No Turning Back

Chapter Sixteen: Telepathic

Richtofen still could not believe that the voices had wanted him to stay here; just so he would simply be killed off and replaced by some subordinate version of himself. The insult!

"Zhat man vas a pale imitation!" Richtofen growled frustratedly as the undulations of his voice pierced the air.

But the events of this evening were not all in vain at least. He now knew for sure how treacherous his non-human masters could be. It was what Richtofen needed to finally convince himself that they were not as omnipotent as they made out to be. After all, if they were then they would have already known what had just taken place. These creatures were not gods!

Now, Richtofen realised that he was the master of his own destiny. For too long, he had marched to the beat of another's drum. Immortal or not, Richtofen's intellect far surpassed any other being in this universe! His diary would ensure success - the road map was already laid out! He just had to retrieve it!

Richtofen disregarded the body and began to calmly collect his things. He initially walked over to the desk and unlocked the secret compartment underneath the table. He produced Kiana's device and unlocked it. The music player had been previously left on pause; but instead of continuing from where he left off Richtofen decided to skip to the next song.

He always found it calming to hear the music the device played. Richtofen personally loathed this 'music of the future' - but it was Kiana's music. There was something comforting about keeping the device in his possession. It was almost like possessing someone else's diary.

The strange device held within it fragments of her. Each song Richfofen listened to made him feel like he could get into Kiana's mind. Before he went sleep, he would even open up her notes and read all her short stories and song lyrics which she would conjure up at ungodly hours. Every time stamp was between the hours of 2am to 5am - when geniuses shine brightest, Richtofen thought.

It was very intimate being able to delve into her world - it was her diary. Richtofen began to think about his own diary again. What would she think if she read his? Would she see the beautiful intricacies of his mind... or the ramblings of a mad man? Richtofen turned his attention back to the device which impatiently waited for him to press play. The song had changed to Kali Uchis' "Telepatía".

The trancelike music began to play as Richtofen lumbered around in the awkward cosmonaut suit. He milled about gathering the necessary belongings as well as his paperwork. The singer began to sing in Spanish which Richtofen noted with intrigue. Of course, he had taken to learning as many languages as he could - seven and counting - even the dead ones like Latin and Sanskrit.

"Quién lo diría
Que se podría hacer el amor por telepatía
La luna está llena, mi cama vacía
Lo que yo te haría
Si te tuviera de frente la mente te la volaría
De noche y de día, de noche y de día"

Richtofen listened to the song as the singer's voice dreamily carried the lyrics. Then, in his mind, he translated it.

"Who would've thought
That it was possible
To make love by telepathy
The moon is full, my bed is empty
What I would do to you
If I had you in front of me, your mind would be blown
By night and by day, by night and by day"

The intense lyrics made him feel a little uncomfortable but also slightly irritated. Who made her feel like this? Clearly, she had the song before she came here. Who was this directed at?

"You know I'm just a flight away
If you wanted you can take a private plane
We're connected although we're miles apart"

Suddenly, the singer was now speaking English. The next part of the song made Richtofen focus his attention away from his jealous thoughts.

"You know I got a lot to say
All these voices in the background of my brain
They tell me everything you're thinking
I imagine what you are already plotting"

The last line struck Richtofen before he was inundated with the next lines.

"You know that I can see right through you
I can read your mind
It's written all over your face times two
'Cause I can read your mind
I can read your mind
I can hear your thoughts like a melody"

The words stung with their directness. Richtofen's mind raced with all manner of thoughts. He began to feel vulnerable as doubts fluttered around his own defences. All these years of his life were spent building an impenetrable fortress around himself - brick by brick. It almost felt like Kiana could read his mind. She had already proven her capabilities. Her ability to pierce through every defense that Richtofen tried to put between them both intrigued and frightened him.

Richtofen couldn't listen to the rest of the song and instead pressed pause. Usually, Kiana's music felt intimate and comforting but this time it was much too intense for him. So instead, he picked up his pocket watch which lay on his desk desk and put it in the pocket of the cosmonaut suit along with the device.

Once Richtofen had collected everything, he folded the papers and slid them into the space suit. These documents were crucial and he couldn't afford to lose them. So, he cut a small slit in the space suit to create a hidden pocket where they could be safely stored away.

Richfofen then made his way to the door to leave. He swung it open before stopping and turning around. His hand hovered over the light switch as he looked back into the room. Ultimis' body still lay lifeless on the floor and the 'patient' which he had left in the makeshift operating table no longer wriggled and writhed. The atmosphere of the dimly lit room had absorbed the violence which had taken place within it.

When Richfofen had opened the door, the fresh outside air had cleansed his nostrils. So once he looked back into the room, his senses became overwhelmed by the smell of blood and decay which he had for so long been oblivious to. His nostrils flared and his face contorted with disgust.

His hovering hand finally made contact with the light switch which flicked down into the off position. The dreadfully abhorrent massacre which had taken place in the room was now buried in darkness. As Richtofen passed over the threshold; he quickly swung around closed the door. The handle rattled as he locked the door which now entombed the room - like the sealing of a casket.

Richtofen made his way to the teleporter room and opened the door. He hastily approached the teleporter machine and began inputting the coordinates. Though, before he entered the last digit; he hesitated to press the key. Feelings of apprehension wracked Richtofen's body as he remembered what had taken place in the projector room - the last time he saw Kiana.

His head spun and his stomach churned as he wondered if she would indeed be waiting for him at the cosmodrome. But then, that would set off a whole new plethora of issues. How would she even react to seeing him again?

Richtofen steeled himself and finally entered the last digit before walking into the chamber of the teleporter. As the air began to electrify - Richtofen frowned. The electrons in the air sparked and shimmered as Richfofen was suddenly aware of his racing heartbeat.

"Vhat a shtrange feeling..." Richtofen whispered to himself with revulsion. Rarely did he ever feel any emotion like this. But now, here he was standing there like some nervous schoolboy.

His attention focused back to the present as the air began to fill with a blinding white light whilst the sound of electricity became deafening. Richtofen felt every atom in his body vibrate with charged energy before they were finally pulled apart by their broken bonds. Richtofen had begun his journey through time and space as he set off to the Soviet cosmodrome.

He was going to find his diary and make the voices pay...

End of part sixteen...