“We're just playing a game,” Meredith said, choking on the words in between sobs.
Peter inched away from the hedges, but before he had gotten far, Meredith stepped into view.
“I've gotten a lot better at hide and seek.” Her cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes wide and crazed. “Isn’t this great? I can kill you without even laying a finger on you. All I need to do is let the voices in and I can do anything.”
Peter climbed to his feet. “Please, get a hold of yourself. I'm not the enemy here. I don't want to fight you. At the very least, think of Travis.”
The words barely seemed to register in Meredith's head. “Talking is not going to help you. They don't like you very much.”
Peter turned to run, but before he had gone a step, he fell to one knee, Travis slipping out of his arms in his agony. He fell to the ground, holding his head, beyond the ability to scream. He gasped for air as if his lungs had seized.
“These voices tell me all sorts of useful things, like how to affect parts of your brain to restrict movement, or in this case, outright shut it down. Goodbye Peter.”
There was no amount of determination that could stave off this assault and it was all over quickly without a fight. Before Peter's eyes glazed over, they found Travis', conveying the deepest sadness a human can know. Then he dropped to the ground and was silent.
Meredith had fallen to one knee, her hand covering her eyes, panting, looking as if she had run a marathon. When she had recovered, she bent over Travis, tears streaming down her face, and spoke. “I sincerely hope I never see you again. For both of our sakes.” She stood, smoothed out her shirt, took a deep breath, and ran to the front door of the nearest house, banging on the door, shouting, “Help! Somebody please help me! My friend just had a heart attack! He needs an ambulance!”
28
Cole was once again staring at Travis' mother through the glass pane. Mere moments had passed since he had been conscious, but she was now regarding him strangely.
“What's the matter kid? You look like you've seen a ghost.”
Cole's voice was thick with emotion, and it was all he could do not to break into tears. “I am so truly sorry for your husband. Really. I wish I could say more.”
Travis' mother's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What did you just find out about it? What's wrong with you?”
Cole stared down at the table in front of him. “I have something to tell you. It's going to be hard to believe but I can prove it.” Travis, what's something only you would know?
Don't do this.
Why not?
It'll be too much for her to handle. She's already accepted I'm gone.
No way. I think she'll be ecstatic.
“Go on. What is it?” Travis' mother said.
“Travis is inside of me.”
An inferno of fury swept over her face. “Don't... mention... that... name.”
Thanks a lot, Cole.
“No, really. It's hard to explain but he didn't die. He transferred into my consciousness. Ask anything only he would know.”
Travis' mother froze, torn between angry disbelief and nagging curiosity. With her knowledge of Travis' supernatural abilities, Cole knew the idea was not as far-fetched as it would seem to most people. “His fifth grade graduation present.”
Guess it's too late to stop it now, Travis intoned. It was a trip to Cooperstown. My favorite past player is Mickey Mantle.
Cole repeated Travis' words. Travis' mother's face retained its disbelief but he could see in the corners of her eyes that it was fading.
“What happened on the day he got a new bike?”
Darryl accidentally tripped me and I scraped up my leg really badly. I didn't talk to him for a week and it was two weeks before I dared get on a bike again.
When Cole conveyed these words, the last shred of doubt dissolved and Travis' mother broke into sobs. “Oh, Travis. My baby. How did you get in there? Travis. My God. Oh, my Travis.” Her words became incoherent mumbling and she covered her face with her hands.
I told you she would freak out.
She'll get over it. Trust me, this is better.
When Travis' mother had regained some control of her emotions, she uncovered her face and, through the sobs, said, “How does this work? Does he just talk to you?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“And he's just in there? Forever?”
“As far as I know.”
She took some time to absorb this information that had changed her entire perception of the rest of her life.
Since we've come this far, Travis spoke to him, we might as well ask. I doubt it, but see if she knows any useful information about ending the instructions.
Couldn't hurt. “So, I hope you can see that I'm not evil. I just have a curse that I've been trying desperately to rid myself of. Travis has been helping but we haven't made any progress. Do you have any ideas that could help?”
Travis' mother shook her head. “I'm sorry. I only knew whatever Travis told me. Peter was never that open about it.”
Despite his low expectations, Cole still felt let down. “Oh, that's all right. I'm sure I'll figure it out.”
“There was one thing.” Her eyes lit up as the memory came careening back. “I don't know if this will be helpful, but just before your father left, he stopped by my house. He was looking for Peter who was out at the time. He was flustered about something but he wouldn't say much other than he found out something about the instructions and he wanted to talk to Peter about it. He left before Peter returned and I don't think anyone saw him again. It's a long shot, I know, but maybe he has more information if you can find him.”
Now it was Cole's turn to be taken aback. “My father? I mean, I guess that makes sense, but, wow.” He exhaled deeply.
“Visiting hours are over!” came the shout from a security guard.
“Hey, Cole,” Travis' mother said. “Keep him safe, all right?”
“Will do.”
“And come back to visit?”
Cole nodded and hung up the phone. He rejoined Beth who had been waiting by the exit.
“That was quite the conversation,” she said as they left the prison and walked to the car. “What in the world were you talking about? Gossiping about old friends?”
“Hey, Aunt Beth, I have a question to ask you.”
“Good segue.”
He hesitated, torn between two options. Is it worth seeing that man? What are the chances he knows any useful information that Beth doesn't? Screw him. “Do you have any idea how to make the instructions go away? Did mom maybe ever mention something like that?”
Beth stopped short and Cole almost walked into her. “Why?”
Her abruptness brought a chill over him. What can I even say? “Because it sucks. I can't deal with it anymore.”
Beth hesitated and exhaled slowly. “No, sorry, can't help you.” She resumed her pace towards the car.
“Wait, what? Where are you going?” Cole jogged to catch up.
“I don't know anything about it,” Beth said. “She never mentioned it.”
Cole was bursting with a million questions, but he pushed away most of them in favor of the last thing he wanted to do. “Then I want you to take me to see my father.”
Beth stopped again to face him. “Are you sure?”
“No, but take me there anyway. Do you know where he lives?”
“He gave me his number and address at the funeral. I meant to throw it away but for some strange reason it's still sitting in the kitchen. We'll eat dinner and call first to make sure he's home. I'm obviously not the biggest fan of the man, but if that's what you wanna do, who am I to say no?”
“Thanks, Aunt Beth. It will prob'ly be a waste of a trip, but I need to ask him something.”
It was a simple dinner of leftover macaroni in tomato sauce, but Cole hardly registered what he was eating with his mind so full of the upcoming meeting. After dinner, Beth called Frank's house and, in a low to
ne, sticking to basic sentences, asked if they could stop by. She hung up without saying goodbye, found the address and they were right back in the car, with the aid of a GPS, on the way to Cole's father's house. He surprisingly lived only twenty minutes, but it was still a long ride full of chances to turn around.
“What's your side of the story?” Cole spoke up during the ride.
“Of your father? I'm sure it's similar to your mother's since I heard most of it filtered through her. Although when he ditched, I was not as shocked as everybody else. I had thought he had been acting strange for a while.” She added in a menacing tone, “That closed-minded prick. She spilled her heart out to him and that's how he repays her. Messed her up for good. She never considered dating again after that.”
Cole sat back, the mention of his mother choking him up.
“What do you want to ask him, if you don't mind?” Beth said.
“It's a long shot. Travis' mother said she thought he discovered something about the instructions that freaked him out just before he left. He came to talk to Travis' father, but he wasn't home. I want to know what that was all about.”
“Don't expect much.”
“Yeah, I know.”
They arrived a few minutes later. Cole climbed out of the passenger seat but Beth did not move. “You're not coming in?” Cole said.
“I'm gonna go shopping. Call my cell when you're ready to go.”
“Really? Um, okay.” He trudged up the path to the front door, feeling very much alone. Halfway there, he lost his nerve and turned around to leave, but at that moment Beth drove away. He turned back to the pleasant-looking two-story white shingled house with gray shutters and a plain wooden door. He held his breath as pressed the bell and waited for the sound of footsteps. A woman opened the door and for a panic-stricken second he thought he was at the wrong house.
“Ah, you must be Cole,” the woman said. “So nice to finally meet you. I'm Maria. Come in.” She stepped back from the door to allow Cole inside.
Putting an unprecedented amount of trust in his Aunt Beth, he stepped over the threshold and followed Maria into the spacious living room. There were two long couches and a rocking chair, all facing each other, and in view of a large flat screen that was mounted on the wall. Maria took a seat on one couch, asking Cole to take the other. A moment later, Cole's father entered from the other side.
“Cole! I'm so happy you came,” Frank exclaimed. “Can I get you something? Are you thirsty? Hungry?”
“No, I just wanted to ask you something,” Cole said, keeping his tone polite.
“Sure thing. Whatever you want.”
“I'll leave you two to catch up,” Maria said as she took her leave.
“Let's talk in my office,” Frank said. He led Cole into a side room off the main hallway. It was cluttered with papers piled around a desktop computer. There was a desk chair and a loveseat.
Cole sat in the desk chair. “Is she your wife?” he said.
“Yes, we've been married eight years.”
“Oh.” He experienced an unexpected wave of anger that he suppressed for his need of information.
“You'll like her, I promise. How are you doing by the way? I was deeply depressed to hear the news about your mother. I loved her always. I hope you can understand that. I never wanted to hurt her.”
“Yeah, then why'd you leave her when she needed you most?” Despite his best efforts, his voice seethed with malice.
“I deserve that. It was not as simple as it may seem. We fought a lot. I thought it would be in your best interest if I wasn't around to taint your house.”
“It was more than that. Why did you want to see Peter that day?”
Frank's mouth dropped open and he sat down heavily on the loveseat. He was silent, his eyes studying Cole in new ways that made Cole uncomfortable. “How do you know about that?”
“Travis' mother told me about it. Look, I have the same ability that made you leave my mom. So cut the crap with the half-truths and be straight with me. I already know way more than you think.”
Frank sat in stunned silence as his mind wrapped around the true nature of Cole's visit and the implications of what he had said. “I loved your mother more than you can know. It's... well... okay, let me explain.” He reclined in his chair as he prepared to tell the story he had never told before. “Everything was perfect between us for a while. Then one day I noticed a faint whispering in my head. It was barely noticeable and I dismissed it as stress from my new job. I didn't tell a soul. I didn't want to be crazy. But over time it got harder and harder to ignore.
“I was just about to see a psychologist about it when your mother told me about her... ability. It freaked me out more than a little. I thought it might be connected to what was happening to me, like she was infecting me or something. For some reason, I still couldn't bring myself to tell her, so I went to her father for advice. I wanted to see if he knew anything about her ability. But when I told him what was going on, he acted really weird and wouldn't tell me anything, practically kicked me out even. In a moment of panic I went to see if Peter had any information. When he wasn't home, I gave up.
“I know it's horrible to say but I wanted to put as much distance between your mother and me as possible. I thought she was causing me to lose my mind. Then, after I left, the voices slowly went away, so I figured I was right. I was too afraid to see her again in case it brought back those horrific voices. I moved nearby because originally I had planned on returning. But the thought of those voices coming back and never leaving filled me with such dread I never got the courage to even speak to her again.”
When he finished, he watched Cole's face, waiting for a reaction. Cole sat still, sifting through the information, trying to figure out what it meant. It was too emotionally complex to deal with all at once, so he picked it apart in little pieces. “Wait, what did you hear?” Cole said.
“I don't know. I never heard any words, just mumbled whispers. I shudder whenever I think about it.”
Cole thought his father looked liked a scared child. “But how is that possible? You're not related. Why did you hear it around her?”
“I was hoping maybe you could tell me. Anyway, that's all I know. I hope that answers your questions.”
“I don't know. I have to think about it.”
“I'm sure that's a lot to take in. But hey, I'm glad you're here. How are you? Tell me a little about yourself. Thinking about any professions? How's school? Have a girlfriend?”
Cole stood. “I'm gonna get going. Which phone can I use?”
His father's face fell. “Oh, yeah sure. In the kitchen. Let me show you.”
Cole no longer harbored the same level of hatred for his father but after so many years of resentment it was not as easy as turning off a switch. He would need time to mull over what was said before he could figure out his feelings, and in the meantime all he cared about were the parts that related to his current predicament. Nothing mattered but eliminating the voices. He would have time for other things later, but until then, he did not know how long he had before the next instruction. It was a race against time with an unknown deadline.
Cole called Beth's cell. She seemed surprised to hear from him so soon but said she would be there in a minute. He waited with his father by the door, and in the silence, Beth could not come soon enough.
“So you'll call again?” his father said.
“Yeah, I will. I just need to figure some things out first.”
“Okay. Take your time.”
Beth pulled up then, and Cole had never been so happy to see her. He said a quick goodbye and hurried into the car.
“Didn't go well?” Beth said when Cole closed the door.
“It did. There was too much information to process and then it got awkward. He said that he started to hear voices in his head too. How is that possible? Did my mom know that could happen?”
Beth stared straight as she drove. “I give up. There's something we need to discuss.”
“About what? You can't keep doing this to me.”
“Wait 'til we get home. I need to collect my thoughts.”
It was the most self control he ever showed by keeping silent during the car ride home. He watched his aunt expectantly as they walked into the house, but still Beth said nothing. She made herself a cup of tea, and carried it into the living room, Cole following like a lost puppy. She took a seat on the couch and Cole sat across from her.
“As you know, I'm your mother's sister.”
“Well, yeah.” The suspense was killing him. Why is she being so slow?
“Did you ever think it was strange that your mother got these voices and it just skipped over me?”
“I figured it only goes into one child.” When Beth hesitated, it was as if he had been slapped. “No... you have it too.”
“I did. A long time ago.”
29
“What?!” Cole leapt to his feet, almost shouting. The answer has been staring me in the face forever! “What the hell, Aunt Beth? Why is this the first time I'm hearing of this? How did you do it? Why couldn't you have ended it for my mom and me? She should be alive right now and it's your fault! How could you?!” He was livid, seething anger, fists clenched.
Despite Cole's fury, Beth was simply confused. “Calm yourself. One thing at a time. What are you talking about that she should be alive? What does this have to do with the voices?”
Cole was full out shouting now. “I got an instruction to kill someone or she would die. Well, I obviously didn't complete it. Why are you acting so confused?”
“That's not how the instructions work. They're little things. To help people, or yourself.”
“She's dead and you're gonna tell me that's not how they work?! Now how the hell did you get rid of it?”
“If you calm down, I'll tell you everything I know. Deal?”
“Fine.” Cole dropped back onto the couch and crossed his arms, suppressing his anger for the time being.
Shadows Within (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 2) Page 22