Genetics

Chapter Eight

I winced, slowly straightening. I hadn’t expected it to be this difficult. We’d be walking for about an hour and every few minutes I had to stop to give her energy. I’d never felt pain from simple little tasks like this before but my head throbbed and it felt like I could barely hold it up.

Lex blinked and then kept walking. I groaned a little and then trudged after her, wincing again as little black spots swam in my vision. I couldn’t remove the pain either - the little energy I had left had to go to Lex.

When I was too tired to walk anymore we stopped. We hadn’t gone far – the forests surrounding hole were still visible, even if they were little spots. But it was far enough. “Sit.”

Lex did as I instructed and I sat down opposite her. She was looking through me, gazing in my direction without ever seeing me. Sighing, I concentrated on her signal and gave it a little boost. She blinked again, her eyes focusing on me. “Willow?” Her voice was raw, as if she had been talking for hours even though she had barely spoken since we had left hole. “Willow, where am I?”

I gently brushed the hair from her face. “Lex, do you remember what I said?”

“You said…” She frowned, her gaze flickering away. I turned her head back to face me but her gaze remained fixed on the sand.

I looked back towards hole. It’d have to be now – I couldn’t keep this up. Reaching forward, I cupped her face with my hands. “Look at me, Lex.” Her eyes moved to mine and I pushed forward instantly, moving into her mind. It was like a thick fog had settled over her, a side affect to what I had done earlier. The energy I was feeding her slowly pushed the cloud away, enabling her to think clearly again. It wouldn’t last for long, but then again, it didn’t need to.

When I felt her signal react to my presence I withdrew, blinking as we disconnected. “Do you remember what we talked about, Lex?”

“Yes…” Tears welled up in her eyes. “But how do you know it’ll work? What
if it dosen’t?”

“It’ll work.” I closed my eyes, focusing the little energy I had left. I stretched out, back to hole, before I saw Fame’s signal. Then I sent a burst of power in his direction – it was weak for me but hopefully still strong enough for the Sourcebox to pick up on it.

I opened my eyes. “You have to walk now, Lex.”

“Okay.” She hurriedly wiped her eyes and then gave me a smile, her lip trembling. Turning, she started to walk along the road we had been travelling down. For the first few steps she strode purposefully, walking quickly. Then as the power I had given her slowly disappeared she slowed down until at last she was barely moving, looking around her in confusion.

It had been about ten minutes from my burst – already I could see the dust clouds in the distance which meant Fame was coming. I lay back on the sand, closing my eyes. I’d never tried this before and I was kind of scared. I’d spent my whole life believing death to be an enemy, something to avoid. The thought of going to sleep and never waking up…

I pushed my fears aside, refusing to dwell on them any longer as I began to concentrate. Withdrawing deep inside my mind I began to create a small mental cocoon for myself, a place where I would not be damaged.

And then I killed myself.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Fame slowly closed the door behind him, looking at the body on the ground with a slightly frown. “I want a thorough check.” He ordered.

Lieutenant Bunkers saluted sharply. “Yes sir, right away, sir.” It didn’t take long – after about five minutes the doctor shook his head. “She’s dead, sir.”

Fame looked down at the body. “Do we know cause of death?”

“Not without a full autopsy, sir.” The private rolled over the body, pointing to a small lump on the back of it’s neck. “It looks like an implant, sir. I’d say something went wrong.” His gaze swept the body. “She’s fairly young although judging by the looks she’s been malnourished the past few years – could be a few health problems are a factor.”

“Yes.” Fame turned away. “Radio in for a pickup and give the coordinates. I want the autopsy report on my desk by tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

He was close, he knew. After all, a Genetic had sent the signal from the Sourcebox and with Willow dead the chances of him finding the Genetic were much higher. Of course, the thought of what to do then was slightly troublesome – he had brought in a favour with an old friend of his, a General in the army, but even with the soldiers he was uneasy. He could only presume this was because he had seen the signal – he had seen the power. He wanted that power and soon he would have it.

He got back into the car and they set out again, following the road. Up ahead he could see a figure walking and he looked down at the Sourcebox. He’d have to confirm it once he was closer but it looked like his Genetic was less then fifty meters away. “Tell your teams to prepare for engagement.”

The Lieutenant in the front seat nodded, quickly relaying the message to the other teams. After a few more minutes of travelling, they had almost caught up with the Genetic. Fame frowned – the Genetic didn’t even seem to realize they were they. She was walking slowly, stumbling occasionally on rocks she didn’t seem to notice. “She must be blind,” he muttered to himself. “But surely she would hear... Pull over near her.”

As the car slid to a stop he got out, motioning for the others to wait in the car. He moved forward carefully but again she seemed to not see him. He walked next to her for a few steps and then hesitantly reached out, touching her shoulder. She stopped, standing still with her eyes fixed on the ground. Moving to the front, he bent over to look at her properly. Her eyes flickered to his for just a split second before returning to the dirt – not blind, then, but not right either.

He hit a few buttons on the Sourcebox’s screen, smiling slightly as the resounding signal was displayed. “Ah.” He reached out, gently taking her arm. “Come with me.”

She followed him to the car and he helped her inside before climbing in himself. “Sir, she appears to have a mental disability,” Lieutenant said hesitantly.

“Yes, it would appear so.” Fame studied her thoughtfully. “It will make it easier for us.” He sighed slightly. “However, its doubtful she will ever be able to reach her full power capacity. I would have loved to have met her in a different life.”

The girl turned her head, looking him straight in the eye. “Will…” She sighed slightly as her eyes rolled backwards, her head slumping against the seat.

“What-“ Fame leaned forward, feeling for a pulse. “Pull over!” He yelled as he unbuckled her seatbelt, moving her to lie flat on the seat so he could perform CPR. He dimly registered the car move to a stop and a few minutes later, a light touch on his shoulder let him know she was gone. “What the hell just happened?” He seethed.

“Sir… you might want to take a look back down the road.”

He turned his head. A few meters away, standing still as a statue but very much alive, was Willow. “No.” He climbed out from the car, slamming the door behind him. “No!” He roared as he ran towards her. His hand flew out without his consent, his blow knocking her to the ground. She stared up at him, blood trickling from her lip and simply blinked. “How did you do this?” He growled, rage roaring through his veins as he shook her violently. “How did you kill her when you yourself were dead?”

“Sir!”

He straightened, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “Put her under arrest.”

“And the body, sir?”

“Put that in the back. An autopsy might not have made this totally useless.” He watched as a Private grabbed Willow, forcing her hands behind her back. She did little to resist, her eyes never leaving Fames. She was smiling slightly, a smile so infuriating he wished he’d done more then given her a split lip. “That really wasn’t your best plan,” he snarled instead. “You might not be as powerful but that little display says you’ll certainly be interesting.” Now it was his turn to smile. “Especially when we cut you up.”

She stared out the window as they travelled, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze or even acknowledge their presence. Fame just sat in his seat, allowing himself a self-satisfied smile. She had robbed them of their prize but the power she had displayed to do so was nothing to be sneezed at. She would be useful and although he would make her regret what she had done he had no doubt his superiors would be please. Perhaps pleased enough for that promotion he had been eyeing for the past few months.

“Sir, the Sourcebox is picking up a reading further ahead.”

“We don’t have time.” Fame replied dismissively.

“It’s a fairly large signal, sir. At this distance it must be phenomenal.”

Greed sparked his interest. If the first Genetic had been near here, maybe she had a brother or sister with a similar power level. Willow and another powerful Genetic would give him far more then a simple promotion. “Head towards the signal, Lieutenant. We’ll investigate and see if there’s anything to it.”

“Sir, the Sourcebox…” As the Lieutenant trailed off, Fame glanced up sharply.

“Yes, Liuet-“ He too trailed off as he stared at the front window. People stood across the road, at least a few hundred. The sun glinted off black hair and white skin and they stood still, watching as the cars grew closer. “Lieutenant, turn around-“ Fame began.

Time seemed to slow. It felt like everything was happening through thick fog as the car spun, the loud screeching of wheels filling his ears. Suddenly they were spinning, the car shaking violently as it rolled before coming to a halt on its roof. He tried to talk but his tongue felt like a thick pillow and his thoughts kept alluding him. Hands grabbed him and pulled him from the car and he dimly registered a deep voice, “Enough, Reda.”

Just like that the cloud was lifted, his senses rushing back with a bang that brought everything sharply to focus. “What-“

“We are releasing your prisoners.”

Fame drew himself up hauntingly. “These prisoners are the property of our government-“

The man smiled slightly, muscles bulging as he folded his arms over his chest. “Reda?” A small skinny man on his left blinked and Fame froze, as did the other people near him.

*~*~*~*~*~

I glanced at the frozen people, curious. “What did you do to them?” I asked. the only person from the car still moving.

Reda shrugged slightly. “I took away their sense of time. Time still passes but for them it’s like standing in a fog – movement is heavy, speaking is difficult. I’ve completely removed time from them-“ he nodded to the still statues, “so they’ll be frozen until I give it back and even then they won’t realize time hasn’t disappeared.”

It was a strange ability but it sounded useful. I turned, eyeing the road towards hole. In the distance, a cloud of dust loomed. “I don’t know why he travelled alone but there are more coming. Can you cover them all? They have weapons.”

This time Rock spoke. “No, he can’t. But there are enough of us here.”

“To do what?” I asked, than frowned darkly. So this was how a war was started. A group believing they were protecting something and the other group believing they had no right.

“Fight with us, Willow. We could use your ability.” Ice moved to stand near me, gazing at me through eyes I didn’t understand. “Fight with us,” he repeated softly.

I tipped my head to one side, my eyes betraying my sadness. “What would you have me do? Kill?”

He looked puzzled. “Only humans. No one important.”

I remembered the way it had felt to watch Sheriff Walker die. That light hadn’t been insignificant. It didn’t matter what person he was, the light was bright enough to fight for and there was nothing else like it on the planet. I looked Ice straight in the eye and then hesitated. It wasn’t something I could explain. I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to explain, either.

So I turned and I walked back to the car. It was upside down, smoke pouring from the engine. Walking back to the boot, I grabbed the handle, pulling it open. Lex’s head dropped out, her head and arm dangling on the dirt. I looked down at her for a moment before reaching inside, carefully picking up her top half and dragging her from the car.

“Willow. We need to talk.”

I ignored Rock as I pulled her away from the group. Carefully placing her on the dirt, I turned away, scanning the area. The mountains loomed to the left of the road, dark with the forests that covered them. I would be safe there – we would be safe there. Picking Lex back up, I started towards the forest, half carrying, half dragging her. After I had gone a few steps Rock appeared, wordlessly reaching down and gathering Lex in his arms.

I offered no resistance, simply saying, “We’re going to the forests.”

He nodded, striding off in the direction of the mountains. I trailed after him, glancing back to see the group still standing where they were. The cloud in the distance was getting bigger. “They need you to lead them.”

“They need you to fight,” he replied without looking in my direction.

“I will not kill.” It sounded more like a vow than a simple statement but I didn’t care. I didn't want to feel that pain, ever again.

“We all felt the blast, you know.” He saw my frown and continued, “Yesterday. There was a massive power burst – every Genetic in this area could feel it. I recognized your ability.”

I glanced down at the ground. “What right have we to kill them?”

“What about the thousands they killed?” He turned to face me, anger and despair written across his face. “Have you ever asked why, Willow? They claim because we’re prone to anger, because we’re dangerous, but half-Gens are safe. Sure, they don’t have abilites but the key is that their normal. People look at them and they see a human. They talk to them, they hear a human. They see us, they see a monster and they never stick around long enough to hear us.”

I turned to face him. “Is that all it would take to stop this? Us to look like them?” I nodded at Lex, cradled in Rock’s eyes. He glanced down at her, then back at me, frowning slightly. Then he reached out his hand, lightly touching my shoulder. We both blinked and his frown grew.

“She’s the one we’ve been looking for? And she has no ability?”

“None.” I reached out, gently brushing her hair. “But while I exploring her powers I saw how her DNA was fixed.” I reached up, carefully pressing my fingers against the contacts I wore. Removing them, I blinked rapidly, than looked up at Rock. “See?”

He looked down at the contacts on my fingers, clear plastic with rings of blue to change my eye colour. Then he looked at my eyes again. “I don’t understand,” he said at last. “Your eyes are still blue.”

“I learnt how my DNA is supposed to be. I fixed it and I can fix yours too.”

“But it didn’t remove your ability…” He seemed excited but mistrustful of what I was saying.

“It’s not a permanent change. I don’t know what that would do but I don’t think I’ll try it.” I reached out, gently taking Rock’s head in my hands.

“If it can cause damage…” He said nervously.

“Ssh.” I replied softly. “This won’t hurt.”

I don’t know how to explain it. It was like nothing I had ever done before. With myself it was a bit like picturing myself like that and then really focusing. With him, I could feel his blood rushing through his body. It slowed down, although only within my mind and I moved closer to it. My mind touched it as if it was my hand, a sticky and slightly hot feeling. And then I concentrated before slowly releasing the blood and moving away. He blinked, than glanced down at his hands cupped around Lex. His smile faded as he realized they were still white and he looked up at me with disappointment.

“You need to sleep first. And when you sleep again the changes will be gone.”

“Oh.” He turned to glanced back at the group. “They will fight, Willow, regardless of what I tell them.”

Disappointment crashed over me. If I made them normal, what reason was there to fight? When I said so, Rock simply looked at me. “Surely it has not been that long since you were one of us?” He queried. “Acting on an impulse to be human for a day won’t help us in the future.”

“And fighting the humans will?” I asked, frustrated. “There are many of them coming, Rock and a lot more out there! We may win a battle against a few humans in cars but we’ll lose the battle against a world.”

“When we win the battles the world will fear to fight us.”

I looked down at Lex. She looked small and fragile in Rock’s arms. Would I be able to protect her in the forest? As if reading my thoughts, Rock said softly, “It’s dangerous amongst the trees, little one. Your ability makes you strong but how can you hunt, find water, build shelter or move quickly with a body to carry? If you leave her alone, how do you find her with no signal to follow? How do you protect her when her brain is gone?”

The clouds were close enough for me to make out the tanks and cars. How many people did they carry? I looked back at Rock, realizing his purpose in talking to me. I couldn’t run with Lex and now the battle was about to happen with us standing near. I had no way to guarantee I could keep her safe. And as I looked up at Rock I could see that he knew in his eyes – I didn’t blame him but at that moment I wondered how far Rock would go in his war against the humans.

“If I fight with you will you keep her safe?”

He glanced down at her. “I will find someone who can.”

Still I hesitated. “Okay,” I said reluctantly. “if she remains safe I will fight. I won’t kill but they won’t get up for a while.”

Rock yelled out a name I didn’t quite hear, raising an arm high in the air. A few seconds later a small girl appeared. She didn’t look much older then Lex – certainly no bigger. “Take her to the forests.”

The girl looked less then pleased as Rock carefully placed Lex on her back. She was almost doubled by the weight but as I blinked she sped off, disappearing into the distance faster then I could say ‘bye.’

“Huh.” I could no longer see them and I turned back to the group, following Rock back. I would need electricity for this – I had to be precise to make sure my enemies stayed alive. My mind flashed to the power plant and I reached out, feeling the energy and drawing it towards me. Instantly the pain exploded in my head, again originating from the base of my neck. “Willow?” I heard Rock’s voice dimly as my vision swam.

What is happening to me? I thought as I fell to the ground.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Willow opened her eyes. Rock was standing over her, looking down at her with worry across his face. “What just happened?”

She took the hand he offered, allowing him to help her up. “I don’t know,” she said after a slight pause.

“But you’re okay, yes?”

She nodded slowly. “Fine.” Her head turned and she gazed at the cars that were pulling up nearby, tanks rolling up to join them. “They wish to harm us.”

“Yes,” Rock said after a slight pause.

“To stop them we should kill them.”

Again Rock paused, then nodded. “The only way to protect ourselves is to kill them.”

“Ah.” She frowned slightly. “I don’t know why I didn’t see that earlier. I don’t think I was thinking clearly.” She walked towards the front of the group.

The people had climbed out of their cars. Many hold guns, aimed straight out the Genetics. “We order you to stand down,” one of the men snapped. “You have attacked a federal marshal and are also Pure Genetics. Should you attempt to fight we are authorised to shoot to kill.”

“We, too, will kill,” someone said with a voice of stone.

Willow stepped forward, her mind reaching out to the one who had spoken. She saw his light, displayed with every beat of his heart, took it within her mind and squeezed. It vanished almost instantly, collapsing on the ground. “You will die first,” she snarled.

Her actions fuelled the Genetics and they all sprang forward, claws outstretched. The sound of gunfire pierced the air as bullets rushed forward, some passing harmlessly while some struck bodies. Still the Genetics pressed forward in a display of great power and abilities. Night was further back in the lines, her gaze flickering throughout the lines of Genetics to enhance their abilities. Ice was standing next to her, occasionally pointing to a human and yelling something Willow could not hear.

She herself hid behind the first line of Genetics, always making sure she had a body for cover. Her eyes flickered from human to human, joining the other Genetics in making them collapse. One of the strange cars roared, a sound like fire and something large and heavy was spat into the Gentics, killing those too close. Willow focused her gaze on the strange cars. That was what she would have to do.

She looked around for Rock and strode towards him. “I need cover to reach the cars!” She yelled over the noise of gunfire and angry and painful screams from the Genetics. Rock grasped the head of a solider who had strayed too close without a gun and twisted violently. As the solider collapsed on the ground he turned to look at Willow. “Shiro!” He pointed towards a man at the very front of the groups. Shiro was grasping the hands of two Genetics, turning their skin an icy blue and the bullets did not strike them, falling to the ground as if hitting a brick wall.

Willow walked over to him, her gaze flickering to the man before them. When he fell to the ground she leant forward, yelling into Shiro’s ear, “I need to destroy the special cars!”

“Kind of busy!” Shiro grunted, his knuckles turning white as he grasped the Genetics. One of them seemed to be doing something to the humans memory – every time he locked eyes with one of them they stopped what they were doing and looked around in confusion. The other Genetic then killed them although his ability seemed to rest on the inside and she could not tell what he did.

The special cars spat again, this time the blast landing close enough to us to knock us to the ground. “Okay, I’ll help!” Shiro yelled as we rose to our feet and he reached out, grasping my hand. Willow felt as if she was cold as they moved forward. Bullets bounced off them, as they had the Genetics earlier, and they moved past the humans with no real resistance. Reaching one of the special cars, Willow began to concentrate. It was harder trying to change something she couldn’t see, she realized – with nothing but metal to stare at and the sounds of death all around them it was difficult to keep the grasp on her task.

She felt the change and the car gave one quick lurch forward before moving coming to a complete halt. “Next one!” Shiro shouted over the noise of the battle. Willow nodded in consent and hand in hand they moved towards the next car. Things seemed to move in slow motion – a large round metal ball flew out of a tube at the front of the car, arching towards them. It hit Shiro square in the chest in his hand was wrenched from hers as he flew backwards, thrown by the force. Her head followed him and then she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.

She turned back as she was shot again, the bullet piercing her stomach. She focused on the solider who had shot her, pouring all of her power into his head. He screamed once as he fell and then was silent. She could feel her blood pumping out of her body, the wounds in her shoulder and abdomen screaming every time she breathed or moved. It was illogical to listen to the pain and she strode forward as if she was healthy, the humans falling quickly. She never even felt the new wounds as she kept moving forward, her body occasionally twitching as another bullet hit it.

She closed her eyes. She could feel the electricity from the plant humming in the distance and she drew it to herself before pouring it into the minds around her. Genetic and human signals shouted at her, as different as black and white and she easily avoided the Genetic signals while leaving no human mind untouched. They began to fall, a ripple of bodies that started near to her and slowly spread.

Genetics all around stopped what they were doing, staring in a mixture of awe and horror as the people fell. She stopped when she felt his signal and turned. Blood dripped down as she moved forward, stepping over the bodies as if they were insignificant logs and ignoring the Genetics who backed away from her as if she was something to be feared.

When she reached the car she had arrived in she paused, staring at the frozen Fame and his men. She reached out, feeling for Reda’s signal and when she felt him she turned her head. “Reda.”

He stepped forward, glancing between her and the statues nervously. “Yes, Willow?”

“I want to talk to him.” She pointed to Fame, tipping her head slightly to one side as she looked at him thoughtfully. “Give him his time.”

Fame coughed instantly, doubling over as he heaved in gasps of air. “What-“ As he slowly straightened up, he stared at the surrounding area in horror. “But they weren’t- even here a second-“ He turned to look at Willow, absolute horror in his eyes. “How did you do this? Why did you kill them all?”

“They wished me harm. It was illogical to let them live.”

“You’ve just declared war on this country.” Fame gasped. “Half-Gens, Pures – it won’t matter. If you thought it was bad before, it just got worse. Full military assistance will be used to hunt you – and your kind – down. You’ll die like animals.”

“You’re men fell from a glance,” Willow replied simply. “Humans aren’t always the best killers.”

She moved closer. “Tell your governments, tell your people,” she spoke loud enough for the nearby Genetics to hear. “We are done with running. We are learning to stand and fight.” The Genetics around began to yell, clearly rejoicing in their victory.

“Good. The more you stand the more you die,” Fame drew himself up haughtily.

Willow glared at him. “You annoy me,” she said slowly, her eyes locking onto his. He made a small noise in his throat but she had already looked away, blinking. “Strange,” she said softly as she glanced down at the blood moving from her body. “I…” She took a step backwards as if suddenly realising that she was injured. Her eyes focused on Fame. “I will come back for you.”

He moved forward, rage displayed across his face. “I don’t think so. You’re about to die, young lady.”

She fell, too weak to stand anymore. She stared up at the sky, feeling her heart slowly weaken, feeling her lungs struggling to breathe. And when the darkness came she retreated, letting it take her body but protecting her mind. She only had a few moments like this but she already knew what was the logical thing to do.

*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up with a start. Sky filtered in through trees, high above me. Slowly sitting up, I scanned the forest for other signs of life. “Hello?”

There was a small shriek from behind me and I turned to my head to see the small fast girl behind me, her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide in horror. She turned and ran, disappearing too quickly for me to even see where she was heading. “Wait!” I yelled in frustration, leaping to my feet. I span around, hoping I could see her in the distance, but all I saw was trees.

“Hello?” I called again.

“Go away!” I spun at her voice, searching for her in the trees.

“I don’t know where I am. Who are you?”

She appeared nearby, half-hidden behind a tree as if I was terrifying. “I’m Maia.” She moved forward slowly, ready to bolt. “You’re dead.”

I stared at her. “No, not really.”

“But you were. Rock and the other girl said to bring you here and I did but you didn’t move for hours so I got bored but then you… woke up.”

“Because I wasn’t dead!” I snapped. How long had I been out of it? The pain in my head hadn’t felt that bad. And why would Rock… I paused. “Other girl?”

“You know. The tall one who looks human but is actually a Genetic. That’s what everyone says, anyway.”

I stared at her. She wasn’t lying but I didn’t believe her anyway. How stupid did she think… only…

I slowly sat back down. Something did feel… off. My movements were different, my body felt different, even my voice... I lay back down and closed my eyes. After a few seconds I felt Maia shaking me and I withdrew, retreating from her. It didn’t feel right. My brain was different and I knew the signal without being able to see what it was. But surely…

I retreated further into the darkness. If I had done what I was starting to think I had, she would be in here. After a few minutes, when I was deep enough, I could feel her, a small spark in the black.

Willow?

Lex.

I’m scared, Willow.

I know.

I'm not attached to this body anymore. What if I get pulled away?

Don’t go, Lex. I’m coming. You’ll be fine.

Willow…

~*~*~*~*~

“How’s it going?”

“Not that great. She took seven bullets – one pierced a lung, one her liver, another a kidney. I don’t know how she remained standing so long.”

“But she’ll live?”

“It’ll take a while to get rid of all this damage. Plus her ability seems to use electricity somehow and when her heart stopped the remaining electricity in her body went on a rampage. It’s all gone now but the damage from that wasn’t too good either. The only way I’m gonna be able to fix all of this before her heart gives out again is if I’m glued to her side constantly and the other Genetics-”

“-don’t need you as much as her. We don’t need them as much as her.”

I let myself slowly rise from the depths of my head. They couldn’t be talking about me, surely? I was fine. There had been pain when I first blacked out, yes. But as I moved forward I could feel the pain begin to sweep over me and I immediately shut it down, focusing on the damage instead. My body was weak, as was my heartbeat. The bullets were gone, though and the holes had been removed. My lung was also healed but the damages to my kidney and liver were still there. I could also feel the damage that the voice had talked about, from the electricity, although it was a lot more general instead of in one particular place.

I slowly opened my eyes, allowing my senses to rush back. There was silence and then Rock and another Genetic were bending over me. “Welcome back, Willow.”

“What happened?”

“You were shot-“

“Seven times,” the other Genetic finished. I moved to sit up and the Genetic grabbed hold of me. “I wouldn’t…” He trailed off as I glared at him, letting me go.

I winced slowly as I looked around. Genetics stood in a huddle nearby – behind them, bodies littered the ground near the cars. I stared at them, my eyes wide. “Did I…”

Rock nodded. “You saved us.”

Horror washed over me in a wave that made me want to throw up. Instead I rose to my feet and quickly walked away from them, stumbling as my body reminded me it was weak. Rock and the Genetic ran after me. “Willow, you need to rest. Cap hasn’t finished his process – you’re still highly injured.”

“Keep away from me.” Everywhere I looked, bodies. People I had killed. I didn’t remember hurting them but that didn’t make it any better. What was happening to me? How could I have done all of this without knowing? And… my thoughts flickered back to when I had first woken up. Had that been a dream? Transporting myself to another body was impossible, I knew that. But it hadn’t felt like a dream and I knew where I had to go. I strode towards the forest, ignoring the pain, ignoring everything my body tried to tell me.

“Willow, stop!” Rock grabbed hold of me, pulling me to a halt. He was panting heavily, his gaze flickering between mine and his grip on my wrist. What he saw seemed to confuse him greatly. “What- I don’t understand…”

“Neither do I.” I pulled my wrist free. “But I have to find out.” I turned, glancing back at the wreckage I had caused. I didn’t know how I was going to deal with this either but Lex needed me first. Then I would figure out what was happening to me, although I had the sneaking suspicion I already knew.

Rock and Cap continued to follow me although they made no effort no more efforts to stop me. As I walked I could feel… something. I twisted my head to look back at Cap and he gave me a small shrug and a smile. Whatever I was feeling seemed to be doing good rather then harm so I ignored it and kept walking. After a few moments Rock moved to stand next to me and Cap dropped back slightly, out of earshot. “Willow, what I saw…”

“I told you, I don’t understand either,” I lied. I had a nagging feeling what could be causing this but I didn’t understand how. Unless… my thoughts rested on the object in the back of my neck. Fame had tried to kill me through it, I was sure. What if he had tried to use my ability against me? That could easily trigger it.

“But you killed all those people and you don’t remember it. You didn’t want to. And what happened with Lex… it couldn’t have been a dream. I can’t see dreams, only truth. What did you do?”

“I don’t know.” Fear squeezed at my heart. “But I think I’m channelling.” We had reached the forest covering the mountains and began to move into it, dodging trees and the dark green ferns that covered the forest’s floor.

He glanced at me sideways, confusion written across his face. “Channelling?”

My fear was difficult to hide. “When I was a girl, my mother tried to make me learn how to write and read. I didn’t want to and part of my ability is that I can focus myself. Isolate muscle groups among other things. It gives me bursts of speed, strength. I wanted to make myself smarter so I isolated my brain.”

“And?”

“And I almost killed my mother when she punished me for not doing my work.” I looked down at the ground, the memory bringing shame. “When I isolated my brain it removed the parts of me that thought illogically.”

“How is killing your mother logical?”

“It is if you don’t have any of the feelings associated to death or people. People become objects. Death becomes another object. When everything is nothing, the only thing left to do is respond to the emotion at the time.”

“Ah.” Rock looked uneasy. “And you think you are doing this… channelling?”

“Yes. You saw that I found something in the back of my neck and that I thought Fame put it there. Most likely the object directs the electricity into my brain and without ever realizing I channel it I isolate my brain. Normally as a defence mechanism, my brain expels the electricity into anything nearby, like what you saw with Dave but the object must somehow disrupt that process.”

“So if you no longer use electricity you will stop channelling?” Rock glanced at me. “You don’t need electricity for your ability.”

“No.” I kept walking.

“But your still upset.”

“I just killed all those people because I couldn’t control my ability.” I replied, sounding a lot calmer then I felt. I felt like screaming. I felt like running. I felt like doing something, anything, to get my mind off what was happening before my chest exploded. Up ahead I could see a small figure watching us, perched on a large rock half way up the side of the mountain. 

Rock cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out, “Maia!”

She appeared before us in a heart beat, her gaze flittering between us warily. “I saw the fight. We won, didn’t we?”

“Yes.” Rock glanced over her shoulder in the direction she had come from. “We need to see Lex.”

Maia nodded. “She’s up there.” She disappeared and we set off in the direction she had indicated to. Occasionally she reappeared to complain at how slowly we were going but before too long we had reached a small clearing in the forest. I looked at it with a slight frown. It looked exactly how it had earlier.

My frown grew – I still didn’t understand how I was doing that. Although channelling made me more powerful in the extent that I no longer feared to use my ability, I didn’t think it would make me be able to suddenly transport myself. Unless I could somehow change my brain signal to something similar to Lex’s but that was impossible. Not to mention there was no guarantee it would work. Then again when you got down to the basics all channelling really did was make me smarter, so maybe in that state I had figured something out that I had been missing all along.

The thought was intriguing. I hated what I had done while channelling but maybe the answer to this whole mess was right in front of me but I was too stupid to see it.

I didn’t see Lex anywhere in the clearing and I looked at Maia quizzically. She too frowned, looking around in slight bewilderment. “She was here just a few seconds ago.” She said in confusion. “It’s not like she can just get up and walk.”

“Have you seen Night recently?” I asked suddenly, glancing over at Rock.

He chuckled slightly. “Willow, I doubt Night would-“ he paused, his face twisting as if he was remembering some unpleasant things. “then again, you did make an enemy there.”

I had to find Lex. Rock said it wasn’t a dream and although I wasn’t sure I believed him I knew I had done this and somehow I had to fix it. Jayce. Spices, if he found out… I couldn’t afford another enemy right now. If I returned Lex Jayce would most likely let me go, provided I got away before he even realized it. If I didn’t, I had serious doubts to him just letting me leave. “Will you tell Matt to help?” I asked after a moment. “He could track her down, right?”

Rock shrugged slightly. “Probably but he’s a bit busy at the moment, Willow. Thanks to you we have a war on our hands.”

I looked at him, confused. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Not quite like that. I wouldn’t have let Fame get away for a start but after you went down we tried to kill him and you did… something. Don’t ask me what but his people will be preparing for a retaliation right now.”

“Don’t ask me either,” I said under my breath, turning away. My pocket began to shake and I pulled Lex’s ‘mobile’ out – the name across the screen was Jayce. Spices. I stared at it for a moment then pushed it back into my pocket, ignoring it. What did Night want with a dead body? I knew she wanted to mess with me but wasn’t that a bit of a risk? And how had she known, anyway?

Walking over to a large tree at the edge of the forest, I perched on a grassy bank in front of it, staring at the trees as I thought. If I ran, Jayce would hunt me down. Plus I wouldn’t be able to do it – I couldn’t just leave Lex knowing full well this was my fault. But what good was staying? Fame and his people would try to hunt me down as well. I knew I could push through Night’s blocks but not from a distance without electricity. I would have to be within the range and she could anywhere.

My thoughts went back to the people I had killed. Lex wouldn’t be among them, I vowed silently. I would get to her before she let go. I knew what Rock was trying to do but I was done fighting it. “If I join your war, will Matt be less ‘busy?’” I didn’t look at him, keeping my gaze fixed straight ahead.

Rock paused. “I don’t think I can trust the changing of your mind given how you feel about the deaths you caused.”

“I won’t kill,” I said vehemently. “But once you sleep, you will look normal. I can do that to the others too.” I was sick of feeling like this, like I was going to throw up or my heart was being squeezed. There had to be someway to fix all of this and if I couldn’t isolate my brain to find out, I was going to have to do the best I could with my limited resources. I needed Matt and this was the only way I was going to get him. So I took a deep breath and said slowly, “All of my power will be available to you provided you never ask me to kill. If I need to, I will, but it’s my choice and mine alone.”

Would I be able to kill? I doubted it. I doubted I could willingly make that light grow smaller and make no effort to catch it. Even in a death that took less then a second to happen would be plenty of time to watch them die. But you could always just use electricity. Wake up when your done. “No,” I said softly to myself, too low for the others to hear. I would never use electricity again.

Rock was talking to Maia on the other side of the clearing although I was unable to hear what he was saying. After a few more moments he glanced up at me. “We need to go back to the others now. Maia will go ahead, tell them we're moving on. Fame’s people will be here soon so we have a long journey ahead. Especially seeing as without Night Sara won’t be able to protect us all.”

I nodded and we started back to down the mountain. I dropped back slightly, motioning for Maia to do the same. When she was next to me, I bent down so that Rock wouldn’t hear, “You saw the battle, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she said, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.. She looked scared and I knew she had good reason to be afraid.

“Good. Now, your not going to tell anyone about what happened with Lex, are you? That moment when she woke up?”

Maia’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”

“Will you tell, Maia?” I hissed slightly.

She took a step backwards, now clearly scared. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Good.” I straightened, smiled at her and then hurried to catch up with Rock. There was a slight blur as Maia shot past me, running ahead to the Genetics.

Rock touched my shoulder as I moved to stand next to him, frowning at what he saw. “You didn’t have to frighten her like that. She’s just a kid.”

“Exactly. Kid’s aren’t good at keeping secrets.” I kept my gaze fixed firmly ahead. If I was to travel with the group I would have to find someway to block Rock’s power. Or maybe just let him see some parts and hiding the rest. I wasn’t sure yet but I would figure something out before too long.

By the time we reached the forest edge the other Genetics were standing there, the scene of the battle only a small shadow in the distance. Maia appeared in front of us again. “Most of them are saying we should head into the forest now and cut across the main land later.”

Rock immediately shook his head.  “No. Once people start arriving they will not go until they’ve finished here – that could be days or weeks. Plus I seriously doubt they will not check the forest while looking for a Genetic army. We must go across the main land now, before they get here.”

Maia shook her head. “Night’s here, with Sara. They can cover us while we sleep a little bit.”

Rock glanced up, his eyes narrowed. “Night’s here?”

Maia nodded, turning as her gaze swept the group. “Over there, see?”

I followed her finger to where Sara was standing. Next to her was Night. As if realizing I was looking at her she turned, seeking me out instantly and giving me a cold smile. I moved forward instantly, crossing the distance between us quickly. When I stopped I realized Rock was there too but I was completely focused on Night. “What did you do with her?” I hissed, my voice hard, like a stone.

“I don’t know what your talking about,” Night replied with the same irritating smile. She looked over at Rock and then wordlessly held out her hand.

He took it, then glanced at me helplessly. “She had nothing to do with Lex, Willow.”

Both me and Night where silent as we stared at each other, our eyes dark and unforgiving. I don’t know how she had figured out how to block Rock when I couldn’t but I knew she had. Sara had said part of her ability lay in blocks so I really shouldn’t be surprised but for Rock to believe her she must have done what I had been wondering about – hiding parts away while displaying the rest. It would have been a difficult block and would have required a lot of self control.

I thought back to when I had first felt Night. I had felt her power then but I had quickly forgotten it, dismissing her. But I knew now and this would be the last time she tricked me.

She smiled again, this time taunting. “I hope you find your friend, Willow. I’d hate if anything happened to her because of you – that would just be a horrible responsibility.”

Not even Jayce had made me want to kill someone so much. I could feel the electricity in the air, reminding me there was an easy way to do this. I could feel her blood pumping through her veins, making me want to rip it out… I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Enough, Willow,” Rock said calmly and we turned away from Night. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself again and we walked in silence for a few moments. “I hope this doesn’t change our arrangement,” Rock said after a slight pause.

“No. It doesn’t.” I needed Matt more then ever now that Rock no longer believed Night had anything to do with it.

“Good.” Rock moved back to where Sara and Night were still talking and began plans for coverage. I turned away, looking up to the sky. A storm was coming which meant a lot of natural electricity in the air. At least there’s no one to kill out here. I thought with a sigh. Well, there was Night but the prospect of killing her wasn’t an unpleasant one.

Was I crazy? Probably. A few days ago, everything had been completely different – I had been tracking Lex down, not caring if she died when I had done it. Back then I had believed this war was a mistake and I wouldn’t have participated in it. Now I had made enemies of the people I had worked with. If I didn’t find Lex, I would have killed her. And I was about to fight a war that wasn’t mine for people I had only just met.

But I’ve spent my life running. It didn’t get me anywhere. Maybe if I learn to stand and fight, without killing but doing whatever necessary, I would be able to figure out this crazy mess.

Night taught me something – I wasn’t as in control as I thought it was. The person who had killed all those people was me, even if I didn’t remember it and hadn’t meant to.

Maybe I belonged with the Genetics after all.

End of book one

Authors note: Thanks for reading! This was written as my nanowrimo* in 2009 and I know its really rough, so I'd appreciate any comments/edits you think of. Book two will be this years nanowrimo, so if you like the story and would like to read more, look out for it then.
Again, thanks for reading!

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*Nanowrimo: Nation Novel Writing Month. It runs every year during November and the aim is to write a 50,000 word novel during the course of a month. Check it out at www.nanowrimo.org