Little Lightning

Chapter 8

Lyrical's stomach dropped. 

No one communicated in thousands of years? What was that about? Heck, she shouldn't even be able to communicate with her mind. She was from Earth, not this planet. 

Don't worry about it. The man boomed in her mind. It's alright, you didn't know. Lyrical glanced around, but everyone acted as if he hadn't said anything. They can't hear me. I am directly communicating with you, Ms. Cyrax. The man answered her unspoken question. I called you up to ask you a few questions. Lyrical nodded, sensing that she shouldn't respond via words to him. Is it true that he invaded your mind? 

Lyrical nodded again. 

Did he render you unconscious? 

Clenching her hands, she nodded stiffly. After a moment of silence, the man smiled. 

I apologize for making you feel weak, child. Lyrical blinked, surprised. Yes, I heard your thoughts. I usually tune all the thoughts in the room out, but your thoughts were just too loud to ignore. He let out a chuckle in her mind. It was an odd experience, seeing only a slight smile but hearing his laugh. Regardless, my intention was not to make you feel bad. It is perfectly justifiable for you not to be able to defend against an attack on the mind, as you come from a planet that does not have such things. He studied her for a moment more. Do you have anything to say regarding the boy's punishment? 

Lyrical stared, startled. Did she have anything to say about it?  She thought for a moment, running through her mind the sensation of having her mind invaded, of being powerless to stop it. Yes, she decided, she had something to say about it.

She looked up at the man and smiled. 

Do what you like. But please don't injure him to the point where he can not respond to questions. I want to know more about what he did to me before he can die. 

With that, Lyrical turned on her heel and strode out of the courtroom.

*                                               *                                                     *

Lyrical lay in her room on her stomach, her cheek pressed against the floor, her mind racing. 

Ugh! She was so stupid. Why did she leave? She had been so caught up in the moment that she hadn't thought about whether or not it was allowed to leave. It probably wasn't. 

She was going to be in so much trouble. 

A knock sounded on the door, scaring the wits out of her. 

"Come in." She called, her voice muffled thanks to the cheek on the floor. The door opened, revealing a certain 4-year-old that Lyrical hadn't seen since that morning. 

"Lyrical!!! You're ok!" Lucas yelled, a bright smile on his face. He ran in and sat on her back suddenly. She let out an oof, surprised at the sudden weight, and looked at Lucas. His smile dropped. "You are ok, right?" 

"Yes, Lucas, I'm ok." She smiled at him. His bright smile returned. 

"What happened? You didn't come back after you ran away!" Lucas demanded. 

"I'll tell you if you get off of me." Lucas jumped off right away, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor and sucking in a breath, his chest puffing out. Lyrical laughed. "Why are you sitting like a peacock?" Lucas looked at her, his brow furrowed with confusion. "Oh, right. You don't know what that is, do you?" He shook his head. "Well, do you remember the chicken that I explained to you a couple of days ago?"