Cindy Psi: Spy In Training
Chapter 22: Hide and Seek

A couple of weeks went by without trying again. Cindy was painfully aware of poor Rebecca, trapped in there, unable to release her mind, communicate, interact … but at the same time she understood the caution. They were dealing with powerful forces here, and it was clear there was only a limited understanding of what they were doing. Cindy herself also thought on the problem – she felt like the vibration technique was on the right track, but was missing something. The only thing was, she had no idea what.

Meanwhile, the training continued, along with the occasional comm. home. Just the previous night Cindy had had a long chat with both her Father and Tess, which was nice. It helped her switch off from the, well, alien-ness of what she was undertaking here on Adriá. Even her Father’s traditional “where are you most beautiful” bit, ever-so-slightly corny now she was twelve, was a welcome reminder of life outside the training.

Everyone was mainly getting along since Selma gave them a talking to. George had withdrawn a little bit after the confrontation with Natalie, but was soon back to his old new self, as it were, Jane had been right when she was saying the whole Milton/Natalie team up was worthy of a bit of caution. Although there were no more openly antagonistic situations, and they joined in with group activities and even some more social occasions like streams or off-training games, there was still an undercurrent of aloofness and hostility, particularly from Natalie.

That was the funny thing, Cindy thought; by himself, Milton was great. Open, friendly, almost a bit, well, simple, in a funny sort of way. Not stupid, just uncomplicated. But as soon as Natalie was nearby he became a different person. For one thing, it was almost painful how blatant he was about trying to please her, and it was still more painful how obvious Natalie was about using that to manipulate him.

One evening, the five of them were playing a version of hide and seek around their quarters. This was a game that had grown out of one of the team exercises – a kind of mindspace version of ‘Marco Polo’ where you had to home in on someone through their psychic presence alone. The children’s version involved one person being ‘it’ while the others hid somewhere within a four block region of the outer facility where the huts were. The person who was ‘it’ would cast a mindspace net out and look for the presence of any of the others, while the others did their best to mentally blend in with their surroundings. It was a lot of fun, and although it nagged at Cindy that they hadn’t mentioned anything to any of the adults that they were playing it, it seemed harmless enough.

On this particular evening, that would prove far from the case.

Jane was ‘it’. Cindy was hiding behind Milton’s hut. She was dimly aware that Milton and Natalie were hiding together behind Jane’s hut, and George was the other side of them about the same distance from them as Cindy was. It was funny, you put your energy into shielding yourself from the person who was ‘it’, but the others who weren’t could see where you were pretty easily. Or so she thought.

As Jane searched mentally, she was walking physically. Proximity seemed to be a powerful tool. Cindy wasn’t sure whether this was just a mental thing (well wasn’t everything in this process?) – after all the Turgs made contact across light years and still managed to pose a threat – but, at least to them as novices, being close by seemed to help focus in on things. So Jane walked slowly towards the point where Milton and Natalie were.

But they weren’t there. As Jane got to the point where she thought they were both physically and mentally she gave a little shout. Cindy zoomed in on where Jane was and gave a start as well. What she found was a cunningly constructed, artificial kind of memory of Milton and Natalie. It had Milton’s mental craftsmanship written all over it. So where were they?

A shout from George was all they needed to find them. Forgetting mindspace for a moment, Cindy started running toward the noise. She got there at the same time as Jane, and the two of them were just in time to witness George’s knees buckling under the weight of a combined psychic attack from Milton and Natalie. Cindy tried to plug in … they weren’t trying to hurt him, just dominate him. Natalie was trying to supress his power with raw mental strength while Milton applied finesse around the edges to try and form a seal to prevent him escaping. Cindy got an image of hatred and revenge from Natalie that was worryingly reminiscent of what she felt from Jacinta all those – was it weeks? Months? – ago in the classroom. The taller girl had clearly been plotting this since that day in training – Selma’s words hadn’t sunk in with her at all.

Jane was shouting at them to stop. Cindy didn’t involve herself immediately but watched George to see what he would do. As she suspected, the attempts of the older two to supress him were akin to trying to defuse a bomb by putting a blanket over it. George lashed out at both of them.

Nice try you two. Now I’ll show you how it’s done. George’s mental voice was charged with electricity, crackling with white hot force. He effortlessly brushed Milton aside, and with only slightly more effort had Natalie in check as well. Then he lashed back at them, and at this point Cindy stepped in.

No George! She silently shouted, intercepting a blow from him that may have been strong enough to damage the other two. However, George had anticipated her and as she blocked the main force, he sent two subtle spylines out and used them to take hold of each of the older two. They were rendered motionless as he started to diffuse his central, false attack and push it down the lines. Cindy saw from their faces it was hurting them. She kept a central guard against George’s now dissipating main force and started interfering with the spylines, trying to lessen them, unthread them somehow. The forces at play were becoming intense as both Cindy and George poured more strength in to combat each other.

In the instant this was happening two other things happened at once. Cindy realised they were outside the main compound, and that meant they were outside the defences. And a voice came to all of them at the same time.

Well, well, well. Isn’t this nice.

The five of them were suddenly tied together in a rock solid silver lasso of pure mental force. And at the other end of it, the woman. Behind her, Cindy was aware of several alien minds, maybe nine or ten, maybe more, adding strength. The children were trapped.

Before Cindy could do anything she felt a cold, steely grip wrap around her mind. We won’t be having any of that fireworks business this time Cindy, the voice came. Cindy tried to push back against it, but it had her completely hemmed in. She could feel the alien power threading through the immense power of the woman to form a seamless enclosure. It was like they were trying to do to her what they’d done to poor Rebecca.

Cindy started to panic. She was going to be hemmed in! Her mind was going to be trapped in a stone wall! The world around her was dimming as the mesh around her mind grew substance from the force being sent from the woman and her alien cohort. She was going to be trapped!

I don’t think so. Came a different, but familiar voice. It is yours to break. You need to see it done.

Who are you?

Never mind that now, just follow my lead.

And with that, Cindy felt herself guided to push outward, at once, at the whole shell as it rapidly built into a stone wall around her mind … what was she doing? What am I doing?

Remember. You need to see it done. Now. Hold, hold … see it …

And Cindy saw the world around her … There was George, again being pressed down, there was Milton, Natalie, Jane, all writhing … Was that the presence of Dave?, Louise?, The Controller? Each madly defending them, pressing back against the onslaught …

And now she was hemmed in once more …

You will see it done … hold … see it …

NOW!!!

And whoever, whatever was guiding her gave Cindy what felt like a sudden electric shock and at once she saw the rubble of the wall around her – but the wall was still there – then she saw it crumbling – then it was there again – gone – there – it oscillated like a low quality, antique stream, crackling, spitting, now gone, now here, now never having been, now a negative image all blacks and greys … and, at the last, it was gone.

A frozen moment in time.

There is George, kneeling, swaying, all but overcome. There are Milton, Natalie, Jane, different stages of suppression, being beaten down. Jane on her knees, somehow the most unbearable. Alien force rains down upon them all, pressing, overwhelming. Cindy casts her mind out, finds Dave, he sends a loop … grab this the undeniable instruction …

... she joins with Dave, Louise joins, The Controller joins. They form a loop, spin it, knit it, it starts to form a shield.

I will not be denied! The woman cries. A dozen alien minds redouble their force. The pressures are immense. They spin and knit faster, the combined power draws in. They go to George first, slip between the strands of attacking, alien power, spin a defence across his mind. He shakes, becomes aware while still not aware, joins, a new surge of power flows into the meld. They have George’s power now, although not his presence somehow. Still, press on, save them … they thread his huge force into the shield, bolstering it immensely.

A surge of evil power responds. Give me everything! Cindy hears the evil woman scream at her alien soldiers. Give me all your power! They must not escape! More pressure flows in. The knitted shield, now spread across five of them (is it six? Cindy doesn’t know) buckles and bows like an apple being squeezed from existence.

No! Cindy cries. You will not have us! And frantically, desperately, bolstered by George and the others, she pushes her will into the shield, tightens it like pulling tight a million silver knots. It holds. She pulls in Natalie, Milton, Jane, confused, shaken, they add their power to the net. It glows brighter now. The alien force starts to deflect off it, sizzling like water hitting a hot pan of oil.

Cindy senses the woman sense defeat. Senses a change of tactics.

I will meet you once more Cindy Parker. And I will destroy you. Remember that, as you deal with this …

There is a mighty FLASH as a flat plane of malignant silver light is flung at the shield net, like anti-force meeting force. Everything splinters. The shield still defends, but ragged lines of white hot silver thought fly off in all directions. It feels like a dagger of psychic force pierces Cindy’s mind, almost breaking some of it away. She cries out, holds the shield, draws the force … pushes back … pushes …

And suddenly there is nothing to push against. The onslaught is gone.

Silence.

One tiny voice.

It is yours to break. You need to see it done.

And then once more silence.

Cindy looked around her. Dave and Louise had joined them in person, presumably running out as soon as they detected the invasion. Milton, Natalie and Jane were in varying stages of shock and recovery, but all seemed ok. But George …

George was just lying there. Breathing, but not moving. In the same state as Rebecca. Cindy dared a quick probe …

A cold, stone wall surrounded his mind. The woman’s parting shot.

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