When her mother's car pulled up, she stood, said a quick goodbye without looking Cole's way and ran off to the car. Cole remained there, watching them drive away, feeling the fresh sting of another ruined relationship that was all thanks to his wonderful abilities. He trudged back inside, ignoring Beth's questions, and crawled into bed without brushing his teeth or changing out of his clothes.
Cole, we need to talk, Meredith said.
Can we talk in the morning? I'm so tired. He yawned. See?
No, we'll talk now. I am very disappointed in you. You know you should never have gone in there. There was no good outcome to that. The police would have taken care of it.
I know, but what should I have done? Asher ran in on his own. I wanted to call the police.
You still should have, Meredith said. He is not your problem. If he wants to get arrested, so be it, but you are my son and I want you to stay out of trouble. Now you're involved in another murder case. You're all amateurs. You can't possibly know that they won't figure out you were there. All we can do now is pray.
It was dumb, Cole admitted. I'm sorry. I promise it will never happen again.
It's too late for apologies. I will not be helping you again.
What? No, why? I swear, I'll call the police next time.
I'm sorry, I've made up my mind. I should have known better than to help you in the first place, Meredith thought-said. I never told you that I used to be in your shoes.
What do you mean?
I used to be an amateur vigilante. I thought I could help people, save the world one person at a time. My voices would tell me about someone in trouble and I would rush over there to save them, like some kind of superhero. I was so naïve. She laughed. I had no idea what I was doing and yet I was devastated when it backfired right in my face. I put myself in danger time and again, and when I failed to save someone it destroyed me. I don't want to same thing to happen to you.
Cole was so engrossed in the story that he had forgotten his own problems. What happened? How did it end? Did you give up trying to save people?
Meredith hesitated. No... The voices turned from helping people to harming them. I never figured out why, but they never went back and you suffered the consequences. For that I could not forgive myself.
It wasn't your fault. I'm going to figure out the cause of this mess, and then I'm going to wipe them out forever. There has to be a way.
I do hope so. Have a good night, Cole. I love you.
Good night. Love you too, Mom.
Cole turned onto his side and drifted off into a troubled sleep. Meredith, meanwhile, turned inward. She had a task to finish.
The voice was hiding as usual, but there were no places that Meredith could not find. It shrank back as Meredith approached, but she had a different tactic planned this time.
Meredith, I already told you everything I know.
I know you're lying, but don't worry, I'm not here to torture you again. I just want to ask you a few simple questions. What’s your name?
James, it said uncertainly.
Okay, James, and you had at least one kid for you to be my ancestor. Do you remember what that was like?
I may have been dead for over a hundred years but I still remember what it was like to be alive, to have children. Getting me to relate to the situation doesn't change anything, though.
Fine, I'll get to the point. Why are you still here, James?
James did not respond at first, and he shifted in confusion. I'm not sure what you mean.
Well, most of your comrades have fled and yet here you remain, despite the fact that I make your life, or whatever you wanna call it, a living hell. Why don't you join them?
I don't want to talk about that.
All right, explain this, Meredith said. You don't answer my questions because you're afraid of them, and yet they have not made an appearance in some time. How likely is it that they will ever return?
James paused. At this point... not very. I think they've been successful and there is little to no chance of them ever returning to this body.
I'm glad we established that. Do you see where I'm going with this? If you're planning on staying here, and they're never coming back, there's nothing to be afraid of. Screw them who excluded you and help out a mother trying to help her son. That's all I ask. What are they planning?
James mulled over Meredith's words. You know what? You're right. They won't allow me to join them, then I say screw 'em. But if I tell you, you have to promise that you will try to stop them, and if they ever come back, I never said anything.
You have my word, Meredith said.
James took a moment to gather his courage, and then plunged in. When he had finished speaking, all of Meredith's fears had been confirmed. She knew she had to tell Cole first thing in the morning, and hoped it was not already too late. Test the waters with the rest of the voices that were left behind, Meredith said to James. See if others would be willing to help us. I will do the same. We're going to need all the help we can get.
Cole awoke early the next morning in a haze. He had dreamed something about Michelle, but the only thing he remembered from the dream was a vague feeling of sadness. His head cleared as he went to the bathroom, but was replaced with the real memory of the day before. He wondered how Michelle was doing and if it was a good idea to give her a call. He returned to the library to change and mull it over when he was interrupted by his mother.
Cole, are you fully awake?
Yes, why?
Good. There's something I need to tell you and I'm not sure there's a good way to say it. But before you say or do anything, please hear everything I have to say.
Cole's heart pounded. He knew something was wrong, terribly wrong. I'm listening.
Meredith continued. Amy has been infected by your voices. They have been in her for a while and are starting to spread. Their goal is to infect more and more people until they are connected to too many people to be destroyed. I don't know exactly how to stop them but something has to be done immediately. The longer we wait the more people they will infect. It will take them some time to become as embedded in others as they are in Amy, but once that happens, it will be too late. For all intents and purposes, they will be invincible.
16
A horrific, sick feeling washed over Cole, and for a moment he was on the verge of throwing up. His first thought on recovering was how stupid and self-absorbed he had been, that while he was out trying to be a hero, his best friend had desperately needed his help and he had not even noticed. Instead of finding a way to destroy the voices, he had been developing them further and boasting to Michelle. He hadn't hated himself so much since the night he had murdered Dr. Stern, which now seemed so unreal as if it had happened to someone else.
I have to go over there now, he thought-said. I can pull the voices out of her. I've done it before.
I'm not sure that will work. They're more embedded than last time. They're a part of her now.
Oh, God. He took a slow breath to prevent hyperventilation. Well, I have to try. If it doesn't work, I'll figure out something else.
I think the first step would be to keep her isolated. Prevent contact with other people since being around others is how it spreads.
Got it. I might need Asher's help for this.
You trust him? Meredith thought-said.
Not completely, but I want someone around who knows more about this than me. He may have an idea of what to do.
Okay, but be careful. Keep him on a tight leash.
Will do. Cole grabbed the phone and dialed Asher's cell. When Asher did not answer, Cole looked at the time. It was only a little after nine, and Asher seemed like the kind of person who usually slept in. “Come on, pick up,” he said as he redialed.
After the third ring was a groggy, “Hello?”
“Get over here immediately. Do not brush your teeth. Throw on whatever clothes are nearest. I'm having an emergency.”
“Whoa, whoa, take a breat
h. What's happening?”
“It's my friend Amy. The voices have infected her and are spreading to other people and we need to stop them. I'll explain it better when you get here. Just hurry.”
“Okay, I'll be right there.” The line went dead.
Cole raced to find Beth, who was exiting the bathroom. “Aunt Beth. I'm going out with Asher again.”
“Now? At nine in the morning?” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“Yeah, we want to get an early start on the day,” he said. “I'll give you a call a little later.”
What did I say about lying to your aunt? Meredith thought-said.
I know, but this has to be an exception. I don't want her getting involved. She'll only get in the way. Agreed?
Possibly.
“You'll be home for dinner?” Beth said.
“Yes.”
Beth nodded. “Did he not sleep here last night?”
“Oh, uh, no. He thought he was intruding too much so he got a motel.”
“And left his stuff?”
“Yeah, that was a mistake,” Cole said. “He'll come back for it.”
“Whatever, whatever, just be careful out there.”
“I will.”
Again with the lying, Meredith said. This is getting to be a habit.
Cole grimaced. Sorry. He shoved on this sneakers, and paced the porch to wait for Asher, all the while mumbling, “Come on. Hurry up. Come on.”
Each minute ticked by excruciatingly slowly, but at last Asher zipped around the corner and came to a stop out front. Cole jumped into the front seat. “Thank you for rushing over. I'll explain on the way.”
“Sure thing. Direct me where I'm going.”
“Head straight through this intersection and make a right at the next one.”
Asher pulled away from the curb. “Oh, hey, take a look at this.” He handed Cole his phone. “Look what was in the news this morning.”
On the screen was a news article entitled Abducted Children Saved in Bizarre Twist.
“You see?” Asher said. “Those kids are fine. They were both returned to their parents.”
“That's great,” Cole said. “Really it is. Does it say anything about what they think happened?”
“Completely clueless, but the current theory is that he had a heart attack and the kids escaped. Either they didn't mention us or no one believes them that random strangers broke in and saved them.”
“That's a relief,” Cole said, his mind barely registering what Asher was saying. “I'll read through it later but right now I need to fill you in on what's happening. Make a left at the next light.”
He proceeded to summarize as much relevant information into as condensed of a form as he could manage. He focused on the incident of the last time that the voices had infected Amy and attacked her, and how he had forcefully removed them. “But they've gotten deeper into her this time, and there's more of them, so I may need your help in getting them out. Let me know if you think of anything.”
“Man, your voices are crazy,” Asher said. “Mine just sit around and do nothing.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. You don't even know the half of it.”
Asher was about to say more, but they arrived at Amy's house. He parked and shut the car off. “When I decided to come here this weekend, I never imagined it would be so eventful. All right, man, what's the first step?”
“Wait in the car. I'll be right back and then we're going to drive to Sandalwood Lane and Willowbrook Road. Look it up on your phone and memorize how to get there.” He got out of the car, walked up the path to the front door, and rang the bell.
Mrs. Williams answered the door, and upon seeing Cole, broke out into a warm smile. “Cole! It's so wonderful to see you! It's been such a long while since you've stopped by.”
Cole thought he noticed something off in Mrs. Williams' expression and in the tone of her voice, but he stuck to his script. “Yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been around. Is Amy home? I have something really important to show her.”
“Of course, Honey.” She disappeared into the house, and despite the fact that Cole did not hear her call to Amy, Amy appeared in the hall and approached Cole.
At the sight of her, a lump formed in Cole's throat. I'm so sorry, Amy. I'll make this right. For good this time. I promise. He fought to keep his voice steady as he spoke. “Hi, Amy, how's it going?”
“Fine,” she said expressionless. “Did you want something? I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to hang out with you.”
“Well, that's just the thing,” Cole said, as cheerily as he could manage. “I found someone else who has these same voices and knows way more about them than me. He says he knows how to destroy the voices forever.”
As expected, this piqued Amy's interest and made her visibly uneasy. “Oh?”
“Yeah, he's in the car waiting for us. There's something he wants to show me that has to do with destroying the voices but before we went I wanted to pick you up. This is a momentous day for both of us and I wanted you to be there to share it. After this, no more voices. Isn't that great?”
“That's wonderful,” she said, an almost imperceptible hint of anger in her tone.
“It's so exciting, I don't want to waste a minute. Let's get going.” Mom, he said internally. They may try to get in to see what's going on. Let them in and keep up the charade. They'll be afraid to stay long so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard.
I'm on it, Meredith said.
Cole began to walk back to the car, keeping his pace steady, praying that it would go according to plan. As hoped, without informing the Williams that she was leaving, Amy followed Cole back to the car. At the sound of her footsteps behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Step one, complete. Granted, that was the easy step, but so far, so good.
She hesitated outside the car, but Cole said encouragingly, “Come on. It'll be awesome, I promise.” He waited until she was in the back seat, and then he took his seat in the front.
Asher was introducing himself. When Amy returned the introduction, her words sounded natural but her gestures and flitting eyes betrayed apprehension.
I would have thought she'd be more excited, Cole thought. What does she think is going to happen? Is she afraid of what the voices might do? He looked over at Asher, reassured in the fact that if the voices attacked Amy, he had backup to help him. “All right, let's get going,” he said.
Asher nodded, putting the car into gear. Cole noticed that a number of times during the trip, Asher glanced into the rearview mirror at Amy, but he never said a word and his expression remained neutral.
Cole turned to the back. “How have you been? What's new? I miss talking to you.”
“I've been fine,” she said flatly. “Tell me about where we're going. What's there?”
“I want to keep it a surprise. I think it will make you really happy and I want to see the look on your face.”
She crossed her arms. “How far is it?”
“Only a couple minutes.” He paused, racking his brain, desperate for conversation. “Hey, you would've been proud of me. Asher, here, and I saved a couple of kids from a kidnapper. We were able to use our abilities to locate them.”
“That's wonderful,” Amy said, distractedly.
Cole didn't know any more he could say, so he faced back to the front. Being with Amy and seeing her unharmed had relieved him somewhat. Though he was still unsure of the extent of the damage, he felt fairly confident in the combined efforts of Asher and himself.
As they arrived on the designated street, Cole began to lose his cool. The moment of truth, success or failure, was about to occur. “Pull over there,” he said, pointing to the side of the road in front of them.
They eased to a stop. Amy looked around at the surrounding area: a deserted street with woods on both sides. “What is this? Is it in the woods?”
Cole jumped out of the front seat and hurried into the back seat, sliding in next to Amy while Asher watched through the rearview mirror
. Cole reached for her hand but she pulled it back, suspicion written across her face. “I don't know if you're aware, but the voices are inside of you,” he said. “They returned. If you do know, and you were afraid to tell me, I'm here to let you know that there's nothing to be afraid of.”
Amy inched away from him. “I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't heard any voices. I would know if they were inside of me.”
“It's all right. You can trust us. Asher knows even more than me. We can extract the voices like last time.” He concentrated on entering her mind, but it was like hitting a brick wall. Mom, any luck getting in?
No, I tried before. I wish I had another idea to offer you.
“What's out there?” Amy said. “What was it you had to show me?” When Cole did not answer, her eyes narrowed. “I knew this was a trick. Take me home before anything bad happens.” Cole moved toward her again, but was stopped by a death glare. “Don't touch me.”
Cole backed up. “Asher, can you get in there and try to extract the voices?”
Asher swiveled around. “Um, I don't know what you mean, man.”
“Just try to get those voices out of there!” He knew he was started to sound desperate as his weak plan fell apart around him. “Amy, listen, we're here to help. Don't be angry with me.”
“There's nothing to help,” Amy said, her voice dripping malice. “I'm feeling good, feeling powerful, better than I've ever felt.”
“Oh, God, this is so much worse than I thought,” Cole said panicking. “Amy, that's not you. That's the voices talking. They affect your thinking, influence it with their own thoughts.”
“I don't know if they are, and I don't care. You know, Cole, you really should have left me alone like I asked. Not that I expected you to. I knew this would happen sooner or later.” Her voice changed to a mocking tone. “Oh, Cole just loves me so much. He worries about me. He cares about me, and just can't leave me alone!” The end of her sentence had risen to a shout, but it quieted back down to almost a whisper. “Well, your loss. Goodbye, Cole. It's been good, but not really.”
“What do you mean, goodb-” But he never had a chance to finish his sentence. A splitting pain coursed through his head, and he clutched it in agony. He looked up at Amy pleadingly, but her eyes met his with an expression of venom and joy. In a second the pain was too much to bear, racking his head with an explosive headache that felt as if a hammer was smashing his temples. He squinted his eyes shut against the pain but it only worsened, flooding through his body, and sucking away his consciousness. He was only barely aware of himself screaming.
Voices in the Night (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 3) Page 16