Esper

Esper Chapter 16: The Mind of a Killer

Part 1

Cursing his portly, and exhausted body, Harper Wolf had nearly lost sight of the van. (Matt better hurry the fuck up. I want to go home and sleep!) The driver's constant thinking brought him to a secluded alleyway behind a theater house. (Got a headache.) He thought pulling to a stop.

(Daddy...Vergil...) Wilhelmina Trask spiraled deeper into despair from the back of the truck, losing hope fast! Separated by an entire building, all the telepath could do was sit on a bench, and pray for the safety of his friend's younger sister.

(Why me?! Why now?! They haven't called in months, and now all of a sudden...ok, just calm down! Calm down. It's alright, whatever he wants from me, I'll do it and then cut him off!) Another voice entered the fray of hysterical minds, rushing through the theater house!

No plan, allies, or courage, the teen slammed his fist powerlessly against the bench in impotent frustration! (I can't just run up there!) Before, he'd scan minds like tuning into radio stations, and with no one the wiser, suggest ideas; however, the sudden gift of new abilities changed everything! Pinpointing a person's location, combing through memories, and unintentionally causing massive aneurysms gave Harper pause. (...Do I suggest thoughts? No, my head is killing me!)

(Who is this little girl?! Fuck, bunch of worthless pieces of shit! This is the last time I work with the 365!) The unknown man's thought grew more frantic! Again, all Harper could do was consider pushing thoughts into the man's head, yet both minds radiated throbbing pain the instant he tried! (Ow! Am I having a stroke now?!)

Rapt in thought, no solutions evident, the boy failed to notice the silky black hair of his own pursuer blowing in over the backside of the bench. She wondered how he managed to ignore the blood pouring from his nose, subsequently drenching his navy-blue jacket's collar. At wit's end, Harper drummed the heel of his brown loafer, and thumbed his temples. Somewhere in her heart, she found a shred of sympathy. "...Have you considered calling the police?"

"Oh shit!" Harper ducked to the other end of the bench, suddenly hearing Amala Singh's voice!

"You're very slow, and stink at hiding. I bet you were always bad at hide and seek." She sat beside Harper, trying to make even more space on the tiny bench. "You found the girl, didn't you?"

"How'd you know that?!"

"You were running one way, then stopped and out of nowhere went the opposite direction, then you just sat here for a while. You forgot I can fly, didn't you?"

"..." The constant lapses in both judgement and forethought led Harper down an arduous path.

"...Well, did you call the police?"

"Not yet..." Reaching for his phone, suddenly a massive explosion in the distance shook the ground! Both Amala and Harper stood, assuming it was an earthquake; however, on the edge of the city colorful dust clouds and debris billowed upward into the blue sky! "W-was that an earthquake? Do earthquake's cause explosions?"

"No...I think." Every car and building security alarm in the surrounding area roared to life! People flooded the streets, all casting their eyes up at the clouds of smoke, hearing a cacophony of blasts ring out like a disorderly band! More colors tinted the clouds, as people became transfixed on the incident! "...Let's go!"

"What?! Go where?"

"To your friend – Vergil's sister!"

"What about the police?"

"You think you're going to get through to them with all of that going on?" Amala pointed to the smoke wafting over rooftops and continued explosions in the distance. "We can save her ourselves!"