Shadows Within (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 2)
Page 26
A hand tightened itself around his stomach but he kept his cool. “He doesn’t remember everything. There must have been some loss when he transferred into me. He’s trying but he can’t remember the details.”
Travis’ mom’s eyebrows remained furrowed. “I’m sorry to hear that. At least he remembers me. Perhaps it’ll come back to him.”
“Eventually it may but this is kind of an emergency. Do you know anything that could help?”
Travis’ mother leaned back, wracking her memories. “He did mention once that at first he thought you were just another voice in his head, but that you felt different somehow,. Then he realized that he was hearing your voices, as if from far away. We started to search for you like a hot cold system. The closer we were to you, the stronger your voices became in his head and the stronger he felt your presence.” She paused, her gears turning. “Yeah, that’s right. Now that I think about it, shortly before we found you he said that he felt a connection as if you were pulling him closer from wherever you were. He could sense your mind like a beacon, he said. Does that maybe trigger any of his memories?”
Cole’s eyes had been slowly widening throughout the speech. “Yes, he says that sounds very familiar. It’s definitely helping. Do you remember anything else?”
“Not particularly. I’ll keep thinking, though. What do you need this information for exactly?”
“I’m going to try to find more like us. To get some answers.”
Travis’ mother’s jaw fell slack for a moment. “You think there’s more?”
“Who knows? Hopefully. You’ve been a great help. Thanks so much.”
Travis’ mother nodded. “Before you go, how is Travis? What does he do in there?”
That iron hand was clenching his stomach again. “He says not to worry, he's doing fine. He spends most of his time communicating with the voices, trying to get answers.”
“He talks to them?”
“Mhm. I'm sorry, but I really need to get going.”
“Oh, all right. Good luck and come back soon, okay?”
Cole nodded, but he was only half-listening now, his head filling with ideas and possibilities, and for the first time, true hope. “Yep, bye.”
Beth waited until they were outside before saying anything. “Did you get what you came for?” she said.
“I think so. We need to search for any others who have our ability and I have an idea how.”
“So what’s the plan? Where to?”
“That I’m not sure yet. I need to figure out how to do what she said. And even then I don’t know where to look first. They could be anywhere, if at all.”
Beth stopped walking and folded her arms, the irritation plain on her face. “That’s it? That’s the best you've got? Drive randomly and hope you stumble upon something?”
Cole started to sweat under Beth’s penetrating glare. “I, uh, well kinda. But it's something. I have to try. And I have hope that once I work at it, I’ll be able to track them down. Please, Aunt Beth.”
Beth sighed as her arms drooped to her sides. “We’ll try it your way. But you’d better come up with something fast because I don’t have unlimited funds.”
“Thanks Aunt Beth.” Cole hugged her.
Beth just looked down at the top of his head. “Come on, let’s get going. We need to finish packing our stuff. I don’t like driving in the middle of the night.”
Without knowing how long the trip would be, but planning for the worst, they stuffed supplies into the car until it was ready to burst. Beth suggested they drive towards the nearest large city as they would have the greatest chance of finding someone in a populated area. Cole spread out a map of the country on his lap, planning possible destinations. It was weird, but in a way it felt like they were going on vacation, something which Cole had never done. Despite how slim the chances of success were, Cole watched the passing scenery with a growing smile on his face, both for his unprecedented level of hope, and for his anticipation of the day when his mother would join the chorus of voices in his head.