Chapter 34: Sometimes Things Don’t Work

Jack didn’t understand what Melissa was attempting until it was too late. Chunks of the marble floor were sent scattering, and a moment later Jack had the uncomfortable sense of losing balance. An instant after that, when Jack felt the first sensation of tumbling downward, the realization entered his mind. Melissa was plunging the three of them into whatever nightmare awaited below.

It didn’t occur to Jack that he was falling until he felt the bubbly, acidic burn deep in his lower stomach. To Jack, the worst part was not knowing how far he would fall. It also didn’t help that he didn’t know where they were falling to in the first place. Luckily, they only descended for a few seconds before Jack landed with a painful squish onto gravel and then stumbled forward. For a brief instant, he believed that the ride was over, and then once again Jack felt the sensation of dropping. Only this time it was like rolling down a hill.

Jack yelped as his arms scraped against the gravel while he forward-rolled down a steep hill into the darkness below. The only sounds were grunts and cries of pain, as Jack, Melissa, and Andy plummeted and rolled down, occasionally bumping into each other. They would all be scraped up, the sharp gravel leaving something in their skin to remember it by. The dizziness was nauseating. The world flipped up and around. Jack went from his stomach to his back, picking up speed like a bicycle down a steep hill.

“Melissa!” he yelled, tumbling into the shadowy depths. “Was this really necessary?”

Between the pitch-black darkness, the scraping of gravel, and the nauseating rolling-front flips, Jack was in unrelenting misery. There was a confusing moment where Jack no longer felt the gravel under him, and he wondered if the torture had finally ended. It was then that he felt the return of the falling sensation. With a groan, he landed on another strip of gravel. He hacked and coughed up the icky stuff. But he was finally still.

He sat up and shook the gravel and dirt from his messy black-hair then looked around. There were strip-lights lining the floor, small circular objects that were just bright enough to cast a bit of light a few feet around them, but otherwise it was complete darkness. The lights extended far into the distance, with no visible end. Jack figured it was some sort of underground maintenance tunnel that ran along the path of the train tracks.

“Melissa, are you okay?” She was dusting herself off and standing to her feet.

“I was going to ask you the same, Jack.” She looked around at the darkness, her eyes scanning along the floor. For a moment Jack didn’t know what she was looking for, until he remembered the reason for their descent in the first place.

“Andy!” Jack yelled. The boy was also getting to his feet. Andy looked at them. Terror and panic spread along his features. There was more, though. Just behind his shaken exterior, Jack could see fatigue in his former friend’s eyes. Andy must’ve been weary—tired of everything that had been happening to him.

“Please,” Andy croaked, “just let me go.”

Small scrapes and gashes covered Andy’s arms and legs. Jack was wearing black jeans and Melissa wore tight-fitting black leggings, so their lower-bodies had been protected from the rough gravel, although both of their pants had small tears and holes from the rough fall. Jack’s arms were pretty scraped up, and he wondered why Melissa had remained completely unscathed, until he remembered that Reinforcers could be as hard as steel if they wanted.

Jack forced himself to ignore Andy’s pleas, but it wasn’t easy. There was a part of Jack, a feeling that still hammered at his heart that desired to save his friend. It covered Jack with guilt, washing over him and filling him with uncertainty.

No, Jack reminded himself. The only way to save Andy is to bring him down. After what he did to Richard, after what he did to those two little girls—no, I can’t let him leave.

Melissa put a reassuring arm on his shoulder. “I know this is hard, Jack. But it’s time we ended this.”

Jack nodded. “Andy, I really don’t wanna hurt you. Please don’t put up a fight. Let’s get out of this place.”

Andy glared at Jack with an icy rage. “You don’t want to hurt me? How can you say that? How can you tell me that after everything you did to me, Jack! I’ll never get those faces out of my head. I’ll never be able to forget. The moment I let down my guard you’ll do it again!”

Jack inhaled and steadied his hands, fostering calm into his voice. “Andy, I don’t know what I did to you. Sometimes I feel like I did something but then later I don’t remember. Look, I just … I’m sorry if I hurt you, but you really gotta listen to me. I know everything seems like it sucks right now, but things can suck so much worse. Please, you have to listen to me. You’re gonna die if you don’t come with me. I know you’ve never really thought of me as a close friend, even if I always thought of you as one. But if you’ve ever thought of me as a friend at all or at the very least trusted me, then please, believe me now. If you don’t give up, you’re dead.”

Andy’s face darkened and a single tear fell from his eye. His voice was a whisper. “I know … I know, and I don’t care anymore. I’ve done what needed to be done, and I did it for us, Jack, for everyone like us. And I don’t just mean people that can do what we can do—I mean everyone who’s ever been afraid to go to school, for everyone who’s ever been forced to feel pain just to make others laugh, for everyone who’s ever cried themselves to sleep because the abuse was too much to handle. Why can’t I kill them, Jack? Why can’t we kill them? I don’t care if I die anymore—I’m done with life, anyway.”

Jack felt a mixture of disgust and disappointment. “So you’re just gonna give up? After everything that happened you’re just gonna throw in the towel? What gives you the right? Do you think you can just die after all the people you’ve hurt or killed? Look, Andy, I’m sorry how the other kids treated us at school, I really am. If anyone understands, it’s me. But that doesn’t give you the right to go on a killing spree. To kill children!”

“The two little girls were an accident.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Jack roared. He leveled an accusing finger at Andy, one that carried the full weight of his emotions. “Take responsibility for what you did! You killed them, not me, not Melissa, and not the bullies at school. You did that, Andy. And even if it was just Richard and no one else, it would still be wrong.”

Jack felt the disgusting anger build. He poured his emotions into his words. Jack wasn’t a bully or a tough-guy, but as he dug into his heart for the words he needed to say, he felt the anger grow stronger, along with a desire to cause pain. “Do you know what hurts me the most, Andy? It’s that you think you were doing this all for me. Don’t ever put that on me, Andy. Do you hear me?”

Jack’s voice turned cold and he poured every last drop of his rage into a thundering shout. “DON’T EVER PUT THAT ON ME!”

Andy opened his mouth to speak but said nothing. He turned over his hands and glanced down on them. His eyes filled with confusion. With a sudden jerk he twisted around, making a crunching sound as his foot slid across the gravel and he ran into the distance.

So he won’t surrender, Jack thought with a disappointed sigh.

Melissa bolted after him, and Jack ran for all he was worth to catch up. Andy wouldn’t be able to outrun a Reinforcer, but that didn’t stop Jack from feeling a burning disappointment towards his former friend. Jack had offered him one final chance to redeem himself, to show remorse for what he’d done. Even after everything that happened, Jack had still considered Andy a friend, but that was over now. By fleeing, Andy was now nothing to Jack. There was a small pain as Jack felt the fleeting passing in his heart for the boy he once knew as Andy. The boy whose home he had invaded to force him into round after round of Street Fighter. The boy he dragged to the movies on rainy days, despite his muttered protests.

Andy was a loner, and Jack had tried to be there for him, because he knew that deep down, Andy had always been grateful for the company, even if he’d never admit it. But all that was over now. Andy was nothing more than murderous scum. Jack was determined to do all he could to bring Andy in alive, and when it was all over he’d wash his hands clean of him. It would be his final offering of goodwill to a person he once called friend.

Andy, you’re not getting away again.

It wouldn’t take Melissa long to catch up to the boy. Jack was panting to catch up, still a few yards behind. He pumped his arms and ran. All he could see were the lights moving towards him as he sprinted through the criminally dark tunnel. The sight of the slow moving lights approaching was mesmerizing—the sounds of crunching gravel added balance to the sensory-depriving dark tunnel.

Jack heard Melissa scream, and in an instant went from determined to terror-stricken. He felt his concern for Melissa as real as he felt the breath in his lungs. He could make the two of them out only a few feet in the distance. Melissa was kneeling, sweating and gritting her teeth. Andy was beside her with his palm extended towards her face.

Jack knew what he was doing—he’d tried the same on Jack back at home. “Andy, no!” he cried.

Andy ignored him, focusing intently on killing Melissa. Jack didn’t know how long she could hold out for, or how long her Reinforcement would prevent Andy from turning her into the same bloodied mess as he’d done to Richard’s family.

Jack didn’t have time to draw any power. Each millisecond was another leap towards the death of the girl he loved. Jack charged at Andy, empty of the power that Psychs used, but filled to the brim with the one in his heart. He balled his right hand into a fist and with all of his might, Jack crashed it into Andy’s unaware face, causing the boy to stumble backwards then fall to the ground.

Melissa took a deep breath and rubbed the spot above her right eye where Andy had tried to burn her. “Thanks,” she breathed. “We need to stop him before he can try that again.”

Andy was already regaining his footing. His lower lip trickled with a small amount of blood. Melissa ran at him with her fist drawn back, ready to let loose. Andy backed away from her in terror. Melissa swung at him, her fist homing in on his face.

Andy didn’t have a chance. Melissa’s fist smashed into him and the result was brutal. Andy’s lower-lip pulled back and he was thrown off his feet. Blood spewed from his mouth as he landed with a rough crash on the floor. Jack knew that Melissa had only hit him with a small portion of her power, or Andy’s head would no longer be attached to his body.

Melissa grinned. “I think he’s down for the count.”

Andy lay on his back with his eyes closed and his mouth leaking blood. His injuries looked severe, but the blood made it appear far worse than it actually was, or at least Jack hoped that was the case.

He walked over to Andy and scowled down in disgust at his unconscious form. It was hard to believe that the small blond-haired boy had caused so much death and pain. Jack shook his head at the complex emotions boiling within him.

“You did this to yourself. This is your own fault.”

The boy’s eyes popped open, and a maddened grin formed on his bloodied lips, leading up to his bloodshot eyes. Melissa gasped, and Jack was stunned for a moment.

“Melissa should have hit me to kill,” Andy said with a laugh. “This is what happens when you lack conviction.”

Jack felt the burning sensation on his face. He knew what was to come, and it paralyzed him with fear. Before Jack could so much as blink, Melissa clutched his shoulders in a death grip, so painful that he wondered if having his face melted off would actually hurt less. Melissa picked him up and threw him backwards, sending Jack flying nearly ten feet behind her, landing on the gravel floor then skidding a few paces. Jack tried to get back to his feet, but Melissa jumped on top of him and covered his body.

“What are you doing?” Jack yelled. He couldn’t see or hear a thing while she covered him. All he could feel was her weight.

“Shut up,” she groaned. There was a sound of incredible pain in her voice. “He can’t manipulate what he—” She stopped speaking and cried out in pain. “He can’t manipulate what he can’t s-see. Just s-shut up.”

“I don’t want you!” Andy’s voice screeched. “I want Jack! Hurry up and die already.” Jack struggled, but Melissa was using her full strength to keep him pinned down. The scent of burning flesh filled Jack’s nose, and he grew alarmed.

“No!” Jack cried, struggling against Melissa. “What’s he doing to you? Get off of me!” Jack tried to break free but he couldn’t push her off. “Don’t let him kill you. Please, let me help. Please.”

Melissa cried out in pain and the scent of burned flesh grew stronger. Jack’s heart beat faster, and he was overwhelmed by a torrent of rage and terror, a sickening combination that made him flail his arms and kick his legs, panic and desperation mixing together to create a frenzy of emotion.

“Melissaaaaa!” Jack’s shout was a bloodcurdling scream. “What is he doing to you? Melissa!”

“If you want to know so badly then I’ll tell you, Jack.” It was Andy’s voice. Jack couldn’t see him with Melissa blocking his vision.

“I’m burning a hole through your girlfriend’s back, and it’s already broken the skin. I wish you could see it. It’s red and bubbling. Oh, it looks like it hurts, too. Pretty soon she’ll be dead, and then you’ll feel the same pain you’ve caused me.”

Melissa screamed in agony. Tears fell from her eyes and landed into Jack’s. “It hurts, Jack,” she cried.

“Then get off of me!”

“No,” she whimpered. “He’ll kill you in a …” She howled in pain. “He’ll kill you in a second.”

Jack did the only thing left to him, the only thing he still could. He opened himself up to the draw of that disgusting power, the source of his greatest discomfort. He needed more than just a little—he needed enough to save the girl of his dreams, the person he both looked up to and loved, even if she would never feel the same about him.

It entered him in a flood, and within a few seconds, Jack knew that he was approaching the point of no return. He could still seal it off, but if he didn’t draw enough, Melissa would die. Jack resisted the urge to flee, the urge to close himself off from the power and stick to what he’d drawn. Instead, he allowed it to continue. All at once Jack felt a burning sensation. It was an inferno of heat and power so vast that with each second Jack felt he’d be swept away by it.

Jack screamed louder than Melissa as the ocean of power tried to occupy him. It was only a few drops, yet it felt as if the world were spinning faster. His head fogged up as his heart beat faster and faster, to the point where he couldn’t breathe.

Jack realized he’d made a mistake. He tried to close it off, but it was no longer possible, as he knew would end up the case. All he could do was allow himself to be bombarded by the massive rush of energy, until it eventually overwhelmed and killed him. There was only one small hope for him, one last thing he could try. If it failed, he’d be dead along with Melissa. There was no longer any time for caution.

The power slammed into him, filling him to the point of bursting. He’d never before tried to use any of the power while it was still being drawn, but if he didn’t at least try then his death would be assured. He closed his eyes and scrambled around for a particular trigger, for a feeling or sense. Everything was shifting so fast, changing before he could do anything with it. There was a small spark of recognition, and Jack thought for a moment he saw what he wanted. He no longer had the luxury of making sure. Putting Melissa and his life on the line, he grabbed at it.

*********

Sarah kept her head to the ground, glancing up every few moments to keep track of the battle. The rogue Psychs were just too powerful, and the Telepath, Requiem, was far stronger than she.

I’m no good, Sarah whimpered in her mind. I’m just not good enough. I’m going to get Michael and Kazou killed.

Kazou pushed Michael out of the way as yet another piece of sharpened glass came within an inch of piercing his body and possibly his heart. Kazou ran forward at Ruin and missed yet another attack. The Kinetic slowed him down just enough to leap out of the way. Kazou’s fist smashed through the terminal wall.

Sarah tried to weaken the Telekinetic, but his sister had complete control of the situation. Every time Sarah tried to do anything, she was counteracted. Not only was Requiem able to keep her at bay, but she had no problem weakening Michael or Kazou.

Sarah wept, knowing that her team was going to die because she was too weak to be useful. As her confidence faded, so did her ability. She found her control over her power slipping, only moments from the point where the other Path could enter her mind and switch off her brain, killing her then killing her team.

Kazou removed his fist from the wall, but Ruin was already gesturing. Like a pitch being hit by a baseball bat, Kazou was sent flying across the room at a speed that would have killed him, had Michael not been able to slow him and set him down gently on the floor.

Michael and Kazou were sweating, exhausted, and losing what was clearly a battle of attrition.

“Damn,” Michael said. His cowboy hat was lost on the floor somewhere, and now his curly blond hair was hanging freely off his face. Kazou too, seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

“Just keep fighting,” Kazou ordered. “Sarah!” he called to her. “Don’t give up.”

Sarah nodded, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she’d be overpowered by Requiem, and once that happened her team had no chance. They’d die as surely as night turns to day.

Ruin lifted a bench off the ground and sent it hurling at Kazou, who smashed his fist through it. Michael sent his own bench in return, but Ruin simply gestured in the air, causing it to fall back towards the ground.

“How in the hell can they be this powerful?” Michael asked. “Ya’d think that by now we’d have gotten the edge on them. It’s three of us and two of them. Fellas, I think we’re in some serious trouble here.”

Kazou laughed in defiance. “They’re not so tough. Paro could’ve taken these two down with the blink of an eye.” A brief look of sadness crossed his expression.

Sarah tried to ignore the name. If her resolve broke any more than it already had, she’d lose the mental battle and get herself killed. Requiem was fighting like an enraged beast, pounding on her skull to the point where a splitting headache was now ringing through Sarah’s ears.

Michael and Kazou stood beside each other and seemed to be deep in thought, as if searching for some way of turning the tables.

“Gentlemen,” Ruin taunted, “what’s the matter? Had enough? Why don’t you save me some time and cut your own hearts out.”

Michael spat on the ground. “I reckon this fella needs a beating.”

Michael squeezed his fist, and all around the room, the three remaining benches that hadn’t been destroyed lifted off the ground and soared at the carefree Kinetic. The young man only grinned, and without even moving, he gestured three quick times in succession. A bench fell back to the floor with each gesture.

During this, Kazou was already running directly towards him with a fist pulled back to strike. Once again the Telekinetic proved too powerful. He was able to slow Kazou down—almost to a complete halt—while taking his time to move out of the way. Kazou’s fist broke through yet another wall, and Requiem cheered at her brother’s victory.

Sarah felt yet another stab at her mind, and she knew that this time the girl would break through. Requiem was immensely powerful, and Sarah was done for.

I am nothing. I am not even worth the grave they’re going to bury me in.

Sarah closed her eyes and waited for her death—then snapped them open when she heard the booming voice resounding throughout the entire terminal. It seemed to come from every direction at once. It was so loud that it drowned out all other sound.

“CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?”

Michael and Kazou stopped in their tracks. Even Ruin and Requiem halted their assault and looked around them, searching for the source of the voice.

“What in the hell was that?” Michael asked.

“No clue,” Kazou said.

“Darling, did you just hear a voice?”

“I did, sister.”

Sarah looked around the room, positive that no one else had entered. It was still just the five of them. “Did you all just hear that voice? Who was that?”

“I don’t know,” answered Michael and Kazou at the same time.

“Hmm, we don’t know either, Darling,” answered Requiem.

“I DON’T KNOW EITHER,” answered the voice. “WHO COULD IT HAVE BEEN? I ONCE HEARD A VOICE WHEN I WAS EIGHT, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A GHOST. IT TURNED OUT THAT IT WAS JUST A RADIO THAT HAD FALLEN UNDER THE—”

“Jack!” Michael, Kazou and Sarah exclaimed in unison.

“How are we hearing you?” Sarah asked. She scanned the room for the Harris-boy but he was nowhere to be seen.

“SARAH, I NEED YOUR HELP! BUT FIRST, I WANNA KNOW WHO THIS VOICE IS. I THINK I HEARD IT TOO.”

“You’re the damned voice!” Michael yelled back. “Jeeze, Jack, even as an omnipotent, unexplainable booming voice from the sky you’re an idiot.”

“OHHHHH, AND I SUPPOSE YOU’RE JUST SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME, MICHAEL. YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU’RE NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE.”

Sarah cleared her mind. “Jack, can you speak directly to me?”

“Maybe,” said a voice in her head. “Is this better?”

Jack, Sarah thought. How is this possible? Person to person communication is not supposed to be possible. Not even with Telepathy.

“Don’t know,” Jack said. “But listen, Sarah. Melissa and I are dying, and you’re the only one who can save us.”

Panic entered Sarah immediately. You’re dying? Jack, please, you have to save Melissa and come back to us. We need you. You can’t die!

“I don’t plan on it. That’s why I need you. Listen to me, Sarah. As we speak, I’m drawing so much damned power that I’m gonna die from it long before Andy manages to kill us. I need you to seal it off, or I’m done for. It’s ripping me apart.”

Michael and Kazou looked at Sarah with questioning eyes, but she ignored them. She had all her attention focused on Jack.

I’m not good enough! she cried in her mind. I don’t have the power to do any of that. We’re about to die ourselves.

“Paro told me you’re one of the most brilliant Psychs, Sarah. If all you’re lacking is power, then here, take this.”

Sarah put confusion into her mentally spoken words. Take what? Jack, you should know that it’s totally impossible to—

Kazou and Michael shouted in alarm as she grabbed the sides of her head and screamed into the air.

“What’s wrong?” they shouted.

Sarah wriggled on the ground. “This shouldn’t be possible! Good God, it’s so much. How can a single person even hold this much power?”

Sarah fell to her knees, and yelled in her mind, That’s enough! I don’t know how you’re doing this, but it shouldn’t be within the realm of possibility. That’s enough, Jack. That’s enough! I can feel your mind. Hold tight.

********

Jack pushed the screaming Melissa off him. Andy watched in confusion as Jack began tap-dancing on his feet. He jumped on one foot then the other like a man in desperate need of using the bathroom.

“Gah!” he yelled out. “It burns, too much power, gah! It burns like battery acid.”

Jack looked down at Melissa and the nasty bloodied wound on her back. He didn’t think it had reached the critical point, but he could tell it was very painful.

“Jack,” Melissa croaked, unable to get to her feet. “What’s going on?”

Jack didn’t stop his jumping. He spun in circles and flailed his arms. He knew he looked like an idiot, but he didn’t really care.

“Gotta use it, gotta use it. Gahhhh! This is too much.”

Jack didn’t know how to use such a tremendous power, and so he began throwing massive Telekinetic bursts in random places, in an attempt to get rid of some of it. All around the room, sections of wall detonated as if struck by a bomb, spraying gravel and chunks of wood in every conceivable direction. The ground shook, and the ceiling leaked chips of stone.

“Jack, you’re going to kill us! Stop that right now. No more Telekinesis, damnit.” Melissa got to her feet, and put a comforting arm on Jack’s shoulder while Andy watched with his mouth agape.

“It’s too much, Melissa. It hurts like hell. I need to get rid of it.”

“Then use it on him,” Melissa said. She pointed to Andy.

Jack nodded, and Andy backed away, tripping over his own feet. He fell on his rump and eyed Jack with a look of both amazement and horror. Jack would end this here and now—he was literally overflowing with power.

Andy held out his palm, extended towards Jack. Melissa’s eyes widened and she once again tried to position herself in front. This time, it was Jack who did the grabbing. He stopped her in her tracks and gave her arms a confident shake. “Just watch, Melissa.”

A puff of smoke appeared almost three feet from Jack, locked down behind an impenetrable barrier. Andy’s eyes welled with tears, and he shook his head in disbelief.

“How?” Melissa asked. She seemed just as astonished as Andy.

“It’s Sarah,” Jack said with a smile.

“But that’s not possible. Sarah’s too far from us.”

“I found her, Melissa. I don’t know how, but I found her. She’s with us now.”

Jack felt Melissa’s arms around his neck as she pulled him into a hug. His heart warmed and he returned the embrace. Melissa had tears in her eyes, and she winced from the pain in her back. Jack tried to remove his arms, which were probably worsening the pain, but she didn’t let him go.

“Jack, I …”

“Not now,” Jack said. He turned to look at Andy, and he gently pushed Melissa away. “Gah! I gotta get rid of this. Andy, hold still. I don’t know how to do too many things, or how all this stuff works, but I think I’ve got an idea.”

Andy tried to crawl away, but his arms gave out and he sat on the floor, immobile.

Jack cupped his right wrist over his left then lowered it to the side of his waist. He interlocked his fingers before crouching down and then extending his arms.

“Kaaaa-meeeee-haaa-meeee-HAAA!”

Jack blinked in confusion when nothing happened. “Are you serious? That does nothing? Wow, that’s lame.”

Melissa looked at him like he was insane for a moment then smiled. “You’re a real goofball, you know that? Here, I’ll show you something that actually does work. It’s lights out for you, Andy.”

“But I—” It was the last words the boy spoke. Melissa charged at him, and protected by Sarah, no longer had any reason to fear death. This time, when her fist collided with Andy’s nose, he really did go unconscious.