Dissolve

by Andrea Heltsley

  I splashed cold water on my face and lathered it with soap. It felt good to wash the sleep away from the night and wake up. Striping down to my underwear, I tossed on my blue jeans from Nessa and the chocolate brown shirt I wore that first day we ran. I brushed my hair and tossed it back into a short ponytail again before putting on deodorant and brushing my teeth. I already felt much better and quietly stepped out of the bathroom and back into the living room.

  Hearing my stomach growl, I slid on the brown flats and slipped out the suite door. Almost to the elevator, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me and whirled around to find Noah. He was unkempt and fresh from sleep. He flashed me a crooked smile, hands in his jean pockets. I wanted to melt, but instead I straightened.

  “What are you doing up?” I asked.

  “I heard you stir. I thought you might need an escort. You won’t get far without the key.”

  My cheeks redden and I nodded before saying, “come on then, I am starving.”

  He followed me into the elevator and we were silent the entire trip down. All I could feel was the tension wearing thin between us. We finally stepped out of the elevator and onto the main floor of the hotel.

  Before I had a chance to say anything, Noah had swung me around and swept me up into a soft sensual kiss. My heart raced as he kissed me slow and gentle. I wanted to meld that sweet intensity with him and I returned the kiss. It left me breathless when I finally broke away from him. My eyes were wide with surprise when they met his. All I saw was desire as I stared into his eyes. I was weak on my feet, but managed to straighten and gather my composure.

  “Which way do you think the kitchen is?” I asked, changing gears.

  “Let’s follow the restaurant signs and that should lead us to a kitchen. I hope we can find something edible to eat. I am starving too. I am sure when everyone wakes up, they will be as well,” he said with a smile.

  I was thankful he didn’t comment on the kiss and we walked towards the front desk. Noah and I followed the restaurant signs until we stepped into a dining room with several piles of ash. I shuddered involuntary and Noah guided me around them.

  We made it to the back of the dining room to the door of the kitchen and swung it open. There were more piles of ash and we carefully maneuvered around to the shelves of food next to the cold room.

  “This is creepy, especially knowing that those are ashes belonging to actual human beings. I feel like I am at a crematorium,” I said crinkling up my nose.

  “The whole state is essentially that. We just have to ignore that part and concentrate on getting the group some food. Then we can go back up to the ash free hotel room,” he replied.

  We searched around looking for something easy to bring back up. I managed to find some crackers and not much else. Noah stepped into the cold room and returned with some cheese and a few pieces of pie wrapped in cellophane.

  “This should do. We can always find more food later at a grocery store if we need to. There is enough to go around for now,” he said.

  “Alright, anything to get out of here, it is giving me the creeps just being in this kitchen.”

  “Ladies first,” Noah said gesturing towards the door to the dining room.

  I didn’t reply, just took the initiative and made my way back to the front desk and then to the elevator. I spent the time wondering if he had his eyes on me and felt a blush coming on.

  Taking a deep breath, I hit the up arrow on the elevator and waited for it to ding. We stepped into the elevator and Noah smiled at me. I gave him a small smile in return and then he put the key to the penthouse into the slot. That was when I saw the envelope.

  The envelope was sitting on the floor tipped up so that we would see it. I nudged Noah and nodded my head towards the letter. My hands began to shake as I picked up the note. On the outside of the envelope was the blue embossed recycle symbol and the words I was getting all too familiar with, Ashes to Ashes life evolves. I slid out the letter written on hotel stationary and read it aloud.

  Eight states, seven people, eight hours, -Stephan.

  “That is a loaded statement. The six states are Washington, Alaska, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and I guess there are already several other states he has decimated. The question is, which ones,” he said.

  “There are only five of us so I can only guess that Liam makes the sixth. He might just be as innocent as we are. If there are seven of us total, then that means we have one more yet to find, making this scarier by the minute.”

  “The worst part is eight hours. I think that means we have eight hours to get to Spokane and get some answers, the seven of us. We have to get there and find Liam and the other person before our time is up. We need to get the others and get the hell out of here,” Noah added.

  Just then, the elevator dinged and we stepped into the suite to see a flurry of activity. Nessa was packing the bags and setting them by the elevator. Shane was pulling on a tee shirt and Mia must have been in the bathroom. When Nessa looked up and saw our expression, she went pale.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  Noah and I set down the snacks before I handed over the letter. Nessa scanned it and the card fluttered to the ground. Her eyes met mine once again and I could see the panic there. Shane came over and picked it up off the ground. He read the outside aloud and then pulled the letter back out.

  Eight states, seven people, eight hours, -Stephan.

  “What the hell does this mean?” Shane asked.

  “We think it means several other states have been decimated. Also, that Liam must be the sixth person and that there is one more person we have yet to find. I also think it means we have eight hours to get him and get to Spokane,” Noah replied.

  “Let’s check the news before we tear out of here in a hurry,” I said stepping inside and flipping on the television.

  The first channel it was set on displayed breaking news. Nevada had now been demolished bringing the count to seven states. There were still no leads in this and all states were now under an individual state of emergency as well as a national state of emergency. This was spinning out of control and the government was spreading itself to thin. Essentially, the states needed to step in and defend their own. That was not reassuring news.

  Hearing enough, I flipped the television back off and plopped down on the couch. Noah was at my side, his arm around me. This time, I didn’t pull away. I sunk into his embrace as the tears began to fall.

  Just then, Mia stepped out of the bathroom looking refreshed and dressed in her new grey eyelet tank and black skinny jeans. “What? What happened?” she asked.

  Shane pulled her down into the wingback chair and handed her the letter now tucked back in the envelope. She ran her fingers over the embossed recycle sign and her face dropped. She quietly pulled out the letter and read it to herself. Then she looked up imploring.

  “What does this mean?” she asked.

  Once again, Noah replied the same as he did with Shane. “We think it means another state has been decimated, which it has. Nevada is now devoid of human life. That means one more will be demolished in the next eight hours. Also, that Liam must be the sixth person and we have yet to discover the last person. I also think it means we have eight hours to find them and get to Spokane.”

  She took a second to absorb the information, and then she frantically turned to us. “Let’s get out of here then. We have a deadline to meet.”

  I stood up and wiped the tears from my eyes. Nessa had already grabbed our bag and Shane was grabbing the rest. We wasted no time stepping into the elevator and watching silently as the floor numbers ticked by. The doors dinged open and we headed out of the lobby towards the valet spot in front that we left the van in.

  We got to the red van and Nessa said she would drive so I called shotgun. I did not want to get stuck in back behind Mia and Shane. Noah conceded and we all got in. Settling in, I turned the radio on and plugged in Nessa’s iPod. I flip it to her alternative station and soon the heav
y sounds were buzzing through the speakers, leaving no room for any discussion. No one said a thing as we pulled out of the hotel and onto the road.

  The scenery surrounding us was surreal. The soft lull of the rain starting up was a pitter patter on the windshield. The sky was overcast and everything felt so dull and lifeless. Cars littered the highway and off in the banks of grass. We had to maneuver around them, occasionally heading off road for a bumpy ride.

  “Please speed up Nessa; we are down to seven hours already.”

  “Alright Cora, calm down. Have a little faith, we will make it there in time,” she replied.

  “Yeah, but we have to find Liam first. We don’t know if he will be there or not. We don’t even know what he looks like; just that he has the power of possession. This royally sucks,” I said.

  “I wish there was a way to call him out. If we could get him back, we could talk to him. That seems so far-fetched at this point; I am not sure what will work. Besides, he will be the only one there so it doesn’t matter what he looks like,” Nessa said.

  I was about to respond when the rain started to bear down on us with a disconcerting force. Large drops of rain were now splattering on the windshield in a loud crashing sound as the storm picked up speed. Nessa fumbled with the windshield wipers and put them on high. Even with that, the visibility was practically nonexistent.

  “I have to slow down Cora. I can’t see a damn thing in this storm. We can’t afford an accident right now. I will have to make up ground once the storm passes.”

  “I understand, be careful. This storm is crazy. Who knows what will happen,” I replied gravely.

  Thunder clapped in the distance and the sky lit up. The rain had changed direction and was now almost sideways. The wind was whipping us around like a pinball. I could tell Nessa was trying her best to keep us on the road and driving straight.

  “This storm is pretty wicked,” Noah commented from the back.

  “Yeah, maybe we should pull over. It seems too dangerous to drive with no visibility like that,” Mia added.

  “I agree Nessa. Let’s just pull over for a few minutes until the visibility clears up,” Shane agreed.

  “This road trip would at least be a little better if it would stop raining on us. I hate storms,” Mia grumbled.

  “Agreed,” I said.

  Nessa did as requested and we sat there with the windshield wipers flapping back and forth as we all tried to wait the storm out. It was a nerve racking wait, with being on a deadline and all. Everyone was tense and it showed as the silence grew.

  It seemed like forever before Nessa spoke up. “Do you think we are walking into a trap?”

  “We could be walking into a trap, but we have to find Liam no matter what. He is obviously our sixth and we can’t abandon him,” Shane replied.

  “If he is truly our sixth, then it is our obligation to save him from whatever is coming. He could be just as innocent as we are,” Mia added. She entwined her fingers in Shane’s.

  “Don’t forget there is one more person out there with strange abilities that we have to find yet. I guess we need to find both of them in the next eight hours in order to get answers,” Noah said.

  “Where are we going to find the seventh? Do you think we will find one of them on the way to Spokane?” Shane asked.

  “Hey guys, I don’t mean to cut you off, but this storm is looking worse by the minute. Look how everything just went still,” I said.

  “The green sky doesn’t look too good either,” Nessa said with worry thick in her voice.

  I looked over to see Nessa had gone pale and anxious. I took a deep breath and tried to steady my heartbeat before responding. “Everyone should buckle up in the interest of safety. Shane may be invincible, but we aren’t.”

  Everyone that wasn’t already, wasted no time buckling their seatbelts and silence rolled over us once again, like a thick blanket. The rain had started up again, light at first. Then the rain picked up pressure and the wind began to blow around us in a cacophony of wails. Too panicked to say anything, I just stared out the window as I saw a funnel cloud form in the distance. It was heading straight for us and I braced as cars and debris swirled in front of us.

  “Oh shit, this is really happening,” Mia said, terrified.

  “Holy crap, I have never been in a tornado,” Shane added as he went pale.

  The funnel picked up speed and soon we were off the ground and being tossed around like a toy car. Someone’s head hit the window with a thump as we swirled around, being pinged by various pieces of debris. There was an ear piercing scream and I soon realized it was my own. It died in my throat as another car bumped up against us and my breath seemed to fall into my stomach.

  The spinning made me lurch around and vomit. I was too scared to even care and I grabbed the seat tightly. My knuckles were white and I braced for the fallout. We were thrown with immense force and a shrill scream formed behind me. We hit the ground with an earth shattering thunk and the van rolled to a stop upside down. I faded in and out of consciousness as the impact settled.

  When I came too, I looked over through tired eyes. My blurry vision just barely allowed me to see Nessa hanging unconscious like a corpse. My blood raced through my limp body and I clawed at my own seat belt for release before even assessing my own injuries.

  I grasped the seat as I slid down and adjusted myself right side up. I slid over to Nessa and checked her pulse. It was weak, but still there. I let out a small breath and tried to ease her out of her seat and maneuver around the blown up airbag.

  “Nessa, come on. You are tougher than this. Come back to me. I can’t do this alone,” I sobbed.

  I heard a grunt behind me and looked up to see Shane coming to. He didn’t appear to have a scratch on him and I guessed he had healed any injuries he accrued through this. He slid down and was by my side in a heartbeat.

  “She has a pulse, but it is weak,” I said with a shaky voice.

  “Does she have any cuts or bruises that you can see?” he asked.

  “No, please help her. Can you heal her the way you healed yourself? Please Shane, I am begging.”

  “I wouldn’t know the first thing to do, but I will try if that will make you happy,” he responded.

  “Please,” I choked out.

  Shane placed his hands on her slowly beating chest and closed his eyes. He was trying to concentrate and I could tell he was struggling.

  “I don’t think I can do this. I’m sorry Cora,” he said.

  “I don’t believe that. Please keep trying. I will owe you forever if you can do it,” I pleaded.

  He tried again, putting more focus on it and breathing slow and steady. Finally, I saw a soft blue light radiate from his finger tips and I gasped. He didn’t seem to notice and continued to rest his hands on her chest. The blue light intensified and I held my breath as I waited. Then the light died to a soft blue again and died out.

  Shane’s eyes snapped open and his now pale face gave me a weak smile. “I did it. I healed her.”

  Then, just as quickly he slumped to the ceiling and faded out of consciousness. I was about to check on his own pulse when I heard Nessa sputter and open her eyes. She looked confused, but unharmed. I let out a sigh of relief and gave her a soft smile.

  “Welcome back, I wasn’t sure you were going to make it.”

  “What happened?”

  Chapter 22:

  “You were in a car accident. It is alright, you are okay.”

  “Who are they?” she asked pointing to the back of the van.

  I had completely forgotten to check everyone else and no one is conscious. Damn and Nessa had some sort of amnesia. “Just some friends, hold on while I help them out of the seats.”

  I crawled over and reached Mia first. She was still unconscious, but had a strong pulse. I gently unbuckled her and slid her to the ceiling, where I was currently crouched. I winced as I noticed the large gash on the side of her head from where she hit the side window. The win
dow had a crack that radiated like a spider web from the contact. “Mia, are you okay?”

  I jostled her just a little, but got no response. I knew her pulse was strong so I moved forward toward Noah. He began to stir as I approached. His brown eyes met mine and instantly I could see the pain written across his face.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked.

  “I think I am bruised pretty bad, maybe a broken rib. Otherwise, I am alive. Can you help me out of this blessed seatbelt please?”

  “Yeah, of course,” I said.

  I fumbled with the locked belt and finally managed to get the clasp released. I put my arms around his waist and helped him down. Even now I could feel the chemistry sparking between us. I gave him a weak smile and then nodded towards Nessa. “I better get back to Nessa, she has amnesia and doesn’t remember where or who we are except for me.”