Dodging her way through the day, Helen made it to work that
evening with something like relief, until she realized that a lot of
kids from her school were coming in to buy a single piece of candy
or one can of soda.
Why dont you go to the back and do some stocking for me?
Kate asked, giving Helen a gentle pat on the arm. Theyll stop
coming in to gawk if they think youve left for the day.
Dont they have anything else to do on a Friday night? Helen
asked hopelessly.
What island did you grow up on? Kate replied sarcastically.
Helen rested her forehead briefly on Kates shoulder, stealing a
second of comfort before she straightened up. You may as well do
the inventory, too. And take as long as you want, Kate added as
Helen headed toward the back.
Inventory was not usually Helens favorite job, but it was that
night. She was so occupied counting every object in the store that
before she knew it, they were locking the front and going through
the ritual of closing down.
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So. What really happened between you and that Lucas kid?
Kate asked without looking up from the stacks of bills she was
sorting.
I wish I knew. Helen sighed as she rested on her broom handle.
Everyones talking about you two. And not just the kids, Kate
said with a half smile. So whats up?
Look, if I had an explanation, believe me, Id be shouting it in
the streets. I dont know why I attacked him, Helen said. And the
worst thing is that the attack isnt the worst thing.
Oh, youre going to have to explain that, Kate said. She put
aside the money. Come on. Tell me. Whats the worst thing?
Helen shook her head and started pushing the broom around.
There had always been a voice in her head that would whisper
possible explanations for her strangeness, words like freak or
monster or even witch. No matter how deftly Helen silenced that
voice, it always came back eventually.
The absolute worst thing that Helen could think of would be to
find out that she really was one of those things.
Its nothing, Helen said, unable to look up.
It isnt just going to go away because you dont talk about it, you
know, Kate pressed. Helen knew she was right, and she also knew
she could trust Kate. Besides, she needed to talk to someone about
it or shed go crazy.
Im having nightmares. Actually, its the same nightmare that I
keep having over and over, and it feels so real. Like Im going
someplace while Im sleeping.
Where do you go? Kate asked gently. She came out from behind
the counter and made Helen stop sweeping and focus.
Helen pictured the barren, hopeless world she had been forced to
visit the last few nights.
Its a dry place. Everything is bleached and colorless. I can hear
running water in the distance, like theres a river somewhere, but I
just cant reach it. Its like Im trying to find something, I think.
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A dry land, huh? You know thats pretty common in dream imagery,
Kate assured her. It comes up in every dream book, in
every country Ive ever been to.
Helen swallowed her frustration and nodded. Yeah, but I wake
up in the morning and my feet . . . She stopped herself, hearing
how crazy she sounded. Kate studied Helen for a moment.
Are you sleepwalking, honey? Is that it? Kate took Helens
shoulders, encouraging Helen to look her in the eyes. Helen threw
up her hands and shook her head.
I dont know what Im doing. But Im so tired, Kate, she said. A
few exhausted tears slipped out. Even if I manage to fall asleep I
wake up and I feel like Ive been running and running. I think Im
going crazy. She let out a nervous laugh. Kate pulled Helen into
one of her pastry-scented hugs.
Its okay. Well figure it out, Kate said soothingly. Have you
talked to your father yet?
No. And I dont want you to, either, Helen insisted, drawing
back to look directly at Kate. Kate gave her a searching look, and
Helen continued. Next week, if Im still crazy, Ill tell him, but I
think weve both had enough drama for one week.
Kate nodded. You decide when youre ready to talk about it with
your dad, and Ill be there. My little loca, she teased smilingly.
Helen smiled back, grateful that she had Kate, who could listen to
her seriously when she needed it, and then stop being serious at
just the right time.
I think we can leave the rest. Kate gave Helen one final squeeze.
Ready to go? she called over her shoulder as she went behind the
counter and put the money in the safe.
Helen stowed her broom and made her way to the back door.
Switching off the lights, Helen turned to lock up as Kate headed
across the alley toward her car, keys in hand.
Neither of them heard a thing. There was a blur and a faint flash
of blue light in the corner of Helens eye, and a smell. It was a
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nauseating yet hauntingly familiar odor of sizzling hair mixed with
stale ozone. Then Kate dropped to the ground like a puppet with
her strings cut. Helen instinctively held out her arms to try to
break Kates fall, but the attacker took the opportunity to put a bag
over Helens head from behind.
She was too startled to scream. As she was pulled backward
against a soft chest, it suddenly registered in Helens head that her
attacker was a woman.
Helen had always known she was strongand not just strong for
a girl. Strong for a bear. She bent her knees and braced the balls of
her feet against the pavement, ready to give her would-be abductor
the shock of her life. She flexed her back and tried to break out of
her attackers arms, and was surprised to realize that she couldnt.
The unseen woman was just as impossibly strong as Helen. But
Helen had more to lose.
The soles of her sneakers shredded under the pressure of her feet
as she pushed off. She took one step, and then another, walking
right out of her ruined shoes as she dragged the woman along with
her. Then Helen heard a thump, a gasp, and she pitched forward
violently as she was released.
Struggling to get the black velvet bag off of her head, Helen heard
a rapid succession of slaps, thuds, and the quick huffs of stunned
breaths. There was a draft of air and the staccato sound of
someone sprinting away just as she yanked the hood off and
pushed her hair out of the way.
Lucas Delos stood over her, his body tense, his eyes scanning the
distance for something that Helen couldnt see from her position
on the ground.
Are you injured? he asked in a low, unsteady voice, still looking
out over her head. There was blood on his lip and his shirt was
torn. Helen had a bare moment to say she was fine before she
heard the sobbing sisters start to whisper.
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He looked down at her, and when his icy blue eyes met her warm
brown ones, a thrill ran down her legs. Helen jumped up into a
fighting crouch. The whispers turned to wails and Helen saw the
bent heads and shivering white bodies of the three sisters blink in
and out of her field of vision. She backed up and scrunched her
eyes shut by force of will alone. The anger was so intense she felt as
if her organs had caught fire.
Please go away, Lucas, she begged. You just helped me, and
Im grateful. But I still really, really want to kill you.
There was a short pause, and Helen heard his breath catch.
This is hard for me, too, you know, he replied in a choked voice.
A skipping, scuffing sound from where he stood, a rush of wind,
and then Helen dared to open her eyes. He was gone, and thankfully
the miserable poltergeists had gone with him.
Helen crouched next to Kate, trying to see if she was bleeding
anywhere. She got down on her hands and knees to inspect every
visible inch, but strangely there were no cuts, bruises, or scrapes of
any kind. Kate was breathing evenly but she was still unconscious.
Helen risked picking her up and hoped she was doing the right
thing by moving her. She gently laid Kate down in the back of the
car, and then ran around to the drivers seat as she dialed her dads
cell number. She started up Kates car as the phone rang.
Dad! Meet me at the hospital, she blurted as soon as he
answered.
What happened? Are you . . . he began in a panicked voice.
Its not me, its Kate. Im on my way to the emergency room now
and I cant talk and drive. Just meet me, she said, pushing END CALL
and tossing the phone onto the passenger seat without waiting for
a response.
Now she had to think up a really good lie, and quick, because the
hospital was only a few minutes away.
She called the police as she pulled to a stop at the emergency
room entrance, saying nothing more than that her friend had been
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attacked and that they were at the hospital. Then she dithered
around in the driveway for a second, not knowing how to get Kate
into the actual emergency room. Helen didnt want to leave her,
but she couldnt very well pick Kate up and reveal her freakish
strength in front of so many people, so she finally went inside
alone.
Help? she mumbled timidly to the admitting nurse. That didnt
work, so she raised her voice and hopped up and down. Help! My
friend is outside, and shes unconscious! That got people running.
Once her dad got there and they both knew that Kate was going
to be fine, Helen made a statement to the police. She told them
that a woman shed never had the chance to see had made Kate
pass out with a blue flashy thing. When Helen saw Kate fall, she
went out into the alley and that must have scared the woman off
because she ran away. Of course, Helen didnt mention anything
about the near abduction, the wrestling match, or the fact that Lucas
Delos had appeared out of nowhere to fight the superstrong
woman off. The last thing she needed was to complicate this situation
any more or tie Lucas Delos to herself in any way. What was
he doing there, anyway?
What happened to your shoes? the police officer asked. Helens
heart started pounding. How could she have overlooked the fact
that she was barefoot?
I didnt have them on from before, she stated in a rush, and
then continued haltingly. Before, earlier, they had torn . . . while I
was stocking in the back. And I had taken them off. When I saw
that Kate was hurt I just dropped them, and came straight here.
Worst lie ever, Helen thought. But the officer nodded.
We found a pair of ripped sneakers in the alley, he said as if
Helen had told him exactly what he expected. He went on to explain
that Kate had been Tasered, and that since the assailant had
used up the charge on Kate, she was forced to run off when she saw
another person arrive.
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One more thing, the officer said, just before turning away.
How did you lift her into the car all by yourself? Both the officer
and her father stared at her for a moment with puzzled looks on
their faces.
Willpower? Helen said lamely, hoping they bought it.
She was lucky to have you there. That was very brave of you.
The officer gave her an approving smile. Helen couldnt handle being
praised for lying. She looked down at her bare feet, and they reminded
her of how dumb she had been not to take care of that detail
from the start. She was going to have to learn to be more
careful.
When the police were done questioning Kate, Helen and Jerry
went in to check on her. Unlike Helen, Kate had gotten a quick
look at the woman before she got zapped.
She was olderin her late fifties at least. Short salt-and-pepper
hair. She looked totally harmless, but I guess she wasnt, Kate said
ruefully. What the hell? Since when did little old ladies go around
Tasering people? She was trying to make a joke out of it, but
Helen could tell she was really shaken up. Kates face was pale and
her eyes were big and shiny.
Jerry decided to stay the night with Kate and bring her to her
house when she was discharged. The doctors told Kate she probably
shouldnt drive for a few days, so Helen offered to take Kates
car and bring it over to her on Sunday. Kate thanked Helen for the
favor, but Helen had her own reasons for wanting Kates car. There
was one more detail she had to take care of before she headed
home.
She had just enough time to get scared as she drove across the island
on Milestone Road to the Delos compound in Siasconset. The
closer she got, the more she found herself shaking, but she had no
choice. She had to make sure Lucas kept his mouth shut about the
attack or she could get into serious trouble. She didnt think he
would tell anyone. The Delos family worked very hard to appear
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normal when Helen knew they were anything but. No one of regular
human strength could have stopped Helen from strangling him
if she set her mind to it. Lucas was like her.
The thought made her stomach heave. How could she be anything
like someone she hated so desperately? First, she had to
make sure he never mentioned his involvement to the police, but
after that she was determined to hate him from as far a distance as
she could without falling into the ocean.
Helen had to concentrate to see through the fog. In the dim predawn
light, way the heck out on private property, she wasnt sure
where the turn onto the long driveway started. She pulled the car
over and got out, heading on foot toward the sound of the ocean.
She had only seen this particular compound from the beach, and
she was trying to scour her memory for any landmark she could recognize
from the opposite direction. Then she heard a stumbling,
thudding sound behind her. She spun on her heel and saw Lucas