Winters Family Psi Chronicles 2: Project Onyx (16 page)

Brian’s body swiftly flew into the front passenger seat and the door slammed shut on its own. FBI agents came running but Paul didn’t stop to explain. The car lurched out of the driveway then turned abruptly and raced out of the neighborhood and toward the freeway. Heat blasted from the vents as Paul cranked up the temperature to maximum. After several moments, Brian was no longer in danger of passing out and felt a lot better. His mind cleared and he realized the psychic attack had stopped. They must be out of range.

“I’m getting better now. I think she lost her hold on me,” Brian said.

“She? I thought Brandon was the one attacking you?” Paul asked.

Paul pulled onto the freeway as he didn’t want to take any chances that the psychic attack would continue.

“No, I had a dream about Samantha. She was going to kill me with pyrokinesis,” Brian said.

“That makes sense,” Paul said grimly.

Pyrokinesis came in two distinct variations; either they could create intense heat or intense cold. Obviously, Samantha’s talent lied in the latter ability.

“How can she attack you without seeing you though?” Amy asked.

“If she’s a multipath with remote-viewing, she can attack from a short distance without needing direct sight,” Paul explained.

“That means we’re not going to be safe at home anymore,” Amy said anxiously.

“We’re going to have to go into hiding like Driscol wanted,” Paul said grimly.

His cell phone rang and he tapped the activation button on his steering wheel to answer the call.

“Yes, Driscol,” he said.

“What in the hell is going on?” Driscol said forcefully.

“Samantha attacked Brian with pyrokinesis. The only way to escape was to keep him moving. She has the ability to cool down her targets,” Paul said.

“You have no choice but to go into hiding,” Driscol said.

“I know,” Paul said grimly.

“Meet me at the Seattle Airport,” Driscol said after a brief hesitation. “I’ll arrange to have you flown out of state on the way over. Call me when you’re parked so we can meet up.”

“Will do,” Paul said.

Chapter 17

Dick stepped into the crowded grocery store and pretended to shop. His connections to the three empaths that Lorraine had supplied him with had become permanent and more power flowed into him than ever before. It more than made up for the link he’d lost with Jason, Brian, and Amy. However, he’d sensed something crucial was still missing. After a shocking discovery this morning, he now had a sneaking suspicion of what that lacking element might be and it horrified him. Dick shoved aside this concern and focused on the energy radiating from the shoppers that milled around him. Now that he’d successfully added three more empaths to his list of donors, he felt pretty great but wanted more power. He figured the best way to find more empaths was to spend time around large quantities of people. His questing tentacle floated amongst the various individuals until he’d tested everyone and failed to find an empath. This was the second night he’d tried this method without achieving any results.

Dick wondered if he should alter his strategy. He went back to his white sedan and glanced at the rearview mirror reflexively even though he dreaded the sight. His eyes honed in on the two strands of gray hair. As a self-regeneration psi, his growth had been permanently halted in his early twenties but now it had apparently jumpstarted. Dick swallowed nervously as his thoughts raced over the implications once again. It had to be Jason. Somehow, Dick had stolen the self-regeneration energy from Jason all these years with the link he’d established as a teenager. Now that Jason had joined the Zen Network, this restorative energy was cut off from him. Dick had reestablished the link unconsciously several times but one of the connectivity psi at the compound must monitor the network because the link would immediately sever before it could strengthen enough to draw anything.

Dick’s strategy was to add as many empaths to his network as possible. His desperate theory stemmed from the hope that if he acquired enough power then his body’s aging would halt. If he failed, he may die very soon. Dick had always believed he would live forever. His eyes locked onto the gray hairs and a despair washed over him.

“It isn’t fair,” he whispered brokenly.

After several more moments of self-pity, he shoved aside his doubts and fears so he could focus on the task at hand. He drove to another grocery store and pretended to shop inside as his tendril of energy quested for an empath. He went giddy with excitement when he located one. It was a young woman in her early thirties. She had curly red hair and blue eyes and a shopping cart filled with groceries. A little girl walked beside her and a baby boy was seated in the cart. Dick stared at her hungrily and scarcely believed his luck. He focused on her and began shoving past her psionic shield which was extremely weak indicating she was probably a level ten empath and an extremely weak telepath. The woman reached for a box of cereal and turned to look around her with a frown of bewilderment. Dick turned away and pretended to contemplate the boxes of cereal in front of him. He felt her gaze rest on him and he reached out and selected a box at random.

He walked down the aisle and turned the corner so she could no longer see him and resumed burrowing into her psionic shielding. He pretended to look over the display of chips at the end so no one would wonder why he was standing and staring into space. He followed the empath through the store at a discreet distance and remained out of her line of sight. Finally, he managed to penetrate her protection but instead of drawing energy, worked on establishing a temporary link. He would need to stay near her for quite awhile before the link could sustain itself. The woman stepped into a line with her shopping cart and Dick knew his time was up. He would have to follow her home. This could be tricky as it required a great deal of concentration to maintain the link which would make driving difficult.

He waited for her in the parking lot near the front of the store and watched her push her shopping cart to her blue sedan. She glanced around a couple of times as if she could sense him. Maybe her empathic senses warned her that she was being stalked. Dick slid behind the wheel of his own car and followed her on the streets. After several moments, terror seized his mind. His grip tightened on the steering wheel and he almost lost awareness of his surroundings. He quickly realized this was an empathic attack but it didn’t help the sharp pain that stabbed his mind and made his heart hammer with fear. Dick narrowed his eyes and focused on the blue sedan which had sped faster. He sent a burst of telekinetic energy, shoving her head hard against the steering wheel. Immediately, the terror eased up but didn’t vanish completely. She must have already misaligned his energy a little. It would take time for it to heal on its own.

Dick abruptly realized he’d almost lost his link with her. Without warning, more terror slammed into him and he gasped as it overwhelmed his senses. He trailed farther behind his target until he realized she was getting away. The light turned red and she raced past the cross street. Dick was too far behind to follow. He slammed on his brakes and cursed savagely. The terror subsided as he waited and left him shaken and off-center. He’d lost the link to his target and had suffered an empathic attack which would take the rest of the day to recover. Dick fumed as he waited for the light to change green. He drove to another grocery store and continued searching for empaths. He decided next time he would just identify his target and follow him or her home before linking. Dick wasn’t sure why this hadn’t occurred to him before but he was in a hurry to gather as many energy sources as possible before people started to notice him aging.

It took him several hours before he found a candidate. He followed him home and didn’t have any problems creating a temporary link with him from the safety of his car parked a couple of houses away. When Dick finished his work, he returned to his house and called Amy. It was too risky to contact Brian directly as he wanted to avoid showing up in his dreams.

“Hi, Dick,” Amy said guardedly.

“What’s wrong?” Dick asked with concern and renewed fear hammered at him.

He wondered if Brian had dreamed about him and figured out he was an energy transference psi.

“Brian was attacked last night,” Amy said.

“That’s awful! What happened?” Dick’s shoulders slumped with relief now that he realized he hadn’t been discovered.

“One of the researchers, Samantha, developed pyrokinesis and can cool temperatures. She was using it to drop Brian’s body temperature and kill him. She got pretty close to succeeding. It was very scary. We’re staying in protective custody and I’m not allowed to tell anyone where we are since she has remote-viewing and could possibly be watching us and listening to our conversation,” Amy said.

“Couldn’t Brian do the same thing? Can’t he see her as well?” Dick asked.

“Driscol is hypnotizing him right now and that’s one of the things she’s trying to do,” Amy said. “She thinks since Samantha can lock onto Brian with her remote-viewing that she must be a connectivity psi because she hasn’t known him long enough that she should be able to do that with just remote-viewing alone.”

“How many abilities does she have?” Dick asked.

“She has at least six abilities now,” Amy said. “Her condition seems to be getting worse. The psychic abilities are taking a toll on her body.”

“It will take time for her to get used to all those new abilities,” Dick said.

“I’ve got to go. Driscol said if anyone calls us, it’s okay to let them know how we’re doing but we have to keep conversations brief. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. It was good talking to you. I hope they catch those guys soon,” Dick said.

“Me, too. Bye.”

Dick disconnected the phone and smiled grimly. With Brian’s efforts focused on locating the researchers, it was highly unlikely that he’d have any dreams about Dick. Especially when he was in protective custody. Dick knew he’d have to kill Brian soon though.

Chapter 18

Ashley became aware of her surroundings with an abrupt jolt as though waking from a dream except she was still standing in her hotel room in front of the door. Her purse lay on the floor in front of her and her hotel key card rested beside it as they’d both slipped from her hands while she’d plunged into another precognitive vision. She was unable to prevent them from clutching her mind and dragging her consciousness under. Sometimes she ended up awakening from the ground in an unconscious heap. This time, she’d been lucky. With only a moment of warning, this ability had become quite dangerous. Ashley berated herself for not sitting down but she’d been impatient to leave. She’d finally decided there was no choice but to turn herself in to the authorities.

She stooped down to snatch both the key card and her purse. Her hotel door beeped and then opened to reveal Brandon. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she abruptly stood up and turned to flee. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to escape. She headed for the bathroom with the intention of locking herself in. If she could just buy herself a little time, maybe she could call the police. Ashley reached the door just as Brandon grabbed her arms from behind and held her in place. She screamed as pain flooded her body. Dissonant, destructive energy tore through her and her organs began to shut down. Blackness crept along the edges of her vision. She dropped to the floor as she lost control of her body and stared up at the ceiling and Brandon’s looming face as he stood over her and continued to relentlessly attack with his healing ability. Ashley had received this vision quite a few times but no matter how unpredictable she’d been in choosing places to stay, Brandon had still managed to find her. She lost consciousness and a moment later her body shut down completely.

Brian awakened from his vision with a jolt of terror. He’d seen everything through Ashley’s eyes and felt the horror and agony that she’d suffered. He drew a deep shaky breath and tried to calm his mind. He sat in a gray padded chair in Driscol’s office with her facing him behind her massive desk. His father was seated beside him with a shocked expression on his face.

“We had hoped she would turn herself in but it looks like that isn’t going to happen now,” Driscol said regretfully.

“He needs a break,” Paul said.

“Of course. We can take a walk to help clear your head for a bit before we continue,” Driscol said sympathetically.

“He just watched a young woman die. We can start again in the afternoon,” Paul said.

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible. We need to focus and track down these killers as quickly as possible,” Driscol said.

“You need our cooperation. If you don’t back off, we may just go home and fend for ourselves,” Paul said forcefully.

“Your son belongs to the U.S. government under the purview of the Psi Patriot Act because of his abilities,” Driscol said coolly. “His cooperation is mandatory.”

“Once someone’s declared a possession of the state, he’s conscripted indefinitely for future cases,” Paul said slowly.

“That’s correct.” Driscol’s lips twisted wryly. “Your son is as good as a member of the FBI. He will be relocating here in San Diego and will enroll in our training instead of high school as he’s become far too important to this country.”

“You mean he’s become valuable to YOU,” Paul said heatedly.

“This is out of your hands. I’ll give your son about fifteen minutes to recover and come back to continue this session,” Driscol said smoothly as she rose from behind her desk. “If you continue to hinder my investigation, I will have you barred from these premises and returned home.”

His jaw clenched with fury as he watched her exit the room. He turned to Brian and a mixture of regret and anger warred in his mind as he struggled to come up with something encouraging to say.

“It’s alright, Dad,” Brian said.

“I’m not going to let that woman take away your rights,” Paul said heatedly.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Brian said. “Dad, please, don’t do anything to give her an excuse to kick you out of here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll control myself,” Paul said sardonically.

Brian flinched when someone telepathically “knocked” at his mind to gain his attention.

“What’s wrong?” Paul asked with concern.

“It’s Grandpa. Just a sec,” Brian said.

“Hey, grandpa,” Brian said telepathically. “I didn’t realize you could reach me this far.”

“Where are you?” Jason asked with puzzlement.

“I’m in protective custody in San Diego. Driscol invoked the Psi Patriot Act so I’m a possession of the state now,” Brian said.

“I can’t believe this has happened!” Jason exclaimed after a lengthy pause. “You’re very far away. That’s why it took me so long to make contact with you. I’m not going to be able to keep this up. It’s a strain.”

“Did you have news to tell me or were you just saying hi?” Brian asked.

“Something wonderful has happened to me. I wasn’t sure at first but now it’s obvious. I’ll tell you in person.”

“Why don’t you tell me now?” Brian said. “I need some good news.”

“We need to get you out of Driscol’s control. I’m going to figure out a way to free you,” Jason said.

“It isn’t possible,” Brian said.

“I’ve heard of lawsuits filed and exceptions made before. One thing you have going for you is that you’re still a minor although not for long,” Jason said.

“Tell me the good news!” Brian exclaimed.

“I’ll tell you later. I’ve got to go. I can’t keep the link. Love you, Brian.”

“Love you, too, Grandpa.”

Brian sensed his grandfather’s absence and sighed dismally. He wondered what had happened. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure when he’d ever be allowed to visit his grandfather now that he was in Driscol’s custody.

“Grandpa had good news but didn’t tell me,” Brian said. “He’s going to hire a lawyer to try and fight the claim Driscol has on me.”

“We’ll get you out of this mess,” Paul said fervently.

The door suddenly opened to reveal Driscol and a thin, frail-looking woman with long silky brown hair restrained in a pony tail and haunted brown eyes. She wore a pale blue business blouse and a dark blue suit jacket and pants. Driscol closed the door behind them and smiled reassuringly at Brian.

“I would like to introduce Dr. Freeland, one of our best psychologists,” Driscol said. She motioned to Brian. “This is Brian and his father, Paul.”

Paul shook hands with the psychologist then seated himself. Driscol took her seat behind her desk while Dr. Freeland took the third guest chair for herself and positioned it to the side so that it faced both Driscol, Paul, and Brian.

“I’m concerned that Brian’s lack of success with remote-viewing and his connectivity psi are due to some sort of psychological component that could be impeding our investigation. To expedite matters, I’ve brought Dr. Freeland to assess his mental health. She is a level ten telepath and empath,” Driscol said smoothly.

“What do you think is wrong with me exactly?” Brian asked with trepidation.

“I’m not exactly sure but it’s possible your mind was damaged due to your capture and unexpected new abilities,” Driscol said. “I’m going to start the hypnosis session. You will need to allow the doctor access to your mind. Put on your ear buds.”

“All right,” Brian said reluctantly.

Paul gazed at his son with concern but couldn’t risk an outburst at this point as it was likely Driscol was merely waiting for any possible excuse to dismiss him. A heavy silence permeated the room as the specially designed music played through Brian’s ear buds and quickly brought him into an altered state of mind. Brian sensed Freeland’s probing and instinctively pushed her away. She waited for him to overcome his instincts and slip back further into the altered state before she tried again. Brian felt her mind sifting through his thoughts and she pulsed healing empathic energy to him. After what seemed only several moments, the hypnosis session concluded and a perplexed frown twisted his lips when Driscol turned the lights back up to full illumination again.

“That was fast,” Brian said.

“Actually, we were waiting for almost an hour,” Driscol said and threw the doctor a puzzled frown. “What did you find?”

“There is definitely damage to his mind,” Freeland said slowly as she chose her words carefully. “The type of damage I discovered is consistent with that caused by brainwashing and psychic manipulation.”

“Brainwashing?” Brian said with horror.

“What would the researchers hope to gain? They’ve always killed all of their subjects,” Driscol said musingly.

“The type of damage I found suggests that this has been going on for many years,” Freeland said.

“Many years? How can that be? I’ve been taking Brian to a shielding specialist and he would have detected something like that,” Paul said.

“Not necessarily,” Freeland said. “Shielding specialists usually don’t receive training in helping those with this type of mental affliction.”

“I see,” Paul said thoughtfully.

“It’s possible the shielding specialist is the one responsible for this,” Driscol said speculatively.

“What would he have to gain?” Paul asked.

“If he was part of Project Onyx, he may have been monitoring and prepping Brian for the experimentation. We’re going to look into this right away,” Driscol said.

“Are you saying that Project Onyx goes farther than just the researchers?”

“I didn’t say that,” Driscol said guardedly.

“There are a number of research projects dubbed Project Onyx. This is the last one to be apprehended,” Brian said.

“How did you know that?” Driscol said sharply.

“It’s a dream I had sometime this week. A lot of dreams I can’t remember except for bits and pieces and they sometimes come up later,” Brian explained.

“Was it a dream about me?” Driscol asked.

Brian hesitated because his instincts told him it would be inadvisable to admit but he couldn’t think of a lie either.

“Yes, he dreamed about you,” Freeland said.

“Paul, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Now that Brian is dreaming about classified information, it’s too risky that you will learn sensitive, high clearance information,” Driscol said.

“He’s my son!” Paul protested.

“This is an unfortunate turn of events but Brian is going to have to be considered a top clearance agent,” Driscol said. “He will be advised that he can’t talk to civilians about certain information that he uncovers. And we can’t have you listening in when we have no way of knowing when he’ll witness something that you don’t have the clearance to hear.”

Driscol used her cell phone to call for an agent to escort him out of the building.

“I’ll see you at dinner,” Paul said to his son.

“Bye, Dad,” Brian said.

He watched his father reluctantly leave the room.  A heavy, sinking feeling settled in the pit of Brian’s stomach as he waited for Driscol to speak.

“There’s no need to be anxious. We’re here to protect you and you’re in a very secure location,” Driscol said. She turned to gaze at the doctor. “Did you manage to heal up the brainwashing and discover what it was for?”

“Because it’s occurred for so many years, I wasn’t able to undo the damage in one session. It will probably take several weeks of daily treatments to heal. I wasn’t able to determine the psychic manipulation involved except to rule out telepathy. The next most probable form of brainwashing would be psychometry but it could also be caused by an exotic ability such as an HT psi.”

“How long until you can determine who is the culprit?” Driscol asked.

“I may never discover the one who caused this unless we can catch him or her in the act or find physical evidence,” Freeland said.

“Is this mental damage what is causing his inability to use remote-viewing and connectivity psi to track down the researchers?”

“Yes, it is the cause. I sense that it isn’t intentional but rather an unexpected reaction to the brainwashing,” Freeland explained. “The mind is extremely complex and manipulations often create unanticipated anomalies.”

“Interesting,” Driscol said grimly. “Do you think that you managed to heal him well enough that he could use remote-viewing effectively now?”

“It will probably take up to a week until we reach that point but it doesn’t hurt to practice the skill,” Freeland said.

“We’re going to begin another hypnosis session,” Driscol said grimly.

“I need to go,” Freeland said abruptly.

“Of course,” Driscol said smoothly.

Freeland left the room and Driscol began another hypnosis session. Instead of creating a dream right away, she had Brian try to locate Samantha with his remote-viewing. Brian suffered the same lack of results as his earlier attempts. Driscol began the routine for directed dreaming but before a vision could start, he snapped out of the altered state as uneasiness focused his awareness on his surroundings.

“Something’s happening,” Brian said.

“What do you mean?” Driscol frowned with displeasure. “You aren’t concentrating. It’s important to learn discipline so you can tap into your full potential.”