Mind Over Easy (25 page)

Natalie pulled into Ted's driveway. "We have a supervillain who can mess with our brains, your date is probably off on a rampage somewhere and nobody even asked me." She looked over at Ted with a smirk. "So, no, I think I'm gonna sit this one out."

Ted took in a deep breath. "Alright, suit yourself, but it's okay to go with friends. I bet Dhiraj'll rent a limo if he gets back in time."

Natalie unlocked the doors. "I'll consider it. Now, go find your girlfriend before she knocks over a 7-Eleven."

Ted patted Natalie on the shoulder. He couldn't quite read her face, but there seemed to be something she was holding back. Ted opted to let it go, and when she pulled away he took to the skies.

It felt peaceful to fly through the wind as the cold air pressed against his cheeks. The whooshing sound that filled his ears helped him forget everything that ran through his mind. His trust remained with Erica, but it felt strange that both Nigel and Redican had said the same thing. They both thought that he was being used. Whether or not they were right, how was he supposed to know? After all, he was taking Erica's word for it.

Ted recalled his ordeal in the caves a few months ago as he flew over the fence to the woods. Sure enough, when he reached the overturned tree and the clearing where Daly had done the deed, Erica was sitting there alone on a tree stump. When he got closer, he saw that her hands were covered in dirt and that she was gripping a bloody knife. Ted's eyes grew wide as he landed.

"Oh my God, are you–"

"Don't worry, it's old blood." Erica didn't sound like either person Ted had known in that body. She let out a dark laugh. "It's my murder weapon. I guess I should put it in a shadowbox or something."

Ted froze in place. "I – I'm glad you're OK."

"I'm not OK. I'm dead." She cackled again. "And even worse than that. I'm sober."

While Ted was mildly concerned Erica might stab him, he sat beside her on the tree trunk anyway. "You remember everything?"

She nodded. "I remember getting stabbed and buried alive. After that, it gets blurry until I saw you yesterday."

Ted put his hand on Erica's thigh. "I wish I could've saved you."

She gave Ted a sideways glance. "Oh, come on. I was terrible. To you. To my parents. If not then, I probably would've ODed in college or gotten mugged and left for dead outside some skeezy club."

Ted started to put the pieces together. Erica didn't just drink because she was addicted. She drank to rid herself of these depressing, morbid thoughts.

"I never cared that you had issues." Ted scooted closer to Erica. "I just wanted to be there for you."

Erica's lip quivered. "I knew." She put her free arm around Ted's neck. "And I loved you for it."

Erica drew Ted close and kissed him. It wasn't like the deep, sloppy kiss they'd shared on his front porch. This one was real. He wanted to keep pressing his lips against hers for the rest of time. Unfortunately, that wasn't what Erica had in mind.

She pulled away from him and stepped off the stump. "Thank you for that. But I've already used up my time here."

Erica took the knife and moved it toward her abdomen. She was about to stick it in the same exact spot that had ended her life when Ted used his powers to fling it away. The knife stuck into the side of the turned-over tree, and Erica began to sob. As she slinked to the ground, Ted put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry." He tightened his hold. "I wish I could make you feel less pain. I want to bring you peace."

A strange sensation came over Ted. He felt himself looking into Erica's brain. For a second, it was as if he could find the part of her that was broken. He saw memories as if they were thousands of images on a digital screen. For a moment, he saw Erica's death at the hands of Deputy Daly. Another picture displayed the battle with Nigel and the dark souls. The last one he could see clearly seemed to be him standing with Erica at the altar of an outdoor wedding. At least, it was someone who looked like him.

The memories swirled around before him and seemed to re-order themselves when a burst of blue light shot out through his hands and enveloped Erica. Frightened, he stepped away and the light dissipated. Erica started to convulse. A dizziness came over Ted, and he leaned against the tree for support. As he did, Erica coughed herself back to consciousness. The tears were gone from her eyes. She looked around as if there was danger close by. 

"What the... why are we in the forest?" Erica got up to her knees. "Where's Redican?"

Ted lowered himself to the ground and put his arms around Erica's waist.

"You've... you're–"

Erica glanced around and back at Ted. Her face relaxed, which softened her features.

"You did it. You fixed me."

PART FIVE

Chapter 42

Erica was too weak to let herself free from Ted's grasp. It wasn't that sensing his grip around her body didn't feel good. A part of her wanted to relax and take the necessary time to recover, perhaps while nuzzling up to Ted under a nearby sycamore. The part of her that won out, however, was the one that stood up way too fast and grabbed onto the overturned tree for balance. She couldn't help but be reminded her of her most recent crossover into this world.

One of the key differences was that this time Ted was the one who brought her back.

"You don't remember anything from the past couple of days?" Ted offered a hand to help Erica steady herself.

She took it. "No. The last thing I remember is Redican chasing me down."

Ted appeared to chew on the last thought like taffy, both methodically and carefully. "You'd forgotten everything about your other lives. You were pure Erica."

Erica was tempted to take a tour through Ted's brain. It would be a shortcut to figuring out what the combination of a furrowed brow and a smile really meant.

She rubbed his arm. "I - I'm sorry. Was it terrible? Did I do anything–"

Ted took her hand and kissed it. "No. It was good, actually. I got to say goodbye."

Erica nodded. She felt some of the strength return to her body like a battery recharging. Erica stepped away from the tree and stretched her arms to the sky.

She looked back at Ted. "Why didn't you leave her – me – the way I was? You could've had the Erica of your dreams."

Ted spun her around so he could face her. "I needed you." He moved a few strands of hair away from her face. "We'd probably all get brainwashed if you weren't here to help."

She'd been hoping for more, and the sigh betrayed her thoughts. "Okay."

Ted pulled her close. His sweet smell surrounded her.

"I wanted
you
." He smiled. "Also, I kind of didn't know what I was doing when I messed around with your head, so it all worked out for the best." Ted's smile didn't last. He bit his bottom lip. "Which reminds me. How did I fix your brain? Can I do what Redican can do? Is that one of my other powers?"

Erica didn't need all of this. Her consciousness had just come back from who knows where and Ted was teetering very close to the edge of her authority.

"Yes." Erica wiped the dirt off her clothing and started to walk toward the fence. "Now, let's get back to–"

Ted flew through the air and landed ahead of her. "I have the ability to control people's minds and you're just gonna gloss over it?"

She took in a deep breath and forced a smile. "Um… yes?"

Ted's voice grew faster and higher in pitch. "Oh, no. You're not getting out of it this easy, protector-girl. Redican stole one of these books. Between that and the other ones, there's a ton of power that's supposed to be a part of what I am, right? Maybe I can use them to stop him."

Erica let out all her pent up emotion. "No! You can't!"

Erica thought she had been back to full strength, but the shouting made her dizzy. She stumbled back over to the tree stump and sat down.

Ted seemed to consider comforting her before keeping a few feet of distance. "You think I'm not good enough or something?"

Erica tried to look up into his eyes, but they were pointed straight at her feet. "It's just too much power for one person to handle."

"Shouldn't I be the one to make that decision?"

Erica met Ted's sincere gaze. She knew he was hurt by her omissions, but there were some things more important than hurt feelings.

"The last time I let a living soul choose to take on all the power at once…."

Erica didn't want to continue.

Ted knelt down so he could look right at her. "Tell me."

It was about 40 Earth-years earlier when Erica was called on to help a living soul fight off some otherworldly trouble in Chicago. Adam was older than Ted by a few years, but he far surpassed the current living soul with his ability to fight. With a decade of martial arts training behind him, the addition of telekinetic powers allowed him to snuff out the situation almost single-handedly. Erica was in the body of an older woman who was much more of a mentor than a love interest. Adam impressed her with his desire to continue to grow and improve. Even though she was only supposed to teach Adam how to move things with his mind, she decided to go further. When she taught him the ability to control minds, she didn't expect that he'd use his newfound powers on her. While she was under Adam's thrall, she taught him abilities that were far too advanced for him. As he grew more powerful, the living soul started to go insane. Within a few weeks, he was plotting the end of humanity itself. Erica snapped out of it in the nick of time, gathering some help from Adam's group of friends to bring a half-finished building down on top of him. Since then, it'd been forbidden to let the living soul take on the full range of powers.

Erica spared no detail, and Ted went from eager to fearful in a hurry.

By the end, he looked at himself as if he were a ticking time bomb. "Do you really think I'd be capable of all that?"

She pursed her lips and tried to match his eyes. "I don't want to think that, but every time I picture you studying those books and gaining a new ability, I see that building coming down around someone I used to call a friend."

Ted squinted at Erica before his eyes grew wide. "It's part of your orders isn't it? If I go crazy or turn to the dark side, you're supposed to kill me, aren't you?"

Hearing the truth laid out gave Erica a headache.

There's nothing like telling your boyfriend you might have to kill him if he goes nuts
, she thought.

"And that's why we're taking things slow... powers-wise." 

Ted stood up and paced. Erica could tell there was a heavy weight bearing on his thoughts. It was true that he was no Adam, but she didn't want to take any chances that she might turn him into one. Hearing Ted's voice snapped her out of her thinking.

"If I can't use the power and Redican can, how are we going to stop him?"

Erica tapped her nails on the side of the stump. "I'm not sure yet. But if I put a bet on when he'd strike next, it would be tomorrow. At prom."

Erica loved seeing Ted's face light up at the p-word. Even though they might encounter certain death at the dance, at least they'd look good while they did it.

Ted helped Erica up to her feet. "It's a good thing I already rented my tux."

Chapter 43

After Natalie arrived home and told the short version of events to her parents, she conked out for the next 12 hours. When she woke up in the wee hours of the morning, she couldn't tell at first if she was in a cell or a bed.

Or if she was in fantasy or reality, for that matter.

Upon checking her texts from the previous night, she learned that Erica was back to normal. Natalie was glad that they had another weapon back in their fight against Redican, but she wondered if Ted, Erica and the rest of them stood a chance against a person who could invade their minds. After all, she was half-convinced that Ted had given up on Erica and wanted to get back with her. The image of Ted saying he loved her felt as real to her as their first date or their breakup. Unlike a dream that feels sort of real, there was no blurring at the edges. Natalie hated that some part of her brain believed that Ted Finley was in love with her.

Five minutes after she posted a comment on a picture of Dhiraj's tux, he arrived at her doorstep. For a guy who almost witnessed a revenge killing, he appeared excessively upbeat.

"I've already got it all planned out." Dhiraj didn't seem to care that Natalie was silent. "Dinner at Grazie beforehand, a limo ride to the dance and a private after-party. And because I worked out some sweet sponsorship deals, it's all gonna be free!"

Natalie gave a nod of acknowledgment.

Dhiraj raised his eyebrows. "You know, it'll be better with you there."

Natalie wasn't sure if there was enough room for her eyes to roll as much as they needed to. "Uh huh."

"You're my co-best friend. I need a wing-woman."

"You don't need a wing-woman. You've already got the girl. Everybody's got someone but me." Natalie lay back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "I don't want it to be awkward."

Dhiraj lay down next to her. "Do you really think that you could possibly be more awkward than Ted? You've seen him dance."

Natalie pictured her ex-boyfriend attempting to bust a move. The image brought a smile to her face. "You can't even call it dancing. They need a new word to describe it."

Dhiraj rolled to his side and rested his ear on his hand. "We could come up with the right word together."

"I don't know, Dhiraj." She looked toward her closet as if she could see through to her homecoming dress. "I need to clear my head. I'll let you know."

Dhiraj popped off the bed and grinned. "Alright. There's definitely a spot in the limo for you." He glanced at his phone. "I better get to steppin'. I've got a mani-pedi at nine."

Natalie pushed onto her stomach and chuckled. "You're one of a kind, Dhiraj."

"That makes two of us." He moved toward the exit before turning back. "You know, both of us got kidnapped this weekend."