JJ Psychic

Chapter 8

The Voice Without a Voice

The factory had never been this quiet.

For months, every corner had been filled with the small sounds of life. JJ moving around, preparing food, writing in his notebook, or simply sitting nearby. Even when they weren't talking, Ricky had become so accustomed to having JJ around that the silence now felt strange.

Ricky sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

He stared at the empty space where JJ used to sleep.

"i***t," he muttered.

He wasn't sure whether he was angry at JJ or himself.

Probably both.

For years, the two of them had been inseparable. They had survived Orion Division together, planned their escape together, and spent months living in the same abandoned factory after escaping.

They had imagined what their lives would be like once they were finally free.

Now JJ had chosen a different path.

Ricky couldn't completely blame him.

He understood why JJ wanted his voice back.

That was what made everything harder.

JJ had spent twelve years unable to speak. Twelve years of watching other people communicate normally while he had to rely on writing, gestures, and Ricky's ability to read his thoughts.

If someone had offered Ricky the chance to give JJ his voice back, he probably would have understood the temptation too.

But Ricky still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

They had already trusted an organization once.

Look where that had gotten them.

---

The next morning, Ricky woke up on the factory floor.

For a moment, he expected to see JJ.

Then he remembered.

JJ was gone.

Ricky sighed and stood.

There was barely any food left.

He searched through their supplies.

Nothing.

He checked the money they had managed to save.

Not enough.

Ricky laughed bitterly.

"Great."

He was free.

And broke.

He had no family nearby, no proper identification, no home, no job, and no JJ.

He walked outside.

The city was already busy.

People were going to work.

Children were going to school.

Families were shopping.

Everyone seemed to have somewhere to go.

Ricky didn't.

For the first time since escaping Orion, he wondered whether freedom was supposed to feel this lonely.

---

Over the next few days, Ricky tried to find work.

It didn't go well.

Everywhere he went, someone wanted identification.

He didn't have any.

Some places wanted references.

He didn't have those either.

One restaurant manager looked at him suspiciously.

"Where are your parents?"

Ricky hesitated.

"Not around."

The manager frowned.

"Do you have anyone who can vouch for you?"

Ricky almost laughed.

"Not exactly."

He left.

Another place offered him a job until they discovered he was seventeen.

"Come back when you're older."

Ricky walked away.

He kicked a small stone down the sidewalk.

"Perfect."

He didn't know what he was going to do.

Then he heard something.

A thought.

It came from a man standing outside a small convenience store.

I hope they don't find my daughter.

Ricky stopped.

He looked at the man.

The thought came again.

Please let her be safe.

Ricky turned around.

The man was holding a photograph.

Ricky approached him.

"Excuse me."

The man looked up.

"Yes?"

Ricky glanced at the photograph.

"Your daughter?"

The man's expression changed.

"How did you know?"

Ricky quickly realized his mistake.

"I saw the picture."

The man looked down.

"Oh."

He hesitated.

"She's missing."

Ricky didn't say anything.

The man continued.

"Police say she probably ran away. But she wouldn't do that."

Ricky looked at the photograph.

"How long?"

"Three days."

"Do you know where she was last seen?"

The man told him.

Ricky listened carefully.

Then he closed his eyes.

He couldn't read the man's memories.

His ability didn't work that way.

But he could read his thoughts.

And the man was thinking about a particular place.

An old warehouse.

Ricky looked up.

"Have you checked there?"

The man's face went pale.

"No."

Ricky nodded.

"I think you should."

---

That evening, Ricky followed the man's thoughts to the warehouse.

He didn't know why he was doing it.

He could have walked away.

It wasn't his responsibility.

But he remembered something JJ had once written:

We should help people who can't help themselves.

JJ had always believed that.

Ricky had always believed it too.

He entered the warehouse.

Two men were inside.

Ricky froze.

One was thinking about the missing girl.

Ricky immediately called the police from a nearby phone and gave them the location without revealing his identity.

Then he left.

The girl was rescued.

The next morning, Ricky saw the story on the news.

The girl's father was thanking whoever had helped find her.

Ricky smiled.

For the first time since JJ left, he felt like he had done something meaningful.

---

It happened again a few days later.

Someone was being threatened.

Ricky noticed.

Then another person needed help.

Then another.

Ricky began helping people whenever he could.

He never asked for money.

He never told them his name.

He simply listened.

Sometimes his ability made things easy.

Sometimes it didn't.

He couldn't read everyone's thoughts at once.

Crowds were overwhelming.

Strong emotions could make thoughts difficult to separate.

But Ricky learned to control it.

He learned when to listen.

He learned when to ignore what he heard.

Most importantly, he learned that his ability wasn't just something that had been used by Orion.

It could be his.

He could decide what to do with it.

---

One afternoon, Ricky returned to the factory and found someone waiting outside.

It was a boy around his age.

Ricky immediately became cautious.

"Can I help you?"

The boy nodded.

"My name is Daniel."

Ricky said nothing.

Daniel continued.

"My brother disappeared."

Ricky's expression softened slightly.

"What happened?"

"I think Orion took him."

Ricky froze.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because he was investigating them."

Ricky looked away.

Orion.

That name still had power over him.

Daniel stepped closer.

"Someone told me you escaped from them."

Ricky looked at him.

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Ricky studied his thoughts.

Daniel was telling the truth.

"Tell me everything."

---

Daniel explained everything he knew.

His brother had been investigating strange disappearances.

He had discovered connections to Orion.

Then he vanished.

The authorities refused to investigate further.

Daniel had spent weeks searching for him.

Ricky listened.

When Daniel finished, Ricky was silent.

"You want me to find him?"

Daniel nodded.

Ricky looked toward the factory.

Then back at Daniel.

"I'll try."

Daniel smiled.

"Thank you."

Ricky nodded.

But after Daniel left, Ricky realized something.

He had just taken responsibility for another person's life.

That frightened him.

He was only seventeen.

He wasn't a detective.

He wasn't a soldier.

He wasn't a leader.

He was just a kid who happened to be able to read minds.

But maybe that was enough.

---

Ricky began investigating Daniel's brother.

He discovered information that the authorities had missed.

Then he discovered something else.

Daniel's brother wasn't the only person who had disappeared.

There were others.

People who had investigated Orion.

People who had escaped Orion.

People who had simply gotten too close.

Ricky began writing their names down.

One by one.

He covered an entire wall inside the factory.

Every name represented someone who needed answers.

Ricky stared at the wall.

Then he picked up his jacket.

"If nobody else is going to look for them..."

He looked at the names.

"...I will."

For the first time, Ricky understood what he wanted to do.

He didn't want power.

He didn't want revenge.

He wanted to make sure nobody else experienced what he and JJ had experienced.

Ricky didn't know it yet, but this decision would change his life.

The boy who had once been JJ's voice was beginning to find his own purpose.

And soon, others would begin following him.