The Pull (The Emanation Saga Book 1)
Page 23
“Thank you.” Eva wrapped her arms around Ian’s neck, hugging him tight before stepping back again. “I have Mitchell’s disk still. If we explain everything, we can give them all the option to move on,” she suggested.
He smiled. “As tragic as this is, that’s probably perfect.”
They set out and scoured all the offices, transporting boxes back to the house as they were filled in areas that didn’t hinder her powers. Kyle and Michelle took them from Ian and Eva as they appeared and stacked everything in the garage. Every document on the patients and the organization they found, gadgets, notebooks and several boxes of belongings to some of them, including one marked BRENDAN AND CONNIE OWENS. Eva was tempted to look, but knew better. Instead, she tucked it on the top shelf of the closet.
Heading back once more, Eva landed next to Ian in the hallway. “Is that the last one?”
“Yes.” The fluorescent light cast an eerie glow around them. “There are twenty-five resident rooms on this map I found in Marcus’s desk. Several will be empty that were ours, Mitchell’s, Ethan’s, Jason’s and the others who escaped. But it seems there are about ten more people being housed here.”
She gasped. “Ten?”
The weight of that pulled on his posture. “Yeah.”
Together, they made their way to the first one. “This is Debrah Monroe. Palm the disk before we go in.”
“Why?”
He held the keycard to the slider. “Just in case.”
She did as he said as Ian pushed the door open slowly, revealing a petite, middle-aged woman sitting in a chair, staring at a chalk mural on the wall. He and Eva crossed the threshold and cleared the doorway.
“I'm not interested in participating in your research anymore.” Debrah’s voice was shaky.
“We aren’t with them. We’re here to help,” Eva explained.
She turned her head. “Help? How can you help?” she flickered in and out for a brief moment before stabilizing again. “I’m dead. I died in a car accident, and these sadistic men thought it would be okay to bring me back and then keep me prisoner, claiming it was for science. I’m damned to a half-life as a science experiment. It’s really all just a sick game to torture us.”
Ian sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re right. That’s why we want to…”
“You want to go away. Please.” She went back to staring blankly at the wall.
Eva crossed the room and thrust her hands in her pockets. “Debrah, my name is Eva. I, too, am dead. As is Ian over there.”
She rolled her eyes. “So, you’re the one all the fuss is usually about. Well, nice to meet you. Now leave me alone.”
“I can’t. If we leave you here…” Eva stammered, wringing her hands in worry. “We just can’t. We want to give you options.”
Debrah scoffed. “Options? There’s options for a physical ghost science experiment? I don’t think so.”
“Yes.” Ian stood. “You can stay here, alone, forever. Or you can remember your past life and become mortal again. Only, those around you will never understand how you’re back since who knows how long you've been here.”
Eva pulled her hand out of her pocket with the disk resting in her palm. She had been holding it tight enough it had left a deep impression in her skin. “Or we can stop all this, and you can move on.”
The woman jumped up from the chair. She grabbed the lamp on her bedside table and threw it on the floor. Snatching a shard, she thrust it against her stomach. As expected, it did nothing. “Move on, huh? How do you propose that?”
“With this.” Eva opened her fingers.
“What is that? Some toy?”
Eva swallowed hard. “Mitchell used it to end Ethan’s time here just before I killed him.”
“Ethan? Ethan Warner? I thought he got out.” The words caught in her throat.
“Mitchell was tracking everyone down who escaped.” Eva chewed on her lower lip, trying not to let herself cry as Ethan’s last few moments flashed through her mind.
Debrah raised her hand toward the device. “How did you kill him? With this?”
“No.” Eva curled her fingers back around the device, lighter this time. “When you remember your life before you died, you become mortal again, while you’re actively allowing the memories to resurface. You will not only grow old, but you can be wounded. I tricked him into remembering when his father took his life, and I stabbed him. He died in my arms.”
Eva hadn’t had a chance to tell Ian about what had transpired. As he listened to her recount the events as quickly as possible, he knew Michelle was right. Eva would not recover, emotionally, from that very easily. Nobody would be expected to. And he couldn’t imagine being in her place.
Debrah pulled her hands back. “I can’t go back.”
“You could create a new identity,” Ian suggested.
She thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No. I’m done. I’m exhausted. And I’m pretty sure that I’m too angry and bitter to try to start over.” She looked Eva in the eyes and cupped her hand with the disk. “Was it painful for Ethan?”
Eva’s stomach churned. “No. It didn't appear to be. It was quick.”
“Will you be the one to do it?” Debrah asked.
Eva squeezed the woman’s hands in return. “Yes.”
Ian bowed his head. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”
“Do you want to go outside, or someplace beautiful?” Eva asked.
“No.” Debrah dropped her arms. “I don’t want to be tempted to stay. I just need you to get it over with. I need this to be over with.”
The two women sat on the edge of the flimsy mattress, turned in slightly toward each other. Eva took one of Debrah’s hands and smiled a gentle smile. “Ready?”
“Is anyone ever actually ready to die?” Debrah tightened her fingers around Eva’s. She chuckled. “Die? Ugh. I’m already dead. I don’t know what to call this.”
“Let’s call this finally resting.” Eva attempted a friendly smile, her broken heart showing through.
Not another word was spoken aloud between the two.
Eva raised the disk to the woman's heart. She gave as much of a reassuring look as possible and pressed the center. No noise. No lights or smoke. It was quiet. Debrah just blinked out like a light and was gone.
Eva slowly walked out to the hall where Ian leaned against the door to the empty room across the open corridor. “Is she gone?”
“Yes,” Eva replied solemnly.
“Can you keep going?” he asked.
“Yeah. She’s at peace. That’s what matters.”
“Okay.” He held his hand out.
She took it, and they made their way to the next occupied room.
Ian sat in the chair next to the window in their bedroom back in Detroit as Eva slept restlessly in the bed halfway across the room. They had gone through the rest of the occupants. One man ran out of the room, not caring about his unfortunate tendency to blink in and out like a dying florescent bulb. Ian and Eva had decided it wasn’t for them to damn anyone out of a life they could choose if that was what they wanted. So, they let him go.
Three people told the couple their stories of their lives. Children, love, family, adventures… all told with love and a sense of longing. Those people walked out of the building as close to flesh and bone as possible, ready to live out their lives naturally.
The rest?
The rest were not dissimilar to Debrah. They couldn’t imagine staying as they were for the rest of eternity. Nor could they bring themselves to force back memories that would end up being more painful than helpful and happy. One by one, Eva sat, held their hands and watched as they blinked out of existence.
She told herself they were moving on, but the truth was, she didn't know where they went. She didn’t know if there was an afterlife. And she didn’t know if it was for the best. But it was their choice. And when Ian offered to take over when she broke down sobbing after a teenage boy chose that as his fate, she refuse
d, not wanting it weighing on his conscience, too.
There had been no sign of Sage nor Stanley. Ian and Eva scoured the building, forcing out the three fully human workers they came across, warning them about attempting to tell anyone what they were doing after confirming that none of them knew the whereabouts of the young girl.
When everyone was out and the place was empty, the couple started a fire in every room and closed the external doors. They watched from across the street as the place went up in flames. And once the fire was sufficiently roaring, they took their leave and went home.
Ian watched her sleep, thinking about the events and how things had unfolded. They had the option to remember their lives and go back to that with the added possibility of maybe having kids. They didn't know. After all, anything seemed possible. But Eva’s determination to help everyone in that lab, paired with the fact that the first thing she did when they got back to the house was pour over the files of those that had escaped for hours, Ian knew she wasn't ready.
Eva was on a mission. There were people to help, a girl to find and a murderer to catch. And Ian couldn’t let her do it alone.
To be continued…
Ackowledgements
Oof… acknowledgements. I always struggle. A part of my brain envisions being on stage and doing some sort of thank you speech. But most of my mind is well aware that this isn’t the case. But still, I always want to thank so many people like it’s the Oscars.
But when it comes down to it, there’s always a few that touch you on projects more than others.
When it comes to The Pull, this book poured out of me a few years ago and went to the page without me really telling many people. And now, its revisions have done the same.
However, I want to thank all of my friends and family that do support and encourage me. And Misty Polish for helping me on my journey more than anyone else. You’re gold, fire and love wrapped up in one person, and I adore having you as a bestie. Your own books make me strive to do better. Always.
About the Author
R.J. Lloyd started off as a romance writer under another pen name. However, R.J. is the side of this award winning, best selling author that delves into fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural, paranormal and all things action and spooky that she loves so much.
A Detroit area based author, R.J. writes both novels and short stories, always looking for the next interesting and slightly off kilter character to follow on an adventure with.
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Pick up these books by R.J. Lloyd:
Everwinter
Chronicles of Naelyra book 1
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Heir to Redemption
Royal Alpha Wolves Club book 2
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More to be announced!