Unknown Touch

by Gina Marie Long

  "I didn't bother snooping into your thoughts while you slept. I figured the chances of you and Daniel connecting last night were pretty slim since you were totally exhausted." Dom had this look on his face like he had failed or not done his job properly. He thought it was his duty to keep a watchful eye on me and any psychic occurrences I encountered.

  I said, "You know, Dominic, you don't need to be in my brain all the time. Everyone needs to sleep including you. Do you really think you can prop yourself up on your bed every single night and zone into my brain the entire time I'm sleeping, monitoring every detail of my dreams? That's impossible. You're going to turn into a zombie or have to start sleeping during the day. And puh-lease don't tell me there are really zombies now…?"

  "Umm…" Zac started to speak but everyone glared at him, "I think we'll save that topic for another time."

  "I have a lot to learn, don't I?" I stated.

  "Well, Kara, is there anything more you can tell us about this dream, this telepathy thing you had going on with Daniel last night? This is so exciting," Tessa was sitting on the edge of her chair about to fall off waiting for more information.

  I noticed Dominic's eyes jump from Tessa to me. He definitely wanted to hear more, too, but there was apprehension and uneasiness in that look he had. Even jealousy? Oh, come on, I had only met him the day before. He couldn't be jealous.

  "After I went to bed, at some point during the night, I recognized that the dream I started having was familiar to me. From what everyone told me during the day, this had to be Daniel I was dreaming about. Basically, I focused on making a mental connection with him to try to pull us out of this whacky dream state and make it seem more real. That way we could talk to each other like when Dom and I communicate with our minds. It worked really great. At first I had to convince him he wasn't totally dreaming all of it and that I was a real, live person not a figment of his imagination. I told him about how we were going to help him and about my psychic abilities. I said Eli would call him in the morning as proof of my existence. And, of course, Eli you did just that, making a believer out of him." I decided not to divulge all the personal, emotional details I had experienced during my contact with Daniel. I even put up a slight mental block against Dominic, fearing he would detect there was something more on a deeper level that I wasn't telling them. I didn't want to ramble on like a schoolgirl about all those wonderful, loving sensations Daniel made me feel. It would be embarrassing and uncomfortable to discuss such things except perhaps with Tessa…maybe.

  Eli reported, "Daniel said that at this moment, Stephen hasn't done anything violent since he killed that farmer, which he claims was done in self-defense. Although, he's still acting too aggressively and Daniel fears Stephen could snap at any moment. He commented he will be glad when we arrive down there knowing we've got a few tricks up our sleeves to help him out." Eli then looked over at me and winked. I knew I was one of those tricks he was referring to. I hoped I could work my magic to everyone's satisfaction and perform a good deed without letting anyone down.

  Before long, everyone started parting ways again. Each had their own designated duties to take care of for the day. Dominic and I headed off towards the research room. I wondered when I would be allowed to go to the surface, to be outside, or if I should consider myself part mole from now on. And so far it had only been about a day of living down here but it felt like a week. I realized I couldn't go trouncing around Highland with the story of my departure spreading through the grape vine. After all, I was supposed to be taking off to the great unknown on a road trip to California. I could not be seen by anyone in this area or it would blow my cover.

  "Dom, when are we going to Kentucky Lake? And the town is called Hamlin, right?" I asked.

  He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Probably in about a week. We want to make sure you are ready and not stumbling into this blindly. You have far surpassed our expectations with your progress and skills. So I'm pretty sure it will be a week and we'll head down there. Yep, it's in Hamlin, Kentucky. Daniel actually owns several resorts and campgrounds around that whole area and the one he lives at is where we'll be staying. We may move to a different location if necessary but we'll start out there."

  "Wow, I can't believe he owns so many places down there. He must be loaded to be able to afford all that and the cost for the upkeep." I was fishing for information.

  Dominic casually responded, "You need to keep in mind, he's been around for a long time. Let's see here, if I calculated correctly, he is 342 years old. And when you've been around as long as he has, a person has the ability to invest money again and again over time which just keeps making more money, if you see what I mean. He is very smart and many years ago he bought up a lot of stock in certain high-profile companies that have done unbelievably well. That keeps him rolling in the money. Also, it's interesting to know, that they are the original owners who established those getaways. The resorts are meant to give him and the others in his pack something to do. It helps them blend in and usually keeps them busy and out of trouble. Plus they do make money from the resorts and campgrounds, too. Just an added bonus."

  I nodded. Did I hear him say 342 years old? Daniel looked awesome for being so old if that was the case. I fished a little more, "In my dreams, Daniel doesn't look old at all. How come?"

  "He became a werewolf when he was only 26 years old back in 1693. He will remain looking the way he does forever. He won't age. So in some ways, he is still only in his mid-twenties. Weird, huh?"

  Definitely strange. At least I was learning more bit by bit. This was good but there were many more questions I needed answers to yet. I fully intended to keep asking every chance I got. For the next several hours, we practiced our mind reading skills in various forms and functions. For fun, and to allow me to work on mind manipulation some more, Dominic had me place an image in Tessa's mind of bringing us some drinks and granola bars. It worked without a hitch because within two minutes of putting that thought in her head, she arrived at the door with our midday snack.

  "Hi guys! I thought you two might like something to munch on," Tessa announced as if this was such a nice gesture she had come up with all on her own. Dom and I smiled and thanked her and off she went feeling good about herself. We decided not to reveal to Tessa the little trick I had played on her mind. We discussed how some of the team could eventually get aggravated with me if I kept messing with their minds. In fact, they might start to distrust me. So, I would keep the mind games to a minimum within our gang and wouldn't broadcast to everyone each time I did experiment on them.

  Dom said, "Let's go outside. I need to work on my telekinesis with bigger objects."

  He took the lead, since I wasn't sure where the door to the great outdoors was located. It didn't take long and we were standing in front of it. I swear if you blinked too many times you could walk from one end of the command center to the other end. The exit was near the community restroom. He swung open the heavy steel door and we walked up a set of steep stairs as our footsteps echoed eerily in this tight area. Then he reached out to unlock another steel door, a few more steps, and I was joyfully breathing in fresh air from outside.

  I followed Dominic down a little trail that led further into a wooded area. An old tractor equipped with a blade for shoveling snow sat nearby. I noticed a fire pit area with a neat circular picnic table set up next to it. I sat down to watch Dominic practice his mad skills. He was zeroing in on some wood stacked up for burning. It was nice to see this laid back setting and the ground showed evidence of a recent bonfire I'm assuming they had. Suddenly, my peripheral vision was aware of activity. Dominic was mentally moving the stack of firewood, piece by piece, into the pit.

  "That's too cool," I proclaimed.

  "Now keep talking to me as I'm moving things. It'll help improve my concentration if you try to distract me."

  I babbled about miscellaneous stuff, even reciting the alphabet. He continued moving the firewood around from spot to spot doing very
well.

  "How about a moving object? Can you stop something I throw at you in mid-flight?" I prompted him. At that moment, I reached down, grabbed a fairly heavy limb and lobbed it directly at his torso. Half way to its destination of hitting him the limb bounced off some invisible wall and fell straight down to the ground.

  Dominic gleamed, "I deserve an "A" for that one! Honestly, Kara, I don't believe I ever tried that before. The objects I've always moved have been still. That was a good idea to try out."

  "I would think that skill could be used as a form of protection if someone was trying to hurt us." I contemplated several images in my head of dangerous scenarios playing out and Dominic coming to the rescue.

  Dom gave me a huge smile, since he had picked up what I was thinking about him having the role of a superhero. His ego was going to explode if he didn't watch it and if I didn't watch what he was grabbing out of my brain.

  He suggested I try some more experimenting with mind reading on Tessa or Zac or even Eli. Dom said I should be able to have mental conversations with others that don't have telepathic abilities as long as I initiate it. Obviously they could not read my mind, but if I entered their minds like I did so easily with Dominic, and made them conscious I was there for a chat, then in theory they should be able to communicate with me.

  I sat back down at the picnic table and focused on Eli. I figured it was his turn for me to test myself on. And I knew he'd be impressed. In my head I pictured what Eli looked like and the aura of his being. To be polite, I didn't want to scare him to death with my instant intrusion into his mind, so I gently thought his name several times and pretended as if I was knocking on an imaginary door to get his attention.

  Then I said, Eli, it's Kara. Can you hear me in your head? I realized that had to sound pretty silly but whatever worked.

  Kara? Eli sounded thrilled with this mental connection.

  I answered, How am I doing? Am I coming through loud and clear?

  Yes, I can communicate with you just fine. I see Dom is doing a good job encouraging you to keep pushing yourself. You're a natural at this. Try Zac and Tessa out. This will be extremely important and helpful in our future endeavors, he affirmed.

  It sounded like a fun plan to me. I told Dom what I was up to and proceeded to make mental connections first with Tessa and then Zac. I sensed Tessa gasping from the surprise of me talking in her head. Zac grumbled a bit having been caught off guard but was glad that we could keep in contact with this alternate way of speaking. Dominic was able to do this type of telepathy with them at any given time. He only chose appropriate times to use this skill though; otherwise it tended to drive the others crazy.

  I decided to try connecting with Daniel next. This time I would be awake instead of dreaming and I figured the experience should feel different.

  Daniel, it's Kara, are you there? I really tried to focus but was having a hard time with Dominic walking around. Again, Daniel, I'm trying to contact you while awake, are you there?

  If you could imagine trying to talk to someone who is on a cell phone with a horrible connection, that was what it felt like. I thought I mentally heard him say my name, but couldn't swear to it. I definitely wanted and needed to work on this project some more. Perhaps Daniel and I both had distractions that could be interfering with our mental bond at that precise moment. Who knew what he was actually doing down in Kentucky right then. I doubt he was just lounging around staring at the ceiling waiting for me to start up a telepathic conversation with him. I'm positive I sensed that he was aware of my effort to contact him, though.

  It was getting late in the afternoon and Dominic mentioned we better return to our underground quarters so he could make supper. I was starving and as long as I didn't have to make anything, I was content to head back down and help out with other chores.

  As we walked, I kept trying to think of intelligent questions to ask. I remembered one in particular and blurted out, "Do vampires exist, too?"

  Dominic got a kick out of supplying me with information. He proceeded as if he were giving a speech, "Yes, there are good and bad vampires just like there are werewolves. And vampires can transform recently dead people into zombies. They can also turn humans into their own personal servants. These poor, unsuspecting people are completely under the control of the vampire but haven't been turned into an actual vampire yet. A complete conversion is not done on them when they are to be used as servants. Let's see, what else…there are various types of demons scattered around and witches seem to be making a comeback."

  I stared at him in horror. How did the mainstream public not know about all this? He did mention before how the government had their hands in this and are very capable of cover-up stories.

  Dom filled me in on how he and Eli had been covertly working together on this mission and a few smaller ones over the last six months. He admitted that within days of his arrival in Highland he had sensed my presence in the area. Dom informed Eli of my psychic potential and started monitoring me around that time. He checked in on me about once a week to observe how I was doing. During those six months, they drove to Kentucky in an attempt to help Daniel with the disturbances between the two wolf packs. They had little success but while down there they got to know the area fairly well. Another trip was made to Daniel's resort once Zac and Tessa came on board. Eli wanted to make sure Daniel knew The Liaison people and felt comfortable being around them. The idea was to try to be a mediator. But if violence and killing were the only thing on the bad wolves' minds, then Zac would step in and basically kill the ones causing all the trouble. Dom explained how some werewolves and vampires teeter between good and evil. There are the ones that can be helped and persuaded to come back over to the good side and try to co-exist with humans but those that are too far gone, too evil, have to be killed.

  As we ate our supper that night, each of us took turns and openly discussed how productive his or her day had been. Eli agreed with Dominic we would be going to Hamlin, Kentucky within the week. Everyone was visibly pleased that my psychic skills had progressed to a level beyond what they had expected from me, at least so quickly. I was tired after all this talk and wanted to flop down and relax for the evening, maybe even watch a show on TV. I drowsily excused myself and went to my room.

  After a few hours, I fell into a wonderfully relaxing sleep. Sometime during the night, almost like clockwork, I had that familiar dream creeping into my head again. Without a second thought, I knew it was Daniel, looking as seductive as ever. I started to reel him in to a clearer mental bond with me and to let him know I was there.

  Daniel, I'm here.

  He looked deeper into my eyes and the realization of what was happening showed on his face. You tried to contact me today, didn't you?

  I smiled and said, Yes, but I did that while we were awake. It didn't work very well. Can I keep trying to make that mental connection during waking hours, if you don't mind? I think it would be useful… I trailed off with that comment. Not totally sure what I meant by useful.

  Absolutely, Kara. I would like that very much, Daniel seemed distracted and his face appeared frustrated.

  What is wrong? I can see and feel that you're upset about something, I pressed him for an answer.

  It's Stephen. I fear for the safety of anyone near him, including animals he should leave be. One day he behaves and the next day he pushes the limits of our rules we've always lived by, Daniel clarified.

  Let me try to calm you. It's one of my abilities. I offered to help him. He stood still with a look of anticipation. In our unconscious states, I took his hands into mine and looked up into those beautiful black eyes of his. With intense concentration, I placed feelings of comfort, calmness, peace into his mind. I even threw in the graphic images of waterfalls and laying in a hammock between two pine trees for good measure. I sensed he was going to "his happy place" now, slowly shifting into a different frame of mind.

  Kara, you are a miracle worker. I do feel better now. It's as if you've taken
away my anger and replaced it with good thoughts. Daniel was ecstatic that I could do this for him. He immediately grabbed me up in a hug and swung me off my feet. Then he planted a gentle kiss on the top of my head. It was so sweet and his gratitude dripped off of him.

  At that moment, and I swear it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard, Dominic's voice broke into this scene between Daniel and myself. It was only his voice, but nonetheless it was still intrusive. From what I gathered, Dominic had decided to drop into my mind for a few scant seconds and encountered my mental connection with Daniel. Can you say, weird?!

  Oops! Sorry if I interrupted anything here. Dominic seemed to be snickering.

  I replied, Well, you'll be glad to know I was able to use my skills to help Daniel calm down. For some reason, I had this unsettled feeling with Dominic popping in as he did. I felt like I was caught doing something wrong, in a way. After this awkwardness, all three of us said goodnight and faded out.

  Over the next several days, life seemed like it was more or less repeating itself. Practice and experiment with our skills, have meals and discuss the latest accomplishments and most nights I had brief mental bonding encounters with Daniel. Since we knew Dom could drop in anytime he chose to, Daniel and I didn't pursue any deep conversations while we slept. During the day, I was starting to have better awake sessions contacting Daniel, too. Dominic was usually standing nearby when these took place. The telepathic link was getting much stronger and clearer during these awake states, in part, I believed, because of the nightly contact and getting more familiar with each other. I knew Dom was jealous of Daniel and me. I sensed this and he couldn't hide it from me. I didn't want to think too deep or hard on that right now, because I greatly cared for Dominic too.

  Tessa recommended I keep calling my parents every few days, maintaining as close of a relationship as I could with them. Hopefully it would ease their worry and prevent them from sending out a search party for me. With Thanksgiving being so close, we knew they would be more emotional since I was not going to spend the holiday with them.