Experiment V. 1361: DAY TWO

  9:35 a.m.

  ...

  Taj was falling.

  He was falling from high above, from a building, to the square below.

  A structure of cream stone and gleaming glass, powered by Crystal energy, was approaching quickly.

  He opened his eyes.

  Water. Water always helped.

  Something inside him clicked.

  A mass of water, black as from the abyss, exploded beneath him, out of nowhere. It tore the stone, shattered the glass, and swallowed all Crystals.

  The water exploded, spread out to the sides, and a huge amount of it began to drown the area. It gushed out in front of him, stretched, surrounded, and pulled him into itself.

  Taj was drowning. His blood colored the water.

  Then, a current of energy pulled him out and drew him closer to the jagged shore and into someone’s embrace.

  “We are here; don’t die, please, don’t—” someone was saying to him, voice tearing and shaking.

  Taj opened his eyes but couldn’t see clearly. Everything was red, but what? Red hair. It was Rowan.

  “Here!” she called out to someone.

  Suddenly, Taj felt energy flowing to him. A sweet taste—Song’s energy. It was Song.

  Taj tried to focus his gaze; he wanted to look at him but couldn’t.

  This energy was disturbing. The flow was disrupting something inside. Energies, they were fighting; he needed them to stop.

  Taj tried to speak and show, but couldn’t. His body started to shake as if from a fever.

  “Stop!” Rowan exclaimed. She noticed.

  “Hell, what is wrong?” Song’s voice had hints of panic.

  Song stopped sending his energy to him; Taj took a breath.

  He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was not good. His energies, he could sense, the two of them, as in the past; they were angry and about to explode.

  Taj again tried to say something, but he couldn’t. He looked desperately at Rowan, but everything seemed like a blur. Taj wasn’t sure; would she understand? His thoughts were a mess.

  After a second, energy started to flow to him again.

  This time it felt good.

  “Song, look, my energy works. It has to be… Song, write to my mom now!” Rowan shouted.

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  It was her energy, but why was Song’s energy felt as disruptive? Taj tried to understand and to recall what happened.

  “He broke free from something that was hiding his energy inside. You saw him falling, but did he escape and jump by himself, or was he thrown out? From where? Hell, I can see—from there,” Song was talking; his voice was not calm yet, Taj could tell.

  Taj couldn’t see him clearly, but he could hear him. He heard it and remembered the attack, the chase, and the beating before he lost consciousness. Then nothing.

  Why nothing? What happened next?

  Then, as if it were a spark, he recalled it. He was caged, and Crystal energy was flowing in him.

  Taj tried to, but he couldn’t reach with his hand to check; could it be the truth?

  He could feel it. Crystal energy was in his body; it was fighting against his Ability.

  Why? Taj concentrated. Rowan was speaking now. Could her words explain it?

  “Song, go there and check what it was. It’s so strange. I’ll pass my energy—I can sense it calms him.”

  They also didn’t know…

  Did they notice that he had Crystal energy?

  “My mom, go to her… Wei! Wei? Do you see it? It is bad; search the lab; without it, we won’t know what was done to him. Taj? Do you hear me?” Rowan started talking in his ear, tearfully.

  Everything was blurry. Taj could see her face only from close; he felt she was still giving him her energy, but it wasn’t enough to see clearly, let alone get up.

  He heard their talk. Song was here. Wei and Rowan were here, too. O, and they noticed that there was something wrong with his energies. Good. No! Not good; they noticed; they could sense it was colliding. They should run away!

  Taj started to shake again. He felt growing panic in him; he was afraid he would hurt them.

  Someone brought his face closer to him.

  “Mhm, be calm; we can sense it; we will manage,” Wei said.

  Song?

  Taj tried to ask where Song was but couldn’t.

  “Song transported Lan. She is checking the lab. Song used his mapping to clear the space. It’s all under control. Rowan, your energy, if it helps, Lan said to use more.” Wei’s voice was calm.

  “Whoa, really? But Wei, all of you need to leave here if I’m to use it. All right, I will do it.” Rowan stopped speaking and turned to him.

  She leaned closer.

  “Taj? Do you hear me? I see you do; look at me. I’m here. Taj, your natural energy fights with this Crystal. I can see you know; probably you feel it. I can’t take it out; how did they…? So, I can’t take it out; my mom will try when we are at the lab. For now, take my energy; I’ll pass a lot of this strange energy I have, as it calms what is inside you. Be calm; we’ll manage. I’m talking a lot, I know, but—” she stopped.

  Someone arrived, and she turned in that direction. Taj still couldn’t see clearly.

  “Wei! You and Song need to evacuate those who were not in this lab. I’m not certain how far I’ll cause damage. You said that Song mapped everything around. If Taj doesn’t manage, it’ll be a disaster. I can feel he’s trying, but I need to help him calm it down. Five minutes. Then I’ll do it,” she said quickly.

  “Mhm.” Wei confirmed.

  “Taj? You’ve heard, right? Don’t worry, we are safe. It’s you; we must take care of you. I’ll show you how to take energy from me, as mine is with this swirl; it calms what is in you, I can feel. And I’ll empty everything around to have enough energy for you to calm it down. You have vast energy; it can’t be released without control. I can see you already know it. What did they do to you? Outrageous! But we’ll find out, and everything will be fine. You’ll see, Taj, look at me…”

  Rowan was talking, but Taj still couldn’t say anything. He looked at her; her hair was like fire. Taj also felt water falling on his face. Tears?

  “Two minutes; bear with it. Water, right? You like water. How did you do this? Whoa, now there’s a small lake here. Ha-ha, Taj. Taj! If you want to swim, it’s not necessary to create lakes yourself; we can go somewhere. Oh, I see, you are even smiling; I know, I know, a poor one. It’s our feature. Poor jokes, you and I are always horrible at them. Troublemakers, remember? That’s us. Don’t say anything. I’ll show you how to do it, exactly how, and then…”

  Taj could feel it—the way to take life out of everything around. This was how Lan had created it, how it worked. He had a thought that it should be a forbidden skill. He didn’t want to know it; he truly didn’t.

  Too late, Rowan showed it to him. Taj felt miserable.

  “… Let’s do it,” she said, then brought her face closer to him, looked briefly, and closed her eyes. “It will be a lot of energy.”

  She started.

  Taj felt it.

  The moment he started to take energy from her, he could sense she was sucking life out of everything around her. The plants dried up rapidly, and the earth, the stone, cracked further. The birds fell silent; someone screamed somewhere.

  Then, everything went silent, as if cut with a knife.

  This silence.

  Everything seemed dead.

  Only the water remained unchanged.

  The energy Taj took from her was clean, as swirling. The amount was overwhelming.

  Then something inside him clicked again.