Chek 6

"Yeah.  At least, last I checked.  Otherwise I wouldnt have been able to think to anyone at all.  Unless I was mutant.  Like Talon."  I said this last part sarcastically, looking out of the corner of my eyes at Talon.

"I am not a mutant!"  Talon was rather defensive about being considered a mutant.  Which, he wasnt exactly a mutant.  The mutants were the radioactive people.  Most didnt even know that they were exposed to the radiation when they started having kids.  Each generation were progressively worse.  After a few generations, some inbreeding due to a lack of incoming immigrants, and the backwards traditions, the mutants not only looked ugly as sin, but usually acted like it too.  They were pleasantly psychotic at the best of times.  At the worst of times, they were ego-maniacal genocidal sadomasochistic freaks.  Talon was just test tube different.

"I know you arent a mutant, I am just giving a little hell.  Anyway John, I am Chek.  Do you know anything about them?"  I started to squat when Jay interrupted me.

What about our news!

"Sorry, I forgot about that!"  I stood back up.
"Forgot about what?"  John was looking around slightly confused.
"Our news!"  Jay repeated what he had just told me.
"Oh shit!  I forgot about that.  Yeah, the commander is in trouble and they are looking for us."  He said this part nonchalantly, like it was something we should already know.  Which we did since we could hear them, but that wasnt giving us any details.
"Ok, so obviously this isnt a world class emergency or anything like that."  Talon was being a smart ass.
"Well, we dont know exactly what happened.  The commander received a call while we were there giving the notice.  He told me to hide, which I did.  A few minutes after I was hiding, I heard the door bust open.  Armed guards marched in and declared him under arrest.  He asked for the charges being brought up against him.  There were several mentioned, but the one I remember the most was treason.  Plotting to destroy the government and incite rebellion.   Something along those lines.  I was scared.  They drew on him and told him that he would not be allowed to plead his case until all of the witnesses are brought forth.  He isnt being allowed to have a lawyer.  They said that all of the witnesses will share the same lawyer and that the lawyer will not be allowed to see any of them until they are all there.  They are rigging the trial!"  This part seemed to be the thing that most upset him.
 That I thought was a little weird so it is the point I wanted to explore more.  "Why does this part bother you the most?"

"It is unhonorable!"  His sentiment was echoed by Jays heavy strong thoughts.
It is wrong to draw on an unarmed man and not give him a chance to plead his case!

A nifty trick that I knew Jay probably wasn't capable of yet, was private thinking.  It involved a very tight thinking and a lot of concentration.  I knelt back down in front of the fire.  Honor is everything for them huh? I could see Talon look at me and knew he would have issues with this private thinking.  He looked at Jay for a second.  I could see that he was having an internal debate and finally, part of him won.  He looked carefully at me and gave a very slight nod.  If it wasnt for the fact that I was looking right at him, I wouldnt have caught it.

"Alright, what is the plan?"  I looked at Talon for a reply.
"Well...lets stick with the plan that we have already.  We would only need a few small modifications.  Could you teach Jay to shift?  Because if the both of you could shift, things would work better."

"I already know how to shift.  I do that when I want to escape from the others at the colony.  I sneak out somewhere and shift and then I am free."  This was the longest speech that he had given in our presence.

Excellent.  "Can you think to John?"  I asked this question.  It was quite easy for me to think to Talon.  He was a reader and was more open to it.  Thinking to a person who was neither Chek or a reader or even a mutant.  They are more close minded.

Jay looked around and shrugged.  "I have never really tried I guess.  It has never really came up.  Is it possible?  I dont think I have ever heard his thoughts."  He looked quizzically at John then.

"Well.  It is possible, but it isnt easy.  Often times regulars are not very open minded, and that is what is necessary for you to read him and vice versa.  He wont be able to think to you the same way as you and I think to eachother.  However, he can think ideas and you can pick them out of his brain.  You can push a thought into his head as well.  It wont be as interactive as what you and I could do.  But we can give it a quick try.  If it doesnt work, its no big deal.  We dont really need that ability at the moment."

Kareena love, can you patrol the area for us? An image of the surrounding trees appeared.  *I* could see the group of people standing around a small fire, before *I* turned my head and started walking a wide circle around the group.

"Who is Kareena?"  Jay looked at me curiously.  "And what was that that you were seeing?"

"It is a long story, but I can explain it this evening.  You ready to give this a try?"  I crooked a finger at John and then pointed to a spot on the ground near the fire.  "You are going to sit across the fire from.  This works easier when you are closer together.  We will start there and see how well this works."

"So...ummm what do we do?"  Good question.

"John, think of a picture or idea.  Something simple.  Dont tell me until after you think it."  John nodded at me.

It was silent for a few seconds and then Jay bellowed out. "A pair of antique 19th century Earth dueling pistols!"
   John popped his eyes open and stared incredulously for a few seconds.  "You are right!"

I nodded at them both and grinned.  "That is perfect."  I thought for a second. "Ok Jay, what we need you to do is think a set of instructions to John.  Like, he has to stand up and circle the tree behind him three times.  Something like that."
Jay nodded at me and thought for a second before nodding to himself.  He thought for a second and then we watched John stand up.  Then John turned around and walked 15 steps from the spot he was sitting, stood on tiptoe and then jumped in place.  He must have felt pretty ridiculous because he stopped and looked at Jay.

"Really?"
 "I had to do something and that was the only thing that I could think of."  Jay grinned.  "Do you think this will work out pretty well?"

"Definitely."

Chek 5

"But John, why would we even be able to find her?  And I still smell smoke!" Jay was kind of whiny about this mission.
 "Look Jay, we have to find her and tell her.  Otherwise, she could be in a lot of trouble."  John sounded weary now.  He didnt seem to enjoy his partners company at all.  "We should be getting close, this seems to be the kind of area she prefers to camp in.  At least, its like the ones she showed us to make camp in during class."
He did listen!  I was pretty excited about that, it meant that I wasnt  half bad at teaching.
Yeah yeah, he learned something.  Where are they?
 I dropped out of the tree and motioned to Talon.  "Hey guys, who ya lookin for?"

"Holy sweet delilahs, who is that?"  Jay was jumpy apparently, and was trying to whisper without being heard.  He failed in epic proportions.
"That would be her."  John, aka Big n Beefy, replied back. "Hey, we need to talk to you, its important.  An urgent message from the fort commander." He wasnt in sight yet, but we could hear him coming closer.  Just then a head popped up from beneath a hanging branch of a really thick tree.  It was a fuzzy red head, with a splash of freckles going across the bridge of his nose.  He had bright playful green eyes and dimples on his cheeks.
"I found them John!  They are right here. I thought you told me she would be a good hider."  He was excited and eager to please.  He was also very proud of his accomplishment.
"Jay!  Of course you found her.  She heard you yapping away for the last mile and a half.  She figured out who it was and just came out to meet us."  John was pretty irratated.  "We have been looking for you all over the place.  It is important!"
"Obviously it is important.  You wouldnt be here otherwise and we have been hearing you talk about how important it is for a long time."  Talon came up from behind John, still talking. "You have been looking for Breezy.  What do you need?"
"The commander believes your story, but he has been thrown into the holding cell.  The kid, the geeky looking one?  Whats his name again?"  Talon and I both just shrugged. "Well, he has told this huge story about how you were a Chek and that you had gone crazy.  You killed Chee and set off the smoke bomb to escape.  The authorities discounted the letter that you wrote as a farce."  John said all of this in one breath.  "And I had to bring Jay with me because there was no one else to watch him, and if I left him there, they would have taken him to the mines.  They are looking for me and the rest of our class.  They think that we aided in Chee's death.  I didnt kill no one!"
  
This is some bad news.  Why would they arrest the entire class? I slipped into thinking to Talon.  I didnt want John or Jay to realize that something was really wrong.
Why would they believe him?  I thought Chek couldnt lie?  Or did you lie about that?

Please.  He isnt full Chek.  He can lie to anyone except another Chek.  He has...regular...in him.

So does that mean you arent human?

Do you have to ask such awkward questions in the middle of a dire situation?  Can we get back to the point please?

So what do you want to do about it then?

"Um...I know you guys are thinking to eachother and all, but could you please give us something to do, or say something?"  Jay quipped in unexpectedly.
"How did you know that we were thinking to eachother?"  I walked up close and saw the distinguishing features.  "You are Chek!"

Jay became silent again, looking at John, his eyes begging for help.
"Yeah, he is Chek, what of it?" John went back to being Big n Beefy in his race to be protective.
"Nothing, but what is he doing with you?"  Talon asked the question since I was still looking at Jay, still trying to gather in the fact that this was the third Chek I have seen in such a short time.

You are Chek! How is that?  What are you doing with Big n Beefy? In my excitement, I resorted to the nicknames that I had known him by instead of his proper name.

I dont know.  We are brothers I guess.  Thats what we have always called eachother.  We share parents.  John has to watch me, I am slow.  Thats what they tell me.  I am slow and I dont get things done the way they should.  They dont like me at the colony.  I am different.  I could almost see the tears in his thoughts.  He hated being different and he hadnt learned to hide his emotions yet.  He hated being Chek because of how the others treated him for his differences.

Its alright. You and I are both different.  So is Big n Beefy or else he wouldnt have tried to protect you so much.  Talon is different as well.  You need some training though.  Others wont know you are different unless you tell them.  I could help.  I felt bad for the kid, he was thrown into a world that doesnt like people being different.  I didnt know yet if he was full Chek or not, I figured I would try that trick later.  You can still be you without being in trouble for it.  Big n Beefy didnt even know I was Chek.  

Really?  His voice sounded hopeful.
"You are Chek too?"  John was looking at me, his eyes howing the massive amount of surprise that he was feeling.

Chek 4

The warm soft body surrounding me is what woke me up.  That, and the deep purr that I could feel vibrating across my entire body.  I looked up and there was Kareena, her eyes half closed but still watching me.  She seemed to have a pleased smile.
Hey girl. I missed you.
She seemed to echo the sentiment because she opened her eyes and tipped her head. 
"What happened last night?"  Talon muttered from his sleeper, rolling over to look at me.  His hair stuck up every which way and his eyes were still sleepy looking.
"It is hard to explain.  How much do you remember?"  I stretched next to Kareena, rubbing her between the ears where her sweet spot was.
"I could see...the forest.  Then a desert?  Or something like a desert.  Then the Geek and a fire.  Alcohol.  Then the whole thing turned to a muddled mess and I was more tired than I have ever been in my entire night, including the other day after being knocked out and drugged.  Is it normal for that to happen?"  He was still laying down on his side, looking at me.  The fire between us had died but surprisingly it was a warm morning. 
"Not unless the animal is really tired.  Kareena hasn't slept all that much since she left to track them down.  You are lucky that you are a reader, I don't think you would have had any idea what was going on otherwise.  You must be pretty strong."
"Is that what it feels like when you shift?"
"No.  Not quite.  The thinking is similar though.  So, the Geek went north.  That is interesting, there really isn't anything out there really.  No resources or anything.  Why would they want to go there?"
"You really don't like talking about shifting do you."
Really.
"Alright alright.  So what are we going to be doing?  How are we going to get in there?"  He sat up on one arm,  using the other to push back his hair. 
"Well, lets finish what we started last night.  She fell asleep before she was done showing us what she has seen.  We should eat something first though.  So should she."  I sighed and crawled out of my sleeper, leaving the silky warmth of Kareena.
I dug out some jerky and some dried fruits.  Talon warmed up the fire and Kareena walked off into the woods. 
Where is she going? Talon hadn't bothered looking at me.  He was really trying to push the boundary of his abilities.
Probably off to relieve herself.  She has been sleeping there a long time.  Who knows, she might be taking a dip in the river...

Well what about the serpentine creature?

What about them?  Kareena is a big girl, she will be fine.  She can take care of herself.  Especially now that she is well rested. 

The unheard conversation left us better able to hear the outside noises around us with out interruption. Or lack of noises.  The whole forest went quiet.  Birds had stopped chirruping, there were no rustling leaves from whatever creatures lived among the branches above us,  the whole forest around us was frozen in time. 

What is that?  He had stood up, grabbing his belt knife. 

I walked towards a tree that would be easy to climb.  I don't know, but I would suggest you hide yourself.  I am going to try to find out what is going on.

Do you hear that?  I knew what he had meant, because as soon as I thought out our battle strategy, voices were drawing near.

"I am telling you, I smell smoke.  Thick, rich wood smoke.  The kind that you cook strips of pogue meat on.  It is making my mouth water already John."  This voice was lighter in tone, but still masculine with a country accent, he had a drawl of sorts and his words were ended in different areas than the way Talon or I did. 

"Look Jay, I'm telling YOU, there aint no smoke!"  John had a deeper voice, one that seemed to originate somewhere from deep within and gathering strength on it way to existence.  It was reminiscent of an avalanche gathering speed.  The longer it was going, the louder it seemed to get.  He had the same accent as the first guy.  Jay. 

They aren't from around here are they?  I think I have heard that accent before. Talon looked at me and raised an eyebrow.  I know!  One of the kids that have gone through our training! 

Of course.  Big 'n' Beefy.  I bet I know who it is.  Do you remember the beefy guy?  The cocky one? He nodded at me.  That's who that is.  I would bet it.  Which would also explain why Kareena hasn't showed up yet.  She isn't worried about him. 

Are you sure? 

"Definitely."

Chek 3

"Alright, so you are going to fly in right?" Talon asked this with the most earnest look on his face.
"Why do you automatically assume I am going to FLY in?  There are other animals that could easily gain entrance."  I was still pissed at the gate guard, and Talon's nonchalant attitude was really annoying.  We had made it to a spot in the woods that wasn't far from the gate but still far enough that no one would stumble across us.  I was trying to light a small fire and he was just standing there jeering at me over guard's reaction.

"Well, what do you plan on turning into?  Speaking of turning, what does it feel like?  Does it hurt?"  Now he was just snapping questions at me.
 You are annoying.  
"I heard that one too!"  His newly extended abilities was stoking his ego just a little too much.  I rolled my eyes at him and started mapping out the Colony edge from what I remembered of it.
"Look the gate is more of a point of the thing, did you notice that?  It isnt in the center of the wall like most of the colonies.  That means something, but I dont know what for sure.  The road was pretty beat down but I dont know how often people come through."
"What animals do you like to shift into the most?"
Really? That is what you have to say about all of this?!?  "I am not sure to be honest.  Felines probably.  Birds are alright, but I prefer having good strong feet underneath me and more power for my muscles. I dont think that I have an actual preferance for anything now that I think about it.  I dont really enjoy shifting.  I always end up with a massive headache after I shift back to being me again.  That, and some of the senses are very overpowering.  I dont know."  I sighed.  Just then I heard a rustling in the bushes behind us.
"What the-!" Talon was interupted by a black blur streaking through our camp site.
Kareena!
She leapt at me, slamming into me about chest high, knocking me into the ground.  I was giggling as she licked my face.  I loved her for it but it also worried me.  There was something afoot that had her worried.  Especially if she greeted me like this and hadnt bothered to try to think to me about anything.

I rummaged around in my pack, pulling out some jerky for her, as well as pouring her a bowl of water from my canteen.  She looked winded, a little thinner than normal, and very unkempt.  She hasnt even stopped to take care of herself!
"That worries you."  Some of the mirth had left Talon's face and he was completely serious now.  "She doesnt normally do that I take it?  Not even when you guys are out doing...whatever you guys normally do?"
"No.  Give'r a minute.  Listen close, you might even pick up on some of it."
What happened?

Animals dont think in words like we do.  They think with their senses.  Smells, shapes, shadows and so on.  They dont attribute words to anything.  They see a table, but thats not what they call it.  They dont call it anything at all.  It is just there.  Something that they can see, something they can feel and so on.

The first thing she showed me was the forest.  Plants that I knew were bright colored normally whizzed passed my eyes.  I could hear birds in the trees chirruping at *me* and I could smell the distinct odor of the serpentine creatures that live by the rivers and lakes.  I *seen* myself bolting over fallen logs and across short ravines.  After a while though, the trees and plants slowly disappeared.  More and more rocks were showing up, and now the area was beginning to look even more desolate than the forest.  At least the forest has other animals living there, making noises.  Here, the only noise was *me* and I could feel the tremor in Kareena's body.  The very memory of her making so much noise still bothered her quite a bit.  It was too out in the open.  *I* wasn't safe.  There was no real protection from anything at all.  There was only a slight scent of salt in the air.  The whole scene was monochromatic.  Varying shades of gray.  At last, a scent of the one called Geek.  The word itself didnt mean anything.  Just what the people called him.  The smell was strong though.  He was nearby.  *I* crossed over the top of a hill, and all of the sudden there was color again! The smell of rich wood smoke enveloped my mind and was then tarnished by the smell of the Geek.  He was there at the bottom, huddled around the fire, sharing it with two other hulking figures.  The powerful scent of Hooch seeped into my mind.  As *I* drew nearer, the images seemed to become blurry and wavy.  They melded together in waves of color, the oranges of the fire blending with the purple of the night and the gray of the surrounding rocky landscape.

Suddenly, I was me again.  I looked around and Kareena was asleep.  She slept where she had fallen.  Talon was near her, one hand laying on her sleek ebony head.  He was rubbing his head with his other hand, clearly as confused as I was.
"What happened?" He kind of groaned out.
"She fell asleep.  She is exhausted.  We will have to post pone our plans some, until we find out what exactly happened.  Let her sleep and we will get some rest."  I grabbed my pack and yanked my sleeper out, laying it out next to my protector.  "Get some sleep, tomorrow we will talk about it."

Chek 2

We had stopped for the night in a small clearing.  I had the Kings Falcon stand guard over us while we both slept.  Kareena still hadnt come back to my disappointment.  Hopefully we would be able to catch up soon.  As it was, we werent that far from the edge of the colony.  We were able to see some of the smoke stacks in the distance before the sun went down.  We had made good time all things considered.

"Alright, I am feeling so much better now.  What was that stuff you gave me?"  Talon groaned out in a choked voice in midstretch.
"Its just a plant.  I am not even sure what the name of it is.  Kareena showed it to me when I first found her.  I was really sick and she was hurt and well...we just kind of learned several things together.  We had to in order to survive.  There are several other plants out there that will do the same thing, including the New Willows.  Those are just adaptations from the ones brought from Earth.  They are quite a bit stronger than the old ones, but its easier to over dose on those.  Thats why I went with this one."
"What do you call it?"  He was sitting up looking at me sincerely, absently rolling up his sleeper.
"Frog Leaf Plant? I dont know, I just sort of picture the plant in my head to Kareena and she helps me find it.  It is more common around water areas.  Youve never heard of it?"
"Nope, I have heard of the willows of course, and some of the shisca plants I know are common pain relievers and fever reducers.  Never heard of the Frog Leaf Plant."  He smiled at me and snorted, waggling his eyebrows at me.  "What does it look like?"
"You're feeling better, thats for sure." I launched a canteen at his head and finished packing what little I had pulled out the night before.  "Lets get to the road.  We still havent figured out his plan."
Talon stood up and took a swig of water before hooking the canteen to his belt.  "He wants to feel important, be in charge of stuff right?"
"Yeah.  Him and Chee were talking about running a business that would allow them to gain control of the colonies without seeming to be in charge.  Just about any top business in any Colony does that though.  I mean, you know that the Gold's run the beef exporting in the main colony.  They have their fingers in every main politicians pocket and if they want something passed or vetoed, they just have to pull their strings.  That part isnt really all that unique.  But They specified running multiple colonies.  Which is something much more difficult.  I have heard several of the business getting together from different colonies to get something passed or denied, but no one was really in charge.  They had some people contact some people.  By the way, you mentioned that the doctors on the main colony had messed with a lot of peoples brains.  What makes yours different exactly?"
The change of topic seemed to throw him off some and it took a few seconds for him to respond. "The business thing is a good point.  We are going to have to do some more thinking about that then."  He looked around at trees around us becoming more sparse.  "And as for the mind reading thing...I am not sure.  It was just stronger in my family.  My dad was a reader as well, but my mom was way stronger.  Her whole line was to be honest.  Just more intuitive.  Her family can be traced to the last of the woods back on Earth, generations ago.  So maybe that is part of the reason.  Who knows?  They have a knack for knowing what people think, and just being natural."  He shrugged.  "I dont know.  Im not a doctor."
I nodded at him, and pointed.  "There is the road.  Should we sneak into town or just go in?"
"Well, you are Chek, you can ask to speak to someone in high standing.  They will know the truth, so even if we are detained, it shouldnt be too long before we are back out again."  His smile returned.  "Besides, you are smelly and so am I, so I dont think anyone will stop us unless its to trip us into the nearest tub."
I looked at him but didnt say anything.  I hadnt had a real bath in a very long time.  I normally just did a quick spit bath in the river most mornings.  With the last few weeks being the way they were, I just hadnt had time to do even that.  It had been years since I had lain in a tub full of hot water and bubbled soap.  I wasnt sure if I was excited about the prospect, or afraid that I might fall apart since the dirt wouldnt be there to hold my various body parts together.
This line of thought brought me all the way up to the gate, and the gate guard stopped me in my tracks.
"Identification please."
I looked at Talon.  Identification?  Since when did we need identification?  It had been a while yeah, but not that long.  What is this? I asked Talon
No idea.  It wasnt like this when we visited the colony the last time, and that was only a few months ago.  He answered back, I could practically see the mental shrug he had given with that, even though he hadnt even shifted his weight from one foot to another.
You are getting better at this.  I gave a real smile with this, since he would see it more clearly. And, if I was lucky, it would disarm the guard some.
"What do you mean by identification?  Last time we visited any of the colonies, that was not needed and neither of us had even heard of a rumor of needing one."
Apparently I really did smell bad, because he glared at me.
"No identification, no entry."  He clicked his heels together and marched his unhappy butt back into the gate, slamming it into our faces.
"Well that went well.  You know, you are an amazing people person.  I have no idea how you even do it."  Talon grinned at me.
"Very funny.  Now its going to be even more of pain to figure out whats going on.  Cant figure anything out if we arent even able to go in there to report it."  I hissed this at him as I turned around to walk back into the woods.  "I am going to have to shape shift, and that always gives me the biggest headache.  The only positive about this whole mess is that at least you can read my damn mind while I do it.  The least you could do is-STOP LAUGHING! This is serious!"
"May be serious but you are awful cute when your mad."
Where is a rock when I need one?
"I heard that."
I shook my head and kept up the hasty march into the woods.

Chek....

"Who are you?" The nasal sounding male voice is what woke me up. fuck him I said to myself.

"Can I help you?" I hate waking up in the mornings, especially when i cant tell if it is morning or not, even more so if it is some greasy pimple faced sounding asshole doing the waking.

"You're a rude little-"

"I wouldn't finish that statement if I were you." The silky smooth voice that interuppted the cooky sounding freak in front of me sent shivers up my spine." this guy is going to be some Dracula look alike, with piercing eyes and a soulless laugh.

"Yes sir." The nasal voice actually trembled a little.

I sighed a little, and shook my head. why the fuck did i do that? I had a splitting headache that seemed to originate somewhere from the back of my head. I sat up all the way and waited for the blackness to stop spinning.

"You recover fast for a female."

"Yeah, comes from living away from the colonies." I replied back. recover my ass, my head is about to fall off.

"Why so jumpy?" The silky voice was starting to get old. FAST.

"Its a female thing." what is this fuck nut thinking?

"No, I dont think so. You have lived too long alone in the wilderness to trust anyone you dont know." He sighed like he was exasperated. "You dont need to lie to me, I already know what type of female you are." you have got to be kidding me.

"You dont know as much as you think you do. I can promise you that." you are retarded if you think you do.

I was finally able to open my eyes enough to see who was talking to me. Sure enough the first guy that talked to me was a greasy haired, pimply faced, fat, disgusting brute of a man. The second one though was not what I had expected. he was of medium height, wiry, with a dark shock of hair and the worlds most brilliant beautiful green eyes that I had ever seen. fuck.

"Do you ever blink?" Silk voice asked me.

"Do you always hit people in the back of the head when you meet them?" this is fun, keep going honey, piss him off.

I sat up on my knees and looked around for a moment.

"My partner here is right. You are a rude little wretch of a woman." He had his head tilted towards me with a look of puzzlement.

"A woman that can kick your ass though, and make you beg for more later. And pimple face, if you hit be with that branch one more time, I will shank you from your testicles to yoru throat and leave you out in the sun for the birds." wait for it....wait for it...

"She isnt stupid. She isnt like the others." Silky voice paused and walked up to me. "She will be highly useful." He grabbed my arm and stood me up. I tensed for a second and readied for an attack from behind before I realized he wasnt going to do anything. "My name is Talon." He grasped my wrist for a handshake.

"Briedenelle." I looked over my shoulder at the greasy haired pig behind me. "And the disgusting puke chuck behind me is?"

"Chee." how feminine....Chee glared at me. It was obvious that he did not appreciate me being concious. I stretched a little bit, keeping both eyes open, watching to see what would happen next.

"So now what?" I hate silence and Chee was beginning to make me feel uncomfortable.

"Well, you have two options. One, you can leave here, or two you can join up with us." Talons silky voice was dropped for more of a rougish lilt.

"Join you doing what?" By now I was completely recovered. No more headache, and the world wasnt spinning anymore. oh god, they want me to lure single rich men into their lair!

"Join us in surviving. We were going to rob you. Unfortunately, you recovered too fast for us to complete the job." He looked a little confused at this. Obviously I had surprised him.

"How long was I out?" it felt like a while.

"Only for a couple of minutes. Chee here seen you waking up. He probably meant 'What are you' instead. No one normally wakes up that soon after getting hit in the head that hard." His accent lost some of the lilt, but kept the brogue. honey this guy is trouble. it is written all over his pretty green eyes. Chee is toing to be the problem though.

"Sorry to confuse you dear. I am a little bit different." I lifted my hair up off of my neck and felt for a cut. There wasnt one. Nor was there much blood on me. I went ahead and pulled my hair up all the way.

"Where is the blood?" Chee said, poking me with a stick. little bugger. I grabbed the stick and snapped it in half and threw the pieces at him.

"Do not touch me ever again. Do it one more time and you will be dead." I stood over him by a good two inches. I was a lot thinner than him but what i lacked in wieght i made up for in speed. This guy was going to be fun.

"Dont push her too far Chee. She is a fiesty one, and I am quite sure that she would make you hurt in many ways. So, Briedenelle, do you want to join us?" He had this look on his face. He was used to being able to tell what people were going to do, and my responses had been completely different than anything he had ever seen before.

"You never went into detail about what exactly I would be doing." I looked up. good, they didnt move me from my spot. I jumped, grabbed the branch above me, wrapped my legs around it and lifted myself up. I grabbed my bag out of the nest that was there. I dropped back to the ground and dug around in my pack. I pulled some jerked meat out and tossed some to both Talon and Chee and started munching on my own piece.

"How did you do that?" Talon was still frozen in the act of catching the meat.

"Do what?" At least that is what I meant to say. It didnt quite come out clear, since my mouth was full. "you can eat that you know, its not poisoned. I promise."

"How did you get up in the tree?" Talon asked, taking a small bite out of the meat.

"I have been living on the ground and in the air for a long time now. There is few things in a tree that I cant do." these guys are a little slow.

"I am not slow!" Talon looked a little irratated at me. hmmm this guy has a few secrets too.

"You are not entirely what you appear my friend. We can learn a lot form eachother. Where are we going?" I slung the bag back over my shoulder and whistled. Kareena came trotting out. An all black panter, that at shoulder level stood even with the top of my hip. She was extremely loyal, and I knew that nothing would happen to me.

I thought that Chee was going to fall over himself.

"What is that?!" Now he wasnt even able to sound disgusting. The only thing that he could manage was to sound like a little bitch.

"That would be a black panther of the female persuasion. Her name is Kareena, and she is my protector."

Talon looked at me for a moment or two and then shrugged. "There is a trend here you see. Rich young men like to come out here to prove their strength. We guide them around the beginnings of the wilderness. Swe survive off of what little money they pay us and about once a year we go to the nearest colony and buy new supplies. You obviously know how to travel around here, especially if you have managed to befirend a cat." He was still staring at Kareena. watch yourself, he doesnt trust you completely. youare much stronger than what he is used to and he doesnt like it.

"So, do we rob them or was I just a special case?" I walked up to him, not any farther than a foot away and I waited. He stepped back a little and shook his head.

"Well, we dont usually rob the people we guide around. You however, was just standing there and we dont mind having a few extra coins. Unfortunately, you sort of changed the plan on us. By the way, if she is your protector, why didnt she attack us when we hit you?"

I smiled at them. "Because I woke up beore you did anything, and then she wanted to wait to see what you were going to do. She is a smart animal, much smarter than most and leaps and bounds smarter than many people I know." I sighed. "When do we leave? And why would anyone come here during this time of year? Its one thing if you have had experience with this place like we have. Why now?" I stretched once more and looked at the sun. Early afternoon. great, absolutely peachy. i am going to join up with these losers...what am i thinking?

"Well, now is when the military schools send out the young men and women to test their outdoor schooling. We spend two weeks with them, teaching them the basic skills needed, then they spend two weeks on their own. We follow them secretly, making notes on what they do wrong. After the two weeks we take them back and go over their notes and tell them what they need to work on. We do that through all twelve months of winter, taking different classes every month. What do you think?"

that this could almost be worth the effort. I smiled at him and laughed. "How much will I get out of this little adventure?" chee is going to be upset about this, i can tell. he is going to need careful watching.

Talon cocked his head to the side and thought for a second. "A third, we will make this fair. Especially where you obviously have experience out here. Possibly more experience than we do."

watch it girl, hes going to ask you how you've got the experience.

Surprisingly, it was Chee who asked the question. "Where did you come up with all of this experience?" hmmm hes almost got his sneer back.

"I am good like that." I sighed again and walked over to Kareena, rubbed her head some and then whistled. this is really going to trip them out. A Kings Falcon flew down in front of me and gave a whistle noise. I nodded and looked at the open mouthed men. "What? He is a friend. Who is in the camp two miles away?"

"The next group of students. We were about to take them out when Chee saw you." Talon nodded a little and started walking. "You coming?"

I tipped my head and growled toward Kareen who disappeared into the shodows once more. The falcon flew off and I started following Talon. Chee decided to try and crowd me and bumped up against my back. I swung around and knocked him on his ass. "You get that close to me again and I will kill you. You touch me and I will kill you. I even get the idea that you are thinking inappropriatly, and I will kill you. Understand?"

Chee was holding his hand up to his splattered nose when he nodded. He was glaring at me while doing it but my point had been made, the line was drawn.

Talons silky voice came back, biting into my brain. "Chee I have a feeling that this pretty lady is giving you promises. I would advise you to listen to hear." He gave me a guarded look. honey, shit is going to hit the fan. soon at this rate, he is going to be a bigger problem than i thought.

We walked for a good ten minutes, Talon taking a stride that was both quick but easy to keep. Chee quickly fell behind. Talon nodded ahead at a clearing that was coming up fast. Voices could be heard and a fire was already going. fucking retards, what do they train these goobers, 'how to die in twenty minutes or less?' I stopped Talon and with a grin told him to wait. I casually walked farther into the clearing, using the shadows to cover my movements.

"This is going to be easy. Just a camping trip. I dont know why this stuff is mandatory. No one comes out here anymore." Big 'n' Beefy said. thats my target.

Everyone else was preoccupied with looking around the area while i silently walked up on him. I leapt onto his back and and had a knife to his throat. He was no longer talking, and for that matter, no longer moving either.

"You are dead." I dropped back to the ground and looked at the open mouthed faces. "First lesson: keep your mouths shut and your eyes and ears open."

Talon walked with eyes full of mirth into the clearing. "Second lesson: Dont fuck with Breezy. Her name is Briedanelle, and she has a low patience level. If you dont believe me, ask my friend Chee here.

Sure enough, here came Chee wheezing his way into the clearing. He obviously knew that he failed to make a good entrance, so he immediatly barked orders. "Everyone pack your tents!"

Amidst the groans and the complaints, I heard someone ask why I was called Breezy.

Talon leaned against the tree, "Well, you see, she is like the breeze. She wont give any sign she is there until shes already up in your face."

I smiled at that response and gave a low whistle. Kareena came slinking out. She stopped at the edge and stared intently. I looked at her. ahhh... there is another one here. i will have to lay low. I gave her a low growl this time and she prowled back into the woods. i walked through the camp and checked out the people. There were three females, nothing special except for maybe being the more quiet out of the bunch. The rest were male and only one I was worried about. He was next to Big 'n' Beefy, and he was just a scrawny geeky looking thing. hes the one. but why hang out with that guy? he doesnt need him.

I walked up to Talon and nodded my head to Big 'n' Beefy. TROUBLE, I thought out as loud as I could. Surprised he looked over at the geeky kid.

"How do you know?" He said in a low voice. "And how did you do that?"

"First, lets just say I am a little more gifted than you, I know these things. Second, you slipped up earlier and let me know you were a mind reader. I wasnt guarding my thoughts as well. You responded to me saying you were slow." I let him process this for a few seconds before continuing. "As well, Kareena doesnt trust him, so keep your mouth shut about her. You dont want to be asking for more trouble than you can handle. That kid cant be trusted. I can read him a little bit. I would watch Chee if I were you. I am sensing that this could be an interesting month. Chee is looking for an opportunity to do 'better' things with his life, and he is resenting your abilities."

"Well, I knew Chee had been getting worse, but for him to hook up with a recruit?" Talon asked.

"That isnt just any recruit dipshit. His dad is one of the richest men in the colonies. This kid knows it, and knows how to throw his money around to get the best results."

"Ok, I wont mention the cat, and I will watch Chee. You watch the kid. Closely."

"That wouldnt be an issue except for one thing."

"Whats that?"

"Where there is a will, there is a way. And if you look, Chee has already gotten friendly. Obviously he knows about this kid, or it wouldnt have happened this quick."

"Fuck."

"Well I suppose that is an appropriate phrase for the situation."

"Smart ass."

"Hmmm." I walked off with a smile. I was still serious though, this was going to be difficult.

That first night went by slow. We had to explain to the recruits that clearings were bad. They were so open that some of the dumber animals would go in there thinking it was safe and a good spot for food, especially since grass grew so good. We also had to explain to them that fires werent the best idea either.

The rest of the two weeks went by fairly quickly, but I knew from Kareena, and the falcon, that Chee and the geek kid were meeting secretly during the night, leaving secret messages for eachother, and plotting. This was getting worse and worse.

TALON! I looked around for him. Each day, with my help, his range was getting better, but he still couldnt read past 50 yards, and he couldnt read me or geek kid unless we allowed him.

"Yeah?" He said, trotting up. He had just directed his first person off with their map, to head out on their own for the two weeks.

"You do know that Chee isnt going to accept me watching the geek kid. He is going to drop his kids to watch him and make sure I dont do anything."

"Yeah I know. What are you going to do about it?"

"If it comes down to it, I will beat his ass. It wont be pretty and I wont kill him unless its absolutely necessary."

"Ok. You do what you have to do."

"I usually do."

"Smart ass."

I walked off again and led my first person to her start point. I handed her the map and her pack of food. "I will be following you off and on throughout these two weeks. You wont know that I am there. Use a fire only if you get hurt." She nodded and walked off.

I found my second kid and sent him off with the same instructions. time for the geek kid.

"Are you ready?"

"Chee is going to see me off."

"No, I am seeing you off, I am the one that has your map, and if Chee has a problem with it, he can come talk to me." I shoved his pack into his chest and handed him his map. "Now get lost."

I walked around and found Chee. "Hey I just sent off my third. He mentioned something about you seeing him off. I found that somewhat interesting. I just wanted to let you know, that if I see you around his area at all, I will kick your ass. I wouldnt suggest pushing my buttons now after youve done so good these last two weeks." He sneered at me and walked off.

TALON, WE HAVE ISSUES. I looked at him and he nodded. He got the message. I walked off into the woods, trailing the geek kid first. He was making good time, but he wasnt used to his natural abilities and instincts or he would have seen me right off the bat. The running litany of numbers in his head was a pretty fair trick to keep people from reading his mind though. I went off to the side a ways and whistled low to Kareena. She came trotting up and I rubbed her ears a bit then told her to go check on the girl. The falcon came down and showed me that the other kid that I was supposed to be watching was doing ok and had made it to his first check point. hmmmm that kid was one of the best ones in the class, taking to the wilderness like a natural. almost as if he had grown up here. i wonder if he has a mind reading gift like Talon.

The following week went good, with no sign of Chee. Most of the second week went by pretty well too. It wasnt until everyone was about a day away from the meet up point that Chee finally showed up. They sat in the spot that geek kid had set up camp for the night.

"Are you sure she isn't around?" Chee asked nervously.

"Positive. She checks on the others every other day or so. Today is the day she is checking up on the others." yeah right motherfucker. I haven't left you once.

"She is a tricky little devil. So, we are going to get rid of all of them right? Say it was an accident. Something went wrong, right?"

"Yes. Then, my dad will sue the school, get lots of money and pay you for rescuing me. After that it will be easy to start our own little business. We could own these colonies in a very short time."

"Sounds simple."

"It is."

TALON GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE. We both figured that they would wait until close to the end to meet up so Talon had been staying close. I heard him approaching and I told him the basic of the conversation.

"You know, I thought I was supposed to be checking up on the others today." I stepped up next to the fire. I knew Talon was circling around behind geek boy. The looks on both of their faces was, well would have been, hilarious. You would have thought that I was a ghost or something.

"You cant prove anything." Chee said worriedly.

"Oh but I can."

"You have no proof. None whatsoever." Geek kid said confidently.

"I am a Chek. My word alone is all that is needed." I hadn't wanted to let anyone know this fact to begin with, but in this situation I kind of didn't have much of a choice.

"You cant be Chek. My mother-"

"Your mother could vouch for me. And she wouldn't even step in. Anyone who is Chek will not involve themselves with another ones legal matters. Your mother would step aside." I paused as I looked at Talon. He looked surprised but didn't say anything. He just stepped up to the kid and threw a rope around him. Chee decided to get brave temporarily. He swung at me while I was looking at the geeky kid.

"I knew there was something wrong with you. You weren't normal."

"Define normal." I ducked under his arm and slammed against his stomach as hard as I could. In the background I could hear Kareena growling in a low throaty way. He had been in fights before and leg swiped my feet from under me, but I somersaulted backwards out of his way and onto my feet, moving to the left quickly. He swung at me again but missed my face and instead hit my shoulder. It hurt but not too bad. I rolled with the punch and gave him an uppercut. This knocked him on his ass and he came up swinging. Just before his fist would have hit my face it opened and a cloud of smoke appeared. fuck. Not only could I not see, but it irritated my eyes. When I could see again both Chee and geek kid were gone and Talon was knocked out.

I looked at Talon to make sure he was alright. He had a pretty nasty bruise on his head and it was starting to swell. He was going to have a rough headache when he woke up. I went about setting up a small camp and started cleaning his head off. Kareena was tracking Chee, and the falcon was watching our camp.

About five minutes after I did all of this Talon woke up. "What happened?" He said trying to sit up.

"First of all, stay laying down. Secondly, you were beamed in the head and knocked out. Chee and the geek kid got away." I handed him a cup of water. "Sip it slowly."

"How did-"

"Well, Chee had a smoke bomb. That means he has been in contact with the arsenal recently. Smoke bombs dont last too long here. Especially in the winter. It is too wet here."

"He graduated military school lowest in our class. After graduation he spent the next couple of years working in the arsenal  I could tell that he didnt like it there and he didnt have anyone at home. Both of his parents died when he was 17. So when I started this training thing I invited him along. He wasnt too bad in the wilderness and I was able to show some more tricks to surviving. We have been together for almost five years now. Lately he's seemed more out of it, more violent. I just thought that the loneliness here was getting to him and I was going to suggest he stay in the colonies for a while. He could book the sessions. I didnt think he was going to do this. Then again, I didnt think you were actually a Chek. I thought you were just a runaway from the colonies. Figured you had been living on the outskirts long enough to get the main idea of living out here and then when you were a teen just ran away."

"How good is he really out here?"

"Decent. I mean, if he was really smart he wouldnt have let off that smoke bomb. The scent clings to the clothes and hair. But I think he figures he can get far enough away that it wont matter. He can survive. He may even be able to thrive, but I dont think that he will be staying out here. Those two are plotting something."

"How is your headache? That geek kid was pretty decent in all of our classes, he is pretty fast on his feet. With both of them together I think that they could out run us. We do have Kareena though, so that will make it easier."

"How come you never mentioned that you were a Chek? And my headache is going down."

"I have found that keeping people off guard means that I live longer. Besides, I didnt trust Chee and I didnt want him to know. Also, most people really dont understand what a Chek is, and assume the wrong thing."

"Well you certainly had that kid offgaurd. He wont be able to go home, his mom will know what happened."

"Thats one of those common misconceptions. She wont know what happened unless I tell her. However, she will know that he has done something bad and is soiled. If she is really Chek that means he is part Chek and will be unable to lie to her. He can lie to anyone else but another Chek. A full Chek cant lie to anyone."

"Oh. Well why dont you change? Or is that another misconception?"

"Oh, I can shapeshift if I wanted. But it isnt easy and I personally dont like to do it unless it is absoluetly necessary. I have Kareena watching out for them."

"So whats the next move?"

"We head to the colonies. Kareena will find me and let me know what is going on. We will have warrants sworn out for them, and then we will go back to training recruits. Eventually we will hear something, or hear about something."

"What is a Chek. Why cant you guys lie?"

"If ever caught in a lie, it is our law to kill ourself. Honor and integrity are both major parts of our culture. Our word is our bond. If we swear on something it is better than a blood oath. We can shape shift into just about anything though usually we only have one or two shapes that we prefer more than others."

"What-"

"I am done talking for now. Get some rest we leave in the morning if I think you are capable of walking."

"You healed me didnt you."

"Hmm...?"

"Never mind."

__________________________________________________________________________________

I was able to get Big n Beefy and my other guy who did well out in the wilderness to help me carry Talon to the meet up area. All of the kids, minus Chee and Geek, were there and had done very well. We wouldnt know exactly for sure whether or not Chee's kids did well, but they were here and they had survived, so Talon and I had decided to pass them anyway. My other kid was the highest score in the class, two of the girls came in second, and the other girl came in third. I had a feeling about this bunch but I didnt have the time to dig further and since it didnt seem like a bad feeling I let it slide. I put my other kid in charge of the group and handed a coded note for whoever was in charge of the military school. The other kid asked me if I would need any help.

"No, we can handle this. You just make sure that your chain of command gets this and is well aware of what is going on."

"We dont know what is going on though."

"I have it explained in the letter. You just make sure that they get it. If they dont get this letter, I will come after you. I promise."

The kid looked at me for a moment and must have decided that I was dead serious.

"You got it."

__________________________________________________________________________________

"How much longer are we going to walk?" Talon was hurting, I could tell. He insisted he was well enough to walk some, and I didnt see any extra swelling so I figured why not. However, he was pretty wore out and was sounding really winded.

"We will go up another klick or so, and then there will be a good place to set up and rest. There will also be some fresh water to drink, and water is what you need right now." I knew the area decently well, but I was still going at a slower than normal pace. I wasnt exactly sure which direction Chee had left in, and it wouldnt surprise me if he had placed traps and snags to try to get away faster. Besides, I knew Talon was really too sore to be moving much faster than that.

"I think I need a nap as well. I dont ever remember being this sore before. Or this tired. What did they get us with?"

"My guess is that he laced the smoke bomb with some drug of sometime. Hopefully the effects will wear off soon for you." I wasnt joking with him. I was dead serious about it, and I didnt like it. I wasnt feeling the greatest either. Once again, I had a splitting headache and it didnt seem to be going away as fast as most headaches do. Only this time I knew what it was. Schmultz. Brought up from the old Earth and then adapted once here, it was highly addictive to most people. However, I wasnt the type to get addicted easily, and Talon lacked the ability. His...he-ness...allowed him to not get addicted. Which means that we will only suffer the side effects-massive headaches, bodyaches, and general not feeling well. Due to the nature of the drug, it was also going to make him very tired.

"Laced with what? And where would he get a drug around here?"

"If I were you I would be more worried about what they plan on doing when they get back to the colonies. Their original plan isnt going to work. Everyone has survived, us included. That means that they have to have a backup plan. Geek boy isnt exactly dumb, he had to have planned on something possibly going wrong and making a back up plan for it. We had better be prepared."

"You arent telling me something. But unfortunately you are right. Chee never seemed very ambitious though, so I am not sure what they could be planning. He never really had the brains to pull off any actual plan." Talon stopped and pulled a long drink from the canteen. "I can smell the water, we have to be getting close."

"We are getting close, but we are going to have to be careful." I heard the distinctive screech from my friend in the sky. I looked around and stopped. "Do you smell that?"

Talon looked around for a moment and nodded. "Smoke bomb. They came this way."

I nodded at him and walked forward a few steps. I could see bent grass and a trail leading down the knoll nearest us. My head isnt helping this. The smell was overpowering. Even with all of the rain that has fallen, the smell was disgusting. At the bottom I found a pile of foilage, messily thrown there and definetly not nature made. I grabbed a stick and walked up to the pile and poked at it. Some of the leaves and brush shifted and there was Chee.

I turned around and walked back up to Talon. "He is dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Most definetly." I shook my head, trying to clear a smell that I knew wouldnt go away that easy. "Geek must have killed him shortly after leaving. He is also in really bad shape, even for a dead guy."

Talon stood there for a few seconds, eyebrows wrinkled in thought. He really is cute when he thinks. Stop that! I really need to stop thinking about stuff like that. He walked towards the knoll a little ways before I stopped him.

"There is no point in you going down there. The smell will mess with your head even worse, and the exertion of going up and down even this little bump will wear you out."

"We need to know why Geek killed him though. I thought that they had a plan together. It doesnt make sense."

"Of course it makes sense. See, now when Geek gets to the colonies, he can say that we attacked him, he fended us off and that he killed one of us-Chee-and then no one will be the wiser until we get there. By the time we get there, they will have warrants sworn out on us and we will be screwed. Chee messed up their plans." IF that was even the actual plan. "They didnt succeed in killing us."

"But why kill Chee now?" He shook his head. "It would help him more if he showed up with Chee making up some story about how we all got seperated or something and that Chee saved him..."

"No it wouldnt. Chee didnt have enough balls to go through with that. You already said that he wasnt much of a planner. He is used to following orders and if the orders get messed up he doesnt like it. He probably started throwing a fit about whether or not it would work. He probably started to try to think and I bet that is why he decided to kill him."

"Well...maybe. Chee was always more of the type to cut in run if he felt like it would cause more issues." Talon sighed. "So are we going to go get some water and rest some, or are we going to push on to somewhere else."

I stopped to think about it for a second. I wish that Kareena was here. "We will stop for a minute, refill the canteens and then push on. If it is safe. I dont like being this near to a dead body. Especially one that really hasnt been ravaged yet. They tend to attract...things."

He nodded but didnt look happy. I knew that he was hurting really bad at this point. I felt bad for the guy. "I guess you are right. I knew that I should have packed more pain killers. I just didnt want the recruits to know that I had it and then they try to raid my bag."

"I have something better. When we refill our water I will make something for you that will help. It is going to taste horrible, but it will help almost immediatly." He is going to hate drinking it but it should give him a little more energy and help with the pain for the most part. At least until we get somewhere safe enough for him to actually stop and rest.

"Oh I am so looking forward to it."

The next 15 minutes or so went by quietly and the only sounds we heard was Talon breathing and the few birds that were still around. I was working up a pretty decent sweat. Talon was starting to walk slower and slower too. I stopped and looked around. I motioned for him to be quiet and follow me. We walked a little ways through some trees and there was a small stream.

"At last!" Talon said, moving as quickly as he could toward the water.

"Stop!" I had seen the creature waiting at the edge. Similar to old Earths crocodiles in nature, the serpentine creatures would wait near the waters edge for some unsuspecting prey to get near and to have their gaurd down. No matter what planet predators evolve on, they all tend to have similar characteristics. I pointed to the creature and shook my head. I motioned a ways farther down the stream bank where it looked to be safer. He nodded and we walked on the few extra hundred yards.

"You watch my back while I fill the canteens. They can smell if you are injured. If they were to attack you wouldnt stand much of a chance. You keep an eye out and make sure that mr. teeth over there doesnt try to come over here."

"Got it." He posted up nonchalantly against the nearest tree and started watching. I shook my head to myself and sighed. While he doesnt have the abilitiy to get addicted, he was seriously effected by the drug. Talon was usually much more careful about where he stood. Lucky for him that tree wasnt dangerous, but he couldnt always be so lucky.

"Thats the last of them." I stood up. I filled every canteen that we had and started back to the small game trail that we had been on before stopping for the water. He was still standing by the tree. "Are you coming or not?" I walked closer to him. That sonofabitch! He had fallen asleep!

I must have screamed that in my head, or close to it because he jumped awake and looked guilty. I also must have had a pissed off look on my face because he started apologizing immediatly.

" I am so sorry. I didnt think I was that tired. I-"

"You are fine." I was pissed but I also knew that it wasnt his fault. "Lets go."

We walked a little ways on the trail and found a spot that was protected well enough to shelter us and open enough to see all the way around us. I stopped and dropped my pack. "Here, this will be a good enough place. Sit down and get some rest. This will be ready in about an hour." He nodded and sat down looking grateful. Pulled a long drink from the canteen and promptly passed out. I started a small fire and got to work. I knew a lot about the local herbs and plants, and knew a way that would kill his pain entirely. However, it usually made one feel invincible as well and then they did stuff to the point of killing themselves. Since I didnt want that I had to mix the herbs just right so that it deadens most of the pain without making him stupid strong. The smell was noxious just making it. I made a good sized batch. I could bottle it up and save some for a 'just in case.' I was pretty it was going to happen.

Talon started stirring and sighed. He sat up and looked around, leaned over, and threw up everywhere. Literally...everywhere. I swore that his stomach went into the future to throw up food that he hadnt eaten yet. When he was finally only dry heaving I brought a canteen over and gave it to him. Once he was done rinsing his mouth out and getting some water in his system, I handed him a capful of the medicine. He threw it back without thinking. And then he turned an awesome shade of green. A really awesome shade. I thought for sure he was going to throw up again but he managed to keep it down. He did motion for more water.

"What was that?!?" He asked when he he was done getting the taste out of his mouth.

"A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Made the wrong way it can fuck your head up. Made the right way, you can get rid of just about any pain you have." I smiled at him and giggled. "I honestly think the taste makes you forget about the pain."

He gave me a look. The Look told me that he didnt find me very funny at the moment. Oh well.

"That isnt funny. How long does it take to kick in?"

I was right. "It doesnt take too long to kick in, youll feel great here in about 20 minutes or so. We will eat something and then head off." I tossed him some jerky and a full canteen. "Getting something in your system will help."

"I hope you are right." He leaned back against a tree, stretched out and started eating the jerky. We sat there like that for a while. "So why didnt you tell anyone that you were a Chek? Or at least me?"

"Well, I wasnt sure who to trust exactly. Besides I didnt want to let anyone know until it was absolutely necessary. I am surprised that you didnt guess it sooner. I would have thought for sure you had it figured out within days of being around me. You didnt even seem all that shocked when I knew that you were a mind reader." I stopped and tilted my head. "Speaking of, how did you come about to being a mind reader?"

"I would rather not say." He looked awful uncomfortable.

"Sorry, you started it. If we are trading secrets, that means you gotta share too. Rules of the game." He was avoiding my gaze, but it wasnt like he was lying. More like he was embarassed.

"Well..." He started. "I wasnt made. Like everyone else? I wasnt an experiment. I was actual born this way. My mother was the same way. And her mother. In fact, the family on my moms side has always been...mind readers. At the very least they could see feelings or emotions." He sighed and took another bite of the jerky. "Just about everyone who IS a mind reader was-zapped-by the good doctors at the Main colony. I dont know what limits I have on mine. The ones that were made can only tap into certain people...genders and such. I was able to access just about everyone."

"Except for me. And Geek. Probably because we are Chek...." I was muttering this under my breath. I was thinking. Hard.