Fiction
Here's the next part of Chains of the Phoenix, Chapter One. I forgot to mention that this is completely work safe, but I'm putting it behind cuts for thost that don't want to be bothered with long posts.
Chains of the Phoenix
By MancerBear
Chapter 1: Shielded Thoughts
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“We’ve lost him!”
“I’m sorry John, I thought we had him that time.”
“Damn it Paul, you’re trying too hard!” John stepped away from the small table that he was seated at and walked away a short distance. Turning back to face the table, he took a calming breath as he saw that his harsh words had hurt the other young man he had addresed.
“We need to take this easy Paul,” stated John, taking his seat by the table.
Paul looked at the older man, and realised that John was attempting to make an apology. As the oldest Tomorrow Person, John was incredibly skilled in his abilities, and expected nothing less from those who he associated with. Paul, on the other hand, was a new Tomorrow Person, only having recently broken out, and his powers were still untrained and raw.
“I know John, and I said I was sorry.”
“You know that if we don’t help him, he could very well die!” snapped John
“Alright John, I get the message,” growled Paul
John took another deep breath. An argument now would only make matters worse. He knew Paul was still new at all this, but John couldn’t help but think of the other Tomorrow People in his past, and how they understood the gravity of what was occurring. John found himself suddenly missing Elizabeth deeply, but quickly shut down that line of thought. “Well, just make sure that you’re more careful next time.”
Paul nodded his head, but John didn’t notice as he cast his gaze upwards towards a strange light fixture-like structure in the ceiling. “TIM? Did you manage to get a better idea of the break out’s location?”
“Yes John, I have,” came a disembodied voice. The light from the fixture throbbed in time with the voice, which was warm and, in many ways, fatherly. “But I’m afraid I’m still unable to give a precise location.”
“Close enough is good enough at the moment TIM,” replied Paul, which prompted an annoyed glance from John.
“I have managed to narrow our search parameters to the southeast coast of Australia,” stated TIM.
“At least that’s something,” muttered John. “We’ll just have to keep listening for him.”
Paul nodded his head, and then pushed himself away from the table. “I’m going to go back to studying then.”
No reply came for the older man, so Paul turned and mounted the stairs that led to his room on the second level, leaving John alone with his thoughts.
* * * * *
“A few tests... Huh!” cursed Ben as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He had never, in all his life, ever been exposed to such an array of probing, inquisitive, and invasive procedures as he had been in the last few hours. EEGs, ECGs, MIRs, blood tests, urine tests; and after all that, he was sent home with the initial results proving to be inconclusive. An unusual spike in his ECG, but nothing to be alarmed over he had been assured.
Snorting in disgust, Ben stepped over to the mirror and looked at himself. At 18, he still wasn’t shaving every day, not even every week. Just a late bloomer, his father said. Ben longed for the day when he would be able to grow the thick sort of facial growth his father had worn for as long as he could remember. Ben had seen photographs of his father when he was his age, and even younger, and the evidence of a thick beard and moustache could be seen even then. Lifting up his right arm, Ben examined his armpit. There certainly was hair growth there, but not nearly as thick as he would have expected for a young man his age. All of the other boys in Ben’s class exhibited the signs of concluding puberty, yet Ben felt that he was barely half way through. His voice had broken late when he was 16, which provided his schoolmates no end of ammunition to torment him with. He’d be going to university next year, yet Ben felt as if he wasn’t ready for it yet, as if something should have happened by now, but hadn’t. Sitting down on the edge of the bath, Ben recalled what he had overheard the doctor saying to his parents when he had been asked to leave the hospital room earlier in the day. There was some slight evidence of a brain tumour, the doctor explained to his parents, which could explain his delayed puberty. More tests would have to be taken, and at the moment there was no need to worry, but it was something that they would need to be prepared for.
As he sat there, a slight throbbing began behind Ben’s eyes, accompanied by the faint ululating moan that was evidence of another impending headache.
“Damn!” Ben groaned in frustration. “Not again.”
[Ben?]
Bringing his head up at the sound of his name, Ben frowned slightly as a sharp pain jabbed behind his eyes. Squinting at the annoyance, he stood up and walked towards the bathroom door, wrapping the towel around his waist.
“Mum? Dad?”
Neither of Ben’s parents should have responded, as they had both returned to work after they had brought him home from the hospital. They had wanted to stay with him, but Ben assured them that he was fine, and that he would go to bed after having a quick shower.
[Ben?] came the voice again, this time from behind him. Spinning around quickly, Ben scanned the room with his eyes, but could find nothing out of the ordinary. The moaning in his head was increasing in volume, becoming louder with each calling of his name.
[Ben, break out Ben, break out,] the voice called again, but now from beside him. Snapping his head in the direction of the voice, Ben saw nothing.
[Ben, break out. Join us,] the voice muttered once more, this time from the opposite side. Faster and faster, Ben’s name was repeated over and over again, from all directions, surrounding him, encompassing him, penetrating him, all the while accompanied by the incessant ululating moan.
“No! Leave me alone!” cried out Ben, bringing his hands to ears. But the voices continued, even louder than before as Ben slowly sunk to his knees, a sob of pain and frustration escaping his lips. No longer able to support himself under the verbal barrage, he collapsed to the ground and drew his knees up to his chest into a protective foetal position, but the voices continued. Shaking in rage and pain, he gathered what remaining strength he had and steeled himself against the head-splitting agony he was feeling.
Drawing in a deep breath, he screamed out his defiance.
“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
The voices and moaning stopped suddenly, as did the pain, leaving in its place a strange, almost pleasant sensation. Exactly what it was, Ben couldn’t explain, but he felt much better than he had in a long time. Opening his eyes, Ben lifted himself off the floor and grabbed the towel as it slipped from his waist and returned to his room to get dressed.
* * * * *