Dark Visions

by L. J. Smith

  "Anything's possible," Rob said, so shortly that she knew he wondered, too. He went to the filing cabinet and pulled out a drawer with a sliding rattle.

  The sound made Kaitlyn's skin jump. If they were wrong, they had no business poking into things.

  Defiantly she went over to the desk and thumbed through some papers from the letter tray. They were business letters, mostly from important-sounding people, addressed to Mr. Zetes. They all seemed to be photocopies, duplicates. Big deal.

  "You know what?" she asked grimly, still pawing. "I just realized. If Mr. Z was trying to hide something, he'd never hide it here. Why should he? He's got to have better places. He's got a house, doesn't he?

  He's got a corporation, somewhere-"

  "Kaitlyn."

  "Well?"

  "I think you should look at this." Rob was holding a file from the cabinet. There was a photograph of Kait clipped on the jacket, and in bold letters: kaitlyn

  BRADY FAIRCHILD, PROJECT BLACK LIGHTNING.

  "What's Project Black Lightning?"

  "I don't know. There's a file like that for each of us. Inside there's just a bunch of papers-all kinds of information. Did you know they have your birth certificate?"

  "The lawyers told Dad they needed stuff. . .. What's that?"

  "A graph about your testing, I think." Rob's tanned finger traced the bottom axis. "Look, this is dated yesterday. It says First Testing with-and then there's a word I can't read."

  "First testing with something," Kaitlyn repeated slowly. She touched her forehead. "But what does it mean?"

  Rob shook his head. "There's another set of files here, with other names." He held up a file jacket with a photo of a smiling girl with dark brown hair. It was labeled sabrina jessica gallo, black lightning pilot STUDY.

  Running diagonally across the label, in thick red ink, the word terminated was scrawled.

  Kaitlyn and Rob looked at each other.

  "Which was terminated?" Kait breathed. "The study or the girl?"

  Silently, with one impulse, they turned back to their search.

  "Okay, I've got a letter," Kait said after a moment. "It's from the Honorable Susan Baldwin-a judge. It says, 'Enclosed is a list of potential clients who might be interested in the project.' The project." Kaitlyn's eyes scanned down the list. " 'Max Lawrence-up for sentencing May first. TRI-Tech, Inc.-settlement conference with Clifford Electronics Limited, June twenty-fourth.' It's all like that, names and trial dates and stuff."

  "Here's another file," Rob said. "It's hard to figure out, but I think it's an old grant from NASA. Yeah, a grant from NASA for half a million, back in eighty-six. For"-he paused and read carefully- "investigation into the feasibility of the development of psychoactive weaponry."

  "What of the what?" Kaitlyn said hopelessly. "Psycho-what?"

  Rob's eyes were dark gold and bleak.

  "I don't know what it all adds up to. But it's not good. There's a lot Mr. Z didn't tell us."

  " 'This place is different than you think,'" Kaitlyn quoted. "And there was a pilot study before us-so Marisol told the truth. But what happened to those kids? What happened to Sabrina?"

  "And what's going to happen to-" Rob broke off. "Did you hear that? A noise up there?"

  Kaitlyn listened, but she didn't hear anything.

  Upstairs, Gabriel was seething.

  The whole plan was stupid, of course. Why did they want to go meddling in what was obviously not their business? The time to worry about Zetes was when he was trying to do something to you, not before.

  Then fight-kill him, if necessary. He was only an old man. But why ruin what had so far proved to be a very comfortable deal?

  It was all his idea, Gabriel felt sure. Kessler's. Rob the Virtuous probably felt there was something unspiritual about coming into so much money. He had to wreck it somehow.

  And Kaitlyn was just as bad these days. Completely under Kessler's spell. Why should Gabriel care about her, a girl who was in love with a guy he hated? A girl who only disturbed him .. .

  A girl with hair like fire and witch eyes, his mind whispered.

  A girl who hounded him, badgered him ...

  Who challenges you, his mind whispered. Who could be your equal.

  A girl who interfered with him, trying to get inside his guard .. .

  Whose spirit is like yours.

  Oh, shut up, Gabriel told his brain, and stared broodingly into the darkness beyond the study window.

  The street in front of the Institute was silent and deserted. Naturally, it was midnight-and here in the suburbs that meant everyone was tucked nice and snug in their beds.

  Nevertheless, Gabriel felt uneasy. Little sounds seemed to be nagging at his subconscious. Cars on the streets behind the Institute, probably.

  Cars . . . Suddenly Gabriel stiffened. Eyes narrowed, he listened for a moment, then he left the alcove.

  Nothing out the west window of the study. With the silent steps of a housebreaker he headed for the back of the house, to Rob and Lewis's bedroom. He looked out the back window, the one facing north.

  And there it was. The limo. It had obviously come up the narrow dirt road in back. Now the only question was whether Zetes was just about to get out, or-Directly beneath him, in the kitchen, Gabriel heard a door open.

  The back door, he thought. And those idiots downstairs are all waiting for him to come from the front.

  There wasn't any time to go down and warn them- and Zetes would hear a shout.

  Gabriel's lip curled. Tough. Kaitlyn knew the truth. He'd told her he wouldn't risk his neck for her. Not that there was anything he could do anyway, except. .

  He shook his head slightly. Not that. In the darkened window his reflected eyes were cold and hard.

  Below, the kitchen door slammed.

  No, he told himself. He wouldn't. He wouldn't..

  .

  On the bottom of the letter tray was a scribbled page like something you might doodle while on the telephone. Kaitlyn could make out the scrawled words "Operation Lightning Strike" and "psychic strike team."

  "This is weird-" she began. She never finished the sentence because it hit her.

  Just what it was, she couldn't tell at first. Like Rob's healing transfusion of energy, it wasn't something you could see or hear or taste. But while Rob's energy flow had been wonderful, invigorating, an intense pleasure, this was like being hit by a runaway train. Kaitlyn had the feeling of being violated.

  And while it didn't trigger any of her normal senses, it mimicked them. Kaitlyn smelled roses. She felt a burning in her head-a painful searing that built until a light like one of Lewis's flashbulbs went off in her brain. Then, through the explosion, she heard a voice.

  Gabriel's voice.

  Get out of there! He just came in the back door!

  For a moment Kait stood paralyzed. Knowing that Gabriel could communicate directly with her mind was very different from feeling it. Her first reaction was that she was hallucinating; it was impossible.

  Rob was gasping. "God. He's a telepath."

  Shut up, Kessler. Move. Do something. You're about to get caught.

  Kaitlyn felt another wave of astonishment. The communication was two-way-Gabriel could hear Rob.

  Then some primitive instinct within her awoke and shoved all speculation aside. This wasn't the time to think-it was time to act.

  She threw the letters back in the tray and slid the drawers of the file cabinet shut. Then she had an idea and she tried to do something she'd never done before. She tried to send a thought. She didn't know how to send one, but she tried, concentrating on the burning-roses sensation in her head. Gabriel-can you hear me? You need to tell Anna he's here. Tell her to hang on to the dogs until-I can hear you, Kaitlyn. It's Anna. The answer was lighter, calmer, than Gabriel's communication. It was a lot like Anna's speaking voice.

  Kaitlyn realized something. Not only could she hear Anna, but she had a sense of where Anna was, and what Anna was doing. It was as if she
could feel Anna's presence. And Lewis's . . .

  Lewis, shut the panel, she thought. And then get upstairs. Anna, let the dogs go as soon as he does.

  And what are you going to do? Lewis asked. Kait could sense that he was working on the panel.

  Hide, Rob said briefly, turning off the fluorescent lights in the hallway and the office.

  Although it seemed like hours since the explosion in Kaitlyn's mind, she knew it was only a few seconds.

  This strange telepathy might be very, very disconcerting, but it was an extraordinarily efficient way to communicate.

  I've got the panel shut. I'm going upstairs, Lewis said.

  I'm letting the dogs go-quick, Lewis! Come on! Anna's voice sharpened, and Kait felt a surge of urgency from her.

  What's happening? Kait demanded.

  Wait-I think it's all right. Yes. Now what Kait felt from Anna was relief. He was coming around through the dining room just as we went up the stairs, but I don't think he saw us. He was looking down at the dogs.

  You two had better get into bed. He might come upstairs, Rob said. Kaitlyn turned toward him in the dark. It was fascinating-his silent mental voice sounded just like his ordinary voice, but more so. It was more honest, it seemed to carry more of him in it. Right now it was full of quiet concern for Anna and Lewis.

  "Or he might come down here," Rob's real voice whispered to Kait. "Come on."

  He took her hand. How he could navigate in the dark was beyond her, but he guided them both to the corner desk.

  "Get under it," he whispered. "The file cabinets block off the view from the door."

  Kaitlyn found herself squeezing into a very tight place.

  And then they waited. There was nothing else to do. Kaitlyn's heart was beating violently, seeming loud in the quietness. Her hand in Rob's was slick. Sitting still was much harder than moving and talking had been.

  Another fear had gripped her. This was Gabriel's power, right? The one that had killed Iris, the girl in Durham; that had driven the Mohawk volunteer crazy after forty-five seconds. How long had Gabriel kept their minds linked up tonight? And how much longer before he started to suck their brains out?

  It has to get unstable, she reminded herself. That's what he said. He can control it if he keeps the contact short.

  She was still afraid. Even though Gabriel hadn't said anything since the beginning, she could feel him out there. A strong presence, surrounded by smooth, hard walls. He was keeping them all in contact. And every second that ticked by made the contact more dangerous.

  Beside her, Rob stiffened. Listen, he said.

  Kaitlyn heard. A sliding, rattling sound. The panel.

  I don't think that's Lewis, Rob said.

  It's not. I'm in bed, Lewis said.

  Anna's mental voice was clear and purposeful. Do you want us to do anything, Kait?

  Kait took a deep breath, then sent the thought, No, just sit tight. We'll be fine. At the same time she felt Rob squeeze her hand. There were some things that could be said without even telepathy. She and Rob both knew that they wouldn't be fine-but she couldn't think of any way for Anna to help.

  Light suddenly showed in a diffuse fan pattern on the office floor. Mr. Zetes had turned on the fluorescents in the hallway.

  Please don't let him come in. Please don't let him come in, Kaitlyn thought. Then she tried to stop thinking, in case the others could hear her panic.

  The office door was opening, light spilling in.

  Beneath the desk, Kaitlyn buried her face in Rob's shoulder, trying to keep absolutely still. If he didn't actually come in-if he only looked in ...

  More light. Mr. Z had turned on the office switch. Now he had only to step beyond the file cabinets to see them.

  I wonder if we'll be terminated, Kait thought. Like Sabrina. Like Marisol. She wanted to jump out and get it over with, to confront Mr. Zetes. They were lost anyway. The only thing that kept her from moving was Rob's arm around her.

  Upstairs, she heard a wild clamor. An explosion of barking and baying.

  What is it? she thought.

  Gabriel's voice, cool sarcasm underlaid with heated anger, came back. I've riled the dogs a little. I figure that should bring him up.

  Kaitlyn held her breath. There was a pause, then the lights in the office went off and the door shut. A minute later the light in the hallway went off, too- and then she heard a rattle.

  She sagged against Rob. He squeezed her with both arms and she clung back, even though it was really too warm for clinging.

  Above, the barking went on and on. Then, gradually, it faded as if getting more distant.

  Gabriel's voice came again. He's taking them out to the limo. I don't think he's coming back, but Joyce might be-any minute now.

  Lewis, Rob said, get us out of here.

  Ten minutes later, they were all upstairs in the study.

  It was perfectly dark except for the moonlight coming in the window. They could barely see each other, but that didn't matter. They could feel each other.

  Kaitlyn had never been so aware of other people in her life. She knew where each of them was; she had a vague sense of what each was doing. It was as if they were not quite separate creatures-isolated and yet attached somehow.

  Like insects caught in a huge web, she thought. Tied together by almost invisible threads. Every pull on the strands lets you know someone else is moving. Her artist's mind gave her an image: the five of them hanging trapped, spread-eagled, and the silken strands between them humming with power.

  "Nice picture. But I don't want to be trapped in a web with you," Lewis said mildly.

  "And I don't want to have you reading my thoughts," Kaitlyn told him. "That was private."

  How am I. . . "I mean, how am I supposed to tell?" Lewis asked, changing from mental voice to ordinary voice in midsentence.

  "Nobody likes it," Rob said. "Switch it off, Gabriel."

  There was a silence which Kaitlyn sensed with both mind and ears.

  Everyone turned to look at Gabriel. He looked back with cold defiance.

  "Fine," he said. "Just tell me how."

  CHAPTER 12

  Kaitlyn stared into the darkness where Gabriel was sitting.

  What do you mean? Rob asked, deadly quiet. He didn't even seem to notice he wasn't speaking out loud.

  "What have you done before?" Anna put in quickly. "I mean, how does it stop, usually?"

  Gabriel turned to her. "Usually? When people drop dead or start screaming."

  There was another blank silence, then a sudden gabble of voices, both mental and otherwise.

  Are you saying it's going to kill us?-that was Lewis.

  "Just a minute; let's all stay calm."-Anna.

  I think you'd better start explaining, buddy!-Rob.

  Gabriel sat for a moment, and Kait had the feeling of raised hackles and bared teeth from him-like one of the rottweilers. Then, slowly and coldly, he began to explain.

  It was the story he'd told Kaitlyn about his powers:

  about how Iris, the girl in Durham, had died, about his escape afterward, about the man who'd tried to kill him, the man he'd killed instead. He told it without emotion-but Kaitlyn could feel the emotion that was suppressed behind the wall. They all could- and Kaitlyn could tell that, too.

  I hate this as much as you do, Gabriel finished. The last thing I want is to see what's in your helpless little minds. But if I knew how to control it, I wouldn't be here.

  He feels more trapped than anyone else. Like a spider caught in its own web, Anna commented, and Kaitlyn wondered if it was meant to be a shared insight, or if Anna was just thinking it.

  "But then why did you do it to us tonight?" Rob demanded. Kait could feel the bewilderment emanating from him. Direct contact with Gabriel's mind had shaken his view of Gabriel as a selfish, ruthless killer-Kaitlyn could tell that. Which was funny, she thought, because the image of a selfish, ruthless killer was exactly what Gabriel was trying so hard to project right now. "If you kn
ew you couldn't control it, why did you use telepathy on us?" Rob said angrily.

  Because I couldn't think of any other way to save your useless necks! Gabriel's reply had the force of a knockout blow.

  Rob sat back.

  "There probably wasn't another way," Kaitlyn said judiciously. "Mr. Zetes was just about to walk in on us when the dogs started barking. What did you do to them, by the way?"

  Threw a shoe at them.

  At those dogs? Jeeeez, Lewis said.

  Gabriel seemed to give a mental shrug. I figured he'd have to come up and see what was going on. Then he couldn't get them to shut up, so he finally had to take them outside.

  "Look," Anna broke in, "maybe we shouldn't be using this thing so much. Maybe it'll go away sooner if we all just ignore it."

  "It'll go away when we go to sleep," Gabriel said flatly-but aloud, Kaitlyn noticed.

  "Are you sure?" Lewis asked.

  "Yes."

  Kaitlyn decided not to mention that Gabriel didn't feel as sure as he sounded.

  "We really should go to sleep, anyway," she said. It was only now, when all the panic and excitement were over, that she could begin to realize how tired she was. She was stiff from tension and from sitting under that desk. And her mind was exhausted from trying to take in everything that had gone on today.

  From Marisol's seizure, to Mr. Zetes appearing by the hidden door, to her drawing in art class, to the burglary-so much had happened that her brain was simply giving up.

  "But you didn't tell us what was down there behind the panel," Lewis said. "Did you find anything?"

  "We found plenty, all bad," Rob said. "But Kaitlyn's right. We can talk about it tomorrow."

  Kaitlyn could feel Anna biting her lip on questions, judging that it was wiser to wait. She could feel Lewis sighing. But it was all muffled by an enormous sense of weariness-even of dizziness, of illness. She wasn't just feeling her own fatigue, she realized. Gabriel was on the verge of collapse. He was-Rob, she said urgently.

  Rob was already moving. In trying to stand up, Gabriel had staggered and fallen to his knees. Kaitlyn helped Rob put him back on the couch.