Chapter 1

Author’s Note: I originally wrote this story, as I needed a break from the direction thoughts and tangents of my other story, Project: Prometheus. Mainly to help keep my ideas fresh and unique rather than getting bogged in recurring thought patterns. Also, the chapter outlines have been piling up, and I needed to get this one out there. I set this story in modern day, but with its own unique science fiction aspect to it, one which I have always been fascinated with.

For those who may not know, I wrote this story up a few years ago, while I was on vacation out in the Caribbean. I continued on with it for a while, then the direction of the story kind of got away from me and I had to shelve it. My mind had hit a wall with how to resolve such a conflict and it has remained untouched until today!

This story has now been retooled and revamped to be within the standard I set for all of my stories! Was drumming up some other chapters for my main three when I remembered this story! Once I started thinking about it, I couldn’t get many of these new fresh ideas out of my head and had to get them down!

Now that I have, I can say with complete confidence that this tale will proceed forward, with other chapters soon to arrive! Like Wings of Fire and Return of the Blood Reaver, this will be on my side story rotation, as the main tales I am known for will take precedence over this one. Now, shall we begin?

Air blowing through his lungs like a bellows, Tomas kept pushing himself to reach the top of the hill. The mid-spring sun beat down on him in its intensity, forcing him to sweat. A light wind blowing from the north kept the worst of the heat at bay. The forest path he had come off narrowed as it snaked up the large hill.

Steeling his resolve, the young man increased his pace as he lengthened his stride. He kept pumping his knees upwards at a furious pace. Tomas kept pushing himself, knowing his goal was near. Using his toes, he dug into the soft earth and propelled himself forwards. His stride continued eating the distance from where he was, to the apex of the hill.

Mere seconds later he stopped, having reached the top of the hill in question. Looking down at his wrist, Tomas checked his watch and couldn’t believe what he saw. He had crushed his old time by a good three minutes! Lifting his arms, he let out a shout of exultation, basking in the moment. He was happy that he could push himself that far and still come ahead as he had.

Taking a moment, Tomas steadied his breathing as he stood and surveyed the surrounding area. As he looked on, he saw that pair of ladies he passed on the trail a while back. They were heading back into town, the two on a run similar to his. Though he had been focused on his goal of reaching the top of the hill in record time, he had noticed their hungry glances.

Tomas Brykonov was a tall man, standing at six feet, with a lean musculature, though he wasn’t lanky. His black hair was cut and cropped short and it went with his electric blue eyes. It was those eyes, which were one of things that drew women to him. His blocky face was handsome enough and his Russian heritage stood out plain as day. Despite his ancestry, he identified proudly as a Canadian, having been the second generation of his bloodlines born here.

Though he seemed as normal and average as any young man his age could be, Tomas had a secret. For as long as he could remember, Tomas could sense and understand what exactly what people were feeling and from that, could guess what they were thinking about. He never could understand where this ability came from. The only thing he could explain was that it existed.

He could sense the general direction of what people were thinking, and each feeling or thought had its own marker. It took him a few years to figure it out, but once he had, it was easy for him to understand what people were feeling and when they were feeling it. This made his ability to blend in with practically any social crowd reasonably easy, as having a sixth sense like that made it insanely easy to navigate these crowds.

His powers had their limits though, which frustrated Tomas. He couldn’t read people’s minds outright, and their direct thoughts were always a mystery. On top of which, there were people he wasn’t able to read at all. He called these people ‘Rocks’, as that’s what they were to him, as unreadable as a rock. Tomas was extra careful around these sorts of people, as they often were total enigmas to the man.

This was a limitation that Tomas had tried to clear up and get past, but everything he tried didn’t work. He figured that as far as his abilities were concerned, this was the limit for them. It annoyed Tomas that he had these limits, but he quelled his bellyaching after a while. But he supposed having some idea of what people were thinking was better than none, like normal people were relegated to doing.

The interesting thing about this was that he was never wrong about what his sense told him. Growing up and able to feel these things was odd. As he grew, he knew other children he met couldn’t do what he could. At first, it weirded him out, and he often wondered why he was like this. He was sure that if he chose a good friend to share his secret with, that he could finally have some level of normalcy.

He tried telling one classmate he felt he could trust about this, about how he knew these things on instinct. That was back in Grade Four, when he believed his friend Markus would understand. He told him about the various emotions that ran through their classmates as they looked at and interacted with them. At first, it seemed like Markus was cool with it.

Instead, what had happened was everyone shunned and ostracized Tomas at school. He tried to talk to people, but they ignored him, not wanting to be anywhere near the ‘freak’. As he wondered why people were treating him differently, he overheard a snippet of conversation. Primarily about what Markus had told people about him.

It got to where many kids, even the older ones, believed the vicious rumors that Markus had spread around school. Even several teachers had looked at him funny. The feelings and emotions he was reading from them were even worse than what his classmates felt about him. Once his parents found out, they pulled him out of school and the whole family moved to an entirely new area. He then got a stern talking to, about how not everyone would understand what he could do. That he needed to keep it a secret.

Considering Markus’ betrayal, Tomas had no issues keeping this to himself. Going through what he did, didn’t have him wanting to experience that again. Since then, it had been just him and his parents who knew, until his parents had died. His mom back when he was twelve, then his dad, not long after he had turned sixteen.

He had some form of ‘family’, though he didn’t trust them. About a year after his mom had died, his dad met another woman, Vanessa. She made him happy enough and had a daughter herself, Sabrina, who was older than Tomas by at least two years. For the first time since his mother had passed in the car accident, they were a family again. That was until Anton Brykonov died. It was then and only then that Vanessa’s true nature was revealed.

She showed her true colors as an outright and total bitch. Vanessa had little to no interest in Tomas and only wanted the house and money that his father had spent his life building up. With her snakey lawyer, she had wrested Tomas’ inheritance away from him and they left him with nothing.

Despite being Anton’s son, Vanessa was his wife and was granted everything that should have been Tomas’. Being a minor, he had no real backing and no money to fight back with. The whole debacle had left a bitter taste in Tomas’ mouth, and he would have been forced to live on the street. Had it not been for his grandfather, who was in the hospital when Anton died, Tomas would likely have been on the streets with nothing but the clothes on his back.

Dimitry Brykonov was an odd and eccentric man, but was the grandfather you read about in storybooks. Kind, caring, gentle, but he could also be a hardass if he thought you were being lazy. He took Tomas in after what had happened and looked after him as best as he could.

Though he was quite advanced in his years, Dimitry was still a spry old man, with all the vigor of an adolescent teenager. His grandfather, owning his own home and having a decent nest egg set aside, had dipped into it a bit. Primarily to help Tomas out, as he only had a little money set aside from the odd summer jobs he had worked.

Tomas had saved a sizable sum by himself, enough to put himself through university. Dimitry supplied the money needed to stay in the dorms and for some food. Anything additional, such as beer money, Tomas would have to earn himself. If it hadn’t been for that lying and conniving bitch that was his stepmother, he would have been far better off.

‘Well, no sense in dwelling on the past,’ Tomas thought to himself as he finished his breathing exercises. Once he had put himself back in a normal breathing pattern, Tomas started down the hill, retracing his steps back through the local trail. He glimpsed the uni buildings in the distance as he made his way to the forest floor, picking up the pace.

Another fifteen minutes saw him back in the city, on the outskirts at least. The university was built out on the edge of the city, out of the way of most living areas and industry. The area selected was quiet to keep all the hustle and bustle and assorted commotion to a minimum. It afforded the students enrolled there the capability to focus more on their studies. Though a few clubs and pubs had sprung up in its wake, it was still a quaint little place.

Tomas had just made it to the campus from across the road, right by one of the local bars, Loopy Jack’s. It was a favorite hangout spot for students who were out of class and had little else to do but socialize. He had noted a lot of folks in there despite the hour, all of them getting their drink on. Tomas smiled to himself as he made his way across the grounds to the dormitories. Soon, he’d be drinking up a few beers himself.

Despite the dark and depressing thoughts that had permeated his conscious mind, today would be a good day. Not only could Tomas feel it, but he also knew it because it was his birthday. Twenty-two years old today and his friends, from both on campus and off, were throwing him a party. He had only been informed of it last night and was delighted that everyone he considered a friend had gone to all the trouble.

He was more than halfway to the dorms when he spotted what appeared to be trouble. A bunch of jocks surrounded a nerdy-looking East Indian guy. Judging by his stance and the look on his face, they weren’t being friendly. He deviated from his run, not only to avert anything that might happen to the boy, but also to defend a fellow nerd/geek.

He knew the kid as one Manvir Coleman, a slight boy with a kind disposition and an ardent Dungeons and Dragons player. His dusky skin beaded with sweat as the bigger men closed in around him. Tomas reached the group of them quickly and placed himself between Manvir and the jocks. He recognized them as players from the uni’s soccer team. He remembered this group was quite vicious for taunting and bullying other students.

“OK boys, that’s enough,” Tomas said loudly, while flinging his muscled arms out to ward the boys off. “You’ve had your fun. Now, how about you go piss off and leave the poor kid alone?”

“This doesn’t concern you, Tommy Boy!” one of the soccer jocks sneered. “Now step aside unless you want to be lumped into the same pot as toothpick here!”

Tomas recognized him as one of the spoiled rich kids. Rick, he thought his name was, but he couldn’t remember for sure. He was great with faces, but horrible with names, and at least he knew the basic reputation of this guy. He was a cocky son of a bitch who believed he could get away with anything, as long as he kept his grades up and the coaches happy.

Sadly, everything he did to push his weight around and bully anyone he wanted was unchallenged. Because his parents were wealthy and major benefactors of the university, the faculty often looked the other way. Though he was a smart guy from what he heard, it was a pity he learned nothing about being a decent human being. At this moment, he was about to get a harsh lesson in it.

“Really? That’s the best you can come up with, Fabio? Now that I think about it, that’s the wrong moniker for you, considering you play for the other team,” Tomas shot back.

“What the fuck did you say?!?” Rick said through clenched teeth, advancing on them both. His group shadowed him, waiting for Rick’s signal to make a move. They wanted to punish Tomas for making such insinuations, but didn’t dare defy their leader.

“I didn’t stutter. I said you play for the other team. In stupid speak, it means that you’re gay and there’s a damn good reason for me saying so. You always bring or invite the same group of guys along with you. Whenever you go to pick on someone or cruising to play pranks on folks. Or whatever you idiots get up to these days, it’s always the same bunch. My guess is you’re a closet gay. Likely too afraid to come out because your reputation hinges on you being seen as some macho man,” Tomas stated.

Rick stopped advancing and looked as though he wanted to say something. His mouth worked to spit out words, only no sound came out, just incoherent strangled noises. The other guys who surrounded him, about five, glanced at the supposed leader in question. Tomas continued when he had their attention.

“It’s really obvious, you know, when you know the exact facial tics to look for. You know there’s a whole science to reading people based on the tone of their voice, micro expressions and body language? It’s something I’ve studied extensively and because I have done so, little gets by me. I watch and observe, and I see a lot more than most people would care to admit,” Tomas went on.

That last statement was a lie, as he was using his ability to drive them off without having to use physical violence. It was working as he had latched onto the feelings of Rick seeking approval from someone who was already there.

The feelings were sexual, but there were no girls around or in close proximity. Some people had stopped to stare and watch the encounter play out, but they were too far away to do much else. Also, the feelings he sensed were someone that Rick clearly knew of.

“Personally, I don’t swing that way, but a lot of guys I go drinking with and chill with are gay. Some of the nicest guys you’d ever know are gay. Sadly, a spoiled little rich boy like you, skating through life on wealthy privilege, needs to readjust their attitude. Especially if they ever hope to be looked on kindly.”

“Now, the only proper questions are; who is it here that you are secretly crushing on that you would resort to beating up on this young man to prove your supremacy and dominance? You hoping that he’ll notice you now? I would say he has, judging by the looks of your friends,” the black-haired man finished.

Rick looked about at his fellow soccer players, and they stared back at him. Though he hadn’t openly admitted to anything, the fact he was speechless considering Tomas’ accusation was more than enough for them. They were backing away from him, as each one had a very serious girlfriend, from what Tomas had gleaned of their feelings. The sad thing was that they were all as homophobic as Rick was, as the greasy and spiky feeling of disgust surged through them.

Rick turned back to face Tomas, ready to do something to him, but Tomas had already assumed a fighting stance. He knew it might have to come down to this, so he was ready to battle if needs be. The soccer jock gave a strangled cry that sounded like it was something between anger and despair before turning around and running off. Seeing their leader cowed in such a way set the other boys on edge. They looked at Tomas as though he was a viper, ready to spit his deadly venom.

Wanting no part in the torment of the wiry boy that the blue-eyed man was defending, they all dispersed. Each of them heading in a different direction while voicing excuses to leave. Some onlookers clapped in approval at that, many of them wanting to do something about this particularly cruel group of boys. Though many of them didn’t wish to be targets themselves, so there was little real initiative to do something about it.

“Thank you! I don’t know what they were going to do, but I know it would not have been pleasant,” Manvir said meekly, but gratefully, as he stood a little taller. Tomas turned and clapped the boy on the shoulder.

“It’s no biggie. That asshole needed to be put in his place and I’m at least glad it was me who did it,” the lean man stated.

“That bit you were going on about, being able to read people’s facial tics and micro expressions? Are there actual books on that, or did you make that up?” the wiry nerd boy asked tentatively.

“It is an actual science, believe it or not. The books you’re looking for are written by Dr. Paul Ekman, who pioneered the whole science to begin with. It also helps if you want to become a human lie detector,” Tomas told the boy honestly. A sense of wonder settled over the boy, and it resonated strongly within him. Tomas could tell that he would certainly research it well into the night.

“Anyhow, I need to get going,” Tomas said. “Otherwise, I’ll be missing my own party.”

“Your own party?”

“Yeah. It’s my birthday today,” Tomas said, grinning.

“Oh! Well then, happy birthday! Hope you have a great party!” Manvir said with a trace of wistfulness in his voice. Tomas caught it, but he barely knew the boy and decided against an invitation at that moment. If he didn’t hurry, he’d be late. Bidding the boy farewell, Tomas broke into a light jog and headed for the building that was his dorm.

Walking through the doors as he arrived, he waved his student ID at the front desk and the girl on duty waved him past without much of a look. Tomas boarded the elevator and hit the button for the eleventh floor. The car took him there without incident, the audible ding sounding when arrived.

Stepping out into the atrium like area, Tomas turned right, then left down the hall. He pressed his magnetic key he had wrapped around his wrist to the magnetic lock and the door opened. As he walked into the dorm, which he shared with three other guys, he heard some mild exclamations and shouting coming from the common area.

He poked his head in for a moment as he watched them playing on the Xbox Series X that Bruce had purchased not too long ago. They were busy playing Overwatch 2 and too absorbed in their game to notice him. Smirking at their enthusiasm, he headed to the bathroom, stripping his clothes as he went along.

Turning on the light, then the water, Tomas let it heat up some before activating the shower head with a pull of the catch on the faucet. The man stepped in and let the hot needle spray wash over him and sluice away the sweat, dirt, and grime he accumulated from his run. He was just sitting there enjoying the hot water when his senses picked up someone approaching.

Tomas waited until they were close enough and inside the bathroom before poking his head out. He saw it was just Joel, the roomie he shared this bathroom with. The young man started abruptly trying to sneak up on the showering Tomas, but failed to do so.

“Damn it, man! How do you do that every time?” Joel wondered, shaking his head.

“Sharp ears man. I hear a shit ton more than people think I do. What’s up?”

“Obviously. Anyway, I wanted to let you know I’ve let the others know it’s your birthday, and that we agreed to clear out of here for the night. In case you bring back company of the ... female variety,” Joel shot him a wink.

“Well, that’s very generous of you guys! Thank you!” Tomas enthused as stood behind the curtain.

“Yeah, well, here’s your present!” Joel cackled as he flushed the toilet. The water in the shower suddenly turned cold, causing Tomas to squawk in alarm as he rushed to divert the water from hitting him. Joel bolted out of the bathroom, laughing maniacally as he closed the door behind himself.

Tomas couldn’t help but smile himself, as both he and Joel had been pranking each other since they met in freshman year. They were silly, harmless pranks that each one played on the other to keep them on each other’s toes. It had been a fun game they had played over the years. They occasionally kept score and recorded the best pranks played.

Though the cold water thing in the shower was happening a lot lately. It shouldn’t have been, with the dorms being fairly new. He would have to go have a word with maintenance about this issue. His mind then wandered back to the fun pranks he had played on Joel.

Grinning at the good times he remembered, Tomas stepped back under the water once it warmed. He then washed himself up, as he wanted to smell good and look good for his day. Michael, another friend of his, who had organized the party, had informed him that there would be a healthy number of single ladies in attendance. Tomas grinned to himself as he killed the water and stepped out of the shower.

As he wrapped himself in a towel, Tomas felt at his face for any trace of stubble. He had shaved the previous day and though he was blessed with the ability to grow a full manly man beard, his facial hair grew slowly. So Tomas didn’t need to shave for at least another day or two. He hopped over to his room and got dressed.

A pair of night blue board shorts, along with a white polo shirt, went with his black flip-flops. He decided against any jewelry or watches, as Michael’s house was equipped with a pool, so it was obviously a swim party. In mid-spring, the weather was surprisingly warm, which merited the pool being cleaned and ready.

Excitement coursed through him as he finished his ensemble and stepped out the door with his wallet and keys. Tomas passed by his roomies, but they were so engrossed in their game they didn’t see or hear him leave. It was just as well, since he wanted to avoid any further birthday pranks.

Traversing down the elevator, Tomas crossed the campus without incident, for which he was thankful. He had put that snot-nosed punk in his place and revealed something he was sure would bruise his ego. Tomas smirked at the thought of what he did, nodding to himself that it was well past time that Rick got what he deserved.

As he was musing on the ramifications of what he had done, Tomas noticed he had arrived at the bus stop. Shaking himself, he had to constantly remind himself to mind his surroundings whenever he went somewhere. He could have walked into a wall and never seen it coming. Primarily because he would lose himself so deep in his thoughts.

Tomas was a thinking man, through and through, and that was one of the attributes that had allowed him to maintain his marks at the university. Finals were coming up within the next two to three weeks and he had been studying hard. Sometimes, he’d lose himself in his work, often falling asleep on an opened textbook or project.

The bus arrived in short order, hissing as it stopped before its doors opened. Tomas stepped aboard, taking an empty seat somewhere in the bus’s center. At this hour on a Saturday, the bus routes were empty. Though they had been full the week before, during the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

He remembered how rowdy and crazy the entire campus had been. Almost everyone turned out wearing something that was green, a t-shirt, pants, coats. Some guys had even worn those large silly hats that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a leprechaun. In fact, the entire uni basketball team had showed up wearing those oversized hats, speaking with horrible Irish accents.

Tomas chuckled to himself as he shook his head before peering out the window. He also remembered many ladies on campus showing up in skimpy green numbers, some even opting for bikinis. His blood raced at the memory of watching those ladies prance around half naked. Some of them were even in thongs, given the warm weather.

Shaking his head, Tomas peered out the window. His stop was coming up soon, so he stood and made his way to the central door, waiting for the vehicle to slow down. Less than a minute later, it did so before coming to a complete stop. Once the doors split apart to allow passage through it, Tomas stepped through it and onto the street below. He was the only one who got off the bus, from what he could tell.

‘Everyone else must have gotten a lift to the party,’ he mused. Tomas now stood at least a good six to seven kilometers from the university campus, in a newer section of town. Most of the houses in the area had gone up in the last five years, so the neighborhood hadn’t really gone through the ruin of time yet.

Moving with purpose, Tomas walked down the street until he found the numbered house he was looking for. Truth be told, he didn’t need to know the number as he recognized several vehicles that sat in its driveway. One of which stood out to him, as he knew it all too well. A bright yellow jeep with black trim lay parked up near the garage door. The jeep belonged to his once good friend and longtime crush, Olivia Kristensen.

Knowing Olivia though, she likely had her current boyfriend with her, but Tomas forgot who it was that she was seeing at the moment. The young man walked up the driveway, climbed the steps to the porch, and knocked on the door. Moments later, it opened, displaying his good friend, Michael Thorinsen.

Michael was a solidly built young man, with long blond hair and blue eyes. Combined with handsome facial features, made him look like the classical version of the Norse thunder god Thor. Despite his good looks, Michael was a total metal head, as evidenced by the black swim shorts and Dethklok T-shirt he wore. A smile cracked his face as he saw Tomas standing there.

“Tom! Glad you that came man! Hey everyone, the birthday boy is here!” Michael shouted over the rock music that was playing in the background.

Several people that Tomas knew crowded the entryway as he shut the door behind himself. He received a good deal of hugs from the various women in attendance and some from the men. Though they were what could be called ‘man-hugs’, which often came with fist bumps. After he had greeted everyone who had come to see him, Tomas let himself be steered towards the backyard where the pool lay.

Though the pool dominated more than half the space, there was still room to move around. A small patio sat off to the right, where another friend of Tomas’, Peter, was busy minding the barbecue. The smell of hot dogs, burgers, and fire grilled chicken permeated the air, along with that of kebabs and fire roasted potatoes.

A pair of coolers sat by the edge of the patio, one filled to the brim with soda pop, while the other was full to bursting with beer. Michael was bent over the beer cooler, fishing out a couple of beverages. Straightening, he extended his right hand to Tomas, handing him and Alexander Keith’s Pale Ale, Tomas’ favorite beer. Michael held a Heineken in his left hand and cracked it open once Tomas had taken his beer.

“Everyone, a toast! To the birthday boy!” Michael cried out, raising his beer so that everyone could see. “Happy birthday Tom!”

“Happy birthday!!” everyone chorused, each of them raising their own glasses or drinks. Tomas looked around as he took a swig from the bottle, enjoying the fermented drink. His eyes finally found Olivia, and he was pleased to see, from what he could tell, she was only here with some girlfriends. His eyes darted about, thinking he had missed the boyfriend somewhere among the throng of people.

“You know Livi is single, right?” Michael whispered conspiratorially into his ear. That comment caused Tomas to stop breathing for a moment, then he choked and coughed on his beer. A couple of people nearby looked at him in concern, but he recovered quickly, waving them off.

“I’m OK. Just drank it a little fast, and some beer went down the wrong tube,” Tomas stated as he caught his breath. The partygoers nodded and turned away after seeing that Tomas would indeed be all right. As he got his breathing under control, he noticed Olivia had spotted him and was excusing herself from her friends to come over.

Tomas’ heart raced, yet he made no show of it. He had always been friendly with Olivia, and he would not stop now. She stood shorter than Tomas did, at around five foot eight, with short black hair and gray eyes so bright they almost seemed blue. Her features were a mix of her father’s Danish and her mother’s Ethiopian heritage, marking her as a truly exotic woman. She had been gifted with an air of positivity as she carried herself with all the confidence of an aware woman.

Olivia was a fit woman, being a relentless cross fitter, and she had the physique without the hardness that usually came with it. Despite her apparent fitness, she was chesty, but not overly so, along with hips that were round and full. Even after all this time, she could still enrapture Tomas, though she didn’t know just how much pull she had over his attention. Though she wore a white V-neck shirt and cargo shorts, she still drew his eyes like a fish to water.