Chapter 23 - Fractures
It was almost a hundred years ago when Shadow had been born. He was the product
of genetic engineering experiments which, despite their portrayal as being a
great step forwards, were seen by many as highly controversial.
The experiments were initially a success, and the children gained unheard-of,
and still unclear, abilities. But as the years passed several things began to
emerge. Firstly, the modifications appeared to have given the children an
extended life-span, and this was hailed as an unexpected benefit.
Unfortunately, the same modifications also made them mentally unstable, a
problem that grew worse with age and culminated in a blaze of telekinetic fire
that destroyed the entire facility in which they were living.
A short time later, such research was made illegal and the police began hunting
for the surviving children.
For Shadow, life on the outside was easy. His unique skills made avoiding the
authorities a breeze, giving him the nickname that he quickly he adopted as his
name. And so he rose through the underworld.
Unbeknownst to him, a young budding biochemist by the name of Moira was
assisting in the creation of the first mechanical mind-enhancement device. Drawn
to the feelings of others like him, Shadow came to the lab and discovered the
truth; he was still alone. In a rage he slaughtered most of the research team,
and took the prototype amplifier for himself.
Years later another group of scientists took up their research, and extended it
further. Unlike before, their research was done in secret, and privately funded
by an unknown individual.
Once again, Shadow was drawn to the amplification device, but forewarned by the
previous events, the Scientists managed to prevent him from stealing it. Before
he could attempt again, the whole group of Scientists disappeared overnight,
leaving only a short letter blaming his attack.
It had taken him years to work out where the amplifier had gone. Excited, he had
made arrangements for travel, and discovered an old friend in the area; Moira.
Her own shady past had made her easily bendable to his will, and things had
progressed relatively well… until now.
Shadow's face took on a look of animal hatred as Julie smiled at him, his
remaining shreds of sanity keeping him from simply lashing out wildly. He was
unstable at the best of times, but repeated use of his abilities and Julies'
continued defiance were quickly pushing him over the edge.
He was already gathering power to him self as Julie climbed to her feet. She
took a moment to bend over and brush the snow from her clothes.
"You're just full of surprises," he snarled, his rage at her insolence tearing
the final syllables into growls. Even the cloaked guards, who until now had been
standing close to him, began edging away.
Julie continued to feign ignorance whilst her mind whirled. The strength flowing
through her felt completely natural, as if a part of her had been missing until
now. But the question of what to do with it was making her hesitate.
What if he tried to kill her again, she wondered, her hands pausing in brushing
the powdery white ice from her knees. Could she use the power she felt to
retaliate with the same deadly intention? A part of her believed she could, but
even after everything that had happened, she refused to admit it to herself.
I've killed enough in self-defence, she thought solemnly. No more.
Julie straightened up then, and looked directly at Shadow. There was a moment of
silence, and then he struck, making Julie wince as she reflexively blocked it.
Shadow's glare deepened, and he broke eye-contact for a moment. Around him, the
snow began to move.
Julies' eyes widened as the air began to blow around them, the partially-frozen
water in the pond shifting amidst the thin sheets of ice covering the surface.
The snow was picking up along with the wind, describing a rough circle around
the pond. Julie got a glimpse of Shadow glaring at her before he was obscured by
the snow, which was quickly gathering speed.
The air pulled at her clothes, whistling past and sapping the remaining warmth
from her exposed skin. She shifted stance against the wind, and at that moment
Shadow chose to strike again.
Julie yelped in surprise, bending his attack into harmlessness at the last
minute. She wasn't entirely successful, and nearly lost her balance as the
invisible force pushed suddenly against her soft belly.
A second later he attacked again with equal force, making her whimper as she
failed again to completely block it.
The snow continued to blow past her, and although she could still see the glow
of Shadow's power, the continual motion distracted her eyes, and the cold was
steadily making it hard to concentrate.
Shadow began attacking in earnest, and for the moment she could forget the world
around her and concentrate on defending herself. She could see his anger
mounting as his attacks largely failed, and they began growing rapidly more
powerful.
Her eyes locked on her attacker, Julie couldn't help but see the light of the
necklace he held in his hands. With each attack flung wildly at her, it shone
brighter, and once again her defence began slipping.
Last minute deflection took a lot of concentration, and the snow hadn't lessened
in its circular movement. It was like a miniature cyclone contained within the
walls of the trees around the clearing, and although Julie thought she could
defend herself from the freezing winds, she couldn't afford to lose
concentration.
She crouched down in the snow and put her back to the wind, drawing her ice-cold
hands protectively underneath her coat. This took away the concern of
maintaining her balance, and she found it easier to defend against Shadow.
She didn't notice as the wind died down and the snow slowly settled to the
ground once again. Shadow's guards had left the clearing, and it was empty
except for Julie and Shadow. Trig and Susan had taken shelter amidst the prickly
pine-tree hedge; Trig leaned forward cautiously, shaking snow and loosened
pine-needles from his hair as he surveyed the area.
Shadow still stood in the same spot, the ground around his feet bare of snow.
The ever-present hood he wore had fallen back, exposing an aged face and a head
of black hair that was fast disappearing under the ravages of time. His
confusion at Julies' survival was long gone under a tide of anger, and his
unblinking eyes held only demented fury now. Gripping the necklace hard in both
hands, he began drawing on the full depth of its amplification and hurling it at
Julie.
Ice-cold tears were collecting on Julies' cheeks. His attacks were getting
harder and harder to block, and after such a long day exhaustion was rapidly
creeping into her. Realising that sudden attacks weren't working, Shadow changed
his tactic.
Julies' eyes widened as he began squeezing her once again, putting every bit of
strength he had into it. The tiredness that was seeping into her body began to
affect her concentration, and as it did, the air around her seemed to try and
crush her.
She whimpered and gritted her teeth, trying to keep her heavy eyes open with her
last bit of will. Shadow was excited by her slow weakening, and tried to squeeze
her even harder, his entire body tensing with the effort.
This was the final straw for the necklace. Being pushed to its limits and the
continual pressure of Shadows hands squeezing it were too much for the prototype
device. One of the many smooth, geometrically perfect faces of its outside
cracked.
Although the fracture was completely invisible to the naked eye, it was enough
to disturb the delicate structures inside and completely disable it.
Shadow didn't even have time to notice. In an instant, all the power he was
pushing through the amplifier had nowhere to go, and in one blinding flash of
pain it poured back into him.
Julie didn't move as the pressure ended; still fearing another attack she laid
crouched in the snow, ready. It seemed like minutes before she heard the thud of
Shadow falling to the ground. Still wary, she looked up.
Seeing Shadow lying flat in the snow, she frowned in confusion, not allowing
excitement to enter her thoughts. Cautious, she climbed shakily to her feet and
approached him. When he didn't move, she gave him a prod in the side with her
foot, before stepping back nervously.
Still trying not to explode with relief, Julie turned away from him and stumbled
over to where Trig and Susan were slowly emerging from the trees.
"Julie!" Susan cried, embracing her mistress. Already exhausted, Julie let Susan
carry her to the ground. "What happened?!" she asked anxiously, adrenaline
overriding how cold her extremities were.
"I don't know," Julie replied weakly, shaking her head.
Trig let the girls talk, and staggered over to Shadow. Julie watched nervously
as he inspected their attacker.
"He's unconscious," Trig relayed once he returned.
"I didn't do anything," Julie said weakly, desperately trying to remember what
had happened. The whole thing had been a blur, but she was almost certain she
hadn't attacked him.
Exhausted, Julie laid her head on Susan's shoulder, fighting to keep her eyes
open. Already she could feel the strange ability fading into latency once again,
taking her consciousness with it. She could feel Susan shivering, and put one
hand on her friend's exposed thigh. With her last bit of strength, she sent
warmth flooding down Susan's legs, bringing feeling back to her toes.
Susan stiffened in surprise, and glanced down at Julie. But her eyes were
already closed.
Clutching the warm mug in her hands, Susan looked up appreciatively as Trig
pulled the silver blanket tightly around her shoulders. Looking around the
interior of the shuttle with an expression of awe, she still found it hard to
believe she was really in a space-ship.
The council had arrived soon after Julie had fallen asleep in her arms. Susan
had spent every minute with Julie, her heart heavy with worry. The last few
times Julie had collapsed had made her extremely anxious about anything
happening to her friend.
The doctor had seen to both of the girls soon after, thankfully his examination
was quick and painless, and he had told Susan Julie was sleeping naturally and
merely exhausted. She had allowed Trig to get her to sit down under duress, and
even now she was watching as the Medics approached her friends' stretcher.
Susan watched over the rim of her mug as they picked Julie up and carried her
past. She climbed to her feet, and began searching for somewhere to put the mug
down. She looked back as Trig caught her shoulder.
"They're just taking her to bed," he told her. "Let Nyssa handle it."
"I want to go with her," Susan replied firmly, pulling away from him and nearly
spilling the contents of the mug all over her self.
Sighing, Trig climbed slowly to his feet, and with Susan's help he followed the
medics as they made their way across the frozen ground and up the steps to the
house.
Susan paused in the doorway and took a quick sip from the mug she still held.
Passing it to one hand, she checked for the hundredth time that Julies' necklace
still hung safely around her neck. She had retrieved it from the snow where the
guard had carelessly dropped it, and although most of the guards had been
captured and there was no sign of Shadow waking up any time soon, she wasn't
taking any chances.
Feeling her hand beginning to shake with the weight of the mug, she hastily let
go of the necklace before her tired fingers slipped and returned her other hand
to its warm, ceramic outside. Dreaming of a soft, comfy bed, she hurried after
Julie.
--
Thanks to redEva and slavelucy for proof-reading
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