Designed to Love (24 page)

"Only a true monster would exploit a
six-year-old," I reply, and see Sophia glance quickly in my
direction.

He is silent for a long moment, before he
quietly says, "You have only your parents to blame for that."

I couldn't really think of a valid comeback
to this remark, so I change the subject. "Please let me go outside.
I think this place is making me sick, and I really need the fresh
air," I say, doing my best to plaster a look of sincerity on my
face before turning towards the room of hidden cameras.

He sighs and says, "Put Sophia on the
phone."

***

"He never changes his mind you know," Sophia
whispers as we walk around the perimeter of the yard.

"Uh-huh," I reply, too preoccupied with
other things to care about whether or not Mr. Z is showing me some
sort of favoritism. It is completely out of character for Sophia to
divulge any information about him to me, and I should take
advantage of it, but I don't. I have only one thing on my mind and
that is to enlist the help of Lawrence to contact Ronan.

"Lawrence, I'm outside.
Can you hear me?"
I call mentally, trying to concentrate
amidst Sophia's nonstop chatter. When he doesn't respond right
away, I conclude that it's because of her interference and I glance
at her sharply, resisting the impulse to silence her by force.

"Sophia, I think some exercise would do me
good. Do you mind if I take a jog around the yard?" She hates to
exercise and responds predictably.

"Go for it," she says, pulling out her iPod
and heading straight for the bench.

***

The elation I feel, when I'm finally able to
summon Lawrence is short lived when he claims that he can't help me
connect telepathically with Ronan and Claire.

"I think it's possible, I
just don't have an instruction manual telling you how. It's a
matter of tuning into their mental frequency. Doubt or fear can
block the flow of energy, so if you're not getting through, you
could be throwing up mental roadblocks."

"Lawrence, it's urgent
that I get a message to them. If you can't help me then please go
so I can concentrate,"
I say a little rudely. Sophia
glances up at me as I jog past her, and holds up all ten fingers,
signaling that I have ten minutes left outside.

I know you're anxious to
connect with your family Cat, however I need your full focus on
what I am about to tell you. There is no guarantee that I'll get an
opportunity in the future. If Dr. Kappel's DNA enhancements work,
you'll have all the power you need to reunite with your family.
Please trust me."

"All right, let's hear
it,"
I reluctantly concede giving him my full
attention.

"The first truth is
that everything in the universe has a vibrational quality to it
that produces energy. When I say everything, I mean every single
thing that exists including our thoughts and emotions. Our ability
to telepathically communicate is nothing but a wave of energy
carrying our thoughts back and forth. Of course, there has to be an
open channel in our brains to receive the input through, which you
now have. The second truth is that the energy can be seen in
everything. All it takes is activation of the pineal gland that
lies within the center of our brain. And the third truth is that
energy can be controlled and manipulated. You have the ability to
do all of this Cataryn,"
he says confidently.

Instantly I know what he's talking about,
but he's got it all wrong.

"Lawrence, you have the
wrong person. It's my sister you're thinking of. She can do all of
the things you're describing. She can see energy fields around
people ,and move things with her mind. You have me mixed up with
her,"
I insist, suddenly disappointed.

"No Cataryn. I can
assure you; I'm not mistaken. I was there when you were nothing but
an embryo and witnessed Dr. Kappel working on you and your twin
brother. He referred to you as the Golden GEM's. The last to be
created will determine what's fated,"
he recalls,
confirming Elizabeth's recount of her father's final last
words.

"Lawrence, I'm not the
last to be created, my sister is. She's six-years-old, and I'm
seventeen. She was Dr. Kappel's final Designer baby. Her name is
Claire."
I say impatiently, resisting the urge to tell
him to get his facts straight.

He pauses, and for a moment, I fear I've
offended him by disagreeing.

"Dr. Kappel wasn't
referring to birth age Cat. He was referring to the activation of
DNA in a person. You are the last to be created because up until a
short time ago, the synthetic DNA was dormant. He linked the DNA
strand to your pineal gland, and then coded it with a specific
protein that would be activated when under the influence of certain
hormones. He wanted to make sure you were mature enough to handle
the responsibilities. You and your brother are the Golden GEM's,
not Claire,"
he says quietly, and with the authority of
a professor.

Sophia calls out her one minute warning and
Lawrence hurriedly continues.

"I don't want you to take
my word for it. I want you to experience it for yourself. Start by
looking for the energy field in nature. It's easiest to see it in
plants. Once your eyes are accustomed to seeing it here, you will
be able to see it in people, objects and animals. Practice every
chance you get."

***

It's been two days since I've heard from
Lawrence and all attempts to make contact with Ronan and the others
have been in vain. I have started to accept the possibility that
I'm slowly losing my mind and Lawrence was nothing more than a
symptom of my insanity. I sit on the couch staring at the vase of
flowers that Sophia brought home yesterday when I complained that
there were no live plants outside. I had no success yesterday in
seeing the energy field that Lawrence was talking about, but for
lack of anything better to do, I look for it again today. Pulling
one of the long stem pink roses from the vase, I bring it to my
nose and inhale deeply. The fragrance from the rose saturates my
nasal passages with such an intense aroma that I can almost taste
it. I am mesmerized by the colors and shapes of each unique flower
in the vase and the longer I stare at them, the more vibrant they
become. The flowers are common: roses, lilies, dahlias, and
gerberas are a few that I recognize, but seeing them now is like
seeing them for the very first time, and I am helpless to look
away.

I can't say for sure how long I've been
fixated on the flowers, but when I see a faint hazy halo of light
surrounding them, I blink and look away, my heart thudding in my
chest.
It can't be.
Daring to take
a second look, I slowly rest my eyes on the flowers in the vase
instantly aware that I'm seeing the energy field that Lawrence was
talking about. At the same time that I acknowledge it as such, I
feel a surge of warmth throughout my entire body and the halo of
light surrounding the flowers expands until it seems to touch my
skin. Without warning, my eyes fill with tears and slowly trickle
down my cheeks.

***

"Cat, are you okay?" Sophia says as she
gently shakes my shoulders. I don't say it, but I am better than
okay and when I break my trance from the flowers and focus my gaze
on her, the same phenomenon occurs; an acute awareness of her
features and her beauty that I had never noticed before, followed
by the ability to see a field of energy surrounding her body.
Unlike the plants, which emit a lighter yellow-pink glow, Sophia is
a much darker shade of yellow. I've learned from Claire, that when
it comes to humans; yellow is good no matter what the shade. I am
not surprised by her color screening.

"I need some fresh air," I say smiling.

Her brows furrow in response and she glances
at her watch. "It's a little early," she says hesitantly.

"It's not a problem," I say confidently,
placing the pink rose carefully in the vase, as I walk toward the
exit door at the end of the hallway. I can't say how I know she'll
follow and agree to open the door for me, but I know.

***

The tumbleweeds strewn across the ground no
longer symbolizes the desolate, dismal-looking plant that it did a
few days ago. In spite of their dry, dead appearance, it still
emits a halo of light yellow-pink energy. Lawrence was right—energy
is everywhere, and I can see it. I have an awareness that I can't
quite put into words. It's like I've been living my life under a
constant cloud cover and am now seeing the sun for the very first
time ever. It's the most peculiar thing I have ever experienced in
my entire life. I almost laugh out loud at the absurdity of it all.
I have an inner peace and confidence that momentarily transcends my
current circumstances. I had to talk to Lawrence again, and I
almost shout his name out loud while sitting next to Sophia on the
bench. When he acknowledges me, I am ecstatic. It's confirmation
that I'm not going crazy after all.

"Very good Cataryn.
Very good indeed,"
Lawrence says when I excitedly report
my experiences to him. He sounds relieved and I wonder if he had
his doubts about me too.

"Seeing energy is just
the beginning
.
Once your eyes are
open to seeing energy then you can learn to manipulate
it
."

"How...?"
I
ask, anxious to learn.

"By using the energy of
your own thoughts. The exercise that I am going to give you will
require that you focus on your own energy field as well as the
energy field of an object, like the tumbleweed for example. Resist
the urge to focus on the tumbleweed itself, only the energy field
around it. Once you have both energy fields in sight, merge them
together. Push your own energy field toward the tumbleweed and let
the two mix. Then when you've accomplished this, you are ready to
influence that energy field by using just your thoughts. Try it
now,"
he urges me.

It takes me only a matter of seconds to
learn the technique. It's ridiculously easy to do once you get the
hang of it. My energy field appears almost white, and it can be
tracked as it swirls in and around the tumbleweed. At the same time
that I think about the energy moving to the right, it does, and the
tumbleweed follows, trailing behind the field of energy like a
piece of metal being dragged behind a magnet. I switch directions
and move it to the left, and the tumbleweed abruptly changes course
too. Sophia is oblivious to the fact that in a yard full of
tumbleweeds, only one is being picked up and tossed around the yard
like a big beach ball. When I reconnect mentally with Lawrence, he
is laughing.

"The same principle and
technique can be applied to people and animals,"
he
assures me, then leaves me with an assignment to master the
technique on Sophia by tomorrow morning.

I am so preoccupied with the exercise that
when Sophia nudges me and says, "It's time to go in," I am caught
completely off guard.

"I need a few more minutes Sophia. I'm not
quite ready yet," I say. She stands up and says, "You're not in
charge here. I am. Get your coat and let's go inside, now."

I watch as she starts to walk towards the
bunker entrance. Her color screening is a shade darker then it was
a few minutes ago.

"I'm not going in without trying to connect
with Ronan," I mutter under my breath and watch as my energy field
collides and mixes with hers. She is just about to reach for the
door handle when she instead turns right and continues walking,
following the perimeter of the fence around the yard. She catches
me watching her and quickly looks away appearing slightly
embarrassed and confused by her unintended action.

"Ronan, if you can hear
me, just know that I love you. I miss you every day. I want
to..."

"Cat...?"
The voice of my husband is faint but undeniably there.

"Ronan, can you hear
me?"
I almost sob out loud.

"Yes. Yes, Cat—I can
hear you. Can you hear me? Please hear me,"
he responds
mentally; the excitement, desperation and uncertainty clearly
evident in his voice.

"Ronan, I can hear you,
too. I can hear you, but I only have a few seconds longer outside.
They keep me in an underground bunker. I don't know where. Keep
looking."

As Sophia walks by, she grabs me by the arm
and pulls me towards the bunker door. I can tell she's annoyed,
although she probably has no idea why.

"I'm looking. Believe
me, I'm looking. Are you hurt? Can you give me any clues? I don't
know where to start. I thought you were dead,"
he says
emotionally.

"I'm okay. I love you,
and tomorrow I will try to connect again,"
I say, before
Sophia pushes me through the bunker door and slams it shut behind
us.

RONAN

The lack of sleep does little for my
temperament and in less than forty-eight hours, I've had to employ
Jason's technique, close to a half a dozen times in various
circumstances. It's not really anybody's fault. In fact, the others
have been exceptionally tolerant of me since making contact with
Cataryn two days ago. One minute I am on an emotional high, full of
hope and promise, and the next minute I am engulfed with fear and
rage.

"She said she would be outside yesterday
morning. Where the hell is she?" I mumble out loud, clenching my
hands in tight fists by my side. My mind runs wild with different
scenarios of what could be keeping her from connecting with me,
none of which provide any comfort.