Cole shushed her with a wave of his hand. Mom! You're back! I knew you'd be back. How did you find me? What's going on in there? Did you just wake up or something?
Hold on, Cole. One thing at a time. I've been conscious for a while. Not sure how long. It's pretty disorienting in here. I've been searching for you ever since but it's difficult to find your way out.
But how did you get through? I put up a barrier to block all the voices out. I've been wanting to try to contact you so badly but I was afraid of letting the barrier down and letting the voices in.
I don't know if the barrier used to be stronger but there isn't much here, Meredith said. Whatever the reason, I'm just so glad to have found you. I missed you so much.
I missed you too. I can't believe you're back. It's really you. I'm so happy. Deep down Cole knew the truth that he had learned from Travis. The voices in his head were not the actual consciousness of the individual, but rather an imprint of their former selves as if someone had uploaded a copy of their personality, including all of their memories, but had diminished their emotions. Part of him nagged to know whether his “mother” was saying these things because she didn't know that he was aware of the truth, or because she wanted to lessen the blow by at least keeping up the charade. The rest of Cole's mind, however, shoved these thoughts aside in the stubborn denial that his mother was truly back. He so passionately wanted to believe he was talking to his real mother that he actually began to believe it, and with that thought dominating, he had a different concern. You said the barrier isn’t working? That’s horrible! But it must be working or they would have contacted me, right?
I’m not sure, but even besides that, something odd is going on in here, his mother thought-said. I know I'm new to all of this, but I can tell anyway. It's a lot... quieter than it should be. I'd think there would be more voices. And the ones that are here don't want to talk, like they're afraid. Whatever's going on may be making your abilities weaker. I'm going to investigate, but don't worry, I'll be back soon.
You have to go already?
I think it's best to figure this out sooner rather than later. If voices are missing, it could be important. I promise I won't be too long.
Okay, but be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. I know that they can do terrible things to anyone who opposes them. He hoped his mother wouldn't press him for any details since one of the voices that was destroyed by the others was her own mother, his grandmother.
I will. Love you.
Love you, too, Mom. And let me know if you find out anything about the barrier. I need to get that working again before they make me do something.
Okay. His mother's presence was gone. He sighed, and looked up, to see Beth staring at him.
“So?” she said, gesturing widely.
“She left, back inside the whatever.”
“What did she say?”
“There's something strange going on inside there and she's going to investigate.”
“Could that have anything to do with your recent shenanigans?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“No. Can we just get back to packing so we can go?”
Beth stood up straighter, offended. “Fine. But next time you talk to her, let me know what she says. And tell her I say… hi. And ask how she is. She's my sister, you know.”
“I know. I will.”
When Beth had finished packing they went out for an early lunch, and then came back to collect their bags, check out of their room, and leave. They were loading the luggage into the trunk when, from behind them they heard, “What's goin' on?”
Cole and Beth turned to see Asher standing there looking lost.
Cole felt a tingling of anxiety. “Oh, hey, I need to get going. Something came up, kind of an emergency. I was gonna tell you, but I thought you were still in school.”
“Yeah? Sorry to hear that,” Asher said, sounding less than convinced. “That's too bad because I had an idea.”
“Oh?” Cole glanced at Beth, but her face was unreadable.
“Yeah, but it's cool if you've got an emergency.”
“It can wait five minutes. What was it?”
Asher sighed, staring at the ground. “I was thinking about what you said about ways we could use our abilities in practical ways. I went over in my mind all of the movies I'd ever seen where people had superpowers. Most of them were either implausible in real life or weren't relevant to us.” He was getting more animated as he spoke, and was now talking directly at Cole. “Then I struck on a whole slew of ideas. Can we communicate with someone without being able to see them? How far can our telepathy work? Is it possible for the person we are communicating with to respond in some way, or is it possible to know where that person is located? Which all led me to one conclusion, can we...” He paused for dramatic effect, “find missing people? It would take a lot of work to get to that point but it seems feasible.”
“Oh, man, you think so? That's an awesome idea...” Cole bit his lip. Half of him wanted to stay, but the other half was still nagging him about Amy, and leaving would let him save face with Asher. “I wish I didn't have to go. Do you think our telepathy can reach me back home?”
Asher laughed. “You want to talk long-distance? Well, if that doesn't work, we could always use a phone. Not as cool but should do the trick.”
Cole laughed too. “Oh, yeah, that could work, too. Phones just seemed so obsolete now.” He looked over to Beth. “Could you give him your number?”
“Sure, sure.” Beth pulled out her phone and exchanged phone numbers with Asher.
When they had finished, Cole hesitated, cringing, and said, “Would it be possible to come back sometime?”
“I knew this was going to happen,” Beth said.
“I can take the bus, I don't mind.”
“Oh, you don't mind? Isn't that nice? No offense,” she said toward Asher and then back to Cole, “but I don't want you coming out here on your own. We'll talk about it. Maybe over the summer when we have more time to spend.”
“I do have a car,” Asher said. “I could probably make it out there before then. I can find a few days.”
“Awesome,” Cole said. “We'll figure something out. I'm really looking forward to trying out what you said.”
“Yeah, me too. It's been good, man. You're cool.” Asher extended his hand.
Cole shook it firmly. “You too.”
“Later.”
Beth closed up the trunk and the two of them left. She plugged their address into the GPS at the first stoplight. “Let's see how long this drive takes with a direct route. Hopefully not too long.” When the GPS had loaded, it estimated a little more than seven hours. “Not a drive I'm going to wanna do often.”
“I understand. I still want to go home.” He sat back in his seat, prepared for a long trek ahead of them.
5
Cole's emotions were torn so heavily in two directions, but the longer they were on the road the more excited and worried he became to see Amy. Soon enough he would be able to reassure himself that nothing was wrong and it was all paranoia. Until then, he had to deal with unending anxiety. To distract his mind, he imagined how amazing it would be if Asher and he were able to help the police uncover missing persons. Not only would that be fulfilling, they would be heroes, and probably rich. He hoped destroying the voices did not also destroy his abilities, since he needed to keep their destruction his priority.
They stopped for dinner on the way back at a small diner in the middle of nowhere. Cole ordered a full-size meal but doubted he would have the appetite to eat half of it. Beth, however, had no shortage of appetite.
“Any word from your mom?” she asked between mouthfuls.
Cole shook his head and prodded his lasagna with his fork.
“Not hungry?”
“Not too much.” He forced another bite down his throat.
Beth chewed another mouthful. “Seems as though you like Ash
er again. Why are you still in so much of a hurry to get back?”
Cole pressed his lips together. “I'm sure it's nothing but I thought something might be wrong when I talked to Amy. I just wanted to make sure.”
“You really care for that girl.”
“Don't start that again,” Cole said, exhaling sharply, his eyebrows furrowed.
“I didn't mean it like that. It's okay to care about someone you aren't dating. But are you sure you're okay with just being her friend? I don't consider myself an ideal person for giving advice, but I've picked up a few things along the way, one of which is that it can be unhealthy to stay really close to someone you like, you know, like that. Maybe you should take some space until you get over her?”
“Thanks, Aunt Beth,” Cole said sarcastically.
“Or you could always learn it the hard way. Suit yourself.”
“I'll be fine. My concerns are real and I need to make sure she's all right.”
“Fair enough.”
After dinner, they headed straight back on the road. An hour later, as they were nearing their hometown, Cole was lost in thought when an internal voice returned him to reality.
Hey, Cole. I'm back.
Oh, hey, Mom. He glanced over to Beth, grateful that he could have a private conversation. Did you figure anything out?
Not much, except that something is definitely wrong. One of the voices seems to be softening up to me so I'll keep trying there. She paused. How are you, otherwise? Catch me up on what went on since I... since I left.
Cole closed his eyes, the memory of his mother's death tightening his chest. Then, skipping the part after her death where he surrendered his consciousness to the voices and allowed them to control his body, he recounted for her the events that she had missed. It felt good to be filling her in, as if it closed the gap and she had never been gone in the first place, as if he still had a mother.
When he had finished, she said, I see. I don't know if there's a way to destroy the voices, or block them permanently, but if there is I will try to find it out.
No, I don't want you helping. I don't want them to go after you. I can't lose you again. And I won't ever destroy the voices if it means destroying you too. I'll find another way.
Cole, you can't worry about me. This is more important than keeping me around. If there's a chance to be done with these evil voices, you must take it.
You can't ask me to do that, Cole thought-said. You already sacrificed yourself for me once.
Let's just see what we discover and take it from there. One step at a time.
Okay.
I guess I should get back to my investigation. Also known as prodding and annoying others.
Wait, before you go, can you always hear everything I say out loud?
Only when I'm this close to you. Why, are you embarrassed about what your mother might hear? She chuckled. It's okay, just let me know whenever you need some privacy and I'll get out of your hair, or rather, head.
Thanks, Mom. Also, is there any way to contact you if I need you?
Hmm, I'm not sure. I'll look into that too. In the meantime, I'll check back often. Goodbye, Cole. I wish I could hug you.
Me too. I'm looking forward to talking more.
We definitely will.
Cole struggled to suppress the conflicting emotions that were surging through him. “Hey, Aunt Beth?”
“Huh?”
“Can we go straight to Amy's?”
“Would you mind calling first instead of just showing up on their doorstep?”
“Oh, right, yeah, sure.”
Beth handed him the phone without taking her eyes off the road. Cole dialed, praying that she was around tonight.
“Hey, Cole,” she answered, less peppy than he had hoped. “What's up? Do you think it's such a good idea to be talking this often?”
“I know we just talked earlier today but I have some exciting news. I'm on my way back! I'll be there in about an hour.”
“Oh. Really?! That's... that's great!”
There was joy in her voice, but now Cole was more certain than before that there was something more she wasn't saying. “Would it be okay if I stopped by? I wanted to say hi.”
“Uh, hold on a sec.” The line went quiet for a minute and then she returned. “Yes, definitely. Come by. I can't wait.”
“Awesome, see you in a bit.”
“Yep, see ya.”
For the first time, it felt real. He was going to see Amy in less than an hour and then everything would be right in the world. After inputting Amy's address into the GPS, he squirmed in his seat, unable to sit still for more than a minute.
The next hour passed in a torturous crawl, but then they were there. Amy's house was in front of them, and Cole was out of the passenger door, half-running up the walk to the front door. He rang the bell and in a few seconds there she was, at the door, smiling and embracing him, and he wondered how he could have thought anything was wrong. Still, being there with her, he had no regrets about returning. This was where he belonged.
“I can't believe you're here when just an hour ago I thought you were so far away and I didn't know when I'd see you again,” Amy said, staring at him as if disbelieving her own eyes.
“It wasn't going that well and when I talked to you I just had to come back. I couldn't wait to come home.” He hoped he hadn't given away too much with his expression. He didn't want her to start worrying about his state of mind or his attachment to her, but if she felt uneasy she gave no sign.
“I'm sorry it didn't go well but I'm glad you're back. You'll have to tell me all about it. Did you make any progress at all?”
Cole lowered his voice to prevent anyone else from hearing. “I found someone who has the voices and understands them much better than me. No solution yet, but I’m hopeful.”
“That’s a great start! You’ll have to tell me all about it. Come on in.” She glanced up in surprise as Beth appeared behind Cole. “Oh, hi, Beth. Both of you can come in.”
Beth gave one of her usual hellos. Cole and she entered the doorway of the Williams' house, and before they had gone three feet they heard an excited voice from the adjacent room, “Is that Cole?”
“Oh, yes, it is!” Mrs. Williams bounded in, shook Beth's hand and then squeezed Cole in a tight hug. “How are you?' she exclaimed when she released him. “We've missed you so much over here. Did you have a good trip?”
“It was good, I'm good, I'm back now,” Cole said, overwhelmed by the greeting.
Mr. Williams walked in and calmly nodded. “Great to see you again, bud. Gonna start coming around here again?”
“Hi, Sam. That is the plan,” Cole said, smiling again. Life had fit back into place, and it would soon be as if he had never left. He looked back at Beth. “Would you be able to pick me up a little later?”
She hesitated, but before she could answer, Amy said, “I actually have a lot of homework to get done but I'll see you in school tomorrow!”
“Oh, uh, okay, yeah,” Cole said, fighting back a wave of disappointment. Don't be stupid. Tomorrow will be here soon enough and we'll have a better chance to talk in private then, anyway.
They said farewells, and the Williams’ made Cole promise that he would be back soon. When Cole and Beth were back in the car, Beth asked, “Satisfied? Everything seem normal to you?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I figured I was worrying over nothing but I feel better that I made sure.” He sighed. “I guess I should get ready to go to school tomorrow. Hooray,” he added, sarcastically. “I’m going to be so far behind.”
“All the more reason not to miss another day. Do you need to get anything for school?”
“Just lunch money.”
“That I can do. After all you’ve been costing me, that’s a bargain.”
They had takeout for dinner since the house was devoid of food, and while they ate Beth grumbled that she would have to spend three hours at the grocery store the next day. They unpacked their belonging
s, making the house feel livable again. When Cole had finished unpacking, he sat around, hoping his mother would contact him again, and in his impatience he decided to talk to Asher to get that ball rolling.
Asher? He reached out with his mind, holding onto the hope that telepathy had no distance bounds, but, as he suspected, there was no response. Disappointed, he retrieved a regular old telephone and dialed Asher’s number.
“Hey, buddy, didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” he answered. “What’s up?”
“Hey, Asher. I wanted to get started with what you were talking about. Any ideas for what we can do?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a good one for you. Experiment with your Aunt Beth to see how far your telepathy can reach. I’ll do my own experiment and we can compare the results.”
“That’s awesome. I know it’s not infinite at least. I tried contacting you before I called.”
Asher laughed. “I tried to do the same earlier. Sadly, no response.”
“Really? That’s too bad. Well, I’ll go get started and get back to you tomorrow?”
“Sounds good, man. Later.”
Cole ran straight to Beth, who was in the bedroom relaxing and started at Cole’s abrupt entrance. “I’m sorry to bother you but can we do something? You don’t even need to move.”
“I might be willing to if I don’t have to move. What’s on your mind?”
“I’m going to talk to you, telepathically, and you let me know when you can hear me,” Cole said, jittery with anticipation. “I’m going to keep getting farther away until you can’t hear me anymore.”
Beth blinked slowly. “How far do you expect me to yell?”
Cole thought for a second. “Oh, hey, how about we use phones? I'll take your cellphone and you use the house phone.”
“Fine.”
Cole gave Beth the regular phone and exchanged it for her cellphone. He dialed the house number and Beth picked up, making a connection. “I'll say something telepathically and then you speak into the phone what you heard, okay?”
Beth nodded.
“Good. Test case.” Can you hear me?
Beth nodded. “Yes I can hear you. That will never stop being weird.”
“I know, right? Now to the next room.” Cole left the bedroom and returned to the living room, keeping the connection to Beth's mind. Red, he conveyed.
Voices in the Night (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 3) Page 5