Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (3 page)

A knock came from the door. A tall man entered
and whispered something into Paro’s ear, handing him a file before
leaving.

“
We seem to have some new
information that may pertain to this case. There have been some …
interesting developments that may lead us to be correct about our
killer, or killers, being students.”

The three other members of the team exhaled. In
the past, some of the bloodiest and most horrifying murders turned
out to be the work of mere children.

“
Odd,” Paro said. “It seems there
was an attack today in a classroom with a probable link to a
Psych.”

In one motion, the team turned their heads
towards Paro. Sarah exhaled, Kazou tensed, and Michael took his
feet off the table and sat up straight.

Sarah exclaimed, “Was anyone hurt?”

“
And who were they attacking?” Kazou
asked.

“
Well, according to the report no
one was injured, and it seems the attacker was after …” Paro
paused. He double-checked the file. Was he reading the proper
information? He checked once more before continuing to speak. “It
appears the attacker was after everybody’s homework.”

Michael scratched his nose while Sarah tilted
her head like a curious puppy, prompting Paro to recheck the file
yet again. He passed it around the room so his team could see for
themselves.

“
Do you think the attacker is one of
the suspects we’re looking for?” Sarah asked.

“
I’m not sure. There’s certainly the
possibility, but I believe it unlikely. Think about it. Up until
now, the murders have been conducted secretively. There’s been
little evidence to work with. Why would such a person give away his
or her location, especially over something so trivial?”

Kazou rubbed his chin. “Well, Paro, what are
the chances of more than one unregistered Psych being in the same
area? Personally, I think whoever is in that class is taunting us,
daring us to find them. What if our killer is growing overconfident
or bored?”

“
That’s something we’ll consider,”
Paro said. “But for the time being, we’ll need a list of everyone
in that class, along with full academic records. It’s very possible
we’re simply dealing with some overzealous brat. But, at any rate,
let’s at least find out who this kid is and take him or her into
custody. I’d prefer to know for sure.”

“
Sure, boss,” Kazou said.

“
Sarah, I want you at the Herbert
crime scene. See if you can find anything they happened to miss the
first time around, or anything else that might lead us to something
of value. Michael and Kazou will go with you. After all of you have
given it a final check, meet me at this Elms High. Even if this
fire is an unrelated incident, I can’t have some newbie Psych that
just discovered their abilities running loose and starting fires.”
Paro looked around the room. “And everyone, please, be careful. If
it turns out our killer and this kid is one in the same, we could
be dealing with one of our most vicious criminals yet. Take every
precaution to ensure your own safety.”

The three members of his team nodded their
acceptance. They rose from their seats and left Paro behind in the
dim room.

His team was not unique—there were many like it
around the world, all part of a government sanctioned organization
designed to deal with the growing number of Psychs in recent times.
Well funded and well trained, they were responsible for their own
kind.

Each member of his team was a Psych. Not that
there weren’t many “normal” people assisting in Psych matters, but
the people who ran things wanted to keep as little information as
possible from leaking out. The world was not yet ready for Paro’s
kind, and he didn’t think it ever would be.

The purpose of his team was to manage juvenile
Psychs, their behavior, health and everything that fell in between.
While others would scoff at their tasks and perhaps laugh it off as
the easiest of the jobs, Paro knew the difficulty firsthand. On
more than one occasion, they had gone after some of the deadliest
killers in the organization’s history. It amazed Paro how people so
young could act so violently. But in a way, he understood them.
Many were abused, brought into the world without loving parents,
and realizing their incredible abilities, they lashed out with
violence.

Paro sighed. He was a handsome man, with short
black hair and dark eyes. He looked older than a man in his
mid-twenties. He was muscular, though not quite to the degree of
Kazou. Paro maintained a solid physique, though he wasn’t as
persistent in his training as he was a few years earlier. He sat up
in his chair, giving the photos on the screen another glance. They
caused him to wince.

Thankfully, the majority of their cases weren’t
murders or acts of violence. Typically, Paro’s team dealt with
youths discovering their abilities and acting out. There were
thefts, of course, pranks and other sorts of mischief, but it was
usually a matter of finding the kids and scaring them, and then
freeing them on the promise of improved behavior—and their
silence.

A few minutes went by, and the assistant
returned, this time carrying another file containing the list of
students, their ages and full academic records. Paro frowned at the
man.

“
No photo IDs?”

“
Sorry about that, but this was all
we could get. You’re going to have to go down there yourself if you
want to see the kids.”

Paro nodded. “I was going there anyway. I’ll
see what I can find. Thanks, Dennis.”

“
Look at her, Adam. She’s
so hot.”

 
Adam listened to Jack ramble
and stare longingly at Melissa. The students were crowded together
in the school’s football field, waiting while the firefighters
extinguished the flames in the third-floor classroom.

 “
I have to ask her out! I
mean, after that trauma we all just went through, I might have a
shot this time.”

 
Adam leaned on a fence near
the bleachers, uninterested in Jack’s attempt to find love. “Never
mind that,” he said. “That fire in the classroom—how did you do
it?”

Jack paused a moment. “Hey, wait a minute. Now
I know I’m not exactly an honors student here, but you don’t really
think I’d start a fire just to save myself from an
F
? And
besides, I don’t even bring matches to school. You know I don’t
smoke.”

“
That’s not what I meant. Come on,
you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Adam opened his mouth to
continue speaking—and then paused. Was it possible Jack really
didn’t know? Adam wasn’t sure what he was accusing Jack of, either.
One minute they were sitting in a normal classroom, and then,
within the next four minutes every desk in the room was on
fire.

At first, he thought it the work of some
prankster. Perhaps someone had placed gasoline on the students’
desks before class? No, that was impossible. Everyone would have
smelled or noticed it.

I know what I saw
.
His pupils were
dilated. Jack was acting very unusual.

Adam had been close friends with Jack since
long before entering the tenth grade, and he was positive that his
friend wouldn’t lie to him.

But what happened?

 “
It’s like I’m telling you.
Your pupils were dilated, and then moments later the fires started.
It was beyond insane.”

Jack shrugged. “You must be mistaken, Adam. I
don’t recall any weird eyesight problems. You know what? It was
probably just passing indigestion. Besides, the teachers already
said the fire was due to like umm, a weird anomaly with the sun, or
something. At least, I think that’s what they said. I’ve never been
any good with sun-stuff.”

The neat lines the school had placed the
students in dissolved. Students wandered off towards all ends of
the field. Melissa stood on the grass near the other end of the
bleachers, huddled together with two of her friends, the three of
them chatting away.

“
She’s right there,” Jack said. “I
think I’m actually gonna do it this time. I’m serious. I’m feeling
really lucky today.”

“
Look, you need to forget about
that. I mean, let’s face it, Jack. You’re just going to humiliate
yourself. Besides, we have more important things to talk
about.”

“
Well, we can talk about whatever
you want later. I’m going over there!”

Adam watched his carefree friend march over to
Melissa. He decided to follow Jack, if for no other reason than
pure amusement. If Jack refused to discuss Adam’s theories now, he
would drop them for the time being.

Melissa had transferred to Elms High during the
beginning of the term, becoming immensely popular in a short period
of time, although Adam didn’t care much for her. She was
pretentious, overly snappy, and she dressed like a woman in her
late thirties. Melissa and her friends turned as they heard Adam
and Jack approach.

“
Hot day out today, isn’t it?” Jack
remarked casually to the girls. Adam took a seat on the bleachers
and waited for the show to begin.

“
Hey, I know you,” Melissa said.
“You’re that kid that sits in the back, the one that’s always
getting yelled at by the teacher. I remember, because last week the
teacher was yelling that you’ve missed every single assignment this
term. You’re Jack Harris, right?” The two girls behind Melissa
giggled. Even Adam, who was normally indifferent to such comments,
let out a chuckle from where he observed on the wooden
bleachers.

In a sadistic sort of way, it amused Adam to
watch his friend struggle to find a reply. Most people would quit
while they were ahead, but not Jack. No, he wouldn’t be satisfied
until he made a complete fool of himself.

“
Well, I guess you could say that’s
me,” Jack said. “But come on, homework is a waste of time. Anyway,
how about that fire in class today, eh? It was scary,
right?”

Melissa glanced at Jack with a puzzled
expression. “I think that’s pretty obvious. Personally, I can say
I’ve never seen anything like it. A girl has to learn to accept a
lot of things in life, but having her desk turn into an inferno for
no apparent reason, well, that’s not one of them. So, is there
something that you wanted, Jack?”

Adam refrained from snorting with laughter as
he watched his friend try and muster the courage to move forward.
Melissa’s tone wasn’t unfriendly, but it certainly wasn’t warm.
Adam felt the oncoming embarrassment in place of Jack, as he had
done so many times before.

 “
Well, you know, I just kind
of wanted to say hi, and all. I saw you standing here and I thought
hey, another classmate, maybe we could talk about that crazy fire,
and you know, some other stuff.”

Melissa yawned and scratched dirt from under
her nails as if nothing Jack said mattered to her. “It was really
weird,” she said. “Another mystery of life, I guess.”

“
You know, I actually didn’t do the
homework last week, and as bad as a fire is and all, I’m actually
kinda glad. Now that everyone’s homework has been burnt to a crisp,
Mr. Munson’s kind of out of luck, isn’t he?”

Melissa cocked an eyebrow and then walked to
the bleachers with her two friends. She took a seat before
continuing to speak. “Well, some of us, Jack, actually worked
pretty hard on that assignment, and won’t be glad if we have to do
it over again.”

Jack tensed, probably realizing he’d said the
wrong thing. He let out a breath and took a seat next to Melissa.
She gave no indication it bothered her.

“
Well, at least we’re not in class
for the time being.”

“
I suppose if you’re someone who
hates school that would be something to smile about.” She paused.
“What do you really want, Jack?”

 “
Well,” Jack began, “Melissa,
I really like you, and I have since the very first time I saw you.
Now I know that I’m not exactly smart, and I know that I’m lazy,
but if you gave me a chance I know I would make you
happy.”

Adam thought he’d fall off the bleachers. He
couldn’t believe the bluntness with which Jack asked Melissa out.
Not only was it poorly executed, but coming from Jack, it sounded
unreal.