Scott was on his way west to meet up with his friends to start a new life in L A. What he came across in the desert after his car broke down would change him forever. He wondered if his friends would recognise him once they finally met again. He didn’t think this was what his friend’s intended when they said, "start a new life."

Chapter Thirty-Six

The arrival of the pizzas coincided with the emergence of Erin and Joanne from in the bedroom.

Having used the shower in the ensuite, their hair was still damp. Not even their embarrassment of having their recent activities, known to the visitors, could shake the satisfied glow that shone from their faces.

Having the welcome distraction of fresh pizzas delivered, they avoided having to explain their actions, as they fussed about, getting plates and some drink, before joining in on the general mouth stuffing.

Julie thought it cute, when Joanne took a bite out of the same piece that Erin had just bitten into. Strings of cheese stretched between their mouths, so they used their tongues to gather it in, ending with both their lips touching as the last bit of cheese was captured. They kissed, before winking at the others, as if daring to do likewise. William ever ready for a new challenge tried it with Julies slice that she was holding. Unfortunately, the cheese string was thicker and as he pulled away with his stolen bite, it dragged a piece of ham off the top of the pizza. This hot piece of ham did a Tarzan swing at the end of its cheese vine and slapped against Williams chest making him wince. To add insult to injury, the ham decided to investigate his navel, falling off and slithering down inside his shirt.

The others convulsed, seeing him scramble to retrieve the hot meat, before it did any more damage. While the others laughed, nearly wetting themselves in response, William tried to pretend it was a deliberate act. He blushed, seeing they weren't buying it, then grinned and joined in on their laughter.

"You didn't need to ham it up, just for us," laughed Julie, gently rubbing it in.

"I'd give it a 9.5, I really like the half twist at the end, before the final descent," giggled Cindy.

"Pity we don't have an instant replay," opined Erin. "We could have analysed that action more thoroughly. What do you think?" she asked turning to Joanne.

Joanne, trying to keep a straight face, looked at her lap and mimed turning some invisible pages. "I don't recall seeing a similar play since... 1998 at the Dodgers after match party."

"Alright, enough already," sighed William, signalling defeat. "I was just making a pig of myself, piece by piece," he grinned.

Now that everyone had their hunger sated, they relaxed as they finished off their drinks. Erin broached the subject of getting the Krin circulated faster, without having to drive to each individuals place.

"Why not put up a web site endorsed by some of the major sites like Crystals, Sapphires and Big Closet. Fictionmania too, although they are a group and not an just a single individual. We'd need a name and a slogan, and offer a real solution at no charge to those that meet the criteria for this new method," Erin suggested.

"Why do they need to pass some test, why not offer it to all?" Joanne asked curiously.

"We may need to weed out those undesirables that are after a profit or aren't the genuine article. We can get them to email us a reply, and if the Shelke are as good as they claim, they can find out their background before giving them the okay. Then we send each a Krin of their own, and have them download the software to load the Krin."

What about those with old comps that don't have infra red ports or wireless communications?" asked Julie, seeing a problem in the suggestion.

"We will list what is required as far as that and have them list their equipment as well. If they can't afford to get it or aren't able to set it up, then we have your friendly neighbourhood Shelke come round and do it."

"Sounds like a plan," offered William. " One thing, if we need more Nexi, what will giving single people a Krin, do to help us? He mused.

Kim didn't tell you?" asked Erin in surprise.

"No, only that we find a way of spreading the Krin among those that would keep the benefits a secret." William answered.

"There must be a good reason," Julie suggested, seeing that doubt had been cast about.

Just then, William's phone chirped, interrupting the deep meaningful silence. After listening for a few minutes, William shut the phone off and then turned to the others.

"Kim's on her way from the airport, she said she'd be here in 30 minutes. We can ask her then." He finished, unwilling to speculate more.

Cindy who had been wearing her bracelet all day, was thinking about refilling her glass of wine, but the bottle was out of reach at the other end of the table. Just she was about to ask for a refill, the bottle wobbled, then slid across the slick surface so until it was next to her hand that had just placed the wine glass down on the table.

You could have heard a pin drop. Cindy froze, looking at the bottle as if it were possessed. She looked at the shocked faces of the others, hoping to see a smile heralding the words, "I gotcha," from pulling off the trick. All she saw was a mirrored expression of her own, as they looked at her for an explanation.

"Did you do that?" asked Julie, looking directly at Cindy.

"I... I...I don't know, I just thought about getting a refill, when the bottle moved." Cindy replied in a shaky voice.

"See if you can move it again, maybe try lifting it," suggested William curiously.

Cindy shrugged, not really believing it would work, as she concentrated on lifting the bottle. She imagined gripping it with an imaginary hand and lifting the bottle into the air. The bottle trembled, and then rose unsteadily into the air till it was several inches up. Cindy was so shocked that it had worked, that she lost her concentration for a second. The bottle dropped, nearly spilling its contents as Cindy's real hand caught the errant tumble.

"Oh boy!" Came a chorus from the others.

"It worked," said an amazed Cindy, as she filled her glass with wine, seeing the bottle was already in her hand.

Questions flew fast furious about how did she do it, and how did it feel. She tried to explain, but was at a loss as how she was able to do it.

Kim's arrival interrupted the discussion, as they welcomed her inside. After the introductions were made and Joanne and Erin having given her, their heartfelt thanks for the near instant recovery of Joanne, they told her about Cindy's display with the wine bottle.

"Telekinesis is a power that we hoped might be woken by the Krin, along with some of the other so called psychic powers." Kim informed them.

"But why has Cindy developed them so quickly and I haven't?" asked Julie, feeling disappointed that she who had been wearing the Krin longer, hadn't developed any powers.

"Cindy is the first true female that hasn't been ill, or recovering from life threatening diseases. She must have had a strong psychic ability, normally called woman's intuition. As you get more settled with your new body and become your true self, I suspect you will manifest these traits too."

"Woman's intuition is a psychic ability?" Scoffed William, more out of jealousy that anything.

"Yes, although we as a race don't have this ability, we have seen and interacted with races that demonstrate these powers. We knew from research, that mankind has these abilities too, but much of it has been derided as fakery. Woman's intuition is a throw back to primitive times, when man was barely surviving in caves. Women had little defences against the more powerful males, they compensated by developing senses that could aid and warn them of danger. This is how it developed in the other races, so I expect a similar occurrence here."

Kim looked at Cindy, as she continued.

"You might develop other powers as well, seeing the Krin hasn't had a long time to interact with you. You may develop a limited clairvoyance and other mental powers, along with spatial displacement or pyrotechnical skills."

"Will it be only the women that gain these skills?" asked William, feeling a little left out.

"Definitely not, men who are in touch with their emotions should eventually be able to access these abilities. Mankind as a race continues to surprise us with your quick adaptability. Cindy must have a strong empathic ability, to have manifested TK so quickly. Any powers that strengthen the mind will be of great benefit in the coming conflict. Another plus is that as telepathy becomes more widespread, finding compatible partners will be made easier, as you'll probably be drawn together almost instinctively."

"I think Cindy, already knows, who her partner is," supplied Julie with a giggle, as she explained Cindy's hurry to see Bob.

"Why not have Tyrone deliver the Krin to Bob, he lives not far from Cathy and it would save you a trip. Plus, if he's the one for you, he'll probable be heading down here." Suggested Kim helpfully.

"Maybe they could meet half way and continue from there." Erin said, putting in her two cents worth. "That would make three teams to help spread the Krin."

"I suggest that when William and Julie meet up with Sara and Kevin, that they try contacting Cindy while in a nexus to see if it's possible to form a union of minds without the necessity of having to always be in pairs. At least while she is still on her own," Kim proposed.

While Kim polished off the leftover pizza, Cindy demonstrated her TK for her. The bottle, now empty, served as volunteer for her tests. Cindy seemed to do better than before, saying it was like using a new muscle, the more you exercised it, the stronger it got, soon she could lift the bottle to the ceiling and move it anywhere in the room, while still aloft. Kim suggested Cindy try it blindfolded, seeing Cindy was using her sight to keep the bottle from smashing into things.

"Why do it blind?" she asked, after having a near miss with Joanne's head on her first attempt.

"You might find you need it to be able to do it at night in an emergency situation. It will also help expand your awareness of things around you and extend your abilities," was Kim's reply.

"Ah! Like Skywalker and his blind light saber duel against the remote. I'll give it another try then," Cindy grinned, before attempting once more.

Unfortunately, her concentration was broken again, as a chorus of "feel the force Cindy," and William's simultaneous Yoda impression of, "do or do not, there is no try," rang in the air. As everyone dissolved into giggling blobs, the bottle lay forgotten where it had fallen on the floor. Cindy tried to look angry at the interruption, but couldn't stop her mouth forming a smile, which soon turned to laughter as she joined in on the hilarity.

Meanwhile, far to the north, things had turned rather ominous.

Tyrone and Carolyn had reached the street where Cathy lived. It was about 1pm in the afternoon, as they tried to drive up to the house where Cathy lived, sharing it with her flatmate. A police cruiser was parked outside and the sight sent shivers through both Carolyn and Tyrone for several reasons. An ambulance was just pulling away from the curb as Tyrone managed to find a park further down the street. Tyrone used his Krin to become Tyrissa, taking no chances this time, as s/he climbed out of the RV. Carolyn joined her, as they made their way to the address they'd been given.

"Sorry miss, you can't go in there, until the investigation is finished," droned the officer as he stood guard outside the front door.

"But we are friends of Cathy... um Keith," protested Tyrissa, unsure of how Cathy was know there.

"If you're friends of the victim, you might want to follow the ambulance, I think they went to the memorial hospital." The officer offered.

"What happened?" probed Carolyn, trying to wheedle more information out of the officer.

The police officer looked reluctant to give out any information, but seeing the pleading looks from both women, he relented and gave them a quick run down.

"Seems the flatmate found her friend unconscious in the lounge after returning home from shopping. We aren't sure if it's a case of attempted suicide or just that she starved to near critical levels." Stated the officer, finishing abruptly, as his superior came to the door.

"Thank you," offered Tyrissa, as she turned to walk back to the RV.

"Wait! Are you friends of Keith?" asked a young blonde haired woman, who'd pushed past the office on her way out of the house.

"Yes we are," answered Tyrissa, turning and waiting for the woman to come closer.

"You know about Cathy?" the woman asked quietly, once she was out of earshot of the disgruntled looking officer.

"Yes we do, in fact, that's why we are here." Carolyn reassured her.

"I'm Tina, Cathy rents a room from me, but has been struggling to survive on what she's getting from social security. I think she has been eating barely enough to survive."

Tyrissa introduced themselves, saying they were chat friends and were coming to help, seeing Cathy had quit coming online because of non-payment of phone bills.

"She doesn't like charity. I think she's been selling what belongings she has just to survive. I haven't asked for rent for months now, hoping she could accept that she pay me when she could. I think she paid for her gender counselling by selling her laptop. Please help her."

"Don't worry, we will," promised Tyrissa. "We need to go now, if we are to help her." Tyrissa finished, giving Tina a hug.

The drive to the hospital was spent bemoaning the fact of their delay, if they'd got there sooner, this might not have happened.

In the hospital, the staff was less than helpful, seeing they were not close family. Cathy was in intensive care barely hanging on while being feed intravenously. Tyrissa needed to get to her, and pondered a way to achieve that. Pulling Carolyn along the hallway, she outlined her idea. After the incident with the rouge cop. Kim had upgraded her Krin so that it had the same properties as the original four found by Sara.

Using the image capturing option, Tyrissa captured an image of one of the nurses walking towards them. Then, using an unoccupied room changed herself into nurse Christine Chandler. Using the colour-coded lines painted on the floor, she stepped out briskly along the purple line leading to the intensive care unit. Carolyn followed in her wake, pleased to see that no one seemed to question her husband in his new guise. Arriving at the intensive care wing, Tyrissa waited outside, seeming to be in intense conversation with Carolyn. In fact, they were waiting for a nurse or doctor to exit the ICU. Carolyn soon became another nurse, as Tyrissa captured the image of Robin Caruthers on the way out of the ICU.

The two newly minted nurses went into the ICU and looked for Cathy. Tyrissa was aware of other doctors and nurses bustling around, and knew it wouldn't be easy getting Cathy out of there. Time for plan B.

To be continued.

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 © 2005 by Prudence Walker. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, and compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without the express written consent of the copyright holder.