“Alex!”
I grabbed my chest. “What?”
Donna leaned over me, holding a wet rag. What was she doing? “Are you okay?”
“What’s going on?” I stumbled from the porch swing. “How’d I get out here?”
“You were sleep walking or something. You’ve been out cold for hours. Who’s Amie?”
“Why am I sweating? Where’s Ally?”
“She went to get Lisa. We need her help.” She dipped her rag in in a bucket and squeezed. Water splashed in her face. Why was she helping me? Why did I need help to begin with?
“What happened?”
She wouldn’t face me.
“Look at me. I need to know what happened. This is strange. You do know that, don’t you? This is weird even for me and I’m the epitome of odd.”
She didn’t laugh.
“Donna, please.”
“When you woke, after falling to the floor, well, you thought I was Amie.” She cringed recoiling on the porch decking. “I never saw anyone twitch the way you did.”
“I touched you?” My head spun. “Why didn’t it hurt? I didn’t feel anything.”
“You weren’t awake. You grabbed my hand and said you’d help me learn all your secrets.” Donna wiped her own face with the rag. “That’s when you dropped back onto the floor and convulsed. Ally says that happens when you touch people.”
“How long has Ally been gone?” I could feel her absence. “Donna, did Ally just leave or—”
“She’s been gone for hours.”
I tried to stand. My legs shook and I dropped back into my seat. “That means—”
“That means what?” Donna stood above me steadying the swing. “What does it mean?”
“Do you feel tired?”
She nodded, backing away. “I haven’t been tired in twenty years. What’s happening to us?”
“Do you feel almost as if you’re fading?” I lay on my back letting the breeze rock me. My chest grew heavy and I coughed. Blood splattered onto my hand.
“I sort of do.” She dropped to her knees. “What’s going on? Am I losing my longevity?”
“It’s the one part of our condition that I hate. When you’re linked to someone they control your lifecycle.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We’re fading, Donna.”
“Fading? What does that mean? Who did this to us?”
My eyes filled with tears. I didn’t care if Donna saw me cry. My arms grew numb. To think, I was going to die with Donna, of all people. “I’m so sorry. I know we never got along, but I never thought—”
She gripped her shirt, clenching her jaw. “Who’s killing us?”
Her eyes glowed bright yellow and then dimmed. I glanced down at my hands. They were nearly translucent. Where was Ally? Was she okay? Things weren’t right. What mistake had I made? Why was Donna feeling side effects?
“Who is making me die?” She doubled over clutching her stomach.
“I did this to us,” I said. “I’m killing us.”
“How? Why?”
“I don’t know how. This is not normal. Unless Ally’s dead—”
“No, she can’t be!” She climbed up and sat next to me. We pressed our heads together. There wasn’t a tremor of pain associated with our touch. I hadn’t felt this way in years, not since Amie.
“Will you hold me, Alex?”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “If Ally’s still alive then we have a chance. “Whatever she’s up to, I’m sure she’ll fix it.”
“I hope so, too.” Donna trembled. “I don’t want to fade away.”
LISA—
Suffocation….
Lisa
Rain flooded the garden. Was I doing that? I could never tell anymore whether it was Ally, Alex, Donna or me creating havoc these days. At first, I’d found all of it exciting, but whenever I saw the news and realized thousands of people lost homes in a hurricane because of my actions, I didn’t sleep well at night anymore. I hated myself and what I’d become. Being with Alex wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I thought I loved him; a part of me did but I still wondered what it would be like to be with Michael. He thinks I’m a new face again. Alex keeps erasing his memory whenever we grow too close and then I have to start all over befriending Michael. He’s a jerk each time and then after a while he gravitates towards me and I want nothing more than to hold Michael’s hand, be embraced by him, and kiss him. It sucks. Why won’t Alex let me go? He doesn’t want me anymore. I annoy him.
Hail fell around me. The flowerbeds flooded and I shivered. Why did my skin glow blue? What was happening inside me? Sometimes my heart raced so fast I wasn’t sure if I was having a stroke, a heart attack or just plain dying. The way Ally and Alex looked at me lately—hiding things, whispering in the late hours of the night. Something was wrong. Was I dying? The looks on their faces are the same as my uncle Don’s when he’d tried to explain what happened to my aunt; she’d passed away in a horrible accident. Was my life going to end suddenly, too? I hated to think such thoughts but what else could I do when they avoided me with such passion? They hated when I snooped but if you were afraid you were going to die, wouldn’t you try your best to learn as much as you could about yourself?
A twig snapped.
I turned around, narrowing my eyes. The only part I loved about my new life was my purple eyes. They could see body heat in the night. A tall, wide shouldered man stood several yards away. He fiddled with something in his hands and didn’t look up at me.
He knew I was there. I could feel it.
“Who are you?” My body shivered as the rain calmed. Wind howled behind me. “Hello, sir?”
The man’s silhouette turned. I couldn’t make out his face. Was it Frank, my father, my mother’s rapist? I’d asked him to never come back!
“Frank? If that’s you, I’d suggest you leave! You’re not welcome here at C I N anymore.”
He stepped closer still hidden in the darkness. Why couldn’t I stop the rain? If I just calmed down then I’d be able to see if it was Frank.
Sparks flew from my fingertips. Heat permeated my insides. Was I on fire? I looked down at myself. No, just hot inside.
“Are you the new one?” The man spoke.
I froze. Who was this guy? What did he mean by new? How did someone besides those who lived at C I N know about me?
I took slow steps, backwards. “Who are you?”
“I’d stay right where you are, if I were you.” The voice deepened, darkening the sky. “I don’t want to involve the others if I don’t have to.”
I struggled, forcing myself to calm down. The skies cleared some but not enough to see who the stranger was. “Don’t come any closer.”
“I’ll do whatever I wish.” His feet sloshed through mud puddles. The distance between us closed. There was something about him. Something dark and—
“I’m warning you!” I cried out. “There are a lot of things I can do to protect myself from you. I’m not your average girl.”
“You should never threaten an unknown opponent.”
He was going to hurt me! I turned to run.
“Silly girl,” the voice snickered, raising his hands above his head. My body rose off the ground.
“What’s happening?” I began to spin, several feet off the ground. “Alex! Ally!” I screamed, unable to breathe. My heart thudded. This guy was just like us, only stronger and mean!
“Promise not to run, and I’ll release you,” the stranger said. I gagged, unable to answer him. “Is that compliance?”
Was this it? The sudden death I’d dreamed about night after night? I never imagined suffocation as my demise, but here I was, ready to pass out.
“All you have to do is nod your head.” A blurred figured stood below me. Was he wearing a football jersey? No wonder his shoulders were so wide. Who walked around in sporting gear?
Everything blackened. If he didn’t let me down I really would die.
“C
harles, put her down right now!” Someone ordered. I couldn’t make out their voices and my vision was so blurred all I saw was smudges of blacks and browns.
“There’s no way she’ll have the energy to run from me now,” the football player said. I dropped into the dirt and gasped filling my lungs with air. My arms and legs shook violently.
“What, what did you do to me?” I forced myself to speak. “Who are you?” My eyes still wouldn’t focus. “What do you want?”
“Leave her alone, Charles.” It was a soft voice; a woman’s. “She hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“Anyone Alex and Ally pick is wrong.” Charles decided. He leaned over me. His hands grabbed my waist. The psychotic jock flipped me over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I stammered resisting him. My arms were limp and fell along his back like wet noodles. “Why can’t I move my arms? I can’t see anymore. Am I blind? Who are you?”
“Let’s get out of here before Alex notices his new toy is missing,” Charles told the woman.
“You can’t take me!” I sobbed. “Besides, I can’t leave this stupid town; believe me I’ve tried.” I heard Pig bark. “Pig! Get help, tell the others!”
“Grab the dog. I don’t need any complications,” Charles said.
“I’m not touching that dog! You know what it does to us,” the woman said. “The animal is not a threat.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” Charles shifted me to his other shoulder. “This girl is heavy.”
“I’m not fat!” I gagged. The air in my lungs was knocked right out of me as I landed on his shoulder pad. “Pig, bite him!”
“Why do you think I’ve got all this armor or padding on? Your stupid dog can’t hurt me.” Charles patted me on the bottom. “Nice try, though, girly.”
“Don’t touch me, you perv!” I still couldn’t move my arms. “When I’m not paralyzed anymore I’m going to really cause you some serious damage.”
“There’s not much you can do to me,” he said. “I’m much older and stronger than you.”
Pig barked.
“Let’s hurry before Alex and Ally notice something is wrong.” The woman rushed us.
“Relax. They’ve never been in this situation before.”
“They’re not stupid, Charles.”
“Put me down.” My arms slowly gained feeling back. They swayed like tree branches just bumping him in the back. Could he even feel that? I wanted to scream. How could I be this powerful and yet so powerless at the same time? “Who are you? What do you want from me? Where are you taking me? Alex! Pig, get Alex.”
He barked. Was Pig following us? Why wasn’t he listening?
Charles moved quickly. Who were they? What did they want? Why were they taking me? Were they kidnapping me? Was there another group just like ours? Were they an older group? Did they have some kind of feud with Alex and want revenge? What was going to happen to me?
“Please put me down. I’ll walk with you, I promise. Can’t you just do what I say? Where do you think I’m going to go? Lady, please help me!”
The woman said nothing. She walked alongside us in silence. Pig barked and growled.
Charles laughed. “Shut your dog up or else I will. Believe me when I say that’s the last thing you want me to do.”
“Are you threatening me?” I exclaimed. “Who are you and what do you plan to do with me? I’m getting upset! I’m not supposed to get upset! Why can’t you just listen to me? Let me down!”
Charles smacked me on the bottom.
“Hey! Keep your hands to yourself!”
He patted my bottom again!
“If you don’t put me down right this instant I’m going to—”
“Scream in my ear some more?” Charles laughed. This time he caressed my thigh squeezing my leg tight. “Keep threatening me, sweetheart, and see where my hand goes next.”
“Who do you think you are?” I screeched. “Get your hand away from me. Put me down right now!”
“You’re asking for it.” He chuckled tugging on my back pocket.
“Charles, let the girl down. She promises to be good.” The woman’s voice sounded like honeysuckle—too sweet.
Charles dropped me in the grass and I hit my head. Where was I? I sat underneath a tree littered with trash. Who would do that?
Pig ran up and kissed my face. His smashed in nose snuffled my neck and his small body shook fiercely. Pig was afraid. Why? “It’s okay, Pig. We’re going to be okay.” He whined, tugging on my shirt. Did he want me to run?
“Lisa, is it?” The woman spoke. I glanced up. She was Native American and young, maybe twenty. Her long hair was thick and tied in a strange rope pattern. It lay against her back like a horse whip. Her eyes were hazel and they glowed brightly. She wore a short handmade dress out of what looked to be spotted cowhide. “Lisa can you hear me?”
“Yes, I’m Lisa.” My head spun. Her voice echoed and I couldn’t focus on my surroundings. “Where am I? Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“Calm down and try to gain your consciousness first. There’ll be plenty of time for answers later…”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Charles.” The footballer smiled exposing white teeth. “How is it you can touch Pig?”
“I didn’t ask who you were,” I said. The girl knelt, staring into my eyes. Pig snapped and snarled backing further into my chest. He was petrified. “Why doesn’t Pig like you?”
“Because he knows I have the power to kill him,” she said. “Why did Alex change you? He’s forbidden to change another person without permission. He knows that. What did you do to him? Why you?”
“I don’t know. He said he didn’t want me to leave.” My legs tingled as they slowly gained circulation. “Who are you?”
She stood. “Charles, you’ll need to carry her, after all.”
Pig tugged on my shirt. He did want me to run! My legs still wouldn’t bend. Throbbing pain shot through my spine. What did that creep do to me?
Charles pretended to pose like a weightlifter. He grunted and wiggled his butt. I rolled my eyes. “Is that supposed to impress me? Take off your helmet. How am I supposed to know what you look like?”
“Nice try, sunshine.” He bent down scooping me up in his arms. “I’m about to show you how a real man seduces.”
“What are you going to do, carry me over your threshold?”
“Put your arm around my neck.”
I could see his eyes. They were a pale green unlike anyone else’s I’d ever seen.
“I don’t want to touch you,” I said, folding my arms. He shrugged letting me drop. “What are you doing?!” I grabbed him by the shirt. “Stop it! Put me down.”
Charles laughed squeezing me tighter and tighter. The more I resisted him the stronger he became. “You’re a persistent little bugger.”
“Why don’t you take a hike?” I punched him. What was it with this guy? He barely flinched. Maybe it was all the equipment.
“Give me a chance. You’ll never meet another man like me.”
“Oh, that I believe!”
“Why are you so sour? You hardly know me.”
“Is that some kind of sick joke?” I couldn’t believe my ears! Did he suffer from amnesia?
“What have I ever done to you?”
“You nearly killed me back there and now you’re treating me like a prisoner.”
Charles stood with his eyes set on mine. He didn’t speak or show any emotion.
“What?” I stammered. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“You are.”
“I am what?”
He leaned closer. “My prisoner…”
My heart pounded. Was he for real? He had kidnapped me. What was he planning? “Are you a serial killer?”
“Not quite. Don’t make me take out the handcuffs.” He smirked. “Although that might be fun.”
The last thing I wanted to do was have fun with him. “Let me walk right now,” I said. “I’m s
erious. If you don’t let me go, I’ll be forced to hurt you.”
“She’s serious,” Charles mocked, tossing me over his shoulder.
“Not again,” I moaned.
Charles rested his hand on my backside. “And I’m super scared. The princess is going to hurt me if I’m not careful.”
“I will for sure if you don’t remove your hand.” I pounded my fists into his back.
“Someone’s recovering quickly. That almost hurts. You’ve got a lot of fight in you.”
“You don’t know who you’re messing with!” I kicked him in the chest. I cringed when I felt the thickness of his football equipment.
“See, this is why I wear my armor. Girls tend to want to knee me in places they shouldn’t.”
“Why don’t you just explode into a billion pieces?”
Charles popped me on the bottom repeatedly.
“You’re not going to get away with this!”
“She’s annoying.” Charles told the Native American. “What’re we gonna do with her?”
“What are you going to do with me?” Why was I entertaining this freak? I needed to get the heck out of his arms and run. Pig was right. These people were up to no good. Not that I didn’t already know that, but now I really felt it, in the pit of my stomach.
“Why are you suddenly so feisty?” He complained repositioning me.
“I didn’t have control of my limbs before.” I struggled even more. He was going to let me go. He had to. I needed to get back to Alex and tell him about these crazy people and what they could do. Alex and Ally would stop them. Together they were a force to be reckoned with. If I’d listened to Alex and learned to control myself then maybe I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. Why didn’t I ever listen? I was too concerned with whether I was dying or not to pay attention to all the changes my body was making. “Please, let me go.”
“Charles, do not believe her tears,” the girl said. “She wants to run.”
“I have a name! It’s Lisa. Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
“Most people don’t try everything in their power to upset their kidnapper’s. You should be more like those people.”
“I’m not most people. Tell me your name right now.”
She thought deeply. Charles waited tapping his foot. “Just tell her. It’s not like it’ll matter in a few hours, anyhow.”
The C I N Series Bundled Page 22