by Dale Mayer
“Exactly,” she said.
“So, if you can’t remember, at least give us a hand at stopping her.”
She frowned and said, “I don’t want to do this, but I know that it needs to happen. Lizzy does need to be stopped,” she admitted.
“Good,” he said, “that’s progress.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think it is—because I don’t understand or trust in what you’re after here. But I am willing to not look at that end game until I can help stop her.”
“Fine,” he said, “just do that much.”
“And then what?” she said.
“And then, I don’t know,” he said. “That’s up to you.”
“I won’t help you any further.”
“Fine,” he said, exhausted. “You don’t have to. Let’s just deal with this.”
“Fine. But, when you get Lizzy here,” she said, “you know there’ll be hell to pay.”
“There’ll be hell to pay no matter what,” he said. “I’m dying. I don’t give a shit. But let’s at least bring this to a conclusion. Bring her here.”
She groaned and said, “And how do you expect me to bring Lizzy to you?”
“Call her,” he said. “She always used to listen to you before.”
“Before she moved to the dark side and became your puppet,” she snapped.
He glared at her. “Just do it.”
She looked down at her wounds and said, “I need to wash up.”
He turned to the guard and said, “Bring her a bowl of warm water.”
With that, the guard disappeared. She stared at Peter. “Why did you shoot me?”
“I was hoping the pain would cause you to remember.”
“It’s just pain,” she said. “I’ve lived with it for so long that it’s useless.” She reached into one of the wounds and popped out the bullet and threw it on the floor. Then she did the same with the other three. “You know that most people would see me as a freak, right?”
“If they saw you right now, yes,” he said, but still that same old fascination remained in his voice. He looked at her and said, “You’re a marvel. You know that, right?”
She shook her head. “I am not a marvel in any way, shape, or form,” she said. “I’m just one busted-up, broken-down, crazy-ass female, who’s one step away from death. The only way I can do this right now is because I healed from the last injuries and had time to rest.”
“No,” he said, “I don’t know about the rest of it, but you’re not one step away from death. That was the one thing you could always keep at bay.”
“And yet my twin sister died.”
“She did, indeed,” he said, “and, for that, I’m sorry, but she was always sickly.”
She nodded. “She was at that. So much pain always gets very confused in my head.”
“Mostly because everything’s a mess in there,” he said. “That’s why you need to stop Lizzy.”
“Because she’s making it worse?”
“Yes, she is, and she doesn’t mind doing it. It’s fun for her.”
“Well, that’s because she’s a mess herself,” she said, “and you made us that way.”
He groaned at that. “Well, let’s leave off all the blame for now and get down to work.”
Beth closed her eyes and called out, “Lizzy, it’s time for us to settle this. I need you to come back again.” The same laughing voice was in her head. “She’s just telling me to remember. That’s all she ever does.”
He looked at her and said, “Remember? That recording?”
“I heard it earlier,” she said. “Was Lizzy telling me to remember, or has it been that recording?”
“Most of the time it’s been the recording,” he said. “I’ve been playing it for a long time. That was Lizzy’s suggestion.”
“Of course,” Beth said, “it’s also like some Chinese torture, hearing that thing over and over again.”
“So deal with it.”
She closed her eyes and called out, sending her energy as far out as she could. “Lizzy, come to me.” When she heard nothing but laughter, she frowned and said, “She’s not listening.”
“You used to make her listen.”
She nodded. “At one point in time I could, but she’s being difficult.”
“It’s a part of who she is now.”
“Yeah, rogue,” she said, shaking her head. She closed her eyes and roared outward, “Lizzy, time to come home, time to deal with this problem. The two of us, we can meet and hash it out. We can finally be friends again.” She didn’t know about the friend part, but she thought she’d toss it out there. She had no idea why and how they’d become so estranged, but obviously there had been some horrific upset, something Beth had willingly blocked—mostly because, as far as she understood from the bits of memories that she had, Lizzy had done something Beth had totally disagreed with. Maybe time to look at her own judgments.
“Lizzy, I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but I’m a mess, and I need help.” That was the first time she had admitted that too.
At that, Lizzy whispered, Say you’re sorry.
“I’m sorry, Lizzy,” she said immediately. Now she felt rather than saw the presence around her. “I recognize your energy now.”
Peter nodded slowly. “If you’ve even remembered that, it’s a good start.”
“Maybe not,” Beth said. “You weren’t even the boss.”
“No,” he said, “I worked with the boss. I was part of the scenario, but I wasn’t the leading part.”
“Right,” she said, “you were doing some fellowship.”
He nodded slowly, but he eyed her carefully, as if he were more worried about what she would do.
“What’s the matter?” she whispered.
“I’m just waiting,” he said. “I know how volatile the two of you are when you get together.”
She nodded. “That’s because we were best friends, then separated by betrayal, and it just bites. Particularly considering we didn’t get much of a life.”
“I get it,” he said. “But it wasn’t me who kept you captive.”
“Apparently not,” she said, looking at him and really seeing him. “I didn’t recognize you. I still don’t.”
“No. Life hasn’t been all that easy for me.”
“What happened to him? The boss.”
“He died,” he said, eyeing her carefully again.
“Great. I can’t say I’m sorry.”
“No, of course not. He did a lot of terrible things that made your life hell.”
“Yes.”
“But he didn’t kill your sister,” he reminded her.
“Apparently not,” she said, frowning. “All of it is rolled up into one great big jumbled mess in my head.”
He nodded slowly. “Keep that in mind.”
She nodded. “Lizzy should be here soon.”
“Good,” he said. And in a move that made her completely stop and study him, he moved backward several steps. She took a close look at her surroundings, oddly noting Hunter without comment. “What happened to this place?”
He frowned. “Well, let’s talk about that, after Lizzy shows up.”
“Did she have something to do with it?”
He nodded. “Yes, she did.”
“Is she close physically?”
“She never leaves this area,” he said. “So, yes, she’s close.”
“Did you have to pick her up?”
“No, she didn’t want me to pick her up.”
Beth nodded. “Lizzy was always independent.”
“She was. She was also quite difficult.”
“Of course she was, particularly after you guys treated her that way.”
“Yes,” he said diffidently. Finally a rustling in the shadows was heard outside. “There she is.” He looked at Beth and spun away from the window almost fearfully.
“She’s got you running scared, doesn’t she?” Beth said with a sm
irk.
“Lizzy is very scary.”
“Yeah, she is. So are you ready to face her?” she asked.
“I am,” he said. “Are you?”
“Of course,” she said, with a wave of her hand. “Lizzy and I were friends more than we were enemies,” she said. “I’m hoping she’ll talk to me. I think it’s because she was jealous.”
“You think so?”
“I think so,” she said quietly.
“We’ll see,” he said. “Bring her in.”
She shrugged and said, “Did you open the door for her?”
“It’s open. I left it open for her,” he said, “but, like you, she’s also powerful.”
“That’s true. She wouldn’t have to worry about a door, if she didn’t want to.”
“Exactly.”
She smiled as she felt Lizzy’s energy nearing them and said, “Lizzy, come on in.”
After a moment of silence, then the partial door slowly opened wider. And in stepped Lizzy. Beth stared at her for a long moment.
“Oh, my God.”
*
Hunter crept out of the shadows, back up beside the guard, who reached out and grabbed him by the arm with a warning look. Hunter nodded. Again, the guard obviously wasn’t here to hurt him, and Hunter had certainly heard enough so far to understand that something dramatic was happening here. But when the door opened and Lizzy stepped through in her ghostly form, he couldn’t do anything but suck his breath back in shock.
The guard gripped Hunter’s arm hard in warning.
Hunter stared at Lizzy. Back to Beth. Then again to Lizzy. Lizzy was Beth. He whispered, “Triplets?”
The guard shook his head. “No.”
At the no, Hunter stared at the guard in shock. And then, riveted to the scene playing in front of him, he studied Lizzy’s faint form. If not her twin—or a triplet with the addition of Sarah—Lizzy had to be a ghost. Had to be.
But Beth studied Lizzy with a sense of detachment and finally said, “You don’t look so good,” her tone blunt, as if uncaring.
Lizzy laughed. “Neither do you.”
Beth frowned at that. “I guess that’s true, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is, and you should know by now that, if I don’t look good, you don’t look good.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have done this,” Beth said.
“I haven’t done anything,” Lizzy snapped. “You’re weak.”
“No, you were hurting people.”
“No, I haven’t. I haven’t hurt anybody.” And she stared at Beth.
Something trickled down her spine, making Beth uneasy. She looked around to see Peter standing there, staring at her. “Oh, my God,” she said. The room spun, and she blanked out.
Hunter stepped forward.
Frowning, Peter spun, extended his hands, yelling, “Don’t touch either of them. You must stay out of this.”
Hunter looked at him, at the Lizzy form, still standing, then visually checked on Beth, who had fallen to the floor, and said, “What the hell’s going on?”
“You’ll find out,” he said, “but the only hope of saving Beth is to let this happen.” He walked forward, picked up a bucket of water, and threw it on her. Hunter stepped back, even as his instincts drove him to shake Peter and stop his abuse.
But when Beth burst awake again, she glared at Peter. “Water treatment? Really?”
He said, “It’s necessary.”
She turned to look at Lizzy. “What did you do? Put him up to this?”
“I didn’t put them up to anything,” Lizzy said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re the one who’s dangerous as hell.”
“No,” Beth said. “I’m not.”
“Why do you think he’s torturing you like this then?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “Why?”
“Remember.”
Chapter 33
Beth stared at Lizzy, for the first time seeing how vapid and pale her energy was. “Are you a ghost?” she demanded.
“No, of course not,” Lizzy said. “I need you to think back to that night.”
“What night?”
“The night you escaped.”
Beth nodded slowly. “Okay, what about it?”
“Do you remember the explosion?”
She frowned. “Vaguely. Noise and chaos, with screaming and some kind of … explosion. Like a bomb going off. What was that?”
“Well, you could say it was almost like an atom splitting,” Lizzy said, “but not so much an atom splitting as you splitting.”
Beth stared at her in shock. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“You’re … You’re … You’re Lizzy. My best friend.”
“Of course,” she said and gently smiled. “And the fact that you’re here now is really good.”
“Sure,” Beth said, giving her an odd look. “You guys are worrying me.”
“No, we aren’t worrying you,” Lizzy said. “We’re making you feel better, to be better.”
“This way?” she said. “With water torture?” she asked Peter.
“It’s necessary. Remember that night?”
“Yes, the one with the explosion. I know,” Beth said, “but I don’t know what caused the explosion.” She turned to look at Lizzy. “Was it you?”
“It was you,” Lizzy said firmly. “You’re the one who caused it.”
“What did I do?”
“You were hurting, and another person had died, and you’d just had it. It was your last straw, and you lost it, screaming as long and as hard as you could.” She paused for a moment. “think of the cat you loved more than life itself. It died that night too.”
“Ouch,” she said, staring at Lizzy, but the memories rushed back. Nocturne. Memories rushed in on her. Her beloved pet. Only allowed on sufferance as it kept her calm and his life always held over her head to keep her compliant.
“My God, you were testing somebody.” She turned to look at Peter, who immediately shook his head.
“Not me. The boss, yes. And you were testing the male subject, being used as a backdrop for him, and the test subject couldn’t handle it. He went insane, but the insanity just carried on right into death.”
“Oh, my God. I remember. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, like he had had a heart attack right in front of us. Only terrible convulsions and a terrible scream coming from his mouth.”
“Yes,” Peter said, nodding. She stared at him. “That was terrible and the last straw for you,” Peter said, smiling with encouragement.
“Yes,” she said, “I remember that.” She turned to Lizzy. “I remember screaming at the top of my lungs.”
“And that’s what happened. As soon as you started screaming, you did something, and the whole place blew.”
Beth stared at Lizzy in shock. “I caused that blast?”
Lizzy nodded. “Yes, you did. You caused it.”
She sagged in the chair. “Oh, my God. Did I kill anyone?”
Slowly Peter nodded. “You killed the boss.”
She stared at him, shaking her head. “No, no, no. I couldn’t have.”
“You did,” he said, “but that may have been something that needed to happen. I don’t know. But you did something else that night too.”
“What did I do?” she asked.
Peter hesitated, turned to Hunter and the guard standing there. “Your scream,” he said, “it’s like you couldn’t handle another death, so you split everything apart, into what you could handle and what you couldn’t handle.”
She stared at him, uncomprehending. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“And until I saw it happen,” he said, “I’d never seen anything like it before. But it’s true.”
“But what did I do exactly?”
He took a deep breath. “Your complete energy split. It’s like it blew apart with the explosion.”
“Okay,” she said, “but I obviously pulled myself
together enough because I escaped.”
“You did because one of the guards was running to get the hell away, and you got into the vehicle with him. He stopped and got out when he realized you were in the car with him, and he ran away and died.”
“What do you mean, he died?” she asked, staring at him. “He wasn’t killed?”
Peter shook his head. “His body is still out there in the woods. We didn’t do anything because we weren’t sure what to do or who to tell or how to even explain it.”
“Then how did he die?”
“I think at the time he had a heart attack. He was running flat-out into the brush, and we never saw him again. Apparently you just found him, during your last trip here.”
“The skeleton that Hunter and I found?” She stared at Peter in shock.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay,” she shrugged. “Well, I don’t remember that. I remember escaping.”
“Yes,” he said, “you did escape, or at least part of you escaped. The other part took an escape route that you didn’t expect.”
“What do you mean?” she said, staring at him, bewildered.
“He means me,” Lizzy said, stepping forward.
Beth stared at Lizzy. “You escaped?”
“I did,” she said. “But it isn’t exactly the way I expected to.”
Beth stared at her for a crazy moment, saying, “I don’t get it.”
“That’s because you don’t want to get it,” Lizzy said quietly. “But it’s simple.” And she stepped closer and closer and closer.
“Wait,” Beth said. “Don’t hurt me.”
Lizzy stopped. “I don’t intend to hurt you,” she said. “What I’m hoping to do is pull you back together again.” And then she stopped, looked at her, and said, “Or maybe I should say pull us back together again.”
Beth gasped, then stared at her old friend in shock, with a terrible awareness. “Oh … my God,” she said.
Lizzy nodded ever-so-slowly. “Yes,” she said, walking closer and closer, until she stood before her. “I am you, and you are me. And, in that explosion, you divided your energy into two separate existences. An existence you have spent a lifetime hiding from, and I’ve spent a lifetime chasing. We are one and the same.” And, with that, she stepped into and through Beth.
