Tom couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried. After tossing and turning for a good two hours, he finally gave up. What was the use? He just had too much on his mind, even after the event with Silver that had happened not even 24 hours ago. Seeing the look on Silvers face... that was priceless, all things considered. He just hoped it looked like part of the show, in stead of what it really was. Imagine that, if it got out the guy that spent his whole life proving psychics were frauds, only for himself to be one.
He'd managed to get out of there though, ran into Sally outside of the University. He knew she cared about him, and it was nice to have someone like that, but something still felt like it was missing. The revelation that Silver really wasn't a psychic hit him hard, more so than the other ones he'd debunked. He'd been certain he was the only one up until when he was in the hospital to finally let Matheson's son go. It was the least he could do for his mentor, they would be together now, in whatever happened after life.
It was only after after Sally had made him see the doctor himself for his injures that something really happened. It'd been sudden and quite painful. Almost exactly like what had happened when he'd first was investigating Silver. Luckily no windows blew out, but he was certain Sally and the doctor thought something was horribly wrong.
The doctor eventually deduced that it was just a migraine or head trauma caused by the attack he'd suffered. Which to any normal person, it would've made sense. Getting punched in the face repeatedly whilst your head is being hit against the floor at the same time is bound to cause some sort of damage. The doctor was quite surprised that Tom had even managed to stand up, let alone walk and face Silver like he did.
The headache, or whatever it was, wasn't because of a migraine, even though it might've caused one later, no, it was something else. Amid the static and pain, he could very clearly hear someone asking for help, which was something he'd never experienced before. Sure, he'd had people ask for help before, but not in that way. Not mentally.
It was possible that it was just someone's thoughts that he'd picked up very strongly, but it felt more personal than just a random occurrence. His intuition was telling him that whoever had asked for help was seeking him out specifically.
Rolling over, Tom stared at Sally beside him. She didn't know about his secret, and he doubted she'd believe him if he told her. The only way he could really prove to her he was a psychic was to give an example of it, but what if she got frightened and left him? He couldn't deal with that, not right now, not ever. If he didn't tell her though...
Tom groaned and turned to stare up at the ceiling. Who are you? he asked silently. What do you want?
No response.
And then...
It was faint, barely enough to pick up on, but he felt it and grabbed on to it, determined not to let it go. A small, weak energy force from somewhere. It was a trendil, as fine as spiders silk, but it was there. Mentally Tom tugged on it, only for it to shatter into pieces.
No!
Tom let out a frustrated breath and a crash issued from the other side of the room.
Damn it.
Sally stirred and Tom prayed that she wouldn't wake up. It would be hard to explain how a whole shelf of books somehow found their way off the shelf and onto the floor, five feet away. He really needed to get this under control. Now that he accepted it though, it should be theoretically possible.
Who was he kidding though? Control fell within the confines of logic and physics. Psychometry was outside the bounds of logic and didn't obey the laws of physics. It was something wholly different. Fat chance of help his degree in Physics did with this.
Carefully, he began searching for it again, this time closing his eyes. Searching... Searching...
He almost missed it the second time, but when he got it, he didn't let it go. He didn't tug on it, he did do anything but hold it in his mind, memorizing it, feeling it.
An idea popped in his head, and he tried it very carefully so he wouldn't lose his connection.
Hello?
