L H A { 1 - 2 }
The small walk towards what was left of my fire team had given me time to think and debate on how things were going. Coming across unexploded ordinance wasn't unheard of considering it was remnants of a long since passed war but it was odd to come across something, such as the mine, while traveling down a well used road. Maybe the sweepers had just missed it? I gave a small shrug as I tapped the side of my helmet and brought up the HUD's map again.
I could hear a voice, it sounded angry and almost hysterical. The words that were being said had been drowned out due to distance and my helmet but it was easy for my mind to briefly touch the male who was yelling. As I had thought, anger that was borderline hysteria was clouding his mind. After that it only took a few seconds to realize that the two animals had survived the crash. For a second I stopped where I was and thought on it. Whatever it was, it didn't feel right but I couldnt put my finger on it so I shook the thought from my mind to allow my mind to calm once again.
My body stiffened as I heard a gunshot ringing through the trees. I didn't know what to think of it. I didn't know of anyone who would be in the area that could be considered a enemy. Sure there could be wild animals or maybe even the carniverous plants I had been warned about but that didn't explain why one of the chips on my HUD was starting to fade. Shit, I thought to myself. I didn't need to use my empathtic ability to see what was going on. The soldier had just shot one of the animals but what I didn't understand was why.
I began to run, covering the last thirty feet in well under five seconds, as soon as I saw the soldier and the two animals I stopped. The male seemed almost crazed. I still didn't understand why he was doing what he had, it wasn't logical. Did he blame the animals for what happened? If so why kill them? I shook my head to physically clear the thoughts from my mind before I reached out and suggested that the male stop and calm down. The act was a long shot since my mental abilities weren't trained to do something like that but I knew I had to at least try.
The male stopped what he was doing only to begin looking around. His head stopped in my direction and as soon as he saw me I watched him raise his arm and point his rifle straight at me. I was dumbfounded. A part of my brain told me to move but I didn't. I froze. Only after I heard the click of the hammer did I begin to move but instead of moving away I was going straight at the male. I couldn't tell who was more confused but it was evident that I wasn't going to get out of the way of the bullet.
I heard a growl emit from deep in my throat as I felt the bullet from the male's rifle find a weak spot in the armor that connected at my chest and shoulder. The pain was sudden but the adrenaline was greater. I felt my pulse quickening, my heart pounding. I felt strength going through my body as my survival instinct came in. My body moved in a almost choreographed dance. My body left the ground after the bullet hit. Before I knew it I was in a spin, I felt a shock of anger spread through my mind causing my mind to then channel the energy it generated to the gaunlet on my right arm.
I knew what was going to happen next and I knew I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted. Everything was happening too quick. The male had attacked me and my mental conditioning had taken over and my mind now saw the male as a enemy. I was doing what I had been conditioned to do. I grit my teeth as I felt the energy expand from the gauntlet on my wrist then heard the unmistakable yell of the male as the mental blade sliced easily through his armor, then his skin, then sinew, organs and bone.
By the time my spin had finished its full 360 degree turn I had closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the male gurgling. I was back in control of my body and I briefly touched the males mind. He was shocked, in pain then it all changed to fear. I quickly withdrew my mind from his. He was dying if not already dead. I knew that linking your mind with someone in that condition had a effect on your mind. One that often lead you to insanity or even death.
My head lowered to look at the gauntlet on my right arm. A part of me felt like I had lost control but at the same time I felt as if I had done the right thing. I felt confusion enter my mind as my thoughts became conflicted. Haze settled and I felt a headache begin to set in, a groan to my left quickly forcing me to clear my mind. As soon as my mind was clear the groaning had stopped. I was still untrained in the full use of my abilities. The scientists said more might manifest but they doubted it.
I watched as the lioness moved towards the wolf and just sat there in silence. I was at a loss as to what to do. I hadn't known the full extent of my squad's mission. Only the leader did and I had just killed him, my head turned to look at the top half of the male. His head facing the forests canopy, eyes glazed while his mouth hung open in a silent scream. I shook my head before opening my HUD's map. The base we had been heading to was less then a mile away. Easy to get there, I guessed.
This event was going to be hard to explain and even harder to justify. At this point I had more questions then answers and that thought only made my headache worse. I let out a small sigh as I tried to relax my stance and clear my mind before finally muttering a saying I had heard from a few of the scientists in the facility I had been trained at "Cross that bridge when I get there..." I blinked as I saw the lions ears perk. She had heard what I said and for a brief moment I felt sadness ebb into the females mind before she gasped and forced that emptyness I had felt earlier back into her mind.
Didn't take much more then that to realize that the female had mental abilities as well. She was making some kind of barrier so I couldnt get into her mind but did that mean she knew of my abilities? I watched the female puzzled and a bit curious before thinking, Impossible. No sooner had I thought it did I hear "Not as impossible as you think," enter my mind. Suffice it to say that my curiosities had been quenched. The female was telepathic at least. I scoffed a bit as I took a step towards her, the adrenaline in my body slowly starting to dissipate until I began to feel the wound made by the bullet from my leader's rifle.
I moved my right hand up to put a bit of pressure on it, hoping that would at least numb it a bit. I didn't know anything about first aid and as far as I knew the squad medic had died in the truck. While in the labs I had been taught basic control of my energy to heal by focusing positive energy at the injured area while trying to strip away the negative but that had been a weakspot in my training. Only my empathic ability and my ability to generate energy the way I did was a definite thing that wouldnt backfire. Most didn't realize it but healing wasn't as easy or straightforward as people thought. If you did it wrong you could make it worse or even kill by starting to drain the persons energy.
I let a small grimace cross my face as I stood there and looked around. This was the exact reason why I wasn't cut out to be a leader. I thought too much. I sighed and started to move in the direction of the base. I calculated the amount of blood loss I had suffered and factored in the distance. I could easily make it to the base if the wound did't get worse and cause my body to go into shock.
I had truthfully planned on just saving my own skin but when I felt the female enter my mind again I couldn't help but sense the immense amount of pain and sadness that came through the link. She said nothing more then "Please help her." I stopped moving and turned in her direction. The female's eyes were beginning to tear up and for a reason beyond me I had a image flash in my mind of my mom. I blinked and tried to shake the image away before looking straight at the feline realizing exactly why the image was there now "Stay out of my memories you damned cat!" I sensed a momentary shock from the female before the emptyness returned.
My mother had always been a subject I avoided. I had my reasons, one among them being that I felt as if I had let her down and with her gone from a incurable disease it only made "the mother topic" that much harder to think about. I sighed and ground my teeth before finally speaking "I couldn't help you even if I wanted to. You're irradiated. Touching you means death...and I'd rather live." I figured that would end the conversation and as much as I hated to say or even think it, I didn't like the idea of leaving someone to die. The feline had found a weakness in my mental armor and she had exploited it. That had ticked me off but at the same time she had used that mental image to create a kind of mental link that forced me to want to help.
Morals. It had all come down to that. I took two steps before sighing. At this rate I was dead anyway. I didn't know if the bullet had gone completly through or not. The area I had been shot was starting to hurt more and I felt the distinct touch of cold. I began to grind my teeth again and after a few moments my inability to leave the creature to die won out. I turned and walked towards the female before I leaned down and placed my blood covered left hand over the wolf's wound. My eyes instinctively closed as my mind began to reach for the females.
She didn't fight and I could tell that she was near death. I felt that coldness and dark void on the far reach of her mind. She was afraid and a bit panicked. I felt my mouth open and heard the words "Calm down I'm going to help you" come from me before I concentrated on healing her. The male had shot her near the heart. a few inches further and she would be beyond saving but the wound was manageable. Now I just needed to make sure I didn't siphon the females energy and quicken her wounds beyond the point of saving.
I felt a frown crease my forhead as I concentrated. It was hard to do and took alot of energy. I was beginning to feel weak but I didn't stop. The odd image of building blocks began to appear in my mind and for a while I imagined I was stacking them in order. I didn't understand it but I didn't really care, by the time I had stacked the last block I could sense that the female was getting stronger and healthier. The fear began to fade from her mind to be replaced by what felt like relief. When she was strong enough that familiar emptyness recovered her mind.
I scoffed and laughed a bit weakly before I spoke "That's graditude for ya..." I groaned a little. My head was beginning to hurt again but it wasnt because of too many thoughts like before, it was because of mental strain. I had used too much energy in my attempt to heal the female but for a few moments I was a bit happy. I had managed to heal. Didn't that mean I could heal myself? I closed my eyes again as I placed my left hand back over the bullet wound and tried to concentrate on healing. Nothing happened. I tried to visualize the building blocks again but once more, nothing happened.
I let out a small chuckle before I laid back and stared up into the forest's canopy. I was tired and needed sleep. RIght now it didn't sound like such a bad idea. I felt a deep yawn come from my mouth before my eyes began to close. Sleep did sound good and maybe after I woke up I could work on healing myself. I allowed a small smile to spread across my lips as I let my mind haze a bit and felt the dreams begin. The dreams had always been welcome. Even if they weren't real I knew it was my one escape from what I had considered reality, my hiding spot.
That female was there. The blue-eyed one. I always welcomed her company. I often spoke to her for hours about things that I didn't know about. Ever since the dreams had started I had taken a back seat and just watched the dreams play out. I was fine with it. I began to feel as if I was floating, a sensation that was normal when it came to my dreams. I watched as I laughed about something. Only when I felt something cold covering my body did I begin to stir, the dream beginning to vanish the more I woke.
When my eyes managed to fully open I was surrounded by a greenish liquid. My body hurt more then I cared to know. I tried to force the pain out of my mind but couldn't. I tried to move but found I was paralyzed from the neck down. I growled and moved my head. I was in a white room and there were people around. I lowered my head and saw that my bracers had been removed. Not completely from the looks of it. Scarring was visible around the areas where the bracers had been fitted to my wrists. The inner workings of the bracer was exposed and it seemed that the skin was starting to grow over what was left, I truthfully didn't think I had been out of it for that long.
I blinked a bit and turned my head to watch a female scientist moving along the edges of the tube I was in. She was writing something down and for a moment I wondered if maybe the liquid had something to do with what was happening to me, but did that mean that it also blocked my mental abilities? Despite the surroundings I started to feel a bit at home. I had been in a tank before. Back when my abilities were still being developed. The color of the fluid was different but it felt similar. I wondered what kind of test this was and how I had gotten here. I wanted to ask but all that came out where bubbles.
I turned my head to the left, continuing to follow the female scientist and was surprised to see a tube next to mine. I could make out the vague outline of the female wolf there. I blinked, shocked. What was going on? I knew I wouldn't be getting answers until the scientists finished. I shook my head and finally settled on just waiting. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sounds and the feel of things around me.
Now that I was somewhat relaxed I could tell that something was around my neck. Another possible source of my mental block, i guessed. I felt confusion enter my mind and looked around. The one and only real question I wanted a answer to was the same thing that I had asked myself before. What was going on?