𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧

Chapter 7: Violet

The next time Alan got a ping from Freddy, my day suddenly got brighter. We had spent a whole week not talking about my powers since Alan had told me that he'd wanted a break from them. I'd promised him to not peek into his mind, so I hadn't had the chance to try talking to him in his mind again. I had been restless all week, waiting for my chance to try it out. 

Alan had just left five minutes ago, and it was time for me to follow him. Of course, I didn't tell him that I would be following him. He would never allow it because it was 'dangerous'. However, I told myself that I could handle some danger. I also hadn't tried out my powers on anyone else and I really wanted to try it out on some strangers.

I picked up my lightweight backpack and set out, starting off with a slow jog. I didn't want to go too fast, otherwise I would catch up with Alan. And that was a possibility because I was getting fitter. Every morning, I would spend some time doing some laps of the hideout. Alan had even joined me for a bit in the past few days. He still beat me, but he was very tired by the end of it. He probably just didn't want to seem slower than me.

But now he was unsuspecting. I liked unsuspecting people. It meant that the full extent of my strength would shock them. I was naughty like that. It was just fun, y'know what I mean?

I jogged, making sure that I avoided the tree that I had tripped over last time. I was pleased when I made it through the thick undergrowth without a scratch. It would save me some more explaining.

I was confused when Alan went right past the construction site. At first, I thought that he'd forgotten the way, but I noticed his purposefulness. Freddy could have changed the meeting spot to somewhere else. I followed him, still unsure, all the way to the back of a market. It was very close to the border between the Upper and West Quarter - a place that Alan and I usually didn't travel to.

The Medic was concealed behind a large hedge, on a street near the border. Freddy waved an arm at Alan, gesturing for him to come. Alan crouched down behind the hedge and unfortunately I couldn't see them anymore.

While I waited for them to finish talking, I decided to test out my powers. I still didn't know if I could project my voice into someone's mind, other than my brother's. I certainly hoped so - it would be quite useful. I looked over at one of the Guards standing at the front of the market. He was shorter than the others and looked very gullible. I could tell that he didn't like his job, as did two other people in the group of Guards. I decided to try doing it. 

I shouted "Boo!" into the mind of the shortest Guard. To my satisfaction, he jumped up in surprise and looked around for whoever had scared him. I averted my gaze so that I didn't look suspicious.

I could hear the other Guards laughing at the shortest Guard. Although I didn't regret trying out my projection, I still felt sorry for the short man.

Impulsively, I played as a ghost on the group of men. "Hello my dears," I projected into the minds of the other Guards.

I heard a long string of curses as they jumped at my voice, not knowing where it came from. Damn, I thought. So I could do it with more than one person. And from a distance. Who knew what the limits of my power were! If I could project my voice to everyone in the country....

I stopped my thoughts before they became too ambitious. I had a bad habit of being way too ambitious and I had to stop myself in time before I carried out something very dangerous. It had happened before and there was no stopping me when I was on an impulse spree. 

I ducked behind a tree as Alan came by, his backpack full of what could only be Biobags. Good, we needed more of them. As much as we could get. 

Alan was walking at a very brisk pace and I immediately panicked. I had to get home first, otherwise he'd know I wasn't home. I couldn't run in front of him, for fear of being seen. I decided to take a shortcut that I'd seen on the way to the market. It was an old dusty track and there had been no one there. I hoped that I wouldn't run into anyone.

I turned towards the general direction of the track, watching Alan walk out of my line of sight. Soon enough, I saw the track in the distance. I ran through it, grateful for my new stamina and running abilities.

I was home after ten minutes of running. Luckily for me, Alan wasn't home yet. I took a quick break, and started a lap around the hideout. My brother promptly appeared, looking flustered and tired. "Violet," he called, panting.

"Alan!" I called back. "How was it?"

My brother sat down at the steps of the hideout, breathing heavily. "Freddy told me more news," he said. "Just let me take a quick breather and I'll tell you inside."

"Okay," I said into his mind. Alan flinched; he was still not used to it. But he composed himself quickly. He thought to himself, remembering that I could read his thoughts. I'll come in after a minute, okay Violet?

I headed inside, pleased at the turn of events. I had discovered new things about my power. Tomorrow, I wanted to--

Alan came in loudly, interrupting my thoughts. "Violet, remember what I told you about the Virus?"

I nodded. Although I had forgotten about it until now, I still thought it was important. But I definitely didn't expect what Alan was about to say next.

"Freddy told me that the Guards were transporting the Virus tanks to the finished construction site. They're calling that building the containment centre. Anyway, on the way there, they had a leak. They found that one of the tanks had a hole in it, which meant that the Virus escaped. It's now in the air."

I almost swore in front of my brother. Frick. That was some seriously messed up stuff. But I hid my thoughts. I regained my composure. I stood up straighter. "Wow," I said.

"Yes," Alan replied stiffly. "And that's not all. One day later, four Guards on that patrol called in sick. They've been in the intensive care CityLab ever since. That was about a week ago."

I couldn't help but let out a gasp, breaking my perfectly emotionless façade. It must have been serious. Not many people ever made it into the intensive care ward because the regular hospital usually fixed every problem. Their tech was so advanced that it was very hard to get serious health problems. I projected these thoughts into my brother's mind and he nodded.

"I really hope that it doesn't spread," Alan said. "They've been setting up lots of strict protocol ever since that happened. Freddy said that the Guards who travel with the Virus tanks need to wear full hazmat gear."

My mind conjured an image of Guards in hazmat gear. However silly they'd look, it was a good idea. I nodded at Alan. It was good that they were taking precautions. Unfortunately, that never prevented the spread. Nothing would have. And looking back, this was one of our last safe days.

In fact, it spread to the West Quarter three days later.