Lucid Design

by Kate Tailor

  “I could’ve killed you.” He reached out for her but stopped before his fingers touched her skin. They were close, the smell of Henry’s soap clung to his hair.

  Raleigh shook her head. Weary maybe, but she was nowhere near dying. Even after falling asleep attached to the machine, she was far better than him, which made her wonder how long he’d been imprisoned.

  “It’s fine.” Raleigh diverted her eyes. His closeness made her heart race. “Like I told your friends, I make a lot of Lucidin.”

  Leaning forward, he rested his hands on the sides of her face, lifting it. The dim light obscured most of his own in shadow. His blue-gray eyes searched her own. “You have freckles. What’s your full name?”

  “Raleigh Groves.” Her muscles tightened. Without the Lucidin, her other senses rushed to categorize everything about him, from the rough pads of his fingertips, to the way his lips formed his words, to the intrigued lilt of his voice.

  “Do you get your brown hair from your mother or father?”

  “Father. My mom’s a ginger.”

  “How long were you hooked up?”

  “I came here around three.”

  Rho glanced at the window. “It’s at least five a.m. That’s two hours. You do make a lot. It’s not like mine.”

  “What do you mean it’s not like yours?”

  “In nature, Lucidin has slight variances—or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Everyone I know has my version. Yours is wilder. Unruly.”

  “Rho! You’re awake!” Collin staggered up from his chair, interrupting them.

  Rho turned toward his friend, releasing Raleigh’s face. “Collin! You brought me here, didn’t you? You found me! It was such a long shot.”

  Going down on one knee, Collin embraced his friend. “We thought you were going to die.”

  “That was the last thing I remember thinking. Then I woke up here. At first, I thought I was being drained again. Then I realized that I was receiving it. Did you meet Raleigh?”

  “We’ve met. How are you feeling?” He helped Rho back to the bed.

  “Collin, she has freckles,” Rho said.

  Her face warmed, and she wondered if they would be visible through the blush. It was an odd thing to say. “I think he’s a bit out of it, Collin.”

  Rho held out his hands. “I’m surprised but fine. People like you aren’t supposed to exist. You’re my savior, in more ways than you can know.”

  Pointing his finger accusingly, Collin didn’t share the admiration. “Sabine said that you weren’t going to do another extraction until tomorrow.”

  “I snuck up and did it myself.”

  “Make sure Sabine knows it was your idea.”

  Rho looked at the stairwell. “Are she and Henry both here?”

  “Yes,” Raleigh said. “And your friend Trevor and Henry’s sister, Maggie.”

  “Trevor?” A smile tugged on the corners of Rho’s lips lighting up his face. Gorgeous. Raleigh found herself looking away. “It was the chip he put in my shoulder that led you to me, wasn’t it?”

  Collin nodded.

  “Never let me question him again. He’s a genius, an absolute genius.” Rho stood, but before he could fully rise, his legs gave out, and he flopped back down to the floor.

  “Take it easy.” One of Collin’s hands steadied his friend while keeping him down.

  Coughs barked out of Rho’s throat, raw and harsh. “I’m thirsty. It feels like forever since I’ve had anything to drink. I can’t believe I made it.”

  Collin handed him a nearby cup of water. “Yesterday we gave you some sips, but we couldn’t get that much into you. Whoever had you, did a good job with that. Sabine said you weren’t too dehydrated.”

  Rho took a long drink. “That, and I probably drank half the English Channel.”

  Collin sat on the foot of the cot. “Do you know who had you?”

  “No, and I really don’t want to think about it right now.”

  “Do you think you could eat? You’ve lost weight.”

  Rho rubbed his hand across his stomach. “Maybe something light.”

  With a quick flick of his head towards the door Collin said, “Raleigh, tell Sabine he’s up.”

  Still weak, her muscles weren’t much good. “I can’t walk right now.”

  “That’s my fault.” Rho reached out to her again trying to stand.

  “Neither of you move.” Collin got up quickly. “I’ll tell Sabine.”

  Rho’s brow knit together. “What day is it?”

  “July twentieth.”

  “They found me yesterday? It’s been months.”

  Months? Someone had him for months? “I’m sorry.”

  “You, of all people, shouldn’t be apologizing.” Rho looked down. “Henry has really bad taste in pajamas, these look like they’re from the fifties.”

  “I think those are small Yorkies.” The tiny dogs decorating the fabric wore suits. “Rho, who took you?” If Sabine wouldn’t give her answers, she would have to get them from him.

  “I don’t know.” There was a clear shift in his voice, his happy mood at having survived evaporated. “Most of it I wasn’t conscious for. I can only remember a day or two before I escaped. During that time, I figured a way out which was hard enough. Is there a reason to think we aren’t safe here? Did they follow me?”

  “It doesn’t sound like Collin and Trevor know all that much. I don’t know. Should we be calling the police? Maybe they can help you figure it out.”

  Rho exhaled. “You have a lot of Lucidin. Do you have a lot of receptors?”

  “Tons.”

  “As I assumed. So, you can feel other people’s sensations, right?”

  Raleigh nodded. “Not right now, but usually.”

  “How well does it go over when you tell people you can do that?”

  “They normally don’t believe me, but they usually go to their doctor anyway. So maybe part of them wants to.”

  “The police don’t know about us. The world doesn’t know about us.” Rho made it sound like it was better that way.

  “How many of us are there? It sounds like you’re speaking about a specific group.”

  “I’m speaking of me and my brothers. That’s the extent of the “us.” Or at least it was. Until you.”

  Raleigh was less concerned with Rho’s family than hers. Dr. Moore told her about that tribe of people genetically predisposed to making Lucidin. Now she worried about her sisters and brother. “I have three siblings. Sabine never mentioned that they might make Lucidin.”

  “They probably don’t. Mostly it’s random who gets it. Can they feel other people the way you do?”

  “No.”

  “Then they don’t have to worry. Anyone who makes it has receptors. They would’ve been able to use the Lucidin at some point if they made it. My brothers and I are special.”

  “How many brothers do you have? Kappa and who else?”

  “Too many.” Now it was Rho’s turn to look away.

  “Are you all named after Greek letters?”

  “We really shouldn’t talk about them.”

  “Raleigh Groves!” Sabine shouted across the room. “I can’t believe you went against my wishes and gave Rho another infusion.”

  “I saved him.”

  “You would’ve saved him either way! Look at you, huddled up in that blanket.” Sabine examined her eyes, her forehead, and took her pulse. “You’re frigid.”

  Raleigh pulled back, not wanting Sabine to mother her. “More crummy and tired.”

  “Good to see you, Sabine,” Rho said meekly, transforming into the young man in the picture.

  The way Sabine looked at him, it was clear she had a maternal bond. She wrapped him in her arms. It didn’t matter that he was twice her size, at that moment he looked small. “You don’t know how scared we were for you.”

  “Thanks for giving us a place to stay.” He opened his mouth to say more and stopped. His face fell. “I’m sorry if we brought you tr
ouble. I’d never want to put you or Henry in danger.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” Despite the command, Sabine’s tone held a hint of concern.

  “Sabine, it isn’t just your safety now. It’s Raleigh’s, too. What if whoever did this follows me and finds her?”

  “We’ll address that later. I’ve put some water on the stove, and I’m making oatmeal. Let’s get you on the mend, and then we can figure out the rest. No one is leaving today.” Their conversation ended when Collin returned. “Carry him, would you?”

  Collin scooped up his friend. It was a lot more awkward-looking than when Rho had been unconscious. Raleigh tried to stand, but her legs faltered beneath her.

  Sabine put up her hand. “I’m sure once Collin gets Rho downstairs, he can come back up for you.”

  The three headed down leaving Raleigh and her thoughts. Rho didn’t know if the danger had followed him. Again, Raleigh’s mother was right. If Raleigh hadn’t been so headstrong, she could be safely tucked away at college. But who knows how long that would’ve lasted?

  Collin returned and lifted Raleigh up, but not in a chivalrous way. He held her slightly away from him, the way a person would carry a stinky, wet dog.

  “I would’ve thought you’d like me after I saved your friend.”

  Collin walked down the first flight of stairs. “It doesn’t count if you put him in more danger.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “He’s not going to want to leave without you.”

  “Who says that I’m going to leave with some strangers? You don’t know me.”

  “You clearly underestimate Rho.”

  If anything, Raleigh was going to forget about them and go home. “Do you have a portable extraction machine?”

  “Yeah, but it’s ours.”

  “If you help me get hold of one, I can go back to Colorado.”

  He paused one foot on the second landing. His face loomed over hers. Then he took the next step. “Done. You’ll have it in a week.”

  Raleigh guessed that he was making this nice gesture to be rid of her, which was fine. She was ready to go home... and away from Rho and the trouble he might attract.

  8

  COLLIN DEPOSITED RALEIGH on the sofa beside Rho. He looked at his friend and then paced. “I can get train tickets for later today.”

  “No, he’s not ready to travel.” Sabine entered and put a tray down on the coffee table. On it sat a pair of bowls filled with oatmeal. “You need to stay at least a few more days.”

  After a quick glance to Raleigh, Rho gave Collin a pointed look. “Can we spare a few days?”

  Collin threw up his arms. “You tell me. We found you hidden behind a rock along the coast of Normandy with nothing on. No one was around, and the only tracks we could find were the ones you probably made as you crawled there. What exactly happened?”

  Rho slowly drew his breath, looking carefully at Sabine and then Raleigh.

  “Raleigh, would you mind excusing us?” Collin asked.

  She didn’t move. There was no way she was leaving. This conversation should involve her too, especially, because she couldn’t count on Sabine being up front with her. Raleigh was going to hear whatever Rho had to say so that she could make up her own mind about her situation.

  Rho reached over and put a gentle hand on Raleigh’s forearm. “She should stay. Raleigh has to know about this. It might be her someday.”

  No one spoke right away. Whatever secrets they held couldn’t be good. Collin paced faster, his steps heavy on the wood floor. “Sabine, explain to him why they aren’t going to hunt her. She’s not the same as him. They don’t even know about her.”

  “But I found her.” Sabine sat down and looked at Raleigh.

  Rho gave his friend a stony glare. “The type of girl who gives a stranger an extra Lucidin infusion, against Sabine’s orders, isn’t the type of girl to sit idly by. I bet she’s been diagnosing diseases for a while. It’s only a matter of time before someone pieces it together. Sabine, how did you discover her?”

  They didn’t need to talk about Raleigh as if she weren’t there. “My friend, Doctor Moore, contacted her.”

  “Your friend, Doctor Moore? He’s only your friend because you help him with his patients, right?” Rho asked. “What is he, a cardiologist?”

  Sabine answered for Raleigh. “Oncologist. Which is why I brought her here. A new start.”

  “And since she’s been here, she’s kept quiet about the fact that she can sense?” Rho lifted his eyebrow.

  From the way Sabine shifted in her seat it was obvious that she didn’t like to be questioned by her former student. “Very. I told her to.”

  It was good that Raleigh had listened, not that she’d had much of a choice. “I couldn’t say anything even if I wanted to. I don’t speak French. But it would’ve been nice to know why I should keep quiet. I thought you just didn’t want people to think I’m crazy. You only told me about Grant and Able yesterday.” Anger built in her chest, warming her from the chill of the extraction.

  Rho sat up, his face turning pallid. He looked at Raleigh and then Sabine. “You told her about Grant and Able?”

  “Only that they imprisoned you... and that I worked for them. Nothing more.”

  The quiet exchange of glances between the two made Raleigh wonder what else there was to know about Grant and Able. She wished there was enough Lucidin back in her system to sense.

  Rho turned to Raleigh. “When you helped people back home, did you send them to the doctor or did you influence?”

  “Influence?” said Raleigh. “What’s that?”

  “A very difficult thing to do. It’ll get you into a lot more trouble than sensing. Best to avoid it.” Collin paused, and like a statue, towered over her. Then he started pacing again.

  Rho rolled his eyes at his friend. “She needs to learn. Raleigh, it’s the ability to control what happens physically in someone else’s body. Think of it like a telephone. When you sense, it’s like people’s bodies are having a conversation with you about what’s wrong. With influencing you tell the person’s body how to fix whatever’s wrong... or to do whatever it is you want it to do.”

  Raleigh raised an eyebrow. Her nose immediately started to itch. Her hand rubbed it, her eyes going to him.

  “I just made your nose itch. Do you want to scratch it?”

  “That’s you? That’s amazing.”

  “I can do more, when I’m not weak.”

  The idea made Raleigh dizzy. How did she not know about this? When she was lectured on Lucidin, that should’ve been one of the key points. “Sabine, did you know about this?”

  “Yes.”

  Another bit of her trust chipped away. Sabine only gave up information when it was going to come out anyway, or when she was asked the right questions. Raleigh didn’t need or want Sabine censoring things. Especially something like this. “This is a game changer. I could do so much more to help people. Can you control pain and heart problems?”

  Rho moved closer to her, his eyes lighting up. “Yes. I learned about influencing unintentionally. Trevor and I were hiking, and he had an asthma attack. His inhaler was out, and help was slow in coming. I could feel his lungs getting tighter and tighter but there was nothing I could do. Finally, I willed his lungs to open up, really pictured it happening, and they did.”

  Wringing her hands, Sabine said, “You shouldn’t be encouraging her. It will only lead to trouble.”

  Rho shook his head at Sabine. “She’s already in trouble. At least with influencing, she can protect herself. It was nice of you to bring her here, but did you think that would save her?”

  “I was trying my best. Bringing her here was a quick decision. She was sick with a growing reputation for precise diagnoses. Someone was bound to hear about her sooner or later. The only solution was to bring her here for treatment and to keep my eye on her.”

  Raleigh couldn’t look at Sabine. She knew the woman’s only motive wasn’t to make her well.
She wondered how long things would’ve dragged on if Rho hadn’t shown up. Who knew if Sabine ever planned on finding Raleigh a portable extraction machine.

  Rho leaned in towards Raleigh. “You’re sick? What do you have?”

  “I blackout from the Lucidin. It overloads my system. But the extractions have stopped the blackouts.”

  “That makes sense. Your Lucidin isn’t as smooth as mine. Not that I’m complaining. I’m thankful you agreed to share.” His eyes went to Sabine who looked off absentmindedly. Rho’s eyes softened. “Sabine, you did her a favor. But one day someone else is going to find her. Now that she knows, she can be careful. I can teach her about influencing. It turned out all right in the end.”

  Sabine lifted her head at his words, but Raleigh seethed. Did her a favor? Who was he to forgive Sabine? He hadn’t been tricked into traveling across the world without knowing the real reason.

  A shadow passed by the window and Collin drew back the blind to reveal an elderly neighbor walking his dog. He let the lace curtain slide back into place. “We don’t have time for you to teach her influencing. They could be tracking us down right now.”

  Rho ran his hands together, his thin fingers locking at the knuckle. Whoever captured him hadn’t fed him well. “They think I’m dead. We have a few days.”

  “I want to know what happened. Otherwise I buy the tickets now,” said Collin.

  Reaching over to the tray, Rho grabbed a glass of water and took a large gulp. “I was at home making dinner for you, Trevor, and Brent.”

  “Where’s home?” Sabine asked.

  “My apartment in New York. I was at the stove when someone kicked in the front door and fifteen people flooded in. They shot me with some sort of tranquilizer. I stayed conscious as long as I could, trying to keep them at bay by freezing some of them with influencing. But eventually I succumbed.”

  “That wasn’t a fair fight.” Raleigh couldn’t imagine fighting off one. Fifteen?

  Rho gave her a dark laugh. “You’ll learn quickly that this isn’t a fight we’ll easily win. After they took me, I don’t know what happened. Around three days ago, I woke up, and they had me attached to a defibrillator and were giving me CPR. I heard them say they needed to lower the sedative and slow the extraction or I’d die. They’d been walking a fine line between keeping me alive and killing me, and they played it too loose. I was strapped to a bed, but I knew if I soiled myself, they’d have to change me. It was difficult, but I pulled out my catheter. I made my move as they were changing me.”