by S M Stuart
***
“It’s our anniversary, Lizzy. A year since I took you away from that snivelling family of yours. You should’ve heard their wailing when they finally found the bloated body. They say time heals but Wallis and your brat Seth wouldn’t agree. I saw them earlier this evening, throwing flowers into the lake. Shame I couldn’t get close up to hear their thoughts. Then again, it was pretty obvious what they were feeling.” Trevalyn checked that the area surrounding the bridge was clear of any other late night visitors then emerged from his hiding place amongst the drooping branches of the weeping willow.
He walked to the middle of the ancient bridge – to the spot where Elizabeth had flinched from his touch. His anger at the memory matched only by the grief of his loss. She would rather die than be with him.
Did she really think it was so easy to slip away? He ran his hand over the smooth wood of the bridge’s guard-rail. In his imagination he sensed the impact of her body as she’d fallen backwards in her hurry to escape him. He smiled at the irony. In trying to escape she had become entirely and exclusively tied to him.
The others will never know what really happened that night, will they, my love? One day they might even thank me for it. But not yet. I’m not prepared to share yet.”
CHAPTER 49
Ellingham: 8 September 2110
I can’t do this without you, Seth.
The empty seat next to me feels like a black hole, pulling me into
its nothingness, blotting out the classroom and muffling the buzz of the kids around me. I’m impatient with their chatter. They’re all just children. The horrors I’ve seen and experienced over the summer break have made me grow up fast. I’ve left my Academy schoolmates behind and they’ll never understand what I’ve been through.
***
My arrival that morning had brought a ripple of excitement to the Academy. Classmates fell into two categories; one group kept their distance, unsure about what to say or how I would react; the other group were over-emotional, hugging me and crying on my behalf, telling me how sorry they were. I preferred the first group.
During lessons I often noticed someone looking at me. Their reactions, when caught out, varied. Darius was quick to smile reassuringly; Frankie gave a brief nod of encouragement; Melanie’s eyes filled with tears and Davy and Jing-Wei held onto each others’ hands as if their lives depended on that physical contact – it turns out their PTs were complete strangers to them. With the late summer sun blazing through the windows and the underlying tensions, the room became stifling and when morning break finally arrived I ran for the door before anyone could stop me. I didn’t stop running until I reached the bench, half hidden by the large beech tree, at the far end of the sports field.
I didn’t care about not having an individual PT. I’d stopped trying to find The One amongst all those connections in my head. It would’ve been nice to be ‘normal’ but I’d accepted that it wasn’t my fate to be normal. My newly-discovered abilities were frightening and I still shudder at the thought of my head-to-head with Victor Trevalyn. Some would say it was poetic justice – he’d trapped Dale Johnson in a mental prison for all those years after the mixed-drug overdose failed. But Trevalyn’s condition wasn’t drug induced – I’d done that to him, simply with the power of my teenage mind. We’d been told during our PT-prep lessons that our brains would continue to develop for several years after our initial connection. What was mine going to develop into? Will I become a monster like Trevalyn, feeling superior to everyone around me, disposing of those who get in my way?
“Penny for them?” Andrea sat beside me and asked the most tactless question of the century. But it made me laugh!
“A penny wouldn’t make a dent in them,” I said. “You’ve no idea how many there are in here.” I tapped my head and crossed my eyes. When I brought her face back into focus I realised she was looking at me with real concern.
“How do you do it, Dez? I couldn’t have come back after the summer you’ve had. First your accident, then that loony Empty bashing poor Seth senseless. It’s weird, I’m telling you. I’ll never walk by that Lake on my own again!”
It was as close to an apology for her snide behaviour at Kumquats as I was ever likely to get and I couldn’t understand why the class bitch being sympathetic was more comforting than the supportive words and loving embraces that I’d had from my family.
***
Seth had noticed I’d disappeared that evening. He’d snuck out too, taking Mum’s pistol while she was distracted with the travel preparations. He guessed I’d head for the lake and Mr Marshall confirmed it when he’d met Seth on the way.
“Yes Seth, Dez is with her Uncle Vic by the lake. If you run you’ll catch up with ‘em, no problem.”
And why did Mum have an antique pistol in the first place? I don’t think anyone expected it to work. Trevalyn certainly didn’t. Later Mum explained that only a simple mechanical weapon stood a chance against Trevalyn. He’d developed his handy little digital gadget to control anything electronic. She’d always kept the 20th century pistol cleaned and primed – just in case.
“In case what?” I’d asked, but she wouldn’t tell me more. There were secrets in our family that I’d been protected from and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon, even if I had just put down the world’s most dangerous man!
Dad was no help either. Surprisingly, he hadn’t got into serious trouble at work for hiding his Trevalyn inquiry. I suppose the fact that Trevalyn was now safely locked away in a secure hospital meant the whole thing could be hushed up. The events of that evening were related to the press as a vicious attack by a drug-addled MPT. Seth would’ve been furious about another government whitewash but I could see Dad’s point of view. The world wasn’t – and, maybe still isn’t – ready to hear the whole truth yet. Dad went back to work as usual, spoke impeccable English as usual, and treated me like his little princess as usual. How could everyone go on as if nothing had changed?
No, I was being unfair. I saw how the last few weeks had affected them. Their smiles were tainted with sadness. Mum’s apparently self-centred behaviour was fast becoming a fading memory as she treated us with tenderness and pride. Her over-protectiveness didn’t skip a beat though. I still had to tell her exactly where I was going and when I’d be home. I don’t think she realised that I had the greatest weapon to protect me inside my own head.
Samuel was distraught, although he tried to stop me wallowing in guilt. He told me over and over again that nobody was to blame other than Trevalyn. But even a visit from Nina, his PT, couldn’t bring him out of his depression. She’d insisted on taking a sabbatical from her work as Museum Curator in Kamrovskij. She said she could research Icons that had surfaced in Britain over the past couple of centuries and that would keep her bosses happy. I liked Nina. Her no-nonsense, practical approach kept us all afloat, heads just above the flood of despair that would sometimes threaten to swamp us. She quickly became good friends with Mum and Aunt Jen. And Jeremy was never far away when Nina called at the farm. His schoolboy crush on the exotic Russian was sweet to see.
Aunt Jen never said a word about what had happened. She knew there was nothing that would help yet. She was simply there when I needed her; a long pony trek with a good gallop at the end to blow away the tears; a kitchen smelling of horsehair, tack and polish while I rubbed the leather to a mirror shine; a shoulder to cry on, no need for apologies.
And here, on my first day back at the Academy, Andrea’s tactless sympathy was surprisingly welcome. She wasn’t trying to gain any kudos. She was merely letting me know she didn’t have a clue how I was holding it together. Having done so, she stood up straightened her skirt and threw a “See ya later,” over her shoulder as she headed back to her group of cronies.
Seth would’ve been amazed to see that.
EPILOGUE
I wish you could hear me, Dez.
He destroyed Mum, I had to stop him getting to you too but it wasn’t supposed to end up lik
e this! I’d give anything to go back – to start the whole story again. We got carried away didn’t we? Thinking we could save the world, catch the bad guy and walk into the sunset hand-in-hand. Real life never works out like the movies though, does it? Guess it’s right what they say: ‘Life’s a bitch and then you die!’
I know you wanted a connection with me. For so long after Mum died, I was scared to let anyone get too close. Maybe that’s why my PT didn’t hook up. And I never said the right words to make you understand, did I? Now the chance to put it right has slipped away. We could’ve been good together, couldn’t we? I realise now that I’ve always loved you. And I always will. I hope you know that.
My head aches so badly – the throbbing drives me mad.
It’s getting dark and cold. So lonely. Now I can understand Dale’s fear when he was trapped inside his own head. What if this is it for me too? Shit, I’m frightened!
Maybe if I have a rest, things will be better when I wake up. But promise me – promise you’ll be here when I do, Dez, promise?
ECHOES OF THE SOUL
coming soon!
December 2110: Seth lies comatose in Ellingham Clinic.
Unknown to all but a select few, Trevalyn is being held in a secret, secure area of the same clinic – also in a state of mental lockdown.
Dez searches through her ‘head-mess’ for clues to Seth’s PT’s identity, hoping that a link might help her break through and bring him out of his coma. However, from the depths of her psyche, she senses a more familiar voice calling to her – not one that she could ever have expected to hear!
Before she realises the implications, Dez is once again gathering clues and racing against the clock to save her loved ones from Trevalyn’s evil machinations.
And would finding Seth’s absent PT help or hinder her?
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