Dying to Remember (The Station #2) (15 page)

"You can
see beyond." I shrug my shoulders, since that means nothing to me. With a
sigh, Rush leans forward, resting his forearms against his thighs. "It
means you can see beyond this realm, both in the physical and the spiritual
sense. It is why when you go on your assignments, you can alter the mind you
inhabit so easily."

I blink at
Rush for a solid minute before the giggles start. "Are you saying…I'm some
sort of psychic or something? Because if you are, I can guarantee that's not
the case."

"Well,
it's been referred to as many things with your people, but I do think you are
different. You didn't have this ability before your death; I know; I've studied
you. When you died, a piece of you did not. A piece of your mind actually
expanded."

Sloan is
breathing hard enough that I can hear the breath as it escapes from his mouth
in gusty exhales. He won't look at me, though I will him to. If this is true,
what Rush says, why can't I get the only person in the room I want to lock eyes
with to just turn around and face me?

I look at
Niles next, who seems pale but he smiles at me. And grateful for the friendly
connection between us, I smile back. He's the only one in the room who has
taken their attention off of Rush.

"If this
is true, why does any of it matter to you?" I ask, fidgeting with the hem
of my shorts.

"Because
you fascinate me. My people - we are born with this ability; to see beyond into
other worlds. It's why I came here so long ago. Why stations even exist. But
your people for the most part are basically the same. You; you are not." I
gulp hard enough to be heard.

"Piper…you
are more like me than you realize," Rush says. The blue glint in his eyes
is back, along with a glow around his being so distracting that the others
finally look away from him.

Defiantly, I
stand and force my arms to stop shaking, willing my fingers to leave the hem of
my clothing alone. "I am nothing like
you
," I say to him, with
my chin held high.

I blink once
and he's standing before me, one hand gently on my shoulder, the other resting
on the side of my head. With his palm pressing flat against my temple, he
strokes my skin slowly with his thumb. Static electricity courses through me,
ripping a hole in my mind, making my teeth clatter together.

Forced to
close my eyes from the jolt that is almost painful, I feel a separation in my
thoughts. As if Rush himself is sharing my mind with me. His sultry yet
naturally arrogant voice vibrates through the soft tissue of my brain and I
hear myself whimper. Slowly, as if a crowd has gathered in the tight confines
of my skull, I begin to hear them.
All of them.

Sloan is
panicked, unsure of what to do, but he's afraid of Rush. I hear him cursing,
feel his anxiety and know without turning around and opening my eyes that he
stands just behind me. Niles is in shock, but also stands nearby, and I know
that even though he has shown nothing but respect toward the creature he calls
Andurush
,
he will never fully trust him.

Thoughts from
the others flood through me…fear, wonder, sadness and pain; the pain of living
an empty life before arriving at the Station and the pain of being trapped
here. And Rush. I feel him open himself up to me…completely. I see his home; I
see the inner workings of the Station, and his role in our existence…our
survival as an after-life community. I see his struggles. And…I see…
beyond
.

***

I wake up
lying in a dark room, on the cold slab of the Station floor but I know I'm not
alone. Turning my head to the right, in the dimmed light I see Sloan sitting
beside me, his knees drawn up, his arms wrapped around them with his head
tucked down.

"Sloan?"

He jerks,
limbs flying in all directions as he scrambles closer to me, sliding along the
smooth floor until we are touching. After he helps me sit up, I blink into his
eyes, seeing the concern and fear that fills them.

"What
happened?" I ask, chewing unconsciously on my lower lip.

He shakes his
head from side to side before pulling me into his chest, hugging me tightly against
him. The rapid beat of his heart threatens to elevate my own blood-pressure, so
I gently pull away, looking around us and finding no other people in the small,
rectangular shaped room.

"Where
are we?"

I know the
answer before he speaks it. The words come to me muted, but there, floating
around like dander in my mind. We are in a holding room of some sort. Not far
from the Station Depot room. I know this, yet I've never been here before. I
know because Sloan told me, from his thoughts.

And
there's something else.

"He's
taking me, isn't he?" I whisper.

Sloan's voice
wavers as he speaks, "I won't let him. If you want to stay, I won't let
him take you."

If I want
to stay?
We hug again, this time with urgency. I suddenly need to feel
every part of Sloan's body against mine. As I shake against him my mind races,
trying to regroup and compartmentalize recent events. Sloan pushes my hair off
my damp face, wiping gently at the tears that trickle down my cheeks and kisses
me softly.

This isn't
fair. I've only just found you. I can't lose you again.

***

Sloan guides
me out of the small, dark room and we enter the main hall of the Consignment
building in an emotional daze. People of all ages and shapes bustle about,
oblivious to the fact that a being not from our planet, is hanging around
nearby waiting for the answer to a question that he didn't even speak out loud.
It's there though, begging for a ride at the back of my mind like a hitchhiker.
He's done this to me, opened me up. And now…now I see everything.

Two men old
enough to be grandparents slowly pass by my right side, and when the taller of
the two bumps into my shoulder, he pulls away, startled I think, by the shock
that passed between us. The sensational spark is over in a flash but in that
miniscule moment I see into the man's mind. I see a family, loss, extreme
sadness, and his broken body on the concrete underpass below a bridge. He was a
jumper. When he jerks away from me, I wonder if he felt me inside him or if it
was simply the static charge that had him spooked. Either way, it didn't
matter. He rushes off with his friend in tow, glancing over his shoulder at me
twice before disappearing into one of the many rooms along the hall.

Sloan is
looking at me, I can feel it. When I turn to smile at him, his face is pinched
and drained of color. "What is it?" I ask, stopping in the hall to
stare at him.

"There
was something else. Something else that they want to talk to you about. About
us, actually. But they wouldn't tell me. Not until you woke up." The
whites of his eyes are slightly bloodshot, making his blue irises seem darker
and deeper.

"Right.
As if we haven't heard enough of this nonsense to last forever," I say
under my breath as we begin walking.

"Piper!"

I recognize
the voice before I see her, and I can't help but grin at the smile that spreads
across Kerry-Anne's face as she pushes through the crowd and rushes me. Her
yellow sundress is the happiest thing in the entire hall. As we hug, I notice
the softness of the material as it brushes against my knees.

"I've
missed you; you've been gone such a long time!" Kerry-Anne gushes as she
naturally links her arm with one of mine. For the time being she's completely
oblivious to the fact that Sloan stands on the other side of me, and has begun
to walk in pace with us.

"I've
missed you too! How many cases have you had since the last time I've seen
you?" I ask.

"Oh, let
me think. Three, I've had three. You?"

"Just
one."

She peers up
at me, a knowing expression on her face. Most Volunteers average out about six
months for the typical case. Though some seasoned pros were known to make it
there and back within three months. I had spent almost a year with Jess. It was
a tough case, and Kerry-Anne didn't have to ask why to know how much of a toll
it had taken on me. Though my reasons for looking scatter-brained and distant
had nothing to do with Jess, I was surely not going to tell Kerry-Anne that.

"Remember
Sloan?" I jerk my head to the side and Kerry-Anne giggles, releasing my
arm.

"Yeah!
Sorry, I was excited to see you; I didn't realize you were going
somewhere."

"We have
a quick stop to make, want to meet at the fountain soon?" She smiles up at
me and nods before wrapping her arms tightly around my waist and following the
stream of people toward the entrance of the building.

The fountain.
I won't let him take me
anywhere
until I've had one last talk with
Kerry-Anne; arms hanging loosely in the cool water, our minds on our
assignments, our feet dangling over the rim. I want to people-watch with her
one more time. I need to hear her giggle and see her radiant smile before Rush
takes me away from this place.

I only have
one demand. Sloan must come with us. I simply won't leave without him.

Hear that
Rush? I won't. So…take us both, or leave me the hell alone.

I didn't
attend college; not even one single day of higher education, but it doesn't
take someone smarter than me to read the expression on Rush's face when we
finally stumble back into the meeting room with the oval hole. Rush stands in
the middle of it, glaring at us both as we slowly close the heavy door and
stare between him, Carlson, Niles and Edith.

You heard
me, didn't you?

Obviously.
Sit.

I do as Rush
has told me, walking with Sloan to join the other three, but I don't sit down
right away. Standing on the step I'm almost exactly the same height as Rush is.
I feel like an equal this way, so I remain upright with my feet slightly
parted, digging my toes unconsciously into the cool ground below them, with my
hands held as relaxed as possible by my sides.

Well?
I stare at him, waiting for the cherry on top of his demented ice cream sundae.

It's Niles
who clears his throat and speaks first, "Welcome back, Piper, dear.
There's only one other thing we felt was worthy of discussion. Though,
really," he pauses to look at Rush with a stony expression, "I'm not
sure it's relevant any longer."

I nod at him,
but still refuse to sit. Sloan wiggles nervously at my feet, with his legs
crossed and his hands lying in his lap. He wants to be anywhere other than
here, which is my thought exactly.

"Piper,
Sloan…we are going to break a rule in here today and I ask you not to discuss
this conversation with any friends. Do you understand?" Edith's voice is
soft, but her words firm. Both Sloan and I nod at her.

"Sit,"
Rush says, just as he had in my mind.

With a tilt
of my chin, I widen my stance and cross my arms over my chest, aware that I'm
defying him in front of the group, and making it clear that I don't care. His
eyes flash at me but instead of lecturing me, he smiles. It's empty, and part
of me wonders if it’s a threat.

"Fine,"
he waves his hand at me casually before sitting opposite from the rest of us,
his legs crossed at the ankle, leaning backwards against the cold floor with
his hands. When he nods at Edith, she sighs deeply and locks eyes with me.

"Something
rather unique happened on your last Assignment, Piper. Since you were already
aware of the fact that this case would be scrutinized, that shouldn't surprise
you. But honestly, what we saw surprised
us
." Edith waves as Niles
and Carlson before returning her gaze to me once again.

I promise
- I'm going to scream if anyone says the word 'unique' again.
Rush chuckles
softly as I grit my teeth against the compulsion to do just that. Ignoring us
both, Edith continues talking.

"It
seems that you and Sloan went on assignment…
together
."

"Huh?"

Sloan stands
and raises his hands to his hips, just as confused as I am. "What does
that mean?" he asks.

"What
were the names of your Assignments?" she asks, her face flushed. I'm not
sure if its excitement or fear that lights her eyes.

"Um,"
I pause to look at Sloan.

"Remember,
I said we were breaking a rule today, Piper. It's okay. What was your
Assignment's name?" Edith presses gently.

"Her
name was Jessica Levy."

Sloan inhales
sharply and grips my arm so suddenly that it makes me jump. I catch a smile on
Rush's face as I turn to look at Sloan who has scrambled to his bare feet.

He's staring
down at me, his pale blue eyes large and round, his expression one of wonder.
"Mine was Cole…
Cole Manning
," he says breathlessly.

***

Several
things happen at once. I finally unlock my knees and sit down hard enough on
the step to bruise, if bruising in the after-life was possible - which it's
not. Sloan is demanding answers from Carlson while Rush is standing in the
center of the room again, listening to an upset Niles while watching me over
his shoulder.

I'm stunned
into silence as I think about everything we were taught in Training and
anything before or after that. Not once had I heard of friends from the Station
being simultaneously deported on cases, into people that
knew
each
other. I mean, I guess it could happen, it just seemed unreal. Then again -
everything since the summer after I graduated was a little unreal.

The haze that
has distracted me from the conversations in the room lifts when I hear Niles
raise his voice. "This is not what we agreed on, Andurush. We are talking
about people here…real people. Not
pets
." Niles stands with his
arms straight, his hands loosely fisted.