Psychic Chapter Eleven: Benjamin
			In the point of view of William

	"Will! How'd you do on your A.C.T. test?" Jackson asked, as he and
Steve approached me. I was sitting at a table in the cafeteria. I nodded to 
them.
	"I could've done better." I mumbled. Jackson and Steve sat down next
to me.
	"Why? What was your score?" Jackson asked.
	"28." I replied. Jackson and Steve exchanged surprised glances.
	"Whoa! Really? Dude, that's good!" Jackson said.
	"Yeah! I got like a 20." Steve agreed. I lifted my head.
	"You think so?" I asked. They both nodded.
	"Definitely! That'll get you into almost any college you want!" 
Jackson said. I smiled. I really did have the best friends ever. I looked at 
my watch.
	"April should be here soon." I said. "Let's go outside." The other two
nodded with sly smiles. We walked out the door and took in the sun. Almost all
of the snow was gone, and it was definitely warming up outside. There were a
couple of our classmates playing with a skateboard in the parking lot, and 
others were throwing the last of the snow at each other. I noticed April's 
little red car in the parking lot. Soon, she got out of it and started walking
towards the school. She had a dark blue jacket and jeans on. She had her black
backpack slung over one shoulder. I smiled as she approached us.
	"There she is! The woman of the hour!" I said. April stopped to bow
dramatically. Jackson and Steve laughed.
	The school year was almost over. Finals were next week, and then we 
would be home free. April and I studied together a lot. I noticed that my 
focus was waning. I wasn't sure if it was because it was so close to the end 
of the school year or not, but I could definitely tell that something was 
wrong. It wasn't just that my focus was rapidly getting smaller and smaller, 
but remembering things was hard for me, and it didn't take long before 
studying for more than ten minutes gave me a headache. I could tell April was
worried, but I did my best to play it off. I didn't want her to worry about 
me. 
	Robert and I did a lot of training together. He taught me how to 
incorporate martial arts with fighting with fire. I learned some pretty 
awesome moves. I learned that even though Robert looked like a muscle-bound
thug, he was actually very gentle and kind. But you still didn't want to mess
with him in a fight, that was for sure. 
	Grayson and Sonya surprised me one day when I saw them holding hands.
I hadn't even realized that she liked him back. When I told Drake what I saw,
he smiled.
	"I'm not worried at all." he replied. "Sonya can take care of herself.
And he dosen't seem dangerous... Most of the time." he said this last part 
with some sarcasm. I laughed. As long as Drake didn't mind, I was fine with 
it. I actually quite liked it. Grayson didn't spend nearly as much time
messing with me. I had other things to worry about. Thomas.
	I was playing with CJ out in the backyard after a training session a
few days later. He was really excited.
	<I feel like we haven't played together for a long time, Will!> he 
thought to me. <What with you guys always practicing with your powers and 
stuff. I know it's important, but it's really boring without you guys!> I
scratched CJ behind his ear. I felt sorry for him. I knew he was aware that
something wrong was going on, but he didn't understand the heaviness of the
situation. He was respectful, however. I loved my dog. 
	"Sorry, Buddy." I said. "We really should pay more attention to you."
I grabbed a toy of his that was nearby and played tug of war with him. He 
growled playfully. I found myself growling too. It was fun. Suddenly, CJ 
stopped.
	<Uh oh.> he said. I stopped. He was looking beyond me. I turned and
followed his gaze. April was practicing her powers at the edge of the yard
where some large rocks were. She was trying to pick two of them up at once. 
Then I saw Thomas. He was striding casually in her direction, like he owned 
the whole world. What was he doing? CJ and I watched from a distance. I used
CJ's good hearing by tapping into his mind as he listened to them. Thomas
leaned over and poked his head into April's periphreal vision. She jumped back
in surprise.
	"Hello!" Thomas said in a friendly way. 
	"Oh!" April responded. "You startled me!" Thomas put his hands behind
his back with a smile.
	"Sorry." he said. He looked at the rocks April had been trying to 
move. "That's quite a feat you're undertaking there, isn't it?" April nodded.
	"I want to be as strong as I can. That way, I can be more useful."
She turned back to the rocks and tried again. This time, they wiggled in the
ground, but didn't move upwards. "They're really heavy, though." she added.
Thomas nodded, a glint of something lit up in his eyes as he watched her. I
felt uncomfortable. He was watching her almost... hungrily. A low growl 
emitted from deep inside CJ's throat. I cut him off by putting my hand on his
head. 
	"You're definitely showing a lot more power for a Matter Mover than 
I've seen in a long time." he said. April turned to look at him.
	"A what?" she asked. Thomas smiled.
	"That's what we call people with Telekenesis B at The Society. It's...
easier to say, at the least." he said with a shrug. "Drake is a Pain Inflicter
and Nicholas is a Superimposer." April thought for a moment.
	"Drake and Nicholas both seem kind of... reserved." she said. Thomas
laughed.
	"They say Telekenesis tends to do that to people." he answered. "It
takes a greater toll to do things that actually mess with the brain, rather
than controling things like air." As he said that, the wind around them picked
up momentarily, making April's long brown hair flow. Then the wind died down
again. She looked worried. Thomas smiled.
	"Don't worry. Your power dosen't seem to have the same effect. Your
reaching into your own brain to move things, rather than reaching into other
people's brains like Nicholas and Drake." he took a step forward. "What I
wouldn't give," he said slowly. "To be able to look into yours." He reached 
out with one hand to touch her hair. April leaned away from him nervously. I 
jumped up, ready to explode.
	"Hey!" I yelled, a little louder than I meant to. I stomped over to
where April and Thomas stood, and angrily pushed Thomas's arm away from April. 
	"Keep away from her, will you?" I growled. Thomas looked unimpressed.
	"That's a very bold gesture, but you don't need to worry." Thomas 
said. "I won't do anything bad to your sister." I blinked.
	"She's my girlfriend." I answered flatly. Thomas lifted his eyebrows 
in amusement.
	"Is she now?" he asked calmly. Then he strode off back to the house. I
stood there, fuming. He thought April was my sister? Or was he just using that
as an excuse? It was like Flint Yonni all over again. I felt a hand on my 
shoulder. I turned around.
	"Thank you for saving me." she said quietly. I put a hand on the top
of her head. 
	"I'm going to need to keep a close eye on you." I said. "Everyone 
seems to think you're as beautiful as I think you are." April smiled. Then she
sighed.
	"I'm sorry. He caught me off guard. I didn't know what to do." she 
said. I smiled and hugged her.
	"It's okay. That's why you have me." I said.
	
	"William! Grayson! Time to go!" Mom called. We were up in my bedroom
getting ready for the day. It was graduation day for the seniors and Lindsey
was graduating. I was excited because I knew April would be there as well. Her
older brother Chad would be graduating today too. We clambered down the stairs
and met Mom and Dad in the living room.
	"All set? Let's get in the van!" Dad said. CJ barked.
	<Take some pictures so I can see too, okay?> he asked. I rubbed his
furry head on the way out the door.
	"Sure thing, Ceej." I said. 
	Since it was graduation, there was no school today. Those who were not
graduating still had two days of school left. Enough time to sign yearbooks
and to have an end of year assembly and whatnot. Finals were over. With 
April's help, I was able to pass my classes even with my mysterious inability
to focus. The drive to the university where graduation was held wasn't very
long. The snow was now completely gone, and Rexburg was warm again. We sat
down in the auditorium flooded with people. I was a little disappointed. It
would be virtually impossible to find April in the sea of people. Mom was 
tearing up.
	"My little girl is graduating!" she said. "She's finally a grown up!"
Then she paused for a moment. "I feel old." she said. I laughed out loud as I
put my arm around my mother to comfort her.
	The graduation ceremony was ridiculously long. With the orchestra 
playing a song while the chior sang. Then speeches that some of the students
gave were mostly about inside jokes only the seniors understood. There was 
some talk about what to do with your future. That made me think. What would I 
do with my future? I looked around the giant auditorium. We were sitting in a 
university right here in Rexburg. Maybe coming here after high school would be 
a good idea. That way, I wouldn't be moving far away. I wanted to stay close 
enough to protect my family. My parents, CJ, April.
	I liked history, but I really wanted to teach it. I would probably go
into History Education if I could. Being a teacher at the high school I would
gratuate from sounded really fun. I liked my history teachers. I felt like I
could teach like them.
	What was I thinking? We were training to fight back a band of killers
bent on destroying people like me, like my family. But at the same time, I
had been managing fairly well balancing training and high school. I could do 
the same with college, coudln't I? It would be more work, but I could do it.
Besides, after the fight was over, I would need to be working on my future at
any rate. Especially if I wanted... 
	I glanced around the auditorium again, searching for April. No sign of
her. I sighed. Finally, the principal got up and started calling people's 
names to give them their diplomas. Mom and Dad waved and took pictures as 
Lindsey got hers. I was proud of her. She looked so happy and, well, older. I
wondered what she wanted to do with her future. I elbowed Grayson and woke him 
up in time for him to see Linsey walk off the stage. 

	School was out for summer. Jackson and the rest of the gang decided
that we should go out for pizza as our last hangout until next school year. It
was fun. Everyone was happy and enjoying pizza. April layed out in the grass
as we sat in the park. The girls were all talking about what they were 
planning on doing over the summer. April wanted to buy some paints and do some
artwork during the break from school. It was nice to hang out with all of my 
friends before we went our seperate ways for the summer. Jackson got a job in
Idaho Falls at a grocery store, and Steve was going on a trip to florida with 
his family. I remembered that April told me that Nana had convinced the 
Palmers to stay in Rexburg for the summer, on account of her health. She 
wasn't really sick, but she knew that she and April needed to stay here so 
that they could be under the watchful eye of Drake and his squadron.
	Now that it was summer, training took the highest priority. Grayson
had become surprisingly adept at controlling his electric ability now. He 
could charge his cell phone with his hand,  or even operate electrical 
appliances without turning them on. Lindsey could now heat and freeze the
water she controlled. 
	
	"Liar!" 
	I jumped. Was that Drake? I was sitting in the living room with April.
We were painting pictures. It was April's idea. I had asked her what we should
do today, and this was what she wanted to do. We both turned our heads to the
back door when we heard Drake shout. No one had ever heard Drake raise his
voice before. Suddenly, we heard a scream. April and I exchanged glances 
before running out to the backyard to see what was happening. We weren't the
only ones. Sonya, Lindsey, Grayson, and the squadron came outside too. Drake 
was standing a short distance away. There was a young man kneeling before him, 
panting heavily. He had dark brown hair with a red tint to it. He was 
obviously very fit, and he had dark blue eyes, similar to mine. I had to do a 
double take. The sleeves of his brown shirt had been ripped off and cast on 
the ground. He had tatoos all over his muscled arms. The biggest one was in 
the shape of a trefoil knot. 
	"It's like I said! I swear!" The young man shouted. More irritated 
then fearful. Drake's whole body seemed to tense. The young man shouted in
pain. Clarie ran up to Drake and put her hands on his shoulders.
	"Master! Stop! You're going too far!" She said. Drake turned on her.
	"Don't you know who this is?" he bellowed. "This is a psychic killer!
I found him wandering in the woods about a mile and a half from here! He was
looking for us! He's a scout!" 
	"That's not true!" The young man argued. I was slightly impressed by
his bravery to argue with a man who could inflict pain on people with his 
brain.
	"Yes, I was wandering in the woods, but I wasn't looking for anyone! I
was trying to avoid everyone!" He continued. "I only recently joined the 
psychic killers because they were travelling west! I wanted to get away from
my family, so I joined them. But I never meant to hurt anybody! As soon as my
group made it to Utah, I escaped and took a bus to the Rexburg University. I
thought that I was far enough away that no one would recognise me. I was in
the woods because there's psychic killer scouts here I was trying to avoid."
he said. Everyone fell silent. He said scouts. As in plural. There were more?
April let out a small groan. I turned to her.
	"It's all my fault." she whispered. I put a hand on her shoulder. 
Clarie stood.
	"We have to trust him." She said to Drake. The rest of the squadron
gasped.
	"Sister..." Thomas said with a warning tone in his voice. Clarie
ignored him.
	"If he really is telling the truth, he could give us valuable 
information that will help us get the upper hand in this fight!" Drake loomed
over her.
	"And what if he's lying?" He asked darkly.
	"Then I will take full responsibility for his actions." she said with 
a determined air. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Even the psychic killer.
Drake and Clarie looked at each other stoubbornly for a long time. I guessed 
they were talking to each other telepathically. Suddenly, Drake threw his 
hands up in the air and stalked away.
	"Fine! Keep him as a pet, I don't care! But if he steps out of line
once, he's as good as dead!" he said angrily. He went back into the house.
Lindsey followed him inside with a look of worry on her face. 
	"Delightful guy." The young man muttered. Clarie helped him to his 
feet.
	"He's not that bad once you get to know him." Clarie said. "He just 
wants to keep everyone here safe.

	It was dark outside. None of us had stepped foot inside the house 
since Drake's episode. I had gathered some rocks and put them on the groud in
a circle, then started a fire in the middle. Everyone sat around it. Clarie
turned to the newcomer.
	"So what's your name?" she asked him. The young man stared wearily 
into the fire and shook his head.
	"It doesn't matter anymore." he muttered. "I'm your 'pet' now, 
apparently. You can call me whatever you want." I found myself pitying him. I 
did belive his story. I wondered what had compelled him to leave his home in
the East.
	"I still would like to know." Clarie responded. The young man smiled a
little.
	"It's Benjamin. Benjamin McKirnen." he said. Suddenly, we heard the
back door open. We all turned to see Lindsey walk out. She had something in 
her hands. She walked up and gave it to Benjamin.
	"It's beef stew." she said. "I thought you might be hungry." Benjamin 
looked utterly surprised.
	"Uh, th-thank you!" he said. Lindsey sat down with everyone else while
Benjamin began to eat.
	"Drake is sorry." she said. "He won't come out and say it himself, but
he is. He said he acted too rashly. I know he seems really threatening, but in
reality, he was just scared." 
	"Scared of me?" Benjamin asked.
	"Scared of the psychic killers." Lindsey anwered. "His best friend 
turned into one. And another-" she cut herself off and glanced at Sonya. "Oh.
Sorry." she mumbled. Sonya shook her head.
	"Don't worry about it. Another one killed our mother." she said. 
Everyone fell silent. 
	"I'm sorry." Benjamin said as his face paled. Sonya smiled.
	"It was a long time ago. We're okay." she said. Grayson put an arm
over her shoulders. Nicholas looked up at the sky.
	"It's really dark out now. What say we go back inside?" he said. I was
surprised. I didn't think I'd ever heard him speak until now. He had a british
accent. His voice was low and quiet, but still youthful. We all agreed.
	Mother treated Benjamin like a son. She smiled and hugged him when we
introduced him. At first, Ben looked uncomfortable, but he soon came to enjoy
it. I was impressed with my mother. Even though he was technically a psychic 
killer, she trusted him instantly. My mother really was an extraordinary 
person. She had Grayson and I set up a bed in the basement for him while she
tended to the scrapes and bruises he had acquired while fending for himself in
the woods. Then she cut his hair. Grayson and I came back upstairs just as Mom
had finished with his hair. 
	"Thank you." Ben said quietly. Mother only smiled. Her disposition 
became contagious. Grayson lifted his arms in the air excitedly.
	"I have some clothes he could have!" he said. Then he ran up the 
stairs. Ben flushed.
	"Oh, I don't want to be an inconvenience!" he said quickly. Mother 
smiled.
	"It's no trouble." she said. Clarie stood.
	"The Society will reimburse you for any expenses on our behalf!" she
said. Mom nodded with a kind smile.
	Luckily, Grayson and Benjamin were close to the same size. The clothes
Grason had given him fit pretty well. Ben thanked everyone over and over. 
Drake even shook hands with him before Sonya, he, and his squadron left for 
the night. Before Clarie left with them, Benjamin awkwardly thanked her for 
giving him a chance.
	"I... er... I wanted to thank you for what you did for me. You had no
reason to trust me, and yet you did. Thank you." he said. Clarie smiled.
	"You're welcome, Benjamin." She said. Then she left. Then Mother
approached him with a pillow and some blankets.
	"Before I give you these, I want you to promise me something." Mom 
said. 
	"What is it?" Ben asked.
	"I want you to promise that you won't be just a guest in our house."
she smiled. "Welcome to the family." Benjamin blinked in disbelief.
	"Of-of course!" he said finally. Mom handed him the bedding. Ben stood
quietly with the bedding in his arms for a while. I was surprised as well. Mom 
was one of the most compassionate people I knew. She must have heard Ben say 
that he had run away from home. She had welcomed Ben into our family. I had an 
older brother. I smiled.
	That night, as I was getting ready for bed, I heard someone talking
downstairs. I recognised Benjamin's voice. I could hear the sound of CJ's 
claws clicking on the floor as well. I came down the stairs to see what was
up. 
	"Hey, Boy! That's a nice dog! You're a hyper little one, aren't you?"
Ben was kneeling on the ground in the dining room, petting CJ. CJ seemed to be
enjoying himself, and flopped down on the ground so that Ben could rub his 
stomach. Ben jumped when he saw me.
	"Oh! Sorry! I thought everyone was asleep!" He said. I smiled and 
shrugged.
	"I was already awake. I see you've made a new friend." I said. Ben
laughed a little.
	"Yeah. He's been following me around since I came inside." he said. CJ
looked up at me and wagged his tail.
	<I like this one, Will! He's nice!> he said. I smiled. Ben got up and 
walked into the living room. He sat down on the ground in front of the fire
place. I sat down with him, and soon, CJ came to join us. I used my lighter 
and started a fire in the fire place. The fire lit up the dark room with a 
warm, orange glow. Ben looked impressed.
	"That's crazy stuff, man." he said. "A year ago, I wouldn't have 
belived in any of this. Makes me wish I could do stuff with my mind." Then he
laughed. "I would've been killed for saying that if I was with my group. They
were wrong about you people."
	"They?" I asked, bringing my legs into a criss-cross position.
	"The leaders of the Psychic Killers." he answered. "They said you guys
used your powers to take advantage of people, or even to kill. They said that
it was for the good of humanity that we were sent to destroy your kind. In my
opinion, it's never good to kill." 
	"That's good to hear." I said. "I can't speak for all psychics, but I
know that my family and friends are good people. We simply want to survive.
We want to live here just like normal people." Ben nodded.
	"And you're humans." he added. "You have a right to." I smiled. Ben
understood. Even though he wasn't like us, he respected us. I liked that. Ben
bent his head and looked distainfully at the tatoos on his arms.
	"You think I could get these removed?" He asked.
	"I've heard that's really painful." I answered.
	"Whatever it takes." he said. I nodded.
	"Why did you get them?" I asked. Ben looked at me for a moment.
	"They're manditory for all Psychic Killers. In order to join them, you
have to prove that you're really serious about it. So they give you these." he
outlined the patterns on his left arm with his fingers. "I was just desperate
to get away, so I did whatever they told me. It was a quick and easy way out
of Virginia." I thought about that. We were both silent for a while.
	"Why did you want to get away so badly?" I finally asked. 
	"My mom took off on my dad a few years back. He's an abusive drunk 
idiot. I knew he wanted me gone, so I just left." he said. I nodded silently.
	"Sorry to hear that." I said after a while. Ben shrugged.
	"Rexburg is a much nicer place anyways. I like it here." he said. I
smiled at that.
	"You have any siblings?" I asked. Ben shook his head.
	"Nope. Just me." He said. CJ came up just then, and nosed his head 
under Ben's arm, whining softly. Ben laughed and rubbed the dog's head.
	"Sure is friendly." Ben said with a smile.
	"It's because he knows what you've been through." I said. Ben turned
his head to look at me.
	"What do you mean?" he asked. I smiled as CJ came over to visit me
next. He licked my hands affectionately.
	"Seven years ago, I got this little ball of fuzz as a birthday gift."
I explained. "My parents adopted him from an animal shelter after he had ran 
away from his previous home. For the longest time, CJ was afraid of my dad,
and pretty much all men. He had been abused by a man where he used to live. So
it's good that we took him in. He's a part of our family now." Benjamin looked
up at me. I smiled.
	"You can be a part of our family too, if you want." I said. "My Mom
has this thing for taking people in who have nowhere to go. It's just a part 
of who she is." Ben bowed his head.
	"I don't want to be a burden." He mubled. I laughed.
	"Don't worry about that. Just... wear long sleve shirts and everything
will be fine." I said. Ben laughed a little too. Then he turned to me with a 
grin.
	"Well, how about your life? I saw you making out with that chick 
before she left. She your girlfriend?" he asked. I smiled.
	"Yeah. That's April." I answered. 
	"She a psychic too?" 
	"Yep. She can move stuff with her brain." I said. Ben's eyebrows shot
up.
	"Whoa. So she's like a hard core fighting chick! That's hot!" He said.
I laughed a little.
	"Well, she's not really a fighter. She's really gentle and fragile. 
Although, when she's upset, she can get really fiesty." I said with a smile. 
Ben laughed.
	"Well, that's hot too." he said. I nodded, smiling.
		*		*		*		*
	It was chilly outside, now that the sun had gone down. A young man 
with sandy brown hair ran through the almost empty streets of Rexburg. He was
wearing his favorite black sweater. His sneakers hitting the pavement as he 
ran was the only sound in the air. He came to an old warehouse that looked 
completely abandoned. He gasped for breath when he reached a small doorway on 
the side. He took a few minutes to catch his breath before knocking on the
metal door. A pannell on the door about eye level slid open. A pair of eyes
could be seen. A gruff voice came from inside.
	"Agent 184. What took you so long?" the man asked. The young man 
sighed.
	"I had to wait until everyone in my house was asleep before I could 
sneak out." he said. 
	"Okay. Come on in." The door opened. Agent 184 slipped inside. A few
other men were gathered around a small camping lamp that lit up the empty
warehouse room. 
	"Did you bring it back in one piece? One of the men asked. Agent 184
pulled a small metal cube out of his pocket. It was about the size of a 
softball, and had a wire sticking out of one side. The man took it and 
inspected it. Then he nodded in approval.
	"Any luck?" he asked. "We need to have something to report back to the
boss or he's going to think Dominique is crazy." Agent 184 nodded with a 
frown. 
	"Really? You found one? Where? Who is it?" The man asked excitedly.
The other men started getting excited as well. Agent 184 frowned again.
	"I'm not sure. I carried it around town with me all day, but nothing
happened. But when I brought it home, it went crazy. I had to turn it off and
hide it. I told my family it was my cell phone." The man stood.
	"Are you trying to tell us that you might have a family member that is
psychic?" he asked. Agent 184 shrank away in fear. He was quiet for a moment,
then finally spoke.
	"I- I don't know. I think it might be my dog. She seems to be smarter
than other dogs. She was watching me all day today, and wouldn't leave me 
alone. And every time the machine went off, she was in the room." Everyone
fell silent. Then they began to talk to each other quietly.
	"You think animals could be psychic too?"
	"I'd never thought of that before, but it makes sense."
	"If people can be psychic, why not animals too?"
	Agent 184 listened to the men talking. What had he goten himself into?
He thought that the Psychic Killers was just the name of a really cool gang.
He never even believed in psychic people until he saw one of his group members
get attacked by one. There was fire and fighting everywhere. Agent 116 had
been tackled by a massive black guy with a box of matches. He had never seen
anything like it. After that, he knew psychic people were dangerous, and he
believed what his boss had said. That they needed to be destroyed for the sake
of humanity.
	But was he getting in too deep? He had been scared silly when the
machine went off in his house. But if it was just the dog, he was okay with 
that. He wasn't too keen on removing his own family members. But he knew his
family. None of them were psychic. It was even ubsurd to concider. Although,
his little sister had been leaving the house a lot lately. She would be gone
for hours. She always came back, though. And he couldn't really blame her 
since he left the house for hours on end as well. Maybe it was nothing. He was
doing humanity a favor in any case. He felt it was his duty to fight against
this breed of dangerous people.