S.P.I.R.I.T. (Fire Storm) Read online

  “This way,” he whispered close to my ear, and I jumped in surprise at the proximity of his lips.

  He led me over to a darkened corner. It was only then that I noticed the ladder, hidden against the far wall that led up to the attic. He went up, leaving me against the wall glancing only around the small space, before he moved back down to face me.

  “It’s not the Ramada, but at least you’ll be able to rest until we can figure out just what’s going on.” His voice was quiet, but concerned at the same time. I nodded, not able to reply, then made my way up the ladder with Zander not far behind.

  Once up into the darkness, I found a soft mattress to sit on while a small electric lantern came to life, showing my new surroundings. There were three other mats, one on each wall of the low-ceiling room, but it seemed the one I sat on was the only one made up for use. I wrapped my jacket around me, shivering from the excitement and the chills that still streamed through my body, and glanced over at Zander, who was busy placing various weapons on the small table where the lantern sat.

  “The Holiday Inn,” I whispered, and watched him look over at me in surprise. They were the first words that I had spoke since our passionate embrace by the cornstalks. “I prefer the Holiday Inn to the Ramada.”

  Zander smiled widely, the first true sign of humor in the light of all of the chaos that night. Slowly he placed the glock down on the table, its clip disengaged and sitting beside it. I watched him turn, cross his legs Indian style, and sit casually on the floor in front of me.

  “Tell me, Sam, who are you?” he questioned.

  I smiled, amused at the questions he had posed to me that evening. “I’ve already told you that.”

  “No,” he said, rubbing his chin, the hint of a five-o’clock shadow under his fingers. “You’ve told me your name and that you live in Westfield, but other than that, I know nothing of you.”

  “Oh, that kind of who are you?” I crossed my arms over my chest and glanced up at the ceiling for a moment before looking back at him, my blue eyes no doubt sparkling with mischief. “I’m certainly not the kind of person that goes to bed in one state and wakes up half a continent away. I’m just your ordinary person. There isn’t anything special about me.”

  “I beg to differ,” he replied, reaching out to brush something from my cheek. The contact of his hand against my skin sent the goose bumps rising over my arms. Zander froze, as if suddenly aware of what happened when we touched, and then slowly sat back. “I’m sorry.”

  “You apologize too much.”

  “Occupational hazard.” He shrugged, and ran a hand through his hair. “What do you do for a living?”

  “I’m a tutor, mostly for college kids, in History and Mythology.”

  “Mythology, huh? You don’t look the bookworm type.”

  This comment made me smile as I looked over at him once more, blatantly glancing over the tight black jeans, snug tee shirt and black leather coat he wore.

  “No,” I replied, quietly. “But, you don’t look the military type either, Mr. Smith.”

  “Touché.” He grinned. “Can you explain to me just what you did before bed tonight? Don’t leave out any details, there has to be something that might have caused you to end up here when you did.”

  “I had dinner at five, like I always do. Sat down to look over some paperwork, had a glass of wine at about eight, took a shower and went to bed. Not a thing unusual, nothing that might have…” I stopped suddenly, as memories flashed through my head. “Wait, something did happen. I thought it was just stress from the day, but after I got out of the shower, I dried off. I stood in front of the mirror, like I always do, and it was like an electric shock. Tingles just climbed through me and I saw something, like a vision.”

  “Can you recall what it was?”

  I glanced over at him, feeling lost in my own world and nodded. “I saw dark eyes staring at me in a dirty mirror, somewhere in a dusty room. Furniture and crates filled the space behind me, but I couldn’t see a face, just those eyes looking back at me, as if I were in that person’s body. I know I reached up and touched the mirror, my hands were covered in dirt, and then a red light flashed and I was back in the bathroom again.”

  I watched the look on his face, the color drained from his cheeks as I watched and he seemed to find it hard to swallow as he stared deep into my eyes. I reached out and touched his neck, feeling him growing cold under my touch as he shivered and tried to catch his breath.

  “What is it, Zander?” I whispered, unsure of what to do in the face of an obvious panic attack. He shook his head quickly, snapping himself out of whatever trance he had slipped into. He suddenly stood, the best he could with the low beams, and moved over to the ladder.

  “Coffee,” he whispered his voice unsure. “I’m going to get some coffee, maybe that will help warm you up. Would you like some?”

  Completely confused by his reaction, I watched him slowly disappear, his eyes locked on mine. “Sure.”

  It seemed like forever for the ladder to creek under the weight of a person, but as I sat up from the bed that I occupied, I found myself looking at one of the other men that had been in the trailer. He was stocky, almost as short as I was, but his chubby cheeks seemed to give him a boyish look about him.

  “My name is Walters. Miss, could you please come with me. Captain Everett would like to speak with you.”

  Not waiting for my reply, the stocky young man disappeared down the rungs and stood by at the bottom as I descended. Once sturdy on my feet, he turned and marched to the front door, glancing at me to make sure I followed, and the two of us walked outside.

  The red trailer was parked in the darkness, not more than 500 feet from the run down shack, and the door was wide open, exposing the lights and switch panels that hid inside. Walters graciously gestured for me to enter first, but as I moved up within the confines of the ten by thirteen foot space, I noticed that the five other men that I had seen earlier that night stood or sat idly by as I stared at the Captain.

  Zander stood behind the group, his arms and ankles crossed as he leaned against one of the keyboards. His head was down, the wisp of his hair covered most of his eyes, but I could see the look of them as he looked out of the corner of his vision. I shook my head, and stuck my hands in the pocket of my black jeans.

  “What now?” I inquired, and watched the glances of the men that surrounded me as they turned to Captain Everett for orders, but I also saw the smirk cross Zander’s face as if he had known my reaction to this the whole time.

  “Ms. Ricketts, there is something that I want you to see,” Everett spoke, his speech slurred with the unlit cigar still protruding from his lips.

  He turned to a monitor behind him and flicked on the switch. I watched the blackened screen with interest, stepping closer as the dusty shapes came into focus, and I realized just what I was looking at.

  What’s your position, Lieutenant? A voice crackled into the silence of the small space around me. The same voice had alarmed me when it had come from his collar.

  I’m blind, Captain, this room is clear. There’s nothing in here but old pews, and trunks of choir gowns. Zander’s voice crackled back, sending the heated chills through me and I quickly glanced in his direction. He had turned to stand facing me now, his eyes locked on mine, waiting for a reaction. HOLY JESUS!

  The startled sound of his voice brought me back to the screen before me and I watched as the man behind the voice stepped closer to the reflection in the dirty old mirror before him. My heart rate jumped, beating so hard my chest hurt from it and I placed the ball of my hand against my ribs to ease the pressure. I watched as his brown eyes came into focus, but his face was hidden by the black mask he wore. Slowly a hand came up to touch the smooth surface of the reflective glass.

  What is it, Smith?

  Sorry, sir, caught my reflection up here, didn’t expect a mirror.

  Well, suck it up son and get your ass out of there!

  On my way, Captain. It
was then that a bright red flash of light disrupted the signal on the screen, and he turned to move on in the room.

  What was that light? A different voice interrupted and I remembered it belonged to the thin one with the glasses.

  Camera caught the smoke detector light.

  “A smoke detector,” I whispered my eyes wide as my knees felt weak.

  I turned and looked at Zander, who’s terrified expression told me all that I had to know about how I must have looked. Suddenly he was by my side, his hands cupping my elbows as he guided me to a seat. Once there, and sitting, I fought to find the words that my lips tried to form.

  “You saw what I saw, Sam,” he spoke in a calming voice, his hands rubbing the coolness of the jeans against my thighs, watching as my other hand rose to capture the one over my heart. “From so far away, you were looking through my eyes.”

  “That’s not possible!” I muttered, shaking my head as I did, and then slowly I rose, leaving the dark haired man on his knees. “What the fuck did you do to me?”

  “At least she’s moved on from ‘hell’.” One of the men spoke up behind him and Zander rose, shooting a disapproving look in his direction.

  I stepped back, closing my eyes as I swayed, and reached out at the same time to brace myself on anything solid. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel him; the pulse and the heat his body let off at just a touch told me that Zander Smith and I were much more connected than just me seeing what he did. He pulled me to him, wrapping those strong arms around me and my knees gave out, and gently he came with me to the floor. My eyes opened just as the darkness and white spots began to claim my vision, but I could see the look of wonder in his, and he reached out, brushing my cheek as the blackness closed over.

  “I don’t understand, sir!” Zander’s voice picked up, a whisper at first, but slowly it rose to where I could hear the confusion in his tone. “What does this all mean? It’s one thing for her to show up here from out of nowhere, it’s another to be psychically linked to her and have her seeing things through my eyes without me knowing. That, and the sensations I feel from her when we touch, this isn’t something I want to continue playing with.”

  “Feelings, sir?” One of the other men spoke up. I could hear him sigh, and even as I lay there still blinded by the darkness, I could feel the frustration from him as if there were tiny bolts of lightening sparking off from him.

  “Its…it’s a pulse, like her heart beat, a vibration that she gives off whenever I touch her, or when she touches me. It’s like a connection, as if our bodies know each other,” he replied, and suddenly I could see his hand come up and move through his hair.

  I breathed in quickly, and in my vision turned to look at my still body, lying comfortably on a cot. I walked over to myself, glanced down and reached out, and at the touch of his hand I was suddenly backed in my own body.

  “Boom chica-wow-wow!” A sarcastic voice spoke up.

  “Screw you, Harris!” Zander snapped, and then his voice leaned closer. “Sam? Sam, I know you’re awake, I can feel you. What did you just see?”

  I turned my head in his direction, opening my eyes as I did so, and reached up to touch his cheek. He closed his lids tightly at the sensation of my skin against his and then sighed, opening them to watch as I ran my hand through my hair. There was no need for words to be exchanged, for the mimic of his gestures were too precise to be just coincidence, and he shook his head.

  “Who are you?” he whispered. The question wasn’t asked with confusion or even bitterness, but with a smile that reached his eyes and made them sparkle.

  “Maybe we should find better accommodations for Ms. Ricketts while we investigate this more.” Everett spoke up as the two of us turned to look at him. He glanced over in my direction and crossed his arms. “I’m sorry miss, but we won’t be able to send you home any time soon.”

  “What?” I questioned, sitting up the best I could. I glanced from Zander to the Captain and shook my head. “Why not?”

  “You’re linked to one of my soldiers, Ms. Ricketts. It’s a matter of security. I can’t have you out there being able to access his sight at any point you wish,” the man replied and began to step out of the trailer.

  “Now just wait a goddamned minute!” I yelled, moving faster than Zander could react as I followed him out. “I didn’t ask to be linked to him; I still don’t even know how I got here! There is no bloody way I’m going to be held captive just because your brainwashing machine has backfired and fried the circuits of one of YOUR men!”

  “Caution, Ms. Ricketts!” The man snarled, warning in his tone.

  “Caution, my ass! I want to go home!” I replied and felt someone step up behind me.

  The older man before me gestured with his head and suddenly I was being handcuffed from behind. I struggled against my captor, fury in my veins, and suddenly I could feel the heat behind my eyes.

  My breathing became rapid, as the burning feeling filled my lungs. I watched as he slowly took the cigar out of his mouth. Not understanding the change in my body at the anger I felt, I turned my head quickly, searching for the one thing that had remained constant since I had arrived.

  Zander’s eyes were wide, but his teeth were clenched as I felt the fury building in him. Two of the other men in his unit held his arms and they didn’t seem willing to let him go at any point unless ordered to, but as my heart thumped in my ear and the flames licked through every nerve in my body, I heard his voice above the thunder.

  “Let me go!” He screamed, trying to catch the confused Captain’s attention. “Let me go, I can help her!”

  He was trapped, held back because of me, and my anger mounted, as if the only thing my body craved was his touch. I felt my eyes roll before I lost my vision to the bright red light that engulfed them, and the only sound I heard was the terrified screams of men in pain before my world went black.

  3

  The cold frostiness of the night coursed through my body, making my teeth chatter and my fingers numb as I slowly came too. I was curled up in a ball, lying on the dew covered grass before the red trailer I had been in only moments before. The world around me was silent, even the crickets were still. The moon hadn’t moved much higher in the sky from when this nightmare had begun, but I could feel that time had gone by.

  My body ached as I moved, straining to rise from the moist ground, and I shook my head, clearing the cobwebs as I rose to sit on my bottom. I glanced around me, and suddenly the tremors that passed through me were not from the cold but from the sight that I saw. Bodies lay around me, like they had fallen where they stood. The two men that held Zander lay over five feet from where they once were, the Captain who had been right in front of me was now several yards away, and the cuffs that had held my hands bound lay in shrapnel near my feet.

  Everything was dark. There was no light whatsoever from the trailer behind me and it took me several moments to adjust to just how dark it seemed outside. I spotted Zander after searching the area twice, his black clothing blending in with the night, and slowly I made my way over on my hands and knees.

  His arm covered his face, and gently I reached out to move the heavy limb. As my fingertips touched his flesh, it was as if an electrical storm had shocked him awake. He came too quickly, sitting up in a panicked rush, and he scurried back from my touch.

  I could see the terror in his eyes from where I sat and tears slowly slid down my cheek. Whatever had happened to me, Zander had witnessed it and now I had lost the only stable thing about this crazy night.

  I sat back on my bottom, pulling my knees up towards my chest. As I rested my crossed arms on my knees, I lowered my head and let out the uncertainty that I had bottled up inside. I couldn’t control the sobs, as the knowledge that I had caused whatever had taken place coursed through my mind, and I struggled to remember just what had happened.

  Warm hands brushed against the skin on the back of my neck, slipping under the hair that lay there, and slowly the tremors and sobs faded
away. With blurry eyes, I raised my head to look at the person before me and found myself staring into pools of darkness. His eyes held a light behind them, despite their color, and it flashed a time or two as he held me captive.

  Zander smiled, his hand caressing my cheek gently as he looked over every part of me, checking for injuries. Seeing that I was no worse for wear, his smile broadened and he leaned in, kissing me softly on the lips. The spark of his touch ignited a fire that I fought to ignore.

  “What did I do?” I whispered, as questions filled my mind, but he shook his head, the grin never leaving his face. He placed his forehead against mine.

  “You didn’t do anything, Sam, please don’t cry,” his velvet voice whispered, as his breath caressed my ear.

  “How can you say that? I don’t remember anything, I don’t…all I felt was the heat and then there was the red…”

  He cupped my cheeks with his hands and looked down into my eyes. “Baby, you didn’t do this, I did.”

  “How…?” I started, but I lost my words. There didn’t seem like there was a question I could ask that would help answer the scenarios that flew through my thoughts.

  “An EMP,” the Captain’s voice spoke up and the two of us glanced in his direction.

  Zander moved, blocking me behind him, as we rose to face the older man. His cigar was once again in his mouth and his uniform didn’t seem in the least bit wrinkled despite what he had just experienced. Zander stepped back, his pulse flaring as the commander approached, and I grasped his arms with both of my hands, trying to absorb his feelings.

  “Sir?” he whispered, his years of military training still showed in the respect that he gave his senior officer.

  “An electro-magnetic pulse, strong enough to put the lights out on a dozen men and a trailer. Son, whatever is going on between you and this young lady, we’re going to have to quarantine you both.” He sighed, and watched the rest of the group come too. “It’s for the best until we figure out just what brought on these unusual gifts.”