Writing Challenge: 150 stories. Go.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

#147 – Thrall

Sean Neville had never actually wanted to be in charge of anything in his life. He could be quietly domineering, particularly because he had set ideas of what functioned and what didn’t, but he didn’t want a management position; this was why he had never once showed the slightest interest in becoming Headmaster of Hammel or in possibly seeking favor with the Board of Trustees. And while he believed that collaboration was the best policy for most organizations, he also valued his independence as head of the mental health services department and the fact that nobody micromanaged his methods.

He certainly had never wanted to be in charge of a rebel group. Yet, for the second time in his life (and it was only the second time because being a Radical college student in the 1970s didn’t count), he found himself leading such a group. Several of the members were the same as the first time, although the stakes were higher this time, as difficult as that was to imagine.

The last time he’d taken this role, he hadn’t lived in a compound behind an electrified perimeter, even if the planning meetings had happened in his same living room.

“Sean?”

The telepath lifted his head at the sound of Clarisse Prideaux’s voice. She looked battle-weary, as everyone did these days, although she still held herself with poise and confidence. “There’s something out here that you should see.”

He followed her out into the hallway, where a man was hogtied, arms and legs behind his back. His eyes were glassy and his face was utterly serene despite the situation; it was unnatural.

He was one of Them.

“Where did you find him?” Sean asked, momentarily distressed by the notion of one of Them breaking through the perimeter. Fortunately, Clarisse assuaged that concern.

“On our way back from a supply run. He was close by the house, but not close enough to set off security, and he was alone.”

That was unusual. Most of Them traveled together, at least in pairs; even if there was no need for Them to do so.

“What should we do with him?” The Frenchwoman asked, glancing between the man on the floor and the telepath standing beside her. While she had the advantage in a feat of strength, They were disconcerting regardless.

There weren’t many available places in the house to conceal him; all of the rooms were occupied, and the garage had too many people moving in and out. Closets were too small and inhumane, even for one of Them. “Bring him to the laundry room for now.”

It would have to do. At least the laundry room locked from the outside rather from the inside, so they could safely keep him confined. Not that anyone would advocate for untying the ropes, but they couldn’t be too careful.

Caution was the only reason that they had survived for this long.

**************************************

Their captive had been locked in the laundry room, and Sean had called a meeting of the adults in their ragtag group in the dining room, which had a long table and was as good a place to meet as any. Everyone looked as exhausted as Sean felt, which was par for the course these days.

“What are we going to do with him?” Eugene asked, already familiar with their captive. He had been with Clarisse when she had come across him; the former theater owner’s mimicry powers were invaluable for supply runs, since he could easily blend in with Them.

“We can’t keep him; they might find us through him,” Janice said. It was a valid concern; Their connections to one another were long and deep, and their ragtag team had yet to find a way to block that. The electrified perimeter helped, but there was no reason to invite greater numbers or other trouble.

“We can’t let him go; he’s seen us,” Kane said. He wasn’t concerned about himself, since he was used to standing out, but he also believed that it was important for those among them who had anonymity to preserve it for the common good.

“They already know what we look like,” Clarisse pointed out. Even releasing him wouldn’t erase their location or appearances from their captive’s memory and thus wouldn’t save their group from Their awareness.

“But there’s a way around that,” Kateri pointed out. She looked at Sean hopefully; that was followed by glances from the others around the table.

“No.” Josh was the one to protest, drawing attention away from Sean. “It isn’t safe.” And he didn’t want his partner to spend any time alone with one of Them; he didn’t want to task the risk. And while he was concerned about Sean’s safety above his own and everyone else’s (if he had to admit to it), this was also a selfish desire; he didn’t know what he would do if something happened to the telepath. The only person he had admitted that to was Sean, alone together in the dark when this had first begun.

“Be reasonable,” Kateri said, which earned all of the tell-tale signs of irritating the former attorney. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses, he hunched forward slightly in his seat, and he began to tap his fingers.

Sean resisted the urge to sigh or to pinch the bridge of his nose; he knew that Kateri meant well with the suggestion, and he knew why Josh was being protective. He couldn’t fault either of them, but he didn’t want this to devolve into an emotional argument. Not when one of Them was in their laundry room.

To that end, he turned to give Kateri his full attention. “I can think of at least three reasons why I shouldn’t try: First, I don’t want Them gaining access to my powers; second, I don’t want our group to lose the use of my powers, and third, I like having free will.”

“What if we sedate him in addition to keeping him tied up?” Kateri asked.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have other psychics in their ragtag group, and so trying to explain the workings of his powers was hindered by the language barrier. He shook his head and said, “He, as an individual, isn’t the threat; They are. I can’t risk getting drawn in. You remember what happened to Chase.”

That brought silence to the entire group around the table. That had been a tragedy.

“Is there a way to check his powers before you tried that?” Kane asked, although he already assumed he knew the answer.

“We don’t have any scanners,” Clarisse reminded him. There existed insufficient technology, and nobody in their group had the ability to identify meta-human powers.

And Sean had already explained the problem with probing thoughts; as for scanning thoughts, They were a jumble, which was to be expected. Trying would be useless at best; at worst, it was another fatal and unnecessary risk.

“So what do we do?”

“We either kill him or throw him back.” Greg still had a way with words.

***************************************

There was no privacy in the house, since it had been converted into their fortress. There were enough rooms to house everyone, but there was doubling. With romantic couples, there was tripling. The master bedroom had been sectioned off for numerous smaller “rooms,” because it was too large to rationalize keeping as a personal space for Josh and Sean.

Curtains were hung to give off the illusion of privacy, the same way that Sean pretended not to read minds; it was the best that could be done.

Lying in bed with Josh’s hand clasping his for dear life was how the telepath spent most nights before giving into sleep for the few precious and generally unsatisfactory hours he did each night. Josh’s grip was tighter than usual, but Sean didn’t mind, not after the day’s events.

“How do you feel?” Josh asked, turning slightly in bed to better look at the telepath.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you have a headache?”

“It’s no worse than usual.” Sean often had a headache these days, the result of the inevitable mingling of thoughts that happened when someone joined Them. There was an amplifying effect, so that the Whole was louder and more prevalent than the sum of Its parts, like an echo chamber that Sean’s telepathy was partially tuned to at all times. As irritating as when someone talked into a microphone while too close to a radio.

Josh lifted his other hand and brought it to Sean’s face, caressing the telepath’s cheek. Do you want me to give you a rub down?” He let his fingers trail too close to the older man’s temple, which caused Sean to jerk away from him. Josh sighed and moved his hand from his partner’s face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right.” With the hand away from his face, Sean moved closer to Josh, and he squeezed the younger man’s hand as reassurance. “I’ll be fine.”

The former attorney returned the squeeze, and then he caressed the telepath’s palm with his thumb. “Do you have to go tomorrow?”

“You know I do.” Sean smiled at the other man in the dark. “If you’re worried, you also that know you can come with us; we have room in the van.”

“I’m useless on runs.”

“Not at all.” The telepath squeezed Josh’s hand again. “You’re my homing beacon.”

*********************************

“Is this far enough?” Eugene asked; he was driving, with Sean in the passenger seat. Clarisse, Kateri, and Josh were in the back seat with their captive. Kateri was prepared to use her powers to help them escape quickly by providing a stumbling block to Them, if necessary. All of the occupants of the van hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“It should we. We don’t want to get too close to the center of town.” That was too far from the house, too far into Their territory, and it was dangerous.

“Then let’s dump him and get out of here.” Eugene hit the brakes, and the van came to an abrupt halt. Clarisse severed the rope bonds with a knife, Kateri opened the sliding door, and Clarisse gave their captive an unceremonious shove onto the ground.

His face didn’t change from the same serene empty expression he had worn for his entire stay at their base, even when he hit the ground and scratched his arms.

Instead, he calmly rose to his feet and turned back to the van. Kateri slammed the door before he could climb back inside. “Drive,” she instructed Eugene.

He did. They moved in reverse, turned around quickly, and then headed back toward the house. In the rearview mirror, they could see their ex-captive begin to walk more toward the center of town, joining more of Them in the process. All had the same empty expression and blank eyes; some were scavenging, others were assigned to who knows what task.

From the corner of her eye, Clarisse thought she saw Chase walking with James; for both their sakes, she hoped it wasn’t true. She shared a look with Sean; apparently he’d seen the same thing. But then he pressed his hands to his temples, because the noise was too much.

“Drive faster,” he whispered. Eugene did.

The telepath tried to ignore the all-too clear message that came from the center of town, amplified out by the many bodies inhabited by Them.

Come to us. Be with me.

Their ragtag team wouldn’t succumb. They couldn’t. Eugene drove faster, and the van left Them behind for another day.