“It’s too dangerous,” Wes argued, but Ralph ignored him.
Gil stood perfectly still, leaning against the counter, not making a move to run. It unnerved Wes, who knew he was planning something. Then Gil reached down and pulled open a drawer, and extracted a knife.
“Get down, Ralph!” Wes shouted, jumping to the side.
Ralph ducked just as a butcher knife whizzed over his head, sticking into the wall. Then Ralph rushed forward, reaching for Gil. Gil grabbed another knife, holding it, slashing at Ralph, who took the blow on his arm. He didn’t react, but kept coming, wrapping his arms around him. But there was little strength on his injured side and it was a wrestling match, Ralph trying to control the knife arm while Gil tried to break free. Wes aimed the gun, but they were a tangle of arms and legs.
Wes rushed forward to help, but suddenly the toaster was launched at him. He turned, taking it on the shoulder, then turned again. Canisters machine-gunned off the shelf. They flew wide, ricocheting off the refrigerator. Wes came on and then was punched in the stomach with an invisible blow. Wes buckled but was amazed he was alive—Gil’s power was weak. Hurrying before Gil could recharge, he reached into the mass, trying to grab an arm, but couldn’t hold one using only one hand. Stuffing the gun in his waistband he reached with both hands.
Gil lashed out wildly now, smashing cabinet doors, and sending dishes and canned goods flying. Still he and Ralph held on. Gil’s head twisted toward Wes, so he danced around, keeping out of his field of view.
“Stop it, Gil,” Ralph scolded. “You’re hurting me.”
“I’ll kill you, you moron!”
“It’s . . . not . . . nice . . . to call people names.”
Suddenly Gil freed an arm and transferred the knife to his free hand. Before they could react, the knife plunged down into Ralph’s shoulder. A few seconds later Ralph yelped, his arm releasing, hanging limp. Gil twisted, sending Wes backward with a blow to the chest, then turned toward Ralph, murder in his eyes. Ralph sank to his knees, holding his bleeding left arm.
“At least I’ll get you, you bastard!” Gil screamed, and raised the knife.
Wes threw himself forward, tackling Gil. When they hit the floor Wes crawled up his back, holding Gil’s head toward the cabinet so he couldn’t look at him, trying to watch the knife. Gil shattered the cabinet with his power, the splintered wood showering Wes. Wes cringed in shock, and Gil half rolled, turning his head toward Wes. Wes couldn’t stop him now, Gil was turning over. Wes reached to his waistband but the gun was gone. Then he saw Gil looking at him. Wes could feel the power building behind those eyes—he was going to die.
Suddenly a small automatic pressed against Gil’s temple. He froze, eyes fixed on Wes. It was Roy, and the policeman’s eyes were cold. Silently, he held the gun, watching Gil’s eyes. Slowly the policeman pulled back on the trigger, Wes tensing, waiting for the gun to fire. But then the trigger finger stopped, just before the point of releasing the firing mechanism.
“If you look at me, you die,” the policeman said.
Gil’s eyes were still locked on Wes, but he knew Gil was estimating his chances of knocking the gun away before Roy could fire it. The standoff continued, neither man’s eyes moving, or even blinking. Then Gil’s eyes flicked toward Roy, the gun firing at the same time, blowing his brains against the shattered cabinet.
EPILOGUE
Ralph was on Luis’s cot, filling his place in the integration. Wes slowly pieced together the segments fed by Shamita. When the Frankie intellect was functioning, he signaled Elizabeth. Turning, she spoke softly to Daphne.
“Frankie, are you there?”
“Yes, Elizabeth.” Her voice was shaky, not confident like before.
“We know it’s you, Nancy.” Silence followed. “You hurt a lot of people, Nancy.”
“Not people, they were animals. They hurt me.”
“That was long ago. You killed them, didn’t you?”
“They raped me!”
“Your father found out and he put you in the basement, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t do anything about what they did. He said I was asking for it. He didn’t understand.”
“It’s over, Nancy. It’s been over for a long time. The boys you’ve been killing didn’t do that to you.”
“They’re all alike . . . they tried to do it again.”
“It’s time for you to sleep, Nancy.”
“I’m afraid. I have nightmares.”
“You won’t now, Nancy. It’s time to sleep.”
“I don’t want to be alone. I’m afraid. I was alone so long.”
“Your father’s waiting, your mother and sisters too. You’ll be a family again.” A long silence followed.
“There’s a light.”
“Go toward it, Nancy.”
“It’s bright . . . it hurts.”
“They’re waiting, Nancy.”
“I can see someone . . . Daddy!”
Elizabeth reached out and took Daphne’s hand. As Wes watched, the integration flickered and a wave he’d never seen swept the cortex, and then the integration dissolved.
“She’s gone, Elizabeth.” Nodding to Wes, she held Daphne’s hand until they were all awake. As soon as he was up, Ralph used his good arm to scoot off his cot into his motorized wheelchair. Then he rolled around the room, banging into the furniture. Archie and Yu watched him enviously.
“Ralph, can I have a turn?” Yu asked.
“Me too?” asked Archie.
“I suppose. But I get to drive it when Dr. Bin-bam comes.”
Rolling into the living room, he transferred to a chair. Archie drove around the living room backward.
Daphne stayed behind, holding Elizabeth’s hand.
“Would you sit on the porch with me, Elizabeth?”
On the porch they rocked slowly, watching Mrs. Clayton rake leaves.
“It was me, Elizabeth. I hurt those boys.”
“Don’t start that again, Daphne. You aren’t to blame any more than the rest of us.”
“I’m different now, Elizabeth.”
“Yes. It’s a remarkable change.”
“I can remember things—terrible things from when I was little. My mommy used to treat me bad.”
“You don’t have to talk about this, Daphne. There’s been so much pain lately.”
“She used to hit me. Sometimes because I was bad, like when I wet my pants, or when I would cry too much. But mostly she hit me when she was drunk. I was so afraid of her, but she was my mommy, and after she beat me she would hug me, and hold me, crying into my hair. We would cry together until we fell asleep. She really did love me.”
“I’m sure she did. She didn’t know what she was doing—it’s a sickness.”
“One day she was drunk and I was real scared. I wanted to get to the potty, but I was too little and she was too drunk to help me up. I was in the kitchen begging my mommy to help me, but she laughed at me and then pushed me down, making me cry. Then I wet my pants! I was so afraid.”
“Daphne, if this is too painful—”
“She threw her cigarette at me. I should have run away, but I was little, and I was afraid. She was going to beat me . . . hurt me. Her face was red, her hands were fists. I could feel the blows even before she started. So I hit back. I hit her hard into the wall. Then I hit her head into the wall, over and over. When I stopped she was dead and there was blood. Blood all over the wall. Blood all over the floor.”
“You’re confused, Daphne. It’s a confabulated memory. The memory of your mother has mixed with what Frankie did to the boys in the fraternity house. She used Gil’s power to kill them. It was never you.”
Daphne looked up at her, tears dripping from her eyes. “It was me!” Taking a barrette from her hair, she put it on the porch rail; then she sat back next to Elizabeth. “Watch.” Then the barrette shot off the rail, rocketing across the yard and burying into a tree with a loud thunk. Elizabeth jumped with surprise.
“I wo
n’t hurt you! Please don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not. It’s just that I thought . . . you did that?”
“I’ve always had the power. Maybe Gil did too—maybe he got it from me—I don’t know. But I did kill my mommy, and when those boys tried to do that to me, I couldn’t help myself. I’m so sorry.”
Elizabeth pulled her close, and cried with her. She thought of the dead boys and of the power Daphne had used on them. She was the equal of Gil at least, and it must have been her that saved Luis when he fell from the skybridge and defended them against Gil’s last attack. Should someone with that power walk among them? Elizabeth was frightened, but Daphne had never harmed anyone before. Besides, if she told anyone about it, they would treat her like a freak. Would the government lock her up, study her like a specimen in a jar? Daphne had locked herself up in her own mind for years, and now that she was free Elizabeth couldn’t do it to her again. No, she would never tell anyone. It was a terrible responsibility, but she trusted Daphne.
They cried together for a while, and then they rocked until the Birnbaum’s van drove up, honking.
Ralph rolled out in his chair, shouting to Dr. Birnbaum.
“Hello, Dr. Bin-bam. Lookee what I got. It’s just like yours only different.”
Dr. Birnbaum leaned out the passenger window. “It’s a beauty, Ralph.”
“I can’t keep it on account they didn’t cut off any of my arms or legs. I was kinda hoping they would, but they borrowed it to me anyway—it’s a loaner.”
Archie and Yu came out, carrying Ralph’s luggage, and Mrs. Birnbaum came around to slide open the van door. Shamita, Karon, and Wes followed, helping load the luggage. Meanwhile Ralph drove back and forth on the porch in front of Elizabeth and Daphne. Wes talked briefly to Dr. Birnbaum. Then Dr. Birnbaum shouted at Ralph.
“It’s time to go, Ralph. We’ve got a plane to catch.”
“Well okeydokey then.” Ralph stood and limped down the steps toward the van.
“Ralph, aren’t you forgetting something?” Dr. Birnbaum said.
Ralph paused, leaned back, folding his arms across his chest, and pursed his lips. Then his hand shot out and he thumped himself on the head. “How could I be so stupid?” Back up the steps he limped, then grabbed the chair, lifting it off the ground.
“Careful of your stitches!” Elizabeth shouted.
Wes rushed to help him, but Ralph had little problem carrying the chair down the stairs to the van. Then he pumped everyone’s hand, hugging Elizabeth. When he got to Daphne he looked sad.
“I’ll come back and visit when they’re done sperimenting on me. Maybe you could come live with us too.”
Daphne hugged him long and hard. “I love you, Ralph. You were important to me.”
Now Ralph looked embarrassed, and Elizabeth was amazed at the range of emotions he was showing. Quickly, he was back to exuberant.
“Well okeydokey then, let’s get the show on the road.”
Climbing in the van, he slid it closed from the inside, waving out the window as they drove off. As they left, Ralph’s voice could be heard over the drone of the engine. “Got any gum?”
Shamita and Karon left next to visit Len in the hospital. When they were gone Wes took Elizabeth aside.
“What did Daphne want?”
Elizabeth didn’t want to lie to him; secrets had no place in the kind of relationship they were building. But if Daphne was to have any chance at a normal life, no one could know about her ability.
“She’s still upset and blaming herself, but I think she’s getting past it.”
“We’ll all leave this place with bad memories.”
“Yeah. But good ones too,” she said, thinking of the nights they spent with the savants eating pizza and watching movies, walks to the park, and Sunday mornings in church.
Archie and Yu came down the steps whispering, then approached side by side. Yu did the talking, while Archie nervously pushed his glasses up and down his nose.
“We’re kinda thirsty. Maybe we could go get a Slurpee? Archie and I know the way.”
Elizabeth watched Wes’s face fall—Archie and Yu had been corrupted by Ralph.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll all go.”
Elizabeth waved at Daphne, who wiped the tears from her face, then hurried down the steps. She smiled briefly as she passed, then ran to catch up with Archie and Yu. Wes took Elizabeth’s hand and followed, but then stopped, looking at something pink sticking in a tree. Twisting and pulling, he managed to free it.
“It’s a barrette—someone hammered it into the tree.”
Elizabeth feigned surprise, then took his hand and pulled him along, following the savants down the block.
Table of Contents
Halftitle
Title
Copyright Notice
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1 Death By Suggestion
2 Daphne
3 First Arrivals
4 Test Run
5 Aftermath
6 Archie
7 Church
8 Whispers
9 LUIS
10 New Arrivals
11 Frankie
12 Yu
13 Impulse
14 Expectations
15 Encounter
16 Discovery
17 Tomb
18 Questions
19 The Frankie Effect
20 Investigations
21 Creativity
22 Stalker
23 Parapsychologists
24 Demonstration
25 Control
26 Connection
27 Dr. Birnbrum
28 Suspect
29 Tragedy
30 Explosion
31 Cornered
32 Hostages
33 Hospital
34 Breakout
35 Party
36 Confrontation
Epilogue
Fragments Page 40