by J. Kowallis
She nods.
“You’ll be fine. When it’s over, you’ll remember everything again. It’ll all make sense.”
She shakes, nervously looking out at the pods. “But I’m different. I’m not like you. I’m normal, and my head . . . ” she reaches around to the back of her head, touching something.
“I know you hurt your head, Carmen,” Ransley jumps in. “But are you too scared to want your memories back? Are you going to let the fear keep you from getting better?”
Carmen turns away from me to look at Ransley. I don’t get it, but she nods. “I’m getting better though. I feel it.”
“Maybe,” Ransley shakes her head. “We don’t know about the long term, though.”
“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” I add.
Ransley narrows her eyes at me, confused.
“What’s that?” Carmen points to a flashing light on the screen. It wasn’t there a minute ago. She reaches across me and touches her finger to the projected screen. A video pops up on the screen and Nate looks back at us.
Just Nate.
Where’s Reggie? Something’s gone wrong. His face is scarlet red, and he’s furious.
For a while, Nate says nothing. He looks into the camera, processing whatever is going on in his head.
“I’ll go find out what’s going on,” I whisper to Ransley and start to move. But then, Nate’s voice cuts through.
“I hope you guys get this.” His voice shakes.
“No,” Ransley whispers. “This is a recording. Look. It’s time stamped a half hour ago.”
A timer at the bottom of the screen runs below Nate’s face. He looks back at us from one of the communication ports inside the Chrysalis building.
Finally, he continues. “I . . . I’m not meeting up with you.” He runs a hand over his face and looks off to the side.
“He took Reggie.” Nate swears, and I catch Lobb’s name. “I don’t have time. I’m heading for the states. I need to find some way to get me overseas. That’s where the other two publics are. He has to be taking her there. The window of time we have of finding her is short.” He swallows. “I have to move fast. I don’t expect you two to do anything. You’re free to go if you choose. But if you decide to follow, find out as much as you can about Lobb. Then, contact a man named Charlie Gao. Doesn’t matter who he is, so just do it. I don’t know where he is, but he’ll tell you how to find me.”
He pauses again and takes a deep breath, cussing Lobb’s name. “That bastard’s gonna die.”
###
DUALITY
TRUST NO ONE
“Why are you doing this?”
“I have to, Reggie.”
“But why?”
“It’s what we planned. We follow the rules.”
“The rules? What the hell are you talking about? And when did the rules become so important to Nathan Naylor?”
“They’re not.” He fires again.
I sputter out when the bullet enters my stomach. “Stop it! Just stop it!” I gurgle.
“Only when you’re dead.”
“Rot in hell,” I spit out at him.
“You first,” he says once more before firing the fourth and final round at my head.
Acknowledgements
I can’t believe how amazing this last year has been and I have too many people to thank for it:
To my amazing Writer’s “Support” Group. Wyatt, Liesel, and McKella—as always, your talent and collective brains are essential to all of this. No “that,” “as,” or “but” about it.
All my awesome new social media friends and bookstores who allowed me in. Book bloggers and especially readers, you guys make indie author’s jobs possible in the first place. Your time, effort, and support are all more than just welcomed, they’re vital and I love you all for it.
And again, most importantly, to my family (both earthly and heavenly). To hear my own sweet grandma finish Afterimage and tell me she needed the sequel “NOW” (with emphasis), warms the quirky cockles of my heart. So, here you go!
J. Kowallis grew up in northern Utah, graduated from Weber State University’s creative writing program and lives in Utah with her Mini Schnauzer, Etta. She enjoys dreaming about, flying to, and writing about distant lands (real or unreal). You can visit her at jkowallisbooks.com or connect with her on these social media platforms:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/authorjkowallis
Twitter: http://twitter.com/j_kowallis
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Kowallis/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/J_kowallisbooks
