Sentilia

After the first, came a discordant symphony of other screams.

My eyes widened with terror, and I could feel the panic and adrenaline starting to spread frantically through my veins; the feeling intensified by William’ equaled horror.

I got up swiftly, and hurried to the door. My hand hesitated on the handle, and I turned to see William still frozen on the couch.

The door flew open in the same instant, knocking my hand out of the way, and K came crashing in, grabbing me in his arms and running back towards the street. “NO! WILL!” K ignored me and locked me in a speeder. He climbed through the other side and raced down the road. “K! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” I felt like crying of rage.

His voice was strained and hysteric. “I’m saving your life. The Advisors took a decision.” He turned a glum face towards me.

“They’re here. They’re here to destroy the city and bring us back.”

I was horror-struck.

William. William. William.

“MAX! WILL YOU STOP?” He was yelling now.

I looked at him, scared and lonely all of a sudden. I’d never seen him so angry.

He regained control of himself. “I’m...sorry. Look...he can take care of himself.” His eyes kept closing as he was struggling to keep his calm.

“Where are you taking me?” I hadn’t noticed through all this movement which direction we were going.

“Let me show you.” He pointed to his temple simultaneously, his finger trembling slightly.

“Woah,” I was surprised at the clarity which I could see and hear his mind then. “You never told me it could be like this.”

“There are a few things I haven’t told you,” he muttered under his breath.

I looked at him, expectant.

He rolled his eyes, and said: “We don’t really have time for this...Okay, look, we can project images into people’s heads even when they’re awake, we can do it from a distance, and we can...influence thoughts and emotions as well. Now focus.”

I gaped at him in astonishment. All of a sudden, he started projecting images and conversations in my head, but all I could think about was what he had just said. Was he the one influencing my thoughts when I was around him? Did I not feel anything at all for him, except what he wanted me to feel? Maybe that’s why I was so confused all the time. Was this all just a game of who can manipulate the other person the best? Was this how they ran their city, influencing everyone in order to get their way? I figured they weren’t so different from our society as I would have thought.

“Please, Max,” K’s voice was soft and his words were heartfelt, “it’s not like that. We’ll talk about all of this later; right now I just really need you to concentrate. This is code red.”

“Code red?” I asked, bewildered. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb, fighting to keep calm. I could feel the tension in the air and it made me feel guilty. Guilty and grim, because it was the first time that he’d had this type of attitude with me. But then again, he had made the detour just to pick me up; once again he was trying to keep me safe because he cared about me. Or was it just because I was important to them? Because I was an important piece of the puzzle to save their kind—my kind? I didn’t try to block my thoughts now, because I wanted him to feel what I was feeling. I didn’t want this to change the way he felt about me in the slightest, selfish as it was. I realized that I wanted him to want me. But even though my thoughts were crystal clear, either he wasn’t tuning in, or he didn’t care in the moment, because he had no reaction at all. I turned my head to hide my eyes that were starting to tear up. I didn’t quite comprehend the reason I was having such an emotional response.

I looked at the streets we were passing from the speeder’s windows. People everywhere were running, gathering their children, their belongings, rushing to their speeders and cars. It hit me then that this was gravely serious, and I’d been so caught up in my own problems and questions that I’d been oblivious to the fact that K was trying to save not only my life, but probably everyone else’s. He’d been more than patient with me for the past few minutes, considering the situation we were in. I felt ashamed in that moment, and I knew then that I had to stop thinking, and start doing. I didn’t feel scared or in danger, I never really did when I was with K; I just felt like I needed to do anything I could to help save the city. I turned my undivided attention to K, my eyes still brimmed with water, and nodded.

He seemed to have understood what I’d just felt without having to read my thoughts. He nodded in return and started the visions again.

I caught a few glimpses of past moments and conversation. It was like being there. If I concentrated enough on the images he was generating in my mind, I could completely dislodge myself from the present time and surrounding, as if I was dreaming. I kept loosing my balance going back and forth between the visions and reality, so I was glad I was sitting down. It took me about a minute and a half to decipher the whole thing.

When the city counselors started receiving threats from the Advisors, they had immediately started elaborating plans. Plans to protect themselves only. The one that was favored almost unanimously was an invisible shield. It was made out of points of energy, that when connected, would emit an invisible barrier that covered a part of the city. Its ingenious design was too complex for humans to understand. Even for us, it was a tricky thing to accomplish. But if they worked together, they could figure it out, so they had launched the project. Since, at the time, it wasn’t their first priority, they hadn’t had the time to finish and test it. Now, they all had to work together in one last effort to complete the barrier as soon as possible before the first members of the Advisors’ men started entering the city.

We had to act fast.

I returned to reality, realizing that, of all the faces I’d seen in the projections, I didn’t recognize any. Except K’s—of course. He somehow seemed to be key to this project, as everyone kept looking at him for instructions.

I knew nothing about how to finish this shield, I knew nothing about the technology itself, but maybe I could be of some assistance; maybe I could help them in some way. I hope fervently that I could, at least. K didn’t answer my silent questions, and I figured he was too stressed out to be in my head right now. He didn’t seem to even notice me anymore, and so I began to seriously worry about William. I was separated from him, and there was nothing I could do for him now. What if their shield didn’t work? What if they entered the city? He could be hurt.

My sudden loss of nerve had K snapping out of his own bubble. He seemed to notice me again for the first time after a few very long minutes.

He glanced at me; I was fidgeting. “Stop with your anxiety attack. I’m taking you to the main power supply. They need me there, and I can’t be worrying about your safety while I’m trying to concentrate. Please don’t try anything stupid, like trying to get to William. He’s perfectly safe, for now. He’s just needed...elsewhere.”

“What? Where, Kleio? Tell me where!”

He knew I wasn’t in the mood for arguing, and he couldn’t lie to me anymore, so he told me the truth: “He’s got to be there to defend the city if something goes wrong, we need all the help we can get; we’ll do out best with this dome, but if we can’t finish it on time, the soldiers will be able to enter and we’ll have to do all we can to defend what’s ours. Plus, he’s a doctor, so if anyone gets hurt, then...” His tone was bitter for that last part.

“Do you really think they would hurt us?” I couldn’t believe they would—making empty threats and opening fire after 900 years of peace were two different things—until I saw K’s face change. The look he gave me was extremely meaningful, and I grasped every facet of it immediately. If I wanted William to be safe, I had to stay quietly beside K so he wouldn’t worry about me, and so he could help raise the barrier quickly. If I didn’t, then the whole city could perish under the Advisor’s force.

I wasn’t having that.

I would sit feebly beside him, suck up my sickening worry, and help him concentrate. It was the least I could do to help save this city, which included the man I cared about. Both men I cared about.

We made our way to a group of people, gathered around an object I couldn’t see until everyone stepped away, clearing a path for us, and I was a foot away from it.

It was a glowing blue sphere. It was settled in a metal frame, and I could see others just like it, to the left and to the right, every hundred feet or so. They went on for miles, surrounding the whole city. They would link together and create the dome-like shape. K stuck his arms underneath the sphere and pulled out a paper-thin screen.

He took a deep breath, and nervous as I was, I forced myself to calm down—I was surprised at how fast I was able to regain control of myself—and tried to connect with his mind. All of a sudden, it was like I could hear everyone’s voice in my head. I was suddenly connected with everyone around me. K started flipping through different pages on his screen, entering data, and everyone else just watched. I was amazed at what was happening, even through all the panic; it was like a surreal gift to discover what my mind was capable of. What our minds were capable of. I stared at K and knew that he was right about what he’d said; I had to embrace this fully.

I wondered idly why he was the one doing all the work. Why he was the one that had to finish it. Was he the creator of this technology? He was just a simple fisherman in my dreams; I remembered it too well. As I realized everybody could probably hear what I was thinking, I blushed. I could feel K lose his focus, and the other voices started going quiet. Immediately, I silenced my thoughts and I started concentrating on the others’ thoughts again. Every now and then, when someone got an idea that was better than the rest, the voice intensified in volume, as if someone was the one controlling the conversation. I would sometimes hear a word or two I didn’t recognize. Someone I didn’t know out of the group felt my confusion, then turned to me and said—out loud: “It’s Sentilian.”

Abruptly, every voice went silent. We had just heard the first gunshot, and it was still ringing in my ears. Every mind went blank—except for mine—trying to hide their panic from K. I was fighting to stay focused, trying to encourage K, trying to sound caring and soothing, telling him everything was okay, while I was dying inside. I had absolutely no idea where this sudden calm and strength came from. I wanted K to complete this dome as fast as possible—minimize the loss at this point—and I was begging him to focus on his task, even though he was alone on it now. He thanked me fervently in response. The love that flowed through our minds was his, but I shared it for the time being. I tried desperately not to let my mind imagine the shot could have hurt anyone, let alone... No. I couldn’t bare thinking about it.

He was still intent on the screen, playing with letters and numbers—some I didn’t even recognize—so fast that I didn’t have time to catch any pattern at all. But his low-pitched voice was clear as it reverberated in my head. “I’m trying to connect this energy source to the others. It’s a simple concept, but not a simple task to do. Once they’re connected, the ‘safeguard’ as we call it, will project itself automatically.”

A few moments had passed, and no other gunshots were fired. I could hear voices starting to pop up again in our minds. The voices were all getting stronger, louder, and soon, K was totally focused again, along with the help of the others. I disconnected myself for a second, sat down on the dirt, and took a breather. People next to me looked at me and nodded, as if to acknowledge I deserved a break. I had a moment to think about all my fears and worry freely, and my thoughts were driven straight to William.

Not even a minute later, a second shot rang, this time followed by a high-pitched screech that could only come from a woman’s voice. Everyone simultaneously spun around, towards where the scream had come from, open-mouthed, fear in their watering eyes. I threw my arms over K’s shoulders instinctively, and though I wasn’t able to connect with him again, my mouth was inches from his ear as I whispered only for him: “Kleio, you can do this, I know you can. I’m right here with you, okay? Concentrate.” But with the proximity, I saw his eyes wandering off the screen and his hands freeze; he looked like he was struggling hard to keep his focus. My cheeks started to heat up, and I pushed myself away. But then, as I started to reconnect with his mind, I felt him lose focus completely. He was consumed by the feeling of rejection. People might be hurt in the city, he needed to get it together: “KLEIO! Look at me. Focus! Do you want to keep me safe? Connect these things, c’mon! They have to be connected, like our minds are connected to each other, do you understand?”

“Max...Hah! MAX, that’s it! Why didn’t I think of that? We’re so stupid guys!” I looked around us, but instead of seeing insulted, or baffled, expressions like I was expecting, I could see hope glimmer in their eyes as they all started tuning in again. They were beyond the point of noticing anything but solutions. Faith was the growing sentiment.

“It has to work like our minds work. We’re all connected together.” He was talking out loud, as if this was too much to keep in. Everyone understood at once, except for me, but before I could take the time to listen closer, a man’s rough howl resonated in the distance. William. I had no idea to whom to voice belonged, but my mind was centered on him at once, and I got extremely anxious for him to finish the dome now that he had found the solution. The whole group didn’t seem to notice anything that was happening outside their minds, and they sent waves of soothing thoughts my way: “We’re almost there, don’t lose hope now,” they said.

There was nothing worst in the world, I was sure, than the feeling of standing there, helpless, in the middle of a crisis, and not being able to help either side of the defensive forces.

I fell on my knees at the same time that Brian got up in triumph.

He threw a rock at the air in front of him; it was stopped mid-way by an invisible force, before it crumbled to the ground in pieces. He took me in his arms, kissed my lips briefly, not in a romantic way, but in a thankful gesture. After a second, I noticed we were alone, and that his face was brightly lit up. I slowly began to process his mood, and came to the conclusion that he had succeeded, finally.

Bit by bit, my hope returned; K was running towards the speeder, dragging me along, and we returned quickly to the front lines, where the enemies were apparently waiting.

We rushed to the other end of the city, and before Brian ran out the speeder, he said, “stay here.” His face was serious. Right, like I was going to sit here and wait.

I put a foot out of the speeder, and heard a loud babble of hushed panicked voices in the air.

Kleio started jogging towards a large gathering of people, hidden behind a huge brick building. For the first time, he seemed to have pushed my safety aside completely. I took the opportunity to step out, and walk deliberately out in the open. To the right of the speeder, there was a clearing that led up to the forest. We were at the edge of the valley the city was sheltered in. I was about to turn back, to go looking for William, when something caught my eye near the forest; I could see leaves moving in two different spots, barely a few meters apart. I figured it was nothing to worry about, because I thought we were safe now.

I thought wrong.

Far into the trees were hundreds of soldiers just waiting for a chance to get one of us. Even from this far, I started getting glimpses of their thoughts—the more I concentrated, and the closer they got, the more I could feel them.

Suddenly, an ice-splitting shot rang through the humid air.