“So you were unable to recover any of the bodies? You have no proof that any of them actually died in the flames?” The click clack of his shoes grows faster, the tension rising.
To purposefully counteract all other signs to the contrary, Cox lowers his voice, malice dripping from every word. “Bring me the girl…Your life and the life of your son is on the line here…Don’t screw this up.”
Chapter 26
Voices pierce through the darkness and enter my subconscious. The Colonel on the phone; someone screaming so loudly I can hear the high chirp even from a distance; and the jolts and jerks of a vehicle going over rough terrain all assault my senses. The whole van smells like a campfire and I wonder if I singed any of its occupants. I have to work hard not to let a smile steal across my face at the thought.
“There was nothing to recover, sir. The cabin, the surrounding trees, nothing but ash.”
More squaking and chirping.
“No, sir. We did not recover any bodies, but it was as if a small nuclear weapon was deployed.” The Colonel sounds tired and beat. I love it.
As feeling returns to all parts of my body, I realize I am handcuffed and shackled and lying face down in the back of the van. The carpet burns my face with every bump and it is a struggle not to give away my level of consciousness. I hope they didn’t notice how quickly my leg was healing and I hope to have a few more minutes before they realize I am awake.
“Yes, sir…I realize that, sir. Yes, sir.” There is a click and I know The Colonel has hung up. “Is she awake?” he asks and I realize for the first time there is someone in the back with me. He brings his weapon down on my head and again, my head is filled with shooting stars and fireworks, the unexpected assault causes me to bite my tongue and my mouth fills with blood. I desperately cling to consciousness and refuse to move.
“Not after that,” the soldier responds.
“Idiot!” The Colonel shrieks, “We need her alive!” There is a scuffle as I imagine The Colonel jumps over the seat. He checks for my pulse and heaves a sigh of relief when he finds one. I will my body to be as limp as a rag doll. From the sound of it, he backhands the soldier, “Are you trying to get us all killed?” he rasps.
What he doesn’t realize is that they are all already dead. The second they took me away from my family, my friends, they sealed their fate. I wasn’t sure I could do it. I don’t know if I will survive, but I slowly expel all the remaining energy I have into the floor of the van. I find fuel in the pain in my head, my leg and my heart. I know I am a monster, I know I am killing evil men, but they made me this way. I am their greatest and worst creation.
Chapter 27
John
I run. I’m weak but I run. The ragged breathing and crunching of leaves under our feet is thunderous in my overly sensitive ears and I wonder how they don’t hear our escape. But of course, Paige made it exceptionally hard for anyone to follow us. I smile through the pain, she made it hard for anyone in a five mile radius to concentrate on anything but escaping the flames.
A crash and whimper from behind me breaks my stride. Turning I see Paige’s mother in a heap, grabbing her ankle. Dr. Mills is at her side in seconds and I slow to a jog and then stop.
“Do you have anything left?” she asks and the question strikes me as odd because she looks like a shell herself. I was able to catch glimpses and hints of the conversation going through their minds, but when your life is quite literally seeping out of your body into a puddle surrounding you, nothing gets all the way through. She is hurting, but very little of it is physical.
Crouching low beside his wife, Dr. Mills cups her leg delicately and smiles at her. The smile is heartbreaking and tender. He wants to take away all her hurts, but he feels helpless because even though he can heal her ankle, he can’t heal her spirit. I know how he feels, Paige must be hurting and frightened and I am running away like a coward. The thought makes the bile rise in the back of my throat.
The smoke is still rising in enormous clouds from the cabin that just last night was filled with love and peace. I’m glad she destroyed it; they destroyed it for me the second they intruded on our happiness. There is nothing left now.
Using this moment to catch my breath and get ready for the long run ahead of us, I take comfort in the smell of burning wood. The leaves that caught fire so quickly fill the air with a strong and distinct aroma. The smell represents her power, her strength. Please be strong enough to survive whatever they are doing to you.
An explosion rocks the forest and sends birds and animals scurrying to find a safe haven. A second black cloud billows into the air, far enough away from the first that it is clear they are not related. Dr. Mills drops to his knees, searching for his wife’s hand. He can’t find it because it is covering her mouth, her eyes, her ears, trying to block out every evidence of what confronts her. A low moan turns to a sob as her thin body convulses with cries.
Please be strong enough to survive whatever you are doing to them.
Chapter 28
Paige
Exhilaration, pain, confusion, anger, sadness. The onslaught of emotions threatens to overwhelm me as I regain consciousness. The acrid smell of oil and gas burning drown out the campfire smell I have grown used to. I must run. Though they have yet to search the forest, it won’t be long. Looking down, my clothes did not survive the blast as well as the rest of me, the tattered remains provide no barrier between the elements and my bare skin.
I run, light and quick, away from the noise of the destruction I have wrought. I must get away, to find my family, to find John, to stop Dr. Cox. My parents and John have shown me that we are strong, we are good. People deserve to have the power that is locked within them. I will be the one to choose who I touch; who I activate. I will live up to my destiny, but not necessarily the future my grandmother saw.
It is hard to live with the knowledge of what I have done. Clearly I am immune to the power I can unleash; does that make me more of a monster? An abomination? Whatever I am, I am to be feared. I will live up to the measure of my creation. I will be the tool that unleashes power beyond our wildest imaginings. I am Pandora.
Chapter 29
The bank of televisions covering one entire wall of his lab manages to capture a small piece of Dr. Andrew Cox’s attention. While he has always known that his name would be featured prominently in breaking news, this is not what he envisioned. Even though the sets are muted, he can read his name on every newscaster’s lips, on every ticker, on every subtitle.
Paige Mills has proven more of an adversary than he would have thought possible. Her most recent move has him at a loss for the first time in his life. He turns the volume up on the set tuned in to Headline News.
The perky blonde has just started her report, her demeanor much too upbeat for the occasion. “The number of cases in this unusual outbreak continues to rise. The symptoms as varied as the people who display them. Without fail, the patients have found a note somewhere in their possession stating simply, ‘Your power compliments of Dr. Andrew Cox.’”
A smirk creeps across his face, she is right, all the powers should be directly contributed to him. Paige thinks she is controlling the situation, and while his time table has been accelerated, things are still moving toward his ultimate goal.
His phone buzzes across his desk for the fifteenth time in as many minutes. Glancing briefly at the number he ignores it for the fifteenth time. They think he answers to them, but he answers to no one. He is the Creator.
A Special Sneak Peek
At Book Two:
Evolution!
PaigeThe first time, I acted out in anger and frustration. Unable to meet my parents, unable to be with John, I was mad. I wanted to hurt him, to make it harder for him to operate in secrecy. Knowing my ability can magnify evil traits as well as good ones, I tried to be smart. I tried to be responsible.
I went to a church. Good people go to church, right? My notes were already made, printed plainly on paper I scavenged
from a grimy, run-down gas station. It is amazing how many people you can touch in a crowded chapel. The family that shuffles into the pew you occupy, or the people walking up and down the aisle; those who greet you with smiles and outstretched hands.
For the first time in my life I reached readily, hungrily for those hands. I let my bare hands linger for a few seconds on their skin and I released a small portion of my power. I knowingly and purposefully activated their most dominate trait. There were strange looks at the heat of my hands, but I could see them quickly dismissing it; sometimes feeling their own cheeks later to see if they were hot.
It was easy to slip the notes somewhere on their person; in a pocket, a bag, a purse. Most of the time their new ability wasn’t immediately evident, wouldn’t be until they went to exercise whatever trait I strengthened. This helped me stay anonymous, helped me go unnoticed. This combined with the fact that when these people started doing impossible things, the last thought on their minds was some random girl at church.
Impossible things, that is putting it mildly. Impossible, amazing, terrifying…those are the words I would use and in that order. The first one was a mom; harried and frazzled and wrestling three rambunctious boys and one princess of a little girl. I justified it to myself by thinking if anyone could use a little extra power it was this woman.
She pushed past me to get into the pew. I released a small pulse into her arm, she probably didn’t even notice with the four other sweaty little hands pulling on her. I cleared out quickly, not wanting to be in the immediate vicinity when whatever was going to happen happened.
Watching from the back of the church, I waited. And waited. Nothing happened. As her children climbed all over her and asked for snacks, notebooks, crayons and other sundry items, she would smile, help them, hug them.
Frustration coursed through me, I didn’t want to create monsters, but something, anything to get back at those who separated me from my family, from John. It was then one of the men sitting close to me leaned to his wife and whispered, “Kate, has got to be the most patient person I have ever met in my life.”
Yep, her big bad trait was patience. I don’t see that ending the world. Unless, of course, one of the children grows up to terrorize the world because he didn’t get his butt beat enough. That could happen. That is when I lost all abandon; releasing my power into others over and over again.
The scariest and most immediately noticeable occurred when I brushed past a large unhappy girl with mousy brown hair and glasses. As I released the tell-tale heat, she completely disappeared. While that in and of itself is pretty spectacular, the most amazing thing was nobody noticed! She had made an art of being invisible…her strongest trait.
Barely stifling a gasp, I decided it was time to slip out, wishing I was invisible myself. I left that church feeling powerful, feeling in control for the first time in a long time, feeling strong. Later that night I watched the news, sitting in a booth in the restaurant of a truck stop. I watched as people were interviewed. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as those I touched fought to brag about their new ability. How could this be bad?
Since then, I have been mobile. Slowly but surely making my way home, I don’t know where else to go. I hesitate because I don’t want to put Lexi, Jake or anyone else in danger, but at the same time, I need them. I need my parents. I need John.
The life of crime that John introduced me to has paid off. I know I am leaving a trail that can be tracked, but since I started leaving my little notes, I don’t feel so hunted. I hope he is feeling the heat and too occupied to deal with me right now. I know it is a false hope, but false hope is better than no hope at all.
As I travel, I share my gift, my curse. I’m not sure I can stop. With every person I activate, I feel stronger. My power grows and the energy courses through me, sparking every fiber of my being. Sharing my ability is like a drug and I am constantly on the lookout for my next fix. What will it be? I’ve seen healing, invisibility, strength, speed, pretty much anything you might see in a comic book.
But it is the more subtle powers that amaze me, that have me searching the souls of those I see. Touching those whose strongest traits are honesty, courage, optimism, intelligence, loyalty or fearlessness has brought about so much good. They are making a difference and it is beyond understanding.
Of course, I have made mistakes. I am haunted by the lazy person who became so lazy they stopped breathing. Or the quarrelsome ones that leave fights, injuries and even death in their wake. There might be a string of violent crimes initiated by those whose strongest traits are maliciousness, dishonesty or self-centeredness. Surely the good is outweighing the bad?
I can’t be sure anymore. It doesn’t help that the news stories have stopped. Absorbing as they were, it can’t be because the media is tired of it. The power it would take to stop the stories is staggering. I have caught the attention of some very powerful people. It’s not good, I know it. I should stop because every time I touch someone I leave a trail, a chance that someone will identify me.
But I can’t stop. I love the power; the power that grows stronger with every person I help. The power that is building inside of me, making me feel more alive than I ever have before.
I am spiraling. I don’t know how much longer I can do this on my own.
Acknowledgments
I would be nothing and nowhere without the love and support of my husband, friend, editor, proofreader, agent, and all around superman: Eric. I love you and if I don't tell you enough, thank you so much for EVERYTHING!
Thank you to my sweet children who inspire me, laugh with me (and at me!), and support me constantly. You are my superpower.
Thank you to my mom and sisters who patiently and lovingly serve as my guinea pigs time and time again. You are incredible! Thanks to Aunt Fran for her edits and encouragement.
To all my friends who write encouraging things on Facebook, love me, support me and buy my books...Thank you! You make this more fun than I deserve!
Last but never least, thank you to my readers! You are amazing. If you liked this book and want more, please leave a review on Amazon. Tweet about Paige and John and share the link on Facebook! Visit www.heathercowan.com for my blog and all upcoming books or ideas.
About the Author
Heather Cowan is the author of Middle Grade and Young Adult novels. She is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point and a former Army officer.
When not writing, she stays busy chasing after her three children, volunteering with different organizations or cleaning house (laundry is her nemesis!) She lives in Alabama with her husband and children.
The Pandora Project Page 15
