“Bah. You’re not a super freak. Just a regular one.”
She smiled. “Well, hopefully the Journal of Supernatural Interests thinks I’m freak enough. It would be nice to have it published.”
“Or to have the money. We could get something off the value menu next time we’re at a restaurant.”
“Well, what do you expect? It’s not a well-distributed journal. It’s not like they have money to throw away,” she said as she pulled up her email. “But, either way, it’ll be out of my system. I think I figured out what I could, and now I can let it go.”
“Can you?” Alex had turned to look at her, and the sincerity of the question surprised her. She had to pause and consider before answering.
“Maybe not,” she admitted. “That kind of trauma.... Can you let it go? You killed a man.”
“I killed a man in self defense. Doyle would have killed us.”
“Chris would have killed us. Doyle was just...unlucky.”
“Well, I guess that that’s where we disagree,” Alex said, turning back to the television.
Kat rolled her eyes. It felt like they’d been through the conversation a hundred times. But, they’d never gotten upset about it. They just understood what had happened differently.
Of course, Kat had been the only one to really research it. She’d found the man. Chris Kestler. He’d died just before the whole thing had began, and not too far away, either. Suicide. The photographs she’d found of him online showed a man different from the one that had tried to destroy her life. Different, but the same. Obviously, the flies swarming the hollow of his eye sockets hadn’t been in the pictures, but that desperation had been there, barely perceptible.
She hadn’t found any credible haunting stories much like it. There were accounts of spiritual entities communicating through electronics. Some paranormal enthusiasts apparently spent hours upon hours listening for them in white noise—blank radio and television signals—just waiting for the supernatural to slip through.
But Chris, perhaps because of his death by electrocution, had been able to do so much more than just slip through a crackly whisper. It terrified her, still, how quickly he’d mastered the electronic interfaces to influence the world around her. If she’d gone into a modern operating room to have her twin released, with all those electronics around her....
She shuddered. It almost certainly would have been the end for her.
As it was, two people lost their lives to Chris’s violent passion.
The police had gotten ample evidence from locals to support the idea of a bitter lover’s quarrel taken too far. Apparently, in such a small town, Suzzane and Doyle had created quite a history together. A lot of the locals thought that a jealous murder made perfect sense. Alex agreed with them.
But Kat knew. She’d researched cochlear implants enough to realize that, given Chris’s accelerating abilities, he’d probably been able to use Doyle’s implant as an electronic access to his brain. From there....
Well, she preferred not to remember what had happened from there.
And Geegee....
Kat sighed. Poor Geegee.
The dog had been fitted with a microchip, in case she had ever gotten lost. Whether her freak out and sudden violence had been due to Chris trying to control her through the microchip implant, or whether she’d just sensed the supernatural occurrences and reacted violently, Kat didn’t know. But she felt confident that Chris Kestler was to blame either way.
Kat looked at her email draft. It seemed good enough.
Then she opened the article’s draft and looked through it, one last time.
There wasn’t much that she’d been able to find on soulmates. Matching auras was what Suzzane had called them.
A frown tugged at Kat’s lips. It would’ve been great to have Suzzane’s help figuring some of this out.
But, from what Kat had found and believed, there were some people who were tied together. Kat was tied to Alex. Her sister had been tied to Chris. Fate had done its best to bring them together—Kat and Alex had moved to the town that Chris lived in, after all. But fate had been thwarted in the womb, when Kat had absorbed her twin.
Kat didn’t feel bad about that, even still. But, every now and again, she wondered if she should. From what she’d been able to fish up on Chris Kestler, he’d actually been a pretty normal person until roughly the same time that Kat and Alex had moved into Peascombe. Then, things had just started to fall apart for him.
Maybe Kat really had ruined his life. And her sister’s. And Geegee’s and Suzzane’s and Doyle’s.
She ran a hand through her hair. There really wasn’t anything that she could do about it now.
When Chris finally did kill himself, because of his connection to Kat’s sister, he’d been able to stay. To remain, or linger, as they sometimes said. And he’d found Kat. And he’d found Kat’s sister. And he’d realized, that, in some way she still hadn’t wrapped her head around, they could still be together. When she slept? When she went insane? When Alex was gone?
She’d probably never know, but she was okay with that. All variations of the idea frightened and repulsed her, anyway.
But Suzzane had been right, even if they hadn’t really understood it. That dark aura had been trying to spread and affect Kat more and more, thanks in part to Chris’s influence. Only by killing the tissues that the aura—or soul—were tied to could she get rid of it, and get rid of Chris along with it.
It almost hadn’t worked, though.
But it had, and it was time to let it go. At least, to let it go as much as she’d be able to. And, hopefully, sending this in would help with that process.
She closed the file, attached it to the email, then clicked ‘send.’ It felt good.
Kat set the computer on the floor, then cuddled up against Alex. This time, no thoughts got in the way of her relaxation.
Alex put a hand on her shoulder. It had healed up just fine, though the scar would be noticeable when swimsuit season came around again. Maybe it would make a good conversation piece, much like the white scars on Alex’s chin did.
“Are you going to sleep?”
“Yeah,” Kat said. “Just for a bit. Evan will probably be up soon, so—”
“No,” Alex said, “you just sleep. I’ll get him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. No work tomorrow. Besides, after three months, I think you deserve a night off.”
“Thanks,” Kat whispered.
“No problem,” he said, smiling down at her. It was the smile she’d fallen in love with back in high school, just older. Better.
She reached up and kissed it, then nestled against Alex’s chest, closed her eyes, and slept.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading! I hope that you have enjoyed Cleaving Souls. Please consider leaving a review for it on Amazon. In a world where readers have millions of stories to choose from, your review is critical in helping other people find their next book. Not only that, but they also enable me to continue writing.
I would like to also invite you to visit my website, chaunceyrogers.com, where you can follow my blog, find out about upcoming novels, or get in touch with me. I love hearing from readers!
And thanks again for your support. Without you, my stories would not be.
Sincerely,
Chauncey Rogers.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chauncey Rogers was raised in Arizona and Missouri. He served for two years as a missionary in Los Angeles, California. He graduated from Brigham Young University with degrees in history education, linguistics, and editing. He published his first novel, Home To Roost, in 2017. He is happily married, has two children, and dreams of owning a pet rat.
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Cleaving Souls Page 17