Mind Waves

by Amanda Uhl

“I am now.” She noticed she was no longer in the cruel man’s bedroom but at the window of David’s cottage, gazing at the night sky.

  “See that star?” He pointed to a luminous star in the distance. “When you’re frightened, think hard of that star, and I’ll come. He can’t hurt you when I am near. Think of that star. It will summon me to help you. Can you remember that, Grace?”

  “Yes.” She was weightless, falling down, down, faster and faster, like she had jumped from a tall building. David’s hand no longer held hers. Grace suspected that when she reached the bottom she would die. But she never learned her fate, because right before she hit the ground, she awakened to a dark room and the sound of her own voice, screaming.

  Grace lay there, panting, and tried to catch her breath. Her mouth tasted like cotton balls, while the relentless throbbing in her head battered her skull. Too much to drink. The nightmare stemmed from that. It’s my punishment for over indulging on all that wine and beef.

  “It was a dream.” Grace said the words aloud to calm herself, the sound of her own voice hoarse and eerie in the quiet room. A bad dream. She looked at the clock—6:00 a.m. Time to get up anyway. It was Monday. Claire’s shower was on Saturday. Grace would meet her at the airport Friday. All normal. Only a dream. A scary and bad dream. It’s not real. She had to keep reminding herself. Otherwise, Grace didn’t know if she would be able to make it through the day ahead.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Strange Memories

  David, what’s wrong? Stay focused. Now’s not the time to be distracted.

  Geneva’s warning came right on time as their protective shield wavered, and he narrowly missed the dark soldier in front of him. He was having difficulty keeping his hands and his mind to himself. But his vigilance last night had saved Grace’s life…and had nearly gotten her killed. David and his crew were in the mind of Stu Littleton, the CEO of Panda Enterprises—one of the largest technology research organizations on the planet. They had already done a general sweep but had not found any evidence leading to their hacker. Stu appeared to be exactly what he was, a CEO of a large corporation. David did not believe he was or knew their rogue hacker.

  He signaled his men, drawing from Geneva’s endless energy supply to zap their connection and return them to their respective portals. Since they would hit several targets in quick succession, they had tunneled in as a group from their headquarters.

  David lay in the recovery room, battling his emotions. Dark anger festered like a bad blister, threatening to burst and destroy his sanity. He had nearly lost Grace. A few minutes more and the rogue hacker would have taken it too far. He struggled to draw in air, his shallow breaths not generating near enough oxygen for recovery.

  “She’s fine. Better off than you. Your anxiety is slowing your recovery.” Geneva advised calmly, her familiar voice acting as a beacon to guide him to safety. David fought hard to dampen his rage, which burned inside him—a furnace fueled by the knowledge he was responsible for her being the target of the hacker.

  “Rest now, David.” Geneva commanded, dispelling the erratic waves, so that he could slow his heartbeat and breathing. He and his crew would enjoy a brief respite before entering the mind of their next target, Jason Langley. Langley held patents on numerous inventions, as well as a large number of shares in several corporations that specialized in solar-powered devices. More importantly, Langley was a former mind hacker who had retired from the CMU ten years earlier due to a minor infraction. He could be their rogue hacker and if he was, would be expecting them. David determined to do a better job controlling his emotions.

  “When were you going to tell me?”

  He forced his eyes open in time to catch Geneva’s brooding stare. “There wasn’t time. I learned myself last night.”

  “So the hacker is after her now, too? You can’t go on like this. Your mind needs recovery time. Your infatuation is going to get you both killed.”

  Anger rushed to the surface, and he sat up abruptly. “You know what they say about eavesdroppers.”

  “I wasn’t eavesdropping. You were broadcasting your fear so loudly, I couldn’t help but get the message. You’re losing your edge, David. And she’s the reason. You need to cut her loose.”

  “It’s too late for that.” Fear skated across the surface of his mind as David recalled the moment he had entered her dream and realized someone else was present. All of his training had called for him to strike immediately, but he knew Grace would be hurt in the crossfire. At a minimum, she would suffer memory loss. More likely, her mind would be wiped clean. He couldn’t take the chance. So he focused on bringing Grace to consciousness, allowing the enemy to escape.

  “Why, David? Why is it too late?”

  Geneva turned and walked back to his bedside, leaning over him like some avenging angel, the dark jacket she wore resembling wings. “Just erase her memories, and she’ll be fine.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “What have you done? And don’t give me any bullshit. You’ve been accessing her mind at a distance when I’m not present. We both know there’s only one way to do that.”

  “We are linked.” He admitted, running a weary hand through his hair.

  “And she doesn’t know? When were you going to tell her? When’s she’s dead?”

  Geneva’s anger and the explosion of energy in the room lit a fuse of guilt through the core of him. David stood suddenly, towering over her. “I never intended to link with Grace. It just kind of happened between us. Her energy, it’s…well, I’ve never felt anything like it. I’m stronger when I’m around her.”

  Geneva was looking at him strangely, almost disbelievingly. “You slept with her. Oh, for Pete’s sake.” She threw up her hands in disgust. “What happened to keeping your distance? No, don’t answer that.” Geneva scraped one hand roughly over her forehead.

  “I’m going to tell her. Everything.”

  “Great. Just great. The hacker’s stalking her now, isn’t he? Last night’s episode was not the first time he’s been in her mind. She’s a target.”

  David had to hand it to her, Geneva had pulled the relevant facts from his mind and put the pieces together quickly.

  “Yes.” He admitted, and plopped back on the bed.

  “Does Peter know?”

  “Not yet. I’ll tell him after we hack Langley.”

  Geneva paused, turning her back on him and walking to the window to gaze out at the scene below. After some minutes, she strode back to his bedside. “There’s nothing to be done now. You rest. I’ll get us some dinner. Let’s get Langley over with, and we’ll both see what Peter has to say.”

  Despite her orders, David could not sleep until he checked on Grace again. He found her in conversation with what appeared to be a new client. Grace needed the money, he read in her mind. He’d need to do something about that. David didn’t want her worrying about paying bills, especially when it was a simple matter for him to remedy. He would have Sophia offer Grace a large advance on their next assignment.

  *****

  Across town, Grace wasn’t sure how she got through the day, but she did. Something strange was happening. A hangover? But hangovers didn’t cause unusual memories did they?

  Over lunch, she did a quick Google search on hangover symptoms, but all she discovered were what sounded like bad lyrics to country western songs.

  Grace saw a recurring image of a girl with dark hair. She was someone dear to her—but Grace didn’t recognize her. The girl had pale skin, and she liked to read—a lot. Grace saw her sitting on her bed reading, while their mother called from downstairs. Except it was not Grace’s mother. This mother was tall and slim and liked to play the piano.

  Later, while she walking home from a client meeting, Grace caught a whiff of tobacco and pictured her grandpa, pipe dangling from his lips as he made smoke rings for her. Strange. Both sets of grandparents died before she was born. Grace had no idea if either grandfather had ever smoked a pipe. She called her mom to
find out.

  “Mom, I know this is going to sound strange, but I need to know. Did Grandpa O’Neill or Grandpa Woznisky ever smoke a pipe?”

  “Not that I recall. Why do you need to know?”

  “Oh, for some genealogical research I’m doing.” Grace lied, hoping her mother didn’t ask too many questions, because she had no idea how she would connect the two. Thankfully, her mother was distracted.

  “Your sister is driving me crazy,” she said now. “Do you know what that girl did? She asked Damian Ross to her wedding, and Damian said yes. So now we will have a celebrity at your sister’s wedding!”

  “Mom, who’s Damian Ross?”

  “I don’t know. Your sister said he was a local talk show host. You mean you don’t know who he is? I thought he was famous.”

  “I never heard of him. If he’s a celebrity, I don’t think he’s a famous celebrity.”

  “He’s not?” Her mother sounded deflated. “Well, I’m not sure why Claire would mention he was coming if he wasn’t famous. Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’m certain. Don’t worry about it. Damian Ross, if he does come to the wedding, will be fine. Listen, Mom. I have to go. Thanks for answering my question.”

  “All right. Make sure you’re on time to pick your sister up from the airport on Friday. Her plane gets in at 5:30.”

  “I’ll be there. Don’t worry.”

  “That’s what you always say, but it’s my job to worry. Speaking of which, Grace, have you asked that nice David to be your date for the wedding?”

  “No, I haven’t. I wasn’t planning on it.”

  “Why ever not? Has he done something? Are you still seeing him?”

  “Yes, of course. David has been completely kind to me. I don’t know if I want him underfoot at the wedding, that’s all.”

  “Grace, ask David. You meet a nice man like that. It’s the perfect opportunity to introduce him to the rest of the family. Especially Aunt Peggy. You know how she’s always on you about getting married again.”

  “All right, Mom, maybe. I’ll think about it. I gotta run. Love you.”

  “What’s wrong with you girls? You’re both so afraid of commitment.”

  “I’m sorry, Mom, I’m getting another call. Bye.” Grace disconnected before her mother could guilt her into asking David to the wedding. She was not going to rush things this time around.

  Grace checked her watch. It was 3:00 p.m. in Cleveland. That meant it was noon in California. She quickly dialed her sister’s number but got her voicemail. “Claire, call me. I need to talk to you.”

  A few hours later, it happened again. While ordering her favorite Chinese takeout, Grace heard herself request the cashew chicken. What was wrong with her? She preferred sweet and sour, didn’t she? It was as if someone had gotten a hold of part of her brain and compelled her to think about the cashew chicken. Maybe she should see a doctor.

  Her cell phone rang. Claire. Grace grabbed the phone like a lifeline.

  “What’s going on?” Claire asked.

  “I’m not sure. Have you ever ordered cashew chicken when all you wanted was sweet and sour?ˮ

  “Huh? You aren’t making sense. Did you get bad takeout?”

  Grace tried again. “Have you ever dreamt about total strangers?”

  “Sure all the time.” Claire spoke matter-of-factly. “Last night, I dreamt a new director was in town. He gave me a choice part, too. I got to perform on stage in front of tons of people. Everything was going great until I looked down and noticed I was naked.” Claire giggled and Grace couldn’t help but join her. “I was kind of bummed when I woke up. That dream director was hot.”

  “It didn’t bother you that you were naked?” Grace found herself asking, curiously.

  “No, that part was kind of cool. So what’s with the dreams you’ve been having? Are they hot-looking strangers?” Claire was clearly not taking their conversation seriously.

  “Mine aren’t so fun. More like nightmares. Although there’s an attractive man in them. Except he’s not nice. He commands me to come to him, and I have to do what he says. When I don’t, he punishes me by making my brain hurt.”

  Claire laughed. “It’s a dream. It’s not real. Why are you getting so worked up?”

  “Because afterward, my head hurts. It’s not just in my dream.”

  “Oh. Right. That is weird. Maybe you’d better get yourself checked out. What if you are having a mini-stroke or something? I’ve heard of people our age getting those. Call Doctor J.” Doctor J was their childhood doctor, but they both still relied on him for advice.

  “Well, that’s reassuring,” Grace said wryly. “All right, I’ll call him right after I get off the phone. But something else weird is happening, too.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I…I keep having these strange memories. They feel like my memories, but I know they’re not.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you and I don’t have another sister.”

  Claire laughed. “You mean Mom had a child and gave her up for adoption? Good one.”

  “Of course not. That’s what’s so weird about this. I keep remembering a sister and another mother. And yesterday I smelled tobacco smoke—like from a pipe—and I remembered that Grandpa smoked a pipe. But I had no clue how I could know that. So I called Mom, and she said none of our grandpas smoked. It’s like I’m believing my dreams are reality or something.”

  “That’s too cool. Think about all the sexy men you could dream about. You could get all kinky in your dreams, and it would turn into reality. Which reminds me, how did your date with Brains work out? Those were some knock-out flowers he sent.”

  “Oh, those didn’t come from Brains. In fact, we didn’t have a date.”

  “So who sent the flowers?”

  “Well, I’m sort of seeing someone else. We had dinner at Mom and Glenn’s.”

  “What! This is huge! This is monumental! I can’t believe you didn’t call and tell me. And Mom didn’t mention it. Who is he?”

  “Well, it kind of happened. I didn’t plan on bringing him to Mom’s for dinner. It’s…he wanted to go, and Mom wanted to meet him, and I said yes. His name is David Jenkins. He’s one of my clients. We were working on a project, and he asked me out.”

  “So did Mom drill him with twenty questions? Did she like him? It’s killing me that I wasn’t a fly on the wall for this.”

  “Mom grilled him. But the weird thing is she likes him. She wants me to invite him to your wedding.” Grace took a deep breath and continued. “To tell you the truth, Claire, I think I’m falling for him. He sends flowers. He’s romantic. He’s sensitive. He seems to be sincere. But I’m not such a good judge of men. And I have only known him a short time, so I refuse to let this happen too fast.”

  “God, I’m jealous.”

  “Claire, you have Tom! He’s good looking, he treats you well, and he loves you. Plus, you’re getting married. What do you have to be jealous about?”

  “I love that stage of falling in love when everything is new, you know. It’s the best.” Claire sounded wistful.

  “But no one can stay in that stage forever. And it’s not real. Early on, we’re just in love with being in love. It feels good. But what happens when they discover you slurp your soup and don’t wear underwear? True love needs to stand the test of time.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Easy for you to say. You’re falling in love. So, will I get to meet this sweet romantic man at the shower?”

  “Showers are for women.”

  “Don’t you want me to check him out for you?”

  “Sure—as long as you keep your hands off.”

  “Well, if your new man flirts with me, like Greg used to do, that’s a sign he may not be such a good guy. I’m helping you.”

  “I suppose.” Grace acknowledged reluctantly. Her sister had been blessed with the looks in the family, and she knew it. Every man that she came in contact with couldn’t help but do a double-
take, including any men that were supposed to be with Grace. Greg used to tell Grace all the time that if he wasn’t with her, he would go after her sister. It was inevitable that David would be wowed as well. But all that attention could and did go to Claire’s head. It was no wonder she kept getting cold feet at the altar. There were so many men to choose from—how could Claire possibly figure out which was the right one?

  Grace’s phone buzzed. It was David. “Claire, I swear David knows whenever I’m talking about him. That’s him on the line. Gotta run.”

  “Okay, call me later. I want to hear more about him.” Claire hung up.

  “David, hello.”

  “Grace, I don’t have long to talk. I have to get back. I miss you and have been thinking about you off and on all day. How are you feeling?”

  “Better. I had a headache this morning, but it’s not so bad now. Um…David, can I ask you something?

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Oh, nothing’s wrong. I mean…nothing really.” She took a deep breath and forced a normal tone. “David…is there someone else? I mean you would tell me if there were, wouldn’t you?”

  Long pause. Why did Grace have the impression he was taking his time to formulate an acceptable response? “Of course not, Grace. I told you that’s not my style. Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know…I just got the impression that perhaps you had another…someone you’ve known for a while. Someone you care about.”

  Crickets. “David?”

  “Grace, you have nothing to worry about. I promise. Are we still on for Wednesday?”

  He hadn’t answered her question. “Um…yeah, of course.”

  “I thought we could hang out at your place.”

  “All right.” Grace had a sudden vision of herself and David in her bed. Her face grew warm. Not for the first time, she was glad he couldn’t read her thoughts.

  “Grace.” David sounded suddenly chipper. “I asked Sophia to stop by with a check for your work on the initial design.”

  “Great.” She had been wondering when she was going to get paid but hated to mention it after the weekend they’d had together.