“To be honest, I hold no grudges against you, but regardless, I’m not actually here for you. I’m here to help Amy. She has nothing to do with our game and I couldn’t stand the thought of an innocent person falling victim to something that she’s not even involved in. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“And I’m just supposed to believe that you’re here out of the goodness of your heart, to help someone you don’t even know?” He took a menacing step forward but his interest was piqued, and he was afraid of scaring Travis before getting any answers, so he stopped. “Tell me this, how did you even know about it? Can you read my mind now?”
“No, I can’t read your mind, only your agreements. I was looking for a way to end the game and so I spent a long time concentrating on our connection. Gradually I became more attuned and aware until eventually I could hear your side and could locate you wherever you were.”
“That’s creepy. Was that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No, I’m just being honest with you. I’m sure you could establish the same connection with me if you tried.”
“Fine, let’s say I was to believe you,” Cole said. “What were you going to do to protect Amy? Do you know what’s supposed to happen to her?”
“Not exactly, but I can usually sense when something related to the agreements is about to happen. I was hoping I could figure out enough about it to prevent it.”
“Did you see the vision?”
“Yes.”
There was a silence. Everything about Travis’ words and body language seemed sincere. Cole hated to admit it to himself but he was beginning to believe him, even to feel sorry for attacking him. Yet there were still some loose ends that didn’t add up and he composed himself, reminding himself not to underestimate his enemy, not to fall victim to gullibility.
“Explain this one,” he said. “I’m one side of the competition and you’re the other. Since my agreements are always about saving or helping people, then yours must be about hurting them. You’re the evil side of this game so how can I trust anything you say?”
“Why does there have to be a good and evil side? Who said my agreements were about hurting people? Maybe we’re just two opposing sides.”
“That doesn’t seem likely,” Cole said. “What, do both of our agreements help people? Yeah, right.”
“I think we need to work something out before we can get anywhere.” He took a seat on the lawn but Cole remained standing, on alert. “First of all, I don’t blame you for attacking me. You were scared and angry and desperate.”
“No way, you started this deadly war. That was retaliation for burning my house down and almost killing my mom and me. I wasn’t gonna sit around while you took another shot at our lives.”
Travis scrunched up his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t burn your house down. What made you think that?”
“Oh yeah, if you didn’t do it, who did?”
“I did.”
Cole spun around at the sound of the unexpected voice to see a woman emerge from around the corner of the house, wearing a loose black hoodie with strands of frizzy blond hair sticking out in all directions.
“You did what?” Travis gasped. “Mom, how could you… What were you thinking? You tried to kill them?”
“Well, just him,” the woman said, coming forward. “The mother I could have cared less about. I figured that would be the cleanest way to finish this whole business. Travis, Honey, this kid is a danger to you. I couldn’t let him hurt you, like he did. He could’ve killed you.” As she talked she edged ever closer to Cole.
“Get away from me,” Cole said, taking a step back. “I’m not going to hurt your son again.” He looked sidelong at Travis, keeping an eye on the mother. “Are you seriously saying you had no idea she tried to kill me?”
“Not at all,” said Travis, who was staring at his mom. “Mom, what are you doing here? How did you know I was coming here?”
“You’re my son. It’s my job to know everything you do.”
“Why did you stop after just one attack?” Cole said. “Why did you leave us alone?”
“I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she said. “I was afraid for Travis’ safety but I'm not a violent person. I regretted it and couldn’t bring myself to do anything again so, after you little bastard snuck into my house, I figured the only solution was to move away where you couldn’t find us. Apparently that wasn’t good enough, Travis. You had to come back.”
“I couldn’t let an innocent become collateral damage in our game. I tried telling you but you wouldn’t listen.”
“She knows about the game?” Cole said.
“Yeah, I told her.”
“You told her?!”
“That’s your biggest problem,” Travis said. “I don’t know why you feel the need to keep this a secret. I flaunt it. I was proud of it for a while. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a power that no one else has, a gift in a way. What were you afraid everyone would think you were crazy? When I first told my mom, she obviously didn’t believe me. But then when I predicted future events time and time again, she had no choice. You should’ve tried it. It’s useful having someone on your side, someone to confide in, someone to drive you places –” He blocked part of his mouth with his hand and whispered so his mother wouldn’t hear. “-even when it has nothing to do with an agreement. Your own personal slave.” He lowered his arm, his voice resuming normal volume. “I’m sure you could’ve used that every now and then.”
“What did you just whisper to him?” Travis’ mother said, narrowing her eyes.
“It’s nothing, Mom. Don’t worry about it.”
Travis’ mother opened her mouth but Cole cut her off.
“So, hold on a sec. You said you could predict the future well enough to prove it to other people?”
“Yeah,” Travis said. “You can’t?”
“Not at all. Usually I don’t even know what the agreement is for and when I do it’s always really vague. Only recently have I even heard what the subject of the agreement was.”
“That must be because you’ve only recently developed an intuition for interpreting the agreements. The ability has always been there, you just needed to pay more attention.”
The implications of Travis’ words hit Cole like a ton of bricks. His whole life he could have had more control, could have helped more people, if only he had learned how to control his ability. He had always been ashamed of it, terrified that someone would find out and think him insane, and it made him crush the ability into the back of his mind, never thinking about it unless he was fulfilling an agreement.
“I really can’t…You can’t be se-“
“All right, that's enough,” Travis’ mother cut him off. “Come on Travis, we’re going home.”
She strode over to him and grabbed his arm but he pulled free.
“I can’t, Mom. I told you, I need to stay.”
She gritted her teeth and let out an exasperated sigh. “Why do you care about some little bitch so much?” she said.
“Don’t you dare call her a bitch,” Cole said menacingly, clenching his fists and taking a step forward.
“Stay away from me, kid. I’m warning you.” Travis’ mother lifted the right side of her jacket and let it drop back down, revealing for a half second the holster of a gun sticking out of her waist.
Cole’s eyes went wide with fear but Travis had his back to her and didn't notice the gesture.
“I have a confession,” Travis said. “There is one more reason why I’m here.”
“W-wh, I don’t care,” Cole said. “Listen to your mom and get out of here.”
“Why the sudden change of heart? Whatever, I’ll go in a minute but I just needed to tell you that I think I figured out a way to end the game.”
Cole was intrigued and momentarily disregarded the threat. “Yeah?”
“Travis, we’ve been over this,” his mother said. “Why are you playing around like this, giving him
options that he doesn’t deserve? Why don’t you tell him the truth?”
“But, Mom. I don’t know…” Travis said.
“What truth?” Cole said, feeling the draw of curiosity pulling him in.
“Tell him, Travis. Enough games.”
Travis closed his eyes, took a deep breath, looked up at Cole and began. “How do you know what the consequences of your agreements will be? How do you know which side you’re fighting for? Have you ever actually known the exact outcomes of winning and losing?”
Cole hesitated, thinking back to all of his agreements over the years. “Well, no, I guess not until recently. But I’ve been able to figure out most of them. I mean it’s usually pretty obvious.”
“Is it though?” Travis’ mother said.
“Let me finish, Mom,” Travis said. “Let’s take something recent for example. Did you happen to have an agreement pertaining to the train?”
“Yeah…How did you know that?” Cole said.
“That was around the time that I was figuring out how to read into the agreements and I could sense there was another side of it.”
“All right, so what of it?”
“All I know is that my agreement told me that it was to save the people on that train. I succeeded, for the most part, but I could feel a strong force opposing me. Do you think your agreement was to save them, or to kill them?”
“This is ridiculous,” Cole said, as chills ran down his spine. “It was to save them of course.”
“Are you sure?”
There was a pause. Travis looked up at his mother, who was glaring at Cole in hatred, and then back at Cole, seemingly at a loss for words.
Cole felt himself sinking as the world became fuzzy around him. He thought back to all the agreements he could remember, thinking, wondering, questioning. “I don’t believe you,” he said.
“Look, kid, you’re the evil one,” Travis’ mother said. “Get over it.”
Travis continued. “All I know is that, since I've tuned into my ability, I’ve always had agreements about helping people and yet, for each one, I’ve felt an opposing force. I mean I don’t think that makes you bad. You didn’t know what you were doing.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s a perfect little boy, going around killing people,” Travis’ mother said sarcastically.
Don’t let them play with your mind. That’s how they want to win. Cole straightened up, pushing his shoulders back and chest forward. “Why should I take your word for it? What possible reason do I have for believing you, that you’re not just making all this up?”
“Don’t worry, Cole,” Travis said. “We can end this. I’m sure there’s a way.”
“I’ll tell you one way,” Travis’ mother said. She pulled the gun from her waist and held it inside her jacket, the barrel sticking out. “Either come with me now or he gets it. I’m not risking your life again.”
“Cole, get inside!”
Cole turned around to see Amy, terrified, outside the front door.
“Amy, no! Don’t come out here!” he shouted. “I told you to stay locked inside.”
“I won’t let you get killed for me,” she said.
“Call the police. I’ll only be another second.”
“Are you crazy?! It’s not worth it. I’ll call the police as soon as you get inside.” She walked tentatively out the door towards Cole.
“Amy, get back!”
“Enooouugh!” Travis’ mother pushed her son aside, extending the gun out into the open. “There’s only one sure way to end this. I’m doing this for you, Travis. Don’t look.”
“Mom, no!”
Cole’s body seized with fear as he stared down the barrel of the gun. He tried to move his legs but his feet were glued to the ground, his muscles lead.
“Cole!” Amy screamed from behind him.
Cole could hear her footsteps pounding behind him, renewing his strength. He knew instinctively that Amy was the one in danger. “Back!” He turned and dove toward Amy, landing on top of her, killing her momentum, and flattening her to the ground beneath him. He grabbed her tight and closed his eyes, waiting for the blast that would kill them both.
It didn’t come.
Cole opened his eyes and looked up. The gun was still pointing at him. The mother’s face was red and she was breathing hard. Travis was behind her, staring horrified at the gun.
Amy groaned, shifting under him. “Ow, that really hurt.”
“I can do this,” Travis’ mother whispered to herself. There was a loud click as she cocked the barrel. “This is for your son. Breathe. Just breathe.”
In the lull, Travis reanimated. “It’s okay, Mom. Let’s go home. He doesn’t know where we live.”
“But what if he ever finds you?! If you can find him, he can find you.”
“He won't. He's different. Even if he can find us, he's not a murderer.”
“He already almost killed you once! His whole family is full of murderers. It's in their blood. I'm sorry but it's just not a risk I can take.” Her livid face calmed into a scowl. “Is this the girl? The one from the vision?”
“Mom…”
“It is, isn’t it? You know as well as I that you can’t change what’s going to happen. I’m going to kill her today and there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Don’t fight it. One shot through them both and we can put this whole mess behind us.” She steadied the shaking the gun with her other hand. “Close your eyes, Travis.”
“Mom, no!” Travis rushed his mother, grabbing at the gun, shoving the barrel away from Cole and Amy.
Amy screamed and squeezed her eyes shut. Cole scrambled to his knees and tried to pull Amy across the lawn.
“Mom, stop. It doesn’t have to be like this. You don’t know how this works.”
“Travis, let go! You’re going to make me hit the trigger! All right, all right, I won’t shoot, just let-”
A deafening explosion ripped through the quiet street, freezing the world in a vacuum of time. Not a muscle moved, not a person breathed.
The shock was broken as Travis crumpled to the ground. “Mom?” he whimpered.
Cole and Amy lifted their heads to see Travis’ bloody torso heaving up and down with great effort.
Travis’ mother was the last to break from the spell. She opened her mouth in a long, piercing wail as she dropped to her knees and lifted Travis onto her lap. “Travis! Travis, no, don’t close your eyes. Stay with me.” She repeated these lines as she tried in vain to stop the bleeding, but Travis' fading life was manifest in his labored breathing.
Travis' head rolled to the side, his glazed eyes locking with Cole's. The ever-present whispering grew into a cacophony of rushing energy passing between them like an invisible wind tunnel. The world grew distant as the energy overwhelmed his senses, and within it all was a small but distinct voice that sounded very much like Travis. As Cole felt on the verge of passing out from the assault on his mind, it ceased. Travis' eyes continued to stare at him but they saw no more.
“No, Travis, no, no….” Travis' mother cradled his body against hers, petting his head and crying into his hair.
“I’m going to call the cops,” Amy whispered into Cole’s ear.
He nodded, his eyes glued to the scene in front of him. Amy pushed herself into a sitting position, but at the sound of movement, Travis’ mother’s head snapped up, her red eyes looking like death itself.
“You’re not going anywhere,” she hissed.
“I’m going to get help,” Amy said.
“It’s too late. You can see that as plainly as me.” She placed Travis back on the grass and picked the gun off the ground with a bloody, shaking hand. “This is all your fault, Bitch. You killed my son! You killed him! He’s dead because of you! You were supposed to die, so now you’re going to.”
Amy bolted for the front door as Cole charged for the gun.
When Amy realized Cole wasn’t following she stopped and turned. “Cole, no! Run!”
Cole didn’t h
ear her. He didn’t hear anything. He was on a set course, oblivious to anything going on around him. Nothing was going to deter him from his goal.
Travis’ mother adjusted her aim at the charging Cole. The gun leveled, cocked and fired. The shot exploded out of the barrel. Cole felt a forceful, piercing pain rip through his arm, knocking him onto his back. He clutched his arm, yelling in pain as blood seeped through his fingers.
The mother had already lost interest in him and was pointing her gun back at Amy. Cole looked back in helpless horror as he watched Amy caught in indecision between running inside and running to his aid. Another deafening shot resounded down the block, exploding into the doorframe behind her.
The mother cocked the gun for another shot when she was distracted by the squeal of tires. Cole looked towards the sound to see a car jumping the curb at high speed, heading straight for her. She turned in time to watch the front of the vehicle slam into her, flinging her body into the air. She landed with a smack face first on the concrete.
The car screeched to a halt and Dr. Stern jumped out, wild-eyed.
“Cole, Amy, are you okay?”
“I think I need to go to the hospital,” Cole said, grimacing. Even through the pain, though, he felt little more than relief
“Are you all right, Amy?” Dr. Stern said, running towards Cole.
“Yeah, I think so,” Amy said.
“Good, go call nine one one. We need an ambulance immediately.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Amy said, pointing.
Dr. Stern and Cole turned their attention down the block to where Amy was pointing and saw a police car and an ambulance roaring around the corner, lights flashing and horns blaring.
“Thank God,” Cole said, gritting his teeth through the pain. “What are you doing here?”
Dr. Stern pressed the wound, trying to slow the bleeding until the medics arrived. “I was worried about you. Thought you might do something rash, especially after I realized you took my letter opener. Now... I don't even know what to think. Who is th-”
The ambulance screeched to a halt. The medics swarmed out with two stretchers, lifting Cole, Travis and Travis' mother onto them, and rushing them off to the hospital.
Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) Page 24