A/N:
Released on October 28, 2018

I know I haven't updated in almost 2 weeks. I haven't been wanting to write at all, so it took many nights of writing bits and pieces of this chapter at a time. But I finally got it.

I will try to start updating regularly again, but I'm going to visit family out of state in the beginning of November, all the way until December.

My family doesn't want me to bring my laptop on the plane and risk it being broken during my trip, so I'm not sure if I'll have it for the month I'll be gone.

It's a problem bc I'd have to switch to writing on my phone, which I haven't done in a while. Plus it's more annoying to switch between the chapter and my notes on my phone.

People that have switched between writing processes will probably know why it's difficult to switch back to an old method.

I went from typing my stories on my phone directly on Wattpad, writing them on paper and then typing them on Wattpad, back to my phone, back to paper, and now I type on google docs on my laptop and just copy and paste it onto Wattpad. So it's been quite a while since I typed my stories on my phone.

I'm not sure exactly how to describe it, but it just feels different however or wherever I work on my stories.

But I'll figure it out and hopefully keep writing while on my trip.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think :)

Word Count: 2294

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Chapter 31: Progressive Thinking

After some much-needed rest, having slept throughout the entire night, we discussed the day's plans over breakfast.

"Is there anything you'd prefer to focus on today?" Zane asked me in between sips of a blood bag.

I set my bag down on the dining room table and leaned back in my chair, thinking about how there were so many things that I could be taught about telepathy and how we have little time to go over it.

My thoughts drifted to the few abilities that I did know how to do, which included the strange sensation I felt when a vampire was nearby that wanted to hurt me.

"I actually wanted to talk about something that I can already do." I told my boyfriend, not realizing that it was what I wanted until I said it.

"Remember that day at my house when I used your phone to call Ash and make sure he was okay, but he was attacked by those vampires?" I said to jog his memory.

"Yeah, of course. You somehow knew the vampires were with him, which was weird because Ash and I didn't know. You said you could sense them." Zane recalled the situation to let me know that he understood what I was talking about.

"I know I didn't get around to mentioning it again, but that's partially because I've been working on understanding it myself." I explained, hoping that what I was saying would make sense. "It starts as a foreboding feeling of danger in my head, then there's something in the air that I can feel... It's hard to put into words, but the air only feels that way when a vampire is near."

"Do you feel that way now?" Zane inquired curiously, tilting back his chair just as I was doing a bit ago. "I mean, since both of us are vampires."

"No. It took a while to occur to me, but I only feel it when it's a vampire that has ill intentions towards me. And I thought I might feel it around anyone who means me harm, but it didn't happen when the hunters came after us." I speculated, remembering the thought process of figuring it all out so that I could correctly explain it to him.

"You're wondering if I've ever experienced something like that." He surmised, being observative enough to notice where the conversation was heading. "You want to know for sure if it's a telepathic ability."

I nodded my head in answer, waiting patiently for his response.

Zane leaned forward to allow his chair to rest on all four of its legs. "Well I've never experienced it, and it definitely wouldn't be a vampire ability because it can be used against our kind, so I think it's safe to assume that it's telepathic."

I frowned slightly at what appeared to be a useless conversation. "Then you could potentially have this ability when we get your telepathy back?"

Zane shook his head at my rumination, deeming the answer to be that it wasn't likely. "I don't think so. This warning system you have going on doesn't sound like something that most telepaths would have."

As he saw the look on my face, he backtracked quickly to elaborate. "I still think it stems from your telepathy, but I don't believe anyone else should have it. It makes sense if you think of it as an ability that can be formed, something that is unique to you."

"You mean to say that telepaths can make their own abilities?" I reiterated, baffled at the notion.

Imagine, telepaths able to create any power they wanted, whether good or bad. That couldn't go well, especially since there was a telepath on Storm's side that we needed to fight.

"No. At least, not that explicitly." Zane rested his elbows on the table for balance as he leaned forward again, excitement in his gaze at the revelation he was discovering. "I think, in extreme circumstances, such as one of immense distress, your telepathy might be powerful enough to have produced a new defense mechanism."

My eyes widened in disbelief, all of it finally starting to make sense. "When Lucy and I were attacked by Storm, back when we were kids."

The mention of my little sister, combined with the next thought I had, and my involuntary habit to protect her by making sure no one knew that she had telepathy as well, caused me to glance around quickly to ensure that we were alone. "Could Lucy have the ability too?"

Instead of a real answer, I got a shrug and a few ineffectual words. "Maybe... Maybe not."

Upon seeing the irritated look on my face, he tried to say something more helpful. "Why don't you ask her?"

A discontented sigh escaped my lips as the conversation was turned fully to me and my emotions.

"I've been thinking about talking to her." I admitted wearily, gaze falling on the abandoned blood bag in front of me.

"I've been putting it off, since we have important things to do." I muttered, grabbing my drink and taking another sip, despite the fact that I'd lost my appetite.

"And because you don't really want to talk to her, since she might still be upset with you." Zane pointed out, which would usually earn himself a heated glare, but only resulted in a sullen expression.

"Yeah, that too." I grumbled a bit glumly. "And yes, I know it's time to call her already. But not yet. I'd rather get on with today's training first."

"Sounds good." He replied brightly, pushing aside our latest struggles just as I was. "But finish your breakfast before we start."

~*~

"Explain again how this picture thing will work against another telepath?" I asked after Zane suggested our next course of action.

"It's called a mind image. And like sending thoughts to someone, you are able to do that with another telepath, even with their shielded minds. You don't have to get past my mental shield to send thoughts. This is similar, but an image instead of your thoughts." He put it into more detail, but I wasn't getting the point of it.

"Okay... I get how to do it. But why send a picture? What does it accomplish in a fight?" I questioned, wanting to understand everything I could about it before attempting to use it as an effective offense.

Zane shook his head to signal that I wasn't understanding the subject, but his voice was calm, filled with nothing but patience. "It's not a picture, it's an image. An image can be a snapshot of a moment, something to distract the enemy. You can even send emotions with it to confuse them further. Then you strike with the real stuff."

I frown at my inability to comprehend what he was saying sooner. "That's a good idea, since sending something scary or shocking could be effective. It seems easy enough."

He smiled at our progress, deciding to finally tell me the game plan he had in mind. "And once you've mastered this, you might surprise the other telepath enough to gain access to his mind. From there, you can do a number of things to tilt the battle in your favor before he kicks you out of his head again."

"Then let's get to it." I replied eagerly, ready to learn as much as I could in the little time we had.

We'd eventually have to move on from our current safe house. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to stop for that long again before arriving at our destination.

~*~

Break time finally came along, but we only needed a minute or so to rest, allowing my mind a moment of peace because my body didn't get physically tired that easily.

Zane jumped right into the next thing the second we sat down in our temporary home's fenced in backyard. "Now that you've focused on something else for a while, and successfully used your new skill, it's time to get back to the mental punch, as you call it."

"Is there another name for it, like the other things you've taught me?" I inquired, seeing as he usually corrects me on what I call my abilities.

"It doesn't have a specific name like the things I read about, since it's a combination of abilities. But I like the name. It's easy to remember." He shrugged.

The choice of words made me pause, deciding that it was a good time to learn more about something that had been on my mind for a while. "Speaking of, how exactly did you become so knowledgeable of telepaths?"

Zane rested his hands on his crossed legs, leaning his head back for a moment to gaze at the clear sky. "Well, since my parents knew nothing about my powers when they started developing, because I was adopted, I turned to the internet when I got curious enough."

"All I had to do was read up on telepathy and test which abilities worked. And as I told you before, I never got through the whole list." He explained, eyes set in the distance as he recalled his days as a mortal. "Actually, I only managed to succeed with a few things on the list. The rest I made up along the way."

"What kind of things did you make up?" I asked, curious because he'd told me that he had worked hard to master his telepathy when he was younger.

"Just little things. Definitely nothing to use in a battle." He elaborated to make sure I knew that it wasn't useful to me at the time. "It was more... refining what I already knew. I practiced to get better at mind reading, delve deeper into people's thoughts, find ways to truly get into their head. On a few special occasions, I was able to enter someone else's mind completely, almost becoming them for a few minutes."

I leaned forward eagerly, my words filled with awe. "How can that even happen?"

Zane shrugged again, glancing away to avoid the reverence as much as he could. "I'm not sure myself. I only did it a few times and it's hard to mimic. But it's not going to help with what we're preparing to do."

"Right. Back to the mental punch." I stated reluctantly, getting to my feet and holding out a hand for him.

We went back to the position we were in yesterday while practicing, with him standing fifteen feet away to give me distance to work.

I wasn't looking forward to trying the mental punch again on Zane, not just because it would hurt him, but also because of the many times I'd failed already.

I got frustrated easily when working on something that I needed to perfect, but I'd keep pushing through.

I took a deep breath, filling my mind with the angriest thoughts I could muster as quickly as possible, thinking of previous battles and how my friends had been hurt.

I figured that would be the easiest thing to think about while fighting the other telepath, if I needed to get more emotional to add strength to my attacks. But it was my backup plan, since I'd probably be plenty angry when facing my opponent.

I located his thoughts, sending my telepathic wavelike power to overload his brain, making it easier to manipulate them.

Zane didn't see it coming in time, having barely felt someone infiltrate his thoughts. Then he was flying backward and landing hard, not too far from the fence.

It was almost as well as I'd thrown the hunters the first time I'd used the ability, albeit that I wasn't being as harsh with my volunteer.

I stood in shock for a moment before jumping into action, rushing over to help my boyfriend. "Zane! I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

He looked up at me with a dazed expression, blinking away the pain while frowning up at me.

I opened my mouth to apologize again, but a grin spread across his lips and I lost whatever words had come to mind.

"Why are you apologizing? That was amazing!" He exclaimed, eyes shining with admiration, despite probably being hurt.

"So? Aren't you in pain?" I remarked hastily, grabbing his hands and pulling him to his feet.

"Nope. I'm healing as I should. You knocked the breath out of me, much better than yesterday." Zane gazed at me, the same proud look in his eyes as before. "If you use that much power and actually try hurting someone with it, you'll be golden."

I couldn't help but join in on the cheerfulness, grinning from ear to ear from my success.

"I did it." I whispered in disbelief. "I actually managed an attack on another telepath. We could really win this fight!"

Zane stepped closer to speak earnestly, holding my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "No, you're going to beat him."

I wrapped my arms around my boyfriend, expecting him to be surprised by the affection as much as I was by my actions. But he lowered his hands to my hips, lifting me up so he could spin me around, both of us in a wonderful but ephemeral mood.

Our lips connected the moment I was back on the ground, thrilled to be so happy for once and sharing the moment with Zane, the one guy that I'd ever been close to. It was effortless to ignore the underlying desperation to take advantage of the bliss that so rarely occurred.

For the first time since we'd made the plans to retrieve Zane's telepathy and save my brother, having to take on the bad telepath along the way, I truly believed that we could do all of it. Together.