Psychic Chapter Twelve: Chad
			In the point of view of William

	"April's gone?" I asked in surprise. "What happened? Where did she 
go?" Drake shook his head.
	"Nana said that there have been mysterious people hanging around the
Palmer household for a few days now. She said Nikki told her that a high-
pitched grinding sound was coming from something April's brother was carrying
around a few days ago. Nana thought it would be safer if she took April and
Nikki away for a while until things calmed down." A rising panic took hold of
me.
	"Then April's brother is a-" I said. Drake held up his hand to stop
me.
	"We're not sure of anything yet, but we'll definitely be checking 
things out. I just wanted to make you aware that April won't be showing up for
training for the next few days." He turned and walked away.
	Oh no. April's brother was one of them? It made sense. I remembered
when I was with them as we went to Egen Lake. I noticed that Chad never wore a
long sleve shirt. Now I knew why. It was because of the tatoos. He used his
hate for the sun as an excuse. I felt empty. April was gone. I wasn't going to
be there to protect her. I longed for her to come back.
	But she would be safe wherever she was, wouldn't she? She was away 
from all the danger here in Rexburg. One thing was certain. There was a group
of psychic killers here, and they were looking for us.

	"Excellent! Good work, William, my friend! But try to relax a little
more, alright?" Robert called. I jumped up, and brought my fist, which was
controlling a stream of fire, down hard on the ground. Then I put out the fire
with a sigh.
	"I'm trying." I said. "I just can't shake this feeling. I know 
something bad is going to happen." Robert laughed.
	"You're just anxious because your girlfriend isn't here." he said. 
"You know how good she is with her powers. She'll be just fine." I nodded. 
That made me feel a little better. I looked around the yard. Drake and Lindsey
were walking along the little stream that cut through our yard, holding hands.
Grayson was goofing off with my wrist rocket, making Sonya laugh. Clarie and
Benjamin were sitting on the porch, talking and petting CJ. He was loving all
the attention. They were all paired up. It made me miss April even more. 
	What would happen to us? The psychic killers were out there, probably
right now, and they were trying to find us. What would happen if they did find
us? I tried to imagine one of us missing. Lindsey, Grayson, Clarie... I 
couldn't. I didn't dare. It was too frightening. 
	"William, 







		*		*		*		*
	Gretchen skipped along the dark streets. She swung her arms back and
forth and hummed to herself, smiling sweetly. She wore her jet black hair in
two braids that came down to her elbows. Her blue skirt puffed with every 
skip. Her pretty pale face shone in the light of the street lamps. It was 
chilly, but Gretchen didn't care. Suddenly, a tall man stepped out of the
darkness.
	"Hi there, little girl!" he said as kindly as possible. "What's your
name?" he stepped towards her. Gretchen smiled up at the man.
	"My name is Gretchen Kingsley and I'm eleven years old!" she piped. 
The man grinned.
	"Would you like some candy?" he asked. Gretchen nodded.
	"Oh yes! Yes I would!" she said. 
	The man bent down towards Gretchen. Suddenly, his face turned sour as
he crouched, ready to jump. Just as the man lunged at her, Gretchen jumped out 
of the way. She brought her hand down on the back of his neck with a chopping 
motion. There was a loud crack and the man fell to the ground, as limp as a 
rag doll. Gretchen rolled the man over onto his back so she could see his face. 
She smiled sweetly.
	"You're very lucky." Gretchen said. "I could have killed you. Of 
course, by the time someone comes along and finds you, you'll probably already
be dead." Gretchen went through the man's pockets. She pulled out a wallet and
a pack of cigarettes. She frowned.
	"What? No candy?" she pouted. "I guess I'll just have to take this."
She took the wallet and threw the cigarettes into a trash can nearby. The man
moaned. Gretchen put back on her sweet smile.
	"Thank you, Sir!" she said as she skipped away. 
	Gretchen made her way through the streets and alleyways to her home.
Gretchen's home was a large warehouse, next to the railroad tracks. There were
other warehouses around, but none as big as this one. Gretchen pulled out a 
small key from her pocket and unlocked the door. She stepped inside. A man was
there, guarding the door.
	"Good evening, Miss Gretchen!" the man said hurredly. Gretchen smiled.
	"Good evening, Alonzo!" she said with a wave. She skipped down the 
dark hallway until she made it to a giant doorway. She pushed the doors open
and stepped inside. There were two men in the room. One was seated on a large
metal chair at the far end of the room. It looked almost like a throne. The
other man was kneeling before the man in the throne, looking very distressed.
The man in the throne had black, spiky hair. He had bright, green eyes, almost
unrealistic. He had a small soulpatch on the end of his pointed chin. He 
looked youthful. He was wearing tan, khaki pants and a tight-fitting black
shirt. The man kneeling looked much older, and out of shape. His balding head
was bowed. 
	Gretchen smiled and skipped past the kneeling man to the man in the
throne.
	"Hello, Master!" she said. The man smiled.
	"Gretchen, my sweet!" the man said, patting the little girl on the 
head. "You're home early! How nice! Just one moment, my dear. I must deal with 
this sorry excuse for a human." The kneeling man winced. The man in the throne
stood.
	"Thatcher! You mean to tell me that Agent 184 thinks his dog is 
psychic?" he asked. Thatcher looked up at the man. Gretchen put a hand to her
mouth to stifle a giggle.
	"That's absolutely ubsurd! The gene that carries psychic ability is
only compatible through humans! Did you think I was an idiot?" Thatcher shook
his head vigorously.
	"No! No, Mister Marlow, Sir! Not at all! It just seemed like a 
possibility!" 
	"Well, now that you know it's not, what are you going to do?" Marlow
asked. Thatcher fell silent. Marlow rolled his eyes and sat back down in his
throne. He held out his hand to Gretchen.
	"Gretchen, Darling. This imbicille cannot figure out what to do for 
himself. What do you think he should do next?" Gretchen took Marlow's hand 
with a smile.
	"Well, Sir, if I was told that the machine went off in a certain 
household, and then suddenly some of the members of that household went away,
I would hunt them down and kill them!" She said happily. "And I would bring
Agent 184 in for questioning since he obviously lied about his dog. He could
have been protecting his family!" Marlow nodded slowly.
	"Yes... yes! Gretchen, my pet! You're ablsolutely right!" He put his 
hands on Gretchen's cheeks. "You're a genius!" Then he stood up.
	"Thatcher! Send a team after the girl and her grandmother! I want them
both dead! But do it quietly. There's some Society members here and I don't 
want them to find us. Also, bring Agent 184 in. I'd like to ask him some 
questions." Thatcher bowed, and left. Then Marlow turned to Gretchen.
	"So, little one! What did you do today?" he asked, picking Gretchen up
and putting her on his lap. 
	"I was looking for the Society members." she said. Then she frowned.
"I didn't find anyone that matched your descriptions. I'm sorry, Sir." Marlow
patted the girl's shoulder.
	"No, it's alright, dear. You've been doing your best. You've also been
keeping the other members of our group in line. Have you found any clues on 
the location of The Society?" 
	"I'm almost positive it's not in this state, Sir." Gretchen replied
sadly. "Once we kill the psychics in this area, we'll have to try Montana.
Perhaps we could torture the information of a Society member once I find one!"
She said excitedly. Marlow smiled.
	"Good idea, my sweet." he said. "What else did you do today?" Gretchen
pulled the wallet out of her pocket and gave it to Marlow.
	"A very nice man let me have this!" she said. "It has a lot of money
in it, and it also has bank cards and credit cards!" Marlow smiled.
	"You didn't kill anyone for this, did you?" he asked with a sly smile.
	"He wasn't dead when I left him." she said honestly. Marlow laughed.
	"Well, I guess that counts. Good work, my little flower. It's time for
bed. Oh yes. Here you go." Marlow handed her a piece of candy. "Make sure you
brush your teeth afterwards." he reminded her. Gretchen smiled excitedly.
	"Thank you, Master!" she said. She jumped off Marlow's lap, popping 
the candy into her mouth, and skipped down the hallway to her bedroom. She had 
her own room. Although the rest of the warehouse was dark and grey, Marlow 
made Gretchen's room full of light and colors. With paint, toys, carpets, and 
pictures. Gretchen always got whatever she wanted. She was Marlow's little 
angel. She brushed her teeth, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed.
	Alonzo stood guard outside the girl's bedroom door. Thatcher came up
to him and whispered.
	"Gosh, that little girl scares me almost as much as Marlow does! she
could kill any of us if she wanted!" Alonzo, a muscular, yet older gentleman,
nudged Thatcher with his elbow.
	"Hush. Don't let Marlow hear you say that, or he'll let her kill you."
Thatcher nodded. He went and got a team ready to track down the supposedly
psychic girl and her grandmother, and fetched Agent 184 to be grilled by 
Marlow himself. He felt sorry for the kid. He obviously didn't want anything 
to happen to his family, but Marlow wouldn't cut the boy any slack.
	Agent 184 tiptoed into The Boss's room. He was in for it now. What had
he done? Were April and Nana really psychic? Could it be possible? Why hadn't 
they told the rest of the family? But then again, would he have believed them?
Oh, why couldn't he have just stayed away from this group of people? Marlow 
smiled down at him.
	"Good evening, Chad. Have a seat." Marlow said, gesturing to a 
solitary chair before Marlow's throne. Chad slumped down in the chair. 
	"Something seems to be troubling you, Chad. What is it? You can tell 
me." Marlow said calmly. Chad said nothing. Marlow nodded.
	"I see. You don't want to talk about it. Well, I think I know what's 
on your mind in any case. You worry about your sister and grandmother. That's
understandable." Chad's eyes flooded with tears. Worry? He was terrified! He
was going to be the reason they died. What would he tell his parents? Could he
even face them again after this? Marlow continued.
	"I'd like to show you something. Follow me." He beckoned Chad to 
follow him. Chad unwillingly got up and followed Marlow down a hallway that
Chad had never been though. Marlow typed in a password on a locked door and
stepped inside. Chad could barely see though the darkness. There was a wall of
metal bars halfway through the room. Chad gasped as he heard something on the
other side move. Marlow reached up, and pulled on a metal cord, flicking on a
light. Chad jumped back in surprise.
	There was a man crouched on the ground. His left ankle was chained to
the wall. His clothes were merely rags, and his long brown hair was greasy and
unkempt. The man laughed in a low voice. 
	"Nice to see you again, Marlow. I was wondering when you would visit."
The man rasped. Marlow turned to Chad.
	"This is Bernard Greymore. He is a known murderer in seven states. He
always kills his victims the same way." Chad stared at the murderer. The man
didn't even lift his head. He stared at the ground with a smile spread across
his face. 
	"The cops recognise his work, now. Bernard's victims are always found
in public places. But there are no wounds on the victim, not a scratch. They
are suffocated to death, but there are no markings of any kind on their 
throats. You see, Bernard is a psychic. He can control the air within a 
certain radius of himself. Don't worry. We are well out of that range. He
sucks the air out of his victim's lungs until they die. He is what The Society
would call an airpath." Chad stared that the man in horror. He felt his breath
come short, and panicked. Bernard lifted his head to stare at Chad with blood
shot, brown eyes. Chad pressed his back against the far wall. Marlow calmly 
opened the door and flicked off the light. Chad practically ran out of the 
room. Marlow stared intensely at Chad.
	"There are more out there like Bernard. Psychics who murder people.
It's inevitable. These people see themselves as a superior race to humans. 
Their plan is to wipe us out, Chad! We have to stop them! You don't want your
sister to become like Bernard, do you?"
	"NO!" Chad practically yelled. Marlow nodded.
	"Wouldn't it be better if your sister died the way she is now, rather
than waiting until she's a ruthless killer like Bernard?" he asked. "You'll be
doing her a favor." Chad thought about this. Perhaps it was for the best. 
Marlow put his arm over Chad's shoulders and walked him out to the main hall.
	"We're sending a group to find them tomorrow. I'm not expecting you to
come. Take it easy, alright?" He patted Chad on the shoulder before leaving
back into his main room. Chad stood, thinking to himself. Was it really better
to kill April? He thought about his little sister. She didn't have a mean bone
in her body. She was the kindest little thing. How could she possibly turn 
into a monster like Bernard?
	No, it couldn't be true. Maybe some psychics were that way, but so 
were some humans! April couldn't be one of those killers.
	"I..." Chad whispered. "I have to do something!" But what? Chad knew
where she was, but going there would lead the psychic killers right to her. He
had to leave now, while everyone else was going to bed. Chad stuffed his hands
in his pockets and started leaving the warehouse. Thatcher stopped him.
	"Where do you think you're going?" he grumbled.
	"Marlow told me to take it easy." Chad said wearily. "I'm going home."
Thatcher seemed to take pity on him. 
	"Well, go on. Sorry about your family. It's for the best." he said.
Chad nodded glumly. He walked down the darkened streets until he was well away
from the warehouse. Now what? Chad had to tell someone, but not his family. 
They would never forgive him for this. He had to tell someone who could fight
back. Someone who cared about her. 
	"Her boyfriend!" Chad exclaimed. "Lindsey's brother! He'll go out and 
save April if he knows she's in trouble!" 
	Luckily, Chad knew where the Duncans lived. He had been there enough
since he used to be Lindsey's boyfriend. He regreted calling their 
relationship off, but it was for the best. Chad had gotten mixed up in things
that were over his head. 
	By the time Chad was able to make it to the Duncan's house, it was
morning. The sky was brighter. Chad muttered to himself, asking why the 
Duncans couldn't live closer to town, rather than building their house in the
outskirts. When he finally reached the Duncan's house, he noticed that there
were several cars parked in the driveway. 
	"That's funny." Chad thought to himself. "I thought they only had four
people in their family. There's five cars out here and a motorcycle!" Chad
disregarded that fact, ran up to the door, and knocked on it. A young man 
answered the door. He had red-brown hair, and unerneath his long sleve shirt,
Chad could see a tatoo on his wrist...
	"Benjamin?!" Chad shouted. "What are you doing here?"
		*		*		*		*
	I sat Chad down in the living room. I had a lot of questions for him.
	"Okay, okay, wait!" I said, making sure to keep my voice down low.
Everyone else was out in the backyard except for me, Benjamin and Chad. "How
do you and Ben know each other?" Ben gave me a worried look. Chad glanced
around nervously.
	"Well, he and I were kind of in this... club together." Chad said, 
struggling for words. My eyebrows lowered.
	"Show me your arm." I demanded. Chad looked taken aback. Then he 
slowly lifted his sleve so that I could see his pale arm.
	It was decorated with the same tatoos Benjamin had. I sat back with a
deep sigh. 
	"I knew it." I muttered. "You're a Psychic Killer." Chad gasped and
jumped back.
	"How... how did you know that?" he asked. I stared at Chad for a long
time.
	"I'm a psychic." I said. Chad fell silent. Then he seemed to remember 
something.
	"That makes what I came here to tell you less complicated. What time
is it?" he asked. I looked at my watch.
	"9:17 a.m." I answered. Chad's eyes widened.
	"Then we don't have much time! April's in danger!" he said. 
	Immediately, I jumped up. I opened the door to the backyard and yelled
at Drake, who was coaching Lindsey on her powers. He turned to me with wide 
eyes. 
	"What is it, William?" Drake asked.
	"It's April! We have to leave now!" I shouted. Without another word, 
Drake motioned for Sonya to follow and they, Chad, and I sprinted out to my
pickup.
	"What's the problem?" Drake asked. I nodded to Chad, who was sitting
in the backseat with Sonya.
	"Drake, don't freak out, but this is April's brother, Chad. He's with
us. He says April and her grandmother are in danger." Drake turned around in 
the front seat to Chad with intense eyes.
	"Another Psychic Killer?!" he growled. "You better have a good excuse
for bringing us all along! It could be a trap!" Chad held up his hands 
innocently.
	"It's not a trap! My sister and grandmother are in danger! Marlow is
sending a group to track them down, and I know where they are! We have to beat
them there!" Chad buried his face in his hands.
	"I joined this group because I thought the 'Psychic Killers' was just
the name of a cool gang. I didn't even believe that psychics actually 
exsisted! But every psychic I've encountered was either a murderer or trying
to kill us. I understand why, now. You're simply fighting to protect 
yourselves. I didn't even know that my own sister was one. I only discovered 
it by accident and it wasn't long before Marlow figured it out. Oh, and Will,
You'll want to turn left up here." he pointed down another road. I took the
turn.
	"Drake, why did you bring Sonya? We're going to be fighting people, 
she shouldn't get involved." I said. Drake laughed a little, despite the 
situation. 
	"That's exactly why I brought her. Her psychic power is the ability to
heal." Drake said. I understood. The rest of the drive was more or less in 
silence. Except for the occasional directions from Chad. We drove to Idaho 
Falls, about a half hour drive from Rexburg. Chad directed us to a little
brown house. There was a car parked in the driveway.
	"It looks okay on the outside. I think we beat them here." Chad said.
"That's grandma's car out front." We all got out of the car. I pulled my
dragon-etched lighter out of my pocket just in case. I approached the door
quietly and knocked on the door. There was no answer. I knocked again. Nothing.
	"I think it's okay if I just step inside." I said, growing more 
anxious by the second. I opened the door, and gasped loudly at what I saw.