Unaltered #2_A Diamond in my Heart

A Diamond in my
Heart

The Unaltered series-book
two

by Lorena Angell

co-authored by Joshua Angell

Copyright 2011 Lorena Angell

Smashwords Edition

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incidents are productions of the author’s imagination and used
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Freedom

Chapter 2 - Nyctophobia

Chapter 3 - “Not everything bad in
this world is evil, and just because something’s good doesn’t make
it right.”

Chapter 4 - Brand New Power

Chapter 5 - Do Over

Chapter 6 - Deadly Shadows

Chapter 7 - A Kiss for Good
Luck

Chapter 8 - Matchmaker
Calli

Chapter 9 - Freedom to
Choose

Chapter 10 - Project T19

Chapter 11 - Missing
Persons

Chapter 12 - Revelations

Chapter 13 - Relinquishment

Chapter 14 - The Diamond
Bearers

Chapter 1 -
Freedom

I used to scoff at magical powers and
abilities, used to have this amazing focused direction in life and
didn’t allow my time to be wasted on frivolous conspiracy theories
or speculations. I certainly didn’t believe in any existence of
superpowers or unnatural abilities; that is, until I became the
first person on earth to display all the known powers and
abilities.

A few months ago I learned first-hand
that cosmic energy rays exist and have always existed, and that
nearly everyone on the planet has been affected by them in one way
or another.

My mother, Dr. Charlotte
Courtnae, and I belong to a bloodline of purity wherein something
about our DNA protected us while in the womb and we were never
altered. We are unchanged, unaffected, unaltered. Yet, we are
different from one another because she doesn’t
know
she’s an unaltered
human.

Living on a planet where I’m a member
of the minority isn’t so bad, really. Those with the powers and
abilities who think they can rule the world have no control over
me. My mind cannot be read, my future remains unseen by Seers,
Healers cannot manipulate my body, and I’m untraceable to a Hunter
for I have no scent. Runners would technically have the advantage
over me if I was a regular unaltered like my mother. But I’m not
regular. I’m not ordinary.

I’m an Unaltered Diamond
Bearer.

I carry a piece of the
Sanguine Diamond within my heart which gives me every known power
and ability plus a couple more. Maetha, my mentor and the person
responsible for the jewel in my heart, hasn’t admitted yet, but I
suspect she bears a diamond shard in her heart as well. She said
there were other regular unaltered humans out there, like my
mother, but she
didn’t
tell me there were other Diamond Bearers like me.

I met one just the other
day.

I’d been helping at my mother’s
counseling clinic while her regular receptionist was on vacation
and was sent on an errand to take a couple of files over to the
Behavioral Health building. I could have easily walked, but figured
I’d hit the Coffee Shack on the way back, and it would give me an
excuse to drive my new cherry-red Mini Cooper. My parents bought me
the car when I came home from my ‘Olympic’ training camp due to a
‘non-descript’ injury. I guess they thought it would cheer me up…
they were right. I know I’m lucky to be the only child of two
doctors and that most kids my age would be lucky to get a
rusted-out, dented twenty year old car. I try not to brag but
needless to say any opportunity to get behind the wheel excited me
to no end.

I backed up carefully making sure not
to hit any other vehicle and when I turned forward to put the car
in drive I saw a man leaning up against the building I’d just
exited; strange that I hadn’t noticed him before.

He stood around six feet tall with
well trimmed black hair and I guessed his age to be mid forties. He
had a square jaw line and a straight nose. I couldn’t see his eyes
because he wore black sunglasses. He wore a long cowboy duster, the
kind with a slit up the back, and square-toed motorcycle boots and
had his hands shoved into the front pockets of his faded blue jeans
which contoured to his lean figure.

I didn’t realize at that moment he was
someone of interest, but when I arrived at the Coffee Shack
following the delivery of the files, I saw him again. This time he
was leaning up against a pick-up truck with his thumbs hooked on
the front pockets of his jeans.

There were two cars in front of me in
the pick-up window line and I realized I’d be here for a few
minutes, so I decided I’d try to probe his mind, and exercise my
ability to do so. He immediately blocked me with a force so strong
it knocked the wind out of me. I heard his low, smooth voice in my
head as I sat with a death grip on the steering wheel trying to
regain my breath.

“Now, why would a young
girl like you be able to read minds?”

I tried to fill my lungs with much
needed air as my mind swam around the realization that this man was
a telepath. Maetha told me telepathic powers died out over the
years and the power only exists inside the whole Sanguine diamond.
I only have a piece of the diamond now and I cannot communicate
telepathically anymore, so I put my thoughts at the front of my
mind figuring if he had this power, he must have others; he must
possess a diamond.

“Did Maetha send
you?”
I asked with my mind.

“Maetha? So, she’s behind
this?”

Bingo! He knows about
Maetha, he must have a diamond as well.
“Behind what?”
My lungs finally
relaxed and I was able to inflate them properly.

He readjusted his stance
and took off his sunglasses. His eyes were near slits with heavy
eyebrows hovering above. He looked better with his shades on and
must have read my mind because he replaced them on his face.
“Who died for you?”

“I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”
The car behind me
honked to alert me to pull forward one
spot.

“Maetha still operates
with the same deception, I see. You should take my advice, little
girl, get as far away from her as you can.”

“Why should I listen to
you?”

“Because I know her better
than just about anyone else!”
His
statement made my hair stand on end.

“What’s your
name?”

“I don’t go by one. Names
are mere labels which inhibit progression. I prefer to be
recognized by what I offer, today I offer freedom. You may think of
me as
your
freedom.”

Ooh-kaaay, I was officially
freaked out!
“Oh, I won’t be thinking of
you at all, buck-o!”
The car in front of
me pulled forward and I followed, only I didn’t stop at the window,
I pressed the gas pedal to the floor leaving tread-marks on the
pavement and a smoke cloud hanging in the air.

My heart raced with panic and my eyes
checked the rear-view mirror repeatedly as I sped through traffic
on my way back to the office. My compact car sliced through tight
spots with ease like a bobsled and the further I traveled away from
the creepy man the more my clenched jaw began to relax… until I
arrived back at the office and found Mr. ‘Freedom’ leaning up
against the building in the same spot as before. I knew his diamond
would afford him the running ability, but it still shocked me to
see him.

“Calli, when you decide to
utilize my help, all you’ll have to do is ask for it.”
His lips parted in an almost evil smile revealing
perfectly straight white teeth. Then he turned and walked
away.

It’s been a couple of days now since
seeing him and I can’t help but keep looking over my shoulder
continuously. I still experience the same panic when I think about
the man who I’ve named Freedom whose whole demeanor reeked of
villainy, and it would be just fine with me to never meet him
again. I’ve wondered how he found me, if he sought me out or if he
was just passing through and detected a difference in me compared
to other people. I’ve also pondered on what he told me, especially
his advice.

More than anything, I’ve wondered how
many Unaltereds have diamonds in their hearts too. Maetha said
she’d come and train me how to visualize auras, like my roommate
Beth from the Runner’s compound, but I haven’t heard from her yet.
I will certainly ask her more about her powers and why Freedom was
familiar with her—and how many others are like us.

*****

An important date is fast approaching;
the day Chris Harding resigns as a spy.

I would love to go see him… just to
get my 'Chris fix'. I could watch from a distance, he wouldn’t need
to know I was present. But what if he saw me? What would that do to
him? Assuming he hasn’t forgotten about me already, he’d be
reminded of the pain we suffered because of Maetha. Not only would
it torture him further, it would also be hell for me; I was several
years older in the vision I’d seen through the Healer’s window. I
know I will see him again, but I also know now is not that time.
He, on the other hand, doesn’t and shouldn’t know I have powers. He
wouldn’t believe it even if I told him. From his perspective, the
whole chain of events was manipulated along with him and me, thus
nullifying any future between us. Not to mention the fact that in
his vision I was a Healer, not the ordinary human he now believes I
am.

Chris doesn’t know I have powers and
shouldn’t until the day the vision comes true. If I was present at
his resignation he would deduce I had foresight or psychic
abilities either of which would allow me to know his plans, and
both would prove I have powers and abilities. Even without looking
into the future I could tell it would upset the balance of nature
for him to know I still possess powers; especially the healing
ability.

I don’t know what Chris will do with
his life following resigning. I don’t know what type of information
he was feeding to the government, but he truly believed everyone
would be in danger if I picked through his mind.

Chapter 2 -
Nyctophobia

I was able to see many different types
of people while helping at my mother’s Psychiatric office;
apparently the receptionist, Evelyn, thought she needed a vacation.
I’ll admit it; I was nervous at first. I’m almost seventeen, but
compared to the age of most of her patients I’m just a
‘whipper-snapper’. Alright, only one patient referred to me as that
and he was eighty-nine years old. Imagine that, a man so old yet
deathly afraid of the dark. Most of my mother’s patients suffered
from the same phobia.

I never realized what my mother goes
through in the course of one day at the office. Take today for
instance; her patient line-up began with a middle-aged man who
tapes black garbage bags together and plasters them all over his
windows to protect himself from the light. Another patient wouldn’t
go anywhere at night because his fear of the dark was so severe.
Yet another wouldn’t even leave the house in the daylight because
she was afraid of cloudy days or even the shadows cast by big leafy
trees. The final patient was a young girl around eight who suffered
panic attacks whenever her mother tried to take her outside after
dark.