The Hunt: The Oakmont Saga, Book 2

Without warning, I felt my sudden plunge into the depths of my mind, the pit. Aliyah was normally there to help bring me out of the darkness, but she was shopping with Mom. They had asked me to go, but I didn’t feel like going. As the darkness began to take hold, I knew why. I should have known earlier, but I hadn’t realized, and neither had Aliyah.

The darkness of my thoughts started deepening, the memories becoming more and more intense, more and more real to me. No matter what I did, I couldn’t make them go away once they started. Aliyah was the one that always brought me back, but she wasn’t there this time and her absence started making me panic, which just made my situation worse.

The therapist I’d been seeing a while back tried to teach me something to stop them, but at that moment, I couldn’t think enough to remember what it was. My mind was totally in panic and I had no control.

James was coming to me, licking his lips and smiling his evil smile, while undoing his pants. I tried to crawl further into the corner of my closet as the images intensified, shaking very badly, now drenched in my sweat. I was unable to see anything but what he was beginning to do to me.

“Melanie?” I heard someone call as the images were truly and completely taking hold, but I couldn’t answer. My mind was disconnecting from the real world. Even though I knew all of this, I couldn’t do anything about it.

As the images of James coming closer and closer got worse, images of him doing things to me again, overlapping images of his approach, I felt someone shaking me. James was now touching me, trying to rip my clothes off again. I tried to strike out at him, but my hand was useless. He was simply too strong for me. I was helpless, just like during the attacks at the school. Him on top of me, about to…

My mind started getting a strange feeling then, the feeling I associate with Aliyah tickling it. As that started taking over, the images of James and the school began to fade. That feeling only Aliyah had ever made me feel lifting me out of my pit.

Daddy was kneeling beside me as I came out of it, worry plastered on his face. “Sweetheart, talk to me,” he pleaded. Rather than saying anything, I grabbed him, wrapping my arms around his neck, burying my face into his shoulder and letting the tears flow freely. Two years before, maybe less, I would never have cried, but that period of my life opened my emotions up a bit.

He held me tight, comforting me as only my Daddy could. That was the first of those I’d had during the day, since waking up, that Aliyah hadn’t been there for. As a matter of fact, how had I come out of it without her? I knew that feeling only came from Aliyah and she wasn’t there.

“What happened, angel?” Dad asked, once I settled down.

“I had a bad dream,” I told him, not wanting to lie but not wanting him to know how messed up I was, not wanting him to worry about something he couldn’t fix.

“Can you tell me about it?” he asked. Just thinking about it started to bring it back. I barely managed to hold the darkness away, my mind ready to take me into that darkness again, and shook my head no. There was no way I could have talked about it, especially right then. As it was, I was shaking, and sweat was breaking out on me again.

“Okay, I won’t ask then,” he said, pulling me back to him. Even though I had improved a lot, I was still messed up really bad. Aliyah and I had been doing a really good job of hiding it from everyone, but she wasn’t there to help me.

Another thing that worried me was that the attacks had been happening again, the psychic bursts. I began to wonder if I was beginning to return to the bad state I was in before my long sleep. I hoped not, but I was getting worried that I might be.

How long would it be before Mom and Dad, or Mrs. Stone figured it out? At the rate things were going, they would eventually...and I didn’t want that to happen.

“Mel, are you alright?” Aliyah said, as she burst into the room. Dad looked oddly at her, but didn’t say anything. I nodded my head, but didn’t say a word, even to her mind.

“Girls, I think it’s time for bed anyway. Why don’t the two of you sleep together tonight?” Mom suggested, not sure of what happened, but knowing something was wrong…with me.

Aliyah and I got in bed very quickly. I knew she wanted to find out what happened, but she knew I wouldn’t talk about it, even to her.

I faked going to sleep very quickly, sure Aliyah knew better, but she didn’t say anything. She never did when I was like that. She was the best sister I could have hoped for.

“Becky, Mel is trying to hide it, but her nightmares are getting worse. She’s having them during the day,” Randy said, as the two of them settled in for the night.

“Is that what happened today? Aliyah screamed at me that we had to leave, just before we were going to check out. She made me leave the groceries in the cart, right there in the store. Then I got home to see Mel curled up against you like she used to when she had a nightmare as a little girl.”

“That means she knew Melanie was having that attack, or whatever it was.”

“Could they be communicating with their minds?”

“Aliyah could simply be monitoring Melanie. It might not be two way,” he replied, but looked somewhat suspicious.

“You don’t believe that, do you?”

“No, not really,” he replied, and paused, in thought. “I think she’s trying to hide things from us. Think about how easily those two do things together. It’s almost as if they’re reading each other’s minds, or maybe talking to each other. Aliyah reading Melanie’s I would understand, but the more I think about it, the more it looks to be both ways. If my suspicion is right, she might also be hiding the struggle she’s going through, regardless of what she’s telling us or what we’re seeing,” he suggested.

“Why would she hide that from us? We’re her parents. We’re here to help her. We love her,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.

“I honestly don’t know, but she’s always been that way, and you know it. Maybe she thinks she’s protecting us.”

“What did happen today?”

“She said she had a bad dream, but that would mean she was asleep and I know she wasn’t asleep when that began. I had just checked on her only moments before and she was definitely awake. Whatever that was, it came on her rather quickly and she was awake when it did. Right after checking on her, I went to the kitchen and that’s when I heard her scream. When I went to her room, she was in the corner of the closet, shaking like a leaf. She started trying to fight me when I went to her, as if I was trying to hurt her.”

“Alright, let’s say you’re right. Could she remember more from her time there than what we think, or thought? And if so, how much does she remember?”

“I have no idea, but we should assume everything, at this point. The other possibility is she doesn’t really remember anything, but has these episodes from time to time. If that’s the case, then Aliyah can sense them and seems to be able to control them, somehow, at least to some degree.”

“Do we need to get more counselling for her?”

“I don’t know. It didn’t seem to help her before, and what she’s in now doesn’t seem to be doing much, either,” he replied, then added, “Why don’t we talk to Rebecca and see what she thinks?”

“Okay,” she replied, and nestled into him for comfort.

“There’s something else I need to let you know about,” he said, making her pull away and look at him with a knowing expression.

“Am I going to like this?”

“That depends on whether you’re ready for another child or not.”

“Isn’t that what the woman would say to the man? This seems reversed somehow,” she told him, a playful smile on her face. “Are you thinking of adopting another kid?”

“We had to adopt Aliyah, to protect her.”

“I know. Are you considering a normal adoption?”

“Not exactly,” he replied, bringing a curious look from her.

“What’s going on, then?”

“Aliyah’s sister is beginning to show signs and your brother wants Mel and Aliyah to be able to help her. He asked if Eliana could come up here to work with the girls, so she could learn to control it,” he informed her, but she could tell he was evading somehow. It was something in his tone and expression.

She looked at him for a long time, not saying a word. “He’s going to send his last child away from home when she’s only seven?” she asked, incredulous at what her brother was willing to do, but knowing there was still more to this.

“Although I would argue that he doesn’t have much choice, he’s not sending her away. They’re talking about moving here,” he said, finally giving her the surprise.

She bolted upright, shock plain on her face. “What!?” she exclaimed. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“Shh, or you’ll wake the kids,” he said, but there was obviously play in his voice. “And I am telling you.”

“When are they coming?”

“I think they’ll be here tomorrow.” She punched him in the arm then, and not very softly.

“Ow!” he exclaimed.

“That didn’t hurt you.” She stared at him a moment, playful irritation plastered on. “You and Michael planned this, didn’t you?”

“Actually, he wanted to surprise you when he invited you over, but I talked him out of it.”

“So, they already have a house too?” He nodded. “He knows that Mel can’t seem to use her telepathy anymore, doesn’t he?” she then asked, the look of worry returning.

“He knows, but he also knows that he still has Aliyah to lean on for that. And by moving here, he gets his second daughter back.”

“That would mean we have four telepaths between us.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. What would you think of starting a small school, one that specializes in certain special mental abilities?”

“How would you do that? It’d be incredibly expensive.”

“Actually, the division is interested in starting it for us. It provides them some measure of observation on the kids, without being like the program.”

“So the government is still going to control them?”

“Not exactly, but they do want to monitor them. That is reasonable and to be expected, and we knew it was coming. At least this way, we’ll control it.”

“It isn’t much different than Oakmont.”

“The Congressional committee has been wrestling with this since the escape. The compromise they’ve come up with is to allow both programs, but with the understanding that the kids will be monitored and controlled. They feel that the kids pose a threat to national security if they should get kidnapped by a foreign power.”

“That’s bull crap and you know it.”

“Is it? These kids can read minds without anyone knowing it. Some of the more powerful ones can make people see things that aren’t there. As much as it bothers me, I understand their concern, and we still don’t know if they’ll pass it on to their children.”

“Those people did this to them. It isn’t the kids fault they have these abilities,” she countered.

“I know, which is why they’ve agreed to let us build our own program. They’re not willing to let these kids roam freely, however. Not one of them would agree to that, no matter how much I argued for it.”

“When the girls find out, they won’t like it.”

“I know,” he replied, looking very somber.

“Are you going to tell her, or let her find out on her own?”

“I need to tell her, but I’m not sure how, especially after today,” he said.