Rider looked more awake and less drug-addled, but I could tell he was uncomfortable. I took one last look around the room before moving toward the exit.
"It’s strange," I said. "I don't even know what time it is."
"It's around six in the evening," Logan said.
"What day?" I asked.
"Don't worry about it," Hank said. "We're not expecting to see you in here for a few days unless Dr. Yelton calls you back in."
"Sounds good to me," I muttered. Then I saw Vincent hadn't moved and I stopped. "You're coming over, right?"
Vincent looked at the retreating backs of the others. "I don't think so."
"Oh." I didn't try to hide my disappointment. "Okay." Then I thought about the long day he'd had. The long days everyone had lately. "Do you have a ride home?"
He hesitated. "I'm sure I can get a ride."
"Is my car still around? Maybe you could take it and drop it off for me tomorrow?"
"Thanks, I'll do that," he said.
At least it meant he couldn't avoid me. "Then I'll see you tomorrow?"
His lips curled up in the smallest amount. "I'll be there."
"The keys are... Actually, I don't know where my keys are. In my purse, maybe? They're probably wherever my phone is."
"I think we left most of your stuff in the clinic. I'll bring it over tomorrow."
The thought of going up to the clinic again had no appeal, so I gave Vincent a warm smile. "You're the best. Thank you."
"You should go. I'll see you tomorrow."
Rider waited for me outside by the door. "Logan is bringing the truck."
I only nodded.
"Are you concerned about the changeling?" Rider asked.
"No, not really," I said.
"I am concerned," Rider said.
"Whatever project Boone is working on is going to move forward with or without him. I think once it knew, it stopped caring much about us."
"That could be correct."
Our large SWAT-style truck pulled up and Boone jumped out and held the door open for me.
"Thanks, I'll sit in the back with Rider, though," I said.
"Are you sure?" Boone asked, opening the back door for me.
"Yeah, honestly, I probably won’t stay awake for the trip home," I said.
Earlier, I had been tired enough to sleep on the way home and through the night. Now, my stomach felt twisted and nerves were stretched, though I had no idea why. The whole trip home I stared out the window and tried not to think about it.
It could have been because my mother waited for me. She hated everything about my job, so it was a possibility, but not likely. It probably had more to do with the fact that I had been gone for a week. People worried and got upset about my absence. Falling into another world hadn’t been my fault, but I had control over where I worked. Maybe that's why I was nervous.
The others being there would help deflect some of the attention—and hopefully some of my guilt with it. Still, I would have felt better if Vincent were there as well.
The truck pulled to a stop at the house and I hesitated. Once Rider and Logan got out, I forced myself to open the door. Mom and Gran were at the front door waiting.
Mom ran up and gave me a hug, then she started crying. Actually crying. Gran ushered the others into the house where I knew they’d find themselves around the kitchen table.
"I'm okay, Mom," I said, patting her awkwardly on the back.
"Of course you are." Mom didn't let it go. "But you scared the life out of me. And your grandmother." She pulled away and gave me a critical look, her eyes catching everything from the too-loose clothes to the bandage wrapped around my arm. "You are far too thin. Well, I guess Mom will take care of that in no time."
"They mentioned Gran stayed with you a few nights," I said.
"She did. And Bob went out of town, so I stayed here a few nights as well."
"How is he?" I asked, remembering Gran saying he was sick.
"Never mind that now. He's at work and he’s fine. You gave your grandmother quite a scare, young lady." The tears were gone and she sounded more like herself. "And, from what we've been told, you nearly killed yourself getting back. From using your gifts, of all things. Now I know we taught you better. You know your limits."
"Yeah." I grew wistful thinking of those last moments of power. "It was my limit, but it got us back."
"You have partners, Cassandra. You should have trusted them to get you back. You didn't have to try to kill yourself to get home."
I tried hard not to sigh, knowing a little over a week ago she hadn't wanted anything to do with my partners. "I knew they'd get me back, but I was in a hurry."
Mom stilled. "Was it awful over there?"
I gave her a weak smile. "With Agent Boone there, it was basically camping without a tent."
"Oh my." She pulled me into another hug. "You poor thing. Was the weather bad? Your father took me camping once and it rained. He was happy as can be, but then again, he always was."
I almost held my breath. Mom never ever mentioned Dad. I knew almost nothing about the man. There were never stories, and he had died when I was so young I couldn't remember him.
"It wasn't terrible," Mom admitted, looking lost in thought for a moment. "But we had a tent at least. Well, let's get you inside so you can eat. You are dreadfully thin. Couldn't you find food?"
I curled up my nose. "I ate something blue, and what might have been roots or dirt or something."
"Dirt isn't food," Mom said, leading me inside. "Your grandmother has dinner for you and your friends. I imagine Agent Boone needs something good to eat almost as much as you do. Where's the other young man, Vincent?"
A lot of noise came from the kitchen. When we walked in, plates were being passed around and my mouth immediately watered from the smell of baked sugar in the air.
"Vincent? He couldn't stop by tonight. He's bringing me my car tomorrow, though."
"That man is a treasure. You need to keep a tight hold on him."
I blushed profusely.
Gran gave me a big hug. "It's good to have you back, but oh my, you are so thin. Sit down and get yourself a plate."
The others chatted, but Boone and I were fairly quiet. After Gran brought out the welcome back cake, Boone started to look a little overwhelmed.
Mom passed on the cake and announced she was going home to get the house ready for Bob coming back into town.
Gran and I both walked her out, and Mom gave me another hug and welcomed me back. For a moment, I thought she would break down into tears again.
We watched Mom drive away, and then Gran looked me over. "Your mother is thrilled to have you back. We all are. After you've rested up for a few days—real rest, not that wretched sleep you got at the office—if you feel like talkin' about it, I'll be here."
"Thanks, Gran," I said. "It sounds like I missed a lot while I was gone."
"You didn't miss a thing," Gran said. "Logan was here every morning, same as usual. Rider came over a few times. I think he's got something on his mind he wants to talk with you about. Ethan stopped by to check on us. And, of course, Vincent was here every evenin'."
"It's nice they came over," I said. "I'm really glad they were here." My eyes started to burn.
Gran hugged me again. "Don't you go worryin' about it."
"And thanks for inviting Boone over."
"Your new friend needed out of that place as much as you did."
I followed Gran back into the kitchen.
"Logan," Gran said, "if you and Rider leave in the next ten minutes, you'll miss the accident on the highway."
Logan wiped his mouth and stood. "Sounds like it's time for us to mosey on out of here."
"Thank you for bringing back my granddaughter," Gran said, patting Logan's arm. "Both of you," she said.
Gran saw the others out, and Boone and I sat in rather comfortable silence.
"I know you must be exhausted," Gran said when she returned. "The guest ro
om has been made up. You need to know you can help yourself to anything in the house."
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You can call me Margaret. Now, when you wake up at two thirty, you're not going to disturb anyone. You come right on down here and I'll leave you something in the fridge."
Boone blinked and looked like he couldn't figure out a reply.
"And don't feel the need to get up when you hear me downstairs in the morning. Logan won't be over until seven," Gran said. "Cassie, dear, why don't you help Boone get settled in? Frank's been missing you, too. Give him this."
"Thanks, Gran," I said, taking the lettuce leaf.
In the living room, I started to grab Boone's bag, but he smoothly stepped in and took it.
It was his, so I didn't complain.
"You get the nickel tour tonight," I said on our way upstairs. "Your room is here, and the bathroom is next to it. It's all yours."
"Thank you," Boone said. "So, who's Frank?"
I smiled. "He's my rabbit. If you can handle something else off the record, I'll show him to you."
"Off the record? I'm intrigued," Boone said. He dropped his bag inside the spare room and crossed the hall to mine.
The second I turned on the light, an excited squeak rose from my desk and I could hear Frank half bouncing and half lurching around.
"This is Frank," I said.
"Two cages in one? Does he get out a lot?" Boone asked.
I stuffed some lettuce through the wires while Boone watched. "He's never tried, as far as I know. I tried to let him out once to get some exercise, but he wasn't interested."
"Poor rabbit, what's wrong with his leg?"
Poor rabbit? I hadn't expected to hear those words come from Boone. "We think he was hit by something. A car, maybe."
"He survived getting hit by a car?"
"No, he didn't."
For the second time that night, Boone was at a loss for words.
I held out the leaf. "Want to feed him?"
Boone looked from the leaf to the rabbit and didn't say anything.
"Wow, I think that's the first time I've seen you unsure of something," I said.
"Why is it I feel like I've been dropped into the Twilight Zone?" Boone asked.
"I couldn't say."
"And considering where we work, that's saying a lot."
"True."
"The rabbit is alive, right?"
I shrugged. "Define alive."
"There's never been actual recorded evidence of a zombie," Boone said.
"Ouch, don't say the Z word in front of the bunny," I said. I knew the answer, but figured I should ask the question anyway. "There won't be any records of a zombie, will there?"
Boone half grinned, but didn't stop looking at Frank. "Who'd believe me?"
"Where we work? It's hard to say."
"Frank's secret is safe with me. Is there anything else I should keep in mind while here?"
"Yes. In all seriousness, listen to Gran. If she says something, you can count on it happening."
"She's that sure of herself?"
"I come from a family of psychics. Gran is the best of the best. She's never wrong."
"Interesting, and good to know."
"Yeah, there's a reason I'm so good at what I do." The statement left my mouth before I thought about it. I sighed heavily. "Or the reason I used to be so good at what I do."
"You're still good."
I couldn't even force a grin. Remembering my powers were gone, or at least almost gone, made me feel lost, so I couldn't say anything.
"Seeing you and your partners in action today was something else." Boone either didn't notice the change in my mood or was nice enough to ignore it. "I couldn't believe you sent that thing flying. Your partners may not have known you lost your power, except for Rider, but they weren't surprised you could handle yourself."
"We didn't catch the bad guy," I said.
"You can't catch everyone. The fact that this thing took several tranquilizers and a few bullets, and still wasn't stopped tells us we are dealing with an old changeling. I'm not sure anyone could catch one of those."
"Maybe," I said without any real feeling. "Your project is safe though, right?"
Boone shrugged. "It's not really my project. I'm only overseeing part of it, but yes, it's in motion and there's nothing that will stop it now."
"You don't sound too happy about it."
"I've never been on good terms with the project. The fact it almost got me killed makes me more uncertain. But, I've been pointed in this direction, so I’m going to see it out."
"Well, I'm not as much use as I was when we first met, but if I can help you with anything, let me know."
"I'll do that. For now, I'm going to excuse myself and get cleaned up."
"Aren't showers wonderful?" I asked.
"The waterfall was pretty nice, but you can't go wrong with temperature control."
He started to leave, and I figured it was the best time to say what needed to be said. "Before you go, I wanted to thank you."
Boone looked back, eyebrow raised, waiting for more.
"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have survived out there without you." I cleared my throat and tried not to get emotional. "We never had a chance to talk when we got back and I... I just wanted to say thanks for keeping me alive."
"You’re welcome. Working with you wasn't what I had expected, and you made things interesting. More importantly, you got us back."
"Luckily before the gremlins’ concoction took effect."
"Even if it had, you would have gotten us back. Your partners would have found a way through. And believe me when I say not everyone can count themselves that lucky."
"They are pretty great, aren't they?"
"I also appreciate the fact you stopped them from killing me when we came through the portal."
I laughed. "They wouldn't have killed you."
"You may want to rethink that. Know the people you work with and know what they're capable of. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, having someone that's ready to pull the trigger when needed, but you should know your partners will pull that trigger."
"Yeah, I've seen them at work. Although, I can assure you that they'd have good reason if they hurt anyone."
Boone looked like he was weighing me up. "Make sure you know what it would take. I know Walkers get a bad rap, especially after working with Vincent, but know what he's capable of."
"I think I do. I mean, I hope I do."
"Well, he definitely has your back." Boone got a mischievous look on his face. "And maybe more."
"Cute." I blushed, but laughed at the same time.
Once Boone left, I closed my door, sat on my bed, and looked around. I was home. There had been times when I hadn’t been sure I would get back, but I was sitting in my bed in my own room.
Somehow, it felt hollow.
Frank squeaked and I checked up on him. I was tempted to pull the little fluffer out of his cage and hug him. Taylor had said the rabbit couldn't turn anyone into a zombie. Still, the idea freaked me out, so I patted the cage instead.
After checking the time, I decided to get the call to Ethan over. I have to admit, I was relieved when I got his voicemail and had to leave a message. Nevertheless, I let him know I was home and thanked him for checking on Gran, which was the important thing.
After taking a shower—a long one because Boone was right, temperature control was a wonderful invention—I wandered around my room and poked my head in my closet. Everything hung just as I had left it. It was almost like coming home after going away to college. The room was mine, and it was my stuff, but something about the whole thing didn't feel the same anymore.
Maybe it wasn't supposed to. I'm pretty sure I only needed time to readjust to being home. Then I'd have to readjust to not having the Path to rely on. The thought was depressing, so I tried not to dwell on it. After my third circuit around the room, I settled down into my bed.
It took far longer th
an I had anticipated to fall asleep.
Chapter 24
The next morning, I woke up and stared at the ceiling. Whatever this melancholy feeling was, it needed to go away. For some reason, though, I couldn't force myself to be cheerful.
Which was crazy. I was back home. I was alive. My friends and family were around me.
Then I thought about the previous night with Boone. I had mentioned the bad guy getting away. Even more than my powers failing, it sucked that we hadn't caught the changeling. We hadn't caught the man that had tried to kill Boone and me. The man that had injured Rider. We'd let him get away.
I spent a little time while getting ready trying to think if we could have done more, but it was no use. Boone had been right. We'd fought it, tranquilized it, and even shot the changeling more than once. He had hardly been fazed as far as we could tell.
I guess you couldn't win them all.
Once I got ready, I looked myself over in the bathroom mirror. For once, I had ended a case without a ton of bruises. There were some, but this time, my biggest injuries were internal instead of physical.
At least people don't stare at those.
Someone knocked on my bedroom door.
"Come in," I called from the bathroom. I ran the brush through my hair a few more times. Frank started squeaking excitedly, so I went in to see what the fuss was about.
Vincent stood next to his cage.
Seeing him watch over Frank helped soothe something inside me. Maybe things weren't as bad as I thought they were.
"Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone. He seems to have become attached."
"There wasn't much for me to do," Vincent said.
"I appreciate it anyway." I moved to the corner of my bed and sat down, watching him. "And I know Gran appreciated you coming by."
"I'm not sure your mother liked me being around."
"Actually, you have quite the fan in my mother," I said.
Had anyone else seen him, they wouldn't have been able to notice the incredulity in the look, but I could read him well.
"I mean it," I said. "She told me I was lucky to have you. She even called you a nice young man."
A hint of a grin appeared and he shook his head. "I brought your car back."
"Changing the subject. Smooth."
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