Dark Matter (Interchron Book 3) by Liesel K. Hill

Author:Liesel K. Hill [Hill, Liesel K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-10-01T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 20: Convergence

Doc sat in the dim light of the conference room, waiting for his brother.

He did his best to have confidence the team would obtain the orb—he saw no reason they shouldn't—yet their track record with this kind of thing wasn't good. On the Pacific island, they'd lost Clay before the mission ended. Granted, they’d killed Borna, the collective’s evil Traveler, but the price had been high. That always seemed to be the case.

Therein lay the crux of Doc’s worry. Even if they got the orb without incident, the collective would lash out to protect their assets. Doc didn’t feel confident he could protect his people. The team was his family. Fear of losing one of them in the process kept rearing its head in his chest, threatening to overwhelm him. He batted it back down each time, but couldn’t seem to make it lie still.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in, Nat," Doc raised his voice to be heard in the hallway. He wondered why Nat bothered knocking when they'd already agreed to meet.

The man who stepped in wasn't Nat, though.

"Oh," Doc smiled warmly and rose to his feet. "David, I thought you were Nat. Please, come in."

"Am I interrupting something?" David asked, his eyes wary.

"Not yet." Doc said. "Nat is meeting me here to discuss some things before we leave in a few hours. He must be running late. We can talk until he gets here."

David nodded and took the seat next to Doc’s. When they were both settled, David studied his hands. Doc waited patiently for him to begin.

David hesitated, opened his mouth, closed it, glanced up at Doc self-consciously. "I have a strange question to ask,” he finally said.

"Ask away, David. Don't be shy."

"I want to know how you always remain so stoic."

"Stoic?" Doc asked, confused.

"Yes," David said slowly. "You…always control your emotions. Mine are a constant torrent. I want to know how you keep your feelings so well in check. Can it be learned?"

Doc registered mild sadness as he smiled at David, who’s haunted eyes and flushed cheeks betrayed desperation.

"I think you’ve confusing feeling emotions with managing emotions, David." Doc said. "They aren’t the same thing. You're right that I control what I show. Nobody truly controls what they feel. Only how they react. Controlling emotional reactions comes with age and experience. You’ve recently come out of the collectives and are still learning. Learning comes through practice. It takes time. I still feel emotions deeply, but I simply don’t show it outwardly the same way you do. Do you understand?

David looked frustrated. "Can one learn to feel emotions less keenly?"

Doc sat back in his seat, frowning. The question troubled him. David needed to feel his emotions to grow, not hide from them. "I only know two ways to mitigate emotions, David. Neither of them is desirable. The first is the way the collectives do it. They create bonds between people and siphon the emotional energy away, watering it down and spreading it around so no one person feels too much.

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