Voices in the Night (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 3)

by Matthew Goldstein

“Yeah, so all that’s left is to be able to find someone that we can't see. Someone that we've never seen. How do you think we can do that?”

  “Hmm, good question. I had thought about that a bit, but I hadn't really come to any solid conclusions. I didn't expect to make so much progress so quickly. You're really taking off. You might surpass me soon,” he added with a laugh.

  Cole was only half-listening, though, as his brain whirled with possible ideas. “Let's see, so if we're going to find someone who's missing, all we'll have to go off of is a picture, maybe a video, right?”

  “Yeah... You want to look at a picture of someone and try to find that person? Seems like a bit of a stretch. How will you know what to look for?”

  “I'm not sure,” Cole said, a little deflated, but still optimistic. “I guess I'll keep experimenting and you let me know if you think of anything.”

  “All right, later, man. We'll get this.”

  “I know it. Bye.”

  For the rest of the morning, he racked his brains, going through possibility after possibility. He was so distracted that Beth had to ask him twice if he was ready to leave for school. In all that time he only came up with three ideas that all seemed implausible, but he was willing to try anything.

  His excitement cooled off once he entered homeroom and saw Amy. After yesterday, he wished he did not share classes with her. He wanted to give her space but school made that difficult.

  “Hey,” he said as he sat down, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

  “Hi,” she said, coolly.

  He kept his attention on the front of the room while a part of him died. He didn't know whether he should attempt conversation or just leave her alone. He decided on the latter. To avoid the anxiety that was creeping through his body, he forced himself to begin practicing for the least implausible of his ideas. He connected to each person in his class, in turn, straining to differentiate between them, to find something about each one that stood out from the rest. However, with Amy sitting so close to him, it was impossible to concentrate, and he found nothing in his first round of observations.

  “Did you get help with tutoring?”

  Cole jumped with a start at the unexpected question. He turned to Amy, the anxiety making a full comeback. “Oh, uh, yeah, thanks. I'll be okay.”

  “That's good.” She was stone-faced, her tone flat.

  “Uh-huh.” He attempted a weak smile that failed to appear.

  Amy nodded and turned her attention to her desk.

  With relief, homeroom ended. Cole said a quick goodbye and fled from the room. He resumed his experimentation in his first class, half of his mind reminding him that he needed more than ever to be paying attention to the lesson, and the other half desperate to solve this puzzle. He focused on each person, connecting to their minds, feeling around, getting an impression of exactly what it was like, and then moving on to the next. When he got to one particular classmate he didn't like, he could not help sending a quick Hi, to which the boy nearly leaped out of his chair, looking frantically around him. Cole covered his mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.

  By the end of class, having taken few notes on the lesson, he thought he was starting to be able to tell the difference between one person and another. It was subtle but distinct. He was not sure what label to put on it, but each person had something like a unique aura.

  By the end of his second class, he was sure of it. The next step would be to find a way to use that knowledge.

  His single-minded determination halted when he saw Michelle as he entered his next class. He smiled and waved, feeling awkward after their last goodbye. Why had he asked her to hang out? Did she actually want to? Had he made a complete fool of himself?

  She smiled and waved back, and as class began he put those thoughts out of mind to concentrate further on his telepathy practices. He went around the room again, connecting to each person, feeling their auras, until the rotation reached Michelle. He saw her out of the corner of his eye, preparing to take the plunge, but for some reason, he hesitated.

  What's the big deal? Shaking his head to clear it, he connected to her mind – and it was like a shock to the system. Compared to everyone else in the room, her aura was vibrant and powerful. He was fascinated by the difference, and puzzled over why it was like that. Was it because he knew her better than everyone else in class? He also wondered if it meant that he could communicate with her over a longer distance. Amid a sickness in the pit of his stomach, the question arose if it would be the same were he to connect to Amy.

  Distracted by these questions, he remained connected to Michelle for most of the rest of class. He kept stealing glances at her, and at one point she caught his eye and smiled. Embarrassed, he broke the connection and looked away.

  Then, on a whim, he wondered if he could find her again without looking at her. He focused on the teacher at the front of the room, but reached out with his mind, searching for the same essence of Michelle's mind that he had felt earlier. Sure enough, he found it and latched on once again. With such a strong aura, he worked at discerning the various properties of it and how he could tell it was Michelle without seeing her.

  By the time class ended, he had discovered a few characteristics of auras. He wondered if the variations between people's auras had to do with their personalities or their internal thought processes since these “auras” were more of an emotion or ethereal presence than anything.

  He had an urge to contact Michelle through telepathy to see if they could communicate through their strong connection, but he refrained. He didn't want to freak her out, which would be the only natural reaction to hearing a voice in your head.

  Instead, he walked up to Michelle and said out loud, “Thanks again for tutoring. About that movie, are you still interested?”

  “Yeah, definitely,” Michelle said. “A few friends want to go see the new Spider-Man movie tomorrow night. Does that work for you?”

  “Oh, yeah, that should be good,” Cole said, surprised and confused at his own disappointment and hoping it wouldn't show.

  “Awesome.” Michelle smiled. “And if you're free I should be able to do another tutor session Saturday afternoon.”

  “I'll check, but that should work,” Cole said, not wanting to seem too open.

  “Great, we'll finish off math and knock out another subject. See you later.”

  Cole said a farewell and went off to lunch. His pace slowed as he reached the doors, but he took a deep breath and followed the crowd inside. Amy was sitting at her usual place, her back to him, unpacking her lunch. He hesitated but, overcome by curiosity, he bridged a connection between their minds. Amy's aura was certainly stronger than the others he had tested, but still not as powerful as Michelle's.

  Half satisfied and half more curious than ever, he was about to break the connection when Amy turned suddenly, her eyes locking on Cole's. Stunned and chilled, Cole stared back for a second until Amy broke eye contact and returned to her lunch.

  Cole strode quickly through the lunchroom to the seat in the corner he had taken the day before. Did she know I was connected to her? How is that possible? Was it just coincidence?

  The coldness of Amy's gaze had left an imprint in his mind and he could not help glancing her way throughout the rest of lunch. She, however, never looked his way again.

  Later in the day, when Cole was in class with Amy again, he sat fidgeting and glancing at her, still shaken by that look she gave him earlier. Unable to take this silence, when class ended he gathered his courage and approached her.

  “Hey, Amy. You doing okay?”

  “I'm fine,” she said, continuing to walk. “How are you?”

  Cole kept pace beside her. “I'm okay. I don't mean to make you feel bad but I miss hanging out with you. I want to give you space until I get this mess behind us but I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt to avoid you. I'm hoping for a breakthrough soon and then we can hang out?”

  “Yep.”

  Cole noticed
her movements were stiff and her words were delayed as if she had to think carefully before each one. He began to feel as if his very presence was making her uncomfortable so he stopped to allow her to go ahead. She continued without him and never looked back.

  Cole remained rooted to the spot, torn between his desire to use the voices for good, and the opposing desire to destroy them forever. He wished his mother was there to discuss options and, more importantly, to lift his spirits.

  I am here, Cole. I just didn't want to distract you.

  Cole's eyes widened. You heard that? How long have you been there?

  I drift in and out. I check in to make sure you're all right, but then I head back in to continue deciphering this confusing mass of voices. I'm sorry about Amy. You seem like you could use a little pick-me-up right about now.

  I could. I feel like you're my best chance at figuring out a solution but I don't want you to try because you'll just piss them off. I feel so stuck and helpless.

  There is a solution to this mess, Cole, and we will find it. I promise. I'm going to keep getting oriented with how things work in here and I will continue to ask questions, but without rocking the boat. I think I'm close to something. Don't worry about me. You focus on your end and between the two of us we'll beat this. Okay? Chin up.

  Thanks, Mom. That does help to hear.

  Try not to be too down. It's all temporary. And, meanwhile, at least you have someone to spend time with. Michelle seems nice.

  She is, but don't be weird about it.

  Meredith silently chuckled. I love you, Cole.

  Love you, too.

  The conversation ended and Cole, with reality coming back into focus, realized that the halls were emptying and hurried to his next class before the late bell.

  Later that day, when he was back home, studying the past month's work while also trying to do his current homework, Beth entered and gave him her phone, telling him Asher was on the line.

  “Hey, buddy,” Asher said. “How's the experimentation going?”

  “Actually, kind of great,” Cole said, and he proceeded to update Asher on his progress during the day.

  “'Aura'. I like that word. It kinda fits. Damn, that's awesome. I've been working off what you said and I started along the same path as you, although, as usual, you seem to be progressing faster than me. Did you get any ideas about how to find someone based entirely on an image of them?”

  “No, nothing,” Cole said, a little deflated but remaining optimistic. “I can't imagine how we're going to do that but we're doing so well we can't give up now.”

  “Oh, I never mentioned anything about giving up. I've already started to look at pictures of people and compare it to the... auras of all the people I've been connecting to, to see if I can figure out what aura someone would have based on their picture. No luck yet, but it may be possible, especially with all the differences you've picked up on.”

  “That's an interesting idea. I want to go try it out right now.”

  “Do it. Let me know what you find.”

  Cole hung up and stared at his books, which were even less appealing than before the phone call. He grappled between the need to get caught up on the heaps of work, and the intrigue of figuring out how to find missing people. “I'll just do it for a little while,” he said, getting up from his workspace at the living room table.

  He went into the study where Beth kept the magazines and pulled the top one off the pile. He sat down on the floor and stared at the person on the front cover. Based on his observations over the course of the day, he imagined what the aura of this person would be like. He imagined himself stretching across the miles and pinpointing this person's exact location. He flipped to another page and repeated the exercise. However, he had little on which to base his guesses as he had been unable to identify what differentiated each person's aura. He knew only that he could tell there was a difference.

  Disappointed, he resolved to practice more in school the next day. Once he had a handle on why each person had the aura they did, he would have to put it to the test for real. Wanting to get the ball rolling, he found Beth who was reading an enormous, old, hardcover book in her bedroom.

  “Do you have a picture of someone who lives around here that I've never met?” he said.

  Beth blinked hard and looked up from the pages of the book. “Huh? That's a weirdly specific request. What for?”

  “I want to see if I can find that person just from a picture.”

  “You're still going on about that? You know that looking for someone who is missing could be a very dangerous task.” She sighed and thought for a moment. “Yeah, maybe. I'll have to check.” She stood, crossed the room to her closet door, and opened it. She reached up to the top shelf and pulled down an old shoebox. Depositing it on the bed, she sat next to it and began riffling through a collection of old pictures.

  “Aha,” she said, pulling one out. “This is probably fifteen years old, but she shouldn't look too different now and I think she still lives in the area.” She handed the photograph to Cole.

  Cole looked down at a scene in a large yard, a pool in the background, and three smiling women standing next to each other. One he recognized to be a shockingly younger Beth, but the other two did not look familiar.

  Beth pointed to the one on the right. “That's my second cousin, Clarice. I went to an extended family gathering a number of years back. They never threw another one, or at least they never invited me.” She laughed. “Don't let that picture fool you. We didn't get along very well.”

  “Are we blood-related?”

  Beth squinted her eyes. “Uh, I don't think so. No, you're not.”

  “Perfect. And you know where she lives?”

  “Yes, but I don't want to meet with her.”

  Cole's heart started pounding. This could be his best chance at experimentation. “That's fine. You don't have to. I just need you to bring me a couple of blocks away and I'll do the rest. All I need from you after that is to confirm that I found the right address.”

  Beth nodded. “I can do that.”

  “Okay, okay, the last thing is we'll have to pick a time when she's likely to be home. Oh man, I want to do this now, but I don't think I'm ready for it yet. Maybe tomorrow... Oh no, I have plans tomorrow. I should cancel.”

  “Whoa, hold your horses,” Beth said. “We can do it tomorrow night. If it's late, she's most likely to be home. Sound good?”

  “Yes! Thank you, Aunt Beth.” He threw his arms around her but, immediately feeling awkward, released her and took a step back.

  “Don't you have work you should be doing now, anyway?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I'll get back to it.” His excitement diminished, he trudged back to his books. He worked until Beth called him for dinner where another elaborate meal awaited him. The extended trip seemed to have renewed her love for cooking, which was something that Cole did not mind, and wished would not be temporary.

  He spooned a heaping of stew into a bowl, and sat at the table to eat. Their dinners did not usually include much chatter. Cole was intent on his bowl when out of the corner of his eye he noticed Beth watching him. He glanced up to see Beth's eyes screwed up as if in concentration, but upon seeing that Cole had noticed, she went back to eating as if she had been the whole time.

  “What's the matter?” Cole said.

  “Huh, what? Nothing,” she said, acting innocent.

  Cole was confused until a revelation struck him. “Trying to have a silent dinner conversation with me?” he said, smiling.

  “I don't know what you're talking about.” She shoveled another spoonful into her mouth, her gaze wandering around the room.

  Cole laughed to himself, but let it go. Poor, jealous Aunt Beth.

  Cole continued working until late into the night, determined to put this whole mess of schoolwork behind him as soon as possible. When he could no longer keep his eyes open, he resigned to go to bed, but as he lay there alone he reached out to his mother.
<
br />   Mom, are you there?

  I'm here, Cole.

  It's nice that you're always there, wherever I go, but still, I miss having you around, you know, physically. I wish there was a way to bring you back.

  I'm sorry, I wish there was a way too. Life isn't always fair but it always moves on. There's nothing anyone can do to change what has already happened. All you can do is appreciate what you have, enjoy your good memories, and look to the future.

  I know, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier.

  No, I guess it doesn't, Meredith said. Tell you what, let's remember a good time we had together. Do you remember back when you were eight and tried to go mini-golfing for the first time?

  I think 'tried' is the key word there.

  We took so long on each hole that we had a line all the way back to the beginning.

  Yeah, and people got so annoyed at us that they skipped whatever hole we were on just so they could get past us. Cole laughed out loud. Wasn't funny at the time but, man, is that funny now. We never dared go again.

  No, we were traumatized.

  There was a short break in the conversation. Thanks, Mom. I do feel a little better. I think I'm going to get some sleep. Good night.

  Good night. I'll check back sometime in the morning.

  With a smile on his face, Cole rolled onto his side and fell asleep.

  Once Cole had fallen into unconsciousness, Meredith disappeared back inside his mind. There was work to be done tonight. She had not wanted to worry Cole, but the situation was getting more alarming every day. She could not be sure why, but there was a noticeable increase in anxiety within the atmosphere.

  She had to work efficiently while she was inside Cole's mind. Time did not appear to work on the same scale and what felt like five minutes would be hours outside in the world. She hoped to be back by the time Cole awoke in case he wanted to talk again so she jetted straight for the presence at which she had been pecking away with unyielding force.

  When it sensed her coming it fled, but Meredith overtook it easily, and trapped it. Ready to talk now? she said.

  You have to understand, I can't, it quivered.