“Open your eyes. Cole. Open them immediately.”
5
A hand seized his shoulder and shook him. His eyes flew open and he blinked a few times to clear them. He looked around himself, confused for a few seconds as to where he was, as if he had awoken from a deep sleep. “Whoa, that was weird.”
Amy was gaping at him, her mouth ajar.
“I think three was too much for your second day,” Meredith said. “I thought I lost you for a second.”
“Yeah. I wasn't really there anymore. What would have happened if I completely lost myself?”
“The voice would have taken over and I haven't taught you yet how to regain control. It would have been difficult. In retrospect, perhaps I should have done that first.” She smiled. “Now I know tomorrow's lesson. You're free to go for the night.”
Cole’s legs were like lead as he stood and he kicked them to get the feeling back. “That was kinda interesting.”
For once, Amy had nothing to say as she followed him to the library. When they were inside and seated, however, she exploded. “That was crazy. It was like you were hypnotized. I had no idea what was happening. What was happening? What were you listening to?”
Cole laughed. “This is the sign of a true crazy person and if it weren't for my mom I would think I really was. There a whole chorus of different voices in my head. I only hear them when I concentrate, but even so I can never understand them. And apparently they can control me if I'm not careful.”
“That's so... weird. Sorry,” she added abruptly, “I didn't mean it to come out like that.”
“No, it's okay, it is weird.”
“And what do they do? Why is your mom teaching you about them?”
“That I'm not really sure. She said they can help in rough times. I'm humoring her for now but someday maybe I'll understand.”
Cole spent much of the night trying to better explain what the voices were like. Amy had never-ending questions. What do they sound like? Do you know who they are? Have you ever heard anything they've said? How many do you think there are? Cole tried his best to answer her questions, which was difficult as he knew few of the answers himself. Whenever he was talking, she would sit there, silent and still, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, as if he was performing miracles before her very eyes. He was growing frustrated that he knew so little himself, yet it was all new to Amy, and he had enough knowledge to whet her curiosity.
The doorbell interrupted their conversation, and Amy looked up at the clock. “Wow, can't believe we've been talking this long,” she said. “That was just so fascinating. But man, I am dying to know more. You need to try to find out about them. Aren't you curious?”
“I am, but if my mom and her mom never figured it out, what are the chances I can?”
“Try. Maybe I can help.”
They heard the front door open and, curious who would be ringing the bell at this hour, went into the living room to see. Cole's heart skipped a beat at the sight of a police officer, but thanks to his experience with Leonard Roberts he took it all in stride. This officer turned out to be a cakewalk compared to Leonard Roberts as it was obvious he was bored and had no suspicion of them whatsoever. He was doing his job, which sometimes entailed pointless visits such as this. His main questions concerned whether or not Dr. Stern had said anything unusual before her disappearance that might have given some clue about what had happened. He was satisfied with the strings of noes and thanked them for their time.
Meredith wished him luck as he left, and after he had gone she said, “Phew, that was enough excitement for one day. I'm going to bed and I suggest you two do the same.”
Cole and Amy obliged. Once Cole was alone in bed, he curled up in his blankets, his thoughts returning to his conversation with Amy, his head swimming with all the unanswered questions she had brought to mind. He was still shaken from his near loss of self-control and the more he thought about the voices, the more he didn't want to know about them. He wished he could destroy them. From his experience, they were nothing but a malicious force and the last thing he wanted was to commit an atrocity for which he could never forgive himself. It was difficult enough living with the crimes of his recent past. He couldn't bear adding any more weight on his shoulders. Eighth wonder of the world, I guess, he thought as he drifted off to sleep. Another mystery of the universe.
The only important part of the school day anymore, lunch, was a welcome relief from Cole's boring schedule. He arrived before Amy and was met by Martin's expectant face.
“So?” Martin said. “Coming?”
“Looks like it,” Cole said.
“Whoo, all right, didn't think you would.”
“What, why not?”
“No reason.”
Cole thought he knew the reason but he let it slide. “What should I bring? What are we going to do?”
“First question, I recommend a toothbrush so your breath doesn't reek. Second, it's a surprise.”
“You keep saying that,” Kevin said, on Martin's left side. “It better not be dumb.”
Martin's smile was wolfish. “It won't be.”
Cole did not like the look on Martin's face.
“We'll see,” another boy Henry said.
Amy approached at that moment. She was in high spirits as she exclaimed that she was totally going to be there tonight. Cole wondered why she was looking forward to it so much, and yet her excitement was rubbing off on him. By the end of the day, his stomach was churning in anticipation.
Surprisingly, Meredith was there to pick them up after school.
“What time does the party start?” Meredith said as Cole and Amy got in the car.
“Soon,” Cole said. “I think whenever we can get there.”
“I assume you need to go home first and get your stuff,” Meredith said.
“Yep,” Amy piped up from the backseat. “Shouldn't need much. It'll only take a minute.”
“Guess that means no lesson tonight,” Meredith said. “It's okay. Not an emergency.”
“About that,” Cole said, “I've actually been meaning to ask you. I don't want you to take this wrong way, but...”
“Yeah, what is it?” Meredith said, glancing over at him.
“Well, really, how important is it to learn? I already told you I don't like them and it kinda freaked me out the other night. I mean, how often will it be used now that the instructions are over?”
The tires squealed as Meredith jerked the steering wheel to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes. As soon as they were stopped, she looked over at Cole, her eyes glistening, her hand covering her mouth. “Oh no,” she whispered.
Cole had no idea what reaction to expect from his mother but he certainly did not expect this. It reminded him of the night he told his mother of the unfinished instruction about Dr. Stern and Amy, and the memory of that night brought back all the panic and fear he had experienced then. “Mom, you're scaring me. What is it?”
“You thought that when Travis was gone, the instructions would end. They don't. They never do.”
Cole froze, the lump in his throat making it difficult to speak. He felt his whole world, his new beginning, crashing down around him. “What are you talking about?” he said, his voice a deathly whisper. “Are you telling me you still get instructions?”
She nodded, her face filled with a sadness words could not express.
“Then what was the point of it all? What changes because he's gone?”
Meredith swallowed. “You no longer have an opposing force. But it's still the same.”
“It can't be,” he said, his voice rising, not caring that Amy was in the car. “I haven't gotten an instruction since that night. I used to get them all the time.”
“I hate to say it, but that's how it goes. After a major one, the instructions generally taper off for a while. I don't know why. But they always come back.”
Cole sat back. “Great. I can't believe you never mentioned this before.”
“I'm sorry, I didn't realize you thought that.”
“Whatever,” Cole said, the irritation poisoning his words. “Just drive.”
They drove home in silence, Cole staring out the window, fuming. He wasn't angry with his mother so much as with the cruel world. He had thought he was free, had even almost murdered Travis to gain his freedom, and just like that it was stripped away. He was cursed until the day he died. All he could do was pray that his mother was wrong.
When they arrived at Beth's house, he stormed off to pack his things. In his fury and despair, he packed blindly, throwing together anything he might need. As he packed, he lost interest to go at all and was about to tell Amy he was bailing when she entered.
“You're not going to Europe,” she said laughing, looking at the pile he had made. “It's one night. The idea is not to have them start making fun of you again, right? What's up with all those clothes? And no,” she snatched up a book and tossed it aside, “I forbid you from reading while you're there.”
“I don't think I feel like going anymore,” Cole said, sinking into a chair.
“Oh, come on. You're going. This is exactly what you need right now or you're just going to sulk all night. And it's not so bad. You've dealt with it all this time and now that you have your mom to help you, it should only get easier. If she could deal with it her whole life, I know you can too. Now get up, Mr. Party Pooper!”
“All right, I'm coming. Why are you so good at making me feel better?” He stooped over the pile and began to sort it.
“Because I know you.” She stooped next to him and grabbed a shirt. “Wear this. Now get those pants and your toothbrush and let's get out of here.”
“No toothpaste? And I need floss.”
Amy chuckled. “You're ridiculous. No. Toothbrush and go. It's one night.”
As they drove to Martin's house, excitement began to grow inside him. “I'm sorry about before,” he said to his mom as she drove.
“Don't worry about it. I know exactly how you feel,” she said without missing a beat.
“Yeah, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you.”
“Not another word about that. Just have fun tonight.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He squeezed his bag against his chest and turned around to Amy. “Have you ever been to one of these?”
“Yeah, once. Martin threw one over winter break.”
“So then it's fun?”
“Yeah, it's fun.”
Cole could see her struggling to contain herself and he knew it was for his mom's benefit. With a new mystery ahead of him, he was almost able to convince himself that his mother had been wrong. Until he received a new instruction, that conversation would feel like nothing more than a nightmare.
Since she had been to Martin's house before, Amy directed them there. They pulled in front of an enormous three-story gray house with white trim that was divided into three separate segments. A four car garage was situated to the right of the house and there was a fountain in the middle of the lawn, spewing water out of a six foot concrete spout.
Cole sat there in disbelief. “This is Martin's house? No way.”
“This is it,” Amy said, bolting out of the backseat.
“Wow, that is impressive,” Meredith said. “I'd love to see the inside of that.”
A little jealous? Cole thought, watching the expression on his mother's face. It's petty but I'll admit I am too.
Meredith tore her eyes away from the house. “Okay, I'll pick you up at noon tomorrow?”
“Sounds good.” Cole ran out of the car after Amy who was already at the front door. It opened as he reached it, revealing Martin, beaming and looking more energetic than Cole had ever seen him.
“Welcome, welcome,” Martin said. “Glad you actually made it. Amy, you know the one rule. Now come on in, the party's just getting started.”
“Nice. Got here as fast as we could.” Amy kicked off her sneakers inside the entrance and hurried away.
“Hey Martin. Thanks for the invite.” Cole followed suit, not wanting to lose Amy in this mansion. She was walking so quickly he did not have time to appreciate the interior but he did notice high ceiling, tall windows, fancy chandeliers, paintings, glass mirrors, sculptures, and furniture, all arranged delicately in each room. It brought back painful memories of Amy's old house but was superior in every way. The main difference, besides the size, was the feeling that people actually lived here. Amy's house had felt more like a museum.
Amy did not seemed fazed and led them directly into a room that was already full of boys and girls their age. Cole stood there in amazement, staring at the mass of what must have been more than twenty kids, most of which he did not know. The lunch crew he had gotten to know was there but they made up only a small fraction of the total. Everyone was chatting loudly over the dance music that was playing in the background. Martin had hardly made it to the room when the doorbell rang and he ran off to answer it.
Robert, from the lunch group, came over to greet them. “Hey, you made it!” he said to them and then to Cole, “I bet you've never been here before.”
“No,” Cole said, feeling lost. “It's really... big.”
Amy and Robert laughed.
“Yeah, it is,” Amy said. “Let me give you a quick tour before the party gets going.”
“It's not going?” Cole said in wonder.
Amy laughed again and pulled him by the arm. “Come on, let's go.”
Cole started to follow her and she let go, leading him out of the party room. “He doesn't mind us wandering the house?”
“He doesn't care about anything as long as we follow his one rule: 'don't mess anything up.' He needs to clean it up tomorrow and anyone who makes a mess and doesn't clean up after themselves isn't allowed back. That's usually enough of an incentive to make sure nothing goes wrong. And here we are.”
They emerged into a room that was lined wall to wall with antique wood furniture. A decorative carpet was the centerpiece of a dark wood flooring and all kinds of certificates were framed on the wall. Against one side were cabinets that were full of all kinds of various instruments, beakers and strange objects. A table next to the cabinets was worn and looked like the only piece of furniture in the room that was actually used.
“What do his parents do?” Cole asked.
“I think his dad is a chemist. Martin doesn't talk about him much but I'd say he makes a lot of money.”
“Yeah, I'd say.” Cole rotated in place, trying to grasp the number of objects in the room. “I can't believe he allows us in here.”
“Well, honestly, he doesn't like it, but he won't know. Anyway, there's more. Come on.” She hurried him out of the room, up a flight of stairs and into the attic. The attic was sparse and looked surprisingly ordinary, save for one thing. In the center of the room was an enormous telescope that was pointed up through a circular glass window in the ceiling.
“Wow, that's really cool,” Cole said. “Can I use it?”
“As long as you're really careful,” Amy said. “I do want to be allowed back here.” At that moment, the heavy bass of the music disappeared. “Oh, never mind. Maybe later. The music stopped, which must mean Martin is making an announcement.”
Reluctantly, Cole followed her back to the main room. As they neared it, they heard Martin talking.
“...is first?” he was saying in a loud voice. “Okay, you four.”
Cole approached the doorway, coming in view of everyone.
Martin saw him enter. “Ah, there you are. Since you've never been here before, you can call dibs on anything you want, although if you want to play Rock Band, you'll have to wait because I just gave it away.”
“Um.” Cole felt everyone's eyes on him, and he was suddenly very hot. “I don't know what there is.”
“Amy!” Martin said. “I'm shocked. You didn't tell him?”
“Nah, I wanted it to be a surprise,” she said, a smug look on her face.
“Can't argue with that. All right, let's
see, what do we have? Well, first -”
“I'm going to let Amy pick,” Cole cut him off. “I'll do whatever she wants to do.” He looked to her expectantly.
“Are you sure?” Amy said.
“Yes. Please, just pick something.”
“Okay, we'll do ping-pong,” she announced, to which there were a couple of groans. “Don't worry, I promise we won't be on all night.”
“And the rest of you, go!” Martin said.
The party scattered in all different directions as each person rushed off to be the first at their activity of choice. Amy led Cole through the rush of kids, down into the basement and into a small room that contained a pool table and ping pong table. Four kids had already started a game of pool by the time they got there, but as promised, the ping pong table was vacant.
Cole picked up one of the paddles and spun it in his hand. Great, yet another thing I don't know how to do. How does Amy put up with me? “I think I should start calling you my teacher, more than my friend,” he said. “I'm really sorry I don't know anything.”
“Don't be sorry,” Amy said, smiling. “I like teaching you things. And you're a fast learner, so no biggie. I bet you'll be better than me at this before the end of the night.”
Cole lifted the ball to hit it when the instruction came. Throw the ball against the wall so Amy's father does not wake up.
He hesitated, a flurry of emotions and crisscrossing thoughts coursing through him. No... Mom, why did you have to be right? My life was just starting to look up. Did you honestly believe you were rid of this? It would've been too good to be true. And this means that my agreement in the hospital to kill him didn't work. Why not? It should have. I'm the one who caused him to be there in the first place. Why couldn't I finish him off like I did to the mother? It doesn't matter. Throw the ball at the wall. Do it. It would be best for Amy. No, I can't. I don't want to be the person I was that night. I'm not a murderer. I hate who I was. I wished I had never made that agreement to kill him in the first place. That's not me. Just do it. No! Wait, if he's still alive, that must mean the agreement didn't work at all. Which means... Travis' mother... may still be alive...
Shadows Within (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 2) Page 4
