Victor seems shady. Something about him sets off every alarm bell I have. Is that just because I can’t see his aura? My mom seems to trust him, but she’s acting so strange.
The door opens and a tall thin woman with porcelain skin and black hair steps inside. I can’t see her aura either. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“It’s time for your clearance.” She crosses her arms across her chest and taps her foot. “Come on, get up, and let’s go.”
Tori and I look at each other. I shrug my shoulders and stand up, Tori following my lead. There’s no point in just sitting here. It’s not like we will get any of our questions answered sitting alone in this room.
She leads us down the hallway back to the main room. We walk to the back, past the round tables then she opens a door. Inside is a large conference table that Chance, Noah, and Tanner are sitting at. I let out a sigh of relief seeing that they are unharmed.
“Wait here.” The woman we followed orders before turning around and walking out of the door, locking it behind her.
“Are you guys alright?” Chance looks us over as we sit down.
“We’re fine. I’m glad to see you all,” I reply as I look over the guys. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“We were taken into a room with two sets of bunk beds and left until they brought us here.” Tanner grimaces. “I can guess it’s Vinco though.”
“They took me to see my…” A door opens and I cut my words short.
Vincent walks in followed by three other men. I do a double take when I can see their auras. Each man has a unique pattern, though all three have more black than most. I thought my dad said they all could hide them.
“Sorry to make you all wait,” Vincent says, his words clipped. My hackles raise at the sound of his voice. Something about him just puts me on edge. “Let’s get these formalities over with so we can reunite you with your families. They have been wanting to get to you for a long time now.”
“My parents were taken by Vinco,” Noah spits, his eyes burning with rage.
“That’s not exactly what happened, son,” a tall, dark-haired man says as he steps through the door.
“Dad?” Noah deflates. His eyes dart back and forth, his face becoming an impassive mask.
“Just do what they say then I’ll explain everything,” his dad urges, his face pleading for Noah to listen.
“Fine.” Noah crosses his arms across his chest and glares at Victor. “What do I have to do?”
“Just let these men take a peek at your memories. They won’t change anything, you have my word.” Victor opens his arms and the three men step forward.
They are all tall and muscular. One has sandy brown hair, one dark brown, and the other is blonde.
Noah puts his palms up and the rest of us sit back and watch as the dark-haired man steps forward. A tiny piece of his aura streams into Noah’s. The next minute ticks by agonizingly slow as their auras are linked by the tiny thread, then the man pulls it back.
“He’s being schooled by CODA but not recruited yet. He’s safe.” The man steps back behind Victor.
“As you can see, it’s a simple process.” Victor smiles, making his harsh features even creepier. I let out an involuntary shudder.
The men line up in front of Tanner, Chance, and Tori. I watch as they read their auras, just as the man had Noah’s. When they finish they report back the same findings.
The blonde man steps in front of me and smiles. I wince as the thread of his aura comes towards me. When it hits my aura, I watch as my memories play on fast forward in my mind. It’s over in the blink of an eye and his aura pulls back.
“She hardly knows anything at all about CODA,” he says as he steps back behind Victor.
“Good, good.” Victor clasps his hands together. “Welcome to Vinco. Follow me please, and we will have your orientations with your parents.”
“Wait? You mean my mother is here too?” Tori asks as her bottom lip starts to tremble.
“Of course child. You five were targeted together because your parents were all here.” He turns around and opens the door, then waits for us to follow him.
Tori grabs my hand and squeezes it, hope shining in her eyes. We stand up and Noah’s dad approaches him, but Noah holds a hand up, stopping him.
“Wait,” Noah growls, glaring at the man.
A look of disappointment falls over the man’s face, but he respects Noah’s wishes and slinks out the door. We follow behind as they lead us down several turns to a large room. Two couples, my mom, and two other women are waiting inside. Noah’s dad joins a woman with olive skin much like his own.
“This is just unsettling,” Tanner whispers, his face blanching.
“I agree.” Chance crosses his arms across his chest, hovering next to the door.
Tori drops my hand and sprints across the room to a petite, dark-haired woman and throws her arms around her.
“When in Rome.” I turn and around and shrug then walk over and join my mom.
The three guys stay rooted to their spots by the door, refusing to join their parents. Victor glances over at them then walks to the front of the room and clears his throat.
“Let’s get this party started.” He grins, looking around the room, pausing to make eye contact with each person before speaking again. “Our mission to recover the children was obviously successful thanks to the help of Tony Hoalt.”
The adults break out in applause, wide smiles across their faces as they look up at this creepy man in adoration. What kind of brainwashing cult is this?
“Some back story on our organization for the newcomers. We are Vinco which stands for Vampire Initiative of National Cooperation. We came to be by trying to unite the gifted and other races of supernatural creatures. We believe we can live together in peace, without harming humans,” Victor explains as he paces back and forth as he speaks. “CODA formed shortly after in response, claiming that each gift should stay separate and police themselves. That in and of itself is fine, but when they started abusing their power and attacking other gifted and races, we had to take a stand. We do not believe in using our abilities to harm others. CODA frequently sends their operatives out to do damage and erases peoples’ memories after. They kidnap their own kind if they live outside of the organization and paint us as the villains.”
“How are some of you able to hide your auras from us?” I ask, trying to line up the two versions I am being presented.
“That’s a good question, but we aren’t able to hide our auras at all. Those of us who don’t have auras are vampires. We never had auras to start with.” Victor smiles in approval. “I know it sets most memory eaters on edge when they can’t read us. I’ve been told I give most of your kind an uncomfortable feeling.”
How are you able to find memory eaters?” Tori asks, looking at him in confusion.
“They smell different to us. Like you can see people’s auras and know if they are human or not, we can spell anyone and know if they are gifted, or what gift they possess.” He explains.
This is so much to take in. He claimed my uncle Tony is working with them. Why didn’t he say something? And CODA is supposed to be the bad guys? Everything I’ve learned up to this point showed things the other way around. I don’t know who to believe. All of our parents are here, hanging on every word this guy says, but my dad and Catherine work for CODA. They aren’t bad people. I find it hard to believe a thing this man is saying. Not to mention he’s a freaking vampire!
“How do you become a vampire? Are you out there biting people and turning them into blood suckers like you?” Noah spits from where he’s perched by the door.
“Vampires are born the way we are, just like you are born with your abilities. We can’t turn others like the human stories would suggest, though we do sustain ourselves on a combination of blood and psychic energy,” Victor patiently explains. “Now I would like your parents to tell their stories. I know it will be hard to believe my side of things wit
h what you’ve been indoctrinated with in CODA.”
One by one each person gets up and tells their story. How they always believe Vinco was the ones after them, but it always ended with CODA doing something and Vinco saving the day.
My mom stands up and walks to the front of the room next.
“I raised Krissy on my own as a nongifted mother since she was around six years old. My husband is a Memory Eater and was being followed by Vinco. He had two people without auras on his trail, so he took off to protect us. For years he stayed on the move until he was recruited by CODA and settled down. I believed everything he said because I had no reason not to. We lived in a constant state of fear. I didn’t allow Krissy to live a normal life because I was so scared of losing her.” She wipes away tears that escape her eyes. “Anyways, a few weeks ago a man approached me and said he was taking my daughter. That she had no business being in the human world and he would kill me to get to her if he had to. I went out the next night to find help and I can’t remember what happened. The memories are just gone… Until Victor found me tied up in a cabin. He brought me to Vinco and I contacted my brother-in-law. He came here and we worked out what had happened. A CODA operative must have found out about Krissy, and they wanted her to be with them instead of me. Because I’m not gifted myself, I wasn’t wanted. So they separated me so she would go to her father.”
When she finishes talking, she comes back and sits next to me.
“The worst thing is, they messed with my memories of Krissy. I can’t seem to remember to check on her.” Tears stream down her face. “I feel like such a horrible mother. Before I would hardly let her out of my sight, and now I can’t seem to remember she should always be by my side.”
That explains how strange she’s been acting. My mind spins. Up is down and right is left. I can’t believe that group that took me in, made me feel like I belonged could do something so cruel to my own mother. How does she know it was them? Uncle Tony and Mom have always looked out for me… done what is best. There’s no way they would join up with this group if they were bad, would they?
“How do you know it was CODA who did it? You can’t see auras or anything. For all you know it could have been Vinco and they tricked you.” I cross my arms across my chest and glare at her.
“After you hear everyone else’s stories, maybe you’ll see why we came to that conclusion.” She pats my leg absently.
Noah’s parents go last, walking to the front of the room slowly. His dad looks at him, his eyes full of pain.
“Our story is a bit different. We were the bad guys at CODA.” His somber voice echoes through the empty room.
Chapter 13
Noah’s dad turns and looks at his mom and she nods.
“We joined CODA when Noah was a baby. We were recruited and thought it sounded like a great thing.” Her eyes flick to Noah then she looks down at the floor in shame. “At first it was amazing. We were sent out to collect gifted children whose parents had disappeared. Later on, we were sent out to recruit adults, bring them in the fold. That all changed when we were given the order to take a child from her parents. Her father wasn’t gifted and they wanted to separate her from him. We couldn’t bear to do it, so we brought him along,” she explains, her eyes flicking up to Tori. Wow, I remember Tori telling me her dad wasn’t gifted but I just assumed they were always a part of CODA. “Our superiors were furious. They claimed nongifted parents have no place in our society. We begged to let him stay… that it was best for the child. They relented this one time and we returned back to work like normal. Then it happened again, only this time when we returned with the parent and child the mother’s mind was wiped to the point she wasn’t able to function. She was placed in state care and we kept the child.” She pauses, her voice becoming too choked to continue.
“That’s when we realized CODA wasn’t a good place. We started digging deeper and found many things that didn’t align with our values. We made a plan to get away, but we were caught first. Noah was ripped away from us and his memories changed to believe that we went missing. We barely escaped with our lives and found Vinco. We’ve been working with them ever since with the goal of rescuing our son,” Noah’s father continues for his wife.
“How awful!” Tori slaps a hand over her mouth in shock.
The guys, who are still standing next to the door, lean their heads together and speak quietly. After a couple minutes they break apart and join their parents. Victor walks back to the front of the room.
“We want to let you acclimate to Vinco slowly. We know you have no reason to trust us, but in time I hope you’ll come to see we have no ill intentions. Our ultimate goal is to have you move back in with your parents, but if you feel you aren’t ready, you are more than welcome to use the rooms provided in the teen ward.” He claps his hands together. “Go ahead and spend the next few hours with your families and I’ll come and ask for your decisions.”
When he finishes speaking, he goes straight to the door, leaving the rest of us alone. I already know that I want to stay with my mom, even if she can’t remember she’s supposed to look after me. I’ve missed her so much.
Noah stands up and walks over. “Um, can I talk to you and Tori in private?”
“Sure.” I stand up and look at my mom. “I’ll be right back.”
“Ok, sweetie.” She smiles at me, her eyes glazing over.
Damn, it happens every time she thinks about me. I hate whoever stole her memories. Why can’t we fix it? I’m going to find a way. I shake my head to clear the thoughts as I follow Noah. Tori stands up and joins us and so do the other guys. We open the door and step out in the hallway so our parents can’t hear us.
“Is anyone else confused?” Noah asks as soon as the door closes behind us.
“Very confused.” Tanner nods his head as he picks at his nails. “I don’t know who to believe.”’
“I can tell everyone meant what they said.” Tori twists a strand of her long brown hair around her finger.
“That’s why I’m confused. CODA has taught us one way and now our parents are saying something different. Who’s telling the truth?” Noah runs his hands through his jet black hair.
“I think we should trust our parents. I wasn’t with CODA as long as you guys were, but they should have our best interests in mind. If we’re wrong, we can always come up with an exit plan,” Tanner says, rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.
“I’m worried about my mom,” I blurt out. “She can’t remember me enough to care where I am. How can we fix her?”
“I don’t know that we can.” Chance looks at me with eyes full of pity. My heart breaks a little with the sincerity of his words.
My bottom lip trembles and tears burn my eyes, threatening to fall. I don’t want to live in a world where my mother doesn’t remember to care. Chance steps forward and wraps his arms around me and the dam bursts.
Tears flood down my face as I silently sob into his chest. A body presses up against my back as another set of strong arms wrap around us. The two of them hold me until my body stills. I’m puffy eyed when they pull away.
“Sorry, but I think I really needed that.” I wipe at my face with my arm, drying the tears away.
Noah slings an arm across my shoulder. “Never apologize for letting your feelings out. It’s not healthy to shove them down.”
“But it’s easier,” I mumble, my cheeks heating. I don’t like to feel vulnerable, but it was nice to feel so supported.
Chance crosses his arms across his chest and glares at Noah. Noah removes his arm from my shoulder after giving it a small squeeze.
“I’m going to go check on my mom.” I step forward, feeling awkward.
I open the door and slide in while the others stay in the hallway. Eight sets of eyes land on me when the door closes behind me. The adults are huddled together in a group whispering. Disappointment shining through seven sets of them when their kids aren’t with me.
“Hey Mom.” I walk forwa
rd and sit down next to her. The rest of the adults move away and give us our space.
“Hey sweetie.” She smiles at me.
“So when you say you can’t remember to care… What does that mean exactly?” I ask, bracing myself for the answer.
“I remember who you are; that you’re my daughter and I love you. But I don’t care anymore where you are. It’s like I know you’re not with me but I can’t pick up a phone to see how you are doing, or where you’re at.” She wrings her hands together and a lone tear slips from her eye. “It makes me hate myself. I know I should care.”
“I’m sorry someone messed with your head. It’s not right.” I clench my teeth together, trying to contain the rage that’s bubbling up in my chest.
I want to go find whoever did this to my mom and turn them into a blathering mess. Eat all of their memories and see how they like that. But that would make me no better than them. Is that who I want to become?
“Victor has a team working to find a way to fix me.” Mom pats my hand. “Besides, when you’re with me I care.”
Tori slips through the door and runs over to me.
“Girl those guys are going to throw down. I had to get out of there,” she says as she plops down next to me and waves at her mom. “Did you know they all three wanted to date you?”
“What? I didn’t know they wanted to be more than just friends.” My eyes widen. “They all three want to date me? That can’t possibly work. Fuck.”
“Yup. Things are getting heated out there.” She shakes her head. “Good luck with that.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” I reply, staring at the door.
“Looks like you’ve been busy.” Mom winks at me.
“It’s not like that… They’ve just been friendly.” I cover my face with my hands.
Tori pats my arm then stands up and joins her mom again. I don’t know what I should do. I don’t want them fighting over me. They’ve been friends for a long time. I can’t come between them. I know they are all hot and I could see myself dating any one of them, but not at the expense of their friendship. I need to go break this up.
The Strange Existence of Krissy Nichole (The Memory Eater Chronicles Book 1) Page 9
