Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (44 page)

No,
he thought.
I know what would
be so totally awesome! I should call out my attacks like in an
anime. But wait, then they would know what I was gonna do. Oh, I
know! I’ll clap my hands together and slam them into the ground,
like on that show ‘Full Metal Alchemist’. But wait, that takes too
long. Ah well, I’ll figure it out later.

Michael winked at Jack. “Bud, I reckon you
should cover your nose,” he said, tipping his cowboy hat. He was
the first to leap down.

Paro followed, but not before he turned to look
at Melissa. “You go last, Melissa. Make sure Jack actually follows
along. This’ll teach him not to volunteer himself on
cases.”

She nodded. “Got it, Paro.” Paro leaped down,
followed by Sarah, and then lastly Kazou.

“
Remember, Harris,” Kazou said,
placing one hand on the ladder leading into the sewer. “Keep your
mind on why we’re here.” He let go of the ladder and dropped
down.

Jack walked over to the sewer entrance—and
tried not to vomit. Looking down into the darkness, he felt the
first pinch of fear. Even from above ground, the stench was too
much to handle. Jack thought of something funny, and being the
impulsive person he was, he said it without thinking. It was
something that, if given even another moment’s thought, he wouldn’t
dare say.

“
Hey, Melissa,” he joked. “It smells
like
you
down in that—”

She pushed him, and he screamed, flailing his
arms as he barely had time to catch onto the slippery ladder. He
slid down to land with a thud on the moist sewer floor. The smell
was horrible.
“Pee-yew!”

Melissa didn’t bother to use the ladder, and
much like Kazou, she jumped down landing softly on her feet. Jack
wondered if anything could hurt a Reinforcer.

It was dark, almost blindingly so. It looked
like an underground maze to Jack. The sewers connected and ran for
miles, twisting and turning, occasionally leading into other
sewers. He really hoped the team knew what they were
doing.

“
Hey, did you guys ever notice that
just about
every
Final-Fantasy game had a part where you
had to go through sewers? I always got lost on those parts and had
to fight a million random encounters, I can’t tell you guys how
many times I used to call Adam over for help.” No one responded to
him, making Jack feel sad and unappreciated.

“
How far, Sarah?” Paro
asked.

Sarah pointed. “They’re about a half-mile ahead
of us. They know we’re still chasing.”

Paro tilted his head in acknowledgement.
“Alright, let’s go.” Paro ran into the distance, taking out his
phone while he sped through the sewers.

Jack was exhausted. He didn’t think he’d make
it another half-mile, especially not in this disgusting place.
Michael turned to him. “Jack, you need to draw some more power, and
quick. You don’t want to get left behind down here.”

Jack moaned. “Just go without me. I’m
exhausted. I’ve got nothing left to give.”

“
Nonsense, bud. Go on, I know you
don’t like it, but give it one more go. I promise ya there’ll be no
more running afterwards.”

Jack closed his eyes and prepared himself for
the sickening feeling. He hesitated and realized after a moment
that if he didn’t do it soon, he’d never work up the will again. He
drew the power into himself, feeling the nauseating, uncomfortable
sensation. It was worse than the feeling of a thousand spiders
crawling on your face.

Once again he searched for the trigger. He’d
been lucky the first time, but now he remembered where to find it.
It seemed that some things were easier to locate than others. Some
Telekinetic stuff was easy, like pushing things, but grabbing was
harder to find. The thing that let him draw power into his legs was
the easiest thing Jack had discovered so far. For a moment, it
almost seemed worth the disgusting draw, as the wonderful feeling
of empowerment went through his legs.

“
Michael, how do you keep yourself
going? You’re not a Reinforcer.”

“
There’s a reason they send us to
boot-camp, Jack. There are things we need to be able to do without
using our natural Psych affinities. I can only do very basic stuff
in the other affinities, which is usually the case for most Psychs,
excluding only you and Paro that I know of. I’ll never be able to
run as fast or for as long as Kazou or Melissa, but I reckon I can
still keep myself going longer than the average human.”

“
What’s boot-camp? Actually, you
know what? I don’t even care. Let’s just get out of this yucky
place.”

They caught up to Melissa, Kazou, and Paro. It
was now so dark that Jack couldn’t see more than a foot or two in
front of him. They were following Paro based on sound alone and
listening for the audible splashes as feet smashed into what Jack
prayed was only water.

There was a squeak, and Jack knew that there
were rats around. He hoped they’d reach wherever they were going
soon. Somewhere in front of him, Jack heard Paro mumble into his
phone, but he couldn’t make out what was being said.

He felt something touch his shoulder, and he
came close to screaming.

“
Jack,” said Melissa. “How are you
holding up? I never thought I’d see you use Reinforcement. If
you’ve got any questions just ask me.”

“
I thought you were a rat, Melissa.
No, wait! Don’t slap me—that’s not what I meant. I’m just kinda
afraid of rats, and I felt you touch my shoulder.”

She laughed. “Oh, is that what it
was?”

Even having run for miles, Melissa didn’t seem
to be breathing heavily. There was not a single bead of sweat on
her face, which Jack could barely make out in the scant light as
she ran beside him in the dark sewer. Jack was no longer sweating
either, now that his legs were wrapped with the power of
Reinforcement.

“
Jack, there’s something I want to
ask you, and I want you to tell me the truth,” Melissa said. She
lowered her voice to a whisper. “I really need to know.”

Jack turned to Melissa and looked into her
eyes. There was something different about her. She looked worried,
like she was bringing up something painful. She even slowed down,
holding Jack’s arm so he’d slow down with her. Whatever it was that
was bothering her, she was taking it seriously.

“
What’s wrong?” Jack answered in a
whisper. He kept his voice low, just loud enough for her to hear
it. She clearly didn’t want them to be overheard. Melissa looked
both ahead of her and over her shoulder before
continuing.

“
Do you remember when we fought back
in H.Q?”

Jack smiled, and he almost regretted it,
because he kicked on the ground too hard and a splash of murky
sewage water rose almost to the level of his mouth.

“
Yeah,” he whispered back. “Don’t
think I forgot about that date, either.”

She smiled for a moment before her expression
turned solemn. “How much … of your power were you using?” she
asked. “Towards the end, I mean, before Paro told us to tone it
down. Was it close to half?”

Jack tried to remember. He recalled that he’d
allowed just a drop more power in than he usually did, and with a
shudder, he remembered feeling like it would kill him.

“
Hmm,” Jack whispered. “I’m not sure
how to answer.”

Melissa glanced around once again to make sure
they were far enough away not to be overheard. Then she spoke, but
in an even quieter whisper, and Jack had to strain to hear
her.

“
I’m pretty powerful among Psychs,
Jack. For the average Psych, they draw power from a source that’s
something that’s like a cup of water. For me, it’s more like a
bowl. For someone like Paro, I’d be willing to bet it’s almost as
large as a puddle. How much did you draw, Jack?

Jack thought about the question and realized
that it made a lot of sense to think about it in those terms. “I
see what you’re asking. I’d say it was only small drop, like what
comes out of dripping faucet. Just a tiny amount and even that felt
terrible.”

There was a long pause before Melissa spoke
again, during which she and Jack ran side-by-side in the darkness.
For the first time, she was breathing heavier and sweat was finally
beginning to show on her forehead. Somehow, Jack didn’t think it
was because of the run.

“
Jack,” she said in a nervous
whisper. “A small drop, but out of how much? Tell me,
please.”

Jack decided there was no reason to lie. “I
don’t know how Psychs normally measure these things, but I guess,
hmm, maybe the ocean?”

“What!”
Paro’s voice shouted from ahead of them. He had stopped and
within a few moments, Melissa and Jack had caught up to him. There
was an awkward silence as they stood in the darkness, but through
the occasional shadows cast from the streetlights above, Jack could
see a look of disbelief on Paro’s face. Michael and Sarah seemed as
if they were about to faint, while Kazou kept his usual stern,
stone-faced expression.

Paro grabbed Jack’s shoulders. “Are you
serious, Jack? About what you just told Melissa, I
mean.”

Jack frowned at him. “I don’t know how you did
it, but eavesdropping isn’t polite, Paro.” Upon hearing this, Sarah
turned away with a look of guilt, glancing at something in the
distance. “You’re going to learn that everything is my business,
Jack, especially when it comes to Psychs on my team. Now, answer
me, was what you just said the truth?”

Jack shrugged. “I guess.”

Kazou walked between them. “Is now the time for
this conversation?” he asked.

Paro flinched and shook his head. “You’re
right, Kazou,” he said, releasing Jack’s shoulders. “Sarah, how
far?”

“
Just ahead, make a right here and
head up the next ladder.”

Paro led them down one last stretch of sewer,
until finally they arrived at the ladder that would lead them out
of it. Never in Jack’s life had he been so glad to see a ladder.
Before any of them could make a move, Jack was already charging at
it, scrambling up. As the distance between him and the sewer grew,
he felt more and more at ease.

They emerged into another part of town, about a
mile away. It took Jack a moment to get his bearings, but he
realized they were in Anker town, not far from where Jonathan had
died.

Jonathan,
Jack thought.
I’m sorry
you didn’t get to be what you wanted. I’ll try to make things
right.

Paro looked at his watch and then turned to
Sarah. “Now how far?”

“
They’re moving much faster than
before, so they’re definitely not on foot anymore, but if we don’t
hurry up we’ll lose them.”

As if in answer to their desperation, bright
headlights approached in the distance, almost blinding Jack.
Pulling up alongside them was a van very similar to the one Requiem
had gone inside of to fetch him the rabbit.

The Rabbit!
We left it on the side
of the road.

The side door to the van slid open, and Paro
rushed everyone inside. Nineteen recon officers in full T.A.C gear,
armed with assault rifles and bulletproof vests were waiting for
them. Each one gave Jack a dirty look for some reason. He
recognized quite a few of them. They had been there the day Andy
was captured.

The van only remained motionless for about
fifteen seconds, as Paro threw everyone inside and ordered the
driver to get a move-on. “Hurry!” he yelled. “Sarah is going to
lose the trace—drive as fast as you can.”

The sudden lurch of acceleration was far more
than Jack had expected. He tripped and fell then braced himself for
a rough fall on his back. When he didn’t hit the ground, he smiled
up into the face of Melissa, almost carrying him in her
arms.

“
Thanks, Melissa.” She pushed him
off, and he sat down to fasten his seatbelt. The vehicle picked up
even more speed, and Jack prayed they didn’t get into an accident
along the way.

“
Where did they go?” Deven asked
Alana while the medics patched her up and placed an icepack on her
forehead. The Harris residence was now teeming with activity, over
twenty emergency personnel, all ‘normal’ men who worked for the
Psych-organization. They did their best to help collect evidence,
care for the wounded, and clean the place up. They were the
General’s own personal men.