Watched

By Tihema Baker

Remember always: You are being Watched. One morning Jason and Rory wake up in their dorm room at boarding school, the next, they have been transported to an intensive training facility for teens with superpowers. Equipped with the abilities to manipulate gravity and harness dark energy, Jason and Rory discover their strengths, weaknesses- and themselves. Enveloped in a realm of action, mystery and superhuman powers, the two protagonists believe they are being trained to hone their powers and ensure the ongoing survival of humanity. But as they grow more powerful and discover the deadly secrets of the Watchers, Jason and Rory struggle to keep their friendship intact in the face of mounting peril.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Huia Publishers
• Release date: Dec 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781775501855

Book preview

GENESIS TRAINING PROGRAMME

Date: 2009-05-22

Time: 03:00

Subject: MAGNUS

Session: Light Training Module [2]

Magnus. Awaken.

The female voice woke him with a jolt. Light overwhelmed him in the confined space, and, squinting, he attempted to move, but found he was restrained. He looked down and saw tight metal … things strapped around his wrists, wires and cables attaching them to the white floor, with identical contraptions locked around his ankles.

Opening Stabilisation Capsule.

The voice, sounding strangely artificial, was all around him.

Then with a low hum, the wall that caged him began to lower, lessening the intense glare.

Releasing Subject.

There was a loud hiss and the wires and cables detached themselves from the cuffs on his wrists, and he winced as the cold metal slid unpleasantly from his flesh, retracting into some unseen gap in the floor. The wires attached to his ankles did the same, and once he lost their support he swayed dizzily on the spot, planting a numb hand on what remained of the wall to steady himself. His body seemed so weak, his mind hazy.

Magnus. Step out of the Capsule.

That voice – had it just called him ... Magnus? He wasn’t entirely sure that Magnus was his name. But then again, he couldn’t remember if he even had a name at all.

Magnus. Step out of the Capsule.

He decided to obey the voice and took a shaky step out of the Capsule onto a smooth grey floor. It was cold under his bare feet, making him shiver involuntarily. Looking around, he found himself in a massive room, the giant walls lined with bright white lights. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and shorts, and although it ought to have seemed bizarre, somehow it was familiar to him.

Initiating Training Exercise: Light Training Module, Version Two.

The voice was everywhere and nowhere.

An ominous humming began to sound; it started low but gradually grew louder until it was punctured by an ear-splitting crack. In that instant, a hundred metal balls, perfectly smooth and no larger than a soccer ball, came flying at him from every direction. Daze instantly gave way to perfect alertness and through some instinct that surprised him but was not unknown, he held out his hands as an indescribable energy seemed to rise up within him. The effect was instantaneous; every one of the globes halted in mid-air. He gazed around the room and then at himself, before the balls all fell at the same time, each bouncing with a reverberating clang as he released them from his invisible grasp. Looking down at his hands, he marvelled at the raw power that seemed to emanate from them.

Another ball, this one as tall as he was, suddenly came rolling at him from behind. He saw it from over his shoulder and broke into a run, but knew that the quickly approaching ball would be upon him in seconds. And so he willed for the impossible to happen. He had only to think of it and it was done; some unseen force yanked him several metres sideways where he found his feet once more and continued running. The ball rolled aimlessly away to his left, but another was already coming straight at him. As calmly as ever, he leapt into the air and felt the unique sensation of weightlessness as he soared up and up, and the ball passed underneath harmlessly. Then, the weightlessness ended and he came back down to the ground, landing steadily on his feet.

The power was just a thought away. Whatever he wanted to happen could happen. He felt good. Alive. And most of all, powerful.

Another huge metal ball suddenly came flying at him from above and he reacted instantly; holding out his hands he bent the fabric of reality once more and the ball gradually slowed to a halt. He stared in awe at it, floating like a bubble before him, and then ripped the ball to the ground. As it rolled away the voice returned.

Light Training Module complete. All objectives completed by Subject Magnus. Magnus, return to the Stabilisation Capsule.

But he didn’t want to return to the Stabilisation Capsule. Now that he had this power, he didn’t want to go back to sleep, only to wake up somewhere else, knowing nothing. Somehow he knew that he had done this before, but he couldn’t remember exactly what had happened. And he realised that it would only be the same when he next awoke.

Magnus. Return to the Stabilisation Capsule.

‘No,’ he said aloud, hearing his own voice for the first time. He made to raise his hands, to summon that incredible power and attack the very walls that caged him in. But the moment he moved, immense, overwhelming pain drove into his wrists and ankles and tore through his veins.

Subject disobedience.

The voice was only just audible over the scream that ripped itself from his mouth.

Subject disobedience …

As the robotic voice droned on, he dropped to his knees, unable to stop the terrible pain. He wanted to rip the traitorous cuffs from his wrists and ankles, and he knew he could, but his mind would not operate properly, the pain was too unbearable. Slowly, the edges of his vision began to darken, the room began to spin and the pulsing throb in his body weakened as he began to lose consciousness. Panic briefly gripped him as he struggled with every ounce of effort he had to stay awake, but he only sank further into blackness.

And as Magnus passed into a deep sleep, Jason Carter awoke with a start.

1

The Mark

‘Chaos!’ Jason blurted out the word and sat bolt upright in bed.

He was panting heavily, his heart hammering against his ribs. Sweat coated his skin.

‘Another dream, Jase?’

Jason jumped and looked across the room at his best friend and roommate, Rory McFarlane. Rory was sitting on the edge of his bed, his grey eyes studying Jason intently from under his dark hair.

‘Y-yeah,’ Jason said.

‘Anything new?’

Jason thought for a moment.

‘Nothing,’ he said eventually, exhaling. ‘Just the same. I can hardly remember a thing.’

Rory sighed and rose to his feet. ‘I wish we knew what this was!’ he said, putting his hands on his head. ‘How long has it been? Two months?’

Jason nodded. ‘I think so. The first one was back in March, remember? It happened to both of us on the same night.’ When Rory didn’t seem to recall, Jason added, ‘The night after rugby trials? You got sent off for punching Trent Bateman after he late-hit me –’

‘That’s right,’ said Rory with a laugh. ‘Man, did he have that one coming.’ He turned back to Jason. ‘You all right, bro? Need some water or something?’

‘Nah, I’m good,’ Jason replied, looking away. The last thing he needed right now was Rory doing his big brother thing again. Being older, Rory had done that ever since the foster home, but now that they were in their final year at St Andre’s College, Jason was beginning to feel that he could take care of himself.

‘You sure, Jase? You know how badly this thing knocks you around.’ Rory pressed him.

Jason shook his head. ‘I said I’m fine, bro.’

‘Okay, okay,’ Rory said, raising his hands. ‘So … you said something like chaos when you woke up.’

‘Chaos?’ Jason asked. The word suddenly seemed familiar. ‘Did I? I … wonder why.’

‘Come on, Jase – you sure you can’t remember anything?’

‘I have flashes,’ he said after closing his eyes for a few moments. ‘But that’s all they are – just flashes of light and sound. I can’t make anything of them.’

‘There’s gotta be a reason this is happening to us – and only us.’

‘Why us, though?’ Jason asked. No theory they had discussed seemed more likely than another, from visions of past lives to alien abductions.

‘If they were just dreams,’ said Rory, almost to himself, as if he had rehearsed this theory before, ‘then surely we’d have some memory of them. And look at how much our bodies have changed over the past couple of months. It’s like we’ve been going to the gym twenty-four seven.’

Jason looked down at himself; the doctor had told them both that they were in perfect physical health, and there was no denying how fit and toned they had recently become – without any training.

‘I’m not complaining,’ Rory went on, flexing his arms, ‘but it means it’s more than just a mental thing; it’s physical too. I can’t figure it out.’

Rolling out of bed and planting his feet on the floor, Jason pushed himself up but was immediately hit by a wave of nausea and almost fell back to the bed. Rory made to help him but Jason held up a hand, taking a seat back on the edge of the bed.

‘You sure you’re all right, bro?’ Rory asked. Jason nodded irritably, and Rory changed the subject. ‘Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.’

‘I think I might give breakfast a miss,’ Jason mumbled, rubbing his head. ‘Might just go have a shower or something.’

Rory looked at him for a few moments but gave in, rising to change into his school uniform. Loosely putting his tie around his neck, he said, ‘I’ll come back to get you for class, yeah?’

‘Yeah, sounds good,’ Jason replied, finally feeling as if his heart rate and breathing were returning to normal. Rory took one last look at him, then left.

As soon as he heard the lock click into place, Jason slumped on his bed, feeling the dampness of the pillow on the back of his head. He was growing tired of this thing, whatever it was. The side-effects were always the same: hotness, disorientation, nausea and, a few times, even memory loss. He had woken a couple of times and had no idea where he was, or how he got to his room the night before. They had tried everything, even taking turns watching each other sleep, but the experiences seemed to evade their efforts, deliberately finding ways to get at them when they slept. Jason was terrified every time he went to bed, but was doing his best to hide his fear from Rory, who seemed to be handling the experience far better than he was.

‘This is crazy!’ he said to himself, sitting up once more. He pushed off the bed but his vision doubled again. Biting back the urge to throw up, he waited impatiently for the nausea to settle and then made his way over to the closet, took a towel and left the room.

He was thankful not to see any of the other boarders on his way to the showers; although he enjoyed the company of most of them – they were the only family he knew – he didn’t feel much like talking. He, unlike Rory, did not have the ability to face the other boys as if nothing strange was happening. Reaching the showers, he was glad to find them likewise empty, and slipped inside a cubicle.

‘Ah,’ he breathed, stepping under the showerhead and letting the hot water hit his back. He turned around and put his head under the water, leaning against the wall in relief. It wasn’t even halfway through the school year, and he wondered how on earth he was going to get through the rest of it. He could barely concentrate on his schoolwork anymore; he had always been quietly proud of his grades but they were definitely slipping. His mind was constantly on what would happen when he went to sleep, how he would wake up – or if he even would wake up.

‘Come on, Jason,’ he murmured to himself. ‘Pull yourself together.’

He made to wash his face, cupping his hands to catch the water, but something caught his eye. It was on his left wrist, right in the centre – a W-shaped mark.

‘What the …?’ he whispered, peering at it closely. Tentatively, he ran his finger over it, feeling the little grooves in his skin. It was like a scar – as if it had been purposely cut into his flesh. Panic began to seize him as he stared, unable to take his eyes off it. And it looked recent, too; dark and fresh, yet no signs of blood. The lines that formed it were perfectly straight.

His back met the wall of the shower cubicle as he stumbled in fright, overcome by the sudden, terrifying suspicion that he was being watched. He looked up at the ceiling, seeing nothing but roiling steam, and then quickly turned off the shower tap.

He wasted little time drying himself; when he threw his clothes on he was still soaked. He slowly opened the lock on the door and inched it open, sliding his head past it to look for anyone in the showers. He looked left and right. But he was the only one there.

‘H-hello?’ he called out, his nervous voice echoing throughout the empty room. There was no reply. His heart still pounding in his ears, he stepped out of the cubicle and made for the door. But something caught his attention – his reflection in the long mirror that lined the wall above the row of sinks.

‘Is anyone in here?’ he asked, and again there was no answer. He looked back to the mirror. There was something off about his appearance. Despite the unexplained condition of his body, his skin looked pale, his face somewhat gaunt. His short brown hair was plastered across his forehead. He glanced down at the chilling mark on his wrist, and wondered if there were more elsewhere. He checked his other wrist, then looked over the rest of his body in the mirror, lifting his shirt and twisting to see his back. But the only other mark on his skin was the dark birthmark on his right collarbone, shaped like a spear with its point directed at his shoulder, which he knew had always been there.

‘Come on,’ he said under his breath, staring into his blue eyes in the mirror. They, at least, seemed as normal as ever. ‘Come on, get it together.’

Stepping back from the mirror, he slowly held up his left arm. The W on his wrist stood out in stark contrast against his pale skin. But on looking into the mirror again, he saw a figure standing near the cubicle behind him. Crying out, he spun on the spot, only to find that there was nothing there.

Falling back against the sinks in horror, Jason hastily gathered up his things and sprinted from the bathroom. As he tore into the corridor he found some of the boys returning from breakfast. He could feel their eyes on him, but he didn’t care.

He soon reached his room and ploughed into it, overwhelmingly relieved to find Rory there waiting for him. He slammed the door behind him and locked it as Rory jumped to his feet.

‘Whoa, Jase, what’s the matter?’

But Jason couldn’t find words. He could still picture the figure’s reflection in the mirror, mere steps from him … all black, tall and lean … just watching him.

‘R-Rory, I-I-I–’

‘Calm down, Jase. Tell me what happened.’

Jason swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘I saw something … in the bathroom.’

‘You saw something? Like what?’

‘There was someone in the bathroom … watching me.’

‘Who? What did they look like?

‘I couldn’t see them. It was just a black thing … standing there … I saw it in the mirror and … I turned around but … there was nothing there.’

Rory lifted his eyes to look around the room, as if he half-expected the figure to be there with them, and then he said, ‘You’re safe now, Jase. It’s gone.’

Jason didn’t say anything. Letting out the breath he had been holding, he buried his face in his hands, unable to stop his whole body from shaking.

‘What do you think it was?’ Rory asked after some time. ‘Aliens? Whoever they are, we know they’ve got something to do with all of this … but what do they want? What are they doing to us?’

Again, Jason remained silent. Then Rory said, ‘So … did you also find a W on your wrist this morning?’

Jason’s heart stopped in his chest. Slowly he took his hands away from his face, seeing the mark again on his skin. He turned to Rory, who had rolled up his sleeve to reveal an identical mark.

‘I saw it during breakfast,’ he went on, studying it closely. ‘Can’t believe I didn’t see it earlier. We didn’t have these yesterday, did we?’

Jason shook his head, unable to take his eyes off the letters on their arms.

‘We’ve been marked,’ said Rory, lowering his arm to look directly at Jason. ‘Like a cow or something. I don’t know what for or who by, but it proves this is something real. It’s happening, and it’s happening for a reason, and I don’t think it’s good. Not after what we’ve been through, and not after what you saw in the bathroom.’

‘What do we do, Rory?’ Jason whispered. ‘We have to tell someone.’

‘And say what?’ said Rory. ‘That we have strange dreams? That we woke up with a W carved into our wrists? Good luck telling that one to the school counsellor.’

‘I meant the police, t-the authorities! I could tell them about the thing in the bathroom!’

‘And what exactly would you say, Jase?’

Jason bit his lip.

‘No one is going to believe us,’ Rory said.

‘I know but I’m …’ Jason swallowed again. ‘I’m freaking out, bro.’

‘Same,’ said Rory, sighing. ‘But we’re not gonna let it get to us, okay? We’re gonna fight this thing. Whatever it is, it’ll be sorry it ever messed with us.’

Jason nodded. But this time he didn’t believe Rory.

2

The Figure in Black

Jason expected to see the black figure again everywhere he went, his eyes constantly scanning every corner of every corridor or room. And yet, despite the lingering feeling of being watched, there was never anyone there.

‘Just one more day, Jase,’ Rory said to him as they took their seats in English that morning. ‘We get through today and we’ve got the weekend to relax. You still keen on that party up in Brooklyn?’

‘I don’t know,’ Jason mumbled in reply. ‘I was thinking of staying in, watching a movie or something.’

‘Aw, c’mon, Jase! It’ll be fun! There’ll be heaps of girls.’

Rory nudged him playfully in the ribs but Jason ignored him, instead resigning himself to silence.

As the day went on, lessons seemed to pass by Jason unnoticed, the pages of his books void of notes. He could not shake the black figure from his mind. He could almost feel it standing over his shoulder, watching him as it had in the bathroom mirror.

At lunch, as he and Rory passed the rugby ball around their group of mates, the ball seemed to come and go from a distance; his mind was beyond it, inconspicuously looking for the figure in black.

When Jason and Rory arrived at their history class, the last for the day, they took their seats at the back, and Jason slumped forward on his desk, burying his face in his arms.

‘You all right, Jase?’ Rory asked.

‘Yeah,’ Jason muttered. ‘Just tired.’

‘All right, settle down,’ said their teacher, Mr Reweti, from the front of the room. ‘I know, it’s fifth period on a Friday afternoon, and as that means you guys won’t do any work –’ the boys laughed among themselves ‘– we’re going to watch a DVD.’

There was a unified cheer from the boys, and a few high-fives. Jason allowed himself a sigh.

‘But first,’ said Mr Reweti, ‘assignments! Get your quizzes out, please.’

A groan from the majority of the boys went up immediately, followed by a rustling of bags and books by the few who had managed to complete their homework. Jason and Rory looked at each other.

‘Well, this is going to be interesting,’ Rory said with a wry smile, but Jason did not have the energy to return it.

After a few minutes of handed-out detentions and

lame excuses that seemed to grow even more unbelievable with each student, Mr Reweti finally reached the two

of them.

‘Assignments, boys?’

‘Any chance of an extension, sir?’ Rory asked.

Mr Reweti let out a long, exhausted sigh.

‘No, Rory.’ Turning to Jason, he said, ‘Jason? Do you have your assignment?’

Barely believing he was saying it, Jason replied, ‘Sorry, sir … I haven’t done it.’

Mr Reweti frowed. ‘Really? You haven’t done it?’

‘No, sir.’

‘This is very unlike you, Jason,’ Mr Reweti said, ‘but as I said yesterday: there are no excuses in your senior year. I’m afraid it’s going to be a fail.’

Jason nodded in acceptance and then Mr Reweti continued in a firmer tone, ‘And that’s a fail for you too, Rory.’

Giving Jason one last look, Mr Reweti turned to walk back to the front of the class.

‘So yesterday we looked at the Treaty of Waitangi – supposedly our founding document. Today we’re going to be watching a documentary on how the Treaty is applied – or maybe, how it isn’t – in modern-day society.’

Jason felt his mind drifting elsewhere yet again, despite the lingering shame at not having done his homework. Leaning forward over his desk and resting his cheek on his arms, he looked out the window, allowing the sound of the documentary to become more and more distant.

Snippets of memories from his night experiences seemed to replay in his head: flashes of bright white light, a loud clang, a heavy rumbling that seemed to grow louder … and then in an instant Jason saw the black figure from the mirror again, watching him, nearly close enough to touch him –

‘Jason!’

Everything snapped back to reality and Jason found himself at his desk, every head in the classroom turned to look at him. He suddenly became aware that he had cried out, and Mr Reweti was staring right at him.

‘Jason, were you … asleep?’ he asked.

Jason didn’t know how to answer. He could feel his face growing hot, and everywhere he looked, eyes were on him. With a loud scrape of his chair, he got to his feet, scooping up his bag, and hurried from the room without a word. He had barely made it a few metres before he heard Rory calling after him, ‘Jase! Wait up!’

He stopped, allowing Rory to catch up.

‘What happened back there?’

‘I don’t know!’ he replied, his distress growing. ‘I just … I guess I was dreaming and … I freaked!’

‘What do you mean, Jase?’

‘That thing – in the bathroom – I keep seeing it!’

‘What? Where?’ Rory asked, looking around.

‘No, not here.’ Jason put his hands on his head. ‘Just … I keep seeing it the way I saw it in the mirror. I can’t get it out of my head.’

Rory’s brow furrowed as he looked down at Jason.

‘Come on, bro,’ he said, gesturing for Jason to follow him. ‘Let’s go into town. Get something to eat.’

‘But what about class? Mr Reweti?’ Jason asked. He could see Rory’s delight at having an excuse to skip school.

‘I convinced him it’d be better if I went after you. We’ll deal with that old goat later.’

‘How?’

‘I’ll think of something.’

So the two left the school grounds and headed into the cool streets of Wellington. Few words passed between them on the way; Jason remained too wrapped in his own thoughts to make much conversation. He could feel Rory looking at him every so often – checking on him, he supposed – but even as they walked, the image of the black figure remained fixed in his mind.

‘You’re not hungry?’ Rory asked as they stood on the corner of Courtenay Place, staring down at the shops that lined the footpath. ‘C’mon, my shout.’

‘I’m fine, Rory,’ Jason said, walking over to a nearby bench and taking a seat. ‘You get something if you want.’

Rory sat down beside him. ‘Jase, you can’t let this thing get to you. You’re stronger than this. We’ll be okay.’

‘How do you know?’ Jason asked. ‘How is this not getting to you? We have no idea what this is. There is something watching us – doing something to us – and you act like it’s not even happening!’

‘I know it’s happening,’ Rory replied. ‘But I’m not gonna let this thing get me down. There’s no way I’m letting whoever it is that’s doing this get the better of me. They’re not going to get away with this.’

Jason sighed. He should have expected such an answer

from Rory.

‘Hey, we’re fine. We’re gonna get through this. We stick together, and we take it as it comes.’

‘Easy for you to say,’ Jason said. ‘It doesn’t affect you the way it affects me. You don’t wake up and feel sick like I do. You’re not expecting every single moment of every single day to see some black thing standing behind you!’

‘I’m just as freaked out as you are!’ said Rory. ‘But it’s about facing your fears, Jase; you’re allowed to be scared, but we beat this thing by facing it, not hiding from it. That’s how we’ve come so far: surviving the foster home, getting scholarships to college, making the First Fifteen – it’s all come from me and you, standing up to our fears.’

‘More like you standing up to them,’ Jason said eventually. ‘I just … want it to stop.’

‘I know. But you gotta be strong, Jase. You can get through this, I know you can.’

Jason allowed himself a smile, catching Rory’s eye. ‘Thanks, Rory.’

‘So how ’bout something to eat?’ Rory said, rising to his feet. ‘C’mon, let’s go!’

Jason grinned to himself and set off after Rory, who was heading for the road. As his foot met the edge of the gutter, he slipped, stumbling forward just as a taxi pulled into a parking space. Somehow, through some instinct, Jason realised what was about to happen before it did. Subliminally he saw the car veer out of control, felt the driver’s foot slam on the accelerator instead of the brake in confusion. And then the impact came.

‘Jason!’

Rory’s yell was immediately cut off by the car ploughing into his right side and smashing his body into the back of the parked storage truck to his left. Instant pain seared through him as his arms were pinned to his sides and his head cracked viciously on the truck’s solid metal exterior. His senses were immediately addled. The pain seemed to become oddly muffled, as did his hearing, and his vision began to cloud. Distantly he heard a voice that he thought was Rory’s.

‘Jason? Jason! What are you doing? Reverse!’

A great pressure seemed to release as the car reversed and Jason was allowed to slip down to the concrete.

‘Are you out of your freakin’ mind? What the hell were you doing? Call an ambulance, now!’ He faintly heard Rory shouting at the taxi driver, but the dull throbbing in his brain made it hard to comprehend. Struggling to stay conscious, he tried to speak, to form words of any kind, but there was no

Reviews for Watched

[zeborah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two best friends from a Wellington boarding school discover they've got some cool new superpowers, and are recruited along with more teenagers worldwide by a secretive organisation of Watchers to be trained to protect the world.The organisation and its leader is convincingly ambiguous: I was genuinely on the fence about whether the Big Reveal would be that they were the bad guys or that they were the good guys after all. Jason and Rory's developing relationship is also nuanced, their initial tightknit friendship threatened by Rory's jealousy, and the characters of the other Subjects sharply-defined without being caricatures.I really loved the focus on teamwork and the concept of creating "Fusions" rather than each relying only on their own superpowers; I was only disappointed that there wasn't much of a callback to this, not even an "In the chaos they didn't think of...", when it came time to put their skills to the test for real.