Proxy (The Dreams of Reality Book 1)

by Gareth Otton

  “Yeah, that’s the one. Tanner told me he’d been followed by a woman. He said that—”

  “A woman? You never said that.”

  They’d reached the door at the next flight up and Tad held it open for Stella again. “Are you sure? I thought I did.”

  “No. I would have remembered. The reason Marcus run from me that day was because he thought I looked like a woman that Tommy said was following him.”

  “I suppose you’ve got the colouring down, but I wouldn’t say you looked like Cleopatra.”

  “What is it with you two and Cleopatra?”

  “That’s how James’ ghosts described the woman. They said she looked like Cleopatra.”

  “And she does, doesn’t she?” Miriam sounded smug as Stella and Tad arrived at the small evidence room.

  Miriam pointed at a monitor that showed a still frame taken from a security camera. Stella had requested the footage from the Millennium Stadium when she had a theory that someone was grabbed there.

  “Holy shit. You’re right. She does look like Cleopatra. This is her,” Tad said.

  Stella stepped closer to the screen and looked at the faces. There were a lot of people on screen, but she saw who they were on about.

  Her first thought was to be offended. Not only did this woman look nothing like her, she must have been at least ten years older. However, she did have a hint of the media version of Cleopatra about her. From straight black hair cut to shoulder length, to her size and colouring.

  “This is her, Stella. I can feel it. This is it.”

  Tad was doing his usual magic again, passing his excitement onto her. And why not be excited? She had been stuck at a dead end for months. Now she had a face.

  “This is her?” she repeated as she took another step closer. “It’s not the best shot in the world—”

  “But we know what to look for now. We can go through everything and see if she’s turned up anywhere else.” Tad barely stopped for breath. “I can show this picture to any Proxies I can still get in touch with and maybe we can finally stop this.”

  “Let's not get ahead of ourselves,” Stella cautioned.

  Tad was having none of it. “Forget that. This is huge. When I didn’t know what she looked like, she was the bogey man. Some mythical monster that could be waiting around any corner, but now…”

  He let his words trial off as he took a few steps closer to the screen. “That is just a woman, Stella. A normal woman. We can get her. I know it.”

  He raised his hand to Miriam which she slapped in a high five. It was a gesture Stella would never have associated with Miriam before.

  Tad kept his hand raised and turned to Stella.

  “Come on. This is huge, don’t leave me hanging.”

  “I don’t know how huge—”

  “Stella. We need a win. For the last few months I’ve been losing friends, putting up with shit from Jen, and I’ve had to deal with this pain-in-the-ass cop who kept getting suspicious about me talking to witnesses. Add the drama last week to Maggie’s murder, and I need this. I think you do too. That’s her. Cleopatra’s our kidnapper. That’s worth a high five, surely.”

  God damn him but he had her smiling yet again. She should be more professional, this picture didn’t mean much. It wasn’t even clear.

  But he was right. She needed this. It had been an uphill slog for months. She needed to take her wins where she could get them.

  Grinning, she finally returned the high five.

  “Yes,” Tad shouted. “That’s better. Feels good right?” She laughed at his antics and turned to Miriam.

  “He always like this?”

  Miriam rolled her eyes. “You have no idea.”

  Tad just snorted and slid a desk chair over to Stella before grabbing another for himself. Once he was positioned at the computer he asked, “So, ladies. What’s next?”

  19

  Wednesday, 25th November 2015

  21:04

  Not for the first time that week, Jen found herself in the difficult position of admitting Tad was right.

  After months of fighting his decision that she couldn’t have ghosts, she had Maggie. She never imagined this victory would be accompanied with waking nightmares, a constant headache and fear to ever sleep again. Jen thought that if she could survive Proxying for her parents and learning that they never wanted her, then she was strong enough to survive Maggie Patterson.

  She was losing faith in that argument. Joining with Maggie was supposed to strengthen her, allow her to protect herself, and be useful to Tad. So far the opposite was true.

  “I don’t think this is a good idea,” she repeated. Maggie ignored her.

  For once the heavy rain and early darkness was a blessing. It added a level of protection against discovery as she slipped into the garden of the semi-detached house that had once belonged to Maggie.

  Maggie assured her Mark wasn’t home, but that didn’t mean his neighbours would be happy to see her sneaking about. Not for the first time she thought about abandoning Maggie and going home, but she fought that impulse. Tad telling her off for sneaking out again didn’t sit well with her, but an upset Maggie was much less appealing.

  The forced merging of their first night together had been tougher than she remembered. There were interesting memories, but there was a lot she never wanted to know either. Maggie’s early memories of Tad were fascinating, but they grew more disturbing when Jen discovered what Maggie had so recently learned, that Tad was in love with her.

  Looking back on memories with new information can change them. These memories of Tad could have been sweet, but Maggie’s recent interpretation had twisted them to be an example of how Tad had spent most of his life lying to her.

  The really disturbing thing was the dark feeling Jen got from Maggie. Maggie was searching those memories alongside her, as though she was trying to remember specific details for later use. The way she did it felt wrong.

  Jen was forced to endure Maggie’s adult years, her marriage and death. There were a lot of experiences she knew deep down she wasn’t ready for.

  The next morning had been hard for her, but she spent time with Maggie, getting to know her better and listening to her assurances that they wouldn’t have such a bad night again.

  The next night was worse.

  Maggie returned to examine some of Jen’s memories that interested her from the night before. They were not memories Jen wanted to relive, especially the death of her parents. But there was nothing she could do about it. Maggie had an adult’s will and she overpowered Jen’s objections.

  She was apologetic the next morning. She said she didn’t know what she was doing and how much she was hurting her. Jen suspected the truth was she didn’t care. She knew Maggie better by this point and sensed she was a woman with a strong will and an over abundance of curiosity. Those traits combined to create an unwelcome roommate for your mind.

  Maggie was not as forceful over the next few nights, but neither was she careful. Each night was unpleasant enough that Jen put off sleep and her health was suffering for it. That only made it easier for Maggie to infect her days as well.

  Neither of them had been on speaking terms with Tad since Jen broke his number-one rule. It was a constant source of worry that she might have finally pushed him too far. He annoyed the hell out of her sometimes, but she didn’t want him mad forever.

  Maggie grew increasingly more dismissive of her old friend. As far as she was concerned, Tad should be over it by now. Every minute he wasn’t made her less respectful of him. It also gave her more time to concentrate on Jen.

  She visited her at school on Monday. It took all Jen’s will power to ignore her during class, but even so she earned the suspicion of her teachers and friends. At lunch she had gone off by herself so they could talk.

  Maggie wanted her to skip school and go find evidence in Mark’s house. Jen resisted that first day, all day Tuesday, and again at school on Wednesday. That night however, after Tad lef
t her with Letty yet again, Jen finally agreed. If nothing else, she hoped it would make Maggie give her a moment of peace.

  She told her babysitter she was turning in early, snuck out, and an hour later she was wet, cold and miserable in the back garden of a murderer’s home. Even with Maggie as support she couldn’t ignore her fear. The last time she so drastically broke the rules, she had to deal with a crazy ghost. If something like that happened again, she doubted Maggie would be of much use.

  Maggie didn’t show any such fear. She was focused on the job at hand.

  “See,” she whispered triumphantly once they had done a full lap of her modest home. It was a new build, a cookie cutter model that was identical to the three bed next door. There were no lights on and no sign of movement within. “I told you no one was here.”

  “This isn’t a good idea,” Jen said again.

  Maggie turned a murderous glare on her. “For fuck sake, pull yourself together. I thought you wanted to show Tad you were strong enough to make your own decisions?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, you can't do that if you keep chickening out all the time. Help me nail Mark tonight, then later you can rub our success in Tad’s face. He won’t be able to argue when your decisions get results.”

  Jen didn’t think that statement sounded right, but she only bit her lip and nodded. Maggie’s smile was large and reassuring, but it was gone all too quickly. Once again her attention returned to the house.

  “Let me get inside then do your thing,” she said as she walked up the garden path toward the sliding, French doors. “I’ll let you in.”

  Jen didn’t get chance to answer before Maggie stepped through the glass door.

  The house Maggie shared with Mark may have been run of the mill to start with, but now it was quite nice. Maggie had been an artist in life and her flourishes were everywhere. There were sculptures on the lawn and a large mural on the wall. It took a plain house and made it interesting. Not for the first time Jen thought Maggie was probably much more interesting alive than she was dead.

  As soon as Maggie was inside, Jen exerted her will. She watched Tad experiment with Miriam, Charles and Tony the other night. She would have given anything to join in, to ask how Tad did it and learn from him. She had to make do with trying to get the trick working on her own.

  She managed, but it was hard. If she let her mind wander, then Maggie became insubstantial. Her anger was enough that Jen struggled to keep her focus steady even with the headaches the constant effort caused.

  On queue there was another stab of pain as she exerted her will and a few seconds later the door opened. She let her grip on her powers go with a relieved sigh. It was yet another thing Tad warned her of. He said her skills were like a muscle, they needed to be trained gradually. Doing too much too fast would damage her.

  She ran inside before Maggie could grow impatient.

  “Take your shoes off,” Maggie said.

  “What? I’m not staying the night. I might need to run at a moment’s notice. I can’t do that without shoes.”

  “Your feet are wet and you’ll leave marks on the floor. Take your shoes off.”

  It was not a suggestion. Jen felt a flash of annoyance. She didn’t like anyone talking to her like that.

  “I’ll clean up after myself if I need to. The shoes stay on.”

  Maggie shook her head and threw her arms up in surrender. “For fuck sake. You’re such a child. No wonder Tad has to baby you so much.”

  The comment hurt, but not nearly as much as the resentment.

  “Fuck you Maggie,” she whispered and quickly turned away when Maggie looked up.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. What are we looking for?”

  “If I knew that, I wouldn’t need you, would I? Just look around.”

  Jen stepped into a modest living room and closed the door behind her. When she turned back, Maggie was gone. Jen decided to wait before following. She needed space.

  She looked around the room, noting the empty beer cans on the table, the half empty bottle of whiskey under the table and the dirty plates everywhere. Even the air smelt stale. It did nothing to help Jen relax.

  Jen pulled her phone from her pocket and turned on the torch app. She shone it around the room, looking for anything out of place. She’d never been in the house so didn’t know what to look for. She couldn’t do a thorough search without alerting Mark that his home had been broken into.

  Suddenly she felt another stabbing pain in her head. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she staggered, catching herself at the last minute by grabbing the back of the couch.

  Jen could hear things moving upstairs. Every time Jen heard a bump, she felt an accompanying stab of pain. Maggie only drew on Jen’s power when she touched anything. Jen might have been interested in that revelation before, now she just wanted it to stop.

  She decided to leave Maggie to her own thing. If it hurt this much, then she would sit and wait for her to be done. She carefully cleared a space on the lone armchair and sat, leaning her head back against the leather and closing her eyes.

  How the hell had she come to this? All she wanted was independence, a chance to try her skills and be strong for Tad. Now he wasn’t talking to her, she hated her ghost, and she hadn’t felt so depressed in a long time.

  She got caught up in a loop of thinking such thoughts, so was surprised when the pain stopped and there was someone prodding her shoulder. A hand slipped over her mouth to stop her screaming. However, even though Jen felt that hand, it wasn’t real, and the yelp came out just as loud as if Maggie hadn’t grabbed her.

  “Quiet,” she hissed. “He’s home.”

  “What? Who’s home?” Jen looked at her phone and saw that half an hour had passed. “Mark? You said he wouldn’t be home tonight.”

  “He shouldn’t be. But he’s here.”

  For someone who was about to be caught by her murderer, Maggie sounded excited. Jen’s spike of fear drove her to her feet.

  “Come on, let’s go.”

  She took a step toward the door but Maggie’s hand on her arm stopped her cold. “What are you doing? Let go.”

  “No. Stay. We can end this now.”

  “What? Are you crazy? I’m not staying here. He’ll catch me.”

  “So. You’re a Proxy remember. That’s why you’re here. You need to learn to be strong. I’ve seen what Tad can do with a ghost behind him. You can do the same. Between the two of us—”

  “Forget it. I’m out of he—” Her words cut off abruptly when she heard scratching as Mark tried to find the keyhole.

  Jen shook herself free from Maggie’s grip and turned the door handle. Maggie grabbed her shoulder again and forced Jen around.

  “Don’t abandon me like this, Jen. I deserve this. Don’t chicken out.”

  “Get away from me. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”

  Maggie sneered as though calling her bluff, but she let go. Jen wasn’t sure what she would have done if she hadn’t, but she had let go and that gave Jen the confidence to defy her further. She opened the door just as she heard Mark enter the hall.

  “Mark! I’m in here, come and get me.”

  Jen was half way out the door when Maggie shouted. She knew from the pain in her head that Maggie had drawn on her strength to make herself heard. There was no way that Mark hadn’t heard.

  Jen slammed shut the door to her power, but the damage was done. She heard a deep voice curse and the sound of running feet.

  Jen wanted to ask Maggie what she was thinking. She wanted to slap her. Wanted to do a lot of things. She needed to get out of there.

  She stepped out of the house and shut the door. She was only just away from the window when the living room light went on, illuminating the lawn. Jen stifled a scream as it nearly caught her. She ran to the side of the house and the safety of the shadow, never once looking back.

  Again she was just in time. The moment she stepped into the shadow, the
door flew open and she heard the crunch of heavy feet as someone large stepped into the garden.

  Jen froze. If she ran he would hear her.

  “He’s right there,” Maggie hissed. She stood in the light of the living room and stared at Jen. “We can end this, an eye for an eye. Just help me.”

  Jen shook her head.

  “Come on. Stop being a pussy. You don’t even have to do anything. Just let me become real enough to hurt this arsehole. You can close your eyes and go to your happy place for all I care.”

  Jen was still shaking her head.

  Somewhere beyond Maggie’s insistent tone, she heard Mark moving around the garden. If he didn’t give up the search soon, he was bound to find her. She couldn’t see him, but she could see his shadow. It looked big.

  Tears welled in her eyes. Why did she do this to herself? First the graveyard and now this. If she somehow got out of this, she needed to have a hard look at whatever was wrong with her.

  “Shit. He’s going back inside. Come on, Jen. It’s now or never.”

  Jen just shook her head and closed her eyes tight as if that might make Maggie go away. She heard Mark’s footsteps retreat into the house and the door close. She let out a gasp of relief along with a stifled sob.

  Jen wanted… no… she needed to go home.

  She walked away, ignoring Maggie’s shouting, and pulled free roughly when Maggie grabbed her hand. She was done. Nothing Maggie could say would make her go back.

  “Fine. Be that way,” Maggie said. “You go back home, but you’re going alone. I won’t watch over you.”

  Jen didn’t care. She just wanted to be home, wanted peace.

  She was so desperate to be away that she didn’t check if the coast was clear as she stepped onto the street. She walked straight into someone and yelped, jumping back in fright.

  This person was every bit as startled by their contact as Jen. She was a middle aged woman, probably a neighbour, and seemed at a loss for words.

  “Sorry,” Jen mumbled. She quickly stepped around the woman and walked away.