Condition Evolution 4 by Kevin Sinclair (parable of the sower read online .txt) 📗

drained my Omni Energy reserves. She’d fucked up though. Her words prompted a glimmer of hope for me. With Havok, I could sense his energy and we could transfer it between us. Could I sense hers? Reaching out toward the voice with my mind, I searched in the darkness. Suddenly joy filled me as I found the warm glow of Lorelei. I must only have been able to reach her because she was buried in my chest, but I could feel her energy swelling as she sucked me dry. I mentally put a stop to it.

“How?” she asked in surprise. I didn’t answer, because I wasn’t finished yet. I began pulling the energy back out from her. She howled in terror and despair. “How are you doing this? Stop!”

I felt a light resistance on the flow, but it was negligible. “Are you trying to stop me, Lorelei? You must have forgotten, you're just a sword. You might be sharp and pointy, but you're no match in a mental battle against me.”

She continued to scream in anguish as I drew the power out from her faster and faster until suddenly the flow dropped to a trickle. I could sense there was some remaining, the reserve locked away deep within the sword that gave it life. I fucking wanted that too. Forcing my way through whatever barrier denied me, I continued to pull out every last drop of the sweet energy. Her screams in my head suddenly stopped as she ceased to exist as Lorelei. Only a sword once more.

Satisfied with my work, I still had a problem. While I could heal myself with the energy I had available, there was no way to heal around the damn sword in my chest, and it was the blood loss that had caused me to lose consciousness. I only existed in this small place in my mind. I reached out to Havok. “Can you hear me, dude?”

“Shaun?” came his voice, so faintly.

“Yeah, man, I'm still alive, but only just. I can't heal with this sword stuck in me.”

“I… I can’t help. I’m wedged into the deck of the bridge. I’m so sorry, I’ve failed you,” he replied, sounding heartbroken as he spoke.

I was about to reply, put his mind at ease, but I became vaguely aware of a change. I may not have been aware of the physical world, but I could feel that the sword had been pulled from my body. I quickly focused on my Holistic repair; it was so much more effective with the excess Omni Energy I had.

“Havok!” I shouted. “I’m gonna try to free you in a second, once I'm healed. Then I need you to get your ass over here.”

“Fuck yeah, Shaun! Come and get me.”

I continued to repair the wound in my chest. I still couldn’t reach Normal-State though. Not enough blood. The Omni Energy seemed to understand the problem instinctively, and I felt as it began breaking down muscle and body stores, enough to replenish the blood I’d lost. Miraculously, my ability to reach Normal-State returned. My eyes snapped open. Zarime stood above me, ready to bring the sword down. I pulled on Havok with telekinesis, and he used his own abilities to position himself where I could snatch him from the air. Which happened at exactly the same time as Zarime’s blow landed. The timing couldn’t have been tighter. Zarime’s eyes widened in amazement as I rose to my feet like I’d been lying on a coiled spring. Havok deflected another blow from Zarime while I came fully to my senses. Then the fight really began again. It was notably easier when he no longer had Lorelei helping. It appeared that a large percentage of the skill he’d displayed earlier had not been his own. I knew all about that. While Havok deflected the next two moves, I scanned the room for Ember. My heart broke as I saw nearly all of our crew dead or dying. Ember lay slumped against a bulkhead, still alive, but only just, a Fystr approaching her with deadly intent.

Not on my fucking watch! With Havok’s help, I smashed Zarime’s sword to one side and with a roar of rage, I punched the dickhead in the face, hard. He staggered back, reeling from the sudden turn in our battle, and while I was far from 100 percent health, between me and Havok, we were more than a match for him. I couldn’t follow up the punch though, as Ember needed me now. I flew across the bridge, levitation moving me far faster than my legs would have. Omni Energy flaring repeatedly, protecting me from the incoming mental attacks and leaving me free to concentrate on cutting Ember’s attacker clean in half as I came to a stop.

I offered her a brief, bloody smile, before turning back to face the room. “Let’s fuckin’ have it then,” I roared at the remaining Fystr. My Omni Shield continued to flash, much to the confusion and amazement of those now surrounding me. Somehow, William and Calparr still stood fighting grimly back-to-back like absolute heroes. A distorted voice sounded in my head, at least I thought it was in my head. When it spoke again, judging by the response of the Fystr, I had been mistaken.

It was Ogun’s voice, over the comm, “Repeat, Uprising! We are on our way. ETA 30 seconds. If anyone yet lives, hold on!”

Zarime snarled at me, “This is not over, Shaun of Earth. You, and all of your traitor friends are going to pay. That much I promise you.” Then the baldy bastard levitated into the tunnel, followed by his friends. It may have been petty and dishonorable, but nonetheless I attacked the tail end of the departing Fystr, to Havok’s delight. With their backs turned as they fled, it was as easy as slicing bread.

“Calparr! Torch the fuckers, if you can,” I yelled, pointing to the tunnel. He staggered over, bleeding from everywhere. How he was still standing, I had