“No,” Yen explained calmly, his body aglow with uninhibited psychic energy, “you won’t.”
The power struck Merric like an avalanche. The force stripped flesh from his body and scalded through the layers of muscle before dropping the burning coals into the organs beneath. The meat melted from his arms as Merric threw up his arms protectively in front of his face, exposing the bones beneath. Yen felt the panic grow within him and tried in vain to reel the power back, but the sentient pyrokinetic power continued to lash the officer. Merric opened his mouth to scream, but his tongue melted and his eyes boiled and burst in their sockets. Choking on his own scorched flesh, Merric collapsed to the ground, twitching only briefly before he stopped moving all together.
The power satiated, it drifted back into Yen’s body. He shivered in horror, watching the smoking body lay still on his kitchen floor. Though he felt disgusted at what he had done, there was a whispering voice that he couldn’t ignore in the back of his mind. He may be horrified, but Yen had never felt more in control of his powers than he did at this moment. His powers, once chaotic and unwieldy, seemed eager to bend to his resolve. Eager to test out his control, he reached out his hand, gently lifting Merric’s body from the floor. Yen rolled his fingers and the body moved in concert, turning in mid air in response. Satisfied, Yen placed Merric back on the ground and began formulating a plan to save both his career and his life.
Yen walked down the hallway of the ship, the air around him dancing as he headed toward the engine room in the rear of the Revolution. In front of him, Merric’s body floated down the hall, suspended solely by Yen’s control. Yen reveled in the power he felt, knowing that he now had the ability to fully wield the power, to shape it as he saw fit.
As Crewmen passed him in the hall, Yen reached out, the thin blue filament reaching into their minds and rewriting their memories. In their eyes, Yen walked alone with a sadistic smile spread across his face. He nodded in response to their salutations and asked about their health as he walked, all the while leaving them oblivious to the torn and shredded corpse only inches away. As he entered the elevator that would lead to the bowels of the ship, he stood beside a Warrant on his way to the engine room. Merric floated lengthwise before the two men in the lift. The pungent smell of his scorched flesh stung Yen’s nostrils, but the Warrant didn’t notice, instead standing rigid in the presence of a senior officer. Two senior officers, Yen thought ironically to himself.
When the lift opened to the engine room, the Warrant gestured for Yen to exit first, which he did, his package in tow. Moving quickly toward the plasma port on the back of the enormous engines, Yen halted, letting the heat from the exhaust wash over him. Even from the distance, Yen could feel his cheeks grow pink from the heat emanating from the engine. With barely a flick of his wrist, he sent Merric’s body drifting toward the plasma port, the blue and purple flames licking the inside of the walls within. As his legs began to enter to port, Merric’s skin blistered and smoked, the acrid smell drifting to where Yen stood in anticipation. The body entered and was engulfed in the flames, the heat from the plasma vaporizing the skin and scoring the dense bone until they, too, crumbled to dust within.
“Ashes to ashes,” Yen mumbled to himself as another Crewman walked obliviously past.
Satisfied that the body would never be found, Yen turned back toward the lift and waited impatiently for it to arrive. He still had to clean the kitchen of any evidence that might remain. But right now, he had more pressing concerns. He allowed his face to go slack, his mouth parting slightly. His brow furrowed in concern and he raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean he’s missing?” Yen asked quietly to the empty air.
He was pretty sure that would be believable, but just to be sure he’d practice for the rest of the day in front of his mirror.
CHAPTER 15:
At the end of the workday, the survivors shuffled wearily back to their homes, eager for a good night’s rest, yet still weary of living in such cramped quarters. With the doors locked for the night and the loudspeakers announcing that curfew was in effect, most of the rest of House 12 bedded down in the common room for the night. Keryn, however, lay awake on the floor and stared at the ceiling, marking the texture of the panel above her head for the hundredth time. Her heart raced and adrenaline already coursed through her veins. She knew she had to wait just a little while longer before sneaking out of the house, but locating the sewer entrance made her excited to the point that she had trouble holding still.
Once Penchant had shown them the opening, the trio had moved some of the existing rubble so that a fallen wall jutted two feet above the entrance like overhead cover, making the area as nondescript as the surrounding ruins. Keryn had turned in circles, marking all the major landmarks under the spotlights. She prayed then as she prays now that she would be able to find the entrance again in the dark.
Nearly an hour passed, an eternity to Keryn, before she slipped wordlessly from underneath her blanket and stepped gingerly over the strewn bodies that inhabited the common room of House 12. Her body heat in the middle of the group was hardly missed; the bodies quickly shifted to fill the gap left by her departure. She was nearly to the door when a shadow detached itself from the wall. Stifling a surprised yell, Keryn visibly relaxed as she recognized the shaggy blond hair.
“You know you don’t have to do this,” Adam said, reaching out and taking her hand. “If nothing else, I could go with you.”
“No,” Keryn replied, shaking her head softly in the darkness. “No, you can’t come with me. It’ll be dangerous enough with just me being out after curfew. I can’t risk us both on my wild whim.”
“Then just…” he paused, his big hand fidgeting with hers nervously in the ensuing silence. He finally looked up, concern reflected in his blue eyes. “Then promise you’ll come back to me.”
Keryn reached up and placed her hand on his face, her fingers caressing his cheek as he leaned affectionately. He lowered toward her, his warm breath dancing in white clouds in the cold night. Keryn’s heart raced in her chest as she leaned forward, her lips brushing against his. Adam slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, their kiss deep and passionate. Emotions suppressed for so long flooded through them both, finding an outlet in their shared kiss. Finally, Keryn pushed herself away, her breathing heavy and her cheeks flushed. Looking at Adam, she saw the same fire that she felt in her veins reflected in his eyes.
“Come back to me,” he whispered once again into the darkness before opening the front door, the lock already picked in anticipation. “And be safe.”
Without a reply, Keryn slipped out into the night and she heard the door click softly closed behind her. She stood for a moment with her back resting against the door, emotions flooding through her mind. Closing her eyes, she pushed away the memory of Adam’s burning eyes and thought again of the course she would have to take to reach the sewer entrance. She wished she could have brought the map with her, but she couldn’t risk it falling into the hands of the Terrans if she were caught. Instead, she would have to go on memory alone. Opening her eyes again, she took a deep breath and ran into the night.
Keryn knew the dangers as she set out into the night. If spotted, she would be shot on sight by the Terran patrols. But remaining unnoticed would not be easy. Aside from the roving guards, spotlights scanned the open areas, spotlights that were manned by armed guards in towers. Above all, Keryn feared the fighters that made randomized passes over the city after curfew, scanning continuously for violators.