INTRUSIVE SEARCH
~ B.S. Cherry
We were escorted into a room, and told to wait patiently. The person who reads your powers, the
Sensor, was just beyond the door in front of us and I did not like that fact at all.
I still don’t get why we have to have our powers checked, I say to Michael as I grab his hand out of nervousness.
It’s been a while, and you decided to erase Jonathan’s memory. Technically, this is your fault.
Do you think it’s true that the Sensors can’t see anything besides our emotions and powers, I asked, starting to greatly
dislike being here. They are extremely powerful, one of the Few you do not want to piss off, and I hate them
the most. How they search your mind and powers, so angering and invasive. Ugh.
I don’t think those negative thoughts are going to help your case out at all.
Oh bite me, I snap as I stick my tongue out at him.
The doors open, and a small girl with clouded blue eyes comes out with the highest Elder, Rorin Benes.
My shock as I look at this child, remembering it being an older gentlemen…
What the hell is this?
Charlsey, Michael hisses through his thoguhts, be respectful.
They are using a child against us. Who is to say she is even powerful enough to do this, or even capable? What if she
screws this up?
Charles!
“Charlsey and Michael, this is Evelyn, she is the new Sensor.”
“How do you do,” she says in a timid voice, and my hopes of having a competent Sensor are gone.
“We are well,” Michael answers for the both of us, which is foolish because I‟m over here freaking out.
I want to leave, this is bullshit. How do you even know she knows what she is doing?
Charlsey, we can’t leave, you know that. Chill out, stop being so worried.
“What are you two saying to each other?” We both stop to look at the child in front of us, who is
looking directly at us.
I thought she was blind…
Shut up Char!
“I can see your communications; it‟s changing in color with your emotions. Why are you two so scared
and angry? You are not in trouble.”
“How can you tell what we are feeling,” I ask, officially confused.
“By the colors-”
“But you‟re blind, how do you know what color is what?”
“Charlsey! Do you have no sense of decency in you at all,” Michael snaps.
“What? It‟s a logical question!”
“It has been passed down to me by the past Sensor. The Angels were the ones who described the
colors to the Sensors. How are you two even able to communicate telepathically to one another?”
“We‟re related,” Michael answers, seemingly offended that she had asked the question at all, “She‟s
empathic, so we can talk to each other that way-”
“No, not possible, Empathics can only sense emotions and sometimes thought, but never hold
telepathic communications. How are you two capable of doing this?”
“I can enter into people‟s train of thought and speak to them, help guide them. Instead of guiding, I
just talk with him-”
“Then this means you have been misdiagnosed, or your powers are evolving. What you are doing
should not happen. Give me your hands please,” she says with a plain voice, like she was bored with us
already.
I really, really dislike this chick.
Same, I’m ready to get out of here.
“I am still able to see you two are communicating.”
“You‟re point,” I ask as she takes Michael‟s hand.
“It‟s rude to talk silently, makes you distrusting.”
“Says the girl who is invading our personal crevices and power centers.”
She looks at me with amusement across her face, then looks back at my brother, “You‟re comment, I
suppose, is valid. I‟ll take that into consideration next time.” There was a moment of silence as I watched
Michael wince every now and then, making me even more anxious. “You have powers that have been
transferred to you by your older sister, were you aware of this power transfer?”
“No,” Michael replies out of confusion, his eyes turning towards me, “Did you know?”
“I didn‟t think powers could be transferred,” I say with sincerity. I‟ve never heard of that being
accomplished successfully, or even being possible without killing the other person.
“I‟m impressed you two have been doing this for so long without having a power check. Why have you
two not been here in so many years? He introduced me as new when I am twelve; I‟ve been doing this since I
was six.”
“They have had several family problems, Evelyn. Their absences have been excused, they are no threat
to the Few‟s existence.”
But, the girl looks at me, while there is concern on her face, and I suddenly want to have nothing to do
with her touching me at all. It will be so weird and foreign, and there is no way a 12 year old should be seeing
my thoughts or past sins.
“Michael, you are a Prophet and partial to the Third Eye, though it is not as well refined as the other.
Have you considered being with the Elders? They are in need of a strong Prophet.” I let out a small laugh,
but the Sensor places her hand up before Michael can hit me.
“What is so funny,” she asks, her eyes turning towards me.
“There are times when his sight is blocked,” I reply, suddenly sobering up from my let loose, “he is not
the best I have seen.”
“He can be trained. You should be kinder to your brother,” she says with discipline, “Now then, where
was I…” She continues searching him, and tells him which power my sister gave to him, and I feel simply
sick; her healing gift. I grab at my stomach, trying to fight the tears. Why in the world would she do that? I
know she wasn‟t as good at healing, but why? She could have used that, she could have saved herself. This is
crap, I have never wanted to hit my sister harder in my life, so angry at her death. Michael looks just as upset,
but when he turns to me, his hand finds mine.
I’m happy, maybe that’s why you didn’t die.
I’m not, she could still be alive Michael. This is unfair.
The Sensor‟s face is priceless, assuming that she listened to what we had said. “Your sister‟s death has
affected both of you greatly, but you are lucky to be alive Charlsey,” her eyes look to me before she closes
them. “I see the blow you took for your brother, and I must say that I am impressed. You are lucky to be
alive, Michael is right, even if it was bad timing on your sister‟s part. Maybe she was a Prophet as well.”
“No,” Michael says, shaking his head, “Her strongest power was Athlete but she was also Energy
Deficient, her healing skills were not that strong.”
“I see,” the Sensor replies, as she continues to search Michael. I‟m starting to get antsy; I want to bolt
out the door so badly that I even consider the action. I‟ll get into trouble, sure, but it has been literally years
since I‟ve been here, and my dad and sister aren‟t here to make me feel better. I have never liked being
searched, being so exposed. What‟s worse? A child is about to see all my sins and powers, the very secrets and
spider webs I keep within me; all my demons. But mostly, my core, my very center of being which holds what
is me and my power center. Where everything I am resides, everything that makes me the Few, and this little
brat is about to go within me and touch it. Ewe! Why does she have to be 12? Why? Why me? Did I really
have to erase his memory? I could have just knocked him out, give him the old one, two punch. Or, the other
alternative and simply put him to sleep. No, no I had to panic like always and make the worst choice possible.
Why am I not a more logical person? Why can I not make the right decisions? What‟s wrong with“All done. Michael, you are a Prophet, Third Eye, and a Healer as well. Somehow, Charlsey has evolved
your powers though, you have a tendency to be a Mover, which is why you two are able to speak
telepathically. Although, how she was able to change your powers, if it was not on purpose, I do not know.
Your level is at a 6, and you should consider being an Elder, your prophecy skills are strong, but need much
work. I can see why you are blinded, and although I cannot help you see what is holding you back, I can tell
you that you will be able to break through these walls and become a very powerful prophet.
“Charlsey, it‟s your turn. Please stop worrying yourself, your colors are all over the place. I do not even
know which emotion to pick up on, there are so many. Do not even think about bolting through that door, I
will get you back here.”
I let out a sigh as she places her hands in front of me to take, and as I lift my lip in disgust, I give her
my hands as well. The feeling is creepy, like a snake moving through my body. My instinct is to fight back,
and I do several times as she tries to figure out about my powers by using memories, aka: my powers‟
histories. She goes for the memory of Mekena‟s death, and I nearly pull my hands away as I fight her
mentally.
“Charlsey, please,” she says with slight frustration, “I do not want to fight you.”
“Then get out of that memory,” I growl, “It is none of your damn business.”
“Charlsey!” Michael and Elder Benes both yell at me, but the Sensor relents and leaves the memory
alone, just to go after the infamous night in Vegas. I slam her out, my hands squeezing hers as I attack one of
her memories. I know. I know, it is very illegal and I could be punished, but the little brat! It was the memory
of her first realizing what she is, how she can get to your very core, how she hated her powers but had to do
her job for the Elders. She‟s unhappy, back then and now. So, I tap into her emotions, and am taken on a
roller coaster of fear, anxiety, frustration, disdain for what she is, anger towards God and the angels, and
finally a hunger to learn more. Like, how to stop me, a powerful Empathic, from taking her over.
She mentally pulls away, and I can feel her shame. You know Sensor, it helps when you pull away physically
You know I can get you into so much trouble, you won’t see daylight for a very long time.
I smile, knowing she‟s right, but tell her to stop snooping. My powers don‟t have to do with a drunken
night, or my sister‟s death. Or else, I will continue to fight, do remember that I can read your thoughts, I know what you
need to be looking for, not what you want to see.
“I‟m going on a hunch. I want to see if Michael‟s power transfer was done near you.”
“I doubt it,” I reply, “Even then, I wouldn‟t have noticed, I was still learning how to block out people.
Besides, those memories were after her death, your excuse isworthless.”
There was a momentary pause as she stands silently, her thoughts racing about what had just been said.
I‟m literally waiting to be thrown into a jail cell of some sort, where they torture ones like me; rogue,
disobedient, hates being searched kind. “Is it hard to be Empathic?”
The question makes me stop for a moment and contemplate my response. I don‟t mind it, but…
“Some days it is extremely hard.”
She just nods her head and carries on, this time not straying from the path. I still feel like a snake is
crawling through my body, and I‟m getting really nervous. Everything within me is telling me to attack, that
there is a foreign mind within my body, and there is, but I cannot do anything about it but stand there as she
continues her search. When the snake is done searching memories, it goes to the core, and the anxiety really
begins to build.
“Your defenses are strong, you are doing well considering. I am beginning to see why you took the
attack for your brother. Are there a lot of the Covenant around you?”
“Yes,” I reply, “we have told the Elders.”
“They are waiting for the Preserver and Destroyer to come.”
“The least they can do is send someone, I‟m tired of being attacked or protecting people from attacks.”
“This was not the only attack?”
“No,” I say, as I open up a small memory of the attack, but she opens up more and stops on the part
where I start casting a mind block spell.
“How did you know how to do this?” I start to think, it‟s something I‟ve known how to do for a long
time, even casted one for Mekena when we were younger. A Mover kept harassing her, trying to get her to
like him. Even with that memory, I can‟t remember how I received the know-how. She follows this trail, and
comes to a stop with me when I do. I‟m getting frustrated, I cannot remember how I know the spell of
protection or the other spell.
“What other spell?”
“The spell to break a casted spell.”
“You know these?”
“Yes, but I‟m not sure how.” She knows I‟m telling the truth, and continues her search within me,
feeling inside my very powers. That is when I feel her true strength, as if there was an all seeing eye within my
core, my powers splayed out before her eyes, and she is then able to completely shut me out… crap.
The next moments are long, extraneous, and God awful! Not only can I not see what she is seeing, but
she is all over my core like there‟s a light show going on and she‟s running around after ever pretty light she
sees. She squeezes my hands, and I can feel her anger as she is very able to hear my thoughts. Sorry, I tell her,
and just stand, uncomfortably, waiting on her to finish searching me.
FINALY! After 20 minutes of awkward silence and a freak out session on my part, she lets go of my
hands.
“Charlsey, you are very different from anyone I have come across, which is not bad at all, you are just
very powerful in the amount of powers you have. Empathic is the strongest, but also Mover, Reader, Reigner
and now Memory.” She tells me these, but there is something else, and I‟m not sure what it is. She seems
troubled by something and I‟m starting to worry what it‟s about. “You do have a lot of black in you.” My
heart sinks. That‟s not good. I don‟t want to be one of the Covenant! “Please do not take it as a sign of you
turning evil, although, you are capable of doing so with you having the powers you have. The black is from
hurts, pains that I cannot see through. You have many bad memories, but you also have a light inside of you
that is very bright. I am sincerely impressed at the immensity of your powers. Do not worry, soon enough the
Protector and Destroyer will come.”
“Not soon enough,” I grumble as my hand floats to the back of my head.
“When they are ready,” she says as she grabs my hand, making something within me stir. I have no clue
what she is doing, or what the deep feeling is within me, but it leaves as soon as her hand pulls away. “So, we
must all be patient. Have faith and hope, most importantly, stop blocking the bad memories, the Covenant
can use it against you. Be smart, and wise.”
“Yes Sensor.”
She nods her head, telling Elder Benes that I am at a 7, but getting closer to an 8. Still, the tie that is
now between us… I can feel her troubled feelings. She is not telling him something; she‟s keeping a secret
and it‟s about me. When I try to pull on the string between us, to get more information, the connection
snaps. She turns to me with a smirk, and I know that her powers have grown, and I am jealous that she is able
to do that whereas I am not. “You two are dismissed.”
“Thank you Sensor,” Michael says for us, as he grabs my hand and we leave the room, then the
building, and we get into the car and sit in the heat for good while before either of us say anything.
“Are you okay,” Michael finally asks.
“I‟m creeped out, literally I want to go in there and slap the child in the face.”
“That‟s illegal,” he says solemnly, looks like I‟m not the only one she pissed off.
“Which memory did she invade?”
“Mekena‟s death, I‟m assuming that‟s the one you blocked her out of?”
“Yes, and the Vegas night.”
“She‟s a very invasive Sensor.”
“I hope she pisses off a Stormist and they make it rain on her.”
“That is illegal as well-”
“Yeah, well so is punching a baby in the face, but human‟s do it all the time.”
“You‟re over exaggerating again.”
“Look,” I say, anger growing by the seconds, “let‟s go before I punch you in the face, yeah? That isn‟t
illegal.” Michael just shakes his head and starts the car. I sit in the passenger seat, trying to decode what her
emotions were. Blocked, but she was scared, concerned, and she was keeping, whatever blackness that is
inside of me, a partial secret; she lied, and that is extremely illegal. Why though? What is within me that has a
Sensor so… struck? My eyes search the passing buildings for an answer until he pulls into my Grandfather‟s
house. I get out, still numb, and tell everyone that I am going to go to bed early, that I am exhausted. Closing
the door, I sit on the bed, hands wrapped around my knees, trying to figure out what is wrong with me.
Black, but bright light? Did she get dropped on her head when she was little or something? Mulling this over
within me, analyzing it, and then analyzing it again and again until I have every interaction between us
memorized. A headache is slowing setting in, yet I can‟t stop, I won‟t. I want to figure this out, this blackness
but bright light, so contradictory that- Jonathan.
My mind clears as I feel a hand on my back. I open my eyes and turn to look at him with a small smile.
He‟s concerned, apparently he‟s been in here awhile, just watching to see if I would look up at him, and I had
no clue. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn‟t realized the bed had moved as he sat beside me. He begins
to rub my back, his eyes on mine, and the feeling of being seen through again today makes me place my
forehead on my knees again.
“I thought you were tired.” My shoulders shrug, hoping to give him the hint that I‟m not in the talking
mood. Of course, it doesn‟t work, and he continues to rub my back. “Did something happen while you were
out?”
“Am I black?” Jonathan looks at me and begins to laugh as if I said the funniest thing in the world.
“There‟s no need for hysterics, I‟m asking a simple question.”
“Babe, you‟re a white girl, and I mean white. You barely tan, in fact you burn more than you tan. No,
you‟re not black.”
“No,” I say shaking my head, my legs stretching out the stiffness, “I mean, do I have black, in here.” I
point to the middle of my chest, where part of my core is. He, being mortal, thinks I mean my heart or soul
and instantly looks at me with sobriety.
“Why do you ask?”
“A blind girl told me I did,” I say with sadness and frustration.
“I only see you‟re light.”
“What light? Because, she mentioned that I had a bright light too and-”
“Isn‟t that a bit paradoxical?”
“That‟s what I was thinking!” My hands go to my face as I fall back onto the bed, “I realize that I block
people out, but when everyone drops dead around me like flies, can you blame me?” Jonathan is silent as he
sits beside me still, his hands in his lap. “I just don‟t understand,” I say as I start to analyze her emotions
again. “How can you tell me that I have black in me, than retort with „Oh, but this doesn‟t mean you‟re evil.‟
Then what do you mean? Am I a secret evil villain that‟s going to take over the world, but only after
something drastic and horrible happens? News flash, the worst has happened, three times now to be exact.”
My head really starts to hurt, so as I try to rub my temples, Jonathan pulls me into his arms. There‟s no
point in fighting, besides I‟m beginning to recognize that one of the reasons I‟m getting a headache is because
I really am exhausted. Fighting a 12 year old Sensor is harder work than I had realized. He starts to gently
scratch my head, softly kisses my forehead. Sometimes he is the greatest husband ever, and me figuring out
how wonderful physical contact is, makes me hate him. Can I live without this once we‟re over? Will I survive
the need to be held when I don‟t ask to be? Probably, but for a long time it‟s going to be horrid.
“I think everyone,” Jonathan says to me, as he pushes my hair back, “has black in their souls. Everyone
has the potential to be bad, as well as being good. Her telling you that, however odd it is, she forgot to
mention to you that having a black part of you and a bright part of you is common. Good and evil fight for
our souls every day, my Grandmother used to tell me that. She also used to tell me that the devil on your left
shoulder, and the angel on your right, are very real creatures. It‟s who you go with the most, and I see the
bright light she‟s talking about, it‟s written all over you almost all the time. Even when you‟re upset, you still
have something about you that is good. Don‟t allow a crazy blind person to upset you, you‟re good, I
promise.”
My arms wrap around him as I nuzzle into his warm embrace. The smell of his cologne mixed with the
hint of smoke from the grill makes me smile against his neck as I hug him tighter. “Thank you Jonathan.”
“You‟re welcome Charles,” he whispers to me.