Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (27 page)

Adam had ditched them a few hallways back while
on his way to the library to study or something.

Studying,
Jack thought.
What a
boring thing to do.

Jack had promised to meet Andy in the first
floor bathroom after lunch. Something was really bothering him, and
Jack was not content to sit idly by and let him suffer. Melissa was
just going to have to give him some space.

The hallway was finally quiet—the click of
their feet tapping against marble floor was the only audible
sound.

“
Hey, Melissa,” Jack said, “I need
to use the bathroom.”

“
Okay, let’s go.”

Jack choked on his own breath. “But it’s right
here.” He pointed. “There’s nowhere to ‘go’ other than
inside.”

“
Exactly,” she said, “let’s go
inside.”

Jack felt blood rush to his face.
“To-together?” he gasped.

“
I’ll stand outside the stall.
Jeeze, will you quit being such a baby?”

Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Melissa was going to waltz into the boy’s bathroom like she
belonged there? Even if he wasn’t meeting Andy that would still be
taking things too far.

“
Ah … I think I’ll be fine on my own
for a few minutes, and umm, just think what people would say about
you if they see you following me in there.”

Melissa grunted as if the thought had already
been going through her mind. With a frown, she turned to Jack.
“Fine, but make it quick. You’re not taking any of this seriously
enough. These people that want you are the ones who slaughtered
Richard and his family. I’ll be right outside, so make sure to yell
if anything happens—and hurry up.”

Jack laughed. What could possibly happen to him
in a bathroom? Jack grimaced as he remembered how quite a lot could
happen. The bathroom was home to some of Jack’s most hideous and
grueling bullying experiences. He shook his head as he freed
himself of those dark memories.

Jack pushed open the swinging door and entered.
As usual, his high school’s bathroom, like most high schools, was
the most disgusting and horrific place on the planet. It was
almost as if—and probably was—intentionally made to be as gross as
possible. Unspeakable things clung to the walls, and the stench was
nothing short of nauseating.

Jack scanned the filthy bathroom—it appeared to
be empty. He turned on one of the small pressure-pressed sinks and
washed his hands, waiting for something to happen. The sound of a
stall being opened caused him to spin around behind him.

“
Andy!” Jack said cheerfully. “You
almost scared me to death.”

Andy backed away and inhaled. “No! I wasn’t
trying to kill you.”

Jack scratched his head. “Wait,
what?”

Andy rubbed his eyes with his palms. “Never
mind, I thought you said something else. I see, you said I almost
scared you to death. Sorry, I misheard.”

Jack had no idea what Andy was rambling about,
and while he was no therapist, he didn’t need to be one to see that
Andy was in pure misery. Never had he seen someone so young look so
old. It wasn’t his physical features, but the way he carried
himself. He looked worn, tired, frightened, and yet despite it all,
there was a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“
Jack, I need to tell you something.
I need you to try your best not to freak out, run away, or yell to
Melissa, who is probably outside the bathroom. She’s there,
isn’t she?”

Jack nodded. “Okay, what’s up?”

“
Alright … please remain calm and
don’t panic. What I am about to say is going to shock you, but you
must trust me and not lose your cool. Jack, listen, I know what you
are, and I am just like you. I can … do things just like you
can.”

Jack laughed and shrugged. “Wow, that’s so
cool! Is that all? Hey, did you read the newest chapter of
One-Piece
?”

Andy looked as if his eyes were about to pop
out of their sockets. For a brief moment his mouth opened then
closed as if he were about to say something, but was instead
shocked out of his wits. He stood motionless for a moment, and then
again attempted to speak. This time, he succeeded.

“
Did you not just hear what I said,
Jack? I meant about the things you can do that others
can’t.”

“
Umm, yeah, I heard you. It’s new to
me too, but I guess some people can just do this stuff, right? No
need to get all worked up about it. Don’t tell me that’s why you’re
all depressed-looking, Andy?”

Andy’s eyes moistened, and Jack had no idea
what for. He rubbed them with the back of his thumb and inhaled in
sporadic, heavy breaths.

“
You really are different, Jack. I
knew it—everyone who knows you does. You’re the greatest person in
the world. I mean that.”

Jack was confused. What was Andy going on
about? He was acting really strange.

“
Thanks, I guess.”

“
I need your help, man. I’ll do
anything if you’ll help me. I’ll give you everything I possess in
this world. Hell, I’ll even cut off my own arm and wrap it for you,
if that’s what it takes for you to help me out.”

 
Jack reeled in surprise as
Andy got to his knees with a pleading and desperate look in his
eyes. Now tears fell freely down his face.

“
Jack,” he begged, “I’m a guy who
will do anything in this world if you’d only help me. I’ll give you
anything—I’ll
do,
anything. I’ll even cut out my own liver
for you. Just please, help me.”

Jack felt the concern tug strongly on his
heart. Andy was deeply troubled, and Jack would never refuse him.
He grabbed Andy by the shoulder and lifted him off the floor,
forcing him to meet his eyes. Jack was rarely so serious, but his
mind turned only to thoughts of saving his friend from whatever
caused him such misery.

“
Tell me what’s wrong, Andy. You
said you’d do anything for me, right? I only ask one thing, and
that’s for you to tell me what’s wrong in the first
place.”

Jack didn’t think it was possible, but Andy’s
bawling increased. He lowered his voice to a whisper as the sadness
fell from his cheeks and hit the floor with a small
splash.

His voice was a barely audible whisper. He only
said two words. “Ruin … Requiem.”

Jack’s eyes widened in alarm—his emotions ran
wild. At first, he thought he had misheard Andy, but that was
impossible. Despite being a whisper, the words came out
clear.

Jack hated taking things too seriously, but
this was different. The words Andy had spoken, for innocent lives,
literally meant the difference between life and death. Andy winced
as Jack unintentionally increased his grip on Andy’s shoulders,
squeezing them tightly.

“
What did you just say? Andy, where
… where have you heard these names?”

Andy took a moment to collect himself. His lips
struggled to form words. Finally, he said, “How do you think I knew
what you were? I’m their third wheel. I don’t know how Requiem knew
who you were, and I don’t think I even care anymore, but
Jack—they’ve ruined my life.”

Jack released Andy and stepped back. “Andy, did
… did you kill those people? Did you kill Richard and his
family?”

Andy wailed and slammed his fists against a
sink. “No! But they’re going to make me do worse. I don’t know what
to do anymore. They’re more powerful than me, and I can’t stand up
to them. But they said that you work for some kind of police force
or something. Jack, please, I don’t want to go to jail. I don’t
want to die! I just want to go back to the way things were before.
Please, I’m begging you. I will give you anything!”

Andy grasped Jack, hugging him around the
waist. Tears dampened Jack’s shirt while Andy clung to him for dear
life.

Jack sighed. “Alright, I’ll help
you.”

For a moment, Andy’s face looked youthful
again, and the withered lines smoothened as a glimmer of hope shone
from his eyes.

“
I don’t want to go to jail, Jack.
What do I do?”

Jack hummed to himself while he pondered the
same. “I’ll find out more. Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Right now,
you should go home early. Tell the nurse you’re sick and wait in
your house. I’ll see if I can work something out.”

“
Is it true?” Andy asked. “Do you
really know these people? Are there really other people like us out
there that stop these kinds of things?”

Jack closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, but I
don’t know what will happen to you. Just keep quiet and don’t say
anything to Melissa. Go home, stay there, and I’ll come over
tonight with an answer.”

“
Thank you! I will find some way in
this world of repaying you, Jack. I just want this to be
over.”

“
Don’t worry. You don’t need to
repay me. Look, I need to leave before Melissa gets worried, okay?
We’ll talk soon.”

Jack felt bad for leaving Andy by himself. He
was still hysterical, shedding tears of relief. When Jack returned
to the first-floor hallway, Melissa gave him a quizzical look and
inclined her head.

“
Took you quite a while in there.
What were you doing?”

“
Well, Melissa, since you asked, now
you have to know. It all started with—”

Jack’s words trailed off into mumbles as
Melissa covered his mouth with her hand. “Sorry I
asked.”

Michael was really looking forward to seeing
Jack’s expression when they told him the news. “So, school gets out
in five minutes, Paro. What do you want to do?”

Michael wondered how Paro felt about all this.
At first, he seemed relieved, but now he looked frustrated. He
must’ve known what a daunting task it would be to put someone like
the Harris-kid on their team. In fact, everyone was up in arms, and
Michael didn’t understand why. He seemed like such a fun guy, that
Jack Harris.

They were sitting in a black van parked outside
of Elms High, at a distance close enough that if Sarah detected
even the smallest use of Psych ability, they’d be able to storm the
place in under a minute.

Paro had even managed to acquire two full recon
teams to survey the area around Jack’s house and the area around
his school. They weren’t Psychs, but the twenty or so men hidden in
the area would be more than enough to take down a pair of homicidal
kids. Especially with the kind of firepower they were packing. But
Michael, and probably the rest of the team, were hoping it wouldn’t
escalate that far.

“
Anything?” Paro asked into the
small black comm.

“Recon Team A reporting in, no
sign of hostile Psychs, over.”

“Recon Team B reporting in, no
sign of hostile Psychs, over.”

“
Very well,” Paro responded. “Keep
your eyes peeled and let me know the moment anything
changes.”

Paro turned to face Michael. “We’re going to
have to bring this up with Jack as soon as he gets out of
school.”

“
But what about his mom?” Michael
asked. “She doesn’t seem the type to go for something like
this.”

“
That’s why we aren’t going to tell
her right away,” Paro said. ”First, we’re going to get this
situation with the murders under control, and then we’re going to
break the news to her. She’ll be hysterical, and I’m not in the
mood to deal with that now.”

“
But won’t she suspect something
when you start meeting with Jack every day?”

Paro grinned. “Not at all, I’ve already taken
care of that. She thinks we’re just meeting with him as a follow-up
to make sure he’s keeping his Telekinesis under control. I’ve
already told her we’re picking him up from school
today.”

“
That’s so mean!” Sarah chimed
in.

Kazou merely shrugged, and Michael continued to
laugh. “Well, it’s partly true, Sarah. I’m gonna be teaching the
kid everything that I know, and I reckon if he’s gonna be working
for us he might as well learn to use the tools of the
trade.”

“
Well, get ready to teach him,
then,” Kazou said, “because there he is.”

A bell had rung, and students were pouring out
of school by the droves. Jack was literally the first out the door,
in what Michael figured was the only time he actually exerted
himself. It seemed that to Jack, being the first one to go home was
a race.