Page 17 of The Edge of Dawn

She saw the individual stones on the ground, both large and small; there were even flecks of opal amidst the rubble. She noticed moisture gleaming on the walls, a tiny trickle coming from somewhere above. She sensed differences in the air around her; some of it was stale, mixing with fresh oxygen from above.

He kept her close to the wall, sticking to the shadows: walking carefully, deliberately, extending that strange vision-sense, which was like seeing but not quite.

Then, she saw them.

The two men that had come looking for her.

They were around the corner. She knew this because when Dragek was in control, she could somehow see around corners with her—their—newfound psychic vision.

The men both wore the stark uniform of Public Order Agents. Using Dragek’s exceptionally acute vision, she was able to make out the shape and form of what they were wearing. Somehow, she was even able to get a sense of the colors, even though Dragek didn’t see in color at all.

Something about the way the light bounced off the material told her their uniforms were grey, but then, she knew that already.

They were the ones the Federation sent when there was a non-criminal matter to deal with.

They were trained to be discreet. To resolve issues without violence. Jade knew it well enough; in her old job, she’d dealt with them many times.

Apparently, using knockout gas wasn’t violence in their books.

Come to think of it…

How am I even conscious right now… when I’m breathing in a sedative?

You should not be, but I am keeping you animated by the force of my will alone. That’s why I need absolute compliance from you. This is taxing enough as it is.

For the first time, a hint of strain entered his mental voice.

She decided it was a good time to shut the fuck up.

“Let’s split up.” Human voices filtered through the tunnels. “You search that tunnel. I’ll go this way. She can’t be too far away.”

“What the hell is she doing in a place like this, anyway?”

“Who knows? She’s the one with voices in her head. Do you think any of these people are rational?”

“It’s a bit sad, don’t you think? A girl like her, with all that money and education… to end up like this…”

“Just goes to show it can happen to anyone. Shame about the accident.”

“Yeah, well, a TBI can do that to a person. Sad, but that’s how it goes. She’ll get the NERM again once she’s admitted. It’s not perfect, but it’s a damn sight better than the state she’s in now. Anyway, enough talk. Let’s go find her. This fucking farce has dragged on long enough. We’ll never live this down if we don’t get her back.”

Jade quietly seethed at how easily they dismissed her. She wasn’t erratic. She wasn’t a mess. The voices were more like interference… like hearing your neighbor playing loud music, only they were people’s thoughts. She could always put a face to the thoughts, and in all other respects, she’d been completely rational.

Nobody would dare tell her she’d developed the ability to listen in on people’s actual thoughts.

I can understand why you resent them, but it’s pointless to waste your energy on being angry at ignorant beings. They’re obviously beholden to a higher power. Just carrying out orders.

Since when was the ghost in her head a fount of philosophical wisdom?

I am not a ghost.

She was still moving, edging forward, clinging to the walls, tensing her body…

Wait… why was she tensing?

Before she could comprehend a thing, she moved.

Pain shot through her limbs. She hurtled forward faster than humanly possible; there was no way her body should be able to move like this.

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