Fighting for Infinity (8 page)

BODY SNATCHING

Nathaniel

“I’m terrified of what might be happening to her,” I admitted to Carson and Krista. “Tears fell from her eyes earlier.”

“Are you serious?” Carson waved his hand. “Rhetorical question. Ignore me.”

“Why would her eyes tear up?” Krista opened the curtains, allowing sunlight to spill into the bedroom. Beams of colored light bounced off the walls as the crystal hanging in the window swung side to side. 

“Maybe it’s just her body’s natural response.” Carson stretched his arms behind him. “Like how muscles jerk even while we’re asleep.”

“No. She’s hurting. Emotionally.” I wanted to punch something. Not something—Dedrick. I wanted to rip him into pieces. I sat beside Maryah, watching her chest rise and fall as her body continued breathing without its soul. Her leg twitched so hard, it bounced the mattress.

“See?” Carson presented his hand. “Case in point. Muscles jerk even though her soul isn’t here.”

Maryah turned toward Krista and Carson. She cleared her throat, and my heart rebounded from the pit of worry where it had been stru
ggling to beat. “Maryah! Thank god!”

I threw my arms around her and pulled her close.

“Oh, Pudding.” Krista hugged both of us. “We were so worried!”

“Welcome home, Sparky,” Carson said.

I pulled back to look at her, and my heart plummeted back into its empty pit. My hands tightened around her arms.

Krista rubbed Maryah’s leg through the sheet. “Where were you all this time?”

Maryah’s eyes floated in every direction until they landed on me. “How long has it been?”

I let go of her and stood, slowly backing away.

“Two days,” Krista told her. “Where did you go? What happened? Do you feel okay?”

“Easy with all the questions,” Carson said. “Let her catch her breath. She’s probably tired and disoriented.”

I was still backing away from the bed. I watched them as if it were taking place on a movie screen. I wished it were a movie, a terrible film I could stop and eject from existence.

“Nathan?” Krista looked up at me. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s not her,” I said. “That’s not Maryah.”

“What?” Krista laughed. Carson pulled Krista to her feet, distancing them from whomever inhabited Maryah’s body.

Krista, Carson, and I stood on either side of the bed, watching Maryah’s impostor. She pulled the sheet up over her chest, clutching it in her fists, not taking her attention off me.

“Who are you?” I had no idea who or what we were up against.

“I’m me,” she answered.

“And whom are you referring to when you say ‘me?’”

“I’m here to help.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time, and I want a straight answer.” My fists balled. “Who are you?”

Carson had moved Krista behind him. His arms were low at his sides, ready to protect her. I didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t threaten or hurt the uninvited guest because they were encased in Maryah’s body.

“My name is Rina.”

“Where is Maryah?” I asked.

“She’s safe. I came to tell you not to worry.”

“Not worry? You’re a stranger inside of my soul mate’s body. We haven’t heard from her in days. Worrying is an understatement.”

She adjusted to sit more upright. “Maryah is fine.”

“Well, Rina, if that’s your real name, you are here in the most invasive manner I can imagine, but you’re still possessing the body of someone I cherish, so I ask that you inhabit it respectfully and please, tell me if she feels weak.”

The imposter looked down, holding Maryah’s hands out in front of her. “She feels much stronger than me.”

“She should eat and drink something,” Krista told me.

Not that I wanted to be hospitable to a body snatcher, but considering it was Maryah’s body, it needed to be taken care of. “Any special requests?”

The stranger, Rina, eyed the room and everything in it. “What does Maryah like?”

“Cereal,” I replied, “different kinds mixed together in one bowl.” Seeing Maryah’s body move as if she were in it, but knowing it wasn’t her, was extremely hard to process.

Rina spoke in a voice that resembled Maryah’s but with a hint of an undetermined accent. “I’ve never had cereal.”

Carson, Krista, and I glanced at each other.

“Well then.” Krista’s voice shook. She was trying, and failing, to hide her consternation. “You should try it. I’ll be right back.”

After Krista rushed out of the room, Rina blurted out, “She misses you.”

I stiffened. “Where is she?”

“A room with no doors or windows. Her spirit is trapped in a bubble.”

“A bubble?”

She nodded. “Dedrick keeps her locked in an energy bubble.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I don’t understand it either, but you asked where she is so I’m telling you.”

“Can you see her?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“She’s a light form.”

Like how Louise sees auras. Could this Rina person see auras too? “Is there a way to free her from the bubble?”

“She’s trying to figure that out.”

Maryah was astral traveling. That meant—as far as I knew—she couldn’t talk, but until Louise saw Dedrick’s aura, I also assumed a soul couldn’t be seen while traveling. Yet Rina claimed she was visible, so anything was possible. “Do you communicate with her?”

“Yes.”

Maryah was without her body which meant she had no actual voice. “You can hear her thoughts?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re a mind reader.”

“No.”

She had used Maryah’s ability to astral travel and take possession of her body. Perhaps she stole mind-reading from someone as well. “Do you steal other peoples’ powers?”

“I borrow their power. I never take it away from them. They still have it.”

“How is that possible?”

She
stroked Maryah’s hair. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“You’re in
Maryah’s body while she’s being held captive by the most evil man I’ve ever encountered.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m entitled to ask as many questions as I want.”

Maryah’s green eyes had been replaced with a dark blue that momentarily glimmered. “I like you.”

“I’m not sure what to make of you.”

“No one ever does.”

“Understandably so.”

She looked away. “I’m very thirsty.”

I spoke my words deliberately slow so Carson would understand my intention. “Carson, walk to the kitchen and fetch our guest some water.”

I didn’t want this stranger to know anything about our abilities. I especially didn’t want her in Maryah’s body, but it seemed I had no say in that matter. Carson backed out of the room. His footsteps faded down the hallway at a normal pace.

“Where is he keeping her?” I asked. “The actual location.”

“Dedrick has her
trapped in my room.”

My jaw clenched at the mention of his name. “So you work with him.”

“Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’ve been his prisoner since I was born.”

I didn’t know whether or not to believe her. Anyone associated with Dedrick couldn’t be trusted. “How old are you?”

“I’m not sure.” She answered every question quickly, an indication that she was telling the truth, but I still didn’t trust her.

Carson returned holding two large glasses of water. He handed one to her, and she clutched it with both hands, gulping it down. When she finished, she wiped her mouth and peered into the empty glass. “Feels strange being in her body. It’s very different from mine.”

Krista rushed in, sloshing milk on the floor from the overfilled cereal bowl. “Are you an astral traveler too?”

“No,” Rina
replied.

“Then how is your soul here in Maryah’s body?” Carson was holding the second glass of water, but when Rina tried to take it, he held it out of her reach. “Answer the question first.”

“I’m a conductor,” Rina explained. “I borrowed her power to travel here and tell you she’s okay and not to worry.”

Carson glanced at me, and I nodded. He handed her the drink, and she gulped that one down faster than the first.

“Where is your home?” I asked. “Where does Dedrick have you and Maryah trapped?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never known.”

“What do you mean?” Krista offered her the bowl of cereal, but Rina eyed it then scrunched her nose.

“I’m kept in a room with no windows or doors. I never know when it’s day or night. I’ve never been anywhere except that room. Until now.”

If that was the truth, it was a crime which made me despise Dedrick even more. No one should be subjected to that sort of confinement.

Before any of us could react or reply to her
shocking claim, Rina threw the covers off of her. “I need to use the bathroom.” Deep pink spread across Maryah’s chest. “This is awkward. I’ve never had to pee using someone else’s body.”

We all glanced uncomfortably at each other. Awkward indeed.

∞

Wh
en Rina stepped out of the bathroom, we were all waiting for her, including Louise and Anthony. Carson, Krista, and I had updated them on the body snatcher situation.

“Hello,” Rina said, wiping her hands on Maryah’s shorts, “I’m Rina.”

Anthony’s eyes narrowed. Eightball whined and backed into the corner.

Louise pushed her glasses to the top of her head. “Fascinating.”

Judging from Louise’s smile, she didn’t see any indication that Rina’s aura was malevolent. “My name is—”

“No.” I stopped Louise from introducing herself. “No names. We can’t trust anyone associated with Dedrick.”

Louise glared at me. “My cover was already blown when Dedrick visited us, so it doesn’t matter if she knows my name. She extended her hand. “I’m Louise.”

Rina stared at Louise’s hand. Clearly she wasn’t familiar with that form of greeting. She leaned forward, examining Louise’s bangle bracelets. “What are those?”

“My bracelets?” She jingled them, and Rina’s eyes lit up. Louise removed a few beaded ones and handed them to Rina. “Here, try them on. They’re jewelry.”

Rina slid them onto Maryah’s wrist and held them up in front of her, admiring them. “They make a lovely sound.” Her attention switched to something beyond her bracelets. She lowered her arm and walked toward the windows then touched the glass. “These are unusual. What are they?”

“She claims to have never seen a window,” I explained. “Or been outside.” We had failed to mention that part of Rina’s story.

“What?” Louise gasped. “How horrible. Here, come have a look.” Louise opened the
balcony door. “Step outside and enjoy the fresh desert air.”

Rina peered up at me from beneath Maryah’s long lashes. “Will you go with me?”

“Me?” I was the most leery of her, and I had made it clear that I didn’t trust her. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s a small private balcony.”

“Nathan, go with her,” Louise urged. “This is all new to her.”

Reluctantly, I walked forward and motioned for Rina to step outside. She did, but timidly. Reaching forward, she ran one finger over the balcony railing. She scanned the sky and ground then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “It tastes heavenly.”

Could she taste the energy around her the way most of our kindrily could? Before I had the chance to ask if she sensperienced, a bird landed on the railing, flapping its wings. Eightball ran toward us barking as Rina jumped sideways, hugging me and burying her face in my chest.

I don’t know if it was because she was startled or because she was in Maryah’s body, but I couldn’t push her away.

GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER

Maryah

Rina jerked awake so hard that her chair scooted backward. She sat up, wiping her eyes.

“What?” I asked after a period of her staring at me and blinking, but not saying anything. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“I’m not sure how much to tell you.”

“How much to tell me about what?”

Rina wrung her hands together. “I told them you were okay.”

“Told who I was okay?”

“Some of your kindrily.”

I was confused. “Some of my kindrily?
” The possibility hit me like a truck. “Did you travel to them?”

She nodded.

“You stole my ability to spy on my family?”

“I didn’t spy. I told them who I was and that you were fine and not to worry.”

My mind reeled. “But how? I can’t talk to people when I astral travel. How can you be sure they heard you?”

Her fingers fumbled around themselves faster. “Don’t be angry.”

“Angry about what?”

“I borrowed your body to interact with them.”

She spoke clearly, but I struggled to process her words. To comprehend what she meant. She borrowed my body? “You
what?
”

“It’s a secret. No one can know I am able to do it. If Dedrick found out—”

“Forget Dedrick!” I shouted. “You had no right to use my body as your own!” The room was spinning. Or maybe I was. I pressed my hands against the sides my head, trying to make the dizziness stop. “How is that even possible? What did you do as me? Who did you see? Who did you talk to?” I rushed toward her, fuming, as she protectively raised her hands. “Was Nathan there?”

She nodded. “Nathaniel, Krista, Carson, Louise, and Anthony.”

I was trying to catch my breath, but I had no lungs so a cold void kept tugging at the center of my chest. “You actually talked to them?”

“I told them I was me. I told them you were safe. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky or do anything bad. You said they were probably worried sick, and I didn’t want them to worry, and I didn’t want you to be upset so I went there so everyone would feel better.”

“You had no right!”

“I was careful. I made sure not to harm your body in any way. I even drank a lot of water because you were thirsty.”

Anger, confusion, and the overwhelming sense of being violated twisted and turned around me like a tornado. “Tell me everything. Every word you said. Every step you took. And most importantly, tell me how the hell you invaded my body.”

∞

Rina’s story and her ability were so far-fetched, but she described mine and Nathan’s bedroom in perfect detail. And Louise’s bracelets. Even the scent of Nathan when he held her. He held
her
. A stranger in my body.

I asked for the third time. “You swe
ar you told them the truth about who you were?”

“Of course I did.”

“I still don’t understand how your soul was able to exist in my body.”

“You don’t understand a lot of things, Maryah.”

It’s a good thing I didn’t have a tongue or I might have bitten it off while trying to keep my cool. “Then why don’t you educate me?”

“You’re limited by your beliefs.” Her tone was gentle, almost like she pitied me. “I can’t educate you if you don’t open your mind and expand your awareness.”

This coming from the girl who had been trapped by Dedrick since birth.

If what Rina told me about her visit with my kindrily was true—which it seemed to be—then Rina had temporarily escaped from her cell for the first time. She had tasted freedom. In my body. She hadn’t needed o
r even asked for my permission. What would she do with the ability to be free now that she had experienced it? What if next time she stayed in my body, stole my life, and never gave a second thought to my soul being trapped here with Dedrick? The possibility terrified me.

I’d have to be more careful. I’d have to be extremely cautious about what information I shared. If I made my life sound too enticing, she might steal it. I needed to know how she felt about her time away, but I was nervous to ask. If she enjoyed it, and I made her relive those positive feelings again, it could make matters worse. Then again, maybe she’d be one of those kidnap victims who stayed with her captor for so long that she wouldn’t leave even if she could.

I scanned her from her dirty bare feet to her greasy disheveled hair. Wanting to stay here with Dedrick was a long, long shot.

I had to find out how she felt about being me. “How was it?”

“How was what?” Rina asked.

“Your experience with them, and being outside for the first time.”

A light flickered in her eyes. “It was wonderful. Louise is so nice. I think she sort of liked me. I wish I could have kept the bracelets she let me try on.”

She did like it. Of course she did. Who wouldn’t? “And Nathan?”

“He doesn’t trust me.”

“Can you blame him?”

She tickled her lips with the ends of her hair, but disappointment lurked in her frown. “He should know I’m trustworthy.”

I had to say or do something to keep her from wanting to spend more time with them. If that happened, she might never come back. “He uses you, you know.”

“Who?”

“Dedrick.”

Rina started doing an awkwardly sloppy version of jumping jacks. “He uses everyone.”

“He’s using our abilities to spy on people so he can execute evil plans, but you’re capable of doing powerful things by yourself, so why don’t we use your power to stop him?”

She stopped jumping. “What do you mean?”

Rina knew more than she revealed to me. I could tell from her remarks about power, energy, and the ease of seemingly impossible feats. Sure, I was sort of manipulating her into helping me, but I didn’t feel guilty about it. The girl had inhabited my body without even asking. “If we can figure out a way to free my soul so it can travel, I can see what Dedrick is up to. He won’t ever suspect I’m spying on him because he’ll assume I’m still trapped here. I could figure out where we are and how to get you out of here permanently.”

“Permanently,” she repeated. She restarted her jumping jacks. “Where would I go?”

“Wherever you wanted.”

“With you?”

“What do you mean with me?”

Dirt stirred every time her feet slid across the floor. “Could I live with you and your kindrily?”

I hesitated. “I’d have to ask them.”

“That means no.”

“I didn’t say that.” I felt guilty for lying before the words even came out of my mouth. “But it’s Louise and Anthony’s house so they’d have to decide.”

She was still flailing her arms and legs, and she was becoming winded, but I was almost certain she mumbled, “liar.”

“If you left here,” she said, “
you’d never come back.”

“Of course I’d come back.”

Her breathless words were choppy. “I wouldn’t want you to. No one should be stuck here.”

“Exactly. No one, including you. But I wouldn’t be trapped anymore. Dedrick would just think I was. And we’d figure out a way to free you too.”

“It’s too risky.”

“It’s your only chance of getting out of here. Why is it okay for you to be trapped here forever?”

She stopped jumping and bent over, trying to catch her breath. “It’s not forever.”

“You’ve already been here much too long.”

She was panting. “It hasn’t been long enough.”

“What does that mean?”

“We need more.”

“More what?”

She leaned against the wall. “More time.”

“Time for what?”

“To grow stronger.”

“Is that why you’re doing jumping jacks?”

She rubbed her thighs then sat on the floor. “Evelyn taught me some exercises a long time ago, but I didn’t enjoy them. Being in your body, I felt so strong. When I squatted over your toilet, your leg muscles were so much firmer than mine.”

“Gross.
I don’t want to hear about your bathroom adventures in my body.”

“Sorry.” She attempted to do a push-up. “
I want to have muscles like yours, so I’m going to exercise.”

On the positive side, she was working out to build muscles in her own bo
dy, which meant she wasn’t considering trading it in for a new one. On the alarming side, she wanted to be stronger. What if results from exercise took too long and she decided to steal my body?