Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (46 page)

“
Back-right hit,” she called yet
again.

The silver Lexus swerved on the road, losing
control and skidding. The vehicle came to a stop, and Jack, without
even realizing he was doing so, howled in victory. “Hell yeah! You
go, girl!”

The recon officer turned to him and smiled—it
was the first time one of them had looked at him with anything
other than disgust. “My name is Rebecca, Mr. Harris. And yeah, I am
kind of awesome.” She winked.

“
You’re more than awesome,” he
cheered. For some reason, Melissa snarled. Rebecca returned to her
seat, but not before stopping to ruffle Jack’s hair. Even with the
heavy dark-blue T.A.C gear, she was gorgeous. She had bright
red hair, smooth green eyes, and freckle just above her nose that
only made her look cuter.

Melissa didn’t seem to like the exchange for
some reason and leaned over to kick Jack in the shin. He cried out
in pain and shot Melissa a look of hurt.

What is her problem?
Jack thought
bitterly.

The van sped towards the now immobile car. They
were on a busy intersection across the street from a train
terminal, not unlike the one Jack had brought Andy to back at home.
The three Psychs jumped out of the car and made a run for the
station. The driver slammed on the brakes, and Jack prepared
himself. This time, they weren’t getting away.

Before the van had fully stopped moving, Jack,
followed by the rest of the team, leapt out of the side door and
hit the ground running. Jack charged for all he was worth,
unwilling to let Andy get any farther or allow him to kill even
more people. Melissa grabbed the back of Jack’s shirt while he was
still mid-run, causing him to fall backwards.

“
Jack, are you out of your mind?”
Cars flew by on the other end of the intersection. The roar of
their passing left a ringing sound in Jack’s ears. “Wait for the
red-light. What good will it do if you go after them and get
yourself killed by a car?”

It only took a few moments for the light to
turn red and the passing cars to stop, but to Jack it felt like an
eternity. People watched in fascination as the nineteen heavily
armed recon officers ran across the intersection with Jack and the
team, assault rifles cradled in their arms. One man stuck his head
out of his car and shouted at them.

“
Hey!” he yelled. “Is there
something going on? Is there a terrorist attack or
something?”

Other people stared wide-eyed and added their
own voices. Jack followed Paro and the recon officers, ignoring the
shouts from behind him. The fact that it was night only added to
the suspense.

“
Won’t they become suspicious?” Jack
asked while he ran. They raced into the train terminal and through
a crowd of terrified onlookers, most of who were probably wondering
why a gigantic police force—what they probably assumed were SWAT
officers—were storming their location.

“
Of course,” Paro said, “but as long
as we refrain from using any Psych abilities, anything that happens
can be explained. People already know about the series of murders
in Elms New Jersey, and if we succeed here—which we must—then
they’ll also learn that the murderers were apprehended at a train
station in Staten Island. Only a few people will ever know the full
details.”

Jack followed Paro to the head of the stairs
leading down to the tracks. It was a wide area with no roof, and
the ceiling consisted of only rusty metallic beams with large
windowless openings along the top, supported by old, dirty beams
running from the ground up.

Paro spoke to the men behind him. “Recon teams,
listen carefully. Secure the area, surround the complex, and
evacuate all civilians. Don’t follow us down. My team will handle
it from here.”

The officers saluted Paro then eighteen of them
broke formation to evacuate the citizens in the terminal. There
were no protests, or even questions from the people who were
attempting to travel by train that night. Most had already left the
moment they saw the recon officers rushing inside, and the few that
didn’t were more than happy to walk, if not sprint away.

One recon officer remained behind, Rebecca, the
one who’d shot the tires out the Lexus Andy had fled in. “Mr.
Harris,” she said. “Be careful.” She turned and with haste rejoined
her squad members.

Jack didn’t know what that was all about, but
for some reason Melissa had a dangerous glint in her eyes upon
witnessing it. Jack followed Paro down the steps and looked around
the station for any sight of Andy and the other Psychs.

“
They should be surrounded,” Sarah
said. “They are in this room somewhere. I’m sure of it, yet … I
can’t pinpoint their exact location. They’re probably
hiding.”

Paro grinned. “They probably think they’ll
sneak onboard a train, but little do they know none are coming—I’ve
taken care of that. Michal, Kazou, keep your guard up. If their
Kinetic tries to throw anything at us, you two need to either knock
it out with Telekinesis, or beat it down with fists. Melissa and
Jack, I want you two to stay close and keep your eyes peeled. If
you see them, make sure to tell me. Let me go in first. And
Melissa,” he added in a lowered voice. “If you see the eyes … you
know what to do.”

A look of worry crossed her for a moment,
replaced soon after with a bold determination. “I do,” she
answered.

Jack had no idea what they were talking about,
but at that moment he didn’t care. All he wanted was to put a stop
to the murders and to find Andy.

Andy, why do I still feel like I did
something terrible to you? And why can’t I
remember?

Michael and Kazou spread out to both sides of
the group, and Jack appreciated the well thought out formations
Paro used. With one of them covering each side, they’d be able to
protect the team regardless of where an attack came
from.

Paro motioned for the rest of the team to
follow, and together they crept along the station. There were
benches on both sides, as well as stairs on both ends that led to
and from the terminal. Jack was certain they’d arrived early
enough, at least so that if Andy or the other Psychs tried to
escape through either set of stairs, then the recon officers
would’ve radioed it in. That meant they were in the station
somewhere.

“
Let’s check the other end of the
tracks,” Sarah said. “They’re in here for sure, but where are they
hiding?”

Melissa once again grabbed Jack’s shirt. “Now
what, Melissa?” Jack grumbled. “I’m not even moving.”

“
Yeah,” she said, “but in a second
or two you and I both know that you’d try to run across those train
tracks—and don’t even give me that look. Quit acting like you
wouldn’t.”

They walked down the narrow path leading to the
other end of the room and crossed over the ramp that allowed
passage from one side of the tracks to the other. Jack looked
around the room and realized that for a train station, there were
quite a few places to hide.

The place was filthy and filled with discarded
newspapers, plastic—and sometimes glass—cups and bottles
everywhere, old wrinkled potato chip bags and discarded shoes.
There were even half-eaten rotten sandwiches and other types of
stuff that looked like at one time it might’ve been
food.

They moved at a slow pace. Every few feet there
was a ridge in the beams behind them, a place where a few people
might’ve been able to hide in the dark of the night. They were
careful to check each one, making sure it was empty. In the
daytime, there’d have been no place for the three to hide, but at
night, finding them was a daunting task.

“
They must have broken all the
lights,” Kazou said. “It shouldn’t be this dark in here. Sarah, are
you positive they’re still in this area? We’ve checked everywhere.
I think we should retrace our steps.”

She stomped her foot to the ground like a child
and gave Kazou a defiant look. “I am!” she insisted. She turned
around to face away and lowered her head in disappointment. Jack
wondered why she had such a moody reaction.

Melissa whispered in his ear,
“She’s very
sensitive when it comes to people doubting her, Jack. Sarah is one
of the weakest Telepaths in our organization. Actually, she’s one
of the weakest Psychs altogether. It really, really, really upsets
her. She always doubts and hates herself whenever she makes a
mistake. She thinks she’s not good enough for us.”

Jack nodded. “Hey, Kazou,” he called
out.

Kazou turned around and faced Jack.
“Yes?”

“
We better keep looking because if
someone as good as Sarah is saying they’re still in here, well, I’d
bet my own life that they’re just under our noses.”

It was hard to make out with her face turned
away from them, combined with the darkness of the terminal, but
Jack was sure he saw the left side of Sarah’s face raise into a
smile. She even seemed to blush. Michael and Paro too, seemed to be
wearing genuine smiles, and Michael even winked.

“
Jack’s right, Kazou,” Michael said.
“I trust Sarah with my life. If she says they’re here, then they
are.”

Kazou only shrugged and moved with them along
the narrow path while they continued their search. They reached the
other end of the room, across the side of the tracks opposite from
where they’d entered. The team peered around in confusion. Jack was
getting desperate.

“
We’ve checked everywhere,” Jack
said. “I don’t get it. Where could they have gone?”

Sarah shifted uneasily on her feet. “Maybe I
was wrong after all,” she said doubtfully. “I’m really not all that
good.” She twirled her fingers and tried not to meet their
eyes.

Paro put a hand on her shoulder. “Sarah,” he
said. “I tell you this all the time, but you’re too hard on
yourself. You’re one of the—”

“
Are you crazy?”
Jack
yelled at her. “You’re amazing, Sarah. You brought us here. Without
you we wouldn’t have even gotten this far. You’re totally cool, and
I know I’m new to the team and all, but I don’t think there’s
anyone else than you that I’d rather be on the same side as. Now
tell us, because I know that you know. Are they still in
here?”

Sarah scrambled forward and hugged Jack,
kissing his forehead. “Thank you.” With a new strength in her eyes,
she glanced down to the floor. “Yes. They are definitely here.” Her
voice left no hint of doubt or question.

Paro gave Jack a pat on the back. “Just this
once,” Paro whispered, “I’ll let you off the hook for interrupting
me.”

Jack broke away from them. He walked forward
towards the tip of the narrow pathway. It was a bit of a steep drop
to the tracks below—not enough to cause damage but enough to make a
person grunt in pain. He was careful not to fall off as he scanned
the area. Something had been bothering him since they’d entered the
terminal.

“
Something wrong, Jack?” Paro
asked.

“
Nah, it’s nothing. I mean. It’s
making me a little nervous, but you guys didn’t say anything about
it so I’m sure it’s fine.”

Michael scratched his head and looked around,
receiving blank stares from the rest of the team. “Does anyone know
what he’s talking about? Jack, what’s making you
nervous?”

“
Well, the beams that are holding up
that roof-thing. I mean, if you look closely they look like they’ve
been crumbling and getting weaker, but you guys didn’t say
anything, so I figured it must be normal.”

Michael and Sarah regarded each other in
confusion, while Kazou, Paro and Melissa twitched as if struggling
to remain calm. “Paro, please tell me Jack’s just seeing things.”
Melissa begged.

Paro walked to the nearest support-beam, and
ran a hand over it. Panic sprung up almost immediately on his face.
It spread outward, and like a chain reaction, caused the rest of
the team become panicked one by one, until even Kazou appeared
dismayed.

“
Damnit, Jack, why didn’t you say
anything before?” Paro yelled. “Why did you wait until
now?”

Jack, a little annoyed, frowned—he did
not
like when people shouted at him. He pointed a finger at
Paro and gave a dirty look. “Well, you guys are supposed to be all
like, amazing and stuff, right? I just thought that you or one of
the other guys would say something if anything was wrong. What are
the chances of someone like me noticing it and no one
else?”