Stepfather? Blake paused, wondering where that bit of information came from. He didn’t have a stepfather. He and his mother lived with his paternal grandparents. His real father had died before he was born, but his mother had not remarried. And now, she too was dead. Yet for some reason, these memories seemed off. It was as if he was a passive observer and had not actually been a part of the events he now remembered.
This sudden revelation triggered yet another memory and Blake pushed away his plate. His stomach twisted into knots and threatened to expel everything he had eaten. Renee Ward had not killed his mother. Randy, his abusive stepfather, had killed his mother when he pushed her down the stairs. Even though he could see the event in horrifying detail, Blake somehow knew that he hadn’t actually been there when it happened.
“Are you okay, son?” Grandpa Marty asked with a look of concern.
“Yeah,” Blake replied, getting up from the table. “I just remembered I have a few things I need to do before school.”
He grabbed his backpack and jacket from the hook by the door, waved goodbye to his grandparents, and stepped out into the early morning fog, hoping that some fresh air would clear his head. He felt as if he had a bad case of amnesia. Bits and pieces of his life were there, but there were also large gaps where he could not remember anything. Even weirder was the feeling that the fragments he could remember from his dreams seemed more real than his memories.
Blake felt something brush along his leg and he looked down. A golden brown tabby cat stared up at him. Blake did a double take when he realized the cat’s unusually human hazel eyes looked exactly like the eyes of the girl from his dreams.
“I might be losing my mind,” he muttered, bending down to scratch behind the cat’s ears. As his hands grazed the soft fur, images that he recognized as lost moments from his dreams flickered through Blake’s mind. As he pulled away, they faded. Taking a deep and steadying breath, he put his hand on the cat’s head one more time. This time, the images were stronger. He was with the girl and they were running from something.
“Definitely losing my mind,” he said and began walking toward the road that would take him to the bus stop. But before he made it five steps, the cat was at his side, circling his legs, and making it impossible for him to walk.
“What do you want?” he asked, chiding himself for talking to an animal.
The cat, of course, said nothing, but she took several steps in the other direction. When she reached the edge of the woods that bordered his grandparents’ property, she stopped and turned to Blake with an insistent look.
“You want me to follow?”
Blake jumped when the cat gave an almost imperceptible nod before continuing into the woods.
“Why the heck not?” he asked no one in particular. Considering how messed up everything else had been since he awoke, Blake figured that following a cat with human eyes into the woods was the next logical step in his descent into madness.
The cat took off in a quick trot, looking back every so often to make sure that Blake was following. After what seemed like several miles, she stopped and Blake had to blink to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. In between two towering Douglas firs, stood a door. It was an ordinary door, the likes of which would not be out of place on any home in his neighborhood, but this door was not attached to a home. As far as Blake could tell, it wasn’t attached to anything.
“I take it I’m supposed to go through that, aren’t I?” he asked the cat warily. Once again, she gave a rather human nod. Blake hesitated. The rational part of his brain was screaming, don’t do it. Nothing good could ever come of entering random doors that appeared in the woods. But in the end, his curiosity got the better of him.
The first thing Blake noticed as he walked through the door was the change in temperature. The damp fog disappeared, giving way to a dry and windless warmth. He appeared to be in some sort of upper class suburban housing development. Despite the bright sun and warm weather, most of the homes were decked out in over-the-top Christmas decorations. He was in Albuquerque. Before he had a chance to ponder how he knew this, the air began to ripple, and Blake felt a tight band around his chest.
The memories that flooded his mind were just as disjointed and patchy as his own had been. He was seeing the life of the girl, Renee Ward. It was an ordinary life, but every so often, a bizarre image would flash before him. Blake saw his own face several times, though that too was wrong. His features were harsh and his expression was menacing. The girl seemed frightened of him, but in the same intangible way in which one might be afraid of monsters hiding under their bed. Oddly though, there was also an underlying urgency that seemed to be trying to convince him that this girl was his enemy, though Blake had no idea why.
As the memories faded and the tightness in his chest subsided, Blake was more confused than ever. Why was he here? Who was this girl and more importantly, why was she afraid of him? He looked around for the door, thinking that it would just be better if he went back to his own disjointed world. Perhaps he was crazy, but if he was careful, his grandparents would never suspect and he might be able to live some semblance of a normal life.
But before he could make a decision, the cat jumped into Blake’s lap and insistently rubbed her head against his shoulder. His hand reached out automatically. As his fingers ran through her fur, the images from his dream once again bombarded his mind, but this time, he didn’t pull away.
The sound of Christmas carols filtered up from the living room as Renee awoke with a start. It took her a moment to realize she was in her own bed, in their home in Albuquerque, which confused her because she was quite certain that her family had moved to the east coast. After a moment, she realized that she must have had a dream where this happened and she shook her head, laughing at herself for confusing a dream with reality. It wasn’t the first time and Renee was sure it wouldn’t be the last. She looked over at the book on her bedside table, a paranormal romance that took place in the fictional town of Waterside, North Carolina. With a blush, she realized that the book was also very likely responsible for the cute guy she had met in her dreams.
“Merry Christmas, sweetie!” her mother greeted her as she shuffled into the kitchen, looking for breakfast.
“Merry Christmas,” she yawned, and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m so exhausted. I didn’t stay up late, but I had the strangest dreams.”
“I’m not surprised, considering how many cookies you ate last night,” her mother chastised with a grin as she placed a plate of scrambled eggs and waffles on the table.
“Thanks, mom,” Renee said and dove into her eggs, letting her mind wander back to the boy in her dreams.
“I’ve got a bit of a problem out here,” Renee’s father called out from the living room.
“What is it dear?” Renee’s mother called back.
“One of the presents refuses to stay under the tree,” he replied, walking into the kitchen with a wriggling husky puppy in his arms. “It’s almost as if he knows whose present he was supposed to be.” He set the puppy on the floor and it immediately scrambled on stubby puppy legs over to Renee.
“Are you serious?” she gasped, picking up the bundle of fluff and cradling him in her arms. His fur was a soft brown with darker brown and white markings, but his eyes were what drew Renee in. Blue eyes were common for huskies, but the blue-gray eyes of this dog were not just familiar, they were the exact same eyes that the boy in her dreams had. As she held the puppy close and stared into his eyes, bits and pieces of her dreams flooded her mind. A Victorian house, an alien world with spaceships, a forest, a beach. In every one of these flashes, Renee saw the boy. Sometimes he was laughing, sometimes he was serious, and sometimes, she realized with a blush, he was looking at her with an expression that made her stomach flutter.
“Is everything okay, honey?” her father asked with a hint of concern.
“Better than okay,” Renee said with a blush. She hadn’t realized she had zoned out. �
�I know this is going to sound strange, but I think I dreamed about this dog.”
“Well, he did start barking at around two when the Johnston’s came home from their party,” her father said. “He was certainly loud enough to invade your dreams.”
“What are you going to name him?” her mother asked.
“Blake,” Renee replied automatically.
Blake? Where did that come from?
Blake was a strange name for a dog, yet it hovered in the forefront of her mind, leaving no doubt that she had chosen the correct name. No other name seemed to fit.
“Like the serial killer?” her mother asked with a shudder. “That’s kind of creepy.”
“Oh, I guess you’re right,” said Renee, mirroring her mother’s revulsion. Blake Carter, the notorious serial killer, had recently escaped from prison and was still on the loose. His name and picture had been plastered all over the newspaper, television, and billboards around town. There was even a curfew imposed on the entire county until he was caught.
As she glanced down at the mug shot that took up most of the front page of the morning paper, Renee gasped. Though his eyes were cold and his expression hardened, the serial killer’s resemblance to the boy in her dream was uncanny. Her stomach twisted into knots as she realized she had just had a whimsical and romantic dream starring the man responsible for killing hundreds of innocent people. She didn’t want to think about the countless hours of therapy that she would have to endure if her parents ever found out about that tidbit of information.
“I guess I’m still half asleep and not thinking properly. I’ll come up with something better,” she assured her parents. “Can he have waffles?”
“Just for today,” her mom replied with an indulgent smile. “We don’t want to spoil him too much.”
The doorbell rang and Renee’s father turned to answer it, but Renee slid out of her chair and tucked the puppy against her shoulder.
“I’ll get it,” she said, running past her father. “Merry Christmas, gran…” Renee faltered as she swung the door open, expecting to see her grandparents, who were scheduled to arrive at any time. Instead, standing on the front porch was a boy. Not just any boy, but the one she had just dreamed about. The one who had the same blue-gray eyes as her puppy. The murderer who had just escaped from prison. Renee wanted to scream, but all that came out was a terrified squeak.
“Merry Christmas, Renee,” he said with a warm smile.
“H-how d-d-d’ you know my name?” she managed to ask, though her mouth had gone completely dry.
Blake Carter stepped forward and Renee stepped back, clutching the puppy as if its whole five pounds of fluff would somehow protect her. But Blake took another step forward and reached out, placing one hand on the back of her neck. Renee’s heart began to pound and she squeezed her eyes shut, but instead of snapping her neck or pulling a knife, Blake placed his other hand on the puppy’s back and leaned in close to whisper in her ear.
“You need to wake up now.”
Chapter 24
A warm, almost electric feeling flooded Renee’s mind as soon as Blake’s skin touched hers. The confusing snippets and images she had seen earlier suddenly took form and the last three months of her life came flooding back.
“Blake,” she cried out, throwing her arms around him so tightly that they both collapsed. The suburban living room began to fade, replaced by the exotic fairy forest that Blake began to recognize as Renee’s safe place. The puppy in her arms shifted, morphing once again into a majestic phoenix before flying off to join his twin at the edge of the crystal clear pool some distance away.
“It was Dr. Grantham,” she said with a snort of disgust. “He did something to our minds, didn’t he?”
“Dr. Grantham? Oh…” Blake was confused for a moment until he remembered that Renee had gone into the doctor’s mind. “So the enemy has a name. I’m pretty sure he tried to erase our memories of each other. It probably would have worked if it wasn’t for our connection,” he added with a glance at the birds.
“You’re right. I woke up on Christmas, the day after my accident, but it was as if I was in an alternate reality where it hadn’t happened.”
“I was in Piper’s Bend,” Blake explained. “But in this reality, I grew up there. My mother never moved to New Mexico, Randy didn’t exist, and everything seemed almost perfect, but somehow, I knew it wasn’t real.”
“Something was off for me too. I… had these dreams,” she said and added with a blush, “You were in them.”
“Yeah, I had dreams too,” Blake admitted with a shy smile. “But I couldn’t remember anything solid, just what you looked like, really.”
“Same here. But then my dad brought me a puppy, only it wasn’t really a puppy, but I didn’t know that, and I named him Blake.”
“Well, he was a handsome puppy, after all,” Blake joked with a lopsided smile.
“He was,” Renee added with a laugh, but suddenly grimaced. “But then my mom freaked out about the name and I saw your picture in the paper. It said you were a serial killer who had escaped from jail. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I was actually kind of terrified of you.”
“Yeah, you were in our paper as well,” Blake added with a frown. “But that’s the part that was weird. I knew something was wrong because I had read that story before. Do you remember the Southwest Killer? Frank something or other?”
Renee’s eyes went wide and her stomach dropped as she remembered the images she had seen in Dr. Grantham’s mind. “Serge Franks,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Yes! That’s the one,” Blake said with a nod. “It was as if they just picked a serial killer at random and replaced your name with his.”
“It wasn’t random,” Renee said with a shiver. “When I went into Dr. Grantham’s mind, something weird happened. At first, it was just like when I went into yours. I saw important moments in his life, but they were all so… good, happy? I don’t know, but it was weird. It seemed like he was just this brilliant doctor who was winning all of these awards for doing great things and he was… nice, if you can believe that. He definitely wasn’t the same creepy doctor we knew. But then… but then…” She cut off with a shiver as the horrific scenes of violence flooded her mind.
“Renee?” Blake’s voice was full of concern as he sat up and reached out to her. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and she was shaking. Her face was pale and her forehead was cold and clammy under his touch. “Renee, what’s wrong?”
“The murders,” she said in a trembling whisper. “I saw them, all of them, from Serge’s point of view.”
“How?” Blake asked with a deep frown.
“I don’t know. The last thing I saw was Dr. Grantham and his assistant telling Serge Franks that he was about to take part in a rehabilitation experiment. I didn’t see any more because Dr. Grantham pulled me out of the memory.” Renee’s eyes went wide again. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “He must have gone into Serge’s mind. He must have seen all the horrible things and, I don’t know… I think he might not be able to separate Serge’s memories from his own.” She squeezed her eyes shut, but she couldn’t erase the horrible memories from her mind. “You don’t understand how awful it was,” she gasped, collapsing against Blake. “I hope you never have to find out either.”
Blake put his arms around Renee and pulled her back against the soft moss that cushioned the forest floor, wishing he had the ability to take away the terrible memories. Instead, he just held her until the trembling finally subsided.
“Sorry,” she said, clearing her throat and looking away with a blush as she sat up.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Besides,” Blake cracked a hopeful smile. “We won this round. We’re not trying to kill each other for some stupid experiment.”
“I don’t think there ever was a government experiment,” Renee said with a thoughtful frown. “He just wants to watch us kill each other. That’s why he tried to make each of us think the other was a threat
.”
“Well, even without our connection, that was kind of stupid,” Blake said with a wink. “The news story said you had been at large for ten years. Pretty impressive for a seventeen year old, don’t you think?”
“I guess so,” Renee said with a small laugh. “Actually,” she looked down at the watch on her wrist, “I’m eighteen now.”
Blake’s eyes widened as he sat up. “What? Did I miss your birthday?”
“It’s today,” said Renee, adding with a sarcastic snort, “Some birthday, huh?”
“It’s not over yet,” Blake reminded her and gestured expansively with his arms. “Anything you want, it’s yours. I can do that, you know,” he added with a silly wink.
“Dork.” Renee rolled her eyes and swatted lightly at his shoulder, but her heart sank as she thought about her parents. Instead of celebrating their daughter’s official entrance into adulthood, they were probably mourning their loss and putting flowers on what they had no way of knowing was an empty grave.
“Renee?” Blake sensed the change in her mood and reached out to take her hand.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “There’s only one thing I want for my birthday, but I think you know that it’s not something that either of us can just wish into existence.”
“You couldn’t have just asked for a pony or something?” Blake asked with a halfhearted smile.
“You’re thinking eighth birthday, not eighteenth,” she said with a bittersweet chuckle. “I’m sorry. I guess it just kind of hit me. I can’t imagine what my parents must be going through right now.”
“I understand,” he said quietly squeezing her hand. “We are going to get out of here, Renee. You’ll see them again. I promise.”
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