Free Unhinged by Shelley R. Pickens Page B

really do. But what if she hates
me for doing it? What if she never talks to me again, knowing that
I know all of her secrets, all of her precious memories? She is my
only friend and I can’t lose her. I won’t let my curse tear us
apart.”
    Logan is silent; he knows that nothing will
convince me. I have to decide for myself if the ends justify the
means. Of course, I want this madness to end, but at what cost? I
am sure there is nothing sinister in Dejana’s past, that isn’t what
worries me. What worries me is her looking at me for the rest of
our lives knowing that I know everything about her, all the good
and the bad that she has ever done. That’s a lot to put on a
relationship, even one as close as ours.
    I look down at Dejana lying on the floor by
her bed, her face ashen white and her limp body no longer
functional. I wonder what happened to make her like this; wonder
what power I have to stop it. Then I remember all the faith she had
in me a few months ago after the bomb. All the times she stuck with
me, helping me find a killer amongst us, even when it had cost her
the life of a friend; she always believed I could do it. She never
lost faith in me and I am not about to let her down now.
    “Okay,” I say with a shaky voice as I take
off my gloves and place them on the nightstand beside her bed.
“Let’s do this.”
    My bare hands feel so naked out in the open
air, so vulnerable and I hate it. I look nervously at Logan, still
holding the unconscious Dejana in his arms. Jealousy strikes out in
the background of my mind, but I bite it back. This is not the time
and Dejana is my best friend, the one I trust more than anyone else
in the world. I need to focus.
    “I’ve never touched someone who’s
unconscious, so I have no idea how it will be different, if at all.
You know what happens when I touch someone, but just in case, will
you please keep us safe?”
    “Always.” He smiles at me, nodding his head
in encouragement. “I know you can do this. Just breathe.”
    I inhale deeply and I’m surprised that it
does make me feel stronger. I position myself up onto my knees and
lean in close to Dejana. With shaky hands, I slowly place both my
palms onto either side of her face. Her skin is very warm to the
touch. I’m not sure what I expected after initial contact, but this
isn’t it. I don’t see anything; I’m not absorbing any of her
memories. It’s so strange to feel skin beneath my fingertips, but
have nothing happen. Maybe my curse doesn’t work on unconscious
people?
    I am just about to take my hands away from
her face when I feel a pull deep within me; like an invisible rope
attached to my navel, pulling me forward. I gasp as my hands are
cemented to Dejana’s face by some unknown force. I use every bit of
strength I have in my hands to pull away, but it’s no use, they
won’t budge. Vertigo hits full force as the pull gets stronger and
stronger. I fear losing myself as I wonder where in the world I’m
being pulled to. The room starts to spin, so fast everything is a
blur as it moves around me. Heaviness fills my head as my eyes
close and darkness takes me.
     

 
    Chapter
Nine
     
    ~ Stolen Moments ~
     
    I stand alone on a beach, and the sun beating
down from above tells me it is mid-day. I hear the waves lapping
against the shore as I see shadows of birds flying around, darting
in and out of my field of vision, searching for lost creatures of
the sea to eat. The wind whips my hair back and forth, but it feels
nice and warm against my skin.
    Testing the memory, I reach out, touch the
warm sand, and see my naked hands. Panicked, I look around for my
gloves, only to remember that I left them on the bedside table in
Dejana’s bedroom. Where am I? Or, I guess I should be asking
myself, when in time this happened since that piece of
information is more important than where. Sadly, I have no idea how
this memory is going to help me figure out what happened to Dejana,
but I don’t get a choice as