The sun beat down. The breeze rustled through the rose bushes blooming around a stone bench in an arc. It had been two days since being in the infirmary, and feeling the breeze through her hair and the sun on her face was amazing. Valencia breathed in deeply, held the breath to the count of ten and released it slowly. She had heard the technique brought serenity and calm. The voices yelling at her in those nightly dreams ... no, those were nightmares. She was doing things out of character, saying all sorts of things in a voice she didn't recognize and behaving in ways that were not her at all. Only to wake in the morning feeling drained and needing to sleep more, she drank loads of coffee, making her more edgy and unable to sleep. The next day it started all over again.

"Oh boy, would I like a little internal calm right now," she muttered, "and some emotional serenity would be good."

"Anything I can help with?" Jasmine appeared around the hedge, "I wasn't eavesdropping; I just happened to be walking by."

Valencia observed the newcomer as though she was looking through someone else's eyes. Another thing she didn't like, then there was the ever-present bubble of emotion that did as it wished to. Not understanding what was happening and why was terrifying and Valencia didn't like being out of control. Now that bubble of emotion rose and drifted out of her. Fascinated, she watched as the bubble enclosed Jasmine; it seemed to shape itself around her and hum. The woman looked at either side of herself, a little frightened and worried.

"Were you ever able to do that before?" Jasmine asked.

Valencia could sense everything Jasmine was thinking and feeling; everything was authentic.

"No," Valencia said, frowning, "I've never been able to do that."

"Since when?" Jasmine asked.

"Since I woke up," Valencia said murmurred, "what did you do to me?"

"Draw too much energy," Jasmine said, her face contorted with a sudden wince, "what are you doing?"

"I think I'm ... reading you," Valencia said, her voice distant and hollow, "you have much to read."

Jasmine cried, crumpling to the ground, "Valencia, please ... stop this ..." Jasmine cried out again, " ... no more pain."

"Val," Jesse bellowed from the nearby gravel path, "let her go. Stop torturing her."

Valencia blinked rapidly. Lifting her shaking hand to her forehead, it felt fuzzy, and her mind felt as though it had been stretched. Fast-paced breathing, disorientation and bewilderment ran over her senses. Taking in the rose garden and the gravel paths before landing on the groaning, sobbing woman a few feet from her.

"Jasmine," Valencia gasped moving toward her but stopped when raw fear in the woman's eyes and a sob wrenched from her lips, "I'm sorry, that wasn't me. I don't know what happened. Please forgive me."

"Don't..." Jasmine panted, "don't come near me."

Cara appeared, helping Jasmine to a bench further down the path, seating her, chatted to her, and then returned to where Valencia stood.

"What did you do?" Cara whispered.

"I think I was ... reading her," Valencia said, frowning as bewilderment rode her voice, "I … don't understand."

"You were not reading her," Cara said, "you were working her emotions. Playing with her mind. You were using one ability to feed a darker ability."

"What are you talking about?" Valencia felt fear of her worst nightmare rise, her unstable emotions rising to the foreground, "did I hurt her?"

"Valencia," Jesse murmured, "you used her thoughts, fears and worst-case scenarios to inflict emotional pain."

Valencia's eyes filled with tears. Turning to the stone bench, Valencia sat, thinking, "I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

"Cara, get Jasmine to the house," Jesse said, "I'll stay with Val."

"You sure?" Cara's skeptical expression squeezed at Valencia's heart.

The one person who trusted her and took her at her word doubted her ability to keep it.

"I'm sure," Jesse said, "you know I'm stronger than most."

"Okay," Cara said, "press the panic button if she goes off again."

Valencia watched Cara walk to the bench and gently help Jasmine to her feet. Jasmine stumbled on her first step. The sight wrenching at Valencia, apparently she had caused that. A tear escaped running down her icy, stiff cheek.

"Val," Jesse sat next to her, "what happened?"

"Apparently, I inflicted pain and torture on someone who didn't deserve it," Valencia whispered, "maybe it will be better if I ask to be isolated."

"Where is this coming from?" Jesse gently grasped her upper arms, turning her to meet his gaze.

"I'm not reliable anymore," Valencia gasped between the sobs, "I cannot control... whatever this is. Something has happened and I don't feel myself. There is .... something .... someone else ... " Valencia shook her head.

"You are not alone," Jesse said, "you have all of us who want to help you understand and control whatever has happened to you."

"I'm hurting people," Valencia ground out, "innocent people. I think I'm in control, and then I seem to ... wake up ... and I've done things ... bad things. I'm not sleeping properly, Jesse. I'm arguing with someone in my dreams. I'm having nightmares where I'm doing things that are out of character. Something is wrong."

"Will you let us help you?" Jesse whispered, "please promise me that you won't do anything rash until we understand what is going on?"

"I..." suddenly gasping she hesitated before sighing, "why would you want to help me?"

"You're kidding, right," Jesse's eyes widened before narrowing on her face, taking in the change in the expression in her eyes, "you're really asking that question?"

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"Yes," Valencia nodded, with none of the emotion from moments ago, "I need to hear things. I need to verbally understand what is going on around me."

Jesse frowned at her, "Why, Val? You don't need to with your telepathy."

A hard look turned to Jesse, the voice that spoke held a slight gravelly sound, "Why did you come out here? Were you looking for me? Was it something that required all your gadgets?"

"Valencia," Jesse raised his voice, frustration race through his next words, "get a grip."

He strode away, staring out at the garden before turning, standing in his military "at ease" stance, his hands clasped behind his back, staring at her.

"I came out here because of the extraordinarily high energy readings," he said, staring unblinkingly at her. "The readings led here, and they got higher and more intense as I got closer. They led to you and what you were doing to Jasmine. Is that all?"

Valencia seemed unmoved before grimacing and wincing, beseeching eyes meeting Jesse's where he stood.

"Jesse, please don't be like this," Valencia begged, "Sorry. Everything is … everywhere. I'm scared, pathetic, and an unstable mess."

"Yes," Jesse stared at her, "you are."

Valencia watched Jesse, "You're angry."

"No," Jesse said coldly, his voice whispering, "I'm furious."

Valencia swallowed, "Okay, is it because of what happened to Jasmine?"

"No," Jesse said, "I believe you when you said that was not intentional. But to question why I want to help you, that just tells me you know nothing about me."

Valencia watched him turn and walk away, "Jesse."

He continued striding toward the house. The sudden blare of the alarm caught both their attention. Valencia stilled. The pounding of her heart rose to her ears. Her mouth grew suddenly dry, and she slowly looked around as if expecting someone to jump out of the bushes at her. Everything seemed out of context and strange; she struggled to hold onto reality.

"No, not again," she whimpered, "no ... please."

"Val," Jesse called, running toward her, "come on."

She looked down as his hand closed around hers, pulling her to her feet, "What's going on?"

Her voice sounded like heat rippling over a desert road. Jesse narrowed his eyes on her, growled a warning about not again, and his fist flew through the air, and sudden darkness closed in.

"Jesse," Breanna called as he pushed open the central doorway carrying an unconscious Valencia in his arms, "what the hell happened?"

"Valencia has a problem with a new ability," he yelled over the blaring sirens, "the energy surge we keep reading," he spoke as he walked, Breanna keeping pace. "It's coming from her."

The sirens fell silent, leaving a sudden unnatural silence.

"She has a bruise on her cheek," Breanna stated, a questioning eyebrow rising, "you hit her."

"I did, but I'm not sure I hit the person I know as Valencia," he sighed, hefting her dead weight in his arms before starting up the stairs to Valencia's quarters. "How is Jasmine?"

"Cara took her to the infirmary," Breanna said, "why did you knock Val out?"

"Her ability has an emotional attachment," Jesse said, "it was either be subjected to whatever it does to a person or knock her down and help with the lockdown procedure."

"Valencia caused that damage to Jasmine?"

"Yes," Jesse grunted as he opened and pushed Valencia's bedroom door, "she seems to blackout, doesn't remember how she got to inflicting harm. Before I had to knock her out, she seemed to be begging for it to not happen again."

"That's not like Val," Breanna frowned, watching Jesse place Valencia on the bed, "she dislikes violence."

"I agree," Jesse said, straightening, "she asked me why I wanted to help her."

"What?" Breanna placed her hands on her hips, "have you two spoken about whatever you are or have?"

"Yes," Jesse said, "that is how I know this Valencia is not my Valencia."

"You say she is… two people," Breanna looked at him sideways.

"Perhaps ... I suspect ... I'm not saying anything," Jesse said, "all I know if that she is in trouble and needs help."

"Maybe that is why the incoming unfriendly is on the way here," Breanna narrowed her eyes, "they may have picked up the same energy surge and want whoever it is."

"Do you have an idea who the unfriendly is?"

"It's being looked into," Breanna waved it away. "I'm really concerned about Val, Jesse. The power surge she had in the garden could power a small village or destroy a person on an emotional level."

"She's that strong?" Jesse sighed, "something must have happened to her DNA strands or whatever it is that Darcia played with."

"We don't know what has happened to her, but we do know and agree she needs help," Breanna said.

An urgent knock came at the door, "Bre, that unfriendly is incoming, and Michael said to phone him," Kyle spoke from the doorway, "is Val okay?"

"No," both Breanna and Jesse spoke in unison.

"Okay," Kyle nodded, raising his eyebrows, "phone Michael; he said something about an insulated safe house."

Breanna flipped open her phone, pacing away from the bed. Jesse listened to her part of the conversation while watching Val's limp body on the bed. Where was the woman who was in control?

Where was his Valencia?

Had whatever happened to her changed her forever?

Had he lost her?

"Bre," Craig called, entering the bedroom, "that unfriendly is coming faster; they must have picked up the last surge … damn, who hit her?"

"I did," Jesse sighed, "we need to get her out of here."

"Yes, we do," Breanna said, "Michael has a safe house we can send her to. We need to get her to the escape hatch."

"Lead the way," Jesse said, scooping Valencia's body from the bed, "there is no way she can do this alone, Bre."

"What do you suggest? Send one of the girls with her?" Breanna glanced at him as she descended the stairs quickly, "you know she will eat them alive … figuratively speaking."

"Not one of the girls," Jesse said, shifting the weight, "I mean me."

"He does have a point, Bre," Craig said, "he's not that easy to get an emotional hold on."

"Fine," Breanna nodded, "get in the escape pod with her and let me know when you get wherever you are. Encrypted and cryptic only."

"Got you," Jesse said, stepping into the escape pod with Valencia, "I'll let you know how we're doing and if we can figure out what is happening with her."

Breanna stepped back as the pod closed and catapulted into the tunnel after a short moment; who knew where? Since Michael had remotely loaded the coordinates, the pair were safe.

"Why do you look like you just lost your two best friends?" Craig asked.

"I feel like I've just lost my two best friends," Breanna whispered, "they just left in that pod, and I don't know where they went."

"Bre, they will be okay," Craig said, "Jesse won't let anything happen to Val; he's crazy about her."

"That Val may be gone, big brother," Breanna swallowed hard, "we don't know who that person is right now or if the old Val can be saved."

"Bre," Kyle called, "you're needed in the control room; that unfriendly is still coming, and they just sped up."

"Damn. Coming," Breanna glanced down the escape tunnel before turning and facing the incoming threat, "I think I know who it may be, and I think I know what he is after."

"Who?" Craig frowned, "you don't mean?"

"Kyle, initiate type C lockdown," Breanna called before turning to Craig, "yes, big brother, Madden has targeted Valencia for his next project. My best friend is on his list of playthings."

"Not if we can help it," Craig shook his head, "no one we have under our protection will be a plaything for anyone."

"Let's go make her safe," Breanna said as another alarm blared, "we'll have to do it quickly."