Fear, hate, and mistrust, flocked around me like giant shrieking ravens and my mind struggled to recoil from them like a wild animal. In the instinct of fight or flight, my mind needed to flee from Koslov but there was nowhere to go.

The shrieking grew louder as the black bloated emotions circled closer and in the shrieks I could hear words. He’ll get me, get me. Kill him, kill him. Hide. Run. RUN. RUN!

I didn’t know what effect my emotions were having on anyone that shared a connection with me, but I knew one thing. The madness had to stop.

Reaching out with my mind, I latched onto one of the ravens and wrestled it down. It fought me every step of the way, lashing out with razor like beaks and claws. Determined, I brought it into me. There was a stab of white hot pain that boomed like thunder. Then I moved onto the other two and was rewarded with an ice-cold ache and a moment of indecision. They too, passed.

Exhausted, I existed in silence.

It was then I realized that I had a connection to Vasily.