Mind Slide (3 page)

And mind slide, that was something else entirely.

“I don't really need to hear his name, Doctor Rierson,” Suit said.

Doc hesitated only for a moment, then spoke more slowly. “When Mason mind slides, he can focus on a place or person. Give him an address, complete with zip code, and he can mind slide within one hundred feet of that destination. Give him a person's name, and it's the same thing. Accurate to within one hundred feet. There are no limits, sir. He's mind slid all over the world.” He scribbled a quick address and handed it over. “That's the address of a test site we used in Japan. Give Mason the Cocktail, let him focus on the address, and he's there within minutes.”

It was obvious Suit wasn't pleased with Doc's attitude, but was intrigued at the possibilities. He leaned forward.

“A person's name? What if I ask him to find John Smith?”

“Do you know a John Smith?”

“No.”

“Then it wouldn't work. We don't know how he does it ourselves. I'm sure he doesn't even know. But if his mind can't zero in on a name, especially a very common name, then he needs a picture to go with it. But if
you
ask him to find John Doe, and you
know
John Doe, he'll find him, no problem.”

Doc could see the excitement in Suit's eyes.

“Can we give the subject a set of coordinates. Latitude and longitude. Would that work like an address?”

Doc shrugged. “We honestly don't know. We can certainly work that in the testing schedule.”

Suit had the hint of a smile. “Mind slide?”

Ronald spoke up. “That's the term Ma-...the subject came up with. It's kind of caught on around the lab. Everyone thinks it sounds real cool.”

“Yeah.
Very
cool,” Suit said. He leaned back in his chair and studied both doctors. “I heard the subject got in a fight today. It's nothing a check or two can't fix. But I have to ask, what is the problem here?”

Doc's eyes went wide, his mouth running before Ronald could stop him.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Does the subject have problems we should know about? We can't have him running around assaulting mental health patients.”

Doc laughed “That's a joke, right?”

Ronald winced.

“I'm not known for my humor, Doctor Rierson.”

“He lost his parents when he was five. He can't even remember them. He's been here since he was seven, playing guinea pig for us. We've done things to that boy that should haunt us the rest of our lives. Do you think any of that might have something to do with his outburst today? He stood up for himself. I'm
proud
of Mason, and not just because of his ability to mind slide.”

There was at least fifteen seconds of silence as Doc and Suit stared at each other.

Suit looked down at his cell phone and answered a text message. He tried to act casual, like Doc's attitude didn't bother him. All three men knew that was the furthest from the truth.

“You and your team have done excellent work,” he finally said. “I'm very excited about what the subject and his
mind sliding
holds for the future. Doctor Rierson, this is your team, your project, and you can run it however you want. As long as I get my results. But I feel you may be getting too emotionally involved with the subject, and you will have to remedy that. Understood?”

Doc opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to say that Mason, despite his amazing abilities, was a sixteen-year-old boy. He didn't know Mason's place in the world, but certainly it shouldn't be inside a mental health center.

But Doc knew he was replaceable, and who knew what his replacement would be capable of.

“Understood.”

Suit let out a smile. “Okay, then. I'd like a tour of the lab and the wing, if you don't mind. Then we'll get lunch. On me, of course.”

The three men rose to leave. When Suit took the lead, Ronald wiped his forehead. Doc brought up the rear, trying not to laugh at him.

None of them were aware the mind of Mason Thomas sat in the corner, listening to every word they said.

Kelly Rierson paced back and forth near the bleachers as the one-hundred-meter dash went underway. She loved to run, loved practice after school. It gave her something to do and time to catch up with her friends.

But she hated the day of a track meet.

There was the anxiety all throughout the day. She could barely concentrate on any class. When she managed to think of something else for a minute or two, a friend would show up, asking her if she was ready to run her ass off.

There were the ridiculous uniforms. When she first slipped one on in ninth grade she thought it was some kind of joke. A red tank top with white shorts that a stripper would be proud of. Even the guys had to wear them.

She didn't feel like she was ugly. She had dark red hair and sparkling green eyes. She was certain Eric Johnston was going to ask her out any day now. He always stared at her in algebra. But she had a light complexion she tried to cover up as much as possible. Just ten minutes in the sun and she would burn to a crisp. When she wore her revealing uniform she felt like a bottle of milk running across the track.

Coach Walker looked up from his clipboard and spotted Kelly hiding in her usual spot by the bleachers.

“Kelly!” he called. “The two-mile is next. You warmed up and stretched?”

She nodded, annoyed at her hair rubbing the back of her neck. She pulled it back in a ponytail.

She walked up next to the track as the last heat for the one-hundred-meter started. She couldn't wait to get the run over with. Her friend Tina joined her. Tina was one of those girls that made any uniform look good. Tan body, nice breasts, shapely legs. Kelly gave her an envious look.

“You gonna beat me today?” Tina asked with a smile.

“I don't care. I just want to get under twelve minutes.”

Tina laughed. “If you do that, you'll beat me.”

Kelly glanced around the stands. There were other teenagers, parents, teachers, little brothers and sisters, even some college scouts.

She did not see her father.

Not surprising, but she was still upset. He said he'd make it,
promised
he'd make it. No doubt he was at work, as always, with that boy Mason.

She tried not to feel hatred at the thought of the boy's name, but it was difficult. She didn't know much about Mason, except that he was in a mental health hospital. Whenever Kelly needed her father, Mason had his attention. Kelly would come home from school, make dinner for the both of them, only to hear he already ate at the hospital with Mason. When she broke up with her first boyfriend last year, she desperately wanted to talk with her father. The only thing he wanted to talk about was how much progress Mason was making.

She could understand why Mom left him when she was a baby.

She sighed as she watched the bleachers. No family, no friends to cheer her on, like always.

Her breath caught in her chest as her eyes fell on Eric Johnston.

He sat alone on top of the bleachers with his elbows resting on his knees, scanning the field. He ran a hand through his hair. Kelly thought she would faint.

She quickly turned back toward the track and tried to breathe slow and steady.

Tina put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Eric is here.”

Tina turned to see for herself. She let out a smile. “You'd better run fast today then.” She gestured to the starting line. “We're up.”

Kelly and Tina were the only girls from their school entered in the two-mile run. There were about fifteen other girls from different schools. Kelly still felt like every eye was on her. She tried to disappear in between the other girls, all bunched up at the starting line. Knowing Eric was in the stands made her want to vomit.

The starter gun fired, and the race was on.

Kelly started out strong, like she always did. After a half mile she had a solid second place position. She mentally slapped herself as she approached the end of mile number one. She was too worried about the other runners, a weakness she always had. She sometimes struggled to focus on herself and her own time.

She stole a glance at Eric as she finished another lap.

So much for focusing.

With two laps to go, something surprising happened. The lead runner started to slowly fade back. She couldn't keep up the pace she started. Kelly knew it wasn't a big deal to finish first. The ultimate goal was to beat her time from the last meet.

Still, it felt great to cross the line ahead of everyone else.

She immediately went to the side to stay out of the other runners' way. Coach Walker always told the runners to keep walking after a race, never just stop dead. Kelly never followed that advice. She leaned over, her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Coach Walker put an arm around her shoulders and leaned down with her.

“That was a great run. You okay?”

She nodded and pointed to her lungs, then at her wrist. Coach understood and looked at his stopwatch.

“Eleven fifty-one,” he said with a smile. “You just made it.”

Tina finished thirty seconds behind Kelly. She crossed the line and joined her friend near the bleachers.

“Did you finish first?” Tina said between breaths.

Kelly smiled and nodded.

“So lucky.”

They both laughed.

Kelly looked up to the bleachers. Random people she recognized from school clapped and cheered at her. It was a feeling she wasn't quite used to.

Her mood fell when she saw her father still wasn't there. Part of her hoped he'd show up in the middle of her run. She'd look up and see him cheering for her. It would have been a great surprise.

She should have been used to her father never being there. He seldom was for anything. Why would a track meet be different?

At least Eric came to watch her.

She looked for him on the top row of the bleachers. When she saw him she felt a slight stab of pain in her heart.

He had his arms wrapped around Meghan Dullaney, the school's top hurdler. They were laughing and kissing as he leaned toward her to whisper in her ear.

It hit her all at once. Of course Eric would go for Meghan. She was one of the prettiest girls in school. Meghan sat right behind her in algebra class. Eric had been staring at Meghan the entire time, not her.

She just ran her best two-mile time, finished first, and she never felt worse in her life.

“What's wrong?” Tina asked.

Kelly gestured to the stands. Tina winced when she saw the public display of affection.

“I'm so sorry. Meghan just broke up with her ex a week ago. I guess her and Eric have been keeping secrets.”

Coach Walker blew his whistle and announced it was time to clean up. The track meet was officially over. Other schools' runners climbed into their buses while everyone else started to gather the hurdles and pads. Home track meets were terrible.

“Do you want a ride home?” Tina asked.

Kelly shook her head. No doubt another reason she couldn't catch Eric's eye. She couldn't drive.

“Nah. My father will be here. Just forty hours late like he always is. And he'll throw a fit if I'm not here to hear his apology.”

Tina laughed. “That's weird.”

“Tell me about it. Thanks anyway.”

Tina put a hand on her friend's shoulder. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Kelly felt her eyes welling up with tears, but she somehow willed them away. She didn't have a love life or a family life. She could deal with it most days, but seeing her crush kiss a girl she couldn't compete with was almost more than she could take.

“Yeah, I'm fine, Tina. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Parents, teenagers, and teachers scattered in different directions. Some went straight to their cars. Others loitered about and socialized. Kelly walked around to the front of school, where she could sit and wait for her father. She would have called him, but she didn't have a cell phone.

Something else to add to the list of things she didn't have.

She sat on the front steps and waited.

And waited.

Kelly regretted not changing into regular clothes after the track meet. As night took over the wind sent goosebumps up and down her legs. She hugged herself as she looked at the few cars passing by, thinking each one might be her father.

She waited alone for over an hour. The school and parking lot were completely empty. She stood up and tried to rub her legs for warmth. The locker room would be locked. She didn't even have a place to change clothes for the walk ahead of her.

Just what she needed after a two mile run. A five mile walk home.

“Thanks, Dad. Thanks so much.”

Kelly started the long walk. At least her legs still didn't feel like rubber. It was a walk she had done many times before. She hated walking past the cars and houses. It always felt like someone was watching her.

It was a warm night, but the wind seemed a little stronger now that she was moving. She wanted to go home and maybe call Tina and make herself a quick dinner. She wanted to forget about Eric.