Psych Investigation Episodes: Episode 1 (A Young Adult Scifi / Fantasy) (52 page)

“
It’s Mic—” he tried to speak, but
his voice was tired, and exhaustion was washing over him. “Michael
here, do you copy?” he forced out at last.

“
This is Rebecca Alvarado, officer
of Recon Team B. We’re still waiting outside as instructed,
awaiting your orders, over.”

There was a shadow of movement from above
Michael, and it took him a moment to realize it was the form of
Kazou being tossed to the other end of the room. Somehow, Michael
knew he wouldn’t be able to get back up again either. Looking once
again to his right, he could see that now Sarah too, was lying on
her back, breathing heavily. The two Psychs would start their
killing soon.

“
Rebecca,” Michael croaked. “We’re
down.”

The voice from the other end sounded surprised,
but determined nonetheless. “All of you?” she asked.

“
Yes, even Paro. They don’t know I’m
speaking with you. Listen to me. I don’t think you guys, not even
all nineteen of you, will be able to handle these two. There’s no
need for you to die with us. Just leave.”

“
Negative,” the voice
replied.

Michael coughed a laugh. “You can’t refuse an
order from a Psych Operative,” he said.

“
We just did. Hang
tight.”

Michael groaned as his body was lifted
telekinetically, hovering in the air for a moment before he was
thrown in a direction he couldn’t discern. He was too exhausted to
register the motion, and only realized he was thrown to the right
when he landed next to Sarah with a grunt. Kazou was also sent
piling on top of them as he hit the ground with a roll, coughing
and moaning.

Ruin and Requiem came to hover over them, both
wearing their fashionable madness to the fullest. Ruin had by far
surpassed his sister’s menace, his face so contorted in lunacy that
Michael felt tears come unbidden to his eyes just glancing at
him.

“
Who should we kill first?” Ruin
asked.

“
Darling, let’s start with the
woman. I didn’t get to have any fun because of her
meddling.”

Sarah cried out in disgust at hearing the two
speak of her fate. Michael heard her screams and added his own. Not
for fear of his life, but for fear of seeing the woman who he loved
above all put through the grueling torture that these two had
perfected.

“
Come on now,” Michael begged.
“Can’t ya start with me? Leave Sarah alone and I promise I’ll
scream nice and loud fur ya. You like that, don’t you?”

Requiem cast her eyes down on Michael, but only
for a moment. It was Ruin who spoke.

“
No,” he said. “It’s personal now.
You people have caused us a great deal of misery. I will start with
the woman, because I know it will hurt more than anything I could
ever do to you.”

Michael screamed at him, empty sounds devoid of
words. He was too exhausted to make coherent speech—he was too worn
to think, either. He simply shouted his rage at them, a bellowing
sound that promised vengeance.

Sarah lifted off her back, floating up to hang
limply in the air. Her eyes were unfocused and her whimpering
stopped. Michael wondered if she still had the energy to scream, or
even look at the two that would end her life.

“
Show me, Sister. Show me the heart
that keeps this one breathing.”

Michael tried to stand. He tried to draw power.
But there was nothing he could do. Everything that could be done,
had been, and so now, lying on his back and gazing up at the limp
form of Sarah, he would witness the unspeakable—an atrocity so
great that Michael promised himself that even if he somehow lived
through the night, he’d take his own life to make up for
Sarah’s.

“
Do you see it, Darling?”

“
I do. What a wonderful heart it is.
I wonder what would happen if I—”

Requiem tugged on her brother’s arm and shook
him. “Ruin! Guns! They’re coming from behind, shield
us—now!”

Ruin spun around and Sarah fell back to the
floor, unharmed for the moment. One of the few sections of the wall
that had yet to be damaged detonated with military grade
explosives, blowing the western section inward and sending large,
rocky chunks rolling on the floor.

Before the smoke had finished rising, the
thunderous sound of nineteen firing rifles filled the terminal. The
flashing of the barrels casted the most light the place had seen in
an hour. Ruin held out his hand, and Michael could see the exertion
on the young Psych’s face. The bullets were pounding into his
barrier, some almost breaking it while others bounced off and fell
to the ground without much trouble.

Ruin began to sweat with the daunting task of
fending off such a large quantity of bullets all at once. They
poured into him, and each time they hit the barrier, there was a
small spark of light in front of him. Then the bullets ricocheted
in the opposite direction.

The recon officers wasted no time. When their
clips emptied, the terminal quieted but for the sound of the shell
casings clattering against the ground while the officers reloaded,
ready soon after for another volley of fire.

Never in Michael’s life had he been so glad to
hear the deep crackle of gunfire.

“
Brother, Darling!” Requiem cried.
“Can you hold them off?”

Ruin grunted. “I’m trying, Sister.”

The bullets assaulted the two Psychs, and Ruin
fended them off as they came. For a Kinetic, it was one of the
hardest things to do. Michael shook his head in disbelief while he
watched the young Psych maintain his defenses for such a long
period of time.

Any Telekinetic could make a decent burst if
they were trained, something that would send just about anyone or
anything packing. With bullets, they were too fast to see. You
never knew when a bullet was about to strike, so when someone held
a gun to a Kinetic, there were really only two options.

If it was just one or two gunman, then you
could try ripping the weapons out of their hands, but if it was
several, the only thing you could do was maintain a continuous
stationary burst. It was an exhausting—and sometimes
crippling—exertion of power, one that required you to literally
pour energy into one location and maintain it until the men who
were firing at you, well, stopped firing.

“
Is there anything you can do here,
Sister?” Ruin asked. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold them
off for.”

The bullets continued to fly at them, the sound
of gunshots filling the air. The brightness of nineteen automatic
weapons created an almost blinding display of flashing lights. Ruin
took one step back, then two, before he was shuffling backwards
with his sister, sweating and struggling to maintain his defenses.
If only Michael or Kazou could still move, now would be the perfect
time to finally put an end to the two. It was nothing more than a
wish, however. Michael couldn’t bring himself to speak let alone
stand.

“
Buy me some time, and I will handle
them, Darling.”

Several moments passed before yet again the
recon officers reloaded, intent on beating Ruin down until their
bullets finally penetrated his defenses. This time, Ruin did not
seem content to allow them a third round of fire. He gestured with
his hand and threw a burst of kinetic energy in their direction.
His stamina amazed Michael. Ruin had yet again been brought to the
point of exhaustion, and he was already recovering and building
back up his momentum.

The officers were thrown back, not hard enough
to be fatal, but hard enough to knock all nineteen men and women
off their feet.

Requiem grinned. The officers were quick to get
back to their feet. Before the first officer came to a full stand,
he collapsed back down again, followed soon after by the rest of
the officers. Some were still rising to their feet when they fell
back down, others had not yet begun to stand. Michael knew she
wasn’t killing them. She was putting them into a shallow sleep, an
extraordinary feat for a single Path to knockout that many people
at once.

“
There’s no time to toy around
anymore,” Ruin said with a disappointed sigh. He removed a small
knife from the back pocket of his dark jeans. “I’m ending this
now.”

He spun around and knelt down, placing his knee
on Sarah’s throat. She coughed, and Ruin slowly brought the knife
down on her neck. “I really wanted to play with this one,” he said.
“But I guess we’ll have to settle for this.”

The knife closed in on Sarah’s throat, and
Michael struggled for all he was worth to save Sarah, whimpering
but unable to move. This was it. They were going to die after all.
Closer and closer, the knife approached her throat. A sadistic glee
spread on Ruin’s face as the knife drew nearer.

There was a whooshing sound, like that of a
sword cutting through air. A sharp looking rock raced across the
terminal, smacking with an audible crunch into Ruin’s forehead.
Instinctively, Ruin dropped the knife, clutching at the trickle of
blood falling over his eyes. He looked enraged, livid, and he
howled in pain as he scanned the room for the source of his
misery.

There was a loud crash, and another section of
wall was blown out, admitting a limping, bruised man. Blood was
falling from his mouth, his arms, and almost every part of his
body. But he was far from dead—his eyes burned with the intensity
of a collapsing star. His hands were balled into fists, each
knuckle smothered in dark red blood.

”
You know …” he said to no one in
particular. “There are a lot of things in this world I don’t like.
I don’t like being yelled at. I don’t like when Jack makes stupid
comments. I don’t like long lines, or people that snore too loudly.
But now there’s a new thing, something I hate more than
anything
. I don’t like people who drop freaking buildings on
top of me!
”

Michael cried, as unmanly as it was, joined in
by Sarah. “Paro!” he called, finding his voice.

Paro looked beaten to a pulp. He was bruised,
limping, and not a single part of him appeared to be in good
condition. Ruin and Requiem walked over to him.

“
This one lived?” Ruin
asked.

“
It seems that way, Darling, though
it doesn’t look to be by much. We should kill him first, I think,
yes? He’s the only one still a threat to us.”

Ruin gestured with his hand … and let out a
sound resembling a squawk when nothing happened.

“
I’m sorry,” Paro said to Michael,
Sarah, and Kazou. “I never intended on letting you guys fight them.
You’re not quite ready for these types of Psychs. Someday, but not
yet.”

“
Darling—do something! Throw another
burst at him.”

Ruin was sweating, his eyes widening in fear
and confusion. “I’m trying, Sister! I have been.”

Looking closely, Michael could see that dust
and empty wrappers were moving as if by an invisible wind, yet it
was only slight, and in no way resembled the massive power Ruin had
been displaying all along.

You’ve gotta be kidding me.
Michael
thought to himself.
Paro’s not even being moved an inch? Not
even with all that force?

“
Sit,” Paro commanded.

Ruin and Requiem shouted in surprise. One
moment they were standing up straight, and the next they were
thrown to the ground, slamming face-first into the marble
floor.

“
Or, you can lie down,” he added
with a wry grin.

Paro walked over to Michael and knelt down
before him. There was concern on his face. “Did … did anyone die?”
he asked.

Michael struggled to form words but forced them
out. “No, we’re all still alive—ah! It hurts. We’re alive, Paro.
Everyone is still alive.”

Paro nodded. “Good, because I’d have killed
them both if you told me any differently.”

Michael trembled. He’d never seen Paro use this
much force before, never, not once in the years he’d known
him.

“
You guys did great. I’m so proud of
all of you, and I’m sorry I let you guys get hurt this much. I
should’ve known they’d do something crazy.”

Sarah tried to embrace Paro, but her arms were
shaking. Paro walked over to her, bent down and completed the hug.
Michael felt a pang of jealously—it was a shameful emotion. He
forced it from his mind.

“
I’m so happy you’re not dead,”
Sarah said.

“
That makes two of us.”

Michael brought himself into a sitting
position. “Shouldn’t you be keeping an eye on those two?” he
asked.

Paro waved a hand at Michael. “Don’t worry,
those two aren’t going anywhere. I’ve got them locked down. Right
now, it’s you three I’m worried about. Speaking of which, where’s
Jack and Melissa?”

“
I’m not sure. They were off chasing
Andy, but we haven’t seen them since,” Michael answered.

“
You guys really tore up the place,”
Paro said. His face lit up with astonishment. “I mean, how did you
guys manage to do this much damage? Between the train tracks and
now the upper terminal, this station will probably be out of
service for a year.”