Carrying the Torch: Complete Trilogy

by Dinia Steel

  Hmmm, Leo and Josephine weren’t here. That's not good. They are vital. They have never missed a class before.

  Then Josephine, James and Leo entered the lecture hall and sat down in the back row, together.

  What the hell is going on? James, get your ass down here where you belong. Reggie thought furiously at James.

  All he did however was to scoot down in the chair he was sitting in.

  Reggie couldn’t hear James at all. Nor could she hear Josephine – whose mind was like a flea jumping from thought to thought – or Leo who usually seemed to be consumed with thoughts of Josephine and the last time they'd had sex together.

  What's going on?

  Reggie knew deep down that James must’ve caught on to what she planned on doing today, though she didn't know how!

  She needed to stop the twins…Vivian. Tell her something was wrong.

  I haven’t started the lecture so I can try something preemptive. “I'd like to introduce a very old friend of mine from my college days. She's not exactly 'into' Parapsychology, but she's one of my oldest friends. Vivian, could you come up here please and let the class see you?”

  Vivian shook her head from side to side and thought very loudly, “NO! Don't do this Reggie.” knowing that Reggie could hear her thoughts, but it was too late. The twins were already starting because they saw Josephine and Leo come in with James.

  Reggie let out a soul piercing scream…

  ~o0o~

  Chapter 23

  What Was Coming

  James

  It seemed like everything happened all at once. James felt a sharp pain within his head, but not anything he couldn't handle.

  Leo and Josephine both winced too, but soon their eyes cleared and determination replaced fear.

  We can do this.

  We are doing this.

  That's when Reggie let out a scream which turned his blood cold. He watched as she crumpled to the floor, apparently unconscious. James started to stand, but Josephine's restraining hand kept him from doing so.

  Moments later, James understood why.

  Mike cried out and put his hands on his head, then slumped down in his seat.

  Pat stared at her brother with her eyes wide open and started screaming for him to wake up. Then she was screaming hysterically.

  Just as suddenly as it all started, it was over.

  The lecture hall went deathly quiet until it erupted into frantic activity.

  Reggie

  Things are not right! I have to stop this!

  Realizing it was like watching a train wreck, Reggie could see it coming, but was helpless to stop it because of the forces already set into motion.

  The time to stop had passed.

  She’d misjudged James’ abilities. He was much more adept than she'd given him credit for. He'd learned to shield himself. The fucker must have stolen the ability from my mind! I'll get him for that. He was able to shield both Josephine and Leo as well as himself. Damn him! He's wrecked all my plans!

  She felt the overpowering touch of the twin’s minds then.

  GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

  Their attack had been deflected to me!

  The searing pain. I cannot bear this.

  I burn!

  I BURN!

  Blackness.

  Josephine

  Josephine could feel a dull ache in the forepart of her skull, in her brain. Momentarily, she saw EVERYTHING.

  Past.

  Present.

  Future.

  I know everything.

  She felt James start to rise when Dr. Adams fell to the floor, but she could see it wasn't over. There was more going on and would go on for just a little longer, then it would be over.

  Just as she knew it would happen, she watched Mike react, and then pass out, followed by Pat's reaction to Mike. All of a sudden, the full impact of rebound hit Pat and she froze in place. Josephine knew Pat's mind was in agony and that it was being burned away by her own power attack's rebound.

  Karma can be a Bitch and SHE won't be denied!

  Josephine knew that Pat and Mike's abilities had been burned away by the rebound. They would just be normal children again with very little memory, if any, of what they had been or what had happened today.

  Dr. Adams's mind however—she couldn't see that. It was very dark and scrambled. A real pity. Josephine liked her for the most part.

  It was safe now, with the exception of Vivian. She and those who she represented had to be stopped too. She would have to check into that future as well. She released James’ hand. I know he was very worried about Dr. Adams. He was, after all, very much in love with her. Unfortunately for her though, he was of the Light and couldn't be perverted.

  James

  Josephine finally released his hand, so he could go to Reggie now. He was the first to reach her. She looked so pale and still. He finally managed to find her pulse. It felt weak, thready.

  He reached for her mind. It was there but very, very weak. It felt like she was deeply asleep. Out of reach.

  He felt a small hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Josephine's concerned face. She wasn't concerned about Reggie though. She was worried about James and what his reaction was going to be.

  Josephine shook her head. “James, she's going to live, but her mind will never function again. Too much got burned in the rebound. Please...the EMT's are coming. Let them take her to the hospital. The doctors will think she's had a stroke, and in effect, she has. The same for the twins. The rebound was about ten times the strength of their attack towards Leo and myself.”

  “It's not something that we instituted.”

  “You were protecting us, yourself and everyone else.”

  He could hear the EMT's coming. Then he was being pulled away from Reggie's limp body. James stood there and watched as they worked on her, Mike and Pat.

  Everyone was in turmoil. What happened was the collective question on everyone's minds.

  Only Vivian had some idea.

  James could hear her mind working frantically...she needed to get out of that lecture hall and away from these psychics.

  He knew Vivian needed to be stopped. Josephine had foreseen what Vivian would do. We couldn't allow that to happen.

  He could hear what Vivian was thinking, “Oh, my! I thought Reggie had a powerful mind, but it appears that this James Franklin was her match, and then some. I think we must acquire this young man for our program. He'll make us millions. I need to contact Atticus at once. He needs to know what's going on.”

  Standing and backing away from the flurry of activity around Reggie's limp form, James turned and walked up the steps leading out of the lecture hall, following Vivian out.

  Josephine and Leo fell in behind him.

  As soon as they were out of the lecture hall, James caught her by her elbow, stopping her. “We need to talk.” Leo moved to her other side and he slipped his arm around her waist, as did James.

  Josephine led the way to an empty room. After Leo and James walked Vivian into the room, Josephine shut and locked the door.

  Vivian smiled sweetly. “James Franklin. Nice to meet you finally. Reggie has said such nice things about you. What can I do for you?” Her eyes were wide.

  Oh, she's good. “Cut the innocent act Vivian. I can read minds too, you know.”

  Only a very slight widening of her eyes gave anything away, then she was all business. “Okay Franklin. Here's the deal. I represent a very secret society who are very interested in your abilities.” She turned to Leo and Josephine, “They'll be very interested in you both also.”

  Before she could continue, Josephine was in her face. “I can see what you think will happen, but I know what's going to happen. If you and your secret society persist you'll find yourselves in conditions similar to what is afflicting Dr. Adams, Mike and Pat presently. I see it clearly. There are only two possible futures, one where you forget what's just happened or your mind is burned out. Same goes for your, ah, friends. Yo
u're at a crossroads Vivian. Chose carefully.” Josephine then stepped back and sat down in the nearest chair, her eyes once again unfocused with seeing what's coming.

  Vivian smiled. “No one is that powerful, Josephine. Dr. Adams was the most powerful that we've found to date and she assured us that Mr. Franklin's abilities weren't anywhere near developed enough that we could use. However, I see she completely underestimated you all. I'd really like to discuss the opportunities for extreme financial gain for all three of you.”

  Reflecting Vivian's smile back to her James retorted, “Josephine is not making false claims or statements. I've seen what she's seen. It won't be pretty. The power of the Light is working through us. Your little band of black magic weavers are about to come tumbling down...unless you allow us to help you forget what you've seen.”

  Josephine stood up and moved back to James. “James, I think she needs to see to truly understand what's in store for her if she continues down this path she's been on.”

  Knowing that Josephine wasn’t understating the future, James nodded. “How do you want to do this Josephine?”

  Josephine paused for a moment. “You project into her mind what I'm about to show you. That way, she'll experience it and know it for the truth too.”

  Grasping Vivian's shoulders, and gazing into her eyes, he allowed the future to unfold for her.

  ~o0o~

  Chapter 24

  What Just Happened?

  When Josephine's vision was completed, Vivian was visibly trembling.

  “So, what do you think Vivian?” James asked curtly.

  “I think I need to forget what I've seen here today. But how would that be possible?” Vivian asked with a shaky voice.

  “To be honest I don't know, but if Josephine says I will do it, then somehow, I'll be able to do it,” James told her seriously.

  Vivian then looked at James, gulped and said, “Okay. Do it.” The last was barely a whisper.

  James glanced over at Josephine.

  She nodded to him, then Leo nodded as well.

  James decided the best method would be one of power and force since that’s what Vivian was used to. He grabbed Vivian quickly and pushed her up against the nearest clear wall using his hips to pin her, then he held her head captive with both his hands. He couldn’t allow her to look down. He held her eyes with his as he began the process of trying to remove the memory of what had happened just moments ago in the lecture room.

  The memory he tried to burn into Vivian's mind was one of the experiment being a dismal failure. Dr. Adams had fallen flat on her psychic face as had the twins. What a waste of time it was. As soon as it had become apparent that Dr. Adams had been so very wrong about the whole process, Vivian had left the lecture room. In fact, the whole thing had been so disastrous, she was afraid that those she represented might take it out on her. She had to find something else to replace this debacle.

  To James’ delight, Josephine told him with a smile and nod that the future reflected what they desperately need it to.

  Josephine, James and Leo left Vivian sitting there in that empty lecture hall so when she finally came back into the present she would believe that she'd ducked in there to recoup her calm.

  The three of them stood some distance from the open door of the lecture hall they had occupied with Vivian moments before watching to see when she left the building. James was going to follow her until she got into her car and left the campus.

  Twenty minutes later, James came back to where he'd left Josephine and Leo.

  Josephine looked curious when James walked up to them. “So, what happened? Did it really take? I mean, I know it did, but what was she thinking?”

  “Take it easy Josephine,” Leo admonished as he rubbed her arm.

  James grinned at them with a stunned feeling of still not fully believing they’d actually done it. “Josephine, I never want to do that to anyone ever again,”

  “I'm sure it was uncomfortable James and I'm sorry you had to do that, but I didn't see any other way,” Josephine apologized.

  “No, that's not it Josephine. I liked it.” James’ expression was one of surprise and fear. “It was the most powerful feeling I've ever experienced. Even more than having an orgasm.” This caused a shy smile to appear on his handsome face. “I can definitely understand how easily people are seduced to the dark side of the supernormal. It was so much easier to do than I ever believed possible.” James gazed somberly down at his feet as he finished his sentence. His voice dropping to where Josephine had to listen very carefully.

  “James, I've peeked into your future as far as this work is concerned and you are only a function for Light. There is a great deal of work for you. The Lords of Light will continue to use you as one of their swords.”

  “Shit Josephine, I don't believe that crap! But I'm happy that I won’t have to do anything like this again,” James confessed.

  “I didn't say you wouldn't have to do this again James, only that you wouldn’t be doing it as an act of power for yourself,” Josephine stated quietly.

  James’ head snapped up and he groaned.

  “I'm sorry James, but it will never be an easy thing for you to do...only necessary,” Josephine explained.

  Later that afternoon, Josephine, James and Leo were at the hospital talking to the doctor who’d been put in charge of Dr. Adams's case.

  “Just what happened to Reg—Dr. Adams, Dr. Banner?” James asked.

  Dr. Banner folded his arms across his chest and shook his head, “I'm not really sure. It appears that there's been a Hemorrhagic stroke causing Aphasia which is the loss or decreased ability to understand or use language to communicate. For now, she's lost inside of her own mind.” At James’ raised eyebrow, Dr. Banner continued, “She could snap out of it in hours, days, weeks, months, or even years. These type of breaks are difficult to work with. She'll have to be committed to a psychiatric facility to make sure she gets the proper treatment,” Dr. Banner finished sagely.

  “Can we see her?” James asked Dr. Banner.

  “I don't see why not. In about an hour, she'll be moved into her room here and kept for a couple of weeks, then she'll be moved to my care facility and kept there until she's better,” Dr. Banner replied. “Why don't you come back tonight about 7:00 for visiting hours?”

  “Alright,” James said. “We’ll come back then, and thank you Dr. Banner.”

  Josephine chirped up, “Dr. Banner, what about those young twins that seemed to have experienced something at the same time as Dr. Adams?”

  “I don't know much about them, other than their uncle took them home. I don't have any contact information about them.” Turning around, Dr. Banner continued down the hallway and with the rest of his day.

  “Coffee, anyone?” Josephine asked as they descended onto the floor where the hospital cafeteria was located. They went through the line, purchased their coffees, found a small table away from other people sitting there. They were silent until James checked his watch and said it was time to go see Reggie.

  They were shown to the room Reggie had been taken to.

  She lay there in the start hospital bed. Her eyes were open, but there was no life in them.

  James’ heart felt heavy and he experienced a profound sadness. All he wanted to do was sleep.

  Josephine was worried about James and offered to take him to dinner for company.

  James declined saying how tired he was. He hadn’t done anything physical, but all he wanted to do right then was go to sleep and give his mind and body a rest.

  That's exactly what he did. He left Josephine and Leo in the hospital parking lot and caught a cab back to his condo. He was bone tired. Barely making it onto his couch, James fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

  He woke up about 5:30 pm feeling as though he was missing something; a part of himself that he'd grown accustomed to. After thinking on what it could be, James realized that he'd always felt Reggie's presence since that first evening they'd spent together
at her house; the night she'd tried to influence him to make love. The connection between them had just been so strong.

  He missed it, her continuous mindtouch.

  James stood and stretched allowing a huge yawn to escape him in the process. It was then, he noticed the light was flashing on his answering machine. He walked over to it and pressed the 'listen' button.

  “Mr. Franklin, this is Dean Warner. Due to Dr. Adams's nervous collapse this morning during her lecture, we were wondering if you could take over her classes and lectures until we can find someone to permanently take over. Please let us know your decision...”

  James didn't even hear the last part of the message. Would he be able to take over for Reggie? True, everyone taking the lecture series knew him and he knew the material she'd planned to use as well as she did. Taking a beer from his fridge, he walked back over to his couch and sat down again, then took a long pull on the beer. He was deep in thought.

  James didn’t think he even wanted to take over the lecture series. He didn’t think his heart would be able to bear Reggie’s absence in the lecture hall. However, he why should he deprive those others who were searching for their own answers about the paranormal? Sure, he missed and would miss Reggie. He was still very much in love with her. Mentally, he realized what had happened was an act of Karma, but emotionally he was going to be a wreck.

  There were more factors in favor of his acting as the substitute for Parapsychology 101 until someone with more credentials could be found by the University. Chances are they wouldn't be able to. He knew that Reggie used her considerable powers of persuasion to even have the lecture series created in the first place. What would probably happen would be he would finish out the semester and the next one would be canceled.

  So, yes he would do it. He listened to the message again, writing down the number. He dialed it and asked for Dean Warner and left the messaging saying he would be happy to fill in until they could find someone to fill Dr. Adams's shoes.