Part 28
What harm can a little nibble like this do? You swallow what's in your mouth and quickly tuck the remains of the snack into one of the concealed pouches in your disguised AE suit. If Tam and the others notice you doing it they don't comment.
Tam it turns out, plans to be a tutor for other telepathic children and already assists the adult responsible for training this group's new breakouts and offspring.
"We're hitting critical mass." He explains. "There are so many of us in small concentrations that more and more of the people in close contact with us are breaking out. And then whenever one of us moves into a different area the wave of new breakouts accompanies him. The supply of students is exceeding the number of those of us trained to tutor."
You have a sudden, almost overwhelming memory of the tidal wave imagery that accompanied your breakout. It rushes over and around you. Hazily you see the adult group look up at you and then Stephen touches your mind, reinforcing your shields.
[You're going to have to shield higher than that here!] He scolds, his voice like a thunderclap in your mind. You nod a little unsteadily. In the aftermath of that incredible image you feel a little shaky and the world seems to spin slightly as you turn to apologise to Tam and the others for your uncontrolled telepathy.
"These things happen when you are still learning." Tam shrugged. But then he stops and looks at you more closely. "Jay, are you alright?"
You swallow hard. Behind Tam and Freda and the rest the world is definitely spinning now. Sparks fly across your vision and you have a tight feeling in your chest.
"I think, perhaps, I shouldn't have eaten ..." You begin. Freda catches your arm as you sway and then drops it again with a cry as the physical contact pushes your mind past her mental shields. You can feel your mental shields rising and dropping outside of your control and now the weaker minded teenagers are pale too with the influence of your uncontrollable powers. Stephen is by your side now trying to figure out what's wrong but you can barely feel him through the chaos and sensory overload. You're hurting the weaker minds of the people you came to visit, you can feel that. You can't allow it to go on!
You jaunt without any clear idea of where you are of where you're going.
[Jay?!] You feel Stephen and Tyso reaching for you but in the swirling psychadelia of hyperspace it is difficult to feel where they are calling from. The random connections your mind is making leave you dizzy and feeling ill and unable to focus. All you know is that you can't go back. You'll only hurt people if you do.
Do you:
a) Resist Stephen's attempts to pull you back?
b) Reach out to the others for help?
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