Bloodlines

This is the first chapter of what I plan to be a lengthy series, detailing young Garth's exploits as he learns how to harness his power.

This story takes place in a universe of my own design, any similarities to other characters, real or fictional, is purely coincidental and not by design.

All text is the property of MiddleAgedMan, published to Literotica. Any and all use of this text without explicit, written consent is prohibited.

Background:

The story takes place in a world not too unlike our own, though technologically speaking it resembles roughly 1980 or so. Some things are kept similar just to avoid unnecessary confusion.

Though posted in Mind Control, other topics will be prominent throughout this whole series. I will use story tags to highlight any that are prominent.

How this story is to develop is in part up to the readers as I have several ideas for how the story should progress, some I will leave to you, please comment.

Njoy!

Bloodlines Chapter 1

Garth awoke to a world of pain where everything was white. His whole body felt as if he had been hit by a train or something; aches and pains from every single nerve. He tried to move and found he could not, muscles not responding or something.

"Call Doctor Evans, he's waking up!" A blond head appeared in his world of white. "Keep still, Doctor Evans is on the way. You are in the hospital, don't try to move yet, we have restrained you until the x-rays are back."

Hospital? Why was he in the hospital? Focusing on the white that was his world, aside from the pain at least, he saw the tiny cracks in what had to be a ceiling. He had problems concentrating as well. His head felt as if someone had scooped his brains out with a teaspoon and stuffed wool back inside, empty and stuffed at the same time. It just made no sense to him, he had just been... Blank. He could not remember what he had been doing last night, or even if it had been last night. How long had he been here? And where was here? He opened his mouth to speak, lips dry and throat parched. Only a low croak escaped his lips.

"Hold on a second, I will tilt the bed a little and get you some water." The bed whirred softly and his whole world tilted slightly, the entire bed moving apparently. "It is very important that you do not move until we have ruled out any fractures. The restraints are for your own protection. Doctor Evans will answer all your questions." She held a glass of water with a straw to his lips, letting him take two small sips. "Slowly, don't drink too fast or you'll cough. You don't want to be paralyzed because you couldn't wait, would you?"

Paralyzed? What was she talking about? Some root command in his brain told him to listen to her, though, and he kept perfectly still.

"Where? Where am I? What happened?" He managed, voice raw. Had he been screaming or something?

"You are in the county general hospital, in the ICU. Try to relax for now, I'm sure the doctor will be here any second." Garth nodded before he could stop himself, pain flaring as his muscles tensed against the restraints. The leather band held tight against his forehead. He closed his eyes, breath wheezing through his teeth as the pain subsided. He really hoped he had not just condemned himself to a wheelchair or anything. A tiny tear, half frustration, half pain, forming behind his eyelid.

The wall clock said it had been five minutes, but Garth knew it must have been two hours when the doctor finally arrived, the nurse and a technician of some sorts trailing him into the room.

"Ah, good! You're awake! Now, I know you must be confused, but I need to ask some questions first. First of all, could you tell us your name, please? We could not find any identification on you when they brought you in." When they brought him in? What in the world was going on here!?

"It's Garth. Garth Schieler." "Schieler?" The doctor's voice took on a cautious tone. The nurse wrote on a ledger, likely recording it for the medical journal.

"And your date of Birth? Can you tell us please?" "Sixteenth of May, seven oh eight." "Sixteenth?" The doctor asked. "Why, you turned twenty yesterday?" Again that cautious note. Weird.

That was it! Memories came crashing back, the wool reverting to brains as he remembered, horror and fear clearing his mind instantly. He had been on his way home from a friend's house where they had celebrated his twentieth birthday, apparently the night before. Deciding to take a shortcut across a dark square rather than follow the lamp lit road that circled it, he had turned a corner and...

There had been four or five of them. Big guys, all dark clothes, faces hidden behind scarves. They had attacked, fists and feet connecting and sending him to the ground. He must have passed out at some point, for he could not remember that they stopped, it all just faded to black in his mind.

He realized the doctor was speaking to him and shook out of his reverie. "Can you tell us what happened? What is the last thing you remember?" The doctor asked. Garth told them what he remembered, which was not much as it turned out.

"The police found you around three in the morning, bloody and beaten, slumped against a wall. You were brought in here for emergency care at three thirty approximately. That was twelve hours ago. It appears you were attacked and robbed, the trauma was quite severe." Garth closed his eyes, mind still not really accepting what he was being told.

"However, your attackers were either incredibly lucky or incredibly good at their, job, as it were. As far as we can tell, you suffered no permanent damage to any organs, and though a couple of your ribs are cracked, no bones were broken. You, sir, are very fortunate to be alive, not to mention virtually unharmed, all things considered." Garth disagreed wholeheartedly, he was very much hurt all over, thank you very much! Though he did amend that he probably should be thankful he was neither dead nor a paraplegic.

"Nurse Chambers, would you be so kind as to remove his restraints?" The nurse came forward, smiling warmly and unfastening the leather straps holding him in place. She really was quite beautiful, he decided, even if his mind was not exactly thinking along those lines right now. "You just rest, for now, someone will come along later today and move you to a separate room. I expect you will be with us for a couple of days, just to make sure there is no internal bleeding or anything we might have missed. Is there anyone we should call, family or friends?"

Thinking of his parents brought a stab of pain, it was over two years since their tragic accident that left him an orphan, and he still could not think of them without getting moist around the corners of his eyes.

Their sailing boat had capsized in a storm, drowning them. He had been seventeen at the time, just a few months before reaching his majority. The local court had ruled that his uncle Jeff was to get guardianship, though with only a few months until he was considered an adult, it was mostly a formality at the time. His uncle had made sure he was cared for, but he was somewhat of a recluse and did not try to form any real of bond or anything, he just checked in every now and then to make sure Garth was doing well.

Garth had always been fairly independent, perhaps as a reaction to his strict upbringing, and so, his life as an orphan had quickly resumed to a normal routine, his few friends and various distant relatives being his main anchors. Now he was taking some classes at a local college, doing odd work here and there, not really working towards anything specific; just passing time. His inheritance made sure he did not need to work full time, and the apartment was debt-free. All in all it was quite an enviable situation for someone who had just turned twenty. Garth still would have liked to have his parents though.

"Please call my uncle, Jeff Schieler." Again, the doctor looked at him strangely, and Garth wondered what was going on as he gave them Jeff's address and phone number. As he was leaving, the doctor turned to him. "The police will want to take your statement, I have told them you will be able to do so tomorrow morning. Rest up for now, we will take care of you."

As the nurse busied herself with removing his restraints and such, making sure he was comfortable and asking if he was hungry or thirsty, Garth eyed her up and down. In the frustrating way of hospital clothing, it showed nothing and hinted at everything. She had a very nice figure, curvy and smooth in all the right places, the fabric tightening in interesting ways as she bent and twisted around him and his bed. He said nothing, just following her with his eyes. A slight blush hinted that she noticed him looking. Penny, the name tag stated.

At twenty, Garth was a fairly average young man. He was slightly taller than average, with a muscular frame inherited from his father. He worked out regularly and while nowhere near a bodybuilder, he was quite pleased with his body, muscles not huge but clearly defined. He had a mop of dirty blond hair on top, a square chin and sparkling blue eyes. He knew he was fairly good looking, not movie star looks or anything, but he drew eyes every now and then. When he smiled, however, that was when the girls really noticed him. His half-crooked smile brought out his dimples and made his eyes sparkle. He had once heard his aunt call it a 'panty-dropping smile', though his mother had quickly ushered her away as if Garth was not supposed to hear.

"I will go and try to get hold of your uncle. Dinner is in an hour or so. If you need anything before that, just pull the red chord beside your bed." Garth nodded his thanks, smiling inwardly at the small dents her nipples made in her uniform.

A couple of hours later, Garth was leaning back on his bed, enjoying the silence. All the beeping, whirring and ticking monitors of the ICU were gone, only the IV remaining to remind him he was in the hospital. That and the still lingering pain, that was, the painkillers could only do so much. The door to his single room opened, his uncle stepping inside. Garth was relieved to see him, distant though their relationship was. He appeared neither surprised nor particularly concerned as he watched Garth silently from the door.

"They were thorough, I see."

"Thorough? What do you mean? Uncle, do you know anything about this? About what happened to me?" Jeff looked at him silently, as if considering. "Your father never told you, I take it?" "My father? What does he have to do with any of this? What's going on, uncle?" More silence. His uncle looked behind him, as if to check that the door was still closed, then came over to the bed and sat down in the visitor's chair next to it.

"What do you know about The Compact?" The capitalization was clear in his voice as he said it.

"The Compact?" Garth searched his memory, the phrase triggering something buried deep. "Isn't that just a myth or something?"

"We go to great lengths to make sure most people view it as that." We? Garth was getting confused and a little apprehensive. "What do you mean by 'we', uncle? Are you involved in something?" His uncle looked around again, this time obviously checking that no one was around. He leaned forward in his chair and lowered his voice a little.

"Before I tell you any more, I need you to drink this." He held out a small vial of clear liquid. "It is not harmful in any way, I promise. It contains a simple herbal extract, harmless in itself, but I need you to drink it. I promise I'll explain." Garth took the proffered vial, looking at it intently. There was nothing distinguishing about it at all, just a plain glass vial with a boring colourless liquid. He opened it and smelled the contents. A sharp smell of alcohol with a faint herbal note wafted up, again nothing remarkable, like a limp-wristed gin or something. Looking his uncle in the eyes, he drank it; Jeff was family, after all.

Immediately his throat burned from the liquor, making him cough and regret it as his ribs screamed at him. Suddenly the room grew brighter as his pupils dilated, a twin warmth spreading inside him; one from the liquor, the other something he had never felt before. It was like a pool of power inside him, a source of, something he could not describe. It felt perfectly natural and completely alien at the same time. Eyes wide with wonder, he looked at Jeff, who smiled and sat back, shoulders lowering slightly as if tension drained from him.

"Good! I'm glad it was not for nothing, though it usually is." Garth arched an eyebrow at his uncle's cryptic comment. "Relax, I will tell you everything, in time. For now, the most important thing you need to know is that this must be kept secret." Not understanding, Garth still nodded as he guessed his uncle was waiting for him to do.

"I will give you all the details when you are well enough, I have some books at home that you will want to have a look at too. The short of it is this: The Compact is very much real, though much of what you may have heard is just as likely to be false leads spread by us." "Us? What do you mean?" Garth was a little annoyed by his uncle's omissions. "I am not at liberty to tell you yet, but suffice to say that I, we, I guess, are part of an organization that holds the truth about The Compact. Now be silent and let me finish, I will tell you more at home when no one is around." Garth shrank back a little from the stern reproach, not hurt, exactly, just not used to his uncle being so assertive.

"The extract is a diluted one of St. Johnswort, a medicinal plant. It can be harmful in large doses, though there are those of us, some select few, who are immune to its effects, instead being able to use it to fuel certain, powers, as it were. There is a genetic trait, passed down from father to son over the years, which enables us to exert our will upon others." Garth's jaw went slack. The stories were real? And he was one of them? "We are what's called Neuropaths, or just neuro's for short. The attack last night was staged. It is a rite of passage of sorts. The genetic trait lies dormant until your twentieth birthday, then, and only then, can it be activated by pain. It only happens in a select few, though."

His mind reeled at the implications, myths and whispered stories crashing into his mind. "I can see that you have heard the rumors." Jeff said gravely. "And while many of them are wrong, there is some truth to them as well. People have indeed been abused by neuro's time and time again, reinforcing the general stigma as well as a host of unfounded rumors. Being a Neuropath is not something we can take lightly, and certainly not something we advertise openly." He sat back, letting it sink in for a few minutes. "What happens now?" Garth asked eventually.

"Now is not the time to start practicing, I think. But if you can access your power, you should be able to sense my emotions and feelings." Garth felt the pool of power within, not really sure what his uncle was getting at. He envisioned reaching for it and suddenly an, awareness, blossomed in his mind. He was not quite sure how to describe it, but it felt akin to a sense. He pictured it in his mind as a sea of emotions, stretching out before him on all sides, overlaid over his normal vision.

"It's like a sea, all the emotions swirling around like currents of water." Garth watched to his uncle, gauging his reaction as if seeking approval. "An apt metaphor, it is kind of like a sea I guess. I always think of it as wind myself, but to each his own. How you visualize it is just your own way of interpreting the signals your neuropathic sense shows you. We could discuss this at length, but not today, I think."

He stood as if to leave and looked at Garth, eyes sympathetic. "Rest up a couple of days, then come by my house first thing when they discharge you, we have a lot to talk about. I will answer all your questions, rest assured."

"Now, I will talk to the police officer on watch and let him know you are not to be questioned and this will all go away." As he donned his coat, the sleeve of his shirt drew back, revealing a small tattoo on the inside of his wrist, a small yellow flower. Jeff saw his look and smiled. "We'll get you one soon enough. Now, the doctor said you should be released the day after tomorrow, after morning rounds. Come straight to my place and we'll talk." He was jus going to tell the police to leave it? What kind of people could do that? Maybe the kind with special tattoos on their wrists?

Just as he was heading for the door, it opened as Nurse Penny Chambers entered; a tray with two cups on it in her hand. "I have your pills," She said sweetly. Jeff saw him looking at her and winked. Then he did something with his power, Garth was unable to follow it, only marveling at its complexity and the speed with which he did it. It was like a swirl of many colored waves, spinning and mixing, some rising, some falling. Penny's demeanor changed almost instantly, going from sweet, yet distant professionalism to sensual, seductive interest. Jeff mouthed 'Enjoy!' and left, closing the door firmly.

"I think I better give you a check, your cheeks look a little flushed, and your heart rate is elevated," She said as she grinned at him, the innuendo thick in her voice, body language shouting lust and desire. She felt his forehead, leaning in close, her breast pressed against his arm. She opened his shirt, and then got a stethoscope out, holding it to his heart. "Hmm, definitely elevated," She murmured softly, hand gliding across his chest. "It is kind of hot in here, though," She said as an afterthought, opening a few buttons of her coat, ample cleavage showing. "I don't think it's anything serious," She continued as she stroked and squeezed his various body parts.

"Oh my, what's this?" She said with mock concern as her hand slid across his now fully erect cock. Squeezing it gently, she undid his hospital gown and drew his quite hard, quite large cock out, precum seeping from it as she squeezed none too gently. "It appears you have a swelling, potentially from an internal bleeding." She said in a clinical voice, spoiling the act completely by opening her gown all the way, lingerie-clad body on display. "I might have to call Doctor Evans," She teased. "Though I could try to make the swelling subside first." She pulled his foreskin back and forth a few times, looking at him questioningly.

"Yes, yes that might be best," He stammered out, not quite believing what was happening.

Garth was by no means a complete novice when it came to girls and sex and such. His strict upbringing had all but made sure he'd be a virgin well into adulthood, but after his parent's untimely demise, he had started experimenting. Carl, his childhood friend, had an older brother with a substantial stockpile of porn magazines. So despite his parent's best efforts, Garth knew well enough what went where and so on, but he lacked for experience.

Just before his nineteenth birthday, Lisa, from his group of friends, had called him, asking if she could come over one Saturday afternoon. Not sure exactly what was going on, he had agreed, making a simple dinner and buying some beers, just in case. As she got inside his apartment, she had turned to him and smiled. "The other girls and I had a chat the other day. We figured it was a damn shame for you to turn nineteen and still be a virgin."

The comment hit Garth right between the eyes, a bead of sweat trailing his spine. Lisa turned around, her dress swirling slightly, calves and bare feet showing on his carpet. She walked into the living room, a single finger tracing the top of the sofa. "We had a little heart-to-heart talk, and all of us are getting quite frustrated that you never seem to catch our hints and signals. We talked it over, wondering if you might be gay or something, but the way you steal glances at all of us now and then kind of made that seem wrong." Garth was feeling a rising desire now, mixed with a little embarrassment and uncertainty. What was going on here?