Net Wolf | CAMP: Sibling Rivalry, Chapter 1

Foreword

The year is 14 PE, twelve years after the Great Psionic War. The world is still a place of fierce competition for resources, rule-by-force, and anarchy. Where people have banded together, it is usually in a gang mentality, to defend their territory, or, increasingly, to attack those around them to gain territory.

An exception to this paradigm is the area of the Eastern United States. This area is ruled by the combined power of the SkuggDrakarna, and what had previously been members of the CAMP organization. CAMP has re-established itself as the ruling body of the United States, though their control does not extend beyond the Mississippi River. In this area, life is very organized and regimented, but not terribly pleasant. As in many areas of the world, the psionics rule with an iron fist, usually by way of mental command rather than physical violence.

The normals are faced with a world in which they have no control, and aren't likely to gain any. Psionics are feared in most places, and outright despised in others. In all cases, however, they are avoided.

Standing against the ruling bodies are the remnants of the Provisional Psionic Army. The PPA officially disbanded in 7 PE, after making sure that survival was likely, which had not been certain in the first couple of post-war years. For a long time, no one knew where to find any of the PPA leadership, and, in fact, stories are still sketchy about the location of General Chaffey, General Ohlin, Colonel Susan Chandler, and many others of the commanding officers.

Technology is a more-than-sketchy proposition, even a dozen years after the war. Certain new technologies have taken over from previously-entrenched but outdated models: wireless communication is the rule; fuel-cell cars are standard, where there are cars; solar and wind power technologies have been made efficient and useful. Still, luxuries such as television, radio, and books are not yet commonplace, though some areas do have such things.

Government is also a rare luxury, and most areas are tribal in nature, though these tribes are rarely single-family groups. The only form of social services that have been reconstituted by 14 PE are schools and hospitals. The Internet has become the only form of long-range telecommunication (outside of telepathy, which is out of the hands of most humans), but it is still only located in areas of amassed population.

It is in one of these areas of amassed population, still known as Knoxville, that Dawn Chaffey has settled. She lives there among a large population that has formed a local government. She is certain this government is controlled - in the shadows, of course - by psionics, but she will never be able to prove this. It is in this atmosphere that she attempts to raise her only child, Nathan Conrad Chaffey, and attempts to forget the war that had taken her life as surely as if it had killed her.

Less lucky is the child of Kumiko Murakami. Though he has been adopted by a caring family, and they have all survived the war, they live in an area of continuous violence and unrest. Government has no control over the populace, and policing is done by a ruling gang of toughs. The child, named Greg by his family, grew up in this environment.

Two children, raised hundreds of miles apart, with no knowledge of each other. As unlikely as it would have seemed before, in the post-war world, it is inevitable that these two boys would be overcome by sibling rivalry.

CAMP: Sibling Rivalry

Part 1: Awakenings

Chapter 1: Nathan-1

"Hey, Gina, are you awake? Gina? Shit."

Nathan looked over at his sleeping roommate, and then back to the television hanging from the ceiling. He didn't want to wake her; she'd had as bad a day as he'd had, since they were both here for chemotherapy that was killing them both just as surely as the cancers they both possessed, but just more slowly. She'd been sick most of the afternoon, and if she'd finally managed to rest, he sure as hell didn't want to wake her up.

On the other hand, the movie they were playing sucked.

He could have gotten up to get the remote, but he wasn't feeling strong enough, even though Gina's bed was only a few feet away. He'd thrown up three times today, and he had a feeling that standing up would give him another wave of nausea. Still, he wasn't going to put up with watching Fried Green Tomatoes for the eleventh time. Gina loved it, and he put up with it while she was awake, but since she was not awake...

But how to get the remote?

Nathan rolled to his side, and stretched out his hand. He inched as far as he safely could toward the edge of the bed. His fingers touched the sheet of her bed. The control was mere inches from his grasp... just a little further... he could almost... almost...

In his mind, a blinding flash of light blotted out his vision, and he was physically jolted from his position on his stomach to lying on his back. Nathan's eyes were squinted tightly shut from the pain, the agony of that moment. He was certain he'd been electrocuted...

-----

...In his mind, he found himself standing in a darkened room. There was a soft light shining above him, and a harsh spotlight shining down on a spot several feet away. Into that space stepped a man... or more properly, a teen. Nathan figured the boy to be right around eighteen years old. He was wearing a uniform, and it took Nathan some moments before he remembered it as the uniform of the PPA.

"Hello, Nathan," the voice said calmly, and softly. "I've been waiting for you."

"Who are you? Where am I?" Nathan asked suspiciously.

"You're still where you were just a few seconds ago. You're unconscious at the moment. This is... well, for lack of a better word, this is a dream. I am your Uncle Ron."

"How come I've never met you?"

"That is a complex issue, and maybe we can discuss it sometime, but not right now. I need to tell you that my presence isn't a figment of your imagination. I am a message that was given to you by the real me, many years ago. Something has triggered this dream state. I have quite a bit of information that I can give you, but there will probably be some questions that I simply cannot answer. When that happens... well, you'll have to figure out how to answer those questions for yourself."

"What's this all about?" Nathan asked.

"If this message has been triggered, it's because your Ability has emerged."

"Ability?"

"Do you know who I am, and what I once did?"

"Well, if you're my uncle, you must be Mom's brother, since I'm not sure who my Dad is. I guess, from your uniform, that you were in the PPA. Were you important?"

"You might say that," the Ron image said with a smile. "Anyway, you know what a psionic is, then."

"Yes."

"You are a psionic, Nathan. I saw it in you, even when you were only two. That's why I gave you this message, and this information. I feared there would be no one around you to teach you how to deal with what's happening to you.

"I should also warn you, your mother is afraid of psionics. You might not want to let her know right away. It is, of course, up to you, but telling her could make your life a lot harder. Your choice."

"So... what happens now?" Nathan wanted to know.

"Your power has emerged, but you probably don't have any control over it. Slowly, you'll have to develop your skills. The only way to make them better is to use them. Once you are aware of what skills you have, this message will change to tell you about how to best develop those skills. I don't know how strong of a psionic you have become, or can be. I only knew that you had the Ability within you. I'll leave you now, so you can wake up and see if you can figure out what happened to awaken this message. We will speak again."

Without further conversation, the Ron-image stepped out of the spotlight, and faded into the darkness. Slowly, Nathan felt the room fade around him, and then his eyes opened slowly, to reveal his hospital room. He went to press his hands to his eyes, and knocked himself in the head with the remote control that had miraculously ended up in his hand.

It wasn't a miracle, he thought to himself. It was me.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

For the next three weeks, Nathan spent the three hours that Gina was away at chemotherapy practicing his telekinetic ability. His uncle had provided him several tips on what not to do. Nathan had yet to break anything, but he'd been very careful about what he was doing. He'd noticed how he could feel things with his extension. He'd lifted nothing heavier than a book, however. He'd once opened the curtains of the room from his bed, and that was useful, he thought.

He was growing bored, however. He'd lifted everything in the room he felt comfortable trying. He wasn't sure what to do next. He thought about trying to lift heavier objects, but he just wasn't confident enough in himself to risk it. If he broke something here, he'd get in trouble, not to mention possibly revealing himself. The hospital staff would certainly treat him differently if they thought he was a psionic.

It was at this point that Gina was wheeled back into the room, and helped back into her bed.

"Hey, Gina," he said softly.

"Hey," she responded, but it was clear she felt like shit. He watched her roll onto her side and curl up, facing away from him. The orderly had already left them. Nathan wondered if there was anything he could do to make her feel better. He didn't have all that long, as his own treatments would start in just a few minutes.

Closing his eyes, Nathan focused, and reached out with his extension. He'd learned a small measure of fine control over his powers; at least he hadn't slammed anything around yet. Slowly, he moved his extension out toward Gina. When it reached her, he used it to stroke her hair. Gina shivered a little, but didn't move more than that. He continued to gently caress her hair, and then her cheek. He felt her smile just slightly.

Just then, another orderly came in. "It's time for your treatments, Nathan. How are you doing today?"

Nathan cursed the man silently, but opened his eyes. His concentration had been broken, and he had instantly lost his extension. I'm going to have to work on that. To the orderly, he said, "Eh."

"Don't overwhelm me with your enthusiasm there, sport!" the orderly said, trying to get a smile out of Nathan. It didn't work.

"Let's get it over with, okay?"

"Sure thing." The orderly helped Nathan into the wheelchair, and out the door they went. As they moved down the hallway, Nathan wondered if anyone would notice if he moved things around in the treatment room. It took two hours for his own treatments, and they were boring beyond words.

Once inside the treatment room, he was helped into another bed, and then his arm was lightly strapped down, so he wouldn't move it. This frustrated him, but the equipment was old and finicky, and the staff didn't want him breaking it. As if I needed my hand to do that! he thought to himself with a smile. Soon, the needle was in and the treatment started. He could feel the slight burn it caused in his arm. Generally speaking, it was an unpleasant experience all the way around. He closed his eyes...

-----

...And was once again transported to his classroom. It was different now from what he had seen the first time. The lights, while still soft, had been brought up, and there were now walls and chairs, and even a sofa. He found his uncle sitting on it, waiting for him.

"Bored?" Ron asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"I remember times like that. In fact, I remember once... no, I better not tell you about that," Ron said with a smile. "No need to give you ideas. If you're bored, you should practice."

"But there are people around! I can't go moving things around with them watching!"

"True enough. Try another skill, then."

"Like what?"

"Well, hmmm. We don't want to try anything that people would notice if you didn't get it right. Let's see... okay, try televiewing."

"What's that?"

"The old word for it is clairvoyance: seeing things at a distance. Except that we can also hear things and, if you concentrate, touch things, so really, it's more like clairsentience. But who the hell wants to say clairsentience all the time?"

Nathan chuckled. "Okay, how do I do it?"

"Well, it's best to keep your eyes closed, so that what you're actually seeing doesn't interfere with it. Then, you just try to let your mind float outward. It's not as hard as it sounds. You can envision, if you like, that you have a third eye, and let your consciousness float out from that. Once you've managed to get your mind outside of your body, you'll be able to direct yourself fairly easily."

"What about touching things?" Nathan asked.

For the next several minutes, Ron explained in detail all about televiewing and telekinesis at a distance. After he was done, Ron "dismissed" Nathan from the classroom, and Nathan found himself back in the real world. He looked at the clock; only an hour had passed; he still had another hour of sitting here.

Well, might as well give it a shot...

Closing his eyes, Nathan thought about creating a third eye. He envisioned himself with this third eye, located on his forehead just between his real eyes. Unlike his real, dark brown, eyes, this eye shone with a blue brilliance. He struggled for a few moments, but managed to push his third eye free of his body. His mental perspective changed; he was moving forward, but his body wasn't going with him. He turned around to look at himself.

Nathan was dismayed at his own appearance. His growth had been severely stunted, and he was only 4' 10" tall, even at the age of fifteen. His dark brown hair had long since fallen out, and his face was puffy and unhealthy-looking. His body was almost frail, so thin he was. He turned away from this view, not wanting to dwell on it.

Nathan spent some time floating around the room, just looking at things. He floated into the room next door, where the nurses sat, keeping an eye on the patients' read-outs. This quickly grew boring, since the two women weren't doing anything. Soon, he floated back into his own room.

Thinking for a moment, he wondered what Gina was up to. He floated back out of his room and down the hallway, making the turn into his normal hospital room. It annoyed him that this was the very first time he'd ever entered this room under his own power.

He saw immediately that Gina was awake. He moved over next to her, to look at her. Gina still had short, dirty blonde hair, and she looked more normal than he did. She'd not been sick as long as he had, nor was her problem as severe, yet. She had what he figured was a very nice body, her breasts swelling to fill her gown. Gina was also fifteen, and she and Nathan usually shared a room when they were both in the hospital together. Just for kicks, Nathan moved between Gina and the television, just to see if she'd notice anything. She stared right through him, and continued watching her movie. He turned around to see that, once again, she was watching Fried Green Tomatoes.

Ugh. We have over a thousand movies we can choose from to watch, and she keeps watching that one.

Nathan thought that he should perhaps try some of the other things his uncle had mentioned to him. He could hear the movie clearly, though he was trying to tune it out. He wasn't sure about trying to touch something, and he hesitated to do it. Finally, he figured there was no way anyone could prove it was him if he messed it up. Concentrating, he formed his extension through his third eye, and pushed outward.

Gina shivered as something brushed by her cheek. Nathan would have smiled, if he'd had control of his mouth at the time. Again, his extension slipped against her cheek, and she shivered again, her head turning to see where the breeze - which is what she assumed it was - was coming from.

Nathan used his power to push her hair out of her face, and Gina stared forward curiously. By a strange coincidence, she was staring right at him. Nathan wondered if he should be bolder, and then figured there was no way he could get caught. He moved his extension down, and ran it gently across Gina's right breast. Gina's eyes opened wide, but a soft sigh escaped her lips. Nathan continued moving his extension across her chest, letting it trickle over her left tit as it had her right. Gina actually moaned very softly at that contact.

Suddenly, Nathan was shaken from his reverie.

"Yo, wake up, sport!" It was the orderly again, and this time, Nathan was certainly in no mood for his cheerfulness. He scowled at the man, but the orderly ignored it, and went about helping Nathan back into the wheelchair for the ride back to his room.

When they got there, Nathan looked over at Gina, who was still watching the movie, but looked a little disconcerted.

"Gina? You okay?" he asked.

Gina snapped her head around to look at him, and then blushed fiercely. "Uh... yeah. Sure."

"Okay." He removed one of the pillows propping him up, so that he could lie down. That was fun. I wonder if I'll be able to get away with more.

He was determined to find out.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

A few days later, it was time for visiting day. Parents were allowed to visit at any time, of course, but Nathan's mother, Dawn, had to work each day, and fairly late, so she couldn't visit more than once a week. Every Saturday, she came to the hospital. The first thing that was required of her, of course, was to pay her bill with the hospital. Her job did not afford her the money to pay for Nathan's care, but she was rich in PPA favor chits which, while not backed by anything at all, were still an accepted form of payment. She used them exclusively to pay for Nathan's care; she wanted nothing to do with the psionics, and hated even having their money in her grasp.

After taking care of business, she hurried to her son's room. She found him playing some kind of game with Gina, but the two stopped as soon as she walked in.

"Hey, Mom!" Nathan said cheerily. Today was his day off from chemotherapy, as well as her visiting day, and so he was in a better mood than usual. The hospital did this to try to keep everyone's spirits up; if Dawn saw her son down and miserable, she would begin to think the worst, and that would affect the patient's outlook. Dawn sat down at her son's bedside while Gina put on some headphones and switched the TV over to privacy mode.

Dawn leaned over and kissed her son on the forehead. He often liked to joke that his forehead went around to meet the back of his neck. Dawn looked lovingly at her son, and smiled.

"How are you doing, Honey?"

"Pretty good. This place is boring, as usual."

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"About the same. I get sick on the days they treat me. I'm feeling a little better today." No one had ever told Nathan not to worry his mother, and she'd raised him to be truthful. He saw the worry lines form around her eyes and mouth, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He was tempted to tell her about his new power, but...

"I'm a little worried, Honey. The government is moving into this area faster than we expected."

"Isn't that a good thing, Mom?"

"No. The government is run by those damned psionics. They'll take control of everything, and then the whole situation's going to go to hell."

"Oh, c'mon, Mom. It can't be that bad." He did not expect the vehemence of her reaction.

"Nathan, you don't know what you're talking about! Psionics are evil. Everything they touch crumbles. They destroyed the world! They fought their damned war for control over ten years ago, and you can see what we're still left with! Don't ever tell me I don't know what psionics are like! My own fucking brother is one of them!"

Any doubts about what his uncle had told him died a very quick death. Nathan had never discussed The War with his mother, and now he knew why she never mentioned it. Could it have really been that bad?

"Okay, Mom. Just calm down. Nothing we can do about it, anyway."

"No," she said, her head hanging down. "And we can't move, because of your treatments. This is the only hospital in the country that has the ability to treat you. At least, the only hospital we know about, anyway."

It bothered Nathan that he was causing trouble for his mother. There wasn't anything he could do about it, though.

Was there?

-----

Dawn stayed for only a short time. She was too upset to enjoy her visit with her son, and she didn't want to get him upset over it. She left, promising to visit next week and bring him something to pass the time more quickly. He had at least three months left on his treatments.

Nathan watched his mother go with a little bit of relief. Am I evil? Just because I've got this Ability, does that make me a bad person?

To distract himself from this line of thought, he decided to continue practicing his skills. Being fifteen, he decided to practice them in the most fun way he could think of. Gina appeared to be asleep, so he hoped he could "touch" her without her noticing.

Nathan formed his extension, and moved it so that it was resting just above Gina as she lay on her back. He let it drift down until it came to rest on Gina's breasts. He felt her arch her back, and he pressed his extension more firmly against her tits. As his extension moved around on her chest, Gina moaned softly.

After a while, Nathan decided to explore other parts of her body. His snake-like extension slithered down, off her chest and across her abdomen. He continued moving down, running his extension along her bare legs, all the way down to her feet. He even coiled his extension around one ankle and tugged on it, just to see what would happen. Gina's leg moved easily. He had to stop before her foot fell off the bed. Moving back up her leg, his extension slipped beneath her gown. He hadn't intended to do that, but he didn't stop when he realized what had happened. Having hit puberty a year ago, he was as interested in girls as the next boy. He couldn't see what his extension was doing now. He considered using his televiewing, but decided he'd have more fun if he did it by feel.

Nathan's extension moved slowly up Gina's leg, and he was rubbing against her inner thigh. Gina was moaning almost continuously now, but it was a soft sound, so it wouldn't alert the staff. It took a while for Nathan to get up the courage to move any higher, but finally, he slipped his psionic self up against Gina's panties.

Gina immediately sat upright in bed. Nathan, panicked, dissolved his extension immediately. Gina looked over at him accusingly. He had to think quickly.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern forced into his voice. "You were making an awful lot of noise over there..."

She looked at him for a minute, but then shook it off. She looked down at herself, and then back at him. Her voice was very uncertain.

"Yeah, I guess so. I... I guess so." She lay back down, but didn't close her eyes.

Nathan, meanwhile, rolled over onto his back and smiled.

Damn, that was great! I wish she hadn't woken up, though.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

"...so you might be able to cure any injuries or illnesses you have. It will almost certainly take time and practice, but if you're getting good at the kinetic skills, then you should try to start working on your internal skills."

"Internal skills?" Nathan asked his uncle's image.

"Like healing, and helping growth, and of course, there are the mental abilities which we haven't even touched on yet, like empathy, telepathy, and mind control."

"Mind control?" Nathan nearly screamed.

"Yes. I know, we never really told people we were capable of that. Your mother knows, of course, as do several others, but it wasn't something we wanted to spread. No point in giving people even more reason to be afraid of us. But yes, some psionics can control people's minds. I can. In fact, it's how I learned about my powers. But the only way you'll find out if you have mind control power, or in fact any of the mental specialist skills, is to try them. But for right now, I think you'll want to work on getting yourself better."

"Okay, how do I do it?"

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

It was a full week after Nathan's conversation with his uncle about healing. In that time, he'd spent a lot of time meditating, trying to heal the damage that had been done to his body. He spent most of his free time internalizing his energy, to fix what had been broken.

That is not to say, however, that he did not take the time to have some fun with Gina from time to time. Anytime he caught her napping, he would waste no time before he began feeling her up with his extension. He also did it a few times while she was awake, but he was not in the room. He hoped this would remove any suspicions from himself. He didn't want Gina to deck him, but she was a pretty girl, and he was a fifteen-year-old boy, and with what he could do...

I can see how some psionics would lose control of themselves with this kind of power.

He had also done a little work on mind control, but all he'd gotten out of it so far was a bigger piece of cake, and a hug from the volunteer worker that came in to cheer them up once in a while. He thought she was cute, but she visited so rarely that he might not see her again before this round of treatment was over.

Still, the important thing he was doing was inside himself. Over the last several days, he had spent countless hours with his thoughts focused on his internal organs, actually seeing the damage that cancer and chemotherapy had done to him. It was only when he thought he had a good understanding of what he saw that he tried to make changes. The first time he tried anything, it made him sick. He threw up for ten minutes straight, long beyond the point when there was anything in his stomach. It had almost panicked Gina, and it had not exactly overjoyed the nurse, either. Still, he knew he had to persist.

Slowly, carefully, he began to target the cancer, one small tumor at a time. He knew he had all the time in the world, and if it took him an entire day to take out one tumor, then at least it was gone. As he worked, though, he became better at it, and it didn't make him sick again. It would take a few weeks, but he thought he might actually be able to cure himself.

After he had spent his time healing the portion of his body he'd intended to work on that day, he slipped back into his mental classroom, to speak with his uncle.

"You're doing well, Nathan," Ron's image said. Nathan wondered how his uncle had implanted such a complex, interactive dream within his young mind, but didn't bother to ask. He probably wouldn't understand the answer, anyway.

"Am I doing it right?" Nathan asked, referring to the healing he'd started.

"Do you feel better?" Ron asked by way of answer.

"I don't know."

"You're tired. Healing can do that. In a couple of days, I think you'll begin to see a difference."

"Do all the powers make you tired like this?"

"No. Your telekinesis hasn't made you tired, has it?"

"Not what I've done so far... but I've only moved small things."

"You'll find it's the concentrating that really makes you tired. As you get used to doing things, they'll come much easier. Healing, though, always requires concentration at some level, and so it always makes you tired faster. Anyway, have you been practicing your mental skills?"

"I haven't done much with telepathy... really, I haven't done much at all. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I don't really care what most people are thinking, except for maybe Gina and Mom."

"What about mind control?" Ron asked.

"What am I supposed to make them do?"

"Whatever you want. I know this seems really selfish, but in order to practice, so that you'll be able to use your powers whenever you really need them, you've got to play now. That means you make people do stuff that... well, whatever it is you want them to do." Nathan could tell that Ron was censoring himself.

"What did you use it for when you were my age?" Nathan asked pointedly.

Ron paused for a very long moment. "I really didn't want to give you any ideas, Nathan. I can't say for sure that what I did is right or wrong. It's just the way I was at the time."

"I'm waiting," he said, showing a stubborn streak that would have looked familiar to anyone who knew the Chaffey family.

"I used it for sex, okay? I got laid a lot when I was your age. As a matter of fact, I had several girlfriends all at once. Happy now?" Ron was clearly agitated, which Nathan found truly fascinating. Either he had a good imagination, or his uncle had imparted a lot of himself into the information stored in Nathan's mind.

"You mean you made girls sleep with you?"

"Yes," Ron answered with a sigh. "And when I went to CAMP... and we'll talk about CAMP later," Ron said forcefully, "they even made me take a slave. That's why I didn't want to give you any ideas of how to use your Ability. If that's what you want to do with it, go right ahead. If not, then find something else to do with it. But you've got to use it, or you'll never be any good. And there will be times that you will need to use it. That usually happens when you're trying to save your ass."

"That's a lot to think about," Nathan said.

"I know. You have time. But you... uh-oh... if you look in the real world, I think Gina needs your help."

Nathan withdrew quickly from the classroom to bring himself back to the real world. He looked over at Gina's bed, but it was empty. He rolled up onto his side, and saw her lying on the floor. Apparently, she'd gotten up for something, and had then collapsed, too weak to walk. Nathan himself wasn't sure he'd be much help, but he had to try. He slid himself out of bed, and stood shakily. He took the couple of steps that were needed to reach Gina, and then he gingerly lowered himself to the floor.

"Gina?" he said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She moved slightly, and then rolled to her side, facing him. "I can't get up. I think I hurt my leg."

"I'll get the orderly," he offered.

"No!" she said, almost shouting. "Not that asshole. I'd rather lie here until morning than have him touch me." The nighttime orderly was an unpleasant man, and none of the kids liked him.

"Gina, I can't just let you lie here on the floor!"

"Don't you call him, Nathan. Please?" her voice changed from stern to pleading in an instant. He could see she was in pain, but there wasn't anything he could do. How could he help her back to her bed? He could barely walk himself...

I could use my telekinesis... But then she'd know!

He hesitated for a long moment, while Gina lay on the floor, looking up at him. Finally, he came to a decision. He reached out and took both her arms.

"C'mon, get up in a sitting position." She did, and was now facing away from him. Nathan used the bed to help himself stand upright, and then he reached down to grab Gina under the arms. He closed his eyes for a second, and formed his extension. He'd never tried to lift anything as heavy as Gina, even though her illness made her a very frail girl. He heaved with arms and extension, and Gina came off the floor. Her legs dangled on the ground for only a second, and then Nathan's Ability took over, and Gina was completely off the floor. He moved her quickly toward her bed, and, in fact, by the time he'd gotten her all the way onto it, he was somewhat pinned under her. His arms had already given out, and his psionic power wasn't far behind. He made sure she wouldn't slip off, and then his extension dissolved. He was soaked with sweat, and beneath the girl.

"Are you okay?" he gasped.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Are you going to hold me like that all night?"

"Huh?" Nathan said. He hadn't been paying much attention to the grip he had on her. His hands were clasped together in front of her, but they were resting just below her breasts, pressing upward against them. He flushed beet-red, and began to take his hands away.

Gina took hold of his hands quickly. She didn't put them back exactly where they were, but she kept them pressed against her abdomen. She knew he couldn't go anywhere until she moved. Truth be told, she was too sore and tired to move herself, but she didn't want him to leave just yet. She leaned back against him, which pressed him back against the pile of pillows she had on her bed. They were sitting together, and neither of them said a word.

Finally, Gina turned her head in an effort to look at him. He tilted his head so that it would be easier for her to do.

"Thank you," she said softly. Her hand left his - though he didn't move his hand this time - and came up to the side of his face. She pulled him in slightly, and kissed him on the mouth.

It was Nathan's first kiss, and he was stunned. It took several seconds before his brain kicked in enough to return the kiss, but he was thoroughly enjoying it. They kissed for a solid minute before Gina finally released him. He smiled down at her in both wonder and embarrassment.

"You're welcome," he said quietly, a slight blush rising to his face.

Gina lay back against him again, and the two fell asleep, with his arms still wrapped around her.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

Nathan had very pleasant dreams through the night, but was somewhat rudely awakened by the nurse. The look on the nurse's face, however, was one of mischief.

"I knew you two were good friends, but I didn't think you were sleeping with each other." Nathan blushed, because he'd caught the innuendo. "C'mon, stop trying to get your rocks off, and let's get you back to your own bed."

Nathan did what he could to help the nurse move him from bed to bed. He told her, as she moved him, "I just got stuck there helping her back into bed. She'd fallen."

The nurse winked at him. "Sure, I believe ya. It wouldn't have anything to do with her nice bod, huh?"

I could have just as much fun with yours, he thought to himself. He didn't realize his thought had leaked.

The nurse's name was Teresa. She was no nun, however. Her expression, upon receiving what was essentially a command, blanked for just a fraction of a second. Then she stood up, and grabbed the curtain that hung around his bed, pulling it completely closed so that they had some privacy.

Turning back to Nathan, Teresa leaned over, and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Nathan was stunned and shocked. It took several seconds before he was able to react at all, and by that time, Teresa's tongue had wormed its way into his mouth, caressing and massaging his own tongue. She took his hand and gently brought it to her chest, firmly pressing his fingers into the material of her top. He could feel the spongy softness of her tit even below her top and bra. He tried to remember not to squeeze too hard, even though he was very excited. Teresa moaned into his mouth.

The two remained that way for some time, but finally Teresa had to break the kiss.

"I haven't got all that much time," she whispered to him, "so we can't have as much fun as I'd like. Maybe I can find a way later. But you seem to have a little problem I can take care of for you." She ran her hand across his groin, clearly indicating that she was referring to his hard cock.

Nathan could do no more than groan. Teresa lifted his gown up over his waist, and then hooked her fingers into the waistband of his underwear. She pulled them down past his hips, but didn't go much farther than that. His dick was exposed to her view, and it was fully hard. She licked her lips as she stared at it.

After a moment of gazing at it, she took Nathan's cock into her hand. As she leaned down to kiss the head of his dick, he was already fully erect. She let her tongue run along the head of his dick, circling it twice before her lips slipped over the velvety skin of the head. She continued to slowly engulf his prick, taking more and more of him into her mouth. Nathan was grunting softly at the feel of it.

When Teresa had his full length inside her mouth, she paused. He wasn't very big yet, but his age and illness were the cause. She let her tongue lap against his cock while she kept it fully within her mouth. Finally, she began to move on him. Her lips rubbed sensuously along his length while her fingers played with his balls.

Nathan was in total ecstasy. He'd never felt anything that came even close to this. He was struggling to keep himself from blowing his load, but that was a losing battle. Teresa kept up her motion, bobbing her head on his prick. Her lips caused electrical tingles to shoot from his cock to his brain and back again. Nathan's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, trying to ward off the impending explosion.

It was a futile attempt, and the explosion came. Nathan's dick erupted, spewing his cum deep into Teresa's throat. She continued to suck, causing his orgasm to continue. He spurted many times, and she swallowed all of it.

Finally, Nathan came down from his peak, gasping for air and feeling weak all over. Teresa allowed his shrinking dick to slip tenderly from her lips. She helped him get his clothing back in place, and then she stroked his cheek.

"Did you like that?" she asked unnecessarily.

"Oh, God, yes," he enthused.

She leaned down to whisper in his ear, "I'm sure we'll do it again sometime. Maybe we can do even more, but I'll have to find a way to get you alone." She kissed him on the cheek, and then straightened up. She made sure her uniform was fairly straight before she opened the curtain. She ignored Gina entirely, and Nathan was afraid to look in that direction. He closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. It wasn't long before he actually was.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

Over the next few days, Nathan was so intent on his meditations, trying to heal himself, that he was not aware of how quiet Gina was being toward him. In truth, he was so lost in his own world, he noticed very little. That changed on Saturday, when Dawn came to visit her son.

"Hi, Nathan... what the heck's happened to you?" she asked, startled.

He looked at her with a curious expression. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Your head," she said, pointing to the top of his head.

Nathan reached up and felt, for the first time in years, stubble on the top of his head. He got up to go look in the mirror. He could see the fine, dark brown hair peeking out of his scalp.

"Cool," he said with enthusiasm.

"What's going on? I think I'd better get a doctor."

"Mom-" before he could say anything, Dawn was already out the door. He looked over to Gina, who was studiously ignoring the conversation between Nathan and his mother, as usual. "You could have told me, you know," he said light-heartedly. The reply was less chipper.

"Why didn't you ask the nurse?" Gina looked at him for only a moment, and the look was cold. He was about to ask her what was the matter, but at that point, Dawn came back with a doctor.

"So, young man, your mother says... ah, yes. If your hair is returning, that's a good sign. I think we might want to run some tests. Let me get an orderly to take you down to the lab."

"Can I go with him, doctor?" Dawn asked nervously.

"Sure. No problem with that. I'll be right back."

As the doctor left, Dawn doted on her son. "So, are you feeling any better?"

Nathan had to stop to consider that question. "I guess. It's hard to say. I mean, the chemo makes me feel sicker than the cancer does, so..."

She frowned for a second at her son. "I know, Sweetheart. It's terrible what we have to do to get you better, but if you are getting better, it was worth it, right?"

Not really, since the chemo had nothing to do with it... To his mother, he just nodded. The doctor was back quickly with an orderly and the hated wheelchair. The orderly pushed Nathan out the door, beginning a six-hour-long set of tests.

-----

"It would appear, Ms. Chaffey, that your son's cancer is going into remission, and doing it rapidly. We ran similar tests about three weeks ago, and I must tell you, I've not seen a remission happen this quickly in all the time I've been here. The cancer in his body has reduced itself by over three-quarters."

"What does this mean?"

"We're not sure, really. I'm proposing that we do two things. The first, we'll want to keep him here for several more weeks, for observation. We will stop the chemotherapy, though. I want to see if the remission continues without it. We'll have to run tests regularly, every three or four days. If the cancer begins to return, we'll restart treatment immediately."

"Well, what about the other one-quarter?" Dawn asked.

"If, after a few weeks, it appears that the cancer has been reduced by the chemo, and that it shows no further sign of reduction, we'll put him back on the treatment, and see if we can get him fully into remission. I firmly believe, however, that this cancer is going to disappear on its own. Why, I have no idea."

On its own, my ass! I've spent hours getting rid of the damned shit!

"We'll do what you say, doctor," Dawn said with a nod.

The doctor looked over at Nathan. "You might just be able to leave here for more than a short visit home, Nathan. Your chances look pretty good. I'll see you on Monday."

"Thanks, doc," Nathan said without enthusiasm. He knew he didn't need a doctor now, but he wasn't going to tell anyone that. His mother helped him back into his bed. She stayed for a little while longer, but it was late, and time for her to go. She promised to be back the next week.

Nathan laid back, worn out from the tests. He'd forgotten all about Gina's chilly attitude.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼

Nathan's ignorance of Gina's mood didn't last long. It was clear the next day that something was still bothering her. It took Nathan most of the day to get up the courage to talk to her about it. Instead, he spent his time healing.

When the day shift had gone home, and the nurses' rounds were finished, Nathan took a deep breath and decided he couldn't spend the next however-many-days living with the tension of Gina's mood. He looked over at her, and he knew she was awake, though she had her back turned to him. She'd done that a lot lately.

Getting out of bed - something he'd gotten much more capable of doing lately - Nathan took the few steps over to Gina's bed. He hesitated, again, to disturb her, but steeled himself for the confrontation.

"Gina?"

She didn't move an inch.

"C'mon, Gina, I know you're awake. C'mon, talk to me."

When Gina did turn over to face him, the look she gave Nathan made him wish she hadn't. Her look was a mix of anger and despair.

"If you want to talk to someone, why don't you go talk to one of those bimbo nurses?" Her jaw was set, and it was obvious she was upset about something, but he couldn't figure out what.

Bimbo nurses? She's never called them that before... Lots of other things, but never bimbos... He was missing the obvious due to lack of experience.

"I don't want to talk to a nurse right now. I want to know what the hell it is that I did wrong that has you so upset."

Her expression darkened for a moment, and then her despair took over. She broke down crying. "You really don't know. How could you have slept with that slut Teresa?" she blurted.

Huh? She's... is she jealous? What the hell?

Through her tears, Gina continued, "I wanted to... I wanted to be your first."

Say what!?

Nathan sat down on the edge of her bed. She was barely looking at anything, through the tears in her eyes. He put his hand on her arm, trying to comfort her. He really didn't know what to do.

"Gina, I didn't know."

Angrily, she accused, "Would it have mattered?"

"Of course it would have!" he said, a little offended. "Gina, you're my best friend, and you're really pretty. You think I'd say no to you?"

"The other night, you didn't want to touch me!"

Nice work, slick...

"Gina, I didn't want to get slapped. I didn't really know... I mean, it's not like I know anything about girls. The only one I've spent any time around is you... and we see how well I understand you, now don't we?"

Finally, she stopped crying, and there was the faintest of smiles around her mouth. "Yeah. Pretty pathetic."

He laughed at her, and leaned over. He embraced her, and she hugged back, tightly. They stayed that way for a while, but then Nathan gently pulled away.

"You know," he said, with a conspiratorial glimmer in his eyes, "Me and Teresa... we didn't, I mean, we didn't go all the way."

"Don't lie to me, Nathan. I heard the noise you were making."

"No, seriously! She just... ah... um... it was... she only used her mouth."

"You mean she gave you a blowjob?" Gina asked with a smirk. Nathan blushed crimson.

"Yeah. So... I mean, if you still wanted to, you could be my first, still."

Gina pulled him down to her, but not for a hug. Soon their lips met. The kiss was at first sweet, but growing in passion. Nathan swiveled himself around to lie beside her on the bed, and she turned onto her side so their kissing would be more comfortable. Nathan caressed her side, working up his courage. He moved his hand around to her back, pulling her more tightly against him. He knew she had to be able to feel his erection.

Gina already had her hands on Nathan's back. She was holding him tightly against her while they kissed. She'd had a crush on him for a long time, and this was the fulfillment of a fantasy for her. She loved it even more when Nathan finally got up the nerve to move his hand down onto her ass. She knew her gown had fallen open back there, and it wasn't long before his hand was caressing her butt through just her panties.

Nathan loved the feel of Gina's ass cheeks. He fondled her for a long moment before he reached up to untie her hospital gown. As soon as he started to undo hers, he felt her reach down to untie his. This was only fair, he thought. As soon as the ties were undone, the two started pulling each other's gowns off. This took a little maneuvering, but neither of them wanted to separate at the moment. After a minute of squirming and wiggling, however, they both had removed the ugly cotton gown.

Nathan could feel Gina's tits pressing against him now, and it was a wonderful sensation. He returned to kissing her while his hand once again returned to her ass. Gina moaned in pleasure, which vibrated Nathan's tongue. Their kissing was a little confused, since neither of them had much experience, but it was definitely enthusiastic.

After several minutes of kissing and caressing, Nathan finally decided to take the next step. His hand slipped off Gina's ass, and upward. He hesitated for a moment, but then decided to take the plunge, and lightly moved his hand so that his fingers were caressing Gina's tit. The skin there was wonderful and soft, and her breast was nicely shaped and firm. Gina loved the feel of his fingers on her, and she moaned again. Nathan let his fingers dance on her tit, working her up into a higher state of arousal. He found her nipple and tweaked it with his thumb and forefinger, and that caused Gina to squeal. He did it again, and again, until she was squirming on the bed. Finally, she broke their kiss.

"Oh, God, yes! Nathan, you've got me all hot! Do something more, would you?" Her plea was filled with pure lust. Nathan wasn't really sure what to do next. He thought for a second, and then he pushed Gina gently onto her back. Sliding down a little, he slipped his mouth onto Gina's empty tit while his fingers continued to dance on the other. As his lips and tongue slid along the skin of her breast, Gina moaned. When his lips found her nipple, she gasped, and then sighed, and then mewled, arching her back to push her tit into his mouth.

After a few moments, Nathan moved his hand from her breast down across her abdomen. He knew his ultimate target was between her legs, but he wasn't entirely sure what he'd find there. As his hand crossed her panty line, Gina spread her legs as much as she could for him in the cramped space. Nathan let his hand skip over her crotch, and he rested it on her inner thigh. That was enough to cause Gina to moan again. When his hand slipped upward, toward the heat of her pussy, she tried to roll her hips downward toward his hand, hoping to make contact.

Nathan wasn't teasing her, he was just so unsure of what he was doing that he was, himself, hesitant. Finally, his fingers made contact with her panties. He noticed immediately that they were soaked, and that she was extremely hot. He ran his hand along her cloth-covered crotch, unsure of what he felt beneath the fabric, but he noticed it made Gina squirm even more when he did that.

"Take them off, Nathan," she gasped. She was trying to fight off the cries of passion that filled her throat.

Nathan did as she asked, pushing on one side and then the other as she helped him by lifting her hips. He got them down as far as he could without moving. He returned his hand to her groin, wanting to feel exactly what was down there. As his fingers made contact with her swollen and sensitive pussy lips, Gina gasped. Nathan gently slipped his fingers along her length. He noticed how she twitched sharply when he got up to the top. Moving back down, his middle finger slipped almost of its own accord in-between her outer lips. When the tip of his finger found her opening, he didn't even hesitate, but instead bent his finger, slipping it into her hot, tight box.

"Oh, yeah," she sighed, indicating that she liked what he was doing. He continued to work at her tit while his finger slipped inside her. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with his finger, though. Gina sensed his uncertainty.

"Slip it in and out, Nathan. Go fast."

Nathan complied, moving his finger in and out of her pussy. As his finger slid in and out of her cunt, his palm moved against the hood of her clit. This was sending Gina over the edge, and it wasn't long before she had to strangle the scream that accompanied her orgasm.

Nathan was shocked by the spasms rocking Gina's body, but he held on for the ride. She took several seconds to come down from her high, and when she did, she reached down to hold Nathan's hand still.

"Carefully, pull it out," she said softly. He did so, afraid now that he might hurt her or something. She knew she had to explain. "It's too sensitive there right now. Give me a minute." She pulled him back up to her so they could kiss. As her tongue slipped into his mouth, his hand, drenched in her juices, slipped onto her tit. She moaned at the feel of it. For another few minutes, they continued their kissing, until Gina was ready for more.

"Okay," she said, breaking their kiss. "I think I'm ready for you now. But Nathan, you need to know that this is my first time, too."

"Really? You seem to know more about what we're doing than I do."

"My mom had a talk with me once," she answered with a grimace. "First off, you need to get that damned underwear off."

Nathan struggled out of his underwear. He could feel Gina's eyes on his groin. He fought with his urge to cover himself. After all, she was displaying her charms to him. When he was done with his own, which had required him to sit up, he reached over and finished removing Gina's panties.

"Now what?" he asked with some trepidation.

Gina parted her legs. "You need to be in there," she said, pointing with a coy smile.

Nathan moved himself around until he was kneeling between Gina's thighs, his hard cock pointing toward her hot pussy. He looked down at the tight, wet opening that was exposed by her lewdly spread legs. Slowly, he inched his way toward it, until the head of his dick touched her pussy lips. Gina moaned at the feel, and he thought there was an electric charge passing between them.

"I've still got my cherry, so you're going to need to bust it," she informed him. "Slip inside gently first."

Doing as she'd asked, Nathan took his dick in hand, directing it to her hole. Once he was aligned, he pressed in slowly, marveling at the feel of her hot, wet tunnel. Gina just groaned at the feel of him inside her. Soon, they both felt him come up against her barrier.

"Now what?" he asked quietly.

Gina thought it was cute how he really had no idea what to do. That last question had come out through gritted teeth.

"You'll need to move inside me to loosen me up, and then one strong thrust should do it."

Nathan nodded, as he allowed his hips to do what they'd been wanting to do. He moved back and forth several times, building up his pace, and then he shoved as hard as he could. He felt the tear, and he felt Gina's body stiffen from head to toe. He froze, looking down at her in concern. When he saw her eyes clenched tightly shut, he began to grow concerned.

"Gina?"

She nodded at him. "Just... don't move for a second, okay?" she said, her voice obviously under tight control.

Nathan leaned down against her, almost embracing her except that he needed his arms to hold him up. She still had not opened her eyes, but she knew he was there. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him against her. He enjoyed the feel of her body against him while he waited for her to tell him what came next.

For Gina, the pain was not intense, but it was long-lasting. It took a while before she was past it enough to let him continue. But Nathan, sweet person that he was, waited patiently, holding her, while she recovered. Finally, she thought she could handle more.

"I think I'm ready, but go slow at first," she told him. She felt him nod, for the two were still embracing. He moved his hips gently against her. She felt some small twinges of discomfort, but they were accompanied by larger twinges of pleasure. As he continued to move inside her, the twinges of discomfort were completely drowned out by the waves of enjoyment that were washing over her. It wasn't long before her hips were rolling with his movements, and she was rising to her own climax already. She knew that he wouldn't last too long his first time - that's what her mother had said - and she was hoping they could come together. She was worried about becoming noisy, though.

Reaching up, she pulled Nathan's head around until their mouths met. Her tongue was instantly inside his mouth, and he took the cue. His hips began to move faster, and the two were grunting and groaning into each other's mouth. She could feel the tension building up inside of Nathan, and she knew he had to be close to coming. Finally, his body stiffened, and she felt the hot, creamy cum spurting inside of her. The feel of it coating her pussy sent her soaring into her own climax, and her body spasmed intensely. The couple remained lip-locked throughout their orgasms.

After several long moments, the two came down from their peaks. Nathan carefully moved to Gina's side, as he didn't want to fall off the bed. He held onto her, though, as if he was afraid she would evaporate.

"That was... intense," he said in wonder.

"Yeah," she agreed. "We've got to do that again sometime."

Nathan was in no position to deny her whatever she wanted.

∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼
∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼∼≈≡≈∼∼