"I won't." William said, imagining them all being slaves to creatures with large dark eyes. That was worse than death, his mother was right.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Emanuel gave a meaningful nod to the burley man who had imprisoned Owen within his grasp. He moved both hands very quickly to one of the boy's thin arms, and applied pressure.
Owen's face turned white and he howled in pain. There was a sickening snap that turned William stomach. Benji screamed and tried to break free from the other man's hold, but Owen just whimpered and moaned, cradling his arm.
Noticing Will's frozen fury, Emanuel gave the boy a grimace that was almost a smile. " Children's bones are so fragile. I don't mind continuing this demonstration about just how fragile, but I think your brothers might."
" Don't." William's voice was very soft and controled.
A look of triumph slowly spread across Emanuel's face. " Does that mean you plan to cooperate?"
" I'll try. I'm still not sure I can do what you want me to." He was glad that his parents weren't there to hear him say it. They wouldn't understand.
" You can do it, about that I'm certain." He said it was such an air of finality that William wondered if there were hidden cameras in his quarters. Reconsidering, he decided that the man was just that arrogant.
William let his mind reach towards the beacon. The pulsing under the not- glass grew more steady, and he had the odd feeling that it was welcoming his efforts towards feeling it out. He thought of the alarm clock. From without it looked perfect, but it hadn't woken him that morning, Andrew had. The insides of the clock were a twisted ruin, and it would never tell time again.
Focusing not on the trigger, but on whatever it was protected by the not- glass, William pushed his will towards it. Something inside seemed to protest, and that gave him a second's pause, since nothing like that had happened when he destroyed the clock. He dared a look at Emanuel, and saw that the man's face still bore a joyous expression; he had no idea what William was doing.
He pushed harder, and the substance under the not-glass continued to protest. It made he wonder if it was alive, but he decided it was not, given his failure to affect Emanuel's flesh. Eventually, the protest faded away, but he continued to exert his will on it. The not-glass began to crack, but he pulled the substance away from the surface, restraining it so it wouldn't leak while he continued to pull the insides of the beacon apart.
The trigger was the next part to be destroyed under his ministrations, and he thoroughly ripped apart the rest of the apparatus that the beacon contained. Once he was sure that it was totally inoperable, he let his grasp on the substance go, and it hit the inside of the not-glass with great force.
William had expected the not-glass to let go with cracks, but that's not what happened. Whatever the substance was, it was so forcefully propelled from his mind's grasp that the not-glass exploded outwards with great velocity, virtually obliterating the covering. For a moment Emanuel's eyes merely widened, stunned, then a shriek erupted from him, the likes of which William had never heard before. His howl continued as the substance sprayed up out of the beacon and began to fall back down to earth.
The men holding Benji and Owen let then go abruptly, diving out of the substance's path. Thinking quickly, Benji took Owen's uninjured arm and pulled him behind a table that had been over turned in the cowardly men's haste. Everything the substance touched began to smolder, threatening to soon ignite.
William himself was little aware of what was going on, since he had not released the beacon from his tinkering. The pillar itself began to dissolve in a satisfying manner. He nearly smiled as it crumbled, spilling out inner workings that may have been metal, but probably weren't.
"I think that the aliens are not going to be able to make it." He said calmly, turning to look at Emanuel. "You'll have to reschedule."
"You fool!" Emanuel spat. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
William sobered. "Condemned my family to death, probably. But I know that the aliens won't come and enslave the rest of the world now, so it's worth it." He said stoically.
"Yes, kill him!" Andrew cried out, giving William a burning look. "He's taken away the promise of Eden, he should die for it."
"Yes!" Other voices cried out. Steven's was one, but others belonged to people whose names William never knew. Sighing, he went to his brothers and had them get to their feet. The fear in their eyes told him that they wanted him to protect himself and them, but he didn't know if he could. There were just too many voices against them. "Kill all the boys, and their parents too!" The crowd clamored for their blood, but not advanced towards them. Surprised, William realized that they were utterly dependent on Emanuel for direction.
It was a greater shock when Emanuel spoke. "No. Forget about the boys. We haven't the time to deal with them. The scouts will return, and we don't want to still be here when that happens. We have to act quickly, before they take their revenge on us for what will seem to be our treachery."
William wondered what he meant by 'still be here.' There didn't seem to be any place for them to run to in order to hide from aliens, vengeful or not. It was Andrew's ascent to Emanuel's command that clarified the situation. " To the armory, then." He said grimly.
Nodding, Emanuel opened the door at the back of the room and most of the men solemnly followed, though many gave the three boys hate filled looks as they passed. A few men hung back, looking like they wanted to run. When the others noticed that, they were grabbed and pulled, protesting fearfully, towards Emanuel's destination, somewhere deeper in the compound.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Emanuel gave a meaningful nod to the burley man who had imprisoned Owen within his grasp. He moved both hands very quickly to one of the boy's thin arms, and applied pressure.
Owen's face turned white and he howled in pain. There was a sickening snap that turned William stomach. Benji screamed and tried to break free from the other man's hold, but Owen just whimpered and moaned, cradling his arm.
Noticing Will's frozen fury, Emanuel gave the boy a grimace that was almost a smile. " Children's bones are so fragile. I don't mind continuing this demonstration about just how fragile, but I think your brothers might."
" Don't." William's voice was very soft and controled.
A look of triumph slowly spread across Emanuel's face. " Does that mean you plan to cooperate?"
" I'll try. I'm still not sure I can do what you want me to." He was glad that his parents weren't there to hear him say it. They wouldn't understand.
" You can do it, about that I'm certain." He said it was such an air of finality that William wondered if there were hidden cameras in his quarters. Reconsidering, he decided that the man was just that arrogant.
William let his mind reach towards the beacon. The pulsing under the not- glass grew more steady, and he had the odd feeling that it was welcoming his efforts towards feeling it out. He thought of the alarm clock. From without it looked perfect, but it hadn't woken him that morning, Andrew had. The insides of the clock were a twisted ruin, and it would never tell time again.
Focusing not on the trigger, but on whatever it was protected by the not- glass, William pushed his will towards it. Something inside seemed to protest, and that gave him a second's pause, since nothing like that had happened when he destroyed the clock. He dared a look at Emanuel, and saw that the man's face still bore a joyous expression; he had no idea what William was doing.
He pushed harder, and the substance under the not-glass continued to protest. It made he wonder if it was alive, but he decided it was not, given his failure to affect Emanuel's flesh. Eventually, the protest faded away, but he continued to exert his will on it. The not-glass began to crack, but he pulled the substance away from the surface, restraining it so it wouldn't leak while he continued to pull the insides of the beacon apart.
The trigger was the next part to be destroyed under his ministrations, and he thoroughly ripped apart the rest of the apparatus that the beacon contained. Once he was sure that it was totally inoperable, he let his grasp on the substance go, and it hit the inside of the not-glass with great force.
William had expected the not-glass to let go with cracks, but that's not what happened. Whatever the substance was, it was so forcefully propelled from his mind's grasp that the not-glass exploded outwards with great velocity, virtually obliterating the covering. For a moment Emanuel's eyes merely widened, stunned, then a shriek erupted from him, the likes of which William had never heard before. His howl continued as the substance sprayed up out of the beacon and began to fall back down to earth.
The men holding Benji and Owen let then go abruptly, diving out of the substance's path. Thinking quickly, Benji took Owen's uninjured arm and pulled him behind a table that had been over turned in the cowardly men's haste. Everything the substance touched began to smolder, threatening to soon ignite.
William himself was little aware of what was going on, since he had not released the beacon from his tinkering. The pillar itself began to dissolve in a satisfying manner. He nearly smiled as it crumbled, spilling out inner workings that may have been metal, but probably weren't.
"I think that the aliens are not going to be able to make it." He said calmly, turning to look at Emanuel. "You'll have to reschedule."
"You fool!" Emanuel spat. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
William sobered. "Condemned my family to death, probably. But I know that the aliens won't come and enslave the rest of the world now, so it's worth it." He said stoically.
"Yes, kill him!" Andrew cried out, giving William a burning look. "He's taken away the promise of Eden, he should die for it."
"Yes!" Other voices cried out. Steven's was one, but others belonged to people whose names William never knew. Sighing, he went to his brothers and had them get to their feet. The fear in their eyes told him that they wanted him to protect himself and them, but he didn't know if he could. There were just too many voices against them. "Kill all the boys, and their parents too!" The crowd clamored for their blood, but not advanced towards them. Surprised, William realized that they were utterly dependent on Emanuel for direction.
It was a greater shock when Emanuel spoke. "No. Forget about the boys. We haven't the time to deal with them. The scouts will return, and we don't want to still be here when that happens. We have to act quickly, before they take their revenge on us for what will seem to be our treachery."
William wondered what he meant by 'still be here.' There didn't seem to be any place for them to run to in order to hide from aliens, vengeful or not. It was Andrew's ascent to Emanuel's command that clarified the situation. " To the armory, then." He said grimly.
Nodding, Emanuel opened the door at the back of the room and most of the men solemnly followed, though many gave the three boys hate filled looks as they passed. A few men hung back, looking like they wanted to run. When the others noticed that, they were grabbed and pulled, protesting fearfully, towards Emanuel's destination, somewhere deeper in the compound.