Erick cried out in his sleep and the noise awoke Nomad who had been unconscious for several hours and his body was stiff and sore from lying crumpled on the ground for so long. Erick cried out again, his sleepy voice slurring his words beyond recognition. Nomad pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, his mind still foggy. He was about to stand up when the wall that faced the park exploded. Nomad had just enough energy and presence of mind to raise his shield to stop the shrapnel from killing him but nothing more. The explosion threw him back against the far wall and he smacked his head hard. His vision flashed and for a moment he was too disoriented and dazed to do anything besides lie there with his shield up, burning through his already depleted energy stores. Erick came running into the room and began assessing the situation. As Nomad’s vision cleared a second explosion rocked the building and this time Nomad didn’t have enough energy to keep up his shield.

“Get out of here!” Erick’s voice sounded distant even though he was only a few feet away.

His silhouette dashed around the gaping hole in the wall, avoiding explosions and blasts and firing back a few of his own. Erick backed up as more of the apartment got blown away to the point where Nomad could finally see out at their attackers. A small army, it seemed, had come against them. Nomad had never seen anything like it. The soldiers wore body armor that protected them from Erick’s blasts, absorbing and disbursing the energy. A pair of small tanks fired powerful bursts of energy up at the building and they were the source of the majority of the damage.

“Go on!” Erick still held off the attackers, but it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to do it for long.

Nomad tried to rise but he was too weak, too tired, and too hurt.

“I can’t!” Nomad managed to speak in Erick’s mind. “Seraph was here!”

Erick turned for a moment, confusion playing on his face. “Who?” He shouted.

Before I could answer, Erick’s face lit up as he got shot in the back of the head by one of the smaller energy weapons the soldiers carried. Time slowed down as his body lifted gracefully into the air and spun until he smashed through the far wall and into the next room. He lay perfectly still, crumpled up in a heap. At least the shooting stopped.

Somewhere from below footsteps sounded and men shouted orders for positioning. Nomad needed to get out. He needed to get to Erick. All he could do, though, was lie there helpless. The worst part about all of this was that it seemed terribly familiar, as though he’d been in this sort of situation before and couldn’t quite remember it.

“Get up!”

Nomad jerked when he heard the words, but was still too weak to move. At first he thought it was Erick but the voice was wrong.

“Get up!”

Nomad tried, he really did, but there were dozens of injuries all over him and he was still struggling to even stay conscious.

“GET UP!!!” The voice shouted and this time Nomad recognized it as belonging to Seraph.

The stairway echoed with heavy feet as half a dozen men came charging up them and burst into the room.

“Is that him?” One of them said.

I’ve seen these weapons before, he thought to himself.

When or where he’d seen them he didn’t know but for some reason the familiarity was comforting.

“Take him alive if you can,” another voice said from the dark.

Nomad recognized that voice but this time he felt no comfort at that familiarity. Instead a deep loathing and spike of fear welled up inside of him.

“Shoot until he stops screaming,” he said as they all raised their weapons as one.

Energy buzzed as capacitors were charged. Nomad’s hands tingling and he shut his eyes against the end. Nothing happened. After a moment he opened his eyes. Some of the soldiers had lowered their weapons and were looking at one another uncertainly. Nomad’s feet began tingling.

“Ready.” The familiar voice barked, taking charge.

Nomad’s whole lower half seemed to be on pins and needles as the soldiers raised their weapons once more.

“Aim.”

A large shock of electricity flashed and a few of the men in front of Nomad jumped. Ribbons of white light were coursing all over Nomad’s body and he had no idea why.

“Fire!”

The hum coming from the guns grew louder for a mere fraction of a second before they fired. Blue energy shot from each barrel, a stream of small blue orbs very similar to Erick’s energy blasts. Time slowed down and the blueish bolts crackled in the air. Nomad could barely stand the prickling sensations all over his body anymore when everything went white. The blasts entered Nomad’s body, their energy dispersing throughout, and he began to feel himself getting stronger. His vision became clearer, his body healed, and his sense of his surroundings rapidly expanded. Nomad could feel the surrounding army and knew that he, unlike Erick, could pierce their armor. The soldiers still stood around Nomad, firing into him and giving him strength. They didn’t seem to realize what they were actually doing to Nomad until he lifted up into the air. That was when they stopped firing.

The bright glow of Nomad’s body faded as he returned to his normal self, albeit fully charged now, as two black orbs fell hot and heavy into each of his hands. Not sure why, Nomad threw both of them into the chest of the man whose voice he’d recognized. The armor may have been designed to absorb energy, but not on the scale that Nomad could produce. In a flash the armor was overloaded and the resulting explosion blew all of the soldiers back. The one Nomad had targeted flew out the hole in the wall and landed in a sprawl on the top of one of the tanks. He did not get up.

The fear that sprang into the soldiers minds was a familiar sensation as well, and one Nomad found that he enjoyed. Their shock only lasted for a moment and then as one they raised their weapons and began firing. Nomad was gone before their shots could land, flying passed them and out the hole in the wall so he could see all of the gathered forces. He grinned, despite himself, and flashed white once more. The two tanks fired up at him and his body absorbed the energy. Black orbs began to coalesce in the air around Nomad. Hate for these people began to bubble up as well from whatever lost memories he’d once had, and he began to rain down energy blasts on the soldiers.

Black flame spread from where the energy blasts struck and burned through everything it touched. The glow of molten metal created bright patches on the ground outside as soldiers screamed out in agony. A primal cry of rage burst from Nomad’s mouth that he didn’t understand but couldn’t contain.

Portable shields were raised by the few who were still standing, faint blue bubbles lighting them up and making them easier to target. The futility of it made Nomad pause long enough that the soldiers began to think they were safe.

An orb fell into Nomad’s hand but he didn’t stop pouring energy into it. Cracks appeared as the energy tried to escape but Nomad fought it back, crushing it and forcing it to stay together. The resistance grew so great that the skin on Nomad’s hands began to split but still he pushed more and more energy into this orb. Only when the black obsidian-like surface turned white hot did Nomad stop and he cast it down at the remaining soldiers.

Bodies, metal, dirt, and debris flew everywhere. The concussive blast from the explosion shattered windows all around them and in the distance, sirens began to wail.

About time, Nomad thought to himself. Hadn’t they heard the earlier explosions?

When the air cleared Nomad found himself floating before an empty field of molten glass. Only remnants remained of the apartment building. The black fire from before extinguished as Nomad flew to where Erick lay, exactly as he was before, crumpled and still. All the emotion of the fight rolled over Nomad and tears began to stream down his face. It was a relief when he saw that Erick was still breathing. Kneeling down, Nomad healed Erick’s wounds but his mind was still damaged from the shot he’d taken and he did not wake

“Come on Erick.” Nomad told him as he picked him up. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

He stirred this time when Nomad spoke.

“Go East. . . ” Erick mumbled after several minutes. “Follow the highway to the . . . the house . . . Sarah’s house.”

Erick’s mind filled with pictures of her house and Nomad knew where to go. Now that he had a clear destination in mind, he sped up until the world around him crawled and he cut through the air like a bullet.

“They’ll help.” Erick said as the house came into view.

Nomad began to move into their minds to hide from them when Erick shook his head.

“Let them know we’re here.” Erick sounded stronger but his mind still felt off. “They’re friends. We can trust them.”

For the first time ever that he could remember, Nomad knocked on the door. It was late and it was dark inside but after a few seconds a light turned on. A few seconds more and the door opened. A middle-aged man looked from Nomad to Erick and it took a moment before he seemed to recognize Erick. Once he did, however, he motioned for them to come in.

“Over here,” he whispered, leading the way into the living room. “Put him on the couch. What happened?”

“We were attacked,” Nomad said, unsure about what exactly this Mr Collins was supposed to be able to do for Erick. “They had energy weapons and Erick got hit in the head.”

Erick had drifted back into unconsciousness and Mr Collins turned his attention to Nomad.

“How do you know Erick?” He asked.

Besides Erick, Nomad hadn’t interacted with many adults in the years he’d been on his own so he wasn’t quite sure what to do or say exactly. Not wanting to have a prolonged conversation, Nomad rose up a few inches off the ground, his wings sprouting and waving softly.

“Erick,” Nomad told him in his mind, “is not the only one with powers.”

That was when Mrs Collins came in.

Nomad floated back down and retracted his wings.

“Can you help him?” Nomad asked. “He said to bring him here.”

Neither of the Collins’ replied but they did at least move over to beside Erick and looked him over. There wasn’t anything physically wrong with Erick that could be seen since Nomad had already healed those injuries. Erick blinked a few times when he saw the Collins’ and Mr Collins rested a hand on Erick’s shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Hard to concentrate,” Erick replied. “Can’t think. Just needed someplace safe. Need to rest.”

Mr Collins nodded and gave Erick’s shoulder a squeeze.

“It’s late,” he said as he got up and looked over at Nomad. “There’s not much we can really do for him but you’re both welcome to stay as long as you need.”

Erick shut his eyes and Nomad sensed him slipping into unconsciousness.

“Do you know if they’re still after you?” Mrs Collins asked.

Nomad shook his head. “I don’t even know where they came from.”

“They’re called The People,” Mr Collins said. “I don’t know much about them these days but when Erick was younger and dealing with them I worked with them. Once I found out what they were all about I quit.”

“What do they want?” Nomad asked.

“They want power. Influence. They already control a lot of what goes on in Purge City and the surrounding area. They develop a lot of new tech for the military so the government turns a blind eye to a lot of the more questionable things they do here.”

Mrs Collins pulled a blanket out from a closet and draped it over Erick.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked Nomad.

“I’m alright,” Nomad assured her.

“We’ve got a spare room you can sleep in,” she said nodding towards the hall.

With everything that had happened, Nomad hadn’t realized just how tired he was up until that moment. He was fully charged with energy still, but his mind was exhausted.

“Thank you, Nomad said and followed her to the room. Once alone, he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep almost at once.

By the next morning Erick felt quite a lot better. His mind still jittered now and then, but he could at least think clearly without any help. That day, Nomad met Felicity, the Collins’ daughter. She had been born a little while after Erick went into hiding, after he made sure that his family was safely hidden. Felicity would turn nine years old in a few days.

“How are you doing Erick?”

Nomad walked into the living room where Erick still lay on the couch. Nomad handed him some tea and sat down on the chair next to him. Erick accepted the tea and began sipping it.

“I’m all right, all things considered.” He smiled and chuckled before taking another sip. “What happened last night?”

Nomad gave him a brief explanation of the events. “I guess now I understand why you’ve stayed hidden all these years.”

Erick sat up and placed his cup of tea on the end table beside him.

“Lie back down.” Nomad told him.

“I’m fine.” He said, “I’d hoped that they’d given up on capturing me,” he added, “but I guess not.”

“Erick,” Nomad bowed his head as he considered his next few words. “I think I killed them.”

He’d tried not to think about that fact ever since the night before but the truth of it kept coming back to his mind. Even though The People had been the attackers, Nomad still felt wrong about how far he’d gone with his powers.

“It just happened.” Nomad admitted. “I didn’t mean to do it, but I wasn’t holding back either.”

Erick stared for a moment, his mind going fuzzy before refocusing.

“You said that Seraph had appeared to you again, and said something about knowing the attack was coming and that he recognized them?”

Nomad nodded, “Do you think I used to be held by The People?.”

“It’s a possibility.”

“You guys are weird.”

Both Erick and Nomad turned to find Felicity standing in the hallway, smiling at them. She already had her light blond hair down to the middle of her back, just like her mother. Her eyes were green, like her fathers. Though no one ever said it, Felicity looked almost exactly like Sarah did at her age, except for the eyes. Nomad stood up and walked to the window. Little kids always made him uncomfortable. Erick, smiled back at her.

“Now why is that?” He asked.

Felicity didn’t like Nomad very much but she treated Erick like an uncle or something.

“Because, you just look at each other. You change your faces, but you never say anything.”

From the beginning, they’d all decided that Felicity shouldn’t know about Erick’s or Nomad’s powers.

“Well,” Erick said while beckoning to her to join him on the couch, “The thing is, we know each other so well that we know what the other is going to say even before he says it. So, we never need to say much.”

Felicity turned from Erick and looked at Nomad.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“I’m Nomad.” He answered. “

Nomad walked back over to the chair and sat down, conceding to the fact that ignoring Felicity wouldn’t work very well.

“So,” she said with her eyes beginning to shine, “does that mean you move around a lot? I saw a show with nomads in it. They were always moving and lived in tents. Do you live in a tent?”

“No.” Nomad chuckled at the idea of him telling her what he really did and knowing it would upset her.

“Did your parents really name you Nomad?” Felicity asked.

“Felicity.” Erick cut in, knowing that this would be a sensitive topic for Nomad.

“It’s alright,” Nomad said, trying to sound casual. “You can call me Seraph instead if you want. That’s what I used to be called.”

Erick looked up at Nomad in surprise.

“It’s true, I used to be Seraph. Why can’t I be him again? I only ever called myself Nomad because I didn’t know what else to do.” Erick shrugged and looked back at Felicity, who noticed our small exchange, though understood none of it.

Mr Collins came into the room to check on us.

“She isn’t bothering you is she?” He asked gesturing towards his daughter.

“No, she’s fine.” Erick said before Nomad could object.

Felicity jumped off the couch and ran to grab her father around the middle.

Nomad had a forced grin on his face but it was the best he could manage. Being around families always set him on edge since it reminded him of what he didn’t have. The longer they stayed, the more Nomad wanted to leave. He didn’t have anything against the Collins but seeing how happy just made him all the more uncomfortable. Erick noticed.

“Go invisible if it bothers you that much.” He said.

“It’s more than that.” Nomad replied. “It’s being here. Seeing all of…this.”

Mr Collins and Felicity left and Erick and Nomad were once again left alone.

“Nomad,” Erick said at once, “You said that you killed the soldiers that attacked us. How?”

Nomad stared back into his eyes, knowing that he was more curious than angry.

“You’ve always known that I’m more powerful, Erick. Their armor didn’t do much for them against me.”

Erick closed his eyes and began rubbing his temples with his fingers.

“I’ve known.” He said, “I just thought that their armor would have done more, even against you.”

Nomad shook his head. “No, barely slowed me down.”

Erick sat up straight, growing more serious. “Two days ago they would have.” He spoke aloud, the sound of his weak and scratchy voice contrasted against his mental voice. “You’ve always been more powerful, yes, but not that powerful. What happened?”

Erick had a point. Nomad had been thinking the very same thing ever since they’d arrived at the Collins. Something had changed, something that allowed him to become so much more powerful all at once.

“The only difference I can think of,” Nomad said, “is that I’ve got wings now.”

Felicity walked by again and both Erick and Nomad stopped talking out loud.

“Last night, before we were attacked,” Nomad explained, “I found that I had wings. That’s why Seraph came, actually. He said something about them being my first set, and how weak they are compared to what they used to be, but he left before I could ask him anything.”

Erick lied back down on the couch as a wave of nausea hit him.

“That’s enough for today.” He said, closing his eyes and turning onto his side, “I need to rest.”

Erick didn’t fall asleep. His mind filled with worry about Nomad, about what he was becoming, and he couldn’t hide his thoughts without overtaxing his mind. Nomad was worried too. He’d never considered himself a violent person and the fight had left him shaken.

Not wanting to spend more time around the Collins than he had to, Nomad went out into the backyard. There was an old swing set and he sat down in a swing and began to push himself back and forth with his mind. The motion helped clear away his thoughts and he enjoyed a few precious minutes of peace and quiet. Swinging had always been a favorite of Nomad’s, even as he grew older he still enjoyed going to parks and swinging. It was in those moments that he felt almost normal.

After a minute he stopped using his powers and began to swing under his own force. His hair was long enough that it brushed the ground as he leaned back and swung higher and higher. He had just drifted away from everything when he heard someone give out a short cry.

Nomad stopped in mid swing, holding himself in the air and searched for the source of the cry.

“Nomad! Get in here!” Erick called to his mind.

Nomad flew out of the swing and rushed into the house, opening the door with his mind and moving silently. There were new minds in the front living room and none of them felt friendly. They had greater resistance than Nomad was used to but he was able to push through and block himself from their sight.

As Nomad stepped into the room he counted five men, all armed and armored like those who had attacked them last night. The Collins were on the couch and Erick was leaned against the wall next to them. Although the newcomers looked like the soldiers from before, there was something about their bearing that bespoke a higher level of training. One soldier held a shoe box sized device and was turning it back and forth, following a needle like a compass. As soon as Nomad entered the room the needle on the device shifted from Erick to Nomad and the several displays began giving increased readings.

“Sir,” The man holding the device said, “Another source just entered the room, over by the door.” He pointing right at Nomad. Everyone’s eyes turned on him and Nomad’s mental block wavered. They saw him for a moment before Nomad could reassert himself and their eyes glanced over him once more.

“I thought these were supposed to keep them out.” One of them whisper while tapping his helmet.

The ranking officer stepped forward.

“Show yourself.” He said, looking to Nomad’s left.

With a though, Nomad shoved him back in line with the others as that strange anger welled up inside of him once again.

“No.” He said inside his mind.

The officer scanned the room with his eyes for Nomad once again but failed to see him.

“What’s the plan?” Nomad asked Erick.

“Do whatever you have to, but keep it clean. I don’t want this house destroyed.”

Not wanting a complete repeat of the night before, Nomad kept his anger in check and rather than blasting away with reckless abandon, he instead pressed fully into their minds and forced them to fall asleep. They collapsed as though they were marionettes who’s strings had been cut. Felicity gasped and buried her face in her mother’s arms.

“Are they dead?” she asked.

“They’re just sleeping,” Nomad said, allowing them all to see him now.

“How’d they find you?” Mr Collins asked.

“This,” Nomad said, walking over and picking up the device they’d been using to locate him.

“What do we do with these?” Nomad asked Erick about the unconscious soldiers. “Should we question them?”

Mr Collins examined the device and nodded. “They used something like this before to find you, didn’t they, Erick?”

“They did,” Erick said, “though this one seems more sensitive than the one they had back then. Probably explains why they found us so quickly.” Erick then added in my mind, “Go ahead and interrogate them if you like. I won’t be much help there. Maybe take them to the backyard.”

Nomad made the soldiers all vanish from the Collins’ view and then levitated them out to the backyard and woke up the officer.

“Who are you?” Nomad asked.

He refused to answer and his armor made forcing an answer difficult. That was a problem he could deal with and began stripping it off of him, starting with the helmet. The officer struggled but it was futile as Nomad had him held down firmly with his mind. The armor sparked as it was overloaded and eventually shut down on its own.

“What is your name?” Nomad began with simple questions once the armor was dealt with, pushing gently at first and then more forcefully until he answered.

“My . . . name,” he said through gritted teeth, “Is . . . Michael Dovan.”

The more he resisted the more it would hurt, and a part of Nomad wanted him to hurt.

“Why are you here?” Nomad asked, again forcing an answer from him.

“Sent to . . . capture or . . . incapacitate . . . boy.”

Nomad’s eyes narrowed. “What boy?”

Michael began to fight harder now. “The. . .God Child.”

Nomad stared harder at him. “What is the God Child’s name?” He asked.

“I . . . don’t know . . . something happened . . . years ago . . . erased his name.”

Michael began to bleed from his tear ducts and collapsed from fatigue but Nomad wouldn’t let him fall unconscious.

“You get to rest when I’m done.” Nomad told him. “Now then, am I the boy you were sent after?”

Michael’s mind grew unstable as he replied, “Yes.”

“Who sent you?”

Michael’s eyelids drooped as he threatened to go unconscious, but Nomad held him awake.

“Who sent you?” he repeated.

“The People.”

Michael’s mind broke down and became too disjointed to carry on. He was allowed to pass out and Nomad moved on to the next soldier, removing his armor as before and then waking him up.

“Tell me about The People”

“We are…a private organization…We influence world events.”

“How?” Nomad asked.

His eyes lolled as he fought to keep silent and Nomad left him alone for a moment to keep him from passing out under the stress.

“How do The People influence the world?” Nomad asked a third soldier.

“Technology…based on…your powers…” he muttered before he rambled off into gibberish.

“What does the technology do, exactly?” Nomad asked. “Besides your armor and weapons.”

“We can…influence minds…like you do…make people…do what we want.”

He passed out and Nomad moved down the row. Unfortunately, Nomad wasn’t able to get much more out of them. He tried going back to the start with them but they were too well trained, or perhaps Nomad had pushed too hard too fast and damaged their minds. Either way, he wiped their minds completely when he’d finished, flown them to the edge of town, end left them to fend for themselves with nothing to identify themselves other than each other. When he got back to the Collins’ home he found them discussing what should be done next with Erick.

“We have to leave.” Erick was saying.

Felicity sat on her fathers lap, her mother next to them, and Erick across the table. Erick looked terrible, his hands shook and his face was pale. His energy still flowed wrong and it was no secret he couldn’t travel on his own yet. Everyone looked up when Nomad entered the room.

“What did you do with them?” Felicity asked with obvious concern.

Nomad took a seat at the end of the table beside Erick. “They’re fine,” he assured her, “I took them away from here and they won’t be coming back.”

Erick nodded.

“Did you find anything out from them?” Erick sounded as if he were afraid of what Nomad might say.

He told them everything he’d learned, which admittedly wasn’t much. Erick seemed relieved about how little Nomad had learned which was more than a little aggravating to Nomad. This was not the time or place to confront him about it though so Nomad let it go for now.

“So,” Erick began once Nomad was finished. “We can’t leave you and hope they don’t come back.”

Mr. Collins was on the verge of speaking when Nomad cut in.

“I think they’ll be fine.” Erick gave him a doubtful look. “They came after me,” he went on. “They tracked us here with their little energy compass, so if we leave, I don’t think they’ll bother the Collins.”

“We can’t just let you leave.” Mr. Collins stated matter-of-factly “If you leave, they’ll hunt you down again. What if they capture you?”

Nomad smirked and choked down a laugh. “Not much chance of that happening.” He said.

Mr. and Mrs. Collins both looked unconvinced.

“Their strongest armor barely slows me down and all their weapons are energy based, and I absorb energy.”

Erick looked at Nomad and said, “We need to talk in private.”

“We can talk right here.”

Erick gave a short nod before answering a question Mr. Collins had asked.

“What is it Erick?” Nomad prompted.

“I know more about your past than I’ve told you.” He replied while giving me a quick, meaningful glance.

“I’ve known that for a while,” Nomad replied. “Does this mean you’re finally going to tell me everything?”

While Erick asked another question to the Collins, his mind opened and images of him walking down long white corridors lined with metal doors filled Nomad’s vision. One room sat dark and empty except for the occasional flash of small lights.

“This use to be your home.” Erick explained. “I’ve been going there almost every night for the past week trying to find out about your past.”

Inside of Erick’s memory, he continued to explore the room.

“You know where this place is?” Nomad asked, excitement and frustration rising within him. “And you never told me?”

Erick gave no sign that he heard Nomad.

A light turned on and they were in a different room. A huge machine like a canon sat at the bottom of a sloped floor in a large white room. The machine had a cockpit and control panel.

“This is a stasis projector. I’ve had one used against me before but it was smaller. Weaker. This one was designed for you. I saw this in your mind. I think I can help you remember some of what you lost.”

Nomad’s memories jumped and shifted, making it difficult to follow them, but eventually they began to resolve.

A three year old boy stood inside of the machine’s stasis field. The person in the cockpit controlled the boy’s powers. One man in regular clothes stood in the corner while everyone else wore body armor and suits. The man looked unhappy. A man in a suit who smiled broadly came over and stood beside him.

“You’re son is quite impressive.” The man in the suit said.

“Dad.” Nomad whispered though no one at the table seemed to notice.

The memory shifted and the boy and his dad were in the small room. His dad was reading from the Bible.

The boy, a little older now, stood in the large room with the sloping floor again. A woman and a little girl stood in front of him. The memory jittered like an old movie and the speed of the memory varied from moment to moment.

“Are you theirs or are you mine?” Nomad’s father screamed before the men around him could subdue him.

The boy raised his hand and waved at the woman and young girl.

The boy said something but the memory was too damaged to make out the words. The memory jittered again and the next moment the boy fired two white blasts, killing the woman and girl instantly.

The man beside Nomad’s father smiled. “Subdue him.” He said.

The boy realized what he’d done and cried out. He attacked the men around him but the machine proved too powerful and they immobilized him.

The memories ended and Erick let his mind rest. Nomad excused himself from the table and went outside to the front porch. A few minutes later Erick joined him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nomad asked him.

“I don’t know.” He answered. “Trying to protect you, I guess.”

“Protect me from what?” Nomad demanded. “Protect me from what, Erick?”

“Nomad, look-”

“You’re not protecting me. You’re protecting them!”

“I don’t want you looking for them. You’ve seen their machine and what it can do.”

“No, listen—

Erick held up a hand. “Nomad—

“My name is Seraph!” Nomad yelled though he wasn’t quite sure why he’d gone that route with the argument. “They made me kill those people! They need to be shut down!”

Erick waited a moment and kept his voice level when he spoke.

“The stasis machine was off in the memory, Nomad. You killed them on your own.”

Nomad jumped to his feet.

“SHUT UP!!” He shouted and backhand Erick across the face.

Erick recoiled from the hit and when he turned back to face Nomad, an imprint of his hand showed red on his cheek.

“All you are is a weapon to them.” Erick said with no compassion in his voice. “If you go back to them, that’s what they’ll turn you into.”

Nomad turned to fly away. The instant he began to lift off the ground his back exploded with uncontrolled energy and blew him off the porch. Nomad tried to rise but the pain drove him back down. Erick was by his side a moment later and bent down to pick him up.

“Get away from me!” Nomad cried and shoved Erick with his enhanced strength.

Erick tumbled backward but caught himself in midair and hovered above him.

“I don’t need you any more!” Nomad’s legs found their strength and he scrambled to my feet while his back began to heal. “Leave me alone!”

Nomad walked for a ways and tried to fly again with similar results. Nomad healed himself and didn’t attempt to fly again. Erick began to fly down to him but Nomad waved his hand and pulled him out of the air.

“I told you to leave me alone.” Nomad said as Erick hit the grass.

Nomad limped away, still sore from my injuries. Erick attempted to speak to Nomad’s mind but he lacked the strength. A moment later he collapsed, unconscious, and Nomad left him lying on the Collins’ front lawn.