Counting Down (23 page)

I want you to continue the story. Use the blank journal to finish our saga of survival. Press on and don’t give up. You have such a greater purpose and I believe you have it in you to get through anything. I know you well. Remember?

There is nothing I can say now to make you realize what you mean to me and what I know in my heart we could be. I know that you were my one real chance in this life or any other, and I desperately wanted to take that chance with you.

In another time I will be waiting – searching for you to wander into my sights again, revealing to me secrets only the light of your soul can expose.

Fight to live Abby. Fight so that the human race can go on and we can come back to each other someday. One way or another we will get our chance.

Kyle

Abby felt the tears streaming down her cheeks and let them fall. She kept her eyes on the page, memorizing every word and every haphazardly scribbled letter until her eyes were stone dry.

How could he expect her to just move on? How could he think she wouldn’t grieve for him – for what could’ve been? No. For what should’ve been.

“How could he expect me to just forget him? To pretend like none of it every happened?” she whispered.

“Because there is no other choice. There are others to think about. They are counting on you now.”

Abby heard Kyle’s voice as though he were sitting right beside her. She listened but heard nothing more. She knew it was her own imagination. Her therapist would say she was filling the void created by her grief as a way to cope. Part of her didn’t care. If she was raving mad for hearing Kyle’s voice then she was content to be committed.

Abby sat back on her bunk, exhausted from tears and days of emotional stress. She left the book open to Kyle’s letter and closed her eyes. Before drifting off she willed herself to recover from her pain or at the very least learn to go numb again without medication; to shut down and refuse any further tears to fall from her eyes.

With a sigh she rolled over to her side and pretended Kyle was lying beside her. She let her mind drift to the one night when he had held her close, tried to remember what his breathing sounding like in her ear, what it felt like against the back of her neck.

Tomorrow she would try to live up to her potential, but not for herself. And not even for the seven people that wanted to look to her for guidance. She would fight to live only because he had asked her to. Only for the hope that in another life they might meet again.

Friday, December 28th 2012, 11:38am

A
bby spent the next few days becoming filled with purpose and a significant amount of crazy.
But she was quickly becoming accustomed to being a member of the insane.

Kyle’s voice had become a more prominent force in her mind and subsequently she felt herself drifting into a realm where she was sure only poor homeless schizophrenics had gone before.

She didn’t have the guts to tell anyone what was going on in her troubled head but she had come dangerously close to confessing to Alex.

He had become a good friend lately, someone she knew she could depend on.
It still amazed her that ever since their physical relationship had ended they could spend time together as adults, talking about serious things and confiding in each other eagerly.
But she still couldn’t tell him that she’d been having conversations with her dead would-be soul mate for nearly a week.

Abby couldn’t tell Alex that she had been staying awake into the early hours talking about life, love, and reality television with someone who was supposed to be a corpse. She couldn’t stand to imagine the look on his face. Then again, he’d believed her crazy ravings once and it had paid off for him. But Abby didn’t even believe Kyle was alive. She was positive he was gone and she just wasn’t ready to let go of him.

Alex had recently developed an attraction for Evie, not as though that were a shock to anyone. The tall and curvy Evie was arguably a serenely beautiful creature.

Abby watched the other woman from the confines of her bunk, noting how Alex examined her long legs and glossy black hair hanging down her back and to her waist in a tight braid. But Evie didn’t pay Alex the same kind of attention. Of course that didn’t dissuade him one bit. He liked a good challenge.

Abby looked on as they flirted by Evie’s bunk, talking in hushed whispers with Evie trying desperately not to let Alex make her laugh. Abby felt a tug on her heart, remembering Kyle’s smile with sudden sadness. She pressed a palm against the center of her chest and tried to breathe.

“Looks like Alex is making some progress.”
Kyle’s voice echoed in her head a little too loudly startling Abby out of her thoughts.

Abby sunk back into her bunk and closed the curtain swiftly. “Jesus,” she muttered. “You scared the crap out of me.”

She heard his laughter bounce between her ears. “Sorry.”

“I’m such a freak.” She said the words more to herself than to her imaginary Kyle. “I’ve completely lost my damn mind. Not that I had much sanity to begin with.”

“Nah,” Kyle huffed. “Y
ou’re completely sane actually.
”

“Right.” She pushed her hair back out of her face and crinkled her nose. “You know my shrink would most likely say I had developed a split personality to cope with my grief. I’ve been through too much therapy to believe I’m sane anymore. This is not my first neurosis rodeo Kyle.”

Again she heard him chuckle softly. “Well, maybe it’s not a bad disorder to have then. I for one am glad you’re certifiable.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “At least someone is happy about it.”

The curtain surrounding her bunk flew open making her jump. “Talking to yourself again Abbs?” Alex’s knelt by her bunk grinning. His thin lips turned up a bit more when he saw the look of shock on her face. He gave her a knowing look then gestured for her to go out into the living area. “Everyone’s waiting for today’s uh… meeting? Exercise? Whatever. They’re all sitting in the front room waiting for you.”

Abby shoved herself up from the bunk and followed him into the other room. She appraised the Gleamers, each of them glowing in faint pastels. The colors blended in pretty ways between the few who were close enough as to be touching. Hanna sat sandwiched on the bench between the yellow hues of Sam and Jake creating a pretty green where their individual lights mingled.

David grimaced at the far edge of the bench, his jaw tight making the cleft of his chin seem more pronounced. He rarely looked happy and everyone else was beyond trying to coax him out of his self imposed shell.

Evie leaned against the wall, Alex lingering just to her right. His eyes never left her face. Her soft green shimmer touched his arm, tumbled onto the wall behind her, outlining her body like a layer of sheer jade fabric.

Abby took a spot along the sink wall, smiling at her uncle as she scooted up on the counter beside him. “Okay, what we’ve tried so far has yielded very little result. So I came up with another idea.”

“You finally figured out that holding hands in a circle for an hour was getting us nowhere?” David’s voice held his usual bitter note.

Abby glanced in his direction then dismissed him without a word. He was just a pain in the ass. They had two other Builders anyway. It didn’t matter if he participated or not.

“I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
Kyle popped into Abby’s head as she thought of David.

“Hush,” Abby
hissed
to Kyle. She went on with her makeshift lesson, allowing the group to think she was talking to David. “Anyway, I was thinking about Evie and what sort of power someone with a connection to plants might have.” Abby picked up a piece of dried apple from a bowl on the counter. “And I came up with this.” She tossed the apple chunk to Evie.

Evie caught the fruit and proceeded to stare at it like it was an alien species she’d never seen before. “What would you like me to do with it?”

Abby sucked in a breath, hoping her crazy wasn’t about to start showing. “I want you to focus on bringing it back to life.”

“Bringing it back to life?” Evie’s echoed. Her confusion was obvious on her face. “How exactly would you like me to do that?”

“Focus your mind. Believe that you can rehydrate the apple, bring the molecules back into a state of movement so that life returns into the flesh.”

David twirled a finger near his temple. “And I thought the group meditations were ridiculous. This is beyond pointless.”

Abby did her best to keep her cool. “Do you have a better idea David?”

He smiled without kindness and shook his head slightly. “Not really.”

“Then why don’t you just sit there and be quiet.
I think there’s a reason why I’m the only one in the room who’s glowing all white while you’re a sick shade of piss yellow.”
She glanced to Sam and Jake. “No offense.”

The brothers shrugged their shoulders and glared down the bench to David. If there was a black sheep in the group David would be it. He had never uttered a positive word to any of them. Most of the time he kept quiet and looked on with his constant judgmental gaze.

Abby turned back to Evie. “Just try to imagine the apple is fresh and juicy and see where that leads. Believe it’s possible to bring life back into it.”

Evie nodded and, though her face looked reluctant, she closed her eyes to give it a shot.

It seemed like a long while passed with nothing happening. Everyone in the room looked on, holding their breath and waiting for something – anything – out of the ordinary to occur.

Each of them had been racking their brains for days trying to come up with some way to make their gifts materialize. It had to be more than just nightmares and shiny auras. Neither were going to help them survive in a harsh new environment without food or fresh water. There had to be some other reason for the spontaneous mass migration to Kansas. At least that what’s Abby’s gut feelings had made them believe.

All at once the light from Evie’s hands began to grow outwardly. It peaked and popped into a bright flash before receding back into her skin.

“Oh.” Evie’s mouth gaped open in shock. “I did it. I really did it.” Her face beamed as she held her hand out for everyone to see.

In her sun-kissed hand was the slice of apple, no longer shriveled and sapped of its water.
It was alive and fresh as through it had been picked from a branch and sliced only minutes earlier.

“That was awesome,” Sam said with a boyish laugh. “Do it again Evie.”

Abby smiled from ear to ear – perhaps the first genuine smile she’d been able to express since Kyle had shoved her away and ran straight into the face of shotgun wielding, panic stricken townsfolk.

The timbre of Kyle’s voice interrupted the moment. “Great job Teach. Now we just have to figure out what the rest of them are good for.”

“Not to mention figuring out what the two of us can really do.” She mumbled the words low enough but a few of the others turned to look at her in question anyway. She could feel Alex’s eyes on her and even noticed David giving her his sulky glare. Abby simply shook her head and smiled. “Wonderful job Evie. Now let’s see if the rest of you have some sort of active power as well.”

Abby walked to the drawer under the sink and pulled out a red handled utility knife.

Alex straightened from his leaning posture on the wall. “Um… what are you doing Abby?”

She pulled the knife open, slid up her sleeve, and sliced the soft flesh of her forearm in one quick motion.

“Abigail!” Jim’s voice bounced off the concrete walls of the shelter. He grabbed her arm, examined the fresh wound with a scowl.

It was Kyle’s disapproving voice she heard next. “That was stupid Abby. I think you’re going to need stitches. Let’s hope your vaccinations are up to date too. Tetanus is no joke.
”