. She was too strong. “First contact in many weeks, Benji, and I’m happiest knowing that I’m going to destroy you first.” Her tongue touched his forehead and the pain spiked. Her voice, so low he couldn’t make out all of the words, said, “give something for him.” He didn’t know what that meant, but the pain seemed more important.
A cool hand touched his and Anna curled her fingers into her target, but Dee was too fast in bringing Benjamin back to the waking world. He opened his eyes slowly, having half-expected something of this magnitude inside Dee’s head but not wanting to believe. “Ben, I’m so sorry! Ben!” Her voice was shrill and shaking, her touch avoiding his. He shivered as the fingers in his brain slowly dulled away. She had pulled him into her brain, into the darkness. Whatever damage she tried to do to him affected Dee instead. Anything she had tried to steal from him was void. His eyes met those of Dee’s, who looked very shocked and horrified that she’d let that monster touch him even for a second. The contact wasn’t long, thankfully. The scissors were across the room but he honestly didn’t want to know what that meant. For the millionth time since he met her, he was confused. Dee, who was honest and direct, was a threat to him. He was shaken. She knew it and was equally scared. “Ben?” She was beginning to tear at the corners of her eyes. Benjamin forced his feelings down and reached for her, but she pulled away, cold.
“She’s strong,” He touched his lip where he’d bitten it. “I’m not hurt. It isn’t your fault that this happened.” Her body tensed and she sobbed. The more she tried to block out the problem, to avoid him at all costs, the farther away she fell. He knew she wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her alter-ego and how he was still talking to her despite her attack. There was a chance Anna had taken out a boon to save him, ones she couldn’t miss but knew weren’t there. It wouldn't be the first time that abuse had taken place.
Dee wiped her eyes, fighting the urge to cry. “It is. I trusted her to help me all those weeks ago and now she’s fighting me for control.”
“What did she make you give her?” Dee looked him in the eyes, frozen. She picked up the scissors, hesitant, and placed them in a drawer before reaching for the gauze.
“Nothing.” She wasn’t going to talk, but he needed to ask.
“It’s okay, Dee, just finish.” She nodded and continued with her first-aid. Her eyes were red and irritated, and she was shaking.
“I guess we know one thing.” Benjamin looked up at her, his breath ragged and sweating. “We know you’re not about to become a Crye, otherwise you would’ve seen a signature of it just now. Anna would’ve been distracted a bit.”
“Is anything keeping her at bay?” She sighed, cleaning out his wound and reaching for the bandages.
“Just me.” Benjamin knew she wanted that burden. It was her who let out the beast and she didn’t want anyone to console her. This was somewhat selfish, isolating the part of her that needed personal contact.
“I see.” The two of them kept to themselves as Dee finished the bandaging. They both had demons. When Benjamin was ready and covered, Dee motioned for him to stay put while she got him a spare set of clothes. He let her keep her distance for the moment. “How long do you think we have before she breaks out again?”
She sighed. “I suppose she’ll come out when she’s good and ready. When she does, you few will be the first to know.” She was pulling open the linens cabinet for a large plain button-down shirt she kept for special occasions such as his rare visits.
“Why?” He took the old shirt and just held it.
“I’ll be stuck someplace inside, unable to reach outwards but maybe able to watch.” Benjamin was wary at her attitude. Surely with her outlook, it would all happen as she said. But, he reasoned, she was a psychic. A powerful woman with her magnitude was bound to know something of her own future.
“She was talking to you, right? She told you this already?” Dee nodded. “And you believe it.” Another nod. “Then she’s already winning.”
“One thing we never disagreed on was honesty. I could try to thwart her attack by careful planning, but it would have to take place outside of my mind.”
“You should close it sometime.” Dee’s eyes went wide and for a moment Benjamin was sure she was going to slap him. He wasn’t an expert on psychics, but this had to be something she’d grown frustrated of explaining. Jessica and Melyna were being abrupt and told her something, not thinking of the consequences that could follow. “What?” She began cleaning the supplies from the table, and Benjamin slid off the counter. He’d seen her acting like that before, trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say without making a big deal out of it. This usually meant she wouldn’t be safe if she told him. He was the confidant of the group, so her problems were safe in his care so long as she disclosed them freely. The only reason someone would not divulge information was to hide from certain monitored channels that could be reached through mind scans. Benjamin wasn’t sure if she’d tell him anything until that next moment, knowing that even he kept secrets.
“Once a mind occupied by a second powerful spirit is closed, the result is the second spirit has the option to take over the other’s memories and mind. Break down the door and invade.”
“Like a bull in a glass shop.” Dee nodded. “And no one can know this because they would try to target your mind in order to release the stronger spirit at the time.”
“I’d not be able to use my power to help anyone, and I’d not sleep. Closing the door--”
“Say no more. I don’t want to remind you of what’s at stake.” He dressed slowly, taking care not to stretch any of his aching muscles as he pulled the shirt onto his arms. “I take it she already knows.” Another nod. She helped him pull his shirt up, but left the buttons for him. He left the shirt open, and her cheeks stayed pink. “She can’t do anything outside of the inner door, and that’s what she’s waiting for.”
“She can either penetrate through a visiting mind or pull someone in with her. We’re at an impasse as we stand. When I was helping you just now, she opened the channel so she could pull you in and force me to close my mind. Fortunately, I’d never do that.”
“You would’ve had to kill me and trap me in there as well.” Benjamin didn’t know what else to say. That was a stupid thing they did, and the risk was too great. Letting him into her mind was irresponsible and there was evidence that she hadn’t been close to anyone for months. Dee wasn’t looking at him, and he guessed she was hearing his thoughts on the matter. They were real, something he couldn’t mask behind stone walls. How she could always make him give her the honest part of him. No one knew him. He could almost boast that truth because his reasoning told him that even though this life was temporary, it seemed so short after awhile. Once, life was long and there was room for him around every corner, but now he was pretty sure the walls were closing in. He hated the thought at his age, but then reasoned once again that man in this age was doomed to dwell upon the unhappy dealings of death. Maybe that was what made people search for answers outside of their levels of understanding. With her alter ego making advances on her captor, Dee was in danger of becoming extinct. What a twist.
This made it a battle to be fought alone, and anyone could fall into dangerous times should they stand close enough.
Dee had made it clear that no one was to touch her out of fear that she could become corrupt. It was a lonely existence, untested, but Dee upheld her rules and stayed sedate around those she cared about. Benjamin, as time went by, became more talkative. He never liked letting things die down. Once the dust was settled and there was information to pass, he was gone. That made him less tactful but wise. He was useful and then he wasn’t needed and today was no different. Dee was close to breaking, though it wasn’t terribly clear until recent.
“I can’t handle three in this body.” Benjamin was silent. The air was thick with danger and neither wanted to provoke it. Dee was constantly surrounded with the fear of releasing the inner demon, and he was prone to chase after the things that went bump in the night. His actions tonight were proof of that. But still, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her proximity. This was as close as they’d been in awhile, a cramped bathroom and him with less clothing. She was shorter than he, her skin fair and scarred in some places just like him. Had he been paying attention, he would’ve noticed the way her eyes seemed to draw people in. Jessica had fallen silent once when looking at Dee when her friend had been explaining the urgency of their action against Anna of the House of Moxer. Neither Jessica nor Melyna stood in her way when she was passionate about finding something that had to be fixed.
It left people breathless if they saw Dee’s fire, and very few did. Benjamin was certain this was the first time anyone like him had noticed the gleam in her eyes, the one that told him she shouldn’t have been letting him in on her workings. If someone had found such leverage, she could be tagged by the wrong people. But at times like these, in situations as such, logic was rarely part of the plan. “What about Sarah?” Dee said, her hands coming up. He caught them, the warmth spreading like an infection. He held her gently, leaning towards her. Their lips touched. A stray thought entered her mind, one that Benjamin had let slip into her subconscious. Sarah was dead.
His arm released her hand and found itself around her waist, pulling her as close as his pain would allow. She was careful about his bandages and embraced his mind as well as body. His lips weren’t hasty but conscious of the kiss, or maybe she’d drawn him to a place in his mind brought on by the searing pain right above his heart. Either way, his mind was being consumed by her. The action of touching a psychic with intent to seduce brought on images which were extravagant and energetic. Benjamin knew there were mental dangers to open to Dee, but he was aching under her touch. They needed to come to grips with their human sides. She wasn’t going to forgive herself if she dwelled on her negative past. He wasn't going to be able to live without regretting the absense of love. Physical relations of any type with psychics were dangerous. The images he’d been told of were said to be godly and revealing and a small part of him knew he was curious to discover whether it was a farce or not.
He hadn’t really believed it to be true until then, when the stars took over and swirled around his mind. Flying through the cosmos and seeing pictures circling his mind, ones no one could possibly comprehend. A bright flower opened on a rock for the first time, signifying first life, taking its first deep breath of fresh air. He wasn’t sure if he was still moving, but the pictures told a story. The flower disappeared in a flash, being replaced by a vision of him in an old bowler hat and fine suit. He kissed a young woman on the hand, though he didn’t have to be told who this woman was. Sarah. Her eyes glowed with mirth that day. Though painful, her memory wasn’t painful but made his reaction to Dee equally as emotional. His mind drowned in another vision, to a sunset on an ocean shore. Her body pressed against him. He swore he could smell the salty air.
Benjamin was drowning in her emotions, but pretty scenes never made him as warm inside as the shape of a woman’s body. He sent something back to her as his lips coaxed hers open and hand rested at her lower back. It was of her gasping over black satin sheets, hair splayed about and nails digging into his back. In that image, he made her groan and the stars faded into the background. She adopted his picture and they were back in the bathroom. He turned her to rest against the counter, and patted her thighs. She hoisted herself onto the marble, knowing he was probably unable to lift her at the moment. At this point, it didn’t seem that big of a deal that her first time would be short and intense, but Benjamin managed to come to his senses, though he was still drowning as he kissed her sweet lips.
“How does she feel about you having urges?” He kissed her neck and her fingers ran through his hair, her legs closing about his hips. He was asking about Anna.
In between gasps, Dee said, “She encourages them, only because I usually don’t.” His hands pulled her hips closer to his and she fell back at an angle against the vanity, clutching his head to her chest now. At the caress behind her knees, Dee moaned and Benjamin knew he hit a sensitive spot.
“That’s a real shame, Dee.” He looked into her eyes and smiled wickedly, caressing the spot again. Her eyes closed gently and she drew a quick breath.
“I don’t trust easily--” She was cut off by Benjamin opening the buttons to her shirt. How slowly he was moving with her. Was he always this agonizing? At the release of her shirt and the bra in the front, Benjamin took one of her breasts into his hand, the silky bud in between his lips. He jutted his tongue out to taste and feel. Dee’s hurried breath was fighting for control. The messages in her body told her to release the tension. When she did, the beginnings of her heat in her lower regions made her body heave. It was all building and the way things had been going was going to determine her ultimate reaction before anything was even started. His hands were on her breasts, massaging the muscles on her back, staying away from the one place that he knew was aching for attention.
His own satisfaction was gaining. That was never a problem considering her willingness to be with him. “Do you want to continue?”
“What a stupid question at this point,” she asked in between the kissed she began placing on his face and neck. “How’s your chest?”
“Better than expected.” His hands began to undo his pants and she began untying hers. When she began to slip out of hers, Benjamin’s eyes fell upon lace. He would’ve been distracted only because this meant she knew they were possibly going to go through with this. She’d probably prepped herself as well. The thing keeping his blood running, though, was the innocent white underwear. “You expected this.”
“There were many possibilities, as all will tell you, but this one was just one of them.” That was all the explanation he needed. Her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer into her warm embrace, and kissed him full on the lips.
“What other possibilities were there?”
“Some good, some bad, nothing more.” Benjamin didn’t ask what that meant, but forgot to want anything but her soon after. Some psychics, if you bedded them, became too connected mentally, which was one of the reasons many were either chaste or deceived. Dee was no exception. Very few ever disclosed why psychics were chaste, so everyone figured they were merely staying emotionally pure. He believed that she might’ve been able to see terrible futures from how she reacted to normal behavior. Surprise took over when her face contorted in pain, Benjamin parting from her to see if there was anything wrong. Dee brought her hands up to hover around her skull, eyes wide from shock. Instantly he knew there was trouble in the city, and, despite his injuries and loud cursing, picked her up and took her to the couch in the living room. “It hurts,” she whispered.
“What hurts?” He deposited her on the couch and Dee crossed her feet while he touched her fingertips to one another. It was a stance taken to block negative energy. Benjamin buttoned her shirt up, his eyes never leaving her face. Her eyes, closed, relaxed and began to push for direction. Something had assaulted her while she was vulnerable, and she was diverting all of her energy to dispelling the pain in her head. “Is it an attack?”
Dee’s face fought for control again as another stab of pain seemed to go through her head. Benjamin had to grab her shoulders before she let out a wave of energy. “Dee?” She buckled when he held her back, her forehead jutting upwards. She mewled as though she realized something vital but couldn’t speak. Benjamin knew what would happen if she stopped fighting, and knew there wasn’t a force that could stop her from sending out that signal to every damn hunter in the region. Had they triggered her reaction or was it coincidental? Coincidences weren’t such in their experience. Someone must’ve seen an opportunity.
“Where’s Jessica?” he said quickly. Between clenched teeth, Dee muttered ‘Melyna’ and ‘research.’ Benjamin knew they would answer if he called the Records Center, but they would only add to the chaos. He needed them alert, though. “I’ll be right back.” He pushed her down so he could get the leverage to run towards the phone and dial quickly. There was little time to spare. After four rings, someone answered.
“Records, this is Jessica.”
“Hey, Jess. Benjamin.”
“Why are you calling?”
“Dee’s having a reaction to something here and--”
“We’ll be right there.”
“I’ve got her, find the source. It has to be close. Also, the Cryes are getting playful.” There was a pause.
“Which direction?”
“East!” Dee’s voice resonated from the other room. It was choked and she was fighting the pain with a feeble attempt.
“You heard her.” And Benjamin hung up the phone. They knew what to do. He went back to the window by Dee to check for anything else that could go wrong, then went to the kitched for a bowl and some salt.
~~~~
Jessica hung up the receiver when Benjamin hung up, and turned to Melyna. “Dee’s having an attack, we’re heading east.” Melyna stacked her books neatly and put away any papers she brought. They were researching deaths, but life took precedence. She needed to grab her bag when Jessica came up to finish packing.
“To the park, then.” They’d come in through one of Benjamin’s portals in that park, where Jessica had taken out her first Crye. Benjamin taught her many things, but he never explained how he’d come to acquire the knowledge. Jessica just assumed he was from a place where they were common occurrences.
“We’ve got company. Benjamin said the Cryes were getting playful. He must’ve gotten hurt. Hope for his sake he didn’t mess with the bloodlines.” They finished their packing and hurried to the door.
“When you say playful--”
“He wasn’t specific. We should only take note that he had difficulty killing one this time.” The two of them made their way outside and looked at the sky, half-expecting it to be green and brewing a storm. “Do you feel that?” Melyna nodded.
“Someone’s touching down.” Jessica put her hand on her arm, the dagger holster safely attached. Melyna, usually the more sarcastic of the two, checked for her crossbow and arrows. All present and accounted for. Jessica closed her eyes and put her hand out to scan the area. “It feels familiar.”
“It feels like Camille, but it could be something with a strong air.”
“We don’t need Camille here in addition to new and improved Cryes on the loose. With them in the city, we’ve got a major outbreak in the making.”
“Let’s find out before alerting the cavalry. We don’t need to bring reinforcements prematurely.” Jessica began walking towards the direction Dee mentioned on the phone, her hand twitching with anticipation. The park was an obvious place, an excellent battleground for anything that could happen. There was plenty of cover for them to sneak about, something to use for leverage against an opponent. Melyna was rearing for a fight, though usually others wanted to go for a group effort to keep her from doing something random, like attracting bounty hunters.
Melyna disliked hunting with a group, ever since the bounty papers had come out the week prior. Suddenly everyone was fussing over her safety. Her brothers were annoying. Since she was not in the dimension in which the bounty was posted, they’d been given a little more preparation time for defense. She was a high buy on the market they figured, being one of the Chosen and a hard find. She and Jessica didn’t know what was so difficult about finding her, she hadn’t moved from their home yet. Benjamin had mentioned how many protection runes were placed around the city long ago, and they figured that would play a part in why they were safer. How runes got placed around a small city in Wisconsin they would probably never know, but there was a higher energy emitting from the side of the land facing the bay.
The runes, they supposed, were the only thing between them and a certain fate. They supposed the last thing they needed was Melyna being taken away and turned in to the man of the hour, Merronidor [of Gartantu]. The massive influence of his power reached far and though he wished death on his enemies, he found an alternative to killing one of the Chosen. Enslaving any one of them and turning her against the rest would prove more effective. He chose Melyna, and Jessica agreed that her skill surpassed theirs. Jessica had luck and force, Dee was the psychic with the trouble twin. There were few who could amount to the same power Melyna had.
Their friend didn’t ask for much, didn’t have the confidence to fend off as many as she was sure to encounter. It didn’t bother her that Jessica and Dee wanted someone with her at all times, just in case. She could defend herself, but bounty hunters had one target to study and she didn’t. It wouldn’t matter how much experience she had if they decided to come in groups. However, her spirit didn’t want to hide.
“Bounty?” she said, eager. This moment had been building for awhile and they were ready to go up against someone with practiced strategies.
“Probably, and we’re going to see to them personally. If we can catch one of the hunters who could know something, we can gather more information.”
“If there is any.”
“I highly doubt this will be a grab and run, but we can try to gather information based on who shows up. The hunter has to be strong enough to pass through a portal.” When they showed up at the edge of the park several blocks later, Melyna’s heart was in her throat. Jessica could feel the apprehension coming off of her like a second skin. She brushed it off until they were within two hundred feet of the glowing blue portal. Hiding behind some brush, Melyna ran her hand through her hair. A big guy was standing near the portal, a giant sword attached to his back and muscles that told the two hiding in the brush that he could at least swing it around. Jessica exhaled and gave her friend a look. He wasn’t that tough, mostly slow and probably dim-witted. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you can piss him off enough to kill you.”
Melyna’s returning look was precious. “You could take him on, easy.” She didn’t look too sure. Jessica took her bag from her, and checked for more than a crossbow. This guy had to be faster than he looked, and there was little to be desired with an opposing crossbow. But, she reasoned, it was wise to bring a long range weapon to a short range fight. Maybe this would be okay. “We should really invest in a gun or something.” Melyna laughed a little, nervous.
The man looked up. The two held their breath. Melyna took a breath. “Let’s make this quick.” Jessica nodded and handed her back her bag. They would make this less than interesting for the hunter.
~~~~
Benjamin was at her side, holding her hand for her relief. She wasn’t squeezing his hand but sending signals into him as an alternative to releasing them into the open air. He wasn’t sure if he should’ve been taking it in, but when a psychic has to force something out of her mind, he wasn’t going to be able to stop the memories she had to push onto him in order to make room. He relaxed and let her use him as an outlet, being one for keeping secrets. Some psychics disclosed events that were going to happen, in hopes that they would become celebrities, but what went through Dee’s mind was never given freely. Her ethics involved keeping her mouth closed.
Since she was never happy, Benjamin was sure he wasn’t going to enjoy this. As he thought this, one of the first waves hit him. He ended up with the clenched hand, needing support more than she. “Don’t tell anyone, Benjamin. Nothing good can come from what I know or have seen.”
“Safe with me, just don’t--”
“Be prepared.” Clouds took him back to what looked like a kitchen with two girls in it. One was a spitting image of Dee and the other had to be a relative. The city of Caseate had many citizens with many secrets, but what this had to do with anything Benjamin wasn’t sure. The older girl, her sister he guessed, was sitting there at the table, both talking but he couldn't hear. It was a fuzzy reality for him to lay eyes upon. Dee’s apartment, he figured, was smallish, her mother and father gone to their jobs on a regular afternoon. The white kitchen table and green flooring represented a retro fitting, well-cared for living space. He could move in the memory, and he chose to examine the two drawings. The sister, maybe thirteen, was actually doing a crossword puzzle, every once in awhile looking up a word in a small dictionary. This made Benjamin smile.
His eyes moved to Dee’s drawings. She looked no older than eight, and the crayons she was using were dark. There were other papers, ones with dark figures and creatures on them, but he didn’t recognize any more than two or three of them. The rest were obscure, and his eyes fell on the one she was drawing. A figure in a dark cloak with a clawed hand reaching towards her wiped all thoughts from his head. Was it possible that she had premonitions of these times before she even knew she had a gift? To have a picture of a dark wizard, even to those more experienced, was more advanced than he could ever imagine.
His thoughts were interrupted by a visitor knocking on the front door. The two raced to answer the door. They ran from the kitchen to the living room, the older giggling as she went. Dee was quiet and confused, something bothering her inside. Her sister got there first and unlocked the door before checking through the spy hole. Of course, children were less prone to check because of their height, so the entrance almost blew open of its own accord.
Fortunately, that’s what the person on the other side wanted as he aimed a gun and fired. The child Dee screamed and began to run to the other side of the apartment towards the window exit. An older man followed the gunman in, armed as well, and he went straight for the girl. It had to be Carter. His voice was muffled to Benjamin but not to Dee, and she came to a complete halt in the kitchen. Vocal commands seemed to be programmed into the little girl, in which one more issued command sent her to the floor unconscious.
Benjamin was still sitting down, sweat running down his face as his hand was clenched with Dee’s. Tears streamed down her face, whimpers and sobs escaping her lips. Not only was her mind messed with during her childhood, but her premonitions revealed Merronidor years before she even knew who he was. Dee hadn’t relaxed much since he came to, looking as though she was trying to put up a mental block in order to spare him any harsh visions. The one he’d seen was a memory she didn’t want to disclose but figured it would be the safest. If that was the safest, he reckoned they were the reason she wasn’t sleeping well. She insisted that she was getting rest, but there were times when she appeared to be dark under the eyes and jumpy in broad daylight.
“I have no response to this,” he said. Dee nodded. The sensation came to him again, she was sending out another one, but by the look on her face she had just let a secret go.
He was sitting back now, prepared for only the lightest of her dark secrets. He wondered if Anna was hoarding any of them to keep them where they could do the least damage. Well, I could always ask her when she’s killing me. What great conversation, he deadpanned. The memory began and his mouth dropped open.
~~~~
Melyna hit a nearby tree and recovered quickly. The man was armed, to be blunt. The weapon he used was a laser, and instead of stopping a person in her tracks, it pushed them back. She didn’t question the nature of the weapon, just the use of it on her person. On her feet, she picked up the crossbow Jessica had thrown into the bush before Melyna was thrown over it and into the tree. There was little time to act. The man was approaching at a walk, deciding that he was ready to make the capture, and she was taking aim.
Her arrow was true, and it soared towards the spot between the man’s eyes. An issue of time, some physicists might call it, occurred when the man brought up a single hand and caught the arrow with some exertion. Her face fell somewhat—her hand covered the reload and fired again. Jessica came up from the rear and threw her dagger at him simultaneously. He couldn’t take the two from different directions, but she knew it would take much more than a few sharp points to take him down. Keeping her distance until they found a weak point had been the plan, but the look on her sister’s face moved her.
They should have been expecting an attack, but after a week of no show, there was more at stake if they hid out, so they didn’t try. At this point in the game, it would’ve been easier if they’d made appointments to fight.
D_Marx Community Member 
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