by John O'Riley
Chapter 2
Jeremy Winters emerged from his brown, two-story house to step barefoot onto his massive, concrete patio in the backyard. He grasped a large, beige mug of black tea in his right hand. His canvas featuring his latest work stood half-finished several feet in front of him. He often immersed himself in his work for countless hours and sometimes forgot to eat all day as his paintings neared completion. His current project featured an underwater scene depicting dolphins with a bleeding effect in a corner that showed outer space and a ringed planet spilling into the ocean from below. Jeremy’s paintings often portrayed breathtaking beauty and realism with a touch of fantasy. His work was so popular that he’d earned enough money to live comfortably indefinitely without producing another piece; however, he was compelled to continue. It was a compulsion and he sometimes wondered why such a driving force existed within his mind.
His parents had both hypothesized that it stemmed from his dyslexia. They believed that like all dyslexics, Jeremy’s mind was wired differently. He’d always struggled with reading and writing but his ability to picture his surroundings in vivid detail and to translate it to paper had always surpassed his peers. By the time he’d reached high school, he’d taken various art classes at the persistent urging of his parents, his sister, and his best friend, Skylar. He discovered he enjoyed painting and had a knack for it. Thanks to help and encouragement of his sister, Emily, and Skylar, he’d managed to rent a space at an art show as well as to set up a very attractive, eye-popping display that attracted many buyers. Luckily, he’d created a small fan base with several influential buyers who spread the word about his artwork. That had been the launching point of his career.
Shortly after the smashing success of the art show, Emily had disappeared. The police had discovered her charred remains the next morning in an abandoned building that had mysteriously burned down. Emily’s body had been unrecognizable but luckily her purse had been found at the crime scene and dental records verified her identity. Jeremy’s father had died in a car accident a year before and his mother had decided to move from Seattle as there were too many bad memories plaguing her. She’d ended up relocating to Sacramento, California and Jeremy had been strongly tempted to go there as well. In the end, he chose to remain in the Seattle area rather than leave his best friend behind and somehow, he irrationally felt that to leave would be to abandon Emily. Jeremy wasn’t sure if he would have ever succeed with his career in painting if it hadn’t been for her.
Jeremy took a careful sip of his steaming, hot tea as he sank into one of his lawn chairs. His expansive backyard comprised about half an acre and contained a bunch of tall evergreen trees, a couple of maple trees, and several Chinese pear trees. A tall fence blockaded the view of his neighbors which helped to further seclude him. Jeremy didn’t welcome uninvited visits except from his closest friends and family. He preferred the solitude which enabled him to immerse himself in his work. Jeremy’s gaze gently drifted up to the overcast sky above. He could make out occasional flashes of light as debris from Reinard’s comet burned in the atmosphere. It provided a spectacular night show with tonight being the peak performance. After that, it would slowly taper off over a week’s time. Anyone who possessed even a minor interest in astronomy couldn’t pass up the opportunity to gaze at the night skies this evening.
Thunder unexpectedly rumbled and jagged lightning bolts ripped violently from the gray clouds. Bolt after bolt struck in rapid succession as Jeremy watched with stunned amazement. He quickly realized it would probably be a good idea to slip indoors to safety. His head pounded with building pressure as he clumsily made his way to the house and shut the door behind him. His headache quickly intensified until spears of agony tore through his entire body. Jeremy tripped as he emerged in the living room and fell flat on his face. His body convulsed uncontrollably as unbelievable pain continued to savagely rip through him. Soon, he lost consciousness. When he awakened, it felt as though he’d been sleeping for days and the power had gone out. His mouth was dry and he had a killer migraine. Nausea assailed his senses as he rose to his feet and stumbled into the bathroom for ibuprofen, aspirin, and feverfew. After popping a handful of pills into his mouth followed by plenty of water, he reclined on his bed. Soon, sleep claimed him and he awakened feeling a lot better.
It was fairly early in the morning and the power had restored so he showered, dressed and turned on the news. When the date popped up on the screen, he could scarcely believe that three days had gone by. Alarm sprang inside him as he realized something major had occurred. The reporter currently spoke about a powerful electric storm that had occurred worldwide. The scientific community theorized that new elements from the comet had mixed with Earth’s atmosphere and was a catalyst for the preceding powerful storm which had caused major damage. Even more disturbing was the fact that the entire population had lost consciousness at some point during this ordeal. On average, most had remained incapacitated for approximately six hours. In some rare cases, individuals had taken over two days to revive. Jeremy swallowed nervously because he was one of those few and he worried about possible negative impacts to his physical well-being. No doubt the hospitals were flooded with incoming patients who shared his concerns. The phone rang and he temporarily brushed aside his concerns as he made his way to the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello?” Jeremy said.
“Thank God you’re all right!” his mother’s concerned voice spilled over the receiver in a rush. “I’ve been trying to call you for days! I couldn’t reach Skylar either. I called the hospital and the police to have someone check on you but it’s been crazy! No one would respond unless they knew it was an emergency. I booked an airplane ride to Seattle but the earliest I could get was this evening.”
“I’m sorry you were so worried. I hate to tell you this but I just woke up a few moments ago.”
“Are you all right, sweetie?” Her voice softened but was tinged with worry.
“I’ve got the worst migraine in history but other than that, I’m okay,” Jeremy said.
“I’m relieved to hear that,” Kate said. “You probably don’t know what’s happened over the last several days. It’s been a disaster! There were huge storms that caused devastating damage. Luckily, nothing here was hit too hard and my house is just fine. A lot of homes and businesses caught fire. I can’t tell you how crazy it’s been. Luckily, things are settling down now but it’s going to take a long time to rebuild some of these areas. Of course, we’ve got some really weird stuff happening too. If you watch the news, you’ll see the stories. There’s a lot of people with special abilities popping up.”
“Special abilities?” he said.
“Yes, it’s simply amazing! People are discovering that they’re psychic. One of my neighbors is having a great time playing with his new talent. He can lift small objects and make them float around. It’s remarkable! He’s not alone either. There are lots of people on the news who can do the same thing! There’s a bunch of people who claim they can see what’s going on from far away. They call it remote-viewing. Others who say they can heal with a touch of their hand.”
Jeremy wasn’t sure what to make of all this. It would be difficult to believe if it hadn’t been his mother he was conversing with. Of course, there were potential side effects to whatever phenomenon had caused everyone to lose consciousness. It was conceivable that one of these maladies could affect the mind. He would make a point of watching the news to verify the strange story that his mother had just told him.
“Do you have any of these special abilities?” Jeremy asked warily.
“I’m afraid not,” Kate said wistfully. “But you never know. It may take awhile for some people.”
“Maybe,” Jeremy said.
“Oh! I just realized that you probably want to reach Skylar. You should check up on him and make sure he’s all right,” she said.
“Good idea. Thanks for calling, Mom,” he said.
“I love you.”
“Lo
ve you, too.”
Jeremy disconnected the call and immediately punched in his friend’s number. The phone rang until his answering machine picked up. He tried again several more times then decided to drive over to Skylar’s house. He emerged from his house with trepidation as he was unsure if the storm had inflicted any damage to his property. He breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered all was well. He slipped behind the wheel of his green Toyota Rav4 and pulled out of the driveway. His gaze fixed on a fallen tree in his neighbor’s yard several houses away. Several scorch marks had struck both the tree and the house but hadn’t resulted in a fire. Jeremy took the freeway to his friend’s house even though they both lived in Bothell. It was a little faster and he didn’t want to see any more damaged homes. It only took about ten minutes to reach Skylar’s neighborhood which had received plenty of lightning damage. Concern for his friend and guilt for not immediately thinking to check on him stabbed in Jeremy’s mind. He’d already lost his father and sister to tragedy, he didn’t need to lose his closest friend as well.
He slowed his vehicle as fear began to build over what he would find. Suddenly, a vivid image of Skylar kneeling in his living room clutching his head in both hands as if in agony flashed in Jeremy’s mind. Jeremy took a deep, calming breath. Abruptly, he saw himself knocking on his friend’s front door. The scene swiftly vanished and Jeremy halted his vehicle. An instant later, he saw himself standing in front of Skylar’s front door from a position to the side. He reached out and checked the doorknob to find it unlocked. Jeremy opened the door and stepped inside. The scene vanished again and Jeremy’s skull ached. He waited for awhile to see if the visions would return but nothing happened. Jeremy finally moved his SUV forward and discovered his friend’s brown house and moderately-sized yard were both undamaged. He parked his vehicle, rushed over to the front door, and knocked on it. No one answered the door. Jeremy worried that his friend was still unconscious from the electric storm.
He knocked again and rang the bell several times. Still, Skylar failed to respond. Jeremy reached out to try the knob and was only half-surprised that it turned easily in his hand. He swung the door open and stepped inside.
“ Skylar? Are you okay?” Jeremy called out.
“I’m in here,” Skylar said weakly.
Jeremy followed the sound of his friend’s voice to find him kneeling in the living room clutching his head in both hands just like he’d seen moments ago in a vision. More guilt flooded through Jeremy as he silently chastised himself for not coming sooner.
“You came as soon as you could. Don’t feel bad about it,” Skylar said through gritted teeth.
“I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. You’ve been yelling at yourself since you pulled into the neighborhood,” Skylar said accusingly.
His hands covered his ears as though he tried to block out painful noise. Skylar groaned softly and swore under his breath. His red hair was a sharp contrast to his unusually pallid skin.
“I’ll get you some ibuprofen,” Jeremy said.
“Don’t bother,” Skylar bit out. “I’ve already taken a handful.”
“A handful?” Jeremy said in concern. “How many did you take exactly?”
“Not enough to kill me.”
“What can I do to help?” Jeremy asked.
“For starters, you can stop thinking,” Skylar said grievously.
“You’re reading my mind!” Jeremy exclaimed.
“Yes, and everyone else in the city, too,” Skylar said.
“How long have you been awake?”
“I don’t know. I keep passing out,” Skylar said.
“Let me help you up.”
Jeremy offered a hand and Skylar reluctantly accepted it. He guided his friend over to the couch. Skylar sank into the beige cushions with a grimace and squeezed his dark, brown eyes closed.
“I wish everyone would just shut up!” Skylar exclaimed. “I can’t take it anymore!”
“I had a strange experience when I was driving here,” Jeremy said as he prepared to tell him about the visions.
“I know everything. There’s no need for you to tell me,” Skylar said moodily.
Jeremy flinched at this unexpected response.
“I’m sorry, Jeremy. This is driving me crazy. It feels like I’m in a rock concert except it’s all just people shouting and screaming. Plus it feels like someone’s trying to drill a hole in my skull.”
“Maybe we should get you to the hospital,” Jeremy said.
“There’s nothing they can do for me. Nothing,” Skylar said.
“You don’t know that. They could give you stronger pain medication than the over the counter stuff you’re taking.”
Skylar slumped forward as he unexpectedly passed out. Jeremy caught him and gently laid him on his side then stretched him out over the couch so he was lying flat on his back. Jeremy didn’t care what his friend thought, he needed to be in a hospital. He crossed the room to pick up the phone. Skylar didn’t keep much furniture in his spacious home. The living room offered a meager assortment of furniture with just a couple of couches and a small cabinet for the television and VCR/DVD player. One of the guestrooms had a dresser, a bed, and two state of the art computers. The other guest room contained just a desk, a computer, and a huge collection of servers. Of course, there was also an office with a massive oak desk and an additional uber computer. Obviously, Skylar’s passion was computer technology which made his current work as a programmer the perfect career.
Jeremy brought the receiver to his ear and only silence greeted his ear. He tapped the buttons on the phone which elicited the same lack of results. Jeremy went to the kitchen and tried that phone but discovered it was dead as well. He went to his SUV to use his cell which he always kept for emergencies. As his fingers closed over the phone, a scene leapt into his mind’s eye. From a distance, he saw an ambulance which had been struck by a truck from the left side. Jeremy willed himself closer and found that his sight obediently moved towards the wreckage. The driver of the ambulance was slumped over the wheel. Somehow, Jeremy intuitively knew that he was dead but that the other passengers were alive. The scene abruptly shifted and he saw the two emergency technicians unconscious and Skylar strapped to a platform with an IV hooked into his arm. Jeremy immediately snapped out of the vision and became aware that the cell phone had slipped from his grasp. He picked it up off the ground and set it back in its holder. No, he couldn’t call an ambulance when he knew a truck would crash into it.
Jeremy had always believed that psychic abilities were theoretically possible but now he had to accept them as real or risk endangering himself and his family due to ignorance. He could obviously see the future while Skylar now possessed the ability to read minds. Jeremy wondered if somehow, the myriad of thoughts that hammered at Skylar’s consciousness were harming him. Could that be possible? Jeremy wished he could say for certain. If Skylar’s new ability was the cause for his current debilitating condition, the hospital could do nothing for him. However, Jeremy couldn’t sit idly by without trying everything in his power to save him. He would drive Skylar to the hospital himself.
When Jeremy returned to the living room, Skylar was awake and hunched forward with both hands clasped tightly over his ears as if struggling to shut out all noises.
“We have to get you to the hospital,” Jeremy said as he reached down to pull his friend to his feet.
Skylar refused to budge. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Come on! We have to go now!” Jeremy said forcefully.
“Leave me alone!” Skylar demanded as he squirmed out of his grasp.
Jeremy stood over him and watched helplessly as his friend leaned to the side in obvious agony. After several moments, Skylar passed out again. Jeremy’s mind churned chaotically as he struggled to decide on a course of action. The most logical choice would be to drive his friend to the hospital. Jeremy sighed and reluctantly reached down to heave his friend up. Luckily, Skylar was skinny or this wou
ld be impossible. Jeremy got a firm grip under his friend’s arms and dragged him toward the front door. It was a major struggle to transport Skylar’s unconscious body to the SUV and drag him into the back seat. Jeremy panted with exertion and slumped with fatigue as he sank in the driver’s seat. He became aware of voices speaking chaotically in his mind. More and more of them joined in until it seemed thousands of conversations crashed against his skull. It took an enormous effort of will to remain awake and lucid. His body wanted to shut down as the mind screamed against the over-stimulation. Jeremy realized that this must be what his friend had been going through. He wasn’t consciously aware of squeezing his eyes shut and clamping his hands over his ears but at some point realized he’d done so.
Jeremy wanted to lash out at the rude voices that battered at his mind. He found it difficult to think as though the portions of the brain used for thinking were being utilized by the incoming thoughts of others. Of course, this was absurd. Jeremy remembered watching numerous science fiction shows about telepaths and a constant theme was their ability to block out unwanted thoughts. He wondered if this was possible. Jeremy experimented with picturing brick walls blocking off the outside world. Surprisingly, the voices did quiet down considerably but not nearly enough. He tried picturing the brick walls in more detail but that didn’t help. Soon, he couldn’t hold the image in his mind anymore. At some point, everything went quiet and Jeremy opened his eyes. He was curled in a fetal position on his side. He slowly sat straight up and gazed around at his surroundings. Skylar remained unconscious in the back seat. He checked the time and realized only about fifteen minutes had passed since he’d loaded his friend into his truck. Jeremy wondered what had turned off his telepathic ability and what had triggered it in the first place. Apparently, he had multiple talents and one of them was extremely debilitating.
Jeremy wondered if it was wise to drive in his current condition. He had no way of knowing when he’d suffer another telepathic attack. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he silently debated with himself. The cell phone suddenly rang and Jeremy was relieved at the interruption. He glanced at the caller ID screen which showed his mother’s name, Kate.
