The Telepath's Adventures

Chapter 4

Ryan lead them to his room, where a man had died and the rocky thing from earlier was cracked open like an egg. Equipment was everywhere and Cassie was a little impressed that someone came up with all of this. Graham came across the dead man and called the others over.

"Got a man down over here," Graham said grimly.

Grace examined him, sadness in her eyes. "That thing must've killed him. I've never seen injuries like these"

Cassie approached the body from the side. She grimaced at the smell but didn't say anything, instead trying to read his last thoughts. Apparently that rock thing had cracked open and that metal man had killed him with the touch of his skin. Instant death. It also took someone important to him, his sister.

"Not a weapon blast, more of an ice burn, " Cassie murmured, pulling away with anger gleaming in her eyes.

"It broke his jaw open too," Grace added.

The woman also examined the man. "Looks like it took one of his teeth. What sort of creature kills someone and then stops to pull out a tooth?" She paused and glanced over at the team, sadness plastered over her face. "I'm sorry you all had to see this"

"I'll find something to cover the body," Grace said.

The woman nodded with an tensed smile. "Thank you, Grace. I'm sorry any of this is happening. I'm sorry that thing on the train planted these bombs inside you, and I'm sorry I haven't figured out what's going on yet"

Cassie placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, okay? So enough of the apologising"

Ryan pointed out the rocky thing. "This is it. This is the thing"

"It was all sealed up earlier. Looks like it's been broken," Yaz commented.

"Or it's done what it came here for. It's some sort of transport chamber, presumably for that thing we just saw in the alley. But why here? Why tonight?" The woman questioned.

"That might have been me," Ryan said sheepishly, thinking of the lights he touched earlier before the rocky thing appeared. Cassie grimaced, looking around awkwardly.

"Why? What did you do?"

"When I went to get my bike, there were this line in the air. And then it moved, and there were shapes," Ryan explained.

"And?" The woman continued.

"And I touched one, " Ryan admitted.

"Ryan," Grace scolded.

"You all would've done the same, " Ryan accused.

Graham snorted. "I wouldn't"

"I would've," The woman and Cassie chorused before looking at each other with wild grins. Cassie was curious like that, so she would have touched it.

"Right, the shapes disappeared. A few seconds later, that appeared. What've I done?" Ryan said, worriedly.

"Hard to say, really, " Cassie said with a shrug.

"I suppose you'll be blaming this on the dyspraxia as well. Can't ride a bike, started an alien invasion," Graham huffed rudely.

"Graham," Grace scolded, giving her husband a glare.

Graham shrugged. "What?"

"Enough, love"

"Yeah, you're being a dick," Cassie snapped with annoyance.

"Cassidy!"

"Language!"

"All right, I made a mistake. But why did that guy move this thing from the Peaks to here? And how did he even know it were there?" Ryan questioned. Cassie rubbed his arm comfortingly as his thoughts turned really guilty and self-depreciatingly.