“So, what do you think it’s going to feel like, being out here with all those eyes on you?” Michael asked, walking onto the stage from the wing and wrapping an arm around Sandra’s waist. “Are you looking forward to it?”
“I think it’s going to be the biggest thrill I’ve ever felt,” Sandra replied honestly, taking a moment to stroke invisible fingers over Michael’s emotions. There was still plenty of lust and desire, though the edges of a new emotion were bleeding into it all. Sandra almost laughed aloud when she recognized the bubbling feeling, almost like champagne: love. That would make controlling him so much easier, especially as it was an emotion she had nothing to do with. “It’s part of what I wanted when I decided to become a lawyer. The courtroom would have been my stage. Yes, I am looking forward to it very, very much. What about you, Michael dear? What do you think of my plan?”
“I think it’s a good plan,” Michael said honestly, scanning the rows of empty seats and imagining them filled with people. “Though I can’t promise I won’t get stage fright the first time. I’ve never been in front of this large of a crowd. But I’m really worried about Amy. She’s not all that much of a public speaker.”
“That’s why I’ve been pushing you guys so hard when we practice,” Sandra explained, letting her head rest against Michael’s. It was interesting being with a guy who was just slightly shorter than she was. Sandra was finding she was enjoying it and Michael himself. “We have to be perfect. The better we are, the more money we can make. Imagine, in just a few short years, retiring to a sandy beach somewhere with more money than we know what to do with. Sipping colorful, frothy drinks underneath an umbrella and swimming in crystal clear waters with the sun shining down. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”
Sandra knew she was lying through her teeth but felt no guilt over it. This ability was a new lease on life for her, the wake-up call she didn’t know she’d been waiting for. Being an empath opened up so many opportunities for her to get exactly what she wanted without having to work nearly as hard for it all. Plus, emotions were addicting. Like she’d explained so many weeks ago when she’d first discovered the ability, negative emotions were dangerous and sharp and hard. There was a thrill in walking the line of physical and emotional sensation and Sandra danced along that line in sinful glee. It was the origin of the name she’d chosen for herself, really. Amy wasn’t too much of a problem, Sandra decided while Michael contemplated the pleasing image she’d woven for him. Amy had a lot of greed buried deep within her and a wish for recognition. All Sandra needed to do was spike those emotions before Amy went on stage and top it all off with a dash of confidence.
“I think I’d like to retire to Maui,” Michael said thoughtfully, pulling Sandra off the stage as he spoke. “Beautiful place, friendly people, far away from anyone else. I think it’d be perfect for us.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Sandra said, pulling her lips back from her teeth in what she knew Michael would take for a smile. It sounded positively boring. There was no way Sandra was going to allow herself to end like that. With her ability and her determination, the world was her oyster and her limit. Empress of the World had a nice ring to it and Sandra wanted it. She wanted the power and the prestige and the money. Michael and Amy were merely tools, stepping stones to get her to where she needed to be. And, like tools, Sandra felt no compunctions about using them until their usefulness came to an end. People disappeared all the time and were never heard from again. Two more people would hardly make a ripple.
“One more practice session before the show tonight?” Michael asked, pressing a kiss to Sandra’s cheek. “Amy’s back in the hotel room working on controlling her fireballs. She can juggle four now quite easily. And I wouldn’t mind more practice with controlling how far and fast I move while levitating.”
“All right,” Sandra nodded, slipping out of his grip with a silent sigh of relief. While she appreciated the attention Michael lavished on her, what woman wouldn’t, he would not have been her first choice of dates. Had she not been in control of his emotions as she was, Sandra doubted she would have given Michael much more than a few dates. “You also need to practice with your origami. Those cranes you made were quite a display floating above our heads last night.”
They left the theater and headed up to their room, which connected to Amy’s. Having a separate room was an easy decision as Amy didn’t want to intrude upon them. The other woman was enjoying her time alone now, George barely crossing her thoughts. Any time Sandra felt Amy’s emotions slip towards nostalgia or sorrow, she was quick to reverse the trend. Thoughts of George might be enough for Amy to break out of the control Sandra had over her. It was nowhere near as strong or pervasive as the control she had over Michael. But when she walked through the door to her and Michael’s room to see Amy juggling four fireballs in a figure eight pattern, Sandra pushed all those thoughts out of her mind. There were more important things to focus on right now. More important plans for the future that Sandra preferred to dwell on.
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Jane woke me in the morning with an annoying buzzing, imitating an alarm clock. Checking the clock on the nightstand, I saw that it was six am. Early enough for me to get ready and still be up and prepared before all the others. I yawned and stretched, hearing a slight popping in my back. I hated mornings but, if this trial followed a similar pattern to ours, I wouldn’t have to wake up this early too often. I took a quick shower and dressed just as quickly, brushing my teeth before heading to the kitchen. I made a bowl of cereal and ate it, wondering if Billy would be up before the others. I could hear Dr. Carnesby moving around in his office, vague muttering coming from the open door.
“Morning,” Billy said, rubbing at the back of his head while yawning as he made his way into the kitchen. “We up first?”
“Dr. Carnesby’s awake but the others are all still in their rooms,” I explained, eating more of my cereal as Billy made a bowl for himself. “They’ve still got some time. What do you think Dr. Carnesby’s going to want us to do?”
“I don’t know, maybe write down findings or help if anyone gets sick,” Billy replied, alluding to our trial without giving too much information. We had no idea if anyone was actually listening and it would be a bad idea to give too much away this early. If and when anyone developed abilities, the question of explaining our own experiences would most likely come up again. “We’ll just have to see.”
Before we’d finished our cereal, the others had straggled into the kitchen. Everyone looked tired and was rubbing at their eyes or yawning. Dr. Carnesby was the last into the kitchen, looking far too cheerful for this early in the morning. He was carrying a clipboard though I couldn’t see what was on it since he was holding it close to his chest. He beamed at the others and clapped his hands together once.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen, we have a schedule today for all of you,” Dr. Carnesby explained, grabbing an apple from the counter and taking a bite out of it. “I’ll need to draw some blood from all of you and then there’ll be tests to get a baseline reading for you before you receive your first injection. Afterwards, there will be a few questionnaires for you to fill out. I want you to be as honest as possible answering the questions. Billy, George, when you both are done with your breakfasts, I want you to come back to my office so I can explain what I would like you two to do.”
Billy and I nodded as Dr. Carnesby took another bite of his apple. It made sense to explain everything away from the others. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with any needles. I had no idea how to inject anything into anyone. After seeing an acknowledgement from everyone, Dr. Carnesby headed back to his office whistling tunelessly as he went. I finished my cereal first and dropped the bowl in the sink before nodding to Billy and heading to the lab. I settled on the examination table in Dr. Carnesby’s office, looking around curiously. The small room looked exactly the same, even down to the plant on his desk. Billy followed a few minutes later, c
losing the door and standing with his back against it.
“Billy, if you could just make sure we aren’t being eavesdropped on?” Dr. Carnesby asked, a touch of hesitancy in his voice. “I’m sorry to keep imposing on you but that ability is rather useful.”
“It’s all right,” Billy said, shaking his head. “Passive listening like that isn’t too much of a problem. All I need to do is make sure there are no thoughts near the door. I don’t have to actively follow any specific person’s thoughts.”
“So what did you want us to do?” I asked, propping my elbows on my knees and resting my chin on my hands. I fought back a yawn and thought longingly of my bed. “I have to tell you, I can’t help with the medical stuff.”
“No, I know that, George, and that’s not what I want you to do,” Dr. Carnesby explained, tapping a pen against the paper on his clipboard. “What I want you to do is just watch the others. And, if anyone gets sick like the five of you did, help me take care of them until the sickness passes.”
“I can help you with the medical side. Blood pressure, blood samples, injections,” Billy offered, looking somewhat pleased by the idea. “I’ve been trained in all of that and it would be good practice for me.”
Dr. Carnesby nodded, a pleasantly surprised smile on his face. With that out of the way, he turned and pulled a stack of paper out of one of the drawers in his desk. I recognized the questionnaires we had filled out by skimming over the first few questions. Dividing the papers into eight sets of stacks, Dr. Carnesby handed half to me and half to Billy. I looked over the questions again, wondering if there were any updates or changes since the trial that had finally been successful. But the questions were all the same. Perhaps the people in this Corporation had no idea why we changed either.
“Since Billy can help with the blood draws and everything, I want you to oversee the stress tests George,” Dr. Carnesby said as he pulled out a second blood pressure cuff and handed it to Billy. “There’s another machine in the lab for blood pressure, Billy. If they choose to ride the treadmill, George, you can explain what they need to do. Any who choose the chemical stress test will be dealt with by Billy or myself. I think that covers just about everything, gentlemen. Do either of you have any questions?”
We both shook our heads as I stood up from the examination table. This trial seemed straightforward and very much like the one Billy and I had endured a few months ago. I still hoped that these eight people would be lucky enough to get through the month without being affected by Gnotret. It would be a blessing, really. I wouldn’t wish the uncertainty and fear I felt every day on even my worst enemy. It felt like doom waiting just over my shoulder, a doom that I had no idea what shape it would take or when it would strike. Though, I had a twisty, painful gut feeling that one of the faces that doom would wear would be Amy’s.
A quiet knock on the door snapped all our eyes to it and I let out a relieved breath that we’d finished the conversation before someone had walked up. Then again, with Billy listening I suppose that was just to be expected. Billy raised an eyebrow at Dr. Carnesby, silently asking whether he should open the door. After a moment's’ thought, Dr. Carnesby nodded. Now would be as good a time to start as any, especially if the others were ready. Billy opened the door to Wendy’s smiling face.
“So, when do we start? Because, I have to admit, if we’re not starting for a while, I think I’m going back to bed,” Wendy said, laughing as she looked from Billy to me to Dr. Carnesby.
“Why don’t you step inside, Wendy, and we can start with you?” Dr. Carnesby suggested, gesturing for Wendy to come in. I slipped out the door with Billy and pulled out a chair in the lab. I probably wouldn’t be needed for a little while.
“I’m going to go pick out someone to start drawing their blood,” Billy said, dropping the stack of papers he was still carrying on the table next to me. “Have fun supervising.”
“Oh yeah,” I said dryly, rolling my eyes. “I get to crack the whip and make them run on treadmills. Though, I have to admit, it’s going to be a bit funny.”
Billy laughed and walked into the kitchen to pick his first subject. I can only guess that he saw Darryl first as he and Billy came walking back just a minute later. Billy went through the whole testing that we’d gone through, writing down the results in a notebook he’d taken from Dr. Carnesby’s office. Billy was very efficient at drawing Darryl’s blood and the other guy sat very still, looking down interestedly at the needle in his arm.
“There. That wasn’t so bad,” Billy said, pulling the needle out of Darryl’s arm and putting a bandage over the puncture. He set the tubes of blood off to the side after labeling them carefully with Darryl’s name and the date. “You’ll need to do a stress test as well. You can either run on the treadmill or do the chemical one.”
“Treadmill, I think,” Darryl said, nodding emphatically. “It’ll be easy.”
“That’s where I come in then,” I said, standing up and walking over to one of the treadmills in the corner. “Warm up for two minutes, run for ten, then walk again for three to cool down. This machine will monitor you.”
I hooked up Darryl to the machine as Wendy walked out of Dr. Carnesby’s office. She waited in the lab while both Billy and Dr. Carnesby got two more people. She chose the treadmill as well and I started her on the second one after explaining the timing and hooking her up to the machine. The morning passed quickly, for me at least, as each person chose to run on the treadmill rather than take the chemical stress test. I could understand that. From seeing how Michael had reacted to it, and my personal experiences with such a test in the past, I wouldn’t want to go through it myself.
After the tests, the questionnaires were handed out and everyone scattered. Nick and Eric stayed in the lab with Billy and I, Nick asking questions and getting Billy to laugh every once in a while. Elyse, Darryl, and Wendy took over the kitchen, spreading their papers out across the table. Brandy, Rose, and Tabitha settled themselves in armchairs in the lounge, an episode of a comedy show playing on the Playstation while they filled out their questionnaires. I helped answer any questions about the questions themselves and kept Billy, Nick, and Eric company.
Once everyone had finished their questionnaires, Elyse being the last one to hand hers back, Dr. Carnesby gathered the group in the kitchen much like he had for us. The first injection was relatively painless and quick, Billy and Dr. Carnesby going around the table in opposite directions. And that was that. I had a hard time understanding exactly why we had to wake up so early but maybe keeping to a specific schedule was important. It was barely time for lunch and, this time, Elyse and Tabitha cooked some sort of stir fry with peapods, carrots, broccoli, zucchini and chicken. It smelled delicious and tasted just as good.
The rest of the day passed as the night before had, games and movies taking up our time. Wendy tried a chess game against Jane and lost quickly while Tabitha played her again and lasted a little longer. I felt a stirring of hope as the day wore on and no one showed any signs of getting sick. Maybe this time, these eight people would avoid the fate we’d suffered. But that hope was short lived as, just after dinner, Darryl retired to his room with the beginnings of a cold. Billy and I exchanged worried yet resigned glances, knowing exactly what that meant. At the end of the first week, Darryl would feel incredibly better and show some sort of superhuman ability. What that might be was a complete mystery at this point, though.
And, inevitably, the others started getting sick. It wasn’t just from seeing Darryl sick and imagining themselves sick as Jane noted each change. Only Wendy and Tabitha were exempt from the flu-like symptoms. They stayed up with Billy and me, talking quietly about their first day. Wendy kept trying to wheedle more information about the trial and the drug itself, which no one knew the name of just yet. But Billy and I managed to deflect each of her questions. I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and could only pray no one in this group went the way Sandra did. Three people were dangerous enough. Adding more could only be a r
ecipe for disaster.
Chapter 5
It had all gone perfectly, completely without a hitch. The seats weren’t packed, by any means, but there were plenty of people coming to view their little magic show. Michael levitating across the stage brought the expected oohs and aahs while Amy’s fireballs were definitely a crowd favorite. Michael even went beyond what they had practiced by levitating his origami cranes out to people in the audience. While it was risky, after all people can feel changes in gravity if they’re paying attention, it was a brilliant decision. The ones who caught the cranes felt even more a part of the show and it provided a bit of personalization to everyone. After all, anyone could possibly get a crane souvenir of their own as Michael had been careful to sprinkle them throughout the audience.
But far and away, the best part of the show was her own part in it. At least in Sandra’s opinion. She’d taken Michael’s suggestion about reading other’s emotions and gone a step sideways: instead of reading whatever random emotions the volunteer was feeling, Sandra had a little black box with slips of paper listing emotions on it. That they were all on the negative or neutral side of the emotional spectrum was Sandra’s little secret. Four volunteers had been brought up to the stage when Sandra had taken over from Amy. She held the box out to each of them, allowing each person to pick out a slip of paper. Then, Sandra had instructed them to try and feel whatever was written on the paper. The three men and one woman had taken on expressions of extreme concentration as their emotions shifted and swirled. It was difficult trying to feel an emotion without any stimulus for that emotion. But slowly, so slowly that she thought she was imagining it at first, her volunteers’ emotions stabilized. One specific emotion shone from each of them with its accompanying physical sensation. And here was where Sandra exulted and reveled in her abilities.
Expansion (The Accidental Heroes Chronicles Book 2) Page 6
