The next time Meraine woke her back was incredibly sensitive and sore. She felt the uncomfortably large bandage placed over the small of her back and knew she’d had the operation regardless. This was an awareness in a war against grogginess, of which she still suffered. Even so, nothing could keep the intimate knowledge of her father’s death out of her head. Not that she had any real reason to think so, but she just knew.

She wanted to scream, thinking it would somehow come easier as time went by. She was wrong. She could barely talk. For that matter she wasn’t thinking too clearly either. She tried to listen to other people’s thoughts but it was so damned hard to concentrate. So instead she groped for the buzzer she knew would call for help. She soon found it and pushed it . . . about a million times.

A different nurse came running in, thoroughly annoyed. Meraine got the distinct impression the only reason she bothered to show was so she’d stop. So she pressed it some more. The nurse came closer, now angry. She showed it when she said, “What?! What’s the damn emergency?!”

Meraine could see she had the remnants of a noodle hanging momentarily off her lip. She’d interrupted her lunch. So fucking what. She croaked out doctor through a jaw that felt atrophied.

“Doctor?! You want a doctor?! Well good! Cause I’m eating here. I’ll go find you your damn doctor.” With that she left.

Meraine’s worries compounded. Something was wrong. Why couldn’t she talk? What happened during surgery that would involve her head? Wasn’t her speech supposed to be getting better? What did they do?!

It seemed to take eons for the doctor to come and when “he” finally did it was obvious that “he” wasn’t Dr. Sarah. She couldn’t remember her last name. She wanted to scream for Dr. Sarah, but she couldn’t. It almost hurt to think.

“Yes. I heard you had some kind of emergency? What seems to be the problem?”

All she could say was a repeated “S” sound like a fucking snake, and even that hurt.

“O.K. Let me check your chart. It’s been a busy night.”

Meraine new early on that proximity was a factor in getting a clear message using telepathy so she decided to peruse the doctor’s mind. She didn’t like what she found. Apparently five bodies were DOA, just tonight. She knew what the meant . . . Dead On Arrival. But she knew the truth. They were DWF or Dead When Found. Her sixth sense was still working just fine and it was going haywire.

Still she listened for more to discover they were all adults and not the 13 year old kind. This idiot had been busy searching for next of kin. He was searching for her! He’d already called their apartment but there wasn’t any answer. He was dumbfounded as what to do next. So he’d just moved on to the next parent. He’d gotten better luck so completely forgot about looking for Meraine Talbotte! Then Meraine Talbotte interrupted his search for the others!

So let the moron go and get his fucking chart. Maybe her name would ring a fucking bell. She hoped so because they’d fucked up her throat. She couldn’t tell him when she couldn’t talk. She motioned for a pen and paper, but he was already leaving to get his mother fucking chart. She gave out a sudden yelp of a scream that made her throat feel like a razor blade was lodged in it. She gasped for breath that came heavy. She was near hyperventilating. The good doctor didn’t seem to notice or maybe he just didn’t give a damn. Then he was gone and the door was sliding shut.

Meraine was having trouble breathing. She wasn’t sure if it was panic alone. They’d really fucked her up. The gasping continued until she heard a beeping followed by quick footsteps. She didn’t black out this time, but she wished she had. People she’d never seen flooded the room and began doing whatever they do to fix things. The first thing she noticed was another shot. It was meant to relax her. She gleaned that much. It did more than that. She passed out again, and would’ve said thank you if she could‘ve.

She woke again, but had no idea how much time had passed. When did she ever? The first thing she noticed was that she could breathe easier. Maybe they’d fixed whatever they fucked up. She damn well hoped so. She didn’t need any more life threatening problems. Still, her mood was shit. Her father was dead, but she still denied the meaning behind her sixth sense. She was holding out hope where none existed. She could just piss all that away now that she had the proof she didn’t want but somehow needed. Fuck!

Fuck! FUck!! FUCk!!! FUCK!!!! What the god damn fuck was she supposed to do now?! Maybe it would’ve been better if she’d died, suffocated, in that damned bed! Why’d they have to go and fix her?! GOD DAMN IT!!!

She hated and often loathed her father, but she couldn’t deny that she loved him. That he’d gotten better over the last few years. That he might just have learned what love meant. Unconditional love. After all, he’d gone out there to save her. Where were the conditions in that? How was that not be real? Then he died for her. She missed him terribly. So then why’d she still blame him? Why couldn’t she forgive him? Why? It all boiled down to one thing and she screamed it now that she could talk, ignoring the pain that wove itself into her life.

“Daddy! Daddy! You were all I had left! There’s no one else! No one!! Why did you leave me?!” Then sorrow graduated to anger. “TELL ME FUCKING WHY?!!!”

Then out of nowhere came another voice, “Shut the fuck up! You think you’re the only one who suffered?! You think you’re the only one who’s alone now?! You have no fucking idea what happened! You have no fucking idea what I’ve been through! But I’ve been watching you! And you almost fucked everything up! You almost got everyone fucking dead! I know what you are! I know what you can do!”

Sudden panic. Meraine looked around as if that mattered. It was nothing more than a reflex. The voice wasn’t coming from her bathroom or even her room. It wasn’t coming from right outside her door. It wasn’t even coming from down the fucking hall. Hell, it wasn’t even spoken out loud. It was all inside her head. Thoughts unbridled. Suddenly, she knew who they’d come from. Voices don’t change when spoken without speaking. This was Lori. She knew . . . everything.

Then she continued, “Don’t bother thinking anything, bitch! I know you’ve been watching me! I know you know what I am! I know you know what I can do! I’ve seen you’re eyes. Pupils jumping back and forth trying to figure everything out. I know you fucking do in the end! I’ve fucking seen it! And I know what you don’t have a clue about. I know you’re fucking curiosity destroys my life! You just couldn’t leave it alone, could you?!”

Then Meraine found herself thinking, “But I . . . I didn’t do anything!”

Lori just continued on as if she hadn’t heard her. “You WON’T destroy me! I WON’T fucking let you! I’ve searched and searched and fucking searched some more. And you know what I found?! THIS! Here and now! It’s my ONLY choice! It’s my ONLY way out! Either I become FRIENDS with YOU or you tear my life to shreds and throw me to the god damn wolves! How could I EVER be friends with someone like that?! Huh?! But what fucking choice do I have?! Fucking none! You say you’ve had it bad! YOU DON’T KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD!!!”

Meraine, true to prediction kept trying to figure things out and talk, or rather think Lori down. It wasn’t working. She wasn’t hearing her, but then why should she? She was too young . . . her mind too unpracticed. Even so, she saw something . . . all this. Every last fucking bit of it. She wasn’t talking about the accident or the ruins. She wasn’t talking about the past or even the present. No. She was talking about things Meraine would uncover in the future. Things that she now wondered about but still couldn’t guess.

“You want proof, bitch?! I know you do. You always do. How else could you have destroyed me? Everywhere I turn but here and now, you destroy me. And on a few occasions it’s even on purpose! I FUCKING DESPISE YOU!!! But I’ll show you you’re god damned proof cause I’ve already seen it. Now you can too. A Nurse Sanders will walk into your room in 86 seconds. 85 now. Brown hair with blonde highlights to try and make her look younger than she is. Ugly by all accounts, with a botched job on her make up. A child could do better. Her mascara will be ever so slightly streaked by dried tears. Not for you or your father or any of us, but for herself. She needs the money and has the training, but loathes this job. She wants out but can’t get out. She’s on the edge. You’ll see that in her face. She’ll be carrying your chart. She’s come to tell you what you already know . . . that your father is dead. That’s right bitch . . . he’d dead! Right along with mine! O.K.? Are we fucking even now? Will you leave me alone now? No. Of course you won’t. You need more. You always need more. FUCKING FINE!!!

Fucking Nurse Sanders will reach for her God damned pen . . . a blue pen. She’ll be looking at her chart because she doesn’t want to look at you. She’ll accidentally kick the ugly green striped chair next to you. You know the one with the fluff hanging out on the right corner and the tiny dent in the front left leg. She’ll drop her pen and it’ll roll under your bed. She’ll reach down to get it, still avoiding eye contact with you. She’ll slip on the floor where coffee was spilled while you were sleeping. Don’t bother checking, but you will anyway. Pain will follow. You’ll lie back down. She’ll jam her elbow on the desk, start swearing and let herself out. If you don’t believe me about what she came to do take a look at her chart. She’ll leave it behind in her rush. But hurry. She’ll be back for it in a moment. All this will now happen in 6 seconds. 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . . 1. Bingo.”

Meraine checked for the coffee spill a moment before Lori said she would. Pain followed. Before she could think about much anything else Lori said Bingo and in walked a nurse. She was a brunette pretending to be a blonde, pretending to be young and pretty. It wasn’t working. The pained expression on her face and the fucked up colors plastered on it weren’t helping.

She was carrying a chart and at a glance a blue pen. She said nothing. She didn’t even look at Meraine. There was an uncomfortable nervous look on her face, but her eyes couldn’t be seen as they were fixated on the chart. No. To the blue pen. Looking at the chart would only remind her of why she was here. She had a name tag that was old and worn. At the distance all Meraine could make out was a faded capital “S”.

Nurse S proceeded to kick the unsightly puke green chair. It was indeed old battered and damaged in just the way Lori described. Well, at least the stuffing on the right corner. She couldn’t bend down far enough to check the dent, but she already believed it was there. The blue pen flew out of her hand as if something planned just to avoid talking to her. It clattered lightly on the hard floor. Naturally Meraine couldn’t see where it went, but she followed the nurse’s eyes and that’s where she was looking. Still utterly ignoring Meraine as if the room was empty, she set her chart down on the desk, bent down to get it and slipped on something. As she lost her footing she suddenly hit her elbow on the desk in just that place everyone likes to call the funny bone . . . the one that makes your whole arm tingle with pain. She immediately swore . . . the very first and last words to exit her ugly painted mouth. She got to her feet as quickly as she could and left without a glance in her patient’s direction.

Meraine didn’t want to look at that chart, but she couldn’t help herself. She grabbed it up and the first thing she noticed was “Gary Talbot . . . deceased. Mutilated.” It went into further detail, but she wasn’t fucking expecting this and immediately dropped the chart as if it were on fire. Then she just started shivering all over. The nurse came back in, saw the chart on the floor and finally noticed Meraine but not in a good way. Among other cruel, heartless things, she accused her of “meddling in other people’s affairs”. Then Meraine lost it.

“Other people’s affairs? My father is dead! MY FATHER!!! NOT YOURS!!! DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT’S NOT MY BUSINESS!!!”

Swift nearly debilitating pain followed and she said no more. She said too much. But it effectively shut Nurse Bitch right up. She grabbed the chart, forgetting all about her pen, and walked back out of the room.

She wanted to scream at Lori too, but she was hoarse with pain as if that’s all she had left and now needed to be fixed again. She thought many curses but none were getting through. She knew they wouldn’t. They couldn’t. It wasn’t even possible. Because now she finally knew the truth. All the pieces fit. Lori was her opposite. She’d been blessed or maybe cursed with enhanced, exquisitely detailed foresight. It compensated for her utter lack of telepathy.

Now she knew Lori was right. That wasn’t something she would’ve let go of. She would’ve pursued it until it leaked out and everyone started to wonder. She would, accidentally of course, utterly destroy Lori’s life. Even so, she wasn’t thinking about any of that right now. She was obsessed with a different truth. Lori knew. She must’ve known exactly what that chart read. “Mutilated.” She must’ve known she would see it. Of course, she knew exactly how that would make her feel. THE FUCKING BITCH!!!

“You hate me now? Good. You fucking cunt! Still thinking all about yourself are you?! Never stopped for a second to consider that I fucking saw that happen! Never thought for a moment that I saw how ALL of them died! Including my own father! He was all I had left too, you self-obsessed whore! Did you know that my father was the ONLY one to fight back?! Everyone else thought they could talk their way out. Pay money or be used as ransom to buy more time. Oh so worthy causes. So fucking worthy!”

“MY FATHER FOUGHT BACK, YOU BITCH!!! AND DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY DID TO HIM FOR THAT?!!! HUH?!!! DO YOU, BITCH?!!! NO!!! OF COURSE YOU DON’T!!! THAT’S WHY I’M GOING TO TELL YOU!!! THEY SLICED OFF HIS FINGERS AND TOES!!! HIS SCREAMS ARE STILL RINGING IN MY HEAD AND WILL HAUNT ME TILL THE DAY I DIE!!! AND YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY THEY DID THAT TO HIM?!!! HE WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE HE FOUGHT BACK!!! BUT THEY’D ALREADY DECIDED TO DO THAT TO SOMEONE!!! IT SPIKED THE FEAR IN THE OTHERS AND MADE IS SO DAMNED SWEET!!! THEY DIDN’T CARE ABOUT MAKING AN EXAMPLE OF ANYONE!!! THEY DIDN’T WANT MONEY!!! THEY WANTED REVENGE ON SOMEONE, ANYONE!!! THEY WANTED REVENGE FOR THE LITTLE BRATS GETTING AWAY!!!”

Lori calmed down now to a whimper. “And do you know who let them get away? Do you know who let us get away? Do you?” She paused as if expecting an answer and Meraine gave one, though it went unheard. But because it was spoken it didn’t go unseen.

“My fault. I read their minds. I read everyone’s mind. I knew what was happening. I knew about that stupid dog. I stopped everything. I acted and we got away. And now our fathers are dead. All because of me.”

“No. FUCKING NO!!! YOU REALLY DO THINK YOU’RE ALL THAT DON’T YOU, BITCH!!! WELL, LITTLE MISS SPECIAL DOESN’T GET TO CARRY THE BLAME ON THIS ONE!!! THIS IS MY FAULT!!! I SAW ALL THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES!!! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT YOU ACTUALLY CHANGED ANYTHING?!!! YOU DO DON’T YOU!!! EVERYTHING YOU DID WAS PREDICTED!!! SURE, IT COULD’VE MATTERED IF I’D LISTENED TO YOU!!! IF I’D PUNCHED THE GAS!!! I DON’T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT!!! SUFFICE TO SAY WE ALL WOULD’VE DIED!!! I KNEW YOU’D DO IT AND I KNEW TO IGNORE YOU, BUT IT WAS STILL DISTRACTING!!! I HAD TO ACT FAST!!! I HAD TO KILL RICK!!! I HAD TO KILL THAT FUCKING BASTARD!!!”

“HE . . . He . . . he raped me. I had to kill him. I saw him do it so many times before he actually did it. I tried to escape. And . . . And I did. I got away. I got away many times, but I still kept seeing it. The place changed. The clothes changed. The day changed. But that bastard Rick, he never changed. Eventually I just ran out of choices. I had to accept it. I planned for it.”

“No. That’s not right. I still could’ve gotten away. But I just got tired of running. I knew I was a prize to him. I wasn’t anywhere close to the first. I was just the first enhanced humatran. That made me so damned special in his perverted eyes. Did you know that you were next? I’ll bet you didn’t. Anyway, I knew he only raped girls once. After that he checked them off his list and lost interest. So I knew he’d finally leave me alone if I just went along with it. So I did.”

“I knew it was going to be bad. I knew he was so fucking frustrated he’d somehow missed out on so many chances before. So he was going to put everything into the moment he finally caught me. He was going to punish me for escaping so many times. And he did. He made it really, really bad. I knew he would. I saw him doing it before he did it . . . many times. Do you even know what that’s like? No, of course you don’t. You’re so damned lucky. You’re not cursed with visions.”

“But as real as it all is in foresight, reality is worse. It’s always worse. A vision is like waking up from a nightmare. It was horrible and felt so real, but you know it wasn’t. You know nothing really happened. And you know you can just choose a different path and it never has to happen. You don’t have that luxury when it actually does happen. He . . . He hurt me. And I let him hurt me.”

“You don’t know how many showers I took just to get his smell off me. And I couldn’t tell anyone. It doesn’t work that way. It wouldn’t have worked that way for you either. I know you can read minds, but you must’ve been so preoccupied with hiding your own secret. I would’ve known if you were aware Rick’s plans for you. You’re whole attitude would’ve changed. Just like mine did. But I saw it. I saw him rape you. What do you think he was planning to do out at those ruins? Did you really think it was all so innocent? Well it wasn’t. I fucking saved you.”

“I stupidly thought that if I saved you, you’d leave me alone. But that wasn’t going to happen. I saw it in your eyes when you ordered me to punch the gas. You’re such a god damned bitch. You know that. I can’t say it enough times. Bitch, bitch, bitch. And now I’ve got to be your friend? How the fuck can I do that?”

“It’s not like you’d even want me to anyway. I planned that whole fucked up trip. Everyone thought it was Rick’s idea. Well, I gave Rick that idea. I knew he’d see it as an opportunity to rape you. But what of it? I also knew that, like me, he wasn’t going to stop trying. I knew he’d eventually get you. And I knew it would be bad. Just like me. Don’t you get it? Don’t you understand? No. Of course you don’t.”

“This wasn’t the first time I saved you. I reordered events so you two wouldn’t meet on three separate occasions. You should’ve been raped over a month ago. I grew so tired of the game. So I made plans to end it all. I made plans to kill Rick without the youthing and without undue suspicion. Sure, everyone knows that I pushed him out of the van, but everyone but you, thinks I was heroic or at least that I had no other choice. Of course, by that time I didn’t.”

“But whatever. That’s not what’s eating me up inside. And it’s not even you or the many ways you destroy my life. It’s none of that. I killed my own father. And I killed your father. And a few others. I knew they’d have their own visions. I knew they’d feel their own code red sixth senses. I knew they’d be out there. And I knew your father and my father both knew they’d die if they went out there. So I killed them. I killed them all.”

“But I thought I could change it. I thought I still had time. I knew they wouldn’t kill them right away. I knew I still had time to get back there after we’d escaped. I saw that future and I accepted it. But you know what? In that future I died. I saved you. I saved them. And I died for it. They would’ve brutally raped me. All of them would’ve. Then in their rage for my youth and my sweet, juicy fear they would’ve literally skinned me alive.”

“But still I thought I could do it. I thought I had the nerve. I was wrong. And . . . And . . . whatever. I’m sorry. I’m done. Go ahead and destroy my life. I deserve it.”

Meraine couldn’t speak. Her emotions were at war inside her. Her gut was twisting and she felt like she was going to vomit. Then a moment later she did. She tried to turn, but the pain ripped right through her. So she threw up all over herself and started gasping, choking and crying all at the same time. She smashed her finger into her call button until she could swear her thumb bled, but somehow didn’t care. She had bigger problems.

No one came. Not right away. But why would they? Nurse Sanders was on call and she didn’t think to highly of her right at that moment. And when she finally came she’d probably see the mess and do an about face. Fucking bitch. Then Lori spoke with her thoughts again.

“I . . . I’m sorry. I knew you’d do that, but I couldn’t stop it. I can’t stop much of anything anymore.” She said nothing else.

Meraine couldn’t think straight, but if she could’ve she would’ve thought, “What else?! What else?! What fucking else do you know?!”

As expected Nurse Sanders came thoroughly annoyed at the buzzing, hating her job and every last one of her patients. She wanted it all to end, but particularly the buzzing. When she saw what happened, she was done. She turned around and walked out, but she didn’t just walk out of the hospital room. No. She put down her chart and went to her locker. The buzzing continued and her superior tracked her down. He yelled at her a bit. She turned to him and said, “You don’t know what I’ve been through. You don’t know what that girl did to herself. Find someone else. I’m done.” Then she ignored her superior who wasn’t so superior anymore. No. He was just a man with an over inflated ego. She walked past him, took the elevators and walked out the front doors of the hospital. She got in her car and was gone. She wasn’t coming back.

“Nurse Sanders just quit. You’ll be in better hands now. You’re favorite, Dr. Sarah will be there soon.”

But soon wasn’t good enough. She kept right on smashing that button.

“If it helps, Nurse Sanders will be dead by this time tomorrow. Suicide. Sounds nice.”

Meraine didn’t scream for or against that final comment. No part of her wanted anything but for this living nightmare to end. She wasn’t thinking suicide but she’d take it if that was the only way out. For some reason death just felt so near. It felt personal. Her sixth sense was tingling again.

“There’s no rope. They took everything away. I’m in the hospital you know, but I’m not a patient. I wasn’t injured. But all of us were brought here just to make sure. They tested my brain. They think something’s wrong with me just like they think something’s wrong with you. I can’t get out. I’ve tried. I see no future that allows me to escape and they won’t let me out. They think I’m crazy. Maybe it was something I said. Maybe I’ll chew my wrists open.”

Part of Meraine cheered her on, but slowly, despite everything, she began to care about this girl who’d gotten her father killed. But no. Was that part of the plan? Lori saw everything, right? They were supposed to become friends. Did she just give up on that idea or was this the plan all along . . . to garner sympathy enough to make her care despite what she did. Through it all she forced out a vomit gargling, “FUCK!!!”, followed by more pain.

“Dr. Sarah is nice, isn’t she? Too bad she doesn’t want to let you go. There’s something wrong with your brain and she, like you, is curious. Why do you think she scribbled some nonsense on that consent form? She wants to study you and for that she needs to keep you alive. And for that she needed the consent of someone who was for all they knew still alive. But you knew better. You told her better, but she didn’t tell anyone else. She needs you just as much as she needs me. Two peas in a pod. Two parts of a whole. And now that we’re both orphans she can do whatever she wants. Trust me. I’ve seen it. And I don’t want to see anymore.”

Meraine believed her, not knowing why she should. She didn’t want to. Everything was falling apart. Her last anchor to sanity was Dr. Sarah and now she had a hidden agenda too? What was left? WHO was left? Then suddenly she made up her mind, tormented as it was. Lori was left. She’d find a way to forgive her. For now she had to rise above all this shit and try to save her. She had to try to talk her out of killing herself. Meraine had this sinking feeling if Lori died, she wouldn’t be far behind. So she stopped pushing her buzzer and through the muck she whispered, desperately hoping her words were part of a future Lori had already seen . . . if she still cared to try.

“Friends . . . Lori . . . We can be friends. I can forgive you. I . . . I need you. Can you forgive me?”

There was no answer.

Dr. Sarah was coming. She heard her thoughts before she came in. They were reassuring in a selfish kind of way. “God . . . Don’t die. Please don’t die.” She didn’t know what happened because Nurse Sanders hadn’t told anyone. It wasn’t life threatening. Well, maybe emotionally, but otherwise it was just downright disgusting. There were bigger things at stake now and she was trying to see past herself to a situation that really was life threatening. She didn’t have time for Dr. Sarah’s bullshit.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. It wasn’t like she could get away. She couldn’t hardly move. Dr. Sarah came in armed with a smile that quickly vanished into a gasp. That was followed by quick practiced motions. There wasn’t any accusation in her eyes for the torment Meraine was about to put her through, but still she knew better than to trust that facade of kindness.

She was already at it when Meraine whispered, “Leave me alone. I don’t have time for you.”

Dr. Sarah looked hurt and without stopping said, “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way, but this has to be done. You’ve got surgery in half an hour. Nurse Sanders was supposed to prep you an hour ago, but she didn’t and now she’s gone. I didn’t know until just recently. So I’m sorry but I can’t leave you alone right now.”

Meraine was hoping they’d done both surgeries already. She couldn’t say no. She knew she needed this. She knew that for all Dr. Sarah’s deception she’d do everything she could for her. Just as Lori said, she needed her alive. Even so, there was a sinking in her stomach; a feeling that she might not be able to save Lori. That it might already be too late. It was only balanced out by her rising anger. Then she said what was on her mind.

“Who signed the consent form?” It was said with a venom, but there was something else slimy and green in her mouth, down her throat and up her nose. Dr. Sarah mistook the two and played her little game awhile longer.

“You’re father. We were able to get a hold of him. You know he visited you, but you were sleeping.” She was pretending that she didn’t yet know he was dead. This wasn’t a guess. Meraine read her mind like a book. Still she felt a twinge of pain knowing he’d never visit her . . . ever again.

She took a moment to swallow it down and pulled out her next card. “Right. Well, what about all those other tests you said you did? You know before you were able to get a hold of him?”

“Those were tests. Not surgery. And it was an emergency. No consent was necessary.”

A smart answer. But one she was about to call her on. About to, but then Lori spoke up. Her mood had changed. She seemed happy again. It was strange, but Meraine was instantly relieved. Lori was happy, but worried; no longer for herself.

“Don’t test her, Meraine. Things get worse if you test her. Play along. You need this surgery anyway. You’ll die without it.”

Meraine answered with a quiet, “O.K.”

Naturally, Dr. Sarah didn’t know she was talking to someone else. Somewhat relieved, somewhat worried, she reverted back to her happy face and quickly changed the subject to things more pertinent.

“Great. I know it’s all kind of confusing. But everything’s alright. I’m really sorry Nurse Sanders took off on you. Don’t worry about her. She quit, but we would’ve fired her if she hadn’t. We don’t put up with that kind of behavior around here. I know we’re cutting it kind of close, but we’ll get you ready for that surgery in time. And once you have the implants you’ll be able to move much more freely. Of course, you’ll still have to heal. There will be a lot of soreness for a good long while and you’ll have to take it easy or you’ll undo all the good we’re about to do. O.K.?”

She was nervous. She was repeating herself. Then Lori spoke up again. “Put her mind at ease. Tell her you’ll stay as long as she recommends. If you do it right she won’t know you’re lying. Even if you do it wrong, she wants to believe you when you say things she wants to hear. And you do need the rest. She’s not lying about that. She’s not lying about anything concerning your back or the surgeries. Either way, you know I’m not going anywhere. And I need a friend if I’m going to get through this.”

She heard her! They’d be friends! That made Meraine smile, which was kind of disturbing covered in vomit. Again, Dr. Sarah mistook it.

“I’m so glad to see your spirits are looking up. I’ve read that positive thinking helps your body do what it should during surgery. You know what that means? Positive thinking can literally save lives. So keep your chin up. O.K.?”

“Sure. And I know you’re right. I’ll need lots of rest if I’m going to get better. I’ll stay as long as you think I should. But . . .” She threw that in just for lack of cheese and added believability.

“But what?”

“Well, I don’t know how I’m going to pay for all this. My dad doesn’t have much money. I certainly don’t. And neither of us have insurance, but I‘m sure you already know that.” It was all true. Of course, she was already tinkering with the idea of a break out so couldn’t care less about paying a hospital bill.

“Well, that’s understandable. And yes I do know there’s no insurance. The bill will be high, but we can work with you. I’ll talk to you about it after you’ve healed up a bit from the surgery. Don’t worry about it right now. Just keep that happy face smiling. Everything will be fine.”

Then Lori chimed in again. “That’s good. Just do as she says. You need this. And you need her focused. I know you won’t be able to talk. They’re going to put you out again. But I’ll be with you until they do. O.K.?”

“O.K.”

“Great. I’m just about done. Well, as good as I can get you without a shower and that’s out of the question at the moment. My staff won’t like the smell too much, but they’ll deal with it. I’ll talk to them. O.K.?”

Meraine thought it was incredibly strange talking to two people at once like this. If nothing else it was kind of fun. Of course, she’d chide herself later that anything could make her smile so soon after her father’s death, but for now she needed this. She needed to turn the tables on Dr. Sarah, if only a little bit. Dr. Sarah had deceived her and now she was returning the favor . . . in a fun way. Her smile seemed enough of an agreement and Dr. Sarah continued.

“Great. Well, let me just get this bed floating and we’ll be on our way. Oh, did you know we have hover beds now? It took a while, but they’re great and well worth the wait. You’ll love it. It’s the smoothest ride you’ve ever felt. I should know. I’ve tried one.”

She was telling the truth. There were no jolts whatsoever and that served to seriously minimize her pain. And the experience the ride offered only served to improve her mood.

Lori was back. “They didn‘t let me on one of those. I’m jealous.”

Meraine whispered so that no one else could here, hoping that Lori still could. “Don’t be. I’ll share. What are friends for?”

Of course that wasn’t something she could just do and Lori knew it. She didn’t see any future over the next couple of weeks that let her try one, but that was alright. It’s the thought that counts.

Then Meraine went into surgery, welcoming the drugs that finally erased the pain and her consciousness along with it. The last thing she heard from Lori was that she’d be alright. That she’d seen it. Those simple words were far more believable than all of Dr. Sarah’s reassurances combined.

<><><><>

The next time Meraine woke, she felt no better. That suddenly worried her, but Lori was right on it, knowing the moment her new friend would come around and counting the seconds until she did.

“Good morning, Meraine. Don’t worry. You’re fine. You’ve just been operated on. You’re going to feel sore. You’ve been asleep a long time. The pain medication is easing off. But I need to talk to you, if you’re up for it.”

Meraine was groggy, but did miss her new friend so said yes.

“Good. Well, it’s weird. I knew you were going to say yes. I know you don’t get it, but believe me you’re the lucky one. I’d trade abilities with you in a heartbeat.”

Meraine whispered, “Funny, I would too. There’s too many thoughts floating around that I don’t want to hear. You can’t know what that’s like. Sure, I can block them, break through them, sift through them and single them out, but they’re still annoying.”

“You know, I saw you saying that, but it’s still so hard to believe. So you can read minds. Lots of people can do that. But to break through a barrier? At you’re age? You truly are a prodigy. I thought only ancients could do that.”

“Ancients? You mean like my grandfather was? He was AA90 when some freak saw to his death.”

“No. Or at least I don’t think so. If you look around the right places you’ll hear about the ancients. They were apparently the first humatrans to appear after the Atra war. You know. Our forefathers and mothers, I guess.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard something about that. But they’re all just a myth. Or they all died. They’d have to be well over 200 years old to still be alive now. I don’t know anyone that old.”

“Yeah well, I don’t know anyone who can do the things we’re doing right now. At least not at our age. I know you don’t believe in them, but you should. There’s really no reason not to. I don’t know how. I can’t explain it, but I know they exist. I shouldn’t be able to know things like that. It’s not a foresight. I didn’t see any of them, or at least not that I knew of. It’s not my sixth sense. It’s something else. I think there’s more to my abilities. You know, just like you can do more than just read minds. You can block and break through. I’ve known people over AA100 who can’t do that. I . . . I just can’t explain it.”

“But I know much more than that. I know things I shouldn’t be able to know. Things that make no rational sense. And I’m not talking about simple things. You’d think it’s strange that I already know how this conversation ends, but it won’t if I’m not a part of it. But that’s normal for me. This is more than that. Sometimes I think I have glimpses of the past. Maybe that’d be called presight? I don’t know. I don’t know anyone who can do that. I’ve never even heard of such a thing, but what do I know? Maybe I’m not the first. I can’t see everything.”

“That’s . . . That’s amazing.”

“You don’t have to pretend you believe me. I know you don’t. I’ve already seen this argument three times and I’m tired of it. I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want to fight with my only friend anyway. But I see it now. I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t believe me either. But please don’t tell anyone about it. You’re the first person I’ve ever told. It’s a secret. At least for now. I struggled and struggled with whether or not I should tell you. I can see the future sometimes up to two weeks ahead. And I already know you keep my secret, but past that . . . well, please.”

This was not a comfortable topic. Sure, Meraine wanted a friend and she still did, but she was already spilling her guts about deep dark secrets that just couldn’t be true. It wasn’t like she thought Lori was lying. It was just that Lori believed what she was saying. But what was that exactly? She wasn’t even sure. She was confused. The best precog she’d ever known was confused. That was confusing by itself. She wanted to help, but Lori couldn’t expect her to really believe all this stuff. Especially about the ancients. She couldn’t say why, but she’d believe in this presight before she’d believe in the ancients. And she didn’t even believe in that. Lori was just seeing vague things that didn’t make sense to her. That didn’t mean they were from the past. That just wasn’t possible.

“Too much silence. I’ve seen this future too. You know we had that argument not because you wouldn’t believe me, but because I needed you to. I hardly believe it myself, but I’m still alone if I’m the only one who believes.” Then a pause filled to the brim with an awkward silence. “God damn it! Why can’t I stop myself? I should’ve kept my trap shut! Now you feel bad. Now you think you’re a bad friend or you’re not so sure you really want to be friends because I’m moving too damned fast.”

“Look, I’m not like you. I can’t just keep it all inside. That would destroy me. Yeah. I know. Now you’re thinking too damn many things destroy me. I’m too fucking fragile. And I don’t have to ask you if I’m right. I know I am. And now you’re thinking ‘shut the fuck up, bitch’. And here we go. I couldn’t stop it. Truth be known, none of the futures I saw avoided this argument because I just had to vent and you couldn’t take it. Well, fuck you. You know. FUCK YOU!”

“I can’t help the way I am any more than you can! I can’t just shut down like you did when you went from school to school to school. Don’t you think I did that too? Don’t you think it drove my father out of his fucking mind? But every time we tried everything fucked up because I THOUGHT I found a friend I could talk to! And yes, I fucking vented! And yes, they couldn’t handle it! And yes, they betrayed me! I saw that happen! I could’ve prevented it every fucking time because they betrayed me so fucking fast! I just fucking couldn’t hold it all in! O.K. And apparently I still can’t!”

“I know what I know and you or anyone else NOT believing me won’t make it any less true! O.K.?! Do you fucking got it! I am NOT lying! I am NOT delusional! Yes, I don’t fully understand what’s going on with me, but the things I saw . . . THEY ARE REAL! O.K.?! THEY REALLY DO HAPPEN! THEY REALLY DID HAPPEN! It’s just got to be fucking presight! I looked one of them up and its history. It was fucking horrible! People, buildings, every fucking thing melting! It was from the god damned Atra war! I know what they did! I know what we are! What they made us! They were, I am, we’re all abominations! O.K.?! You’d agree if you could see what I saw, but you fucking can’t!”

“But I can’t help that. I can’t help it any more than I can stop these fucking presights. You know they hid it, but of course you don’t. What do they always say? History is told by the victors. And who were they? Not us, I’ll tell you that! And it wasn’t even the humans! No. No one won. It was a fucking stalemate! The Atra just up and left for the most part. If they’d stayed . . . If they continued . . . well, you, me, none of anything we know would exist. We never would’ve been born because our parents and grandparents and their parents never fucking existed! O.K.?!”

“You don’t believe me! Well, I’m not so sure I care what you believe anymore! You think I just saw something from a history book and elaborated! Well fuck you! You hear me?! FUCK YOU!!! IT WAS REAL!!! IT WAS ALL REAL!!! You know how I’m so god damned sure? You really want to know? Of course you do. You’ve been waiting so damned patiently for something, anything to finally, actually make sense. Well, this won’t help because you won’t believe it either, but it’s still FUCKING TRUE!!! I had that presight of the war when I was AA3, for Christ’s sake! That’s fucking right! AA3! No one, fucking NO ONE knows about the war that young! I don’t care if they’re mother tore themselves apart with a chainsaw and they advanced to the EA10! No one knows! NO ONE!!! But I did!”

“And you still think I’m delusional. Should I take some small comfort in the fact that you know I’m not lying?! That I’m just fucking crazy?!!! Huh?! Well I don’t!!! No more crazy than Miss Granger thought you were when she found out what you could do? Freaky little bitch! Does that ring a bell? Huh?! It should! Oh I didn’t tell you?! I’ve had presights about you too! I had no idea who you were or why I was seeing you, but I remember it. I was intrigued that there might actually be someone out there as different as I was, but in a different way, of course.”

“Did you know that presight saved my life?! Did you know that I saw that vision only two years ago?! I’d given up hope. I was about to kill myself like so many others do. But when I learned about little Meraine I knew that even if it happened 100 years ago, maybe I wasn’t alone in this fucked up abomination of a planet. Maybe, just maybe there were others out there like you or maybe even me. Who knows? I fucking don’t! But I’d love to!”

“So you see now. You know I’ve been telling you the truth all along, but only because I told you something I couldn’t possibly know about yourself. I was so hoping you’d believe me without proof. I knew that wasn’t going to happen. But some stupid part of me still believed it could, because you mean so much to me. I’ve never, ever met anyone like you. And if I’m so pissy it’s only because I can see so many futures where I lose you. And that’s all in the next two weeks. Only this one, where I tear my soul to pieces, let’s me hold on to you. But not even that’s for sure.”

“And it’s not all your fault. Or my fault. Things happen. Horrible things. In this hospital. In the next two weeks. Some of these things happen to us. Some of them we just witness. Well, I’ve already witnessed them. And I don’t want to see anymore. I’ve been searching through our choices, trying to find a way to avoid them all. It can’t be done. We’re both too valuable to Dr. fucking Sarah. You have no idea what she’s capable of. You have no idea how fake that smile is. She’s a monster.”

“But she saved you. Yes. And you know why. She didn’t do it for you. She did it so she can learn, manipulate and use you to her own ends. We are special. And exploiting anyone or anything special translates to the three P’s of which she’s so fond . . . Profit, Prestige and Power. We’re both her meal tickets and she still can’t believe she was lucky enough to find both halves of the equation right here under her chin. We just fell into her lap. She loves that shit.”

“And you know what’s worse? I saw this future. I could’ve avoided it the same way I could’ve avoided the trip to the ruins. And I wanted to. After what I saw of the Atra war I know exactly what happened to those ruins. They terrify me. But you know why I did what I did. What you don’t know is why I allowed us both to become guinea pigs. Well, that’s simple. I hated you. I loathed you. And well, I wanted you to suffer as much as possible. I wasn’t worried myself. I saw all the horrible things she did to me, but I figured I’d simply choose to go back to those ruins, save our fathers and die for it, but that obviously didn’t happen and now we are both stuck here waiting for all the bad things to become real things.”

“I know you’re pissed all over again and I’m sorry. You want to know how many more secrets I’ve been keeping from you. Well, there are a few, but nothing like this. Nothing else bad. I know you don’t believe that, but it’s true. But we can get to those things later. Right now I’ve got to make you understand why I told you not to test Dr. Sarah. If she gets suspicious or if she thinks we won’t go along with her little experiments then the monster gets mad. Really fucking mad. And then cruel.”

“This is what I wanted to talk to you about. Everything else needed to be said but this is the meat of it. I don’t know if you remember, but you talked to Dr. Sarah about how to pay for all of this. Well, obviously you can’t. You’ve got to know she doesn’t care. She’ll either not bill you or pay it herself. Believe me she’s got the money. But she wants you to believe that you owe every penny. What she wants is leverage over you.”

“Her first experiments were routine and the results accidental. The others were done without your knowledge and while you were unconscious. For what its worth that’s why you couldn’t talk earlier. One of her experiments had that nasty side effect. Don’t bother asking her about it. She’ll just tell you that you contracted a virus and show you lots of gibberish to prove it. She’s an excellent liar. But she needs you to talk so she fixed the problem. Well, it’s a work in progress, but it will get fixed.”

“Anyway, she’s getting to the point where she can’t experiment on you without your knowledge and she knows it. So she wants to make a trade. She wants you to legally sign off on these experiments in exchange for erasing your hospital bill. She’ll do it too. She’ll tell you this needs to be done. She’ll tell you she’s not sure what’s going on with you, which is actually true. And she’ll tell you it could be serious and you should stay so she can figure it all out for your benefit. She’ll do this in a nice, cheery way, but don’t believe it.”

Lori stopped to rest a moment. Meraine thought her fragile brain must be fried. Meraine was still fuming. She wasn’t over what was said or what was hidden, but at least she believed her now. For what it was worth she did need her. Whether she wanted her as a friend or not, she was helping her.

So Meraine asked, “So, you want me to say no, right? To totally deny her the rights to testing on me. Right?”

“FUCK NO!!! Do not say no! She’ll do the testing whether you want her to or not. She’ll make all the proper arrangements and lie out her teeth, but she will get it done. She’ll just get really pissed at you because you made her do everything the hard way. And then she’ll be cruel. Very fucking cruel. Whatever you do, don’t say no!”

“Sign the papers! Go along with everything she says and if you can, pretend to be happy about it, as if she’s really doing you a huge favor. I know. We need to get out of here. I know that better than you do. Much, much better. She doesn’t have to make that deal with me. She’s already got me. I’m up for criminal charges and the loony bin. She got me out of all that and now I’m hers. No strings attached. No papers to sign. No need to play nice. And worst of all no need to be gentle. You haven’t seen me. You don’t want to see me.”

“But don’t think about that. If you worry about me you’ll fuck up your one chance to avoid my fate. And no, you can’t change it. You can’t change up the deal or plea bargain on my behalf. And please, please don’t even try. Don’t even mention my name or anything about me. If you try to take a stand then all you’ll be doing is making her realize that we’re in contact. That we are talking. Whatever she suspects, she doesn’t believe that’s possible. Not yet anyway.”

“You know, I have to apologize again. Both you and I were directly involved in the events surrounding Rick’s death. I’ve been questioned by the police about you. Dr. Sarah was watching. I acted like I hated you. You know part of that was true, but part of it wasn’t. Part of it was all a lie. It’s all a lie now. I don’t feel that way about you. I just get emotional. Sorry. But you’ve got to know that in telling them and her that I hated you, I was separating myself from you. I was, I am, protecting you. Dr. Sarah doesn’t believe we’d talk even if we could. We both need her to believe that.”

“And now you feel guilty. I went up to bat for you and you can’t do the same for me. You know, I love that about you. That you want to. No one ever has. Well, my father, but no one my age. But don’t worry about it. It’s enough for me just to know that you would. But please don’t. You know what’s at stake now.”

“We will escape. No. I haven’t seen it. I’m still searching, but I’m sure I’ll find a loophole somewhere. But you have to agree. She will point out a truth. You need to recover from your surgeries. I need you to. I don’t want to say this, but you need to hear it. None of my plans for escape work because you can’t move. You’re in too much pain. I’m not trying to make you feel any worse than you already do, but you’ve got to understand why you have to go along with Dr. Sarah.”

“There’s nothing for it yet. And as long as you do what she wants she will take your pain into consideration and be gentle. You’re plenty strong, but I worry. I see a future where you defy her at every turn and things get really, really bad for you. I worry that if you choose that path, I’ll be getting vivid foresights of your death before the month is out. Please don’t make that happen. I can’t watch you die. I’ll die too. I’m not as strong as you are. Please stay alive.”

“I can’t make these choices. They aren’t mine to make. I just see all the possible outcomes. And doing exactly what Dr. Monster wants is best. Yes, laugh. Smile. Dr. Monster! I need you happy, because as much as I hate it, as much as I can’t fucking stand it, that won’t last. So please tell me, yes or no, will you do what Dr. Monster wants? Will you sign the paper? We will get out of this somehow. You’ve got to believe that. But will you go along with everything for now?”

All this was hard to hear. Very fucking hard. It was all piled right on top of her father’s death and her spinal injury. It was too fucking much. But was there even a choice? It was sounding more and more like not doing what Dr. Monster wanted meant she’d die. But she couldn’t say yes yet. She had to know something first.

“Lori, I’m sorry but I’ve got to ask. You’ve seen my future when things get bad, but things are already bad for you. What do you see happening to you in the next two weeks? Please don’t lie. I’m really good at reading minds. I’ll know if you’re lying. I know you don’t want to anyway. You must’ve known I’d ask. You were probably hoping I wouldn’t. I know you know this, but I’m not stupid. You didn’t cut me off. You didn’t say, ‘I knew you’d ask that’, even though you did. You want to avoid talking about yourself. And you know, and I know you do, that really fucking scares me.”

This was followed by silence.

Then Lori spoke in a whisper, “Please don’t read my mind. Please. You won’t like what you see. You won’t be able to do what you’ve got do.”

“Why? What happens? You know I’ve got to know. You want to deny it and I don’t blame you, but you know as well as I do . . . I won’t be able to do what I’ve got to do unless you tell me. I won’t read your mind. I won’t see anything. But I’ve got to know.”

Silence followed by three little words. “You already know.”

“No. No. You can’t die. I just found a friend. You can’t die. There’s got to be another way. A way to save us both.”

“There isn’t. Sorry. Now you get mad.”

Lori was right. “Did you know this? Did you see this? You did, didn’t you? You knew you were going to die whether you went back to the ruins or not! And you said there were no more bad secrets! You bitch! You could’ve saved my father! I fucking forgave you for that! But how can I now?!”

“It was a choice! You think it’s easy to make these choices?! Sometimes there isn’t a good one and a bad one! Sometimes they’re both just really fucking bad! But I still have to choose. Time keeps ticking, god damn it! I’d break every fucking clock on the planet if that would stop time, but it just fucking won’t! So I die! I die! I die! I die!”

“And you know what’s worse?! I die horribly either way! O.K.?! Is that what you wanted to hear?! No! It isn’t! You wanted to know why I didn’t save your father! Well, I’ll fucking tell you why! I had to choose whether or not to save your father or you! I chose you because I’m fucking selfish! I’ve never had a friend before! And I fucking wanted one! So I die! Part of me is absolutely fucking thrilled about that! So I die! I want to die! I can’t fucking stand this life anymore! And I finally get a friend! Finally! And my stupid fucking gift does nothing but make her hate me! So I die! I can’t fucking wait!”

Meraine was livid. She almost didn’t even hear Lori’s exquisite pain. “FUCK YOU!!! FUCK YOU!!! FUCK YOU!!! You could’ve saved everyone’s life just by NOT giving Rick the idea to go to the ruins! You could’ve just turned him in! If only you had the fucking guts! But no! You’re a fucking coward!” Of course, she was only saying these things because her friend, her only friend, had thrown her life away for nothing.

“You . . . You think it’s all that simple do you?! Do you fucking really! You fucking ungrateful cunt!!! Well, I hid something else! Something I was trying so hard to spare my only friend! You remember our good friend Rick! Oh I know you do! You know he was going to rape you! Oh but saving you from that wasn’t good enough! Of course not! Why?! Because you don’t fucking believe he would’ve been able to! You never did! You still don’t! So much pride in your abilities! So high an ego you’ve gained! But he got you! Every time he got you! Sure, I saved you a few times, but on your own he got you every time!”

“So why didn’t I tell you about him? Why didn’t I give myself away so you could destroy my life, just so you could get away?! Why?! Because I saw that future and it didn’t fucking work! You think it was easy to plan Rick’s death?! Huh?! It wasn’t! Because he wasn’t alone! He’d grown tired of just fitting in with the ability laden clique! He wanted to be in a gang where he was the ONLY one with abilities, so he could always be unquestionably in charge.”

“And he did it, but do you know how? No, of course you don’t! He practiced with murder! Not so much that because he’d DOE, but seeing to death! Watching it! Getting a fucking feel for it! Do you really want to know who those murderers were? You know, the ones who killed our fathers?! They were his gang! Did you hear me?! HIS GANG!!! And yes he would’ve raped you, but he was tired of all that! I saved you from getting killed! KILLED!!! And yes! Even without the ruins, which I could’ve avoided, he would’ve killed you! Then he would’ve killed me! And a whole lot of other people!”

“So I made a choice! I made a fucking judgment call! It fell to me to choose who lived and who died! ME!!! Of all people! So I chose to let our fathers die, so that many, many more could be saved. Was I wrong?! Did you really have to fucking know that?! Well, I guess you did! So goody for you! Now you know! So I die! Get over it!”

Maybe Meraine’s anger would’ve subsided with that confession, but all she could think of was “What else is she hiding?” and “Can I still trust her?” But she didn’t say these things. No. She said something worse.

“You have no right to play god! Why didn’t you just move to another school?!”

“I don’t fucking want to play god, bitch! I didn’t ask for this! And you know what?! I am a coward! You got that right on the money, honey! I would’ve left! I would’ve let bygones be fucking dead bygones, but then you came along. And I remembered you from my presight. After all, how many people do you know with the name Meraine? And I fucking knew you were special. I knew I had that vision for a reason. You were important! You are important! And I was led to you! Because nothing is really random. And then everything started to make sense. And that little something told me I had to save you! That everything had a purpose. That fate had a plan for you! And me! But this is my plan . . . playing out in the here and now! My big plan was to save you! So you could go and do whatever! Fuck if I know! I just know it’s important! O.K.?!”

But it wasn’t O.K. Meraine knew it and Lori surely did to. It wasn’t O.K. because Meraine still didn’t believe her. And then Lori interrupted again.

“I’ll say it so you don’t fucking have to. You don’t believe all that! You don’t believe there’s a purpose for any of this! I used to be that way! I used to want to die every minute of every hour of every day. And I still do, but at least now I know it’s NOT all for nothing! The prophecies taught me that!”

“Prophecies?! What the fuck?! Are you a religious nut as well as a habitual liar? Are you trying to convert me?! Well, fuck off, bitch! I run my life! I do what I want! I’m in control!”

“Habitual liar?! You’re no saint! You had to lie just as much as me to live in this world! Sure, you’re going to tell yourself you didn’t! You’re going to believe that you could read minds and just avoid the situations in which you’d have to lie! And you know what?! You did! But not all the fucking time! Sometimes you got caught! Sometimes you had to lie, because you’re not all that! Because as special as you are, sometimes you still fuck up! Like me, you can’t catch everything! Some thoughts you miss. There’s just too damned many!”

“And no, I don’t need to convert you. I’m not trying to! All I’m trying to do is keep you alive! But you don’t seem to want to! You’re in control of your life?! Fucking prove it! Cause if you tell Dr. Monster to fuck off, then you’ll be in direct and utter control of your death! I shit you not!”

“Oh, did you lie about that too?! Have you already seen my death if I say no?!”

“No! I DON’T always lie! I only did it to protect you!”

“Well, don’t bother! I don’t need that kind of protection! If you haven’t seen my death then who’s to say if I live or die?! Huh?!”

“You’re right. I can’t know. But you’re so bad in my last vision that I don’t see how you could survive. Think about it . . . she’s experimenting with your brain! You were in a coma the last time I saw you! And guess what?! Dr. Monster didn’t care! She was still experimenting on you! She’d already chalked you up as the price of success, a fucking casualty of science! Just like me! I told you it wouldn’t be pretty! I said you didn’t want to know! Are you fucking happy now?!”

“Well I don’t know?! Should I be?! I don’t know what I can believe from you anymore. It seems that every time I turn around some new hideous secret pops up. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not anymore.”

As distraught as Lori was, she had to try and get everything under control. “Well, I can understand that. But don’t you think all these ‘lies’ are a bit too intricate to really be lies? All I’m doing when I keep something from you, is protect you. I hope you can believe that.”

“So what if I do? Huh? How am I so damned important? I don’t mean to the fucking universe or fate. I mean to you. How can I mean anything to you? I’m just your big mission! You accomplish saving me and then you can just die? Huh? Well, what if I don’t want you to die? What if I don’t give a fuck about fate or your mission? What if all I want is for BOTH of us to survive this?”

“I‘ve never had a friend either. And how’s it gonna be? I have some big mysterious mission and you just get to die? I just lost my father! And now I’m about to lose my only friend? You really think I’m O.K. with that? Do you really think I haven’t thought about suicide the same as you? You don‘t even know what I‘m supposed to do. How am I supposed to go on all alone? Huh?”

“I can’t answer that. I don’t know. I just hope you can. I don’t know if I could if our roles were reversed, but maybe. I know you don’t want to hear about the prophecies, but please hear me out. I believe in them. They are not a religion. They are real. There are points in history proving them true. And there are many more that have yet to pass. I believe that I’m saving you so you can be a part of one of them.”

“But please don’t believe me. I don’t want you to just blindly believe everything. I understand why it’s so hard for you to believe anything. Not believing, not trusting, it’s what keeps us alive. There’s too much danger out there. You’ve just gotta have proof. And I know you want to know. You’ve always wanted answers. You still do. It’s an obsession. So after you survive this, please go and find them. I know they’re hard to find, but believe me they’re out there. Nothing is hidden so deep you can’t unearth it. Somehow I just know that. I hope you do to.”

“Whatever. So what other secrets are you hiding from me?”

Then out of nowhere, “YOU’RE IN DANGER!!! YOU’VE BEEN YELLING!!! I CAN YELL, YOU CAN’T!!! YOU’LL BE HEARD!!! START SCREAMING!!! SCREAM ABOUT HOW YOU MISS YOUR FATHER!!! THEY’LL BUY THAT!!! ACT DELIRIOUS!!! ACT LIKE THE PAIN OF IT ALL HAS YOU FUCKING SCREAMING AT YOURSELF!!! GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS OF HOW YOU COULD’VE SAVED HIM IF ONLY YOU DID THINGS DIFFERENTLY!!! PLAY OFF THE MEDS!!! BLAME THEM FOR YOUR BAD REACTION!!! BUT DO IT LATER WHEN YOU ‘COME AROUND’!!! START SCREAMING, GOD DAMN IT!!! THEY ARE COMING AND THEY ARE COMING NOW!!!”

Meraine had no reason not to believe, but it was all so sudden . . . too much too fast. There still existed that bit about proof. She took a moment. Just a moment. She needed to read a mind or two, as if the hurried footsteps weren’t enough. But they could’ve been anything . . . a patient in cardiac arrest, maybe. She needed to be sure. But it was too late for all that. Just a moment too late. The whole time Lori kept right on screaming thoughts as if her teeth were actually grinding.

“NOoooooooo!!! THINGS ARE CHANNNGGGING!!! SSSTOP!!!”

She wasn’t paying attention to anyone or anything. Meraine didn’t have visions, but she still knew when others had them. Who didn’t? It was all too obvious. It’s good it was. Meraine didn’t have time for anything complicated. Her door was thrown open. Dr. Monster wasn’t smiling anymore. Neither were those with her. It wasn’t a look of concern. No more pretense of kindness. She knew. And she said just three words.

“Break the connection.”

Meraine expected the three women with her to hold her down, knock her out. Something like that. Anything like that. What they actually did was entirely different. They didn’t move anything but their eyes and all they did was close as if they could see better that way. But then something else happened. Or was happening. Lori’s screams were fading out. At first Meraine just thought she was calming down, but why would she? No. This was something else. These fucking bitches were all seedborn . . . ability laden. They were combining forces to tear them apart. Meraine couldn’t have that! She wouldn’t! And she was losing it again!

“NO!!!” She gave them all a look that could kill. And for all she knew that wasn’t just a saying anymore. “NO!!! YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! YOU!!! YOU WILL NOT DO THIS!!!”

As calm as could be, it was anticipation she saw in those all but dead eyes. “We already are. I can’t have you two talking.”

Meraine was struggling. Pain . . . Actual pain hit her like electric shocks coursing through her brain, replacing every word Lori thought. All that did was piss her the fuck off. She more than endured the pain . . . she pushed it back.

“WELL . . . TOO . . . FUCKING . . . BAD!!!”

“You’ve got to know you can’t win. As remarkable as you are, you’re too young and unpracticed. This is over.”

Meraine’s face was contorting in pain and near physical effort it took to bend her neck, open her mouth and keep her eyes from closing. They were trying to put her to sleep. It wasn’t going to work.

“No . . . it’s . . . NOT!!!”

Just then as if by sheer will, the pain started to fade. Lori’s voice was getting stronger but she wasn’t paying much attention at the moment. She really should’ve been.

“You . . . You BITCH!!! YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE ME!!!”

As if on cue, the three women started to twitch. They were fighting. They were losing . . . all of them. And through it all Dr. Sarah got a gleam in her eye and said just one word . . . in a whisper.

“Remarkable.”

It became suddenly obvious to Meraine that Dr. Sarah wasn’t going to stop her. It was suddenly clear this was about so much more than just separating the two girls. No. This was a fucking experiment! Doctor fucking Monster wanted to see just how powerful she was! And then, only then, did she hear Lori.

“STOP!!! SHE’S USING YOU!!!”

It was too late for that. Far too damned late. Meraine wasn’t putting the three women to sleep. Or if she was then permanently. They didn’t deserve to live. DOE didn’t seem to matter. Nothing really did anymore. Nothing but revenge.

She would’ve killed them too. Every last one of them. Including Dr. Monster, if she had the time before the pain hit. Dr. Sarah couldn’t have that. Not just her death. No. She couldn’t have her prize dying so soon or from something so stupid. She wasn’t done with her. So she touched a single, manicured finger to her ear and said two words.

“Hurt her.”

Incredulous, Meraine screamed back, “And how the FUCK do you think you’re gonna do that?!!!”

Dr. Monster answered with another two words, “Not you.”

That sudden realization was followed by an ear piercing scream that filled Meraine’s head.

“S . . . s . . . S . . . stop . . . SSSTOP!!! FUCK . . . ING STOP!!!”

All three women stopped trying to win their hopeless battle, but only because they were losing consciousness . . . a pit stop on their way to something much darker. One by one they fell to the floor, blood trailing out of their nose, ears and pooling up in their eyes as if holding back tears of death.

“LET THEM GO!!! MERAINE!!! LET THEM GO!!! YOU CAN’T WIN THIS!!! YOU’LL DIE!!! YOU’LL FUCKING D . . . AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

But she wasn’t letting go. She didn’t feel that was even possible. Then before all was lost Dr. Monster gave one last order.

“Charge the bed.”

Meraine didn’t know who was left to rush her, but she soon found that her interpretation was distorted. She found this out as an electric current began to flow through the frame of the bed. It didn’t stay there. Shortly after it tore through her body she lost all her concentration . . . and the control that went along with it.

Then in a rush, “Get them out of here. Not one of them can die. Do you hear me. Not one.”

Then the good doctor turned to address Meraine moments before she lost consciousness.

“Play time’s over, bitch.”

Then she was gone . . . again.