Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) (20 page)

Continuing his monologue, Andy gripped the
steering wheel and tried to marshal his thoughts into some kind of logical
sense. "It started at that store in Hattiesburg. That girl with the lavender
eyes...and who has eyes that color anyway?...that girl, that woman, that, that
witch
perhaps, saying there was a hurricane where no hurricane could logically be.
Yet there it was, on the television, on the radio. And she was talking to her
cat
.
Don't witches have animals...they call them something...familiars, right? I saw her
talking to her cat in the car and then I saw her stop and talk to you, Waldo,
before she got back into her car...just what did she say to you? Because after
that, when I tried to head back home...you went berserk! You went nuts, just like
before...just like before...oh, wait...that's right! That's when it all really
started...back at home...back there when you made me get in the car, when you
wouldn't let me turn, when
you
wanted to go north...
you knew
!
Waldo, you knew! Didn't you?"

Andy suddenly slammed on the brakes and pulled
the car off the road.

Waldo slid on the seat and hit the door of the
car and yelped once in a tone that could only be called one of outrage before
turning to Andy as the car stopped. Andy faced Waldo and said, "Waldo, this is
crazy, but I have to ask this. Did you know the hurricane was coming?" Slowly,
but definitely, Waldo nodded his head twice.

"Oh, my God," Andy said into the silence of the
car. "Wait, wait that could be a fluke, your nodding your head just then. There
has to be a way to prove it because this is totally nuts. Crazy, insane, world
turned upside-down stuff here. Let me think...Okay, here, I've got it. Since the
store, since meeting that woman with the lavender eyes, it seems like you have been
getting me to take the same roads as her, that we are following her. If that's
right, if that's true, bark twice for yes, bark once for no."

Waldo promptly barked twice and nodded his head
twice, as if for emphasis.

"Oh, Lord," said Andy. "What the heck is going
on?" At that moment, he felt Waldo's wet nose pushing his arm, trying to lift
it to the steering wheel. "You want me to keep driving...But why? What are we
doing? Where are going? What the hell's going on?"

Waldo just looked at him.

Andy muttered, "I guess those aren't exactly yes
or no questions."

Waldo barked twice as they rolled down the
highway.

Farther Down Highway 20, between Hattiesburg
and Jackson, Mississippi

"So? Are they still behind us?" Lisanne asked
Merlin.

The cat closed his eyes for a moment and then
nodded.

"And has the dog gotten through to his
oh-so-buttoned up master yet?" she quizzed.

Merlin turned to stare at her and she said, "Sorry,
I know he's not really Waldo's
master
, but it was just an old habit
saying that. Never to be said again, I promise! Anyway, did Waldo get through?"

A smaller nod from the cat. Lisanne smiled
slightly, "Ah, so Waldo sort of got through but the guy is still not quite a
believer, right?"

Merlin nodded vigorously. "Well, I think our
know-it-all weatherman has a few more shocks to endure before the day is over,"
Lisanne said, chuckling quietly to herself.

Merlin stared at her, thinking Lisanne had more
shocks coming than she could begin to imagine.

New York City, New York

As Nathan and Alexandra made their way out of
the city in a rented car, they discussed Alex's dream from the night before.
Nathan insisted on doing the driving, but lost that battle. Alex's driving
probably would be better than his after all, since he'd had an incredibly bad
night of sleep. He didn't recall any dreams, just felt like he'd been through a
war in his sleep, and was exhausted upon waking.

"Okay," he said, opening up a spiral notebook. "You
had a nightmare?"

Alex shrugged. "It didn't feel like a nightmare,
more like it was real, like it was happening right then. So when we heard that
news report about some hurricane suddenly appearing in the Gulf of Mexico, it
was a shock. Because that was what the dream was about."

She paused and glanced over at her friend and
co-worker. "You're not saying anything...what are you thinking?"

Nathan chewed on the end of his pen for a
moment, and then said cautiously, "I'm thinking your dream about the hurricane
is kind of like Tiknay predicting the earthquake. I'm thinking these disasters
are perhaps not so natural as previous ones. And yes, yes, I know that
disasters happen all the time, but do they happen with people predicting them
accurately? Tiknay's prediction and your dream...it makes me wonder if anyone
else might be having similar experiences."

Alex shifted uncomfortably behind the wheel,
honking at a car pulling out in front of her. She was not happy with where
Nathan's theory was going. She knew she wasn't a psychic, didn't even believe
in that as something real. Yet to have such a dream, which was so vivid and
immediate feeling, and then to see an image on the weather channel showing the
gigantic storm from her dream--it was eerie.

"What I'm surprised at," Alex observed, "is how
little uproar there is in the news or among the people we've talked to since
getting back to the States. You were right the other day when you said people
aren't accepting all the deaths that are occurring. It's like some mass denial
is going on--and maybe that's happening because there have been a number of
disasters so close together."

Nathan nodded. "I agree. Something about all of
this does not feel right. Granted, we've been living in Africa for a while, in
a completely different culture--but being back here...it feels more strange than I
would have expected. People seem...weird."

Alex laughed shortly. "People are always weird
in one way or another. But I have to say," she admitted reluctantly, "that
predicting disasters, dreaming of them, that's a new one. And if that is what
is going on--how the hell did it happen? What caused this change in people,
giving them this ability?"

Nathan watched her face tighten a bit at those
words. He knew what was wrong. She didn't want to think she had been changed,
altered, in some way. And if he was honest with himself, he thought ironically,
it gave him a queasy feeling to think it could happen to him, as well. It felt
like if he were changed in that way, he would be changed by something outside
himself, be manipulated in some way by an unknown force. Which sounded more
like a bad science fiction movie than anything that could be happening in real
life.

"Alex," he began, "do you feel any different?
Physically, mentally? Any changes that you can sense at all within yourself?"

She shook her head negatively. "No, no.
Absolutely not. I feel like myself! Same as always." She gripped the steering
wheel tighter. "Look, we could be wrong, you know. Maybe it was just an amazing
fluke of a thing that I dreamed about this hurricane. Maybe Tiknay didn't know
what she was talking about. Maybe we are overreacting. That is possible,
Nathan, it really is."

Nathan heard the undertone of pleading in her
voice as she stopped talking. "Maybe," he said quietly, "but maybe this...whatever
it is...maybe something has changed. Maybe the world is changing."

As they sped out of the city, weaving through
heavy traffic, Alex muttered, "Yeah maybe...but if so, what the hell is the world
changing into?"

Cape Fair, Mrs. Philpott's House

John came into Mrs. Philpott's house with a
triumphant grin on his face. Picking up Samantha and twirling her around, he
called out, "Hey, everybody, get in here! Good news!" Sam was laughing as he
put her down, and Harry, Perceval, Jessica and Mrs. Philpott all came quickly
from different parts of the house.

"What is it, John?" Jessica asked.

"We are the proud owners of a farm, plus the
land next to this house and our house," John replied.

"What?" Jessica said, startled.

Mrs. Philpott looked shocked. "John, I thought
we said we had to be careful with resources. How on earth can we afford to do
this?"

"Don't worry. I don't know if the gods are
looking out for us or the earth or what, but we fell into a super deal on the
land between our houses, which means we own all the land between this house and
our house, so we can do whatever we need to do with this block of land and it
will be connected all between our two homes. The farm was a steal because the
old farmer had died and the kids didn't want the farm. They just wanted to sell
in a hurry. So we didn't spend any more than we had planned to spend. We just
totally lucked out."

"Well, in that case, this is cause to celebrate!"
Jessica said. "And what better way than to invite some friends over...how about
having our first 'party' to read people?"

"An excellent idea. We need to get moving now on
recruiting people who are on the same wavelength, so to speak, as we are, to
help us prepare," said Mrs. Philpott. "You start calling people, Jessica, and
I'll start cooking."

Norman, Oklahoma

Zack handed the phone to Maria. Her broadcast
from Norman, Oklahoma, had been eerie because they were on a university campus,
but no students were visible anywhere. Everyone was afraid to be outdoors, and
after hearing the stories of the lightning strikes here, the television crew
with Zack and Maria weren't exactly thrilled standing outside even for a few
minutes. The strikes appeared to be random, but deadly accurate in their
ability to always hit human beings who were outdoors. The entire city was shut
down and it appeared that this was happening all over the state. The governor
was asking for emergency aid, but no one knew exactly what kind of aid to give.
Some far out science types were talking of developing some kind of lightning
shields, but didn't have any kind of timetable for their development. As he
finished musing about the Oklahoma problem, Zack realized that Maria had gone
tense beside him. What now, he wondered, and tuned into what she was saying on
her side of the conversation with Phoebe.

"The exact time and place were right? But that's...that's
impossible! Isn't it, Phoebe? No, no, I'm not doubting your accuracy, Phoebe...no,
I understand what you're saying. What? Why do I need to leave here? She said
that? Is she sure? But we should warn people...well, maybe they would believe us...we
have try, Phoebe...No, don't tell the guys upstairs, just leave this to me. Wait...did
she say how she could be reached, where she is? Yes, yes, give me that number...."

Watching her pull open a small notebook and dig
through her bag for a pen, Zack handed Maria his pen and she jotted down a name
and number. "Okay, got it. Let me know the minute she calls again, anything she
says write it down, when she says it, anything...yes, okay, we'll get on the
chopper as soon as it gets here. Thanks, Phoebe." Clicking off the phone,
Jessica handed it back to Zack and leaned against the brick wall in the lobby
of the Administration building of the University where they were holed up to
avoid the lightning.

"Well," said Zack, "what was that all about?"

"You remember that woman I told you about who
called Phoebe and predicted a massive hurricane in the Gulf?" Zack nodded. "And
how the weather reports said there was no way, no hurricane on the radar? Well,
it happened anyway, just the way she said, exactly where she said, exactly when
she said."

"What? What does that mean? Could it have been a
coincidence?" asked Zack.

"I don't know," Maria responded slowly. "But if
it was for real, and I'm inclined to believe it was for real because everything
pointed to there
not
being a hurricane when and where she said one would
be...if she is for real, then we have a problem."

"Why?"

"Because," said Maria, "these lightning strikes
are about to get a lot more deadly. According to our psychic friend," and at
this Maria smiled grimly, "the lightning is going to get bigger and start
hitting buildings, demolishing them. She just called Phoebe to tell her to warn
me and to get me out of here
now
."

"Maria, why you? Why is she focused on you?"
Zack questioned.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself. Plus, if
we know these things are about to happen, don't we have a responsibility to
warn people?"

"What would you say? And what could they do? If
the outdoors is not safe and the buildings are not safe, then where would they
be safe?" Zack asked as he gathered up their gear.

"Bomb shelters maybe? Or some could try and
leave the state? It does seem confined to this state...for the moment anyway,"
Maria said, frustrated in the knowledge that there was little she could do to
save the thousands about to be killed.

Finally, she asked Zack for the phone again and
dialed the number of the Governor's office. After several minutes of talking
and persuasion, she got through to the Governor himself and tried to explain
her belief that the buildings would soon be under attack and that he should
make a public announcement. As the helicopter Phoebe had sent landed to take
her to safety, she clicked off the phone and clambered in, resignation written
all over her face. Zack raised his eyebrows in question and she just shook her
head. That night on the news she had to report about an unknown number of
casualties in Oklahoma killed by lightning strikes on buildings and fires out
of control by strikes on oil wells.

Sonic Drive-In on the outskirts of Jackson,
Mississippi

Lisanne leaned out the window of her car to yell
into the speaker of the old-fashioned drive-in. She loved Sonic because they
still brought your food to you on a tray that hooked on the door of the car. "Onion
rings--and I want a chocolate milkshake plus a carton of milk, a plain fish
sandwich with nothing on it, and a Barbecue Burger. Just don't forget the
plastic bowl I ordered! I'm willing to pay extra for that," she finished
saying, shaking her head at Merlin. "You just know they are going to screw up
some part of that order." Watching the cat, Lisanne could swear he tried to
shrug. A difficult feat for a cat to achieve.