Psychic War

Chapter 4: Powers

Out on warship heading towards Rommel Island, just as Andrea’s dream had predicted, Tarlem Melos Senior was on his way.


“Sir!,” young human called out to Tarlem Sr.


“Yes?” the lynx looked at the human.


“Our radar indicated that an enemy vessel will intercept us if we stay our current course. Should we fire?” the human acted rashly.


“No!” Tarlem took off the hood of his dark blue cloak, “It may be a ship of the Naradian navy. We’ll wait for visual identification. If it’s an Army or Empire ship we open fire!”





On Rommel Island Tarlem pondered Andrea’s dream. His father was never in the navy, but he was secretive, even to his wife. One fact that he could not grasp was how Andrea could have such a vivid dream about his father when she had never met him. Tarlem thought hard, “A war, but not a normal one. What could it mean?”


His question as answered. Looking through the glass he saw Kevin staring at an apple. The apple began to float into the air. Tarlem quickly came through the door catching Kevin by surprise. The apple fell to the table and shy Kevin ran away.





Clay stood guard of the warehouse. Growing tired he drew a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. He felt around for his lighter and found out that it was out of fluid. In disappointment, the wombat pulled the cigarette from his mouth wishing he could of lit it. Then the cigarette burst into flames. Clay’s eyes widened as the cigarette burned painlessly between his fingers. He dropped it on the ground and pulled out another. This time he touched a single finger to the end of the cigarette, it lit. After taking a few puffs of the cigarette he tried something else. With a single thought his entire hand lit on fire and burned brightly and with out pain.


Clay ran to the lounge to show Remus what he could do. The ocelot looked up when he thought that he heard the wombat’s voice for the first time in several years. He saw the silent wombat there with a surprised look on his face, “Did you say something?”


Clay began to sign the word “No”, but Remus already heard him, “Are you sure? Because I can hear you!”


“What?” Remus heard Clay once again.


“Clay, I can hear you speak,” Remus was confused, “Just think what you want to say. Don’t sign it.”


“Hello? Come on Remus this is crazy,” Clay thought and Remus listened.


“You just said that this whole idea is crazy,” Remus was surprised that it actually worked.


“You think that’s crazy, check this out!” with a thought Clay was both able to communicate and he lit his hand on fire.





Tarlem sat at the table staring at the apple that he saw levitate. Lystria came in to see him intently looking at the apple, “Babe, what are you doing?”


“I saw Kevin stare at this apple and it floated into the air,” Tarlem never removed his focus from the apple.


“Huh?” Lystria gave Tarlem a strange look, “You’re saying that the apple floated?”


“Yes, it floated. Oh yeah,” Tarlem turned to Lystria, “Andrea had a dream. It seemed prophetic. In her dream my father was coming to the island and there was a war between us on the island.”


“Are  you saying that Andrea and her kid are psychic?” Lystria was dumbfounded. She didn’t believe her mate, despite the current events.


“Yes,” Tarlem seemed to get excited.


“Okay, Lystria said rather sarcastically. She truly thought that he had lost it already, “Babe, we have bigger things to worry about.”


“You’re right,” Tarlem sighed, grabbed the apple and took a bite, “We have to decide what we need and what we don’t need,” Tarlem stood.


“Why?”


“Resources will soon be scarce, and to most, money will become nothing but paper. Electronics don’t work anymore, even the most basic ones,” Tarlem turned the switch on the lamp, the light turned on. In his surprise, he removed his hand from the lamp, the light turned off.


“Thought they didn’t work?” Lystria got sarcastic again.


“It only works when I touch it, watch,” Tarlem put his hand against the lamp, the light shone once again. When he retracted his hand the light turned off once again.


“Something’s wrong with it,” Lystria touched it in the same exact spot that Tarlem had touched it, nothing happened, Now its just broken.”


The two lynxes remained silent for nearly a minute before Tarlem spoke again, “Lystria look at this,” she turned to him. He held his hands up. Blue sparks of electricity arced between his fingers, “What is this?”


Atris sighed, “I’ve still got to guard this fucker when Mayson isn’t gonna try any shit. This fucking sucks,” the jackal lifted his head. He had the strangest feeling that one of Mayson’s boys was going to come through the door. His finger found its way to the trigger. He normally wouldn’t react like that to a gut instinct, but this one screamed out in his mind.


Slowly the door began to open, but it slammed shut. Almost as if Atris’ shear force of will held it shut, “What the hell?” a voice came from the other side.


“Who the fucks there?” Atris yelled, waking Maurice who was a late sleeper.


“I’ll just burn this fuckin’ door down then,” the voice shouted. Atris soon smelt smoke.


“Dammit!” the jackal shouted and fired through the door.


Downstairs a stunned Remus heard the shots, “Clay, lets go!”  The two ran upstairs and saw the flaming door. Across the hall laid a bleeding body, still alive.


The wounded man looked at Remus and Clay, his hand caught on fire like Clay’s did. The man tossed a fireball at the ocelot. Remus put his hands up reflexively to guard his face. The ball of fire was extinguished when moisture in the air condensed and doused it, “Son-of-a-bitch!” Remus drew a twelve millimeter and shot the wounded man in the head eight times, “Atris, you in there?”


“Yes,” Atris shouted, “Get me the fuck out of here!”


“Remus,” Clay continued to speak through thought, ”Did you cause that fireball to be put out?”


“I think so. Lets see if I can put this fire out,” Remus focused his mind on the fire. Droplets of water in the air quickly condensed and left the floor wet and the fire gone.





“We have visual contact, ship is Empire, shall we open fire?”


Tarlem Sr. gave it some thought, “Open fire.” he cannons roared and missiles took flight. The enemy ship glowed with the fires that the Cult saw to purify the minds of Dredia.


“What now, sir?”


“Sink it, leave no trace of that ship or those damn supremacists!” Tarlem Sr. yelled. His subordinates carried out the orders. In only a few minutes the ship was totally submerged, “Pull up along side the survivors. I want them dead,” Tarlem Sr. walked off the bridge of the ship.





Lystria answered a knock at the door, an otter stood on the other side, “Yes?”


“Hi,” the otter had a small quiet voice, “The people in my room want to know if anyone in your room has any strange powers.”


“Yeah,” Lystria turned away from the doorway, “Babe, someone’s here to see you.”


Tarlem came over to the door, “Yes?”


“So, you have some power?” the otter asked in the same quiet voice.


“Yeah, what about it?” Tarlem eyed the otter with suspicion.


“I’m Renold, you can call me Ren. Everyone I’m staying with has powers too, except for one guy. Anyway we just wanted to check, some guy in my room has names for them. He says I’m pyrokinetic,” the otter seemed to drone on.


“Pyrokinetic?” Tarlem looked strangely at Ren.


“It’s the ability to control fire, watch,” Ren held up one finger and a small flame appeared above it.


“Ren,” a deep, authoritative voice came down the hall, “anyone else?”


“Yeah, got a lynx here,” Ren shouted down the hall to the voice.


A human approached the door, “Hello, I’m Tyros,” a large man stood behind the short otter.


“I’m Tarlem,” the lynx felt pressed with all the people he didn’t know in his temporary home.


“You’ve got a power?” Tyros asked, “What is it?”


“I’m not quite sure but I think I have the ability to control electricity,” Tarlem wasn’t sure if he truly had a power or not.


“Hmm…electrokinesis. Since The Midway explosion people are discovering powers in themselves. I myself am pyrokinetic, photokinetic, and telekinetic. I want you to join me in policing this island so that society doesn’t fall apart,” Tyros explained.


“I’ll think it over,” Tarlem  began to shut the door.


“Ren, you should stay with these people and try to find more powers, alright?”


“Okay,” Ren reluctantly agreed. Tarlem let him in despite feeling pressured. he didn’t want to come off as rude. Tarlem shut the door immediately after Ren was in the room, “So, the other lynx, who is she?”


“She’s my fiancée,” Tarlem got slightly defensive.


“Really?” Ren was surprised, “She’s freakin’ hot!”