Chapter 29: Emergency

Rose and Angus

“MY GOD! What was that?” Rose exclaimed sitting up in Angus’s bed. She hadn’t intended to spend the night with him They’d started talking about what they could do to find the missing girl. That led to talking about old times. One thing led to another and they’d had a very nice New Year’s Eve.

“That was a psychic call for help,” Angus said. “Was it the missing girl?”

“Yes. I’m sure of it. She called for Keira and Jaime.”

“Which means those kids got the call loud and clear. Who knows how many other head talkers there are in Portland who heard her? We need to find her. Oh, goddess! The girls will hate me if I get them out of bed at this hour!” he muttered.

“It’s almost noon!”

“You’re right; they probably just got to bed.” Angus pulled Rose down to him and began kissing his way down her body.

“You’re incorrigible, old man.”

“Just because I’m too old to cut the mustard doesn’t mean I can’t lick the pot. It’s New Year’s Day. Let’s start it the way New Years should be started. Then we can start looking for the little lost darling.”

Rose thought they should probably call Jaime and Keira, but just at the moment, she was lost in the sensations Angus was delivering to an area that had been neglected for entirely too long.

Jaime and Keira

«She was here!» Jaime gasped.

«He’s raping her!» Keira yelled, jumping out of bed.

«He’s... »

«Raping her mind. Giving her drugs to expand her ability. Couldn’t you feel the fear?»

«Yes. That other voice. I know that voice. It’s the guy who’s been stalking me.»

«That must be why she shut down when we were supposed to meet. Was she trying to protect us?» Keira asked.

«Faraday cage, » Jaime said. «Like in the X-Men. That has to be it. Like the aluminum foil in my closet and the way it was suddenly so quiet in your aunt’s office and house. He must have rigged his vehicle so it functions like that.»

«Don’t tell me it’s the guy we stopped after the movie!» Keira cried.

«No. It’s the guy who was stalking me. Maybe Angus knows something. I’ll always recognize that guy’s head taste. He’s evil. I just know it, » Jaime said.

«We have to do something!»

Keira and Jaime wrapped each other in a hug, their naked bodies pressed against each other, but no new messages came.

«Where is she?»

«She didn’t seem to know. Trayce? Where are you, honey?»

«I don’t think she can hear us now. Not sure she could hear us when she broke through while we were making love. She just managed to be heard.»

«That’s a little crazy. Why is it she almost always contacts us during sex?» Keira asked.

«Probably because that’s when we are most open. It’s multiplied by our physical contact with each other. Remember what happened when we kissed Emerson Monday?» Jaime asked.

«Oh, God, yes! Do you think she knew what was happening?»

«I’ll bet she has a suspicion. But Trayce has always contacted us from miles away. All our barriers have to be down in order to receive her.»

«And that means we’re broadcasting loudly, too, » Keira said.

«How, though?»

«How do we find her?» Keira asked. «I don’t know.»

«We need to start by going to her house to make sure she isn’t there and just working on a new novel, » Jaime said.

«That would be embarrassing. We could, you know... »

Both snorted at the thought of just tumbling back into bed.

«I mean ... we could try, » Keira whispered. «It’s how we always contact our lover. I’m nervous now. More than when we made love the first time last night.»

«It’s not going to work right now anyway. I’m eighteen, but I’m not superman. Sex with you is really intense. My body is depleted and our brains are drained. We were in a dream state when she contacted us. Let’s spend some time brainstorming and investigating other alternatives. We need to recharge. I’m too anxious to do anything intimate right now, » Jaime said.

They agreed. It was only noon, so they both started searching the internet for information on her.

«We should have shared our social pages, » Keira said in frustration.

«It never even occurred to me. You and I didn’t even do that. I mean, we were much more intimate without needing to connect online. You and I can talk to each other anytime, and we can see what other people are doing. If we want to talk, we talk. The socials are really for the head deaf, » Jaime said.

He supplied his friend info to Keira so she could connect their profiles. She proudly added, “In a relationship with Jaime Stackhouse.”

“Who do we know who is really active on the socials and could help us find her?» Keira said. «We need someone we can trust.»

Jaime tried to block a name from his thoughts, but Keira picked up on it immediately.

«Do you think she’d help us?» she asked.

«Probably. She wants to spend more time with us. I mean, she’s tapped into a huge network online. Not just on the usual high school socials, but professionally, as well. I think she’d help, but we would need to be clear that it isn’t about anything else. Just needing her help.»

«We might have to tell her. We could do it just by touching her, I think, » Keira said.

«I’ve never told a head deaf person about my ability.»

«Right. There’s a first time for everything.»

Keira found her cell phone amidst her discarded clothing and dialed Emerson’s number.

“Hello?”

“Emerson, it’s Keira. Happy New Year.”

“Hey! Happy New Year to you. I’d love to get together again before school starts Monday.”

“We would, too.”

“I don’t know what happened Monday, but I’ve had you guys on my mind a lot,” Emerson said.

“I don’t want you to have the wrong impression. We like you a lot, but this is more of a professional call, if you could call it that.”

“Did Jaime make some more improvements on his app?”

“This doesn’t really have to do with that ... Would you be available to help us do some searches on social media? We ... uh ... God! Emerson, this would be a lot easier to talk about in person.”

“Hey, I’m getting the impression you guys are having trouble. Was this like the ... big celebration?” Emerson asked.

“Please come over so we can talk. And bring your laptop for searches.”

“You’re serious? I mean, don’t you have all the social accounts and all?”

“Neither of us really use them. We’ve always had other ways of communicating.”

Emerson paused to consider that statement.

“I’ve been getting that impression. I can help. I mean, give me the address. The snow is all slush on the streets right now. Probably freeze tonight,” Emerson said. “You really just want help on the internet?” She sounded so hopeful, Keira squeezed her eyes shut.

“Oh, God! Emerson, if it was something else, we’d tell you right up front. You were really frank with us and we’d owe it to you to be just as clear. We really like you, but this is just about finding our friend. Please?”

“Yeah. Okay. Give me the address. I can get there in about half an hour.”

Jaime and Keira and Emerson

“This is not how we intended to spend the day,” Keira said when Emerson arrived with a shoulder bag of equipment. “As I’m sure you can imagine.”

“This was it, wasn’t it? Congratulations, you two. I hope it was great.”

“Oh yeah. It was. But then we got a message that made us believe Trayce was in trouble.”

“Your girlfriend? Where’s the message?”

Emerson unpacked her computer on the kitchen table where Jaime and Keira were already set up.

“That’s a little hard to explain,” Jaime typed on his computer, activating the text to speech engine.

“You know, I actually believe that’s what your voice would sound like,” Emerson sighed. “So, anyway, what’s the story?”

“Remember the system I wanted to design that allowed people to communicate head-to-head?” Jaime asked.

“You did it! You tested it on me Monday! I felt ... thoughts that weren’t my own!”

“It’s not quite like that,” Keira said. “We didn’t know that you would feel anything other than a really nice kiss. We discovered certain people have the natural ability to do that. In fact, Jaime and I have it.”

“Oh, come on. I thought you guys were serious about this.” I can’t believe they’re trying to put this one over on me. What do they think I am? If they want to get naked and all of us screw, I’d believe that. I’m in.

“If they wanted to get naked and all of us screw, I’d believe that. I’m in,” Jaime typed into his computer. This time, the voice was the one Emerson had recorded and tested.

“That’s ... it’s the voice I recorded. But I didn’t say that!” Emerson said, pushing back from the table as if to run.

“You thought it,” Jaime typed in his own voice. “It was really near the surface, so it was easy to read. We aren’t trying to put one over on you.”

“Oh, shit! You guys are serious. Give me a minute. I need to get my thoughts in order.”

“Good idea,” Keira said. “We’ll give you tips on how to keep your thoughts from being read.”

“You’re reading them, too?”

Keira nodded. Emerson was near to hyperventilating. They know everything!

“It would have been easier to believe if it was only Jaime. You’re, like, normal. I mean, not that you’re not normal, Jaime, but you’re different. Is the school full of people who talk in their heads?”

“We’re the only ones we’ve found. In fact, Trayce and an old retired detective are the only other people we’ve had any conversations with in our heads,” Jaime typed.