Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1)

by Matthew Goldstein

  Dr. Stern’s apprehension did not diminish after his speech. She took a seat and beckoned him into another facing her. “How long have these predictions been coming to you? You never mentioned them before.”

  “My whole life, as far back as I can remember. I don't tell you everything. Look, I know you don't believe me but what's the harm in going out on a limb here? If I'm right, we could save her life and if I'm wrong then who cares?”

  “Your whole life? Does anyone else know?”

  “Only Amy, but even she only half believes me. Please, Dr. Stern. I'm begging you. Do this one thing for me and I swear I won't ever keep another secret again. I'll do anything. Come on, Amy's waiting. Please.”

  “Look, Cole, you're smart. Be rational for a second. I'm sure it may seem like you can predict the future but isn't it more likely a coincidence or your imagina-”

  “Dammit! I thought you of all people would believe me.” He covered his face as tears began to stream down his cheeks for the first time he could remember. “I don't want her to die.”

  Dr. Stern patted his back and then fetched him a tissue. “She's not going to die. You can trust me. I think we need to have an emergency session tomorrow and sort all this out. You're going to tell me exactly what these things are that come to you and once we dissect it, I'm sure you will realize there is nothing to worry about.”

  Cole did not respond. How did I really think she would believe me, or even humor me? He wiped his tears dry, hoping his bloodshot eyes would not give away the fact that he was crying. While Dr. Stern went off to fetch Amy, he approached her desk, ignoring his pounding heart, a whispering creeping along the outskirts of his mind.

  “I think that's it for today's session,” he heard her say from the other room. “Come hang out in the waiting room until Mrs. Sicarius comes to pick you up.”

  You brought this on yourself, Dr. Stern. Why couldn't you just believe me? He grabbed the letter opener off her desk and shoved it into his pocket.

  Amy joined him in the waiting room, a suspicious look on her face. “Seriously, what was that about?”

  “It's too embarrassing,” he said, looking away.

  Amy sat in one of the seats as Dr. Stern rejoined them, kneeling down in front of Amy and talking directly to her. Cole heard not a word as he circled around behind his doctor, reaching into his pocket. The whispering grew louder. You can do this. He felt the cold metal on his fingertips as he watched Dr. Stern's vulnerable neck, moving gently as she spoke. His hand enclosed on the handle, gripping it tightly; his eyes bore into her, noticing for the first time the crisp, ironed white shirt, the neatly tied hair, the steady rising and falling of her body as it took in life-giving breaths.

  Amy looked up. “Cole! Why are you crying?”

  25

  “I think I'm up for going to school tomorrow,” Amy said over dinner that night. “I'd like to not fall any farther behind in my classes. I've also been worried what's been happening to you at lunch. I hope they weren't too much for you to handle alone.” She smirked.

  Cole stabbed his food with his fork. “Nope.”

  “Are you all right?” Meredith said. “You've been acting strange ever since I picked you up.”

  “Sorry, no, I'm fine. Actually,” he said, steadying his breathing and looking at Amy, “believe it or not, they've been warming up to me lately. They've become almost... tolerable.”

  “Wow, you didn't tell me this,” Amy said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  “Wait, you didn't tell me this either,” Meredith said. “Who's 'they'? Did you make more friends at school?”

  “It's nothing major. We almost forcefully had to talk to some of Amy's past friends at lunch.”

  Meredith did a poor job of hiding a smile.

  Cole ignored her. “They do ask about you every day. We all miss you.”

  “Aw, Cole, that's so sweet,” Meredith said.

  “Cool, yeah, I'll be there tomorrow,” Amy said.

  “Great,” Cole said.

  That night, when they were alone in the library, Cole watched Amy talk, appreciating her energy, her optimism. He felt more alive and helpless than ever before. Every minute that passed felt like precious lost time, every second like torture. He wanted to hold onto this moment, make it last forever.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Amy said.

  Cole hung his head. “No reason.”

  “So I take it you're not going to tell me what you said to Dr. Stern?” When Cole didn't respond, she shook her head. “Let's just watch some TV.”

  “Yeah, sure. Hey, do you wanna sleep in here tonight? I think I can convince my mom.”

  “No, I'm all right. I wish you wouldn't be so secretive about everything. I thought we were past that. But it's okay. I'm pretty sure I know what it is.”

  They took seats on the couch in front of Beth's ancient television. Cole barely knew, nor cared, what Amy put on. His attention was focused on Amy in his peripheral vision as she laughed and chatted about the program.

  I'm sorry, Amy. I couldn't do it. I was too weak.

  He dreamt that night that he was in an impenetrable fog and could hear Amy calling his name, crying out for help, but he couldn't find her. As he searched, her cries became more desperate and, in turn, he became increasingly more frantic. At last he stumbled upon Amy lying on the ground, with Travis standing over her. Travis turned to face Cole with a menacing stare and their eyes locked for a second. A smile slowly crept across Travis' face.

  “What's the matter, thought you could save her?” Travis laughed and ran off into the fog.

  Cole knelt down by Amy's side, and reeled back in horror. Amy's face was pale gray, as if she was long dead, her eyes and mouth wide, locked in an expression of chilling terror.

  He awoke with a start in the dark, his heart pounding, and crept into the living room to see Amy sleeping peacefully, curled up on her side. He sat next to her, trying to calm his shaking body.

  She stirred and opened her eyes. “Huh? Cole? What's going on?”

  “Nothing. Just a dream. Go back to sleep.”

  She turned over and was asleep in a minute. Cole lay next to her, staring at the ceiling as the morning sun inched its way through the curtains, the image of Amy's dead face staring at him from within. He turned onto his side to watch her slow, even breaths, full of life, a life that was not ending anytime soon.

  “I will protect you,” he whispered as tears dampened his cheeks. He slipped off the bed and returned to the library.

  Morning came at last but the nightmare wouldn't leave.

  “You look like a wreck,” Amy said when she saw him.

  “Just some stupid dream. I don't know why I can't shake it.”

  “What was it about?”

  Cole swallowed hard. “I don't even really remember anymore. Just some sounds and images of things that spooked me for some reason. It's stupid.”

  “Nothing to be ashamed of. Ah man, I don't wanna go back to school.”

  “What? You're not going?” Cole said, fighting back a panic.

  “No, I'm going, just don't want to. I mean, it's school y'know?”

  Cole forced a laugh. “Right, right. It's school. Who really wants to go there?”

  Cole kept an eye on Amy all morning, afraid to let her out of his sight. During the ride to school, he squeezed the arm rest with an iron grip, anticipating a horrific accident at any moment, but they arrived safely. At this point they had to separate, the time of the day he was dreading the most. He kept telling himself that school was the safest place to be. If anything was going to happen, it wouldn't be in the classroom. Nevertheless, he stared at the clock, praying for lunch, all the while waiting for an announcement that there had been an accident. He breathed a sigh of relief at lunch when he saw her walk into the cafeteria, unharmed, and possibly even happy.

  Acting nonchalant, he took a seat with Martin and his friends and waited for Amy to join them, pretending he had not seen her come in.


  “My test was horrible. So many stupid questions,” Cole said as Amy sat down next to him. “What were you guys up to today?”

  Cole pretended not to notice the look Amy gave him and instead tried to seem legitimately interested in the answers that were being thrown his way.

  “Oh my God. Seriously, wasn’t that test horrible?”

  “I haven’t had it yet. Was it really that bad? What was it like?”

  Amy leaned in close. “I see you’ve adjusted well,” she muttered.

  “Wait, hold on,” Martin said. “Amy’s back! How are you?”

  “Y’know, okay, I guess,” she said, shifting in her seat.

  “Do you not want to talk about it?” someone said.

  “Not really.”

  “I had an uncle who died,” someone else piped up.

  “Henry,” Martin said roughly. “Shut. Up.”

  Henry hung his head, taking a big bite of his sandwich.

  “Cole, is there anything you can help us with for the test?” Martin said.

  Cole threw Martin a grateful look. “I’ll try my best but you know you’re going to have different questions.”

  “Oh, and you should have seen this bad boy on Friday,” Martin said.

  Amy turned her head to Cole, confused.

  “You don't need to bring that up,” Cole said.

  Martin clapped his hands. “Look at this kid. So modest. That ass Derek hit him on Friday and he took it like a man. It was so cool.”

  “Serious?” Amy said. “Wow. Finally pushed him too far?”

  Cole hid a smirk. “I really don't know what happened. I said like two words to him and he just snapped.”

  “It's true,” Martin said. “We were there. That kid's psycho.”

  Amy was quiet for most of the conversation but after a while she jumped in. Soon enough she was back to her old self, gesturing and exclaiming enthusiastically. Cole lost himself in the conversation as well and for a brief time forgot all about the weight of the day. However, as the lunch period drew to a close and he and Amy parted ways, the anxiety returned tenfold.

  “See ya later, Cole,” she said, waving to him.

  “Amy, hold up a second. Would you want to maybe sit in on my class? I’m sure my teacher won’t mind.”

  “Cole, don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. I’ll be all right on my own for the rest of the day.”

  Cole could think of nothing more to say so he let her go, reminding himself that if something were to happen, it would not be in school. The rest of the school day came and went without incident and Meredith was soon outside to pick them up.

  So far so good. The rest should be easier.

  “I’m going to take you to Dr. Stern’s for a short while,” Meredith said once they were all in the car.

  Cole shot up in his seat. “Oh no. I forgot all about that. Can I cancel?”

  “What's the big deal? It’ll be a short session. She wouldn’t tell me why but she said it was important that she see you today.”

  “No. I’m not going. It can wait ‘til tomorrow.”

  Meredith pulled to the curb so she could face Cole. “Why are you being so stubborn?”

  “I’ll only go if Amy comes with me.”

  “What?” Amy interjected from the back. “Why do you want me there?”

  “I don’t think that’s an option,” Meredith said.

  “Then I’m not going,” Cole said, raising his voice. “I’ll go tomorrow but I’m not going today. That’s it.”

  Meredith gave him a peculiar look. “And you refuse to tell me why.”

  “I just don’t want to go.”

  “All right,” Meredith said, putting the car back into drive. “I don’t feel like fighting with you right now. We’ll get this sorted out tomorrow.”

  Cole sat back in his seat, breathing hard and feeling the relief wash over him. I should never have told her about Amy. I could have caused the problem by trying to help it.

  Meredith pulled up in front of the house and left the engine running. “I’m dropping you off,” Meredith said. “I have a job interview to go to. I’ll see you for dinner.”

  Beth was busy in the kitchen when they entered and Amy pulled Cole into the library.

  “What was that all about?” Amy said.

  “I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

  “Na-ah. I’m sick and tired of your crap. Tell me. Right now.”

  Cole stared down at his feet and kicked the floor.

  “No more secrets,” Amy said. “Look at me. This is about what you told Dr. Stern, isn’t it?”

  Cole took Amy’s hand and looked into her eyes. “Amy, you should know that everything I don’t tell you is for your own good.”

  Amy tugged her hand free. “Let me decide what’s good for me.”

  “Dammit. All right. I got an agreement that you were going to be… hurt sometime today. I need to stay with you to make sure that doesn’t happen. We’re safe here so let’s not leave until tomorrow, okay?”

  Of all the possible reactions Cole expected, he did not anticipate a smile, or rather he had prayed for any other reaction.

  “Cole, that’s crazy. I’m going to be fine. Don’t be so worried about me, regardless of what your inner demon may or may not have said.”

  “No, Amy, you don’t understand, this is not something to take a chance on. Look, whether or not you believe me, just humor me until the end of the day. If I’m wrong, no harm done but if I’m right then you’ll be thanking me later.”

  “Actually, if you’re right, then you’ll either fail and I’ll get hurt or you’ll succeed and we won’t know you were right.”

  Cole couldn’t help but smile. “Amy, please, this is a serious matter. Don’t joke about it.”

  “I’m sorry, all right, all right, I’ll humor you so you stop worrying. But I’m telling you, you’ve got yourself worked up for nothing.”

  There was a sudden knock at the door. Amy jumped and gasped.

  “Who’s worked up?” Cole whispered.

  Beth opened the door and poked her head inside. “I’m going out to the store. You kids wanna come or you gonna be all right by yourselves?”

  “We’ll be fine,” Amy said.

  “’Kay, be back in a bit.” Beth shut the door and the two of them could hear her close the front door and drive away, leaving them alone.

  “So you wanna build me a bunker to hide inside of?” Amy said.

  “Funny. Let’s play a game or something.”

  “Sure.”

  As Amy took out their new game and was setting up the pieces, the doorbell rang, raising both her and Cole's heads in confusion.

  “I’ll get that, I guess,” Cole said, fighting down an anxiety that was threatening to overwhelm him. He approached the front door and shouted, “Who’s there?” but from the whisperings in his head he already knew the answer.

  There was a long pause and then a small reply, “Travis.”

  26

  At the sound of his voice, Cole froze, the anxiety creeping up, seizing control of his body.

  “Who is it?” Amy called to him.

  “Nobody. Stay there.” He pressed his face to the crack between the door and the frame. “What do you want?”

  “I know our confrontations never end well but you need to hear me out. I swear, I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help.”

  “Really? Today? What idea just randomly came to you, huh? Why today of all days?”

  There was another pause. “I think Amy might need help.”

  All the breath was sucked out of Cole’s lungs as if he had been kicked in the gut. He coughed, trying to get the air back in them. “Yeah, from you maybe!”

  Amy appeared in the doorway. “What’s the commotion? Is that… him?”

  Cole nodded weakly. “Get out of here!” he shouted through the front door. “I’ll call the cops, I swear to God.”

  “Wait, wait,” Travis said. “I’ve been working at understanding and develop
ing the connection between us.”

  “So you were the one who put that in my head?”

  “No. But I heard it.”

  There was a silence. Cole looked at Amy, who was watching the door in confusion and alarm.

  “What is he talking about?” she said.

  “How can I believe you?” he shouted to Travis.

  “You can’t, except why would I warn you ahead of time?”

  “To trick me into letting you in?”

  “I’m the one who should be afraid of you. You tried to kill me. All right, look, I’ll go stand out in the front yard in public where the whole world can see us and you can come out and talk to me. No tricks.”

  Cole looked at Amy who shrugged.

  “Your call,” she said.

  “Give me a sec,” Cole shouted through the door. “Go wait on the front lawn and don’t move ‘til I come out there.” He tugged Amy away from the door and looked into her eyes. “The bathroom is the only room without windows. Go in there and lock the door. You should be safe. I’ll come get you when it’s all clear. I’m going to go deal with him.”

  Amy was not about to argue with his dead-set determination. “Be careful.”

  “I’m not the one in danger today.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll be careful.”

  Amy wrapped her arms around him and, at her touch, a brief vision flashed across his mind of her lying on her back, staring lifelessly up at the sky in a pool of her own blood that was seeping out of her chest. It was gone as fast as it came, before Cole had a chance to completely comprehend it, leaving behind a sickening feeling of dread. He shook his head, trying to clear it, and hugged Amy tight.

  Amy retreated to the bathroom while Cole peeked out the front window to see Travis on the lawn, kicking at the dirt. He surveyed the area as best he could, then stuck his head out the front door and checked in all directions. Seeing nothing suspicious, he strode out to meet Travis, stopping about ten feet away.

  “I don’t trust you,” he said, “so I’m going to stay here. Now tell me, why are you here? I don’t believe it’s to help. Why would you help me, your enemy, so what’s your real motivation?”