Kristie Cook - Purpose

“How? Are we like vampires?”

Mom chuckled. Rina shook her head.

“No, not quite,” Rina said. “We are not frozen in time. Our hearts still beat, blood still flows through our veins and we still need oxygen, although we can regulate how much we need when necessary. The explanation is connected to our ability to heal, which is essentially the regeneration of cells and tissues, yes?”

She looked at me as if expecting an answer, so I nodded my understanding.

“Sleep allows our bodies to completely heal from the day’s effect on them,” Mom said. “Every organ, tissue and cell regenerates, making our bodies exactly as young and healthy as when we first awoke that morning.”

“But I could heal before…” I stopped as the realization hit me. “Oh, but only injured cells.”

“Correct,” Rina said. “It is the Amadis power that regenerates all cells. Every night, while we sleep, our bodies return to their strongest. Every day is, indeed, a fresh start. Because we heal quickly, we do not need as much sleep as normal humans.”

No wonder Mom and Tristan always seemed to get more things done in one day than many people could accomplish in a week. I couldn’t wait to start this new life.

Although I didn’t look like I’d been to Hell and back and I certainly didn’t feel it now, I remembered enough of the phases of the Ang’dora—freezing, burning, sweating—to feel the need for a shower. The feeling of the water pouring down on my skin enraptured me, but I showered hurriedly. I wanted to see Tristan. Just the thought of him made my soul sing.

“I see you’ve been a little too busy to do laundry,” Mom said as I dried myself off. “You only have one outfit left.”

She laid the brightly colored sundress on the bed. It was my favorite one, which is why I hadn’t worn it yet. Metallic gold outlined the abstract design in jewel tones—ruby, sapphire, amethyst, emerald and topaz—against a black background. The dress seemed too showy for hanging around the house. Now I had no choice but to wear it. When I pulled it on, the silk slid softly against my skin, like the brush of soft, smooth lips.

“Where’s Tristan?” I couldn’t wait to be in his arms again, now that I’d finally gone through the long anticipated Ang’dora. I’m finally more like him.

Neither Mom nor Rina answered me, but they exchanged meaningful looks. Impatient with their silence, I headed to the door.

“No!” They both cried, but not aloud. They were in my head…or I was in theirs.

I turned around.

“What?” I asked.

Neither answered. But their faces said it all. Something was wrong.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. I dimly remembered those bits of conversation, but none made sense.

And then the voices raged in my head all at once.

“He’s going to kill her,” Mom thought.

“She is strong enough. She can handle it.” Rina’s thought.

“I can’t hold him much longer! I need reinforcements now.” Owen.

“Kill the little bitch.” A frightening, deep-throated growl. “No mercy. Just kill her.”

The feeling, whose ever it was, came so strong it filled my head until I thought my brain would explode. No images appeared except an angry swirl of reds and deep oranges, pulsing and growing until the mass pressed against my skull. I threw my arms over my head as if they could stop the onslaught.

“Go away! Make it stop!” I shrieked.

“Alexis!” Rina said sharply, grabbing my attention. My head snapped up and my arms fell to my side. “Focus on my voice and nothing else. That’s it—focus on me, on my words.”

I looked her in the eyes and listened specifically to her voice. The others’ thoughts dimmed in my head, just background noise now. The colors faded away and the pressure ebbed back.

She spoke slowly and softly, like a hypnotist. “There you go. Just remain focused on me. Now, imagine a black wall in your head and the only sound on this side of the wall is my voice. Yes?”

I nodded. I closed my eyes and imagined pulling a wall up in my head, dividing that black space or cloud, separating her voice from the others. The jumble in the background went completely away.

“Now, can you hear me?” Rina thought.

Yes.

“Anyone else?”

No. I opened my eyes.

“Good. You are doing beautifully. You are very powerful.” She smiled, then she said aloud, “Sophia, think about something you want Alexis to hear.”

Mom nodded.

“Now push my voice behind the wall and focus on your mother’s thoughts,” Rina directed.

I tried, but the wall fell.

“He’s going to break loose! I can’t hold him!” Owen’s thoughts roared.

“Kill. Her. Kill! Her!” Images of crimson blood against grayness flashed in my mind.

“Who wants to kill somebody?” I cried aloud, frightened and offended by the thought. “Who else is here? I can’t tell!”

“Alexis! You must focus,” Rina ordered.

“How can I focus with that? It’s horrible!”

“That is why you must focus. You have a very powerful and rare gift, but you need to learn to control it. The world is full of horrible and you will not be able to handle your power otherwise. Trust me.”

I took some deep breaths to calm myself, then I focused on putting up the wall again.

“Do you have a wall?” Rina asked.

I nodded.

“Now, concentrate on your mother’s voice. You know her voice very well. Listen only for it. Do not try to move the wall or try to take a piece of it out. It must always remain there intact. Just concentrate on the voice you want.”

I envisioned the cloud again. It enshrouded Rina, but the wall blocked off everything else. I imagined the cloud reaching out to include Mom.

“You can do this,” Mom’s voice reverberated in my head. I nodded.

“Can you still hear me?” Rina asked. I nodded again. “That is good if you want to hear us both, but you need to focus on just one. Block me out.”

I tried pulling the cloud away from Rina.

“Rina is right. You are amazingly powerful. I can feel it above my own.” Mom kept on with the pep rally as Rina’s voice died away.

I tried the opposite and I could hear Rina again and not Mom. Rina must have sensed me.

“Now tune out everyone and listen only to yourself,” she instructed.

I focused on shrinking the cloud until it became nothing in my mind, nothing but my own thoughts. But my thoughts still worried about the other voices and the wall started to crumble. I concentrated on holding it there, beads of sweat popping out on my forehead from the intense focus. The wall finally held. I relaxed my mind slowly and the wall remained.

“Control will take much practice,” Rina said aloud. “Just hold the wall up and the rest will come in time.”

I mentally assigned one part of my brain to hold up the wall and tested the rest to wander. I thought about Tristan. The wall remained—no one’s thoughts came through—even with the swelling of love that felt nearly overwhelming. It felt strange to be able to hold one part of my brain there on its own. The capacity of my mind felt larger and I could use more parts of it at once. I continued thinking about Tristan, kept the wall up and used a different part of my mind to think of Dorian. Wow! This is incredible! I kept those three thoughts running and tried communicating with Rina.

Rina, I think I can do this!

She smiled. She heard me. And Tristan’s and Dorian’s faces held, as did the wall.

“I knew you would be good,” she thought.

I suddenly realized how tense my muscles were, as if I physically held the wall in place. I relaxed one muscle group at a time, working my way down from my neck to my feet. The wall held.

“So who’s here?” I asked aloud. “Who is that terrible person or…thing? I don’t sense evil. Why would anyone here want to kill someone?”