Free Dark Future by KC Klein

crashing in like the final wave over a drowning man. I’m in enemy territory. There’s no one here I can trust.
    I rocketed out of my chair. It crashed to the floor behind me. I slammed my back to the opposite wall, palms flat, heart racing.
    I scanned the room, it was empty, except for him—ConRad.
    “You’re all right. You’re fine,” he whispered, sitting rock still, hands in surrender mode as if calming a wild animal.
    I didn’t believe him. Something happened. I was changed. My skin felt unfamiliar, and my very bones seemed to have laid within someone else’s body.
    “What happened?” I shook my head, tears blurred my vision. Why was I crying?
    “Do you need to lie down?” Concern flashed in ConRad’s eyes. “Aura said you’d be tired.”
    Aura? Who was Aura?
    Then the synapses in my brain began to fire and I started to remember—the gray old woman, the soul-sucking black eyes.
    “What did she do to me?” My voice cracked as I wiped the tears off my cheeks.
    “Kris, please . . .” His voice trailed off as he stood and took a step toward me.
    “No, don’t touch me!” I yelled, raising my palm to fend him off. “Don’t come any closer.”
    Why was I acting like this? What was wrong with me? I didn’t trust ConRad, but if he really wanted to hurt me, he would have done so already. But I couldn’t help feeling threatened . . . exposed. I needed a few minutes to reconstruct my defenses.
    He froze, eyes widening by my response. “Kris, you are safe here. I wouldn’t hurt you. You’re under my protection now.”
    “Whatever,” I said, my voice caustic. “All you’ve done is harm me. I don’t believe you.”
    He paled as he took in my words, heightening the contrast of the blue of his eyes against the white of his face. “Of course, that’s how you would see it.”
    He bent and righted the chair and gestured for me to take a seat. “Sit. You look about ten seconds from crashing to the floor.”
    I felt like it too. Now that my heartbeat dropped from dangerous levels, black clouds crowded the sides of my vision. I found my chair and sat, taking deep breaths to prevent myself from passing out.
    ConRad took his own chair and mirrored my breathing. “Aura did a special treatment on you, something we cal cethy. Bl retrieval . She has special powers that allow her to access information from people.”
    “Was this the mind-invasion you threatened me with earlier?” I tried to keep the edge out of my voice. I didn’t want him to know how betrayed I felt by his actions.
    “Yes, but she did this in a much kinder way. More of a coaxing than an invasion, the other way can be much . . . harder.” There was a slight clenching of his right jaw muscle, but otherwise he was motionless. I’d begun to read him better—the more agitated he became, the stiller he was.
    “She read my mind?” The thought made my throat thick.
    “That’s an oversimplification, but . . . yes.” His eyes settled on mine with the last word, letting me know he wouldn’t hide behind excuses.
    I wouldn’t have believed him, except I sensed I’d been invaded on some level. Like I’d been stripped naked and left to weather the elements alone.
    Everyone has their weakness—the thing that they’re most afraid of. Some people don’t even know what theirs is—but I knew mine. It was the belief that became the foundation of what I built my life on—don’t let ’em in. Even though I was a medical intern, I’d kept myself free from emotional attachments. Feelings for patients were kept in their place. Outside of work there was no time to foster emotional attachments. Keep things simple; that was my motto. No one gets inside my head without my permission.
    My hand fluttered up to touch the sudden throbbing at my temple. I was sick of being vulnerable, sick of being left out in the cold. I didn’t know how to protect myself, and worst of all I didn’t know who I could trust.
    “How could someone do that,