Mindspeak

by Heather Sunseri

  “What did you have in mind?” I was sure my cheeks darkened three shades.

  “I want to try to heal your shoulder and see if I can control the nausea after.”

  I suppressed a look of disappointment. I did need my shoulder in order to swim. And I didn’t want our relationship to go further than it already had. Not now. Not yet. Our complicated existence was based on questionable morals as it was.

  But the way he looked at me right now. I’d let him do anything. Well, almost anything.

  I felt Jack’s mind push against mine. A slight nudge. I had done it. I had blocked him out.

  I looked up at him and smiled. I was very satisfied with myself. I’d won a small victory.

  “Very good.” But now, I really want to know what you just blocked from me.

  ~~~~

  I woke with a start to the smell of cigarette smoke.

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes. A trail of smoke hovered by the open door to the DeWeeses’ guest room like a thick fog.

  Jack didn’t smoke, and no one else should be here. I threw the covers back, and after slipping out of bed, I padded toward the door. The fog slowly drifted out. I ran my fingers along the door, brushing the doorknob. I was certain I had closed the door before I crawled in bed.

  The smoke tickled my nose. I followed it down the stairs, through the house and out the back door.

  Strange. The alarm didn’t sound. Then I remembered the electricity had been out.

  I stepped lightly across the patio and down the steps toward the pool. A figure lounged in a chair facing the deep end of the pool. He lifted his hand and took a drag of his cigarette.

  “Who are you?” My voice came out hoarse.

  “You know who I am, Lexi.”

  I tilted my head. His voice did sound familiar. His. A boy.

  “How about a swim?” He gestured with his hand toward the pool. It was lit up by a large light at the deep end.

  Without thinking, I walked over to the edge of the pool. Instinct told me I should check the water temperature, but as I started to dip a toe in, the voice behind me said, “Go on. Jump in. You’re an excellent swimmer, Lexi.” My name rolled off the edge of his tongue.

  I shrugged. Why not? I was an excellent swimmer.

  I bent my knees and jumped, swan diving into the deep end of the pool.

  The freezing temperature of the water hit my skin like a billion tiny needles.

  I opened my eyes and looked around. It was dark. Someone had turned off the light. I couldn’t breathe.

  Against all instincts, I sucked in a breath. Instead of air, I inhaled water. My lungs burned from the icy temperature of the liquid that slid down my throat. I twisted and turned, thrashing in the water. My limbs refused to work the way I knew they were capable. I labored for another breath.

  Finally, I stilled. I was surrounded by darkness and calm. My body was numb, and I was no longer able to take a breath.

  Chapter Twenty

  I gagged. I coughed. Water spewed from my mouth. I threw up. A voice I recognized but couldn’t quite place said in a soothing tone, “That’s it. Get it out.”

  I sucked in a long, labored breath. The back of my throat burned like I’d swallowed thumbtacks.

  Why was I wet?

  I coughed again and continued to fight for air.

  The ground around me was hard. I shivered in the breeze. Finally, I opened my eyes to the face of Seth Whitmeyer.

  My body tensed. I looked side to side for Jack. How did I get here? Why was I outside?

  “Sarah, can you hear me?”

  I stared at Seth. My eyes must have been huge. “Please don’t hurt me,” I whispered.

  “Hurt you?” He pulled the sweater over his head and laid it over my chest close to my neck. “I’m not here to hurt you, Sarah. But why on earth did you dive into that pool?”

  Why did he insist on calling me by my real name? I turned my head toward the pool. Confused, I looked to the opposite side at the lounge chairs. “Someone was here. A man. With a cigarette.”

  “No one else is here.” I moved to sit up. Seth supported my back. “Let’s get you inside and into some warm clothes.”

  As Seth helped me toward the back door, I glanced over my shoulder toward the chairs again. Jack really hadn’t told me much about Seth yet. Other than Seth had taught him things about our fathers’ research. Still I feared him. Seeing him now, I realized we looked similar. Did my DNA make me his sister? “Why are you here? I thought the farm was secure.”

  “It is secure. I’ve been here all night. In the guest house mainly.”

  I stopped and pulled away from him, barely able to stand on my own two feet. “Where’s Jack?”

  “He wasn’t feeling well. He’s sleeping off the earlier medical treatment he provided your shoulder.”

  My heart sunk. So it didn’t work. Healing me made him sick.

  “Inside, Lexi.” He gestured toward the door. “You and I have a lot to talk about. But first… warm clothes.”

  ~~~~

  Shouting erupted from the direction of the kitchen as I descended the stairs. A hot shower and some warm clothes felt nice, but I still shivered from the sound of the Smoking Man telling me to take a swim.

  Was Smoking Man inside my head? How did he convince me to do jump in that pool?

  “Why haven’t you told her?” Seth sounded irate.

  “I told her a lot, Seth. It was overwhelming for her.”

  “Bullshit, Jack. She shares the same blood, the same heart, and practically the same mind as my sister. She can handle the truth. You should have taken her directly to The Program. I’d have met you there.”

  Silence. The Program? Why would I go there? What had Jack not told me? Was he no longer sick? He was ill for days after mending my broken arm.

  We’re in the kitchen, Lexi. Eavesdropping is not very lady-like.

  Crap! Would I ever be able to keep him out of my head?

  I passed in front of the living room windows as I stepped lightly toward the kitchen. The sun was just beginning to rise over a distant hill behind the farm.

  I pushed open the swinging door and faced the harsh lights of the kitchen, the electricity having recovered from the storms. Anita busied herself by the sink. Jack leaned up against the island holding a coffee mug.

  “You okay?” I asked Jack as calmly as I could before I addressed my confusion regarding Seth Whitmeyer.

  He nodded. It wasn’t as bad this time.

  Seth sat at the kitchen table by the windows. Completely relaxed, he poured cream into a mug, picked up a spoon, and stirred. He looked at home, like he’d sat in that very spot a thousand times.

  He did not look like a man who had just saved a teen-aged girl from the bottom of a swimming pool.

  Why is Seth Whitmeyer here?

  He pushed off the island and stepped toward me.

  “Want some tea or coffee, sweetie?” Anita asked from behind him.

  “I would love some tea. Thank you.” My eyes fixed on Jack’s. He ignored my unspoken question.

  “How are you feeling?” Jack brushed his fingers against my hairline and down my temple with his free hand.

  Answer me.

  Jack smiled. You first.

  I’m fine. Why is Seth Whitmeyer here? He pulled me out of a freaking pool, Jack.

  “Lexi, come sit.” Seth kicked out a chair from the table for me.

  I walked cautiously toward Seth. Placed my hands on the table in front of him, my fingers spread wide. “When we first met, you told me Jack wasn’t who he said he was. What did you mean?”

  One side of Seth’s mouth quirked into a crooked smile. “Exactly that. Do you remember what you knew about him then?”

  I tilted my head to the side. “I guess.”

  “Does what I said then mesh with what he told you yesterday?”

  I squinted my eyes. “But you meant to scare me.”

  “Did it? Scare you, that is?” He raised both eyebrows. “Not like your
recent early-morning swim, I’m sure.”

  Anita approached the table. “Here’s your tea, sweetie.” She smiled. I had yet to figure out Anita’s role, other than to take care of the DeWeeses. And of Jack.

  I walked around the table and sat in a chair across from Seth, rather than the one directly beside him. Very mature.

  Jack sat beside me. He reached across and took my hand in his. “What were you doing out by the pool?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I… don’t remember.” Sleepwalking, I guess?

  You practically drowned.

  “Is this the first time this has happened?” Seth asked, looking from me to Jack. “The sleepwalking?”

  Jack shook his head. “No.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “It happened a couple of times before, that I know of.”

  Am I supposed to trust this yahoo?

  “Yes.” You can trust him. Mostly.

  “What?” Seth asked, confused by our mostly silent exchange.

  Unable to sit still, I pulled my hand away from Jack’s. “Look, Seth. I see that Jack trusts you. But—”

  “You don’t.”

  “No. I don’t.” I crossed my arms. “Why would I? My father was blown up in a car, and next thing I know you corner me in my grandmother’s nursing home room and threaten me.”

  “He did what?”

  “I didn’t threaten her.” He exhaled dramatically. “This isn’t child’s play. We have work to do, and we’re getting nowhere rehashing old news.”

  “Lexi, Seth would like for us both to go straight to The Program from here.”

  “What do you mean? The Program is an actual place? I thought you attended The Program through some online portal.”

  “I do but it’s also a place. Near University of Kentucky’s campus. A secured facility that is run by Seth.”

  I squeezed my eyes closed. The Program is Seth’s way of furthering your homeschooling?

  Yes.

  “I’m not going to The Program. I never had any intention of applying to The Program. You know that.”

  “What? Why not?” Seth asked. “Did your dad know this?”

  “No. Never got the chance to tell him.”

  “You know he would not approve, right?”

  “Do I know that?” Who was this guy? “Dad never even mentioned you to me. Or your sister for that matter.” I practically spit out the word sister. “So, for argument’s sake, we’ll just assume that I no longer know or care what my dad would think of my intentions.” Dad had often threatened to move me at the slightest hint of trouble in the past.

  “You were meant for The Program, Lexi. You’d be safe there. Friday night and this morning prove that you and Jack are not safe. We can protect you inside The Program.”

  Stop saying you can keep me safe. “What do you mean I was meant for The Program?”

  Jack ran his hands through his hair.

  “You and Jack were genetically engineered for a specific purpose eighteen years ago. If the wrong people were to find either of you, I’m afraid they would destroy you. Or worse, use you for their own purpose.”

  “Destroy. You mean kill?”

  He nodded. Jack’s face paled.

  “What about you? You think we should hide inside The Program?” I asked Jack, knowing I had no intention of getting anywhere near a secure facility run by Seth Whitmeyer. When he didn’t respond, I asked, “What do your parents say? John is my guardian, after all.”

  Seth’s lips curved into a smirk. “You’re so much like her.”

  “I assume by her you mean your sister? Where is Sandra?” A shudder moved through me at the thought of facing the woman who’d cloned me. The woman whose DNA I possessed.

  “She is nothing like her,” Jack whispered. He suddenly stood and faced me. “Yes, unfortunately, I think we should be at The Program. My parents will agree.”

  “What about Wellington? We can’t just leave. The Dean will have everyone from the local police to Homeland Security looking for us.” I was being a bit dramatic.

  “Not if my father signs the necessary forms,” Jack answered.

  “You can’t be serious.” I’m not going into The Program.

  “I’m dead serious.” Jack stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “You jumped into a freezing pool. That wouldn’t happen inside the Program.” We have to figure out who’s inside your head, and you need to learn how to shut them out.

  But Jack, it would mean learning from and agreeing with what these scientists did to create us. It would mean giving up control.

  Learning from, yes. We need to know what we were created to do. We—you and I—can choose what we do with that knowledge.

  “Why wouldn’t we be safe at Wellington?” I stepped closer to Jack and tugged on one of his arms. As I did, I concentrated on building a barrier around my thoughts. This conversation was not going my way, and if I had to run from them both, I would. “You can teach me.”

  “No.” Seth’s voice shot up an octave. “You’re both coming to The Program. That’s final. Now, go pack your things.”

  I backed away from both of them with a mental shield in place.

  What are you thinking? Jack’s thoughts were panicked.

  It was working, but I didn’t know how to block him and direct a thought at him at the same time. I had so much to learn, and for the first time in my life I had someone who could teach me. But at what cost?

  Then something occurred to me. I wondered how much Seth knew about me. Had Jack explained my ability or my nose bleeds to Seth?

  I reached down and grabbed my teacup sitting on a napkin. While trying to keep Jack blocked, I thought, What about the journals, Seth? Shouldn’t Jack and I make one last attempt to find them? Especially knowing what I know now?

  This would tell me if Seth knew about my ability to plant “original” thoughts inside his head.

  “I’ll go pack my things.” I walked slowly toward the island on the other side of the kitchen and set my cup down. A trickle of blood formed at the opening of my nose. I blotted it with the napkin.

  From behind me, Seth said, “You know, maybe you and Lexi should make one last attempt to find Peter’s journals.”

  I stilled.

  Turn around, Jack thought.

  You left me no choice. I turned and tried to hide the fear I was sure haunted my eyes now.

  You have any idea what someone like Seth might do if he discovered you could alter his mind?

  “How do you know I’m even looking for Dad’s journals?” I asked Seth, ignoring Jack.

  “Oh, Lexi. You have proven to be quite resourceful. Don’t play games with me. Your father came back to Kentucky to get his journals, and I think you know exactly where they are.” He took a sip of his coffee. It amazed me how relaxed he stayed. “As a matter of fact, I think you know way more about all of this than you’ve let on.”

  I wiped my nose again. “What makes you think I know anything? I didn’t know anything about some stupid journals before Dad came to town.”

  “But you knew about the clonings.”

  I gasped. “God, no.” I glared at Jack and back at Seth. “This might be some big game to the two of you…” How could anyone even suggest that I knew I was a monster before yesterday? “This is my life you’re so eager to play with. Everyone has always been so crazy quick to map out my life’s plan for me. And before yesterday, I had no idea how far some people had gone to do it.”

  Anita reentered the room. She was always so quiet. Seth and Jack both remained silent. Anita and Jack traded a worried glance. I made a mental note to ask Jack later what that was all about.

  “Are we done here?”

  Seth threw his hands up. “Do you think you can find the journals? Do you have any idea where they might be at this point?”

  I had no idea where my father hid those journals. I wasn’t about to let Seth know that though. They were in the car with Dad for all I knew. “Sure, I have a few more ideas.”

  �
�Fine, then. Both of you, return to Wellington, but keep your eyes open.”

  “And Jack,” Seth continued, “I don’t have to tell you how dangerous it is to let her out of your sight for very long.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I blew through the door to my dorm room early that afternoon, like an EF4 tornado. I marched in with my bag, knocking a book off my desk, but leaving the stack of papers beside it untouched.

  The nerve of those two thinking they could force me into some top-secret program for the study of Edward Scissorhands-like medical atrocities. I grew up surrounded by Dad’s strange notion that he could cure all the diseases of the world with his crazy experimental research.

  Well, I would have no part of it. And they couldn’t force me.

  “What happened to you? You look awful.”

  I spun around. I hadn’t even noticed Danielle when I stormed in. She glanced up from the open laptop on her bed where she sat in a half lotus—a Yoga position that would kill my knees.

  “Thanks.” I puffed a lazy strand of hair off my face as I struggled to bend down and pick up the fallen book.

  “Seriously, what happened?” She closed the laptop and swung her legs off the bed and onto the floor. “Did you get into a fight?”

  I dug through my bag and pulled out my cell phone, then walked to my desk and pulled out the starfish trinket box that Dad had sent me. In it, I had stored the card from Marci Daniels, the journalist who delivered the box.

  “What?” I asked as if it was the stupidest question ever. “No. I didn’t get into a fight.”

  I typed a text message to Marci in my phone. “Hi, Marci. Need to see u. Can u come to me? Hard 4 me to leave school. ~Lexi.”

  As soon as I had texted Marci, I fired off one more text to her. “P.S. What do u know about Sandra Whitmeyer and John DeWeese?”

  I stared at the phone, willing Marci to text me back instantly. Even I realized how ridiculous it was to expect that. The phrase a watched pot never boils came to mind.

  Danielle began tapping her bare foot on the floor. I raised my eyes and found her arms folded tightly across her chest.

  “I’m sorry. No, I didn’t get into a fight. Jack and I were in an accident.”

  “What? Lexi, why didn’t you call me? Are you okay? Is Jack okay?”