Genetics

Chapter Seven

Every few seconds my body pulsed, driving electricity down through my feet and into the ground, creating small shockwaves that threw the sand into the air. My search was barely in control, growing large and larger while I could do was feed it.

I could feel them. It was impossible to tell how far they were because of the large radius this search was creating but there were a lot of them, as Sara had said. It was difficult to single them out as their signals kept merging but I concentrated, searching for the signal I needed.

Their power seemed to blend together, creating a roaring fire. I desperately tried to sort it, search through the individual brain signals instead of the masses.

And then I felt it.

My head turned, away from the army and back towards hole. It was like a light, searing into the sky. I didn’t know why I had missed it before but it was right there, changing what had just been a normal human signal into the blinding power of the Genetic I was looking for.

I began to concentrate again, trying to withdraw from the massive range I had created. It was almost painful, a stinging sensation moving throughout my brain. I winced, allowing some of my concentration to move to blocking the pain. Instead it grew stronger and my eyes flew open. It wasn’t me. The pain was coming from something else.

I let go of my grip on the range and there was a massive burst as it extended before beginning to shrink. All of my attention went to the pain and locating the source. It was growing, spreading into my mind like a pulsating fire. It stemmed from something at the top of my spine, just at the back of my neck. I dropped to my knees as all of my strength seemed to flood away, my fingers probing the source – I could just feel something hard beneath the skin.

I didn’t know what was happening to me but with the electricity in my veins I was able to focus enough to stop it. The intense concentration on my brain brought a new pain, a throbbing sensation to battle the fire.

Then I blacked out.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Rock glanced up sharply as the pulse moved through the group. He could not see it but all of them felt it, a strong outburst of power. “I underestimated you,” he muttered under his breath as he stared thoughtfully in the direction from which the pulse came.

He turned to look at the group. Night was scowling – she too recognized who had created the powerful burst of energy. The others weren’t sure, muttering their own theories under their breath. The popular theory seemed to be that it came from the powerful Genetic they hunted.

“No. This was someone else,” Rock dismissed their theories quickly. Willow wasn’t the one they seeked. But she would be a powerful ally, if he could convince her to stand with them and fight. He would have to move quickly… and carefully.

*~*~*~*~*~

Willow sat up. She blinked, looking up at the power plants high above her. “Foolish.” Rising to her feet, she turned and started to walk. With every step some of the electricity left her; by the time she had reached the forest most of it was gone and the little that remained was easily controlled.

As she went down the road that led to hole she felt Jayce approach, long before she saw him. He looked angry. “What the hell was that?” He growled as he neared. “You were meant to stay nearby instead of running off with a group of Genetics!”

She looked at him long and hard. “I don’t like you,” she said after a moment.

He paused. “Um… I guess I can understand why, given this whole situation. But whether you like me or not-“

“Lex,” Willow said simply.

Jayce frowned, looking annoyed. “Yes. I know you two are friends-“

“No,” she interrupted again. “I felt her.” Her eyes narrowed and she continued walking.

“Felt who?” Jayce yelled after her. “The Genetic?” As he made an attempt to follow her, she turned her head, glancing at him. When he collapsed she continued on her way to the cabin without any more interruptions. Going inside, she sat down on the bed. Sleep. That was the logical thing to do. Then she would move onto the next step.

~*~*~*~*~

I slowly opened my eyes and then sat up, staring around in confusion. My cabin? How had I gotten here? I was… at the power plant. I had found the army, hidden within the forests. There had been many and I had… lost control. Then there had been a pain…

My hand flew up to my neck. I could still feel the object beneath my skin. For a moment I wondered if I would be able to cut it out and then I dismissed the thought. There were important things in my neck. If I damaged anything even I would lose control.

I leant back on the bed, frowning slightly. I didn’t remember walking here. The pain covered the rest of my memory but I was fairly sure I had fallen and I didn’t remember rising.

Rolling over, I stared at the wall. There was something… else. I had felt it. I had felt the Genetic I was searching for. It had been hiding behind a signal, buried so deeply I hadn’t noticed it before. Who? Who had the signal belonged to?

Closing my eyes, I thought back and concentrated. I could feel the light searing, I could remember how strong the signal’s call had been. I pushed past that, slowly rewinding my memory. For a few seconds before the signal’s power had pushed through I had glimpsed the human signal. I brought it forward, concentrating hard. Lex. It was Lex’s signal.

I rose to my feet. It didn’t matter who the signal belonged to. The important thing was that I had found the one I had been searching for. Now all I needed to do was bring her to Fame.

I didn’t know why things had changed – earlier when I was talking to her she had been the same as any human. Now she was almost impossible to ignore and I left the cabin with her signal calling to me. Somehow my search last night had unlocked her. I didn’t know how but with most of my ability, I don’t know how it works only that it does.

I’d never learnt where Jayce and Lex lived but apparently it was outside of hole, in the forest. Not really surprising seeing as both of them seemed to spend even more time then me in there. I followed the signal up a hill and after a few minutes I could just make out a brown cabin amongst on the edge of a cliff overlooking hole. There was a large fence completely surrounding the house, a few feet taller then me with thick bars. Walking along it, I found the gate – predictably it was locked. Any trees nearby had the branches over the gate cut off, making it difficult to get over the fence as well.

Near the gate was a box on some sort of post. I paused, studying it for a moment then hit one of the buttons. It crackled and after a few seconds I heard Lex’s voice, “Hello? Who’s there?”

“Willow,” I replied. She didn’t say anything so I tried pressing the button again. She still didn’t answer and I wandered away from the box, seeking a way through the fence. When I didn't find one, I went back to the gate. If I use my razor to cut at the metal, I should be able to break the lock, I decided. It wasn't easy or quick and by the time I had finished, a lot of my razor had been worn away. But it would grow back and now one less obstacle lay between me and her.

There was a small path leading up to the house with thick bushes on either side. I walked slowly, keeping an eye out for anything Jayce could have done to the path or surrounding area. There didn’t seem to be any massive traps like I had expected and I made it to the door without any trouble. The house was two stories with no windows at the front - as I was walking up the hill I had noticed some overlooking the cliff but it looked like they were the only ones. I knocked on the large wooden door – again, no glass. There was a small round hole in it, my guess to look through and see who was standing there.

I felt Lex approach the door. She didn’t open it and I leant forward, calling out, “Lex, it’s me, Willow. Open up.”

“Jayce told me not to.” Her voice was muffled and she sounded upset.

“Come on, Lex, I though we were friends.”

“Jayce doesn’t want us to be. He says I can’t trust you.”

I lent my head against the wood. Part of me wanted to say that she couldn’t. But the part that wanted her to was stronger and at that moment I would have said anything to get her to open the door. Luckily I didn’t have to because she seemed to make up her own mind and I took a step backwards as the door opened.

Her eyes were red and she looked around, clearly scared. “Come in. Quickly.” She shut the door behind me, sliding a piece of metal back into a lock. “What’s happening out there? Jayce phoned a little while ago and said not to open the door to anyone.” She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “Even you.”

“Then why did you?”

She looked down at her feet. “He just doesn’t get it, okay? He runs around with Riko and I know he says he’s defending the town but most of the time there isn’t anything to defend it from! But there aren’t any kids my age here, just a bunch of little babies…” She kicked the ground viciously in a sudden burst of anger. “And its really boring, you know? Even the adults don’t have time for me, they say their too busy… but you, you talk with me. We’re friends.”

“Yes,” I said softly. “Friends.”

She lead me through a lounge room, the floor covered in thick white stuff. I kicked off my shoes and stood there, wriggling my toes and enjoying the way my feet seemed to sink into it. It was really soft, too. Up ahead was a kitchen, a half-eaten dinner sitting on the bench. “Did you want anything?”

I shook my head. I hadn’t eaten in a while but talking to her made me feel kind of sick and I really wasn’t hungry anymore. Lex just shrugged, sitting down on a backless chair by the bench and starting to eat her meal.

There was a large window a few feet away. I wandered over, pushing aside the curtain to look through. It gave a really good view of hole and I stood there for a few minutes, watching the occasional person move down the street. I didn’t think; I didn’t want to. I just stood there, staring out at nothing in particular.

As I turned away, something caught my eye. Frowning slightly, I went back to the window, pulling the curtain even further back to give myself a better view. There was a large dust cloud travelling on the road into hole, the sun glinting off pieces of metal. There were a few cars and a few other machines, what looked to be very large cars with guns sticking out the front. They moved a lot slower, driving on one side of the road while cars flew by them.

I reached out, feeling the signals. There were… a lot. Even more then the Genetic army and that was quite a few. There was also a familiar signal amongst them. I hadn’t encountered it for very long but it was locked in my memory, a time of fear and the start of this entire journey. Fame.

Anger swelled up inside me and I clutched the curtain so tightly I almost ripped it. Reaching up, I probed the object at the back of my neck. I didn’t know what was inside me but I knew who had put it there. With my anger came a deep, guttural fear. He had betrayed me. My place would not be with the humans. But I had betrayed them, too – my place wasn’t with the Genetics, either.

I let the curtain drop, covering my view as I turned to face Lex. You haven’t betrayed them yet. They would never know different. And yet it was still they. I was no longer apart of their world, no longer apart of any world. So be it. I act alone and for me only.

I moved over to where Lex was sitting and stood near her, watching her silently. She glanced up and her friendly smile faded behind a questioning look. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“How did I not see you?”

Now there was fear in her eyes, perhaps at the darkness in my voice as I spoke a seemingly innocent question. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You seem… human. More then just the physical side, because even I look human. But something inside your brain…”

I reached forward, gently touching her forehead with a razor. She jerked back as if my hand was a snake, gazing at my razor with blind terror in her eyes. “That’s why Jayce said not to trust you.” She whispered. “He knew but I didn’t listen.”

“I didn’t know it would be you.”

“Does it make a difference?” A spark of anger, now. “You’re such a hypocrite!”

I paused. “I don’t understand that word.”

“It means that when I first met you, you acted like Jayce was some kind of monster because you thought he hunted down Genetics. But you hunted me, didn’t you?” When I didn’t reply she bolted to her feet, screaming at me, “Didn’t you? And it doesn’t matter that it turned out to be me! My life doesn’t become any more important just because we thought we were friends!”

So she finally knew we weren’t friends. The thought made me feel even sicker, deep inside my stomach. I felt like I would throw up, like I had after Sheriff Walker’s death. I didn’t understand the emotion and I pushed it aside, refusing to acknowledge it. “I’m not the only one hunting you. There are a lot more people who want to harm you.”

“And you don’t?” She snarled, tears springing into her eyes. I understood this. Sometimes when I was afraid I hid it, too.

“No. Not like them. Both Genetics and humans want to use you in their war.”

“But I don’t have an ability!” Lex wailed.

“I felt your power,” I said dismissively.

“It doesn’t work like that.” She made no attempt to hide the tears now as they rolled down her cheeks. “I don’t know why. I’m a Pure, I swear it. But I was born looking human and I don’t have an ability! They say I have this great power but I don’t, okay?”

“All Pures-“ I faltered. It wasn’t possible. She had to… I mean, after all that I’d… her signal said she spoke the truth but maybe it was just buried within her. Maybe I could bring it out.

“Sit on the floor.” She stared at me, than quickly shook her head. “Sit, Lex.”  Something in my voice made her obey me and I knelt down in front of her. “Stay still.”

“What-“

I reached out, cupping her face in my hands and closed my eyes. I reached into her, being careful not to cause pain as I moved forward into her mind. I could feel her power but… normally a person’s ability creates highs and lows in the power depending on their usage. Her power ran a flat line – high, to be sure, but from the way her signal went you’d think she never used it. Or she was constantly using it.

I frowned as I withdrew. She blinked, her tears gone. “That felt weird.\,” she said softly.

“You don’t have a power.” I turned my head, staring at the wall. I never thought I’d miss my old life but I did. This was fantastic, too, don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t hungry. I was safe. I was talking to people. But I felt more alone then ever and everything was suddenly so… complicated, filled with lies. I had changed my life into something I wasn’t sure I wanted anymore and for what? A Pure with an ability that wasn’t really an ability? She looked normal. She belonged to this world.

“Can’t we just tell them that? Then they’ll leave me alone, right?”

“No.” I shook my head. “You do have power, Lex and a lot of it. You just can’t use it as an ability but it doesn’t change the fact its there. Neither group will believe that they can’t make you somehow use it.”

“I want Jayce,” she whispered. “If I don’t have an ability, I’m no use to you, right? You can leave me alone? I just want my brother!”

I stared at her. “Lex, if Jayce has the same sort of power levels as you…”

She shook her head quickly. “He’s not… really my brother. But he knew my dad and he loves me, okay? I love him. I should’ve listened to him from the start…”

I stood up and walked back over to the window. Pulling back the curtain, I looked back down into hole. Fame was standing in the middle of the street, giving orders – a large machine I guessed to be a SourceBox was in his hands. A few other men in black suits stood near him talking into things I couldn’t see. Most of the men wore weird green suits and were carrying guns as they ran around, searching the buildings. It wouldn’t be long until they discovered we weren’t down there and then they would move to the forest. It was a big forest but there were a lot of them and I had found the cabin right enough. “I think we need to leave.”

Lex shook her head vigorously. “No. Jayce told me to stay here and every time I don’t listen to him bad things happen.”

“This really isn’t the time to get all obedient,” I snapped, dropping the curtain and kneeling down in front of her. “Do you trust me?”

“No!”

“But I haven’t hurt you, have I?” I asked, puzzled. She acted like I had but I hadn’t betrayed her. Not yet.

“How do I know you’re not going to?”

I looked down on my hands. “Actually, I am.”

She looked at me in disbelief, then made a move to get away. I grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to the floor. “Let me go,” she cried. “Let me go, Willow!” Her other fist swung towards me and I grabbed that, too.

“Look. You need to listen, just for a few minutes.”

She shook her head, crying again. “Jayce’ll be here soon. He’ll help me. He’ll kick your butt for doing this to me.”

“Who do you think is going to get here first, Jayce or those men with guns?”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

I stood up, gently pulling her up too before taking her over to the window. “Look, Lex. They're here for you.” She stared down in silence and I let the curtain drop, looking down at her. “And even if Jayce did get here in time they're still going to be there. So is an army and the Genetics can track you very well. Maybe they don’t have guns but they're just as dangerous.”

“What do we do?” Her voice was small and she looked up at me. “Willow? How do we get away?”

“We can’t.” I let go of her wrist and moved to sit down on the floor again. After a few seconds she joined me. “But I can make them not want you anymore.”

“How?” Her hands twisted nervously in her lap.

“I don’t know, I just know that I can,” I replied simply.

She still looked scared. “Will it hurt?” Her voice was only a whisper.

I hesitated. “I don't think so. It… will feel bad, though. It’ll be very scary.”

“But if I don’t don’t do this, they're going to keep hunting me, aren’t they?” I nodded and she inhaled deeply, trembling. “Okay. You can do it.”

“You need to keep very still.” I reached out, placing a hand on either side of her head. “Don’t talk, try not to move. This part won’t hurt but it will feel very strange.” I closed my eyes and began to concentrate.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Willow!”Jayce roared, pounding viciously on the door. Rattling the doorknob, he grunted with frustration, taking a step backwards. The door was too thick to break down – he'd have to smash a window. Looking around for a rock, he scooped it up and hurled it at the window.

“Jayce, what are you doing?” He heard Riko yell behind him as he carefully climbed over the broken glass, disappearing into the cabin.

“Finding Willow!”Jayce yelled back.

“Well, did you have to smash apart her house to do it?”

“It's a window, Riko.”

“We need to get out of here. Do you not realize that there are a lot of people headed here right now? There are freakin' tanks.”

“I realize. That's why I've got to find her.”

“They don't send the army after a half-Gen.”

“They might send one after a Pure,” Jayz said grimly, climbing back out of the cabin. “She's not there.”

“She's probably a million miles away, like we should be!”

Jayce gripped his friends shoulders, shaking him gently. “Riko. Get a grip. Why would they be after us?”

“Look, Jayce, I get that you're the tough hero of your story or whatever, but seriously. Will you just tell me why the hell you're still bothering with Willow? We don't hunt half-Gens!”

“Half-Gens don't have abilites. She's a Pure.” He jerked his head towards the woods. “Your right, though. I don't want to be here when those guys arrive – too many questions I can't answer.”

“Can't or don't want to?” Riko followed him into the forest. “She can't be a Pure. Where would a Pure get the money and equipment for a huge image overhaul like that?”

“Maybe she didn't need one.” Jayce muttered under his breath. He paused on the side of a hill, looking down into hole. The cars and tanks had arrived – FBI were standing in the main street, giving orders to army officals. He frowned deeply as he spotted the guns in each army officer's hands – this was starting to make him uneasy. They didn't send an army like this after a Pure, either.

They stood there for a few more minutes, watching as the officer’s started to search the buildings in hole. Before long, all of the town residents were in the main street, hands on their heads and looking scared.

“Come on.” Jayce slunk off, Riko carefully following. The rest of the walk up the hill was slow, made difficult by their want to remain unseen. Reaching the house, Jayce stared down at the broken lock hanging from the gate before running for the door. It swung open to his touch and he called out as he entered, “Lex? Where are you?” He moved through the rooms quickly and methodically. “She’s not here.”

Riko appeared in the doorway. “She’s not in the gardens either.”

Jayce swore under his breath before pulling his mobile from his pocket. Flipping it open, he punched in the number and waited for it to ring.

“Hello?”

“Lex, its me-“ He paused before slowly exhaling, forcing himself to stay calm. “Willow, where’s Lex? Why do you have her phone?” He asked evenly.

“She gave it to me but she can’t talk right now.”

“I swear, if you-“

“She’ll be fine in a few days.”

“What-“ The phone began to beep, telling him Willow had hung up. He swore under his breath again. “I’m gonna kill her,” he growled. “I’m going to hunt her down and if Lex isn’t okay…”

“What would she want with Lex?” Riko asked. “Is she trying to get back at you or something?”

“I don’t know,” Jayce lied. “But I’ll find her. I’ll find them both.”