“So is that it for the plan?”
“No. That’s just part of it. Dave and Jack just got those encrypted GlobalLife files from Owens. Erik’s helping with the decryption. And Brittany’s meeting with the rebel group tomorrow to tell them what she overheard from the guards when she was in Iceland. So basically everyone’s trying to figure out where the genes are stored.”
“Everyone except me. What am I supposed to do?”
“Just get better. You really scared me with all that blood, Sam. That wasn’t a normal nosebleed.”
I explained to Colin what had really happened. He was surprised and a little freaked out. “So it’s like mind control? You can really do that, Sam?”
“I guess. Apparently it’s a new power. But I didn’t like it.”
“Feeling any better?” Erik appeared in the doorway. “Ready to steal another car?”
“Ha, ha. I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it.”
“Sounds like something Brittany would do. Guess you two are getting more alike the more you hang out together.”
“What are you saying about me?” Brittany walked up behind him.
I smiled. “He’s trying to blame you for what I did.”
“That was all her idea.” Brittany seemed proud of my disobedience. “Sam, do want some dinner? We already ate, but I can get you something.”
“No, thanks. It’s late. I think I’ll shower and go to bed. You can have your room back now. I’ll sleep downstairs.”
“No. You’re staying up here with me. You don’t want to sleep in some dark, musty basement.”
“Before you guys go to bed, can I talk to you, Sam? Alone?” Erik asked.
I looked at Colin, who seemed annoyed. “Um, no. Just say what you want to say. We’re all friends.”
Erik glared at Colin. “Forget it. It’s nothing. See you tomorrow.”
He left, then Colin said goodnight and I went to shower.
“What was that about?” I heard Erik’s voice in my head.
“Get out of my head, Erik! I’m in the shower. Privacy, please.” I tried to shut him out, but my mind was too weak from what had happened earlier.
“I need to talk to you. And besides, I can’t see anything.”
My mind instantly remembered seeing what the officer saw and I didn’t believe him. If I had that power, Erik could have it, too.
“Erik, I know you can see me. Why else would you get in my head now, when I’m in the shower?”
“Dave told me about you having that power and no, I don’t have it. At least not yet. So relax. I can’t see you. And even if I could, big deal. I’ve already seen you naked.”
“Let’s not talk about that.” If I was ever going to move forward with Colin, I couldn’t keep reliving the intimate moments Erik and I had shared.
“Why are you trying to ignore me? Did Colin ban you from talking to me?”
“No. I did. I told Colin we would stop mind-talking. He doesn’t like it. He feels like we’re hiding something from him.”
“Well, tell him to grow up. We’re not hiding anything from him.”
“I’m trying to make things work with Colin and he’s not going to stick around if you and I keep this up. And I don’t mean just mind-talking.”
“Then what? I haven’t done anything. I’ve left you alone.”
“You’re still flirting. And I know you haven’t given up on us.”
Erik was silent.
“I can’t do this anymore, Erik. I want to be with Colin.”
His voice turned cold. “You know it’ll never work. You and Colin.”
“Why would you say that? You’re the one who keeps giving me advice about him.”
“I wasn’t giving you advice. I was trying to make you see for yourself that he’s not the guy for you. Even if you think you’re in love with him, it still won’t work. You and I are the only two people in the world with these enhanced genes. Colin will never understand what it’s like being like this. And he can’t live a normal life with you. You and I will always be running. It just makes sense that—”
“Stop it. You sound just like GlobalLife. You act like we have no choice in this. Like our destiny was chosen from the minute they put these genes in us. As if we have to be together because of that attraction software. But I’m making my own choices now. And I want to be with Colin.”
Erik changed the subject. “So tell me what happened with that officer.”
“I told you. No more mind-talking.”
“I need to know. The same thing could happen to me. I need to know what it feels like.”
“It feels like your head is going to explode, okay?”
“Yeah, and then what? You just start seeing what the other person sees?”
I described the scene to Erik, giving him more details than I gave Dave.
“Sam, don’t tell anyone this, but I think I had a similar thing happen when we were trying to find Brittany.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When she was running from GlobalLife and you told Owens’ guys to search by that lighthouse? I could see the lighthouse right in front of me. And I could see the area around it. It was exactly what you described.”
“Erik, why didn’t you tell anyone this?”
“I didn’t want Brittany to feel all weird around me. I didn’t mean to get in her head. I just really wanted to find her.”
“You should tell Jack. Dave said getting in someone’s head like that could damage the brain. You should get checked out by a doctor, like I am tomorrow.”
“No, I don’t need that. Maybe it was just a one-time thing. I’ll let you finish your shower. Goodnight.”
Erik’s thoughts cut off. I felt bad for brushing him aside. Jack had told me many times that I was the only person Erik had ever opened up to. Now I’d told him that he couldn’t do that anymore. But I couldn’t keep being Erik’s confidant if I wanted things to work with Colin.
The next morning, Dave was anxiously waiting to take me to get a brain scan at some hidden medical facility run by the rebel group. “Hurry up, Sam. Abigail is waiting for us. She has a team there ready to go.” He seemed more in a hurry to see Abigail than to get my brain scanned.
“Uncle Dave, is there something going on with you and Abigail? Do you like her or something?”
Dave blushed. “Of course I like her. She’s a very nice lady. Very smart and very professional.”
“I mean, do you like her in a romantic way?” I tried not to laugh, but it seemed funny asking Dave about a woman.
Dave got flustered. “Don’t be silly, Samantha. I just met the woman. It’s nothing like that. I simply admire her work.” He paused. “And a pretty lady like that? She’d never be interested in a man like me.”
As he talked, I noticed that Dave had really cleaned himself up. He had shaved and his hair was slicked back with some type of hair product. I could even smell cologne.
We drove to an old house in the middle of nowhere. The house was acting as the temporary headquarters for the rebel group assigned to retrieve the alien genes from GlobalLife.
When we got there, Rachel greeted us at the door. “Samantha! Dave! It’s so good to see you guys again.” We hadn’t seen Rachel since Iceland. She was dressed in dark jeans and a light blue v-neck sweater, a much more casual look than her normal GlobalLife attire. “Come downstairs. They’re waiting for you.”
We went to the basement. It was full of medical equipment, including the scanner that would check my brain.
Dave seemed impressed. “I hear you’re the one who had all this set up, Rachel.”
“Yes. I knew we’d need medical facilities for Sam and Erik, especially after that section of DNA was filled in. Abigail said there could be side effects. So tell me, how’s it going over at Owens’ place?”
“Not good. We have to watch what we say and do all the time. He’s got that house under constant surveillance.”
“I figured he would do that. I’ve got a new place l
ined up for you guys to stay. It’s not that far from here. It’s an old house, fully furnished. It’s nothing fancy, but you wouldn’t have to worry about Owens watching you.”
“That would be wonderful, Rachel,” Dave said. “Of course, you know Owens won’t like that.”
“He can’t expect you to stay there. You’re not his prisoners. Just tell him that.”
“Easier said than done,” Dave replied.
“Well, they’re ready to start running tests on Sam. It should take an hour. I’ll see you guys later.” She went upstairs.
The tests actually took several hours because they found damage on one side of my brain. After more brain scans and some blood work, the neuroscientist who ran the tests met with Dave and me. Abigail listened in as well.
“There’s some damage, but it’s starting to repair itself. That’s the good news. The bad news is that if she doesn’t learn to control this ability, her brain may do it automatically, like it did before. And if it happens frequently, we’ll see even more damage.”
“How do I control it?” I asked.
“I’ll work with you on that,” Abigail said. “There are techniques you can use to stop your brain from entering another’s. But to do that, you need to practice actually using this skill.”
“But won’t that hurt my brain?”
“Not if you practice doing small things with people you already know, like getting into David’s mind and having him go make a sandwich or pick up the newspaper.”
I glanced at Dave, thinking I didn’t want to be controlling his, or anyone’s, mind.
“And, David, we’ll need Erik to try this, too,” Abigail continued. “Even though he hasn’t shown signs of having this power, we need to see if it’s possible.”
“Yes. I’ll talk to Jack when we get home.” Dave turned to the scientist. “Is there anything we should do to help Sam heal faster?”
“Not really. Although she should cut back on the telepathy. That takes brain energy and she needs that energy to heal her cells.”
Dave nudged me. “Got that, Sam? No talking to Erik. At least not with your mind.”
I nodded and got up. “Can we go now? I’ve had enough tests for one day.”
Dave didn’t seem to want to leave. “Would you like to join us for lunch, Abigail?”
“Oh, I wish I could, David, but I have too much work here.”
Dave seemed embarrassed. “Of course. You’re very busy. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Abigail placed her hand on his arm. “No. It was nice of you to ask. It’s just not a good time right now. But maybe dinner sometime.”
Dave beamed. “Yes. Absolutely. Dinner would be wonderful. I look forward to it.”
I felt like I was watching a couple of teenagers. The two of them couldn’t take their eyes off each other.
As we were leaving, Rachel raced up to Dave. “You can move into that house I told you about any time. Here are the directions. There’s a car there that you can use as well.”
“Thank you, Rachel. I’ll tell Jack. I’m hoping we can get out of there yet today.”
When Dave and I returned to Owens’ house, the whole upstairs was empty and quiet. We went to the basement and found everyone standing around the giant monitor on the wall. Owens’ image was on the screen. He looked very angry.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Last Chance
“Preston, is there a problem?” Dave asked.
“Where have you two been?” Owens demanded. “What’s going on there, Dave?”
“Nothing. Samantha and I were just upstairs. Why are you so angry, Preston?”
His face became red as he raised his voice. “Because I had a plane waiting. Do you know how much money that costs? And then that boy,” he pointed at Colin, “he just—just decides not to go? You! What’s your name?”
“His name is Colin,” Dave answered. “And yes, he decided not to go. Why are you getting so upset about this? Because of the money? He’s sorry for that, aren’t you, Colin?”
Colin looked at Owens. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Never mind that. I have another plane waiting. Dave, I want you to take him there right now. He’ll be in Minnesota by evening.”
I ran up to the screen. “No. Colin’s not going. He’s staying here.”
“Stay out of this Samantha!” Owens ordered. “That boy is going home. He leaves today and that’s final.”
I could sense Colin’s anger. “You can’t force me to go!”
Owens got closer to the camera, his face filling the monitor. “I sure as hell can! That’s my house you’re in. And you can’t stay there! I won’t allow it!”
“Then I’ll go stay somewhere else. I’ll leave right—”
“Okay, wait,” Jack intervened. “Let’s just hold on a minute here. What is this about, Preston? There’s no reason why Colin shouldn’t be able to stay here.”
Owens lowered his voice but was still irate. “That boy has no use being there. Samantha and Erik need to focus on their abilities. They need to focus on each other. Learn from each other. They are a couple, dammit!”
Erik and I looked at each other. “We’re not a couple,” I insisted, glancing at Colin. “Erik and I are just friends.”
“Say what you want, Samantha, but I saw you and Erik at GlobalLife. Carrying on the way you did.”
“That’s enough, Preston.” Dave stood up tall and approached the screen. “You heard Samantha. She and Erik are just friends. And I don’t like the way you’re speaking to her. Or the rest of us. Remember that we’re only here to help you locate the genes. That was our agreement. Nothing more. But I can see now that you’re taking this arrangement of ours too far. Living here was a bad idea. We’re moving out of this house.”
“You can’t leave!” Owens exclaimed. “The house you’re in is secure. Any other place you go isn’t safe. They’ll find Samantha and Erik. They’ll find all of you! The GlobalLife offices are less than an hour away!”
“Sorry, Preston. But it’s not your decision. If you still want Jack’s and my help in decrypting those files, we’ll do so. But you can’t tell us where to live.” Dave looked at Colin. “Or who we live with.”
“This is suicide, Dave! You know that, don’t you? You won’t last a minute out there on your own! And Samantha and Erik will be in GlobalLife’s custody within a day. Maybe even less.”
“That’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Dave said calmly. “Now I think we’re done here.”
Owens was fuming. “You’re making a huge mistake, Dave! One that will have dire consequences!”
Dave turned and walked upstairs. The rest of us followed. We could still hear Owens shouting when we got to the kitchen.
“I hope you have a plan, Dave,” Jack said.
Dave gave him a look to keep quiet as he pointed to the listening devices. We walked quietly into the side bedroom, where we could talk without being overheard. Dave told everyone about the house Rachel had waiting for us. We started packing our stuff. Within the hour, we were out of there.
The new place was an old house, similar to the one we’d just left. But it had a much brighter feel to it because we were free from Owens’ constant watch. There were only three bedrooms in the new house, so Brittany and I stayed in one, Colin and Dave in another, and Jack and Erik in the remaining one. There were farm fields on all sides, just like the house where Jack and Erik had lived back in Texas. Jack smiled when he saw the place because it looked so similar to his former home.
After I unpacked, I went out back and found Colin sitting on the porch steps. “What are you doing out here? It’s cold.” I sat down next to him.
“I was just thinking about what Owens said.”
“About you going back to Minnesota? Don’t listen to Owens. You need to be here.”
“Not about that. I was thinking of what he said about you and Erik. He seems convinced that you two are a couple.”
“He’s a crazy old man. Erik and I are not a couple. I wa
nt to be with you. I know we’re not dating right now, but I want this to work out. I love you, Colin. I don’t love Erik.”
“Um, Sam?”
I turned to find Erik standing right behind me inside the house with only the screen door between us. I was sure he’d heard everything I’d said.
I quickly got up, turning to face him. “Erik. I didn’t know you were there. Did you need something?”
“Abigail is here. I’m supposed to try that mind control thing. She wanted you to sit in. I’ll tell her you’re busy.” I could hear the sadness in Erik’s voice. I knew he still had hope that I might go back to him, especially since Colin and I weren’t technically dating. He turned away and left.
I sat back down next to Colin.
“He still loves you.” Colin stared out at the open fields.
“Erik? He does not. He never has. I told you, we’re just friends.”
“Erik and I have already talked about this, Sam. He’s not giving up on you.”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter what he thinks. You’re my future, Colin. Not him.”
“And what if we don’t get back together?”
“Don’t say that. It’s too soon.” I paused. “And if we don’t get back together, I guess I’ll be alone the rest of my life.”
Colin didn’t respond. I knew he didn’t believe it. It would take more time before he would accept that Erik and I were no longer involved.
As we got up to go inside, I felt dizzy and had to sit back down.
“… running out of … need to listen. Can you … Sam?”
A voice was in my head but I could only hear a few words. And I didn’t recognize the voice. It was too faint.
“Sam, is something wrong?” Colin was beside me.
I listened for the voice again, but it was gone. “No, it’s nothing.”
When I went back inside, Erik was working with Abigail on mind transference. He tried getting into Jack’s head but couldn’t. Erik hadn’t told anyone besides me how he’d already been in Brittany’s head. I almost told Abigail that myself but didn’t, knowing it would make Erik angry.
A Chosen Destiny (The Samantha Project Series #3) Page 13