Mentally - 6. Ambush

My heart thumped. I was excited and scared at the same time. My abilities were superior to other Mentals but my experiences were very limited. Most of them were only theoretical and I had no opportunity to try them out. And this would be the first battle I would engage myself in. I knew it would be a challenge. But after I saw the grimace on Aiden’s face, I soon hoped we’d be able to push it through.

“You look pale, Kieran.” Aiden grimaced. “You may be stronger than me. But I have more experience. It seems that my would-be captors have caught up to us.”

“Shut up.” I snapped.

“Kill all of them.” He coldly stated. “But leave one of them alone.”

“No. I’m not killing anybody.” I replied. Almost a whisper. Because I wasn’t sure at all if I would be able to hold myself back once I enter a murderous frenzy. Suddenly, Aiden put a hand on my shoulder. There was a feeling of reassurance. And I was sure that he had my back. “I don’t have the guts to do it.”

“Okay. Then I’ll go for the killing blow.” He suggested. Aiden’s expression was cruel and grim. There was suddenly so many sides of him. One moment he was so detached and cold. Then he was tired and vulnerable. Then he became a cold hearted killer. “Go for the ones around the car. I’ll go for the ones on the window.”

He then pulled on his hood and stepped out of the car. His hands were raised as if he was going to surrender. I followed his lead and stepped out as well. Brian stayed inside but his gun was at the ready. Since our faces were covered, we practically looked identical.

“We finally found you, Aiden.” One of the men announced. Their faces were covered with some sort of scarf so we were not really sure who they were. Aiden and I just complied by walking towards the front of the car. “And I didn’t know that Jaden is also with you. The last time I heard, he was dead. But no matter what happens, we’re going to take you both. Today is a lucky day!”

As they approached us, time suddenly seemed to slow down. Adrenaline rushed to my mind and I was highly perceptive of what was happening around me. I wasn’t sure if I was doing it on my own or not. But I knew that Aiden was about to make his next move.

The next thing he did was pent up his energy on both of his feet. Aiden seemed to know the same trick I discovered some years ago. The energy could be released and we would be able to cover a good amount of distance in less than a second. It can be tiring on our body but one could easily get used to it. With that signal in mind, I imitated his actions and slowly reached for the wakizashi behind me.

But Aiden was faster than I anticipated. In a blink of an eye, he was already behind the guys in front of us. His sword was in his hand and blood was suddenly everywhere. The guy who was talking suddenly had his head cut off. Meanwhile, the other guys were confused. I used that chance to release the energy on my right foot and jolted myself towards the guys behind the car. They were about to shoot when I suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Then I used the momentum to pull my sword out of its sheath and used the pommel to deliver a solid blow to the chest of one of the men. I think I heard some of his ribs crack from the furious swing. He was suddenly thrown off and slammed to the wall. After that I focused on the guns on the other two and with the use of my ability, snatched them away from their hands. Then I released the energy on my left foot and kneed the other guy in the chin in a flash. He was launched upwards by at least a meter. The next thing I did was to exert a push towards the last guy who was also thrown to the wall next to the first guy I knocked out.

When I looked for Aiden, he was under fire by the guys on the window. But the men around him were already dead. In my mind, it felt so slow because of the sudden increase of my perception. But everything actually happened so fast. Actually, only a few seconds passed.

Meanwhile, Aiden was able to make a force field of his telekinetic ability and he was able to stop most of the incoming bullets at him. However, he wasn’t able to move much anymore. Brian on the other hand was still inside the car and was also under fire. So far, they hadn’t noticed that I already took out their rear. The sound of enemies’ rifles roared through the once silent street. And I was about to add some more noise.

I sought for the disarmed guns and I used my ability to use them. My focus were on them and I used the opportunity to remotely control them and sprayed bullets all over the windows where the enemies were taking cover. Their firing suddenly stopped and I used the opportunity to do another jump towards Aiden. As soon as I got there, he pulled down his force field and the sound of clanging bullets fell on the concrete floor.

“What on earth happened to you?” I gasped. He was heaving hard and his nose was bleeding. I saw his eyes were going dim. The sweat on his face was real bad and we didn’t have any much time.

“Quick! I’ll cover you.” He snapped. Aiden moved in front of me and put up another barrier as the enemies recovered and fired another barrage of bullets at us. “Faster! I won’t last much longer. I am using too much energy on this field!”

Then I thought of the knives. I took out a dozen of them and focused on making constructs. Then I programmed them to release the pent up energy that was stored around them which would create a good sized shockwave. The knives were slowly being filled up with massive amount of potential energy as they all floated before me. And in one swipe of my hand they were all thrown towards the windows. Added with my ability, I used it to guide the knives to their designated targets.

Within a second after impact, the energy was released and made a thundering roar in the street. I grabbed the weakened Aiden and strengthened myself with my own telekinetic ability so I would be able to carry him towards the car. He was close to being unconscious before I was able to get him inside. When I looked around, I saw one of the men hanging from the window and was about to fall down.

“Quick!” Brian roared at me. “Get inside.”

“No. Wait!” I snapped back. Then I focused on the man that was hanging and telekinetically dragged him in front of me. In a weakened and frightened state, I was able to easily crush his will by forcing my own into him. “I am a spy. I belong to none other than Kieran Klein and will do everything to protect him.”

“I am a spy.” He monotonously repeated. “I belong to none other than Kieran Klein and will do everything to protect him.”

“Good.” I sneered. Then I pressed his chest slowly with my ability so he would be knocked unconscious like the rest of the guys. I tried to sense if there were any other consciousness around aside from us but there was none. Everyone was knocked out. With that, I got into the car and Brian stepped on the pedal and got us out.

“Who were they?” I barked at Aiden. He was still recovering from the small skirmish. The blood on his nose was already dry though his chest was still heaving up and down slowly.

“They are some sort of underground rebellious group.” Aiden explained. My ears twitched with what I just heard. He seemed to be serious about it. His eyes had a shady look from all the quick turn of events. Plus, his hands were shaking from draining too much stamina. “I told you I have been targeted ever since I was a child because of my heritage. That’s why I don’t like anyone being too close to me! I put them in danger because of who I am.”

“Aiden.” My seething anger was suddenly turned into remorse for getting mad at the situation. Aiden had a point why he was like that. “You weren’t protecting yourself. You were just protecting everyone else.”

“Yeah.” He said softly. His shoulders slowly relaxed. Then followed by his breathing. The slow steady breathing would have meant a lot. Because he was able to let it out. Someone understood him at the very least. “Brian, let’s head to the airport and prepare my private jet. We have to go to the Cybernetics Department at Washington.”

“What?” I shrieked beside him. Aiden looked at me funnily. He was serious and I wasn’t taking it lightly. Brian seemed to be unfazed. I was the only one in the car that saw that suggestion as absurd. “What about me? My mom would kill me!”

“That would be a problem.” He simply stated. “We need you there.”

“I have already notified the pilot and booked a hotel in Washington.” Brian interrupted. He was holding his phone as he drove through the streets of our town. People were already around and the look on their faces were obviously oblivious to what happened just a kilometer away from the area. “I also notified Mr. Seijiro that you will be visiting the Washington Branch and he seems to be delighted. He said that there is another guest coming.”

“Who will that be?” Aiden asked.

“He said that Ms. Anna Festus will be there too.” My heart suddenly thumped from hearing her name. My fingers twitched. We were about to make a step closer to finding Damian. Aiden’s brows raised as we stared at Brian as if he’d lost his head. Both of us froze with the sudden coincidence of meeting the person we needed. “We’ll be at the airport in a couple of hours.”

The man stepped on the pedal and geared up. We haven’t entered the city properly yet so it was still pretty far off. And I wasn’t sure how many hours it would take until we reach Washington. The sudden change of plans was beyond me.

“So going back.” I started. Aiden looked at me. With eyes so dead and serious. “What about my mother? She would be furious if I don’t go home.”

“Let me call her.” He said. Then he suddenly used his ability to pull my phone out of my pocket and handed it to me. Aiden was sold out in going to Washington for the Cybernetics Department with the intention of bringing me along. “Go ahead. Dial her number.”

I reluctantly obeyed and soon enough the phone was ringing. Aiden put it on his ear but I would still be able to hear from the other side.

[Hello?] My mother answered. Her voice ever soothing. [What time will you be coming home Kieran?]

[Hello Mrs. Klein. This is Aiden Cedric.] He introduced himself with his fake name. The sound of his voice was suddenly so bright. So alluring and kind. As if he was one of those good kids. [I’m one of Klein’s classmates.]

[I see.] A hint of worry was in my mother’s voice. [Did something happen to him?]

[No. He’s fine.] Aiden replied. It was annoying with how his voice was so bubbly. Or I wasn’t just used to it. [Is it okay if he could stay over the night? We haven’t finished our project yet. So I thought if he could stay over tonight and finish it with me.]

[Okay.] She replied with a bit of hesitation. [Would your parents be okay with it?]

[Yep.] Aiden chirped. [They are used to having my friends staying over.]

[I see.] My mom said. [Would it be okay if I could talk to them?]

[Uhm, they are not really around. Both of them are in another state because they have certain business to attend to.] The lie kept on going. [I don’t think you would be able to talk to them even if I give you their numbers. Most likely, their secretary would answer that for them.]

[So who is with you right now?] She kept on questioning. Her voice was slowly becoming agitated and she might do something drastic if she wasn’t convinced. [I’m sure your parents wouldn’t really leave you alone.]

[Uhm, we have a...bodyguard.] At least that part was true. [But he’s outside right now. And he’s not really the one who’s in charge. My parents trust me for making decisions on my own. He’s just there to make sure I’m always safe.]

[Oh, okay. Is Kieran there?] She asked. [Could I speak to him?]

Aiden handed me my phone. [Mom?]

[Kieran. Are you okay?] She inquired.

[I’m fine mom.] I replied. My voice was irritated. And I made sure it was pretty obvious for her so she would stop pestering me.

[Stop being so paranoid. I could handle the situation if ever I was in danger. You know that, right?]

[I know. I trust you.] She confirmed. [Can never be too sure, right?]

[Yeah. I’ll be home tomorrow night. This project might take a while.] I lied. My heart ached from having to lie to my mother. [I’m safe here. Aiden is a good kid. Maybe I could bring him to our house some time.]

[I’d love to meet him.] She replied warmly. [Send me their address at least. I’ll pass by later to bring some clothes.]

[No need.] I almost said it in a snap. [Aiden has tons of extra clothes and he’s about my size. He’s kind of a filthy rich kid. A spoiled one at that.]

“Let’s not forget I’m here.” Aiden interrupted. But I just ignored his side comment.

[Okay. Are you sure you don’t need anything else?] She asked some more.

[Nothing else mom. I’m fine.] I muttered. [Go take your rest.]

[Goodnight, Kieran.] She said.

[Goodnight mom.] I replied. [I love you.]

[I love you too.] With that I put down the line.

“Your mom sure asks a lot.” Aiden commented. His voice was dry. No affection. Not even a hint of interest. “She could pass for an investigator.”

“I take that as a compliment.” I replied with a smile. My mom had been protecting me for the past couple of years. With utmost determination. So I could say that she was a good investigator. “Most mothers are like that. Overprotective of their children.”

“Oh. I barely experienced it so I won’t really know.” Aiden muttered. Another cold reply from him. I don’t think I would ever get used to that. “My mom died at childbirth. Father was always busy. Always fighting for the Mentals even though he wasn’t one. A true humanitarian. Jaden was all I had. Now he’s gone.”

I was silent after he said that. Aiden’s voice was gloomy. He missed his brother so much. We were really relating to each other because of our loss. But he wouldn’t admit it. He wouldn’t want to. Because he wants to protect everyone around him. Including me.

“You’re not alone anymore.” I encouraged him. Made my voice as soothing as possible. A bit of my mom’s charm. But it never fazed Aiden. His heart was still cold and detached. “I’m here.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean that one to pop out.” He apologized. Every time he unconsciously revealed more of himself to me, he would always shrink back. Scared. Terrified. Alone. “I’m just tired. That’s all.”

“When will you ever admit that you need help? That you don’t have to be alone anymore? I don’t understand, Aiden.” I peered more into him. But he was not really bothered by what I just said. And I was not really close to him being open with things.

He looked at me with a serious face. “Because I’m created to be alone. My life was designed that way. My mom dead. My dad barely noticing me. My brother being taken away from me. Growing up in seclusion. I got used to it. And change is something I wouldn’t really welcome.”

“Aiden...” I sighed. Then stopped in my tracks. I suddenly changed the subject. “Okay, I understand. So what happened a while ago in the battlefield? I don’t think you would easily be pinned down.”

“Oh about that.” He started. “I finally perfected an experimental ability. Something you haven’t discovered yet. An ability only unique to me.”

One moment we were in the car. Then the next second I was standing in the middle of the long, endless road. It was in the middle of nowhere. Nothing could be seen except sand. The sun was scorching and I could feel the heat piercing through my skin. When I turned to look behind me, there was suddenly a huge truck heading for me.

And it was running at least 200 miles per hour. I was about to be turned into a pile of meat within a second.

“What?”