Boundless

Chapter 3: Connection

While Raz ran, Tessa guided him with the knowledge she had gleaned from the minds of the guards and other staff she had come across. She knew there weren't any humans in a 100-mile radius of the complex, but there was an old town 75 miles away due east. The staff would use the town to have parties and drink, which was not allowed on the Complex. Raz followed her instructions without question and they arrived at the town within 10 minutes of leaving the Complex.

Raz took them to an old hotel and ran to the top floor. He found an empty room that looked well kept. The room had a single king size bed, a nightstand, a dresser and a television (that obviously didn't work anymore). There was a shower, toilet, and sink in the bathroom. Raz put Tessa down gently on the bed and then gave the room a once over. He inspected the bathroom and found that there was still running water. 'Must be for the staff when they come here on the weekends,' Raz heard in his head from Tessa. He walked back into the room and sat on the opposite edge of the bed from her.

'What happened when we kissed?' Tessa asked mentally. She still had a slight smile on her face at the new developments in the last 15 minutes. She didn't know why but she absolutely trusted and loved Raz and she knew he felt the same way towards her.

'I don't know. We connected to each other. It's more spiritual than just physical. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are both Evolutions.' Raz stated. She could tell the part of his mind that dealt with logic and strategy was firing up, but instead of slowly eating away at what made him Rashad, it was being held in check by their bond.

'What do you want to do about it?' She asked as she scooted closer and sat next to him. He laid his head in her lap and she stroked her hand through his short hair. He shut his eyes for a moment and enjoyed the feeling.

'I don't know. For now, can we just stay here and enjoy our being close like this?' He asked. Like him, she was feeling completely content being this close with him. Like there wasn't anybody in the rest of the world but the 2 of them and she was not upset about it. She nodded her head and they moved to the top of the bed and he spooned her.

'So you're obviously a Telepath, what is your other ability?' Raz thought to her with his eyes closed.

'I am an Empath as well.' She thought to him while she snuggled deeper into his presence, both mentally and physically. 'I know you're fast and when we were talking a moment ago I could feel something stirring, was that your other ability?'

"Yes," he responded aloud. It startled her for a moment to hear his voice outside of their connection. She rolled over to face him and he opened his eyes and looked at her. There was fear in his eyes. She raised her hand to his cheek and stroked it softly. "When I use my speed my dopamine levels drop. The scientists at the Complex think that happens so that my more logical mind can take over."

"What is dopamine? Is it bad that your levels drop when you run?" Tessa asked looking concerned.

"In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter—a chemical released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. Your brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior. Most types of rewards increase the level of dopamine in the brain. For me the more I run, the lower the level. The issue is when I am done running the level never increases. Eventually, the levels were so low that the logical portion of my brain began rewriting the pathways that the reward pathways once used."

"How do you feel now?" She asked. He looked into her eyes and smiled.

"I feel...happy." He said. 'No more questions for now. Let me enjoy this feeling for however long it lasts.' He concluded mentally. Tessa was going to respond but instead rolled back over and nestled into his embrace. They fell asleep cuddling in the sunlight coming through the window.

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Several hours later they were awakened by a knock on the door. Raz was up and at the front door before Tessa could process the noise. He stood at the door ready to run if the person who knocked meant them any harm.

"Raz, it's Anthony," Raz knew Anthony's voice and opened the door immediately. There stood Anthony with a strange girl standing behind him with a smile on her lips.

'Her name is Trinity; she is my roommate, she's okay.' Tessa spoke into Raz's mind as she came up behind him. She smiled at Anthony and Trinity as Raz stepped back to let them in. Anthony and Trinity walked in and Raz shut the door behind them. Before the door closed, Raz had picked up Tessa and placed her back on the bed and he sat behind her. 'Relax' Tessa sent a soothing thought to Raz, and he did.

"How did you find us?" Raz asked Anthony. Anthony leaned against the wall and Trinity sat at the bottom of the bed.

"Tracked you," Anthony said while tapping his nose. Raz smiled slightly and nodded his head. Anthony could track just about anyone or anything with his nose. When they were kids he would find the snacks that the kitchen staff would hide. "The security staff will be here soon. We need to head back."

"Wait, how does the security staff know where we are?" Raz asked as his eyes turned to Trinity. Trinity met his stare with confidence but didn't say anything. Seeing that Raz's eyes had turned to Trinity after the statement Anthony answered.

"They are searching in a grid pattern; they are bound to find this place...eventually." Raz seemed to accept that answer and turned his attention back to Anthony.

"Ok," Tessa said and begin to stand up. Rashad wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"No. If we go back there they are going to separate me from Tessa." As he spoke Tessa could feel the anger rising in him and Trinity and Anthony could see that his eyes were slowly going from their normal hazel to pure white. Trinity and Anthony also noticed an aura slowly pulsating from Raz. Anthony had never seen this and judging by the fact that Trinity was slowly getting up from the bed, she had never seen something like this before. Tessa turned, saw his eyes and then wrapped him in her arms.

'It will be ok Raz. No one and nothing can separate us. I will always be in your heart and mind. They won't take us from each other. It will be ok.' She whispered into his mind. He heard her and closed his eyes. He submerged himself in her thoughts and her touch and when he opened his eyes, they had returned to their normal hazel color and the aura was gone. Tessa felt the anger slip away and she let him go and stood from the bed.

Raz knew that there was nowhere they could really go. For one, they had left the Complex without any supplies or means of getting any. Another thing was they didn't know what was beyond the farmland. It could be more farmland or desert. Tessa didn't know what was out there either. When she had arrived it had been at a Heli-carrier port just outside a farm, or at least it looked like a farm from the outside. It hadn't really taken that long to get to the Complex from the port and all she saw was farmland.

Raz stood, took Tessa's hand and headed out the door to the hallway. Anthony and Trinity followed. They left the hotel and headed back in the direction of the Complex. They had barely left the town when a dust cloud could be seen. "It's them," Anthony said staring at the cloud. The group stopped in their tracks and waited for the security staff to meet them.

The security staff arrived in a black hydroelectric SUV and stopped in front of them. A man and a woman wearing gray pants and jacket with black boots stepped out. They didn't have weapons because they knew if they came at second steps threatening violence, they would likely be killed. There were no second steps on the staff because currently all Second Steps were either put into military service or security for high-ranking diplomats.

The male pulled out a tablet and scanned the 4 teenagers. "Rashad Cole, Sean Bestia, Tessa Vento and Trinity Dóiteáin, you have violated Complex 228's Student Handbook. As per rule 38 line 6 subclause 4 you will be detained and brought before a Student Review Board to receive punishment. Please get into the back of the SUV and we will escort you back to the Complex."

Raz's eyes flicked to Tessa and she just nodded her head slightly. Still holding her hand he opened the rear door of the SUV, assisted Tessa in and then climbed in next to her. Anthony and Trinity followed and the door was shut behind them. The male and the female climbed in, tapped the home button on the GPS and the truck turned around and drove itself back to the Complex.

When they arrived at the Complex the SUV pulled up next to the security building and stopped. The male and female security staff members exited the vehicle and held the rear doors open for the teenagers to exit the vehicle as well. Once everyone was out of the vehicle the doors shut automatically and the SUV drove itself over to the motor pool gate and exited view.

The 2 security staff members escorted the detainees to the door leading into the Security building. They entered into a plain looking hallway, walked about 50 feet and stopped in front a plain white door with a 1 on it. The female officer opened the door instructed Tessa and Trinity to enter and then followed them in and shut the door. When the door closed Raz was about to take a step toward it when he heard Tessa in his head telling him it was alright. So he waited for the next instruction from the male officer.

The male took them down a couple of corridors and then outside. They walked into the Complex, up the hill and to the Scholastic building behind the cafeteria. When they entered they went to the 5th floor and were instructed to sit in the seats nearest to the front. They obeyed and sat down.

"Are you okay?" Anthony asked Raz who since leaving the security building seemed to be less and less agitated.

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Raz answered in his old cool and calm manner.

"Because earlier in the hotel room you looked ready to fight and now you are as calm as ever," Anthony said looking at his friend.

"Strange. When I am near Tessa I feel more human, like I did when I was younger. Now that we are apart, especially at our current distance from each other, I feel normal. No extreme emotion, just the calm logic that I am accustomed to." Raz said as he looked around the room with apparently no care what so ever.

"Okay. Then on a different note, what do you think is going to happen?" Anthony asked as he too looked around the room. There were no wall designs but he could tell there had been at one point. Now it was just plain white walls with some kind of sound proofing done to them.

"Not much," Raz said without looking at him. "We are Evolutions, a rare commodity. They won't let harm come to us and they don't want us to use our abilities to leave. So a slap on the wrist and then we will be free to go."

"What about the fact this is the first time that 2 Evolutions have 'bonded.' Won't they want to run some kind of tests on the 2 of you?" Anthony asked now just looking at the entrance to the room. He could smell coffee and cigarettes coming from somewhere, but he couldn't find its source.

"Perhaps" Raz responded without giving it a second thought. He sat there patiently waiting for something to happen. He didn't have long to wait.

A door opened to the right of the central podium where the instructor would be and in walked the Principal. Anthony and Raz had only seen him once when they had first arrived at the Complex and he still looked the same. He walked up to where they were seated and just stood there eyeing them curiously. The repugnant smell of old coffee and cigarettes flooded both Raz and Anthony's noses and almost made Anthony puke.

"So a new development has occurred." He said to the both of them. Then he turned to Raz. "What happened this morning?"

"I saw Tessa Vento this morning as she was coming to the workout field. When ocular contact was made endogenous opioid neuropeptides were released." Raz glanced at Anthony who looks confused. "Endorphins" he explained and continued his statement. "My body was not under my control at that point. Physical contact was made with the vermillion zone of both Labium superius oris and Labium inferius oris." He looked at Anthony and pointed to his lips. Anthony nodded.

"Once connected a physical, emotional and mental connection was established. Once the connection was established I felt the need to be alone with Ms. Vento. I took the most expedient way to accomplish that goal. Once alone we slept together without engaging in any other physical activity. Approximately 2 hours later Anthony and Trinity located us and we agreed to return to the Complex to show that we had no intention of abandoning the Complex." Raz stated.

"What else did you feel when you were with Ms. Vento?" The Principal asked as he went to the desk near the podium and leaned on it.

"I felt love, trust, fear, and happiness. I haven't felt those emotions that strongly since I was 5. It was overwhelming and at the time I enjoyed it." Raz finished. Not a flicker of emotion passing over his face.

"How do you feel now?" The Principal asked.

"I feel...nothing," Raz stated. The Principal nodded his head and then stood from the desk.

"You both are being assigned 30 hours of 1st Year Power Utilization Training. You will be assisting Ms. Alverez in teaching the newest students on utilizing their power. Rashad, you will report to the Medical facility immediately and have a full physical done. For the time being, you are not to come into contact with Ms. Vento until we know that what happened this morning will never happen again. Is that understood?" He said with his arms crossed across his chest. Both teenagers nodded. "Fine, you're dismissed."

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Tessa and Trinity sat in an all-white room with no windows, 2 chairs, and a scowling female security staff member. She could feel the distance between her and Raz and the further away he was the more she longed just to be closer. She glanced at Trinity and for once, the bubbly redhead didn't have a smile on her face, though she did look calm. Tessa wanted to talk to her but kept her mouth shut because she didn't know how much trouble they were in.

Sure, leaving the Complex was bad and she knew that would be trouble, but at the moment it happened, it didn't matter to her. All she wanted was some alone time with Raz just to figure out what had happened between them. Now, sitting in the room, she wondered what she had been thinking. Raz seemed very important at the time, but now she wasn't so sure. If anything, she was more confused than scared at that particular moment.

What seemed like forever, but was probably only 30 minutes, there was a knock on the door. The staff member opened the door a crack and then opened it all the way and in stepped the Principal followed by the male security staff member from earlier. He still smelled of old coffee and cigarettes. He looked at the 2 girls.

"Ms. Vento, would you please explain to me what happened this morning?" He said in his booming voice. Tessa recalled what happened and her story was the same as Raz, but with smaller words. While she talked the Principal just stood there and listened, occasionally nodding his head at certain points in the story. When she was finished he just stood there for a moment longer.

"Your story corresponds with our footage, tracking information and what Mr. Cole said a little while ago. In that case, your punishment will be 30 hours of Nursing Assistance at the medical facility and you Ms. Vento are to not come into contact with Rashad until we can deduce what caused the situation and how to rectify it. Is that understood?"

They both nodded their heads in unison. He nodded back and then turned and left the room. The female security staff member kept the door open for them and they exited the room and then the building.

"I don't know about you but I am hungry, do you want to go grab some lunch?" Trinity asked when they were out of the building. Tessa at first was going to say no. That she needed to find Raz and make sure everything was ok regardless of what the Principal had just told them. Then she thought better of it.

"Yeah, I could eat." She said and walked with Trinity up the hill toward the cafeteria. As they were cresting the hill the pull that she felt for Raz became intense and she knew he was very close. She started to turn around when she caught sight of Anthony and then a blur of motion as Raz, who had been standing next to Anthony, took off and was out of sight almost instantly, and as the pull lessened Tessa felt...sad.

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As Anthony and Rashad exited the cafeteria Anthony paused for a moment, sniffed the air and then turned to Raz with a slight smile on his lips. "Tessa and Trinity are coming." He said nodding toward the hill. Raz looked at him with disinterest.

"The Principal said to stay away from her, so I will," Raz said. He glanced over to the hill and saw the 2 redheads cresting it. Before he could make eye contact with Tessa he took off toward the Training Field to assist the instructors with the 1st years P.U.T. instruction.

When he arrived there were 5 kids ranging in age from 13 to 15. The head instructor, Mr. Parker stood there calmly explaining what the exercise would entail. He stood at least 6 feet tall and was wearing a white cotton shirt and white shorts.

"Your job for today is to coordinate with yourselves and take down Mr. Cole here. He is a student here also and his goal is to take one of these flags" he raised his hand and there was a blue flag there "off of each one of you. You are to prevent that in the 5 minute time you have." As he finished he handed each student a flag and then turned to Raz. "You heard what you are supposed to do?" Raz nodded. "Do not go easy on them." The instructor said and walked away.

The instructor moved to the side of the field. "Are you ready?" He asked the kids who nodded their head. He asked the same of Raz who also nodded. The match began.