Chapter 12: Serious Conversations Are a Sacred Thing

Jack sighed happily while he munched on another bite of the delicious chocolate chip pancakes. Melissa had been right. They were the perfect choice. With a gulp of milk, he looked around at the strange people surrounding him.

“Jack, before we begin,” Paro said, pushing aside his plate and revealing a thick tan folder, “I think you should know who we are, what we are, and who you are. This should clear up a lot of the confusion you’re feeling.”

Jack nodded. It had been quite the strange night.

“You already know Melissa Sayre. To my right are Michael Reed and Sarah Blighter. The Japanese man from earlier is Kazou Takeshi, and myself.” He grinned. “Just call me Paro.”

Jack lowered his fork and waved. “Well, it’s nice to meet you guys, but I’m not really sure why all this has been happening or umm, who those two people were that attacked me and Melissa, but I guess I can try to help out.”

Jack didn’t understand why, but Paro visibly relaxed, and he looked as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He slid a folder across the table towards Jack, who pushed his plate to the side and opened it, frowning. Even just seeing a picture of school was enough to make him cringe. Thoughts of late assignments, future projects, and incomplete homework returned to him in a rush.

“Is this about that fire again?” Jack asked.

“Yes, it is, and very much so. Before we can assess the bigger problem, we need to first give you an idea of where all your involvement in this started.”

Jack looked down at the pictures of the burned classroom, which was more than likely never usable again. It looked nothing like he remembered it. The once colorful math classroom was now nothing more than a box of charred items, none of which were recognizable. He supposed the tiny black lumps were desks.

“Jack, we are not the sorcerers you seem to think we are. We are known as Psychs. Everyone sitting at this table is actually a Psych, and yes, that’s including you, Jack Harris There is a much longer scientific name for what we are, but even I can’t remember it, so this is what we call ourselves.”

Paro continued, “I don’t know how long we’ve existed for—how long people like us have been around, I mean. As far as our history goes—if we’re being truthful here—I don’t know, nor have I ever really cared. The reason my team exists is because sometimes people born with our gifts take it upon themselves to commit atrocities. They use what they were born with to slaughter and take from others what they’ve no right to take. For instance, Richard Davins, a classmate of yours. Here, see for yourself. Our importance is easier shown than said.”

Paro slid another file across the table and Jack opened it. In an instant, his cheer was gone. Jack recoiled at the gruesome image. For a moment, it was hard to breath. Jack had known this person. He had been walking and talking such a short time ago. Now, he was nothing more than a bloodied clump of gelatinous tissue, barely recognizable as a person, let alone a person with hopes, dreams, and aspirations. This was beyond awful. This was intolerable. A tear glided down the side of Jack’s face.

Melissa looked at him sadly. Sarah leaned over the table and dabbed Jack’s face with a soft cloth.

I didn’t like Richard, but this … why would someone do this to him?

“Do you understand now why we’re needed, Jack? The police can’t stop this, and even if they could, they still wouldn’t be able to make a difference. That’s assuming, of course, that they could understand all of it in the first place.” Paro had a grim expression, and he maintained it while he shuffled through the files.

Jack nodded. “I get it, Paro. But I still don’t see why you guys came after me.”

Paro sat up straighter in the booth and folded his hands under his chin. “Richard wasn’t the first boy from your class to be killed. There was another, earlier victim—yet still not the first. His name was Jonathan Herbert.”

Jack leaned over and looked at the file. ”But … but I thought he was just absent. You mean they did this to him too? Why, Paro? He was a good guy. I swear it. He never hurt anyone. This can’t be. No one would kill him for no reason like that.”

Jack felt the loss deep in his heart. Jonathan wasn’t a person Jack knew well, but it was still someone Jack knew. Thinking back, Jonathan had wanted to be an astronomer. In science class, he’d discuss the stars, even when the topic was biology. He had hopes, dreams, and loving parents that wanted to see them fulfilled. And now he was gone? He was no longer in this world? But for what, Jack wondered. What made it so his life had to be taken from him?

Jack forced his tears to a halt. “I still don’t understand.”

Paro sighed. “When the first boy was murdered from your class, we thought it had been a random killing because it matched the M.O. We see now, of course, that it was random and that we were correct. But at the time when the fire incident occurred, we had a growing suspicion that it might be the killers taunting us. We were sure of it when the second boy was murdered from the same class so soon after the fire. But it wasn’t until now that we realize the fire was just a coincidence. It was something that you did to stop yourself from failing an assignment, which, by the way, we’re going to need to have a word with you about. That is not acceptable behavior, and it won’t be tolerated.”

Jack shook his head. “I see what you’re getting at, but I didn’t do the fire-thing. Even if I’m a Psych like you guys, it doesn’t matter—I wouldn’t do something like that. It’s too dangerous, and someone could have gotten hurt.”

Paro nodded. “I believe you, which leads me to my next point. It is very rare for Psychs to use their abilities on accident, as we can almost always control them. Having spent just a few hours with you, I’m now positive that you didn’t know what you were doing. But that’s not a good thing. It makes you dangerous. It’s for this reason, among several others, that you need to come with us and get a handle on this stuff. We can’t have you walking down the streets setting people on fire.”

Jack sighed. “But I don’t even remember doing it, not even a little. Honest!”

“Tell me, Jack,” Sarah said. She had been quiet for a while. She looked at him with soft eyes, and Jack felt a gentle presence brushing the corner of his mind.

“What was going through your mind yesterday morning? Don’t be alarmed—I’m just helping you to relax and remember. I am not infiltrating your mind, simply stimulating it. Many have told me that it helps them to relax and remember things more clearly.”

She was right. Jack felt pressure and tension release from his body.

“I was cheating, and I was gonna get caught. Oh, by the way, can you guys punish me for that too? Because if so, then I wasn’t cheating, I was, umm … receiving ‘help.’”

Sarah chuckled. “Just keep going. What next?”

“Okay, so anyway, I remember that much, but then something happened. I can’t describe it. It’s like, umm, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s there but it’s not. My stomach was hurting really bad, and … I don’t know! It’s like the answer is there but it’s just too hard to remember.”

Sarah continued to stare at him with a warm, tranquil expression. “As long as you’re thinking about it and keeping it on the forefront of your mind, I may be able to access it, this … memory of yours. Yes, I see it now. You were sitting in your desk, and you started thinking to yourself. You were thinking—”

Sarah shouted and turned away from Jack, nearly leaping out of the booth, twitching and rubbing her face. She shook her head furiously. Michael and Paro turned to her.

“Sarah! What’s wrong?” Michael put his hands on her shoulders. She was gripping her head with both hands, shaking her head as if trying to clear it of confusion. She turned to Paro, and her face reddened.

“Stop right there, Sarah,” Paro said. “I can see it on your face. You’re about to apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. You are learning at a very fast rate, and these things don’t always work at first. You’ll be fine. It was just a normal mental shock. Don’t beat yourself up every time you make a mistake. You’re an excellent Telepath, and you know I mean that.”

Sarah looked both ashamed and embarrassed. A wrinkle formed under her lip as she met Jack’s eyes, and it reminded him of the same apologetic look he gave people when he did something wrong.

What in the hell was that about?

A moment of silence settled on them. The restaurant was empty, which was a shame because the food was fabulous. Jack figured it was probably because of the early morning hours. Most people wouldn’t come in for breakfast until at least seven a.m.

The waitress returned a few moments later with the same smile on her face as earlier. “Can I get you guys anything else? Any refills, maybe some pie?”

“We’re fine, thank you,” Paro said.

He turned once again to face Jack. “So, where were we? Ah yes, the fire. You see, Jack, we had every reason to believe that—”

“That was so rude, Paro!” Jack pointed a finger at Paro and glared at him. He didn’t understand why Paro returned a questioning look, because surely Paro knew what he had done wrong. When Paro continued to look confused, Jack moaned in frustration.

“You answered for all of us! I wanted some more milk and pie, and I bet we’re all thinking to ourselves about how much of a jerk you are. Isn’t that right, guys?”

Melissa elbowed Jack on the shoulder. “Jack, cut it out! We’re having a serious discussion. No one here agrees with you—Michael, stop nodding or I’ll hit you too. You would agree with him, damn Telekinetics—now, can we please get back to the important stuff?”

“Thank you, Melissa. And Jack, interrupt me again, and I’ll show you why people used to call me a devil. Do-not-test-me.”

Jack shuddered at the menace in Paro’s eyes, but refused to look away. That pecan pie looked amazing, and it was Paro’s fault that Jack didn’t get to have any. Stupid Paro!

“Now, as for why we thought you were linked after the second killing. Michael, do you want to explain? It was your idea, after all. One which I still think might be partially correct.”

Michael gave a sitting bow, much to the annoyance of all but Jack.

“So, Jack, I was thinking, right? The killings changed after the fire that these fellas over here are tryin’ta blame on ya, even though you probably didn’t do it.”

Melissa squeezed her hands into fists, but luckily, Sarah reached over and patted her on the shoulder, calming her down. Michael simply tipped the cowboy hat he wore, hanging just off the top of his thick, blond-hair.

“So as far as I reckoned, let’s say you know a guy that does the same old thing every time, right? And he keeps on doing it and doing it, and then one day, it just changes completely after something else big happens. I was thinking—”

Jack inhaled as he filled with understanding. Now here was a man who made perfect sense. “That I had been recruited,” Jack said, “even if I wasn’t involved to begin with! Wow, everything about what you guys are doing makes sense now. Man, you and I are smart, Michael. I’m surprised you haven’t already solved this thing on your own.”

Melissa made a sound that half resembled a moan. “I could cry right now, Paro. Michael alone was bad enough. Now he has an apprentice.”

Paro nodded his head in agreement.

“So then Paro, if you guys know I didn’t do it on purpose, then I get why you want to take me in and what not, so I don’t do it again. But what still doesn’t make sense is what I can do to help with the killings?”

“Two things,” Paro said. “One, the killers—from what Melissa told us on the way here they were determined to capture you at any cost. They feel some sort of connection to you or something. I don’t understand just yet. We believe that if we set you out into the open, they’ll come back looking to grab you.”

“And two,” he continued. “The recruitment theory is still our best lead. Even if they didn’t recruit you, we have every reason to believe that they recruited someone. At first, the killings were done telekinetically, like how you started that fire—and get that smug look off your face. If you try to deny it once more, I will throw you out of a window—but back to what I was saying. The most recent killings were done using chemical manipulation. And I see the confusion on your face. Don’t worry—we’ll explain that side of things later. For now, just understand that the fire was caused by friction, which means only a Kinetic could have done it. Thus, we know you’re not involved with them. But you may be able to lead us to whoever is.”

Jack thought for a moment about Richard and then about Jonathan. What was Jack’s life worth if he allowed these killings to continue while he had some way of stopping them? Jack didn’t care about the danger to his own life. What had to be done was as simple as tying a knot. Actually, sometimes that could be kind of hard too, he realized.

He laughed. “Paro, I don’t really understand most of what you just said, but if I can lead you to the guys who did it, I’d be happy to. Just not on Sundays, because True Blood is starting up again.” Jack narrowed his eyes. “After what they have done, I’d do anything to see them caught.”

For the first time since late last night when they had met, Jack saw Paro smile. “Good man.”

The sound of a loud and whiny hum caused Jack to look over his shoulders. He jumped up in the booth and tried to nudge Melissa out of the way.

“You guys were serious? I get to go in an actual helicopter? This is amazing, wow! Is it just gonna like, land right outside?”

Melissa laughed. “You better believe it, Jack. We get to do a lot of things most people can’t.”

Michael and Sarah looked at each other and grinned.

“Wait, guys, can I fly it? I can use my Psychicho-sis-ness or whatever to control it, so I’ll make sure we don’t all die.”

It was yet another in a day full of slaps, as Melissa playfully tapped him on the back of the head. “Literally over my dead body.”