Sabin, A Seven Novel

by A. M. Hargrove

“I don’t think they will. The imprint on her is strong. And if they don’t see it, they’ll want to know where it is. But if they try anything, I’ll have to extract her. You and the team will be nearby, just in case that happens.”

  “Sabin, you won’t have a chance to prepare her for transcending.”

  “She may react, but she won’t die. This is our only option. I don’t see another choice, unless you do. If so, speak up.”

  “No. Not anything that will draw the Shaurok out. What exactly have you told her?”

  This is a question I don’t relish answering, but it’s Rafe and I need to be honest. “More than I should have but not much. Basic stuff. She knows we’re not human. She knows about Paradox. She knows about how we travel but not how it works. She obviously knows about some of our medical advances. That was unavoidable.”

  “You have to claim her, Sabin. You have no choice.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  Then the bastard laughs. Belly laughs. He smacks me on the shoulder and says, “You never could do anything the easy way, could you?”

  He’s right. Everything I’ve ever attempted has been like walking on broken glass with bare feet. “This is me you’re talking to, Rafe.”

  “Right. You still have to claim her, even if you do it with her kicking and screaming. The consequences of you not claiming her are much greater than what she faces if you don’t. Picture this. You take her home and word gets out. She somehow leaves the house and Ali’yah gets wind of it. If Ali’yah sells her and ships her out, you’ll never see her again.”

  “I don’t have to claim her if she stays here.”

  “Are you delusional? She can’t stay here. It’s not possible. She’d be dead in a day. Now if you’re comfortable with that, then fine.”

  My hand curls into a fist and I slam it against the side of the building. A piece of the brick flakes off. “Shit.” Pain rips through my hand and shoots up to my shoulder. I grimace as I try to flex it.

  “Tell me you did not break your hand.”

  “Probably.”

  “Dammit. Let’s go and get you fixed up.”

  When we walk back in the kitchen, the room is empty. Rafe pulls out the medical kit. “Give me that hand.”

  I hold it out for him and a piercing pain lights into me. “Shit!”

  “It’s broken, all right. Can you not have a better hold on your temper? How many times do I have to do this for you?”

  “Shut up and finish.” I grit my teeth and inhale. This is a particularly nasty one. The break must’ve been worse than I thought.

  “Hit something soft the next time.”

  Rafe’s comment reminds me of Serena punching the mattress and I laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  I tell him and he only shakes his head. “I think you should be as good as new.”

  “What happened?” It’s Serena. She walks in the room and looks at Rafe holding the wand.

  “Nothing. I had a little accident. All’s good now,” I say cheerfully.

  Her brow wrinkles. This is one time I wish she weren’t so perceptive. And that she didn’t have such insight into my personality. “Really? What kind of accident? Rafe, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

  She positions herself between us, but moves Rafe so he can’t look at me.

  “We were, uh, Sabin was, er yeah, Sabin ran into the back of the building and broke his hand.”

  That sounds as bad as my pet ate my homework.

  Shit, Rafe, can’t you do better than that?

  She caught me off guard. Sorry.

  “Ran into the back of the building? Oh, and I see that happening a lot around here. I suppose he breaks his ankle dancing, too.”

  Rafe actually laughs. “No, but I’d love to see him dance. Why don’t you give us a demo, Sabin?”

  “Shut it. I had a slight accident, Serena. I’m fine.”

  I should’ve told her I was the tooth fairy. I would’ve had a better chance of her believing me.

  “Okay. Have you eaten?” she snaps. She walks over to the food dispenser and stabs the thing with her finger. Christ, here we go again.

  “Serena, let me do that for you.” I motion to Rafe to leave, so I can have some privacy with her.

  She faces me and her eyes rake me from head to toe. How can this slight snippet of a woman reduce me to feeling like an errant child? “I think it would be better if you would teach me how to use the stupid thing.”

  Before she has a chance to disrupt the cycle of the damn processor, I take her hand and fold it in the confines of mine. What I want to do is reach into her mind to my fullest capacity. Peel back the layers of her cognitive function and delve into the inner workings of her complex cerebrum. I’d love to dive into the deepest part of her, the places that only she knows, and find out every tiny thing about her, things she’s never dared to share with anyone. Because I know there are a lot of pieces of Serena that are so insanely complicated that perhaps even she hasn’t touched upon them. But I can’t do that. It would be an invasion of the greatest kind and would ruin any relationship between us. Not to mention the simple fact it would be dangerous for her fragile psyche. The human mind was not made for such a thing—to do so would be pure foolishness and could threaten her very existence.

  “Serena, allow me.” Her hand yields and then molds itself to mine. The resistance is gone. “What would you like?”

  Her head shakes. “I don’t know the name of any of the food you give me,” she mumbles.

  “Have I upset you?” I know the answer. The question is whether she’ll tell me what’s wrong. I order up some breakfast for her and when it’s ready we both sit.

  She bows her head and stares at the food for a minute. “You make me feel like I’m that financial burden again. Maybe it’s best if I leave.”

  Shit. She may as well have kicked me in the guts. Or maybe poured acid on them when they were hanging out. “No! You can’t think that. And if I made you feel that horrible, I apologize. Rafe and I had a … session … for lack of a better word. We aired our differences and we’re good now. But Serena, you can’t even go there. About leaving here. You won’t survive a few hours. This I know.” I scoot my chair closer to her and it makes a scraping noise. She looks up and our eyes lock. Why do I feel her eyes penetrate the deepest confines of my soul? “I’m not embellishing or exaggerating the danger here. I swear this to you.”

  “I feel I’m in the way. I know the men don’t really want me here. And now you … the way I sense that you’re hiding things from me.”

  “The truth then. I’m frustrated with our inability to find the necklace. And I’m worried about sending you back out there. I slammed my hand against the wall and broke it.”

  “Why didn’t you just say so?”

  “Because I know how difficult all this is for you I’m not lying to you, Serena.” If ever a time I wanted to infiltrate someone’s mind, I can’t remember it being as strong as this moment.

  She’s silent as she stares back at me. Then she nibbles a few bites of food before she stands and walks out of the room.

  The truth is I do feel like that financial burden again. I’m in the way and taking up space. The water calls to me and if I could take one more dive, even if it meant my life, it would be worth it to me. I’ve often heard when people die doing things they love, they die happy. That’s how I feel right now. When it comes down to it, I don’t have anyone one in particular to live for, or anything now, for that matter. It’s obvious I can’t go back to school, my family doesn’t give a shit about me, and I’m not attached to anyone. So why not go on one final dive? The problem is how will I be able to sneak away?

  The answer comes as a huge surprise. As I’m sitting on the bed, mulling my fate over, Sabin walks in and tells me he and the men are going out to devise a plan for tomorrow. I’m staying behind, as usual, with Edge. As soon as they leave, I wait very impatiently, and then start to gather up my SCUBA equipment. Everything is alre
ady packed in my bag, but I check my dive computer and regulator, just to make sure everything is in working order. I’m going to have to hope someone is available to take me out into open water, but if they aren’t, I’m okay with a river dive. My other problem lies in the fact that I don’t really know where I am. Other than being in a warehouse in Beaufort, that’s it. Though Beaufort isn’t a huge town, there are parts of it I am unfamiliar with. I’m going to have to hike it, so after forty-five minutes of anxious waiting, I sneak out the back door, hoping it didn’t set off an alarm. Then I run as hard as I can to the next street. I don’t stay out in the open, as that would be foolish to my way of thinking. I use alleys and side streets, cutting through yards, and I eventually end up close to my apartment. I waste not one second in getting to the dive shop.

  “Serena. Didn’t expect to see you today.” It’s Dan.

  “Yeah, I, uh, I got some free time so I was checking to see if anyone’s going out.”

  “You might be in luck. Let me check.” He makes a call and tells me a boat is leaving in about fifteen minutes.

  “Great. Thanks.”

  “I’ll let them know you’re on the way. You need tanks, right?”

  “Definitely. Thanks, Dan.”

  “You bet. Hey, how’re those bruises?”

  “Oh, they’re fine. But thanks for asking.” I bet he’d be surprised to know they’re all gone.

  The dock is only a five-minute walk, so I rush on over, and the boat is there, with the divers ready and waiting. I know everybody but one and they all greet me. There are four, including me.

  “Serena! How are you?”

  “Good. Thanks for waiting.”

  We make introductions and the boat leaves.

  “So where are we headed today?” I ask.

  “Out past Calibogue Sound and Hilton Head,” Mike says. He’s the dive master for the day.

  “Cool. I love it out there.”

  “We’re just going to play.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  The ride is smooth and the weather is good. It’s about an hour and a half out. Once we’re situated, we get ready. Gearing up is a pain, as usual, but it’s always worth the effort. When I get beneath the surface, I always experience that rush, that feeling of euphoria. Some call it the endorphin release. I call it pure joy. It’s my fishbowl. I’m the kid playing in the sandbox she never got to have. While diving off the coast of the Carolinas can’t compare to the Caribbean, it’s still a super high to me.

  Trying not the think of my last time underwater, I keep up with my fellow divers. This time it’s easy. The currents are soft and gentle as they make my body sway. They don’t shove me like they did before, and I don’t feel myself fighting to stay with the group. Visibility is clear today, not much sand being stirred up either. If there’s one thing I don’t like about doing this, it’s that I can’t scream out my happiness and talk to the person next to me.

  Up ahead I see a small sand shark and I pull out my camera and take a snapshot of it. It veers off and leaves, frightened by my movements. Something below me glistens in the sand, so I head toward it, keeping my companions in sight. When I get there, it’s nothing but a nice sized shark’s tooth, so I grab it and stick it in my bag, moving along to catch up with the other divers. I spy shrimp and starfish, all sorts of sea life, including stingrays and even an eel. The sea charms me so much that the time flies and I check my dive computer to see it’s getting close to our time to surface. When I glance at Mike, I see him giving everyone the signal to make our ascent.

  I turn to initiate mine, knowing since we’re only at about eight-five feet under, it won’t be that slow and that’s when he comes into view. Sabin. He’s underwater, without any gear, looking as though he’s going to bite my head off. And how can he be down here without any air? Pointing to my regulator and then to him, I give him a signal to see if he needs oxygen.

  Then his thoughts slam into my brain. My head explodes and feels like a freight train filled with tons of dynamite is running through it. Everything turns to slow motion as my hands move to my head. I lose all sense of gravity. Distinguishing up from down is not possible. I can’t even make out his words. There’s a part of me that knows he’s yelling, screaming at me, but I’m so disoriented, I can’t function. The pain is crushing and it’s all I know. That and the noise in my head. Until everything ceases and fades to black.

  ~~~~~

  The lids of my eyes feel weighted down to the point that I can’t open them. I want to. Only they don’t want to cooperate. I drift away again. When the fuzz clears in my brain, my head throbs. No, throb isn’t the right word. It feels like my skull is cleaving in two. What happened to me? When I try to move, an intense wave of nausea hits me and acidic bile burns my throat. Note to self: do not move. Again. I lie as still as I can, keeping my eyes closed. Where am I?

  Then it hits me. SCUBA diving! I was diving and Sabin showed up. The piercing pain nails me again and I scream. The door slams open and I hear footsteps.

  “Serena.”

  “Make it stop.”

  “You are experiencing the after effects of my mind invasion.”

  “I don’t care. Make it stop.” I’m panting.

  “It will, after a time.”

  “A time? How long is a time?” I clench my teeth.

  “It depends on the individual.”

  “Can’t you use your magic stick thingy?”

  “No, because there is no injury. You’re only reacting to my thoughts in your head.”

  “Then stay out of my fucking head.”

  “You put all of those people in danger.”

  I didn’t think of that, but right now I don’t give a shit about anything.

  “Stop talking and thinking of things. Lie still and it will go away faster,” he says.

  The crushing pain won’t cease. It penetrates my skull, rendering me helpless. I try to lie motionless, but it’s impossible not to writhe in agony.

  “Lie still, Serena.”

  “C-c-c-can’t.” My hands grab my head, trying to ease the pain.

  “RAFE!”

  My hands cover my ears. His voice is deafening.

  More footsteps. This time it sounds like they’re running.

  “The pain. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  Their speech is slurred and I don’t know why. One would think mine is the one that would be that way.

  It gets to the point I can’t understand what they say. My lips go numb and I can’t open my eyes. Then I hear a high-pitched noise. It’s the same sound of the magic thingy. My last thought before I pass out is why didn’t Sabin use that thing sooner.

  I’m in the water, diving, happy as can be. The creatures are there, too. Beautifully colored fish flutter by, their fins slicing through the water effortlessly. I want to be just like they are. I glance down at my hands and they are the hands of a child. I look back up and I’m in my old bedroom, when I was about six or seven. I hold the only toy I ever had. It’s a ragged stuffed bunny, all torn and tattered, and missing both its eyes. I’m sure it’s old as sin, but I love it nevertheless. Then my mother’s scowling face appears, telling me to put it down and that I need to be doing chores. I kiss and pat my bunny, and then slip it under my pillow before I run to dust the tables for her. That’s the last time ever I saw my bunny.

  I wake up with a jolt. My head no longer hurts. Only a dull throb remains behind my eyes. When I rub my face, I discover it’s damp. Then I recall the dream, and how my mother took away my bunny. Wiping my tears, I say out loud, “Why in god’s name did I dream about that? It was only a stuffed animal. Gah, did she hate me so much, she didn’t even want me to have that ragged old bunny?” Resting my head in my hand, I think about my mother and how my bunny disappeared. I absently rub my chest, trying to make the hole in my heart feel better. Why would a mother do that to a child?

  And why did my head hurt so badly? I don’t have any notion of how long I’ve been in bed, but I need the r
estroom, so I get out of bed when a wave of vertigo hits me.

  My arm grabs the wall to steady myself and I hear him say, “What’s wrong? Where are you going?”

  “Bathroom.” I don’t want to speak to him. He did this to me.

  “Take it easy. You’re still off.”

  Using the wall for support, I follow it all the way around to the entrance to the bathroom. I close and lock the door behind me. The dizziness is profuse. I sit and drop my head between my legs, hoping it helps. It doesn’t. When I’m finished, I brush my teeth and drink two glasses of water. Then I hunt for some ibuprofen in my bag. I take three and open the door.

  Sabin stands outside the door when I open it. “How do you feel?”

  “How do you think I feel?”

  “I cannot possibly answer that.”

  I spit out, “Of course you can. Just pop yourself into my head and find out.” Then I wobble back to the bed. I expect a smartass comment, but none comes. So I go on. “Just what the fuck did you do to me? Trample on my brain cells while you were in there?”

  “No. I delved into your mind a little too deep. It was a bit more than you could handle.”

  “How nice of you.”

  “I was angry with you. You put yourself and your friends in extreme danger. What were you thinking?”

  “I clearly wasn’t thinking that some mad alien was going to viciously insert his angry thoughts into my head and nearly kill me in the process.”

  “I didn’t nearly kill you.”

  “Okay, then torture me. I hope you enjoyed getting your revenge on me for leaving.”

  “I did not enjoy watching you in pain. How can you think that?”

  “You did it to me, didn’t you? You knew it would affect me, didn’t you?”

  “Well, yes, but not to that degree. You seem unusually sensitive to me.”

  “Sweet of you to notice.”

  “Serena, stop being so sarcastic.”

  “You think I’m being sarcastic? It felt like you were cleaving my head in two. And it continued on and on and on. At least if you really had done that, it would’ve been over in one strike. But this wouldn’t stop. Let me tell you something. Touch me, or try to insert your thoughts into me again, and I’ll kill you. Do you understand me?”