Broken - Afflictions of the Evolved (The Evolved Trilogy)

by Shawnda Currie

  I walked slowly with my items in hand and entered the room. Classical music played throughout the lab. I saw Dr. Hendrick bending over and caressing his plants.

  “Son of a…” he blurted. “Lacey, you scared me half to death.” He patted his heart with his hand as if it would somehow slow down the racing beat.

  “I’m sorry Dr. Hendrick. That wasn’t my intention.” I placed my bags on the floor.

  He stared at the air beside me. “Taylor’s not with you?” he questioned.

  I stared at the ground and took a deep breath. I looked back up at him, the tears welled in my eyes. “No Dr. Hendrick. That’s why I’m here.”

  For an awkward moment we both just stood there staring at one another. Finally he broke the ice. “Come sit down and tell me what has happened.”

  I followed him to a small table in the far corner of the lab and sat at one of the stools. I didn’t know how or where to start or even if I should lay it all out to this guy. I braced myself with both hands on the edge of the table and just started rambling on. I explained everything that had happened since we had last met; how Zed was charged with murder and how we broke him out, how Triona reappeared, our decision to travel while we waited for May to come. I told him how eerie it was at the farmhouse and how both Varian and a dark spirit waited to pounce on us. I spoke of the island of Hawaii when Triona called out to me. By the time I reached the part about Taylor, my throat clenched tightly. I told him I felt that Taylor was safe in the future. Finally, I told him about Zed and his elaborate web of lies and deceit, as well as his ability to teleport like me.

  He didn’t need to be a psychic to know what question I came here to ask him. “Is it possible to go to the future to see if he made it?”

  Dr. Hendrick shook his head. “I told you before, I’m not that kind of scientist. My colleagues aren’t willing to discuss if any of them are even remotely close to figuring out time travel.” He stood up and walked over to his plants inside the aquarium. “I don’t know if Taylor could have made it. Anything is possible. But I can tell you that it is your own energy working against you in this fight. Mainly each time you teleport. You’re leaving a trail of breadcrumbs.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked getting up from the table.

  “What is the difference between these two plants?” he pointed at a lovely green plant growing in potting soil and what appeared to be some sort of lily growing in water but with soil at the bottom of the aquarium.

  Was this a trick question? “One is in soil and the other is in soil and water. Um, one is green and leafy and the other is a flower?”

  “Anything else?” he asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders to tell him I didn’t know.

  “All living things have energy – a life force. Stare closely at the plant in the soil. You should be able to see its white aura.”

  I focused my eyes and concentrated on the plant. I saw the white aura. Then I looked at Dr. Hendrick who had a light blue aura. I didn’t know much about the meanings of the colors but I assumed blue was a positive color. The only color that was truly evil would be black, like Zed’s eyes at the cabin when he knew I was on to him.

  My thoughts of Zed were interrupted by the doctor. “Now, stare at the one in water.” He pointed at it.

  I looked but couldn’t see the aura. “The aquarium?” I asked.

  “No, Lacey. It’s the water. It’s denser than air and therefore masks the energy field. The aura is still there but it is harder for you to see.” He clapped his hands together.

  I actually understood what he was getting at. Each time I teleported I was leaving my energy residue behind. I was being tracked like a dog. “Are you saying if I teleport from water to water that there is less chance of me being followed?”

  “Precisely,” he said.

  I grabbed my stuff in preparation to leave. I unwittingly had slowed Zed down when I landed in the ocean from catching my trail. But he was a sly and conniving individual. He had created a murder ruse in an attempt to sidetrack me.

  “There may be a solution to your other problem.” He walked towards the far stainless steel doors and motioned me to follow.

  Against my better judgment I followed him. I was too curious not to see what he was talking about.

  “Cryogenics,” he said as he opened the door.

  Inside the room were cylindrical steel containers the size of recycling bins hooked up to plastic tubes. Frost covered the six inch or so glass covering in front of each. They were too small for humans.

  “I can’t send you to the future but I can freeze your body until the present catches up to the future.” He was impressed with himself. “Well, in theory I can. I’ve only practiced on my plants but it’s been successful thus far.”

  Dr. Hendrick was a quack. It had not been tested on humans. And even if it did work, what could possibly go wrong with freezing my body for the next fifty or so years? With all that had happened in the past months, I knew that anything and everything would go wrong with that plan. I had become a shit magnet.

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  20.

  forge ahead

  I politely declined Dr. Hendrick’s offer to freeze me in a chamber not yet fitted for humans. I could only hope that he came up with another plan. But that would take time. Right now I also had nothing but time on my hands. My only driving force was that I still had one more event to prevent if Taylor’s future was to be changed which meant I had to find a safe place to hide.

  Thinking ahead, I took a garbage bag from Dr. Hendrick, said goodbye and thank you, and then transported myself to a park beside a large body of water.

  I waited on a bench until dark where I took the opportunity to neatly place my items into the garbage bag. I slowly pushed the air out of the bag and tied it a few times so it wouldn’t leak. When I was positive nobody was around, I made my way to a lake. After submerging my bag and body completely under water, I teleported myself to the Atlantic Ocean near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

  I was happy to have packed some warmer clothing as it was the rainy season. The freezing water and moisture in the air chilled me to the bone. I wouldn’t be able to stay in this city. Though the population was close to 400,000, I had to go to a place that was much larger. I also couldn’t risk my psychic residue being followed by teleporting. I had to travel the normal way to a larger city, one with an obscene population.

  I must have looked like a homeless person carrying my garbage bag and wandering around the city in a hooded sweater. With the hood covering my face, I found an ATM machine and used my telekinesis skills to withdraw a couple hundred bucks.

  I supposed I could have taken more money from the bank machine but I needed time to hatch a plan anyway. I hailed a taxi and was dropped off at a casino. For some reason I felt safer being surrounded by people plus I was out of the cold and dampness. I bought a pretty blouse from the gift shop and a tote bag to hold my memory box and other clothing. I knew if the situation was reversed, a person carrying around a garbage bag would be memorable. I didn’t want to be remembered.

  Though I didn’t have Taylor with me, I envisioned him by my side. I even talked to him inside my head as if he really was physically there. My imagination helped me keep my composure and I managed to win a couple thousand bucks. Once I started to draw a crowd, I knew it was time to leave gracefully.

  Another taxi dropped me off at the train station and I bought a ticket to Toronto, Ontario: population over 2.5 million people. If I was to stay ahead of the dark spirits which now included Zed, I needed to get lost and stay lost among faceless residents.

  I splurged on one of the cabins with a bed and washroom since the train ride would take a couple days. Hopefully Zed couldn’t latch on to me if I was in continuous motion. I was completely and utterly exhausted and needed to rest.

  Although I was scared and lonely, sleep could not elude me forever. I visited Taylor’s smiling face in my dreams. He appeared a bit older in his tan shorts and blue shirt that was u
nbuttoned and flickered in the breeze. His chest was muscular, each curve and bend exactly the way I remembered it. We held hands as we walked along a sandy beach and we both laughed as the wind blew through our hair. He stopped to grab a stick from the shore and drew the sign for infinity in the wet sand. A small wave crashed over our feet and wiped away any trace of the sand drawing.

  Taylor grabbed my hand again. I stared into his alluring green eyes. As he moved in for a kiss, his lips began to droop and his entire face melted along with the rest of his body into a rubbery heap at my feet.

  I woke up in a cold sweat. It all seemed so real. I dropped back onto my pillow when I realized it was just a dream and I was relieved. The room was still dark. The swaying motion of the train and smooth grinding sound of the wheels was calming.

  Unable to fall asleep after the most amazing dream had turned to a toxic nightmare, I stood up to stretch. I walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. There was nothing but a smear of blackness of passing trees in the night.

  I went into the cramped washroom and turned on the dim light above the mirror. I splashed water on my face from the tap above the sink. After patting myself dry with a paper towel, I crinkled it into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket.

  When I exited the washroom, I almost screamed but my vocal chords were frozen. A blurry version of Taylor was sitting on my bed. I rubbed my eyes. It had to be a hallucination. But the phantasm remained.

  “Are you a ghost?” was all I could ask. I reached forward to touch him, but my hand went right through his shoulder.

  “Listen to me, Lacey. I don’t have time to explain but I had to let you know that I am still alive in the future,” he said quietly. His voice was static like a bad telephone connection.

  “This is amazing! When are you coming back to me?” Tears of joy streamed down my face. I wiped them away without blinking. I was afraid if I took my eyes off of him for a split second, he would disappear forever.

  “It will be a while before I can join you again. My body needs to heal before my essence can rejoin it. For now, my spirit is in limbo. This will be the only time I can appear to you. I came to warn you.” His lips continued moving but no sound came out. Slowly, his body dissipated until it was gone completely.

  Reflexively, I reached out to him again as if I could stop him from disappearing. I cupped my hands over my mouth and breathed deeply. My instinct was correct; I knew my beloved Taylor was alive. He was damaged, but he would come back to me. I chewed the side of my cheek. What was he trying to warn me about?

  I rubbed the blanket with one hand where Taylor’s apparition had been and propped my head up with the other. Taylor was alive. Zed was wrong. And my list of enemies was growing longer by the minute.

  I needed a game plan. The rules were few: things aren’t always what they seem, trust no one and follow the signs.

  I flipped over onto my back. The dim light from the bathroom was enough for me to see three dots painted in the form of a triangle on the ceiling. I recognized the symbol from Sherry’s book as hobo dots; they represented faith, hope and love.

  Taylor’s brief visit had provided my soul with all three and the will to continue on until we could be together again.

  The End

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Shawnda Currie is a Resource Management Support Clerk in the Canadian Armed Forces. She lives in Ontario with her husband and two sons. Visit her blog at www.shawndacurrie.com

  and the Shawnda Currie Books facebook page.

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