Flashback (14 page)

Max was puzzled that he couldn’t precisely recall Carrington’s face. He felt disoriented and wondered what he was doing down by the waterfront. He vaguely remembered getting ready for his father’s dinner party, then traveling in a limousine, but after that, his mind was just a blank. Wasn’t he supposed to be practicing for the piano contest? He felt dizzy and stepped out into the street, only to jerk back sharply when a passing car almost collided with him, speeding away with a loud and lengthy bleat of its horn.

Max shook his head. He’d been drifting into David’s thoughts and wondered if this was because he’d altered the timeline. Max concentrated as hard as he could. He could now picture Carrington’s face both in this era and in the future, as well as aspects from his real life. Yet some of his memories were becoming increasingly sketchy. He shuddered when he considered the passing car, speculating that David might still be fated to die, if not in an experiment, then as the result of a car accident. Max knew that he had

no time to lose. And the only person who could send him back to his own time was about to be dumped in Castlegate Park.

THE PARK WASN’T
that far from the waterfront. As he ran along the city streets, Max wondered how he was going to find Deanna. He might as well be looking for a miniscule needle in a gigantic haystack.

However, once he reached the park, Max decided that if Deanna had been abandoned, unconscious, in the park, she wasn’t going to have been left in plain view. If someone were driving a vehicle in order to dump a body, then make a quick getaway, the drop off point would have to be near the roadway that wound through the park.

Then he saw the
Richardson’s Heating and Refrigeration
van emerging from a dirt track that led into the trees. The van quickly drove away and Max hurried over to the entrance of the track.

At first he couldn’t see anything untoward as he peered into the bushes, then he saw something moving in the tangled undergrowth. He immediately recognized Deanna’s green hair as she struggled to stand up.

Max hurried over to her.

“Hey,” he said. “Are you okay? What happened to you?”

Max had decided that he would innocently pose as a well-meaning passerby at first. He’d then try and explain his fantastic story to Deanna once the opportunity presented itself.

“What?” Deanna mumbled, as she struggled to sit up. “Where am I?”

“Castlegate Park,” said Max. “Are you hurt?”

“Where am I?” Deanna asked again, looking extremely confused.

Max had never seen the young Deanna this close. Apart from the colour of her hair, Max was struck by how much she resembled the older person that he’d met in the future. Her brown eyes were a little dull, probably as a result of the amnesia drug, but Max felt that he’d have recognized her anywhere. He knew that Deanna would probably have no recollection of how she’d arrived at the park. However, he was gambling that the amnesia drug would normally take a while to work. Max hoped that by reviving her earlier than may have happened in the previous reality, he’d have a better chance of helping Deanna piece her memories back together.

“Come on,” he said, as he helped Deanna to stand. “Let’s get you out of these bushes for a start.”

They walked over to the lakeshore and sat down on the bench close to where Max had first talked to John Carrington in the future. At first, Deanna simply stared ahead while she collected her thoughts.

“So who are you, kid?” she eventually asked. “Do I know you?”

“My name’s David,” said Max. “Do you remember anything unusual about the last few days?”

“Not especially,” Deanna replied, shaking her head. “I know that I was over at a friend’s place last night.”

“I don’t think that was last night,” Max said, grimly. “You probably have no memory of the last three or four days.”

“What do you mean?” asked Deanna.

“You were kidnapped,” Max told her. “They took you to a laboratory and performed experiments on you. They were investigating your psychic abilities.”

Deanna stared at him open mouthed, then quickly turned her head to face the lake.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, defensively.

“They found out about your skills because of the readings you were doing for your friends,” Max continued. “Once the scientists had finished with you, they gave you some sort of drug to make you forget everything, before they left you in the park. Please try to think. Do you remember anything, anything at all?”

“Oh my God,” said Deanna, appearing distressed, “now I
do
remember. I was on my way home from my friend’s apartment. It was getting dark, but wasn’t that late. I

heard footsteps, then without warning I was grabbed from behind and something was placed over my nose and mouth.”

“Do you recall anything else?” Max asked her. “Anything about a laboratory?”

“Yes, I mean, no,” Deanna stammered. “I mean, I’m not sure. What the heck did they do to me?”

Max attempted to describe what he knew of the work that was performed at the facility, including what he’d witnessed when Deanna had been brought into the laboratory on the gurney. He was about to tell her what he’d seen on the huge screen, when Deanna stopped him.

“Wait a second,” she said. “What’s your connection to all this?”

“Let’s get you home first,” replied Max. “I’ll do my best to explain.”

Fortunately, Deanna’s apartment wasn’t too far from the park. She lived on the second floor and occasionally had to lean on Max for support as they climbed the stairs.

When they reached the door, Max waited patiently as Deanna fumbled for her keys, then followed her into the apartment.

“Sorry about the mess,” she apologized. “My roommate’s away this week and I promised to tidy up before she gets back. Do want a drink of something?”

“Sure,” said Max.

Deanna headed into the kitchen while Max scanned his surroundings. Most of the walls of the apartment were decorated with posters of the musical stars and movie actors of the time. In the far corner stood a medium sized houseplant that looked in desperate need of water. In the centre of the room were two well-worn armchairs covered in widely differing fabrics, and several books, magazines and even a few items of clothing were scattered across the solitary couch. The coffee table bore several circular stains, two empty glasses, and a mug half full of what looked like cold tea.

“Sorry,” said Deanna as she emerged from the kitchen, “there’s nothing to drink in the fridge.”

“No problem,” Max replied.

He took a deep breath.

“This is going to sound completely crazy,” he said, “but please hear me out. My real name is Max. Twenty years from now, you sent me back here into the life of a boy called David Dexter.”

“Is this some kind of joke?” Deanna exclaimed, angrily. “Are you playing some sort of stupid prank here or what? Did someone put you up to this?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, even for you,” said Max, “but it’s completely true. I have to admit that I would never have believed it myself. You put me under hypnosis and I appeared in this time period, occupying someone else’s body and . . .”

“Okay,” Deanna stopped him, “I’m not sure what you’re trying to pull here–”

“But you have to believe me!” Max interrupted her. “You’re my only chance to get back.”

“Get out!” yelled Deanna. “Just get out!”

“I know how you first learned that you were a psychic,” Max exclaimed in desperation. “You were on your way home from school, waiting for a bus. An elderly woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes sat down on the end of the bench and smiled at you. She knew your name, said that you had a special gift, and told you that she was your great-grandmother.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Deanna demanded, looking utterly bewildered.

“Because you told me!” Max declared defiantly. “Twenty years from now. I know it sounds insane, but you have to believe me. Your great-grandmother appears to you as a kindly old woman. She isn’t very tall and has white hair. She wears a light blue blouse and a tiny gold brooch shaped like a flower. I saw her on the screen.”

“You saw her
where
?” said Deanna.

“She appeared on the screen in the lab,” said Max. “The doctors said that you were offering too much resistance. They even thought that you were going to die. But when I saw that old lady on the screen, I knew that you weren’t fighting alone.”

Tears began streaming down Deanna’s face. She mumbled something to excuse herself, then dashed into the kitchen. Max heard her sobbing uncontrollably and knew that he’d finally got through to her. He just hoped that it would be enough to persuade her to help him.

Momentarily, Deanna returned from the kitchen.

“Okay,” she said. “Max, or David, or whatever your real name is. Let’s sit down, shall we?”

Deanna walked over to the couch, cleared away the clutter and invited Max to take a seat. She wiped the last of the tears from her eyes, then sat down at the opposite end of the couch.

“There’s a way I can find out if you’re on the level,” she said. “Do you mind?”

“What do you need to do?” Max asked her.

Deanna held out her hands, her palms facing upward.

“Take my hands,” Deanna instructed him, “and just relax. Breathe deeply and try to clear your mind.”

Max did as he was told and placed his hands over Deanna’s. He watched as she closed her eyes and her brow furrowed in intense concentration. In less than a minute, her eyes opened, then widened in astonishment.

“My God!” she gasped. “You’re actually telling the truth, aren’t you? There really is another person inside you somehow. I never thought I’d see anything like it. But how?”

Max related as quickly as possible everything that had happened. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Deanna about the future, since it might affect the timeline in ways that he didn’t dare to contemplate. But Max was beyond worrying about that now. Deanna listened intently to everything that he had to say, only stopping him occasionally to clarify one point or another.

“And you say,” she asked, when Max had finished, “that you sometimes feel that you’re going to be completely submerged in David’s memories?”

“I do,” Max confirmed. “It’s been hard to suppress them and remember who I really am.”

“Yes,” Deanna nodded. “It may only be a matter of time before you and David eventually become one.”

“You don’t have to tell
me
that,” said Max. “I need to get back.”

“But is it even possible?” Deanna said, in exasperation. “I mean, past lives are one thing, but what you’re talking about is entirely different.”

“I know,” Max agreed, “but you’re the only one who can help me. You know what past life regression is, right? This would be the same thing in reverse, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” said Deanna, shaking her head. “What if something goes wrong?”

“Trust me,” Max said. “You’re an expert, or at least you will be, twenty years from now.”

“But I haven’t even tried sending anyone into their past life yet,” Deanna protested, “let alone what you’re proposing.”

“It’s my only chance,” Max said. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold back these thoughts. I could be trapped here forever or even disappear altogether.”

“Okay,” said Deanna with a shrug, then took a deep breath. “Let’s give this a try. Close your eyes and breathe deeply.”

Max did as she asked and he soon began to feel comfortable, just as he had done in the future.

“Keep breathing deeply,” said Deanna. “Just relax, deep breaths.”

Her voice soon began to fade away, until eventually it was completely gone.

MAX HAD EXPECTED
to find himself back in Deanna’s house in his own time. Instead he felt a warm breeze on his face and when he opened he eyes, he could hardly believe what he saw. He was in the cemetery, after he and Jeff had bought pizza. Across the road, he could see Jeff and his grandmother, Mrs. McNally, tending the flowers at the grave and Max recalled how he’d chosen to allow them a few moments of privacy.

Max felt dizzy and disoriented. He rested his hand on a nearby gravestone to steady himself but didn’t experience any of the visions that had previously flooded his mind. Then he saw two people a little further up the road close to a parked car.

Max immediately recognized Vanessa Dexter. The man standing with her at the graveside Max estimated to be in his mid-thirties. As he cautiously approached the gravesite, Max noted that it was covered in fresh flowers and wreaths. The memorial to Jonathan Dexter was absent, along with the smaller gravestone. When he got closer, to his astonishment, Max recognized that the man was clearly an older David Dexter. While David and his mother stood in respectful silence for a few moments, Max edged as close as he dared. Mrs. Dexter turned away from the grave and started back toward the car. David noticed Max watching them and eyed him curiously.