Chapter 22: Brute

Michael’s head was fuzzy. The pain had lessened for sure, but his lower mouth was numb, like the feeling of Novocain after a cavity filling. The floor was cold and dusty, and his body ached. With a groan, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, wiping the drool off his mouth with one hand while he picked up his cowboy hat with the other. He shook his head and stood up on uneasy, jittering legs.

Kazou was already back on his feet, and Sarah sat on the floor cradling her knees to her chest, weeping. Paro and Melissa were still near Jack, with the kid’s head resting on Melissa’s lap. Sometime during the whole ordeal, all of the lights and electricity had gone out of the building, and despite the small windows around the terminal, it was still pretty dark on the lower floor.

Groans and murmurs came from around the room as the nineteen recon officers regained consciousness. Some wept upon awakening, while others picked up their guns, remained silent, and pulled themselves together then returned to work.

There was so much confusion that it almost hurt. Even if an omniscient being were standing by, one capable of correctly answering any question in the world, Michael would still be confused by its answers because he wouldn’t know what to ask.

Pull it together.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Michael was surprised to find that his biggest worry wasn’t about what had happened, but instead he was more concerned with what he’d said to Sarah. He’d been so sure he was going to die, so certain that his life would be coming to an end. He had almost confessed …

Michael stretched his muscles and sighed. He loved women. Everyone knew that, and he’d never kept it a secret. He didn’t discriminate, either. He loved big women, small women, White, Black, Hispanic, young, old, all of them—it didn’t matter. But above them all, he loved Sarah. Michael loved her so much that every time he looked at her he felt a desperate longing and a deep pain in his chest. Sarah was the second member to join Paro’s team after him. She was perfect in every way. So kind, so caring, and her smile shone brighter than a star’s. But for some reason, he could never get the courage to tell her how he felt, which was the strangest thing. Michael confessed his love to a dozen women a week, most of them perfect strangers. But with her, he couldn’t do it, because for Michael, rejection by Sarah would be unbearable.

Within five minutes, everyone was back on their feet. The officers once again had weapons in hand. They shot dirty looks at the unconscious Jack Harris and kept their distance. Michael shook his head in disbelief. People would’ve started dying in just another few seconds if Melissa hadn’t intervened. Lives would have been lost.

The sight of Paro worried Michael. He stood as still as a statue, with his eyes closed. He appeared to be deep in thought, and the fact that he had nothing to say worried everyone, be it Psych or recon officer. Paro was the one everyone looked to when they needed to know what to do. He was their team-leader, and he also held the Psych rank of Captain.

“Sarah,” Michael said, “we should go check on the Andy-kid.”

Sarah’s eyebrows rose and she looked around as if startled. “Ah … ah yes.”

Kazou followed Michael and Sarah to the back of the train terminal, where Andy was lying prone with his eyes still open, but clearly either dead or unconscious. Sarah knelt down and wiped trickles of blood from his eyes, mouth and nose.

The entire situation was awkward and uncomfortable. No one was speaking about what had happened, and Michael didn’t think anyone would dare to. Paro didn’t help things by remaining silent, either.

“This isn’t good,” Sarah said. She cupped the boy’s face.

“Is he dead?” Michael tried his best to keep panic and worry out of his voice. After all, the boy was a murderer. He’d slaughtered an entire family. If he died, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but if it turned out that Jack was the one who’d killed him, then things would become quite a bit more complicated. Somehow Michael knew that Jack wouldn’t recover from the grief of causing someone’s death.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Sarah said, “and not because I’m a Path. For Jack’s sake, we can’t let Andy die. But Michael, I’m not going to lie to you … this doesn’t look good. I don’t know if I can save him. He needs a very powerful Telepath to undo some of this damage. And even then, I think some of it might be permanent. But as of right now, he’s comatose.”

Michael’s heart ached for Sarah. He could tell by the way her legs shook that she was trying her best not to break down again. She was such a caring and considerate soul.

Kazou coughed into his hand, and Michael turned to face him. “Let’s not pretend what just happened, didn’t.” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. It was always him that brought up the most painful thoughts, and Michael didn’t envy him the job. “We need to talk about this. Pretending we’re not below ground in a broken train terminal with a dead body and a comatose child isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Kazou’s words stung Michael, but they were the truth.

Michael sighed. “I just don’t know anymore. I don’t know if any of this is real. Heck, I don’t know if I’m even real anymore, fellas. What I just saw, whatever that was. I just … I don’t even have the words to explain it. What words, what sentences can I put together to describe how messed up this is, ya know? I don’t even know why I’m babbling right now. What Jack just did has shaken my entire world. Nothing makes sense anymore.”

“I know how you feel,” Kazou said, his voice but a whisper.

Michael rubbed his eyes and looked at Sarah. “Didn’t you tell me once that most Telepaths could only do this kind of stuff in a dream or something? I don’t know much about you Paths, but I always thought that illusions—even if done by the most powerful Telepaths—could only be seen by the person they’re being used on and that even then it’s very limited.”

Sarah nodded. “That’s what I thought. When I was much younger and studying my affinity, three of the most powerful Telepaths created an illusion together, one that everyone in the study group was able to see. For just one second, the briefest moment in time, they made a three-leaved clover look like it was a four-leaf clover, and that was considered an incredible feat, because together, three of our strongest were able to make something that more than one person could see while awake. And even then it was only for the briefest of moments, like the time it takes the light to fade when you turn off a light-switch.”

Michael was exhausted, tired, and confused. He looked over to Jack and sighed. “Then how, Sarah? How in the hell did what just happened, well, happen?”

Sarah trembled, clearly on the verge of tears. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I don’t know, Michael. I just don’t know. I wondered at first if the illusion itself was an illusion. But that makes no sense. I guess the only explanation is that Jack is just that powerful.”

Kazou visibly shook. A look of fierce sadness entered his eyes, as he too seemed ready to weep. “You two know what we must do then, yes?”

Sarah looked at Michael with a blank face, and then back at Kazou. What was he talking about?

“We have to report him,” Kazou said. “Right now.”

Sarah’s mouth gaped, and Michael leaned in closer. Was he mishearing?

“The hell did you just say, Kazou?” Michael demanded. “I’m gonna pretend I didn’t just hear that.”

“Well you did. I’m sorry that you like the kid. I do too. But he’s a monster.”

Michael stepped forward and pointed a threatening finger at his team-member. “Are you nuts? Did you seriously just suggest we report one of our own? Have you totally, utterly, and completely lost yer mind!”

“Don’t look at me like I’m some kind of animal, Michael. You saw what Jack did.”

“And?”

“What do you mean, ‘and’?”

“I mean, and so what? Okay, so Jack is stronger than we thought. What’s your point?”

Kazou was never one to raise his voice or show much emotion, but now he squinted his eyes and put ferocity into his shout.

“And no one in this world should be allowed to exist with that much power!”

Michael clenched his teeth and lost his cool. “What gives you the right to say who gets to exist, Kazou? Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Look around you, fool! This kid almost sent all of us to the grave. He is a monster, a demon. I don’t want to see him ever again!”

That was the last straw. Drawing power into himself, Michael ripped free a bolted-down wooden-bench in the distance and flung it full speed towards Kazou, who responded by slamming his fist into it, shattering it on impact. The bench exploded and sent woodchips scattering.

“You wanna go, buddy!” Michael yelled. “I’m right here, brute. That’s right. You’re nothing but a brute.”

The recon officers remained frozen. They all turned to watch the two prepare to brawl. They normally tried to stay out of matters concerning Psych teams, especially internal conflicts.

Kazou puckered his lips and snarled. “You do not get to call me a brute, Kinetic-scum! I’ll break your face and spit on the pieces.”

“Enough!” Paro shouted. His eyes snapped open and he positioned himself between the two of them. “Kazou, it is not, and will never be your decision who I report. If you ever again attempt to supersede my authority, I’ll show you a world of pain that even you won’t be able to handle.”

Michael grinned while he watched Paro scold Kazou. He stuck out his tongue at the buff Reinforcer, but he regretted it immediately. Paro whirled around and grabbed Michael by his shirt, forcing Michael to meet his wrathful gaze. Paro didn’t look happy, and he was terrifying when he got like this. Michael gulped.

“And you!” he growled. “Do not ever let me hear you call one of my Reinforcers a ‘brute’ again, do you understand me? If I ever hear you refer to either Kazou or Melissa with that word, I’ll personally allow them to teach you how that derogatory term got started. Do you understand me?”

Michael bit his lip to stop it from quivering. He nodded without making a sound. Paro released his shirt. “Good. Now, pack up, sedate the Harris-kid, and get back to H.Q. I don’t want him waking up any time in the near future, not until I figure out what in the hell just happened.”

The recon officers were already watching the fight, so they didn’t need to be told separately. They starting packing up and making preparations to leave. Michael joined Kazou and Sarah while they assisted in moving Andy and Jack.

He felt bad about using the ’B-word’ against Kazou, but he was outraged. There was so much to figure out, so much confusion. Things had gotten way out of control.

“I’m sorry, Kazou. I know how much Reinforcers hate that word.”

“It’s alright. It’s not the first time we’ve clashed. I’m just glad we were stopped before things got too far out of hand.”

Jack Harris, Michael thought while he climbed up the stairs to exit the terminal. Nothing has been the same since you entered our lives.