“The Catalyst” Series
Chapter 38: Experimental Therapy under the Gun
The small car careened as it struggled to keep on the rocky trail behind the zippier motorcycle. “Tell her how she can read emotions from the outer rim—Ouch—of people’s auras,” Cate suggested, straining to hold herself upright.
“Already covered. Right now I’m leaving it up… to the girls back in Carbondale to explain about that,” Alex informed her, as he bracing himself in place.
“How the hell can she concentrate—Ooph—on talking while she’s driving through this mess?”
“I guess she’s used to it,” Alex guessed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you there, but it’s not going to be easy,” Gail assured them. She’d volunteered to drive, having learned how to handle extreme driving in her training for the Police Department, a skill that certainly came in handy then. “It’ll be easier on the way back, but I’ve got to keep up or else we risk losing her.”
“Forget that shit,” Cate opined. “Let her get lost. You and Alex can talk to her wherever she goes, anyway.”
Neither one reacted to that last statement, but they both realized this was as much a test as anything else. Gini wanted to see how they’d handle the rough environment. As such, they didn’t want to risk whether she’d even respond if they lost her.
“I’ll say this, though, I’m sure glad I peed before we left,” Cate continued, as she tried to hold herself steady in the back seat beside Robin, who strangely didn’t seem to be as bothered by the chaotic drive as the rest were.
They’d turned off the highway a short distance from Billy D’s place, heading into the higher desert regions nearby. But that had taken them completely off the established roads. The only thing that made the rough ground they were on manageable was the scattered signs of old motorcycle tracks, but even those were obscured by the dust the motorcycle ahead of them was kicking up.
‘I’d have thought you’d have had a Harley,’ Alex told Gini, curious about her choice in bikes. ‘Wouldn’t a bigger bike be better in this terrain? After all, you’re certainly big enough to handle a bike that large.’
‘Ha, don’t insult me. A Harley is like a Cadillac, it turns like an aircraft carrier. It’s what you ride if you want to impress your friends. I’ve got enough strength for both me and the bike. What I’m interested in is the responsiveness in these little Japanese bikes.’
‘Yeah, but aren’t they more likely to clog and fail from the elements?’
‘Ah, so the little one isn’t so sheltered after all,’ Gini responded, not sounding like she was being thrown around like they were. Despite speaking telepathically, Alex wasn’t sure his ‘voice’ was coming across quite as well. ‘I take it you didn’t get a good look at my bike. It’s a specially constructed model, made for high speed back country racing. It’s designed to stand up to abuse, and it’s got amazing shocks. But you’re right, I spend hours after every trip stripping and cleaning all my parts. The dust gets into everything, and I can’t afford to have my machine fail on me.’
‘Well, speaking of dust getting into everything, at least you’re in the lead. You’re kicking up enough grit that we can’t see a thing, and I’m not quite as good at stripping third hand cars. You may have to drive us out so we can call Triple A.’
‘The hell with that,’ Gini responded with a laugh. ‘There’s no way Triple A could ever get back here.’
Alex just groaned as the right tire went airborne momentarily, only to crash back to the earth a moment later, knocking them around that much harder. He hoped his own shocks survived this trip. He figured if they didn’t, they might be able to make it out without them, but it would mean at least another several days stuck out here in the desert.
‘Is it much farther? Mind you, I’m only asking because I haven’t been able to see the hills for a long time because of the dust.’
‘No, it isn’t much farther. I picked this spot because it was relatively easy to reach,’ Gini responded. Alex almost cursed at that response, but managed to bite his tongue before he did, even though that wasn’t his plan as much as it was his being thrown against the side of the car once again.
They managed to see a dim red glow appearing in the dust ahead of them, so Gail slowly applied the brakes. Seeing Gini sitting ahead of them, Gail drove around to park beside her so they wouldn’t block her in, as if you could actually do so in the middle of the open desert.
Everyone took a few moments to settle themselves before they attempted to climb out of the car, and when they did, they found the doors hard to open because of the jostling the old car had undergone. When they climbed out, Gini was wordlessly smiling at their discomfort, but Gail didn’t seem any less smug.
“You did well for yourself, Gail. I’m not sure you’d survive out here for long, but you managed to do yourself justice.”
“I was never trained to live like a flea clinging to the back of an ass,” Gail shot back. “Put me in the inner-city and I can go toe to toe with the best of them. But I still prefer flushing toilets and a comfortable bed to hold my girlfriend at night after I’m finished.”
“There is that,” Gini conceded. “I don’t have that much to worry about. If I did, I’d have lost him or her a long, long time ago,” she admitted resignedly.
“This is where you live?” Cate asked, glancing around in disbelief. All there was, nestled against the face of a cliff, was a single small tent, a couple cases wedged in position, and what looked like a folding shovel marking a latrine off to one side. Cate felt herself shivering as she considered living like this for any period of time. She’d thought she’d been ‘roughing it’ traveling across country by car for the past several weeks.
“This is it. And actually, I consider this more luxury than I really need. I’d be just as happy sleeping on the ground, lodged against the rocks.”
“Ah, you’ve got a nice clean stream running beside you coming from the hill above us,” Robin observed, taking in what the rest of them missed. “You’re also sheltered from the afternoon sun, and this dip just before the cliff wall means you don’t have to worry about the wind.”
“Ah, a woman after my own heart,” Gini said with clear admiration in her voice. “You get what I’m doing here.”
“Aye, I can see it. But I choose to endure this only for short periods, as a balance against the distractions of everyday life. I’m not sure I understand your wanting to live like this all the time.”
“Yeah, well, I figure if I’m going to stay here much longer I’ll probably try to put up a little cabin, just so it’ll be more secure in a storm. Though I’ll probably just use it as a home base to store my supplies if I do, as I like to wander around the countryside.”
“Have you observed many animals nearby?” Robin asked.
“Yeah, how do you think I survive out here so long?” Gini responded with a question of her own. Robin looked horrified.
“You do realize there’s only a limited amount of livestock around here, that if you kill too many animals, you won’t be able to fend for yourself anymore. This is a very delicate ecosystem.”
“Yeah, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m careful, and I make sure I spread out my kills when I do take something,” Gini said, getting a little defensive at someone calling her survival skills into question.
“So do you have someplace we can work?” Alex asked. “We’ll have to work out how we’ll do this. I don’t know whether it will be easier to work sitting up or lying down, but I suspect it’ll take a while, so I’d figure on resting.”
Gail simply shook her head at this. She’d been with Alex when he’d treated the people at the Brooke center, and he hadn’t been able to do anything for the mTBI patients. Yeah, they’d been impressed, but he’d told them it was only a temporary fix, that the energy applied wasn’t fixing anything, just clearing their minds temporarily, making them operate more efficiently, but that it wouldn’t last very long. While he may be able to make her feel more in control of her life, the effects would be short term only, and then she’d be back in the same position. That seemed crueler to inflict on someone than simply letting them deal with their problems themselves. However, she knew better than to question Alex’s approach, especially in front of his newest followers.
“The tent’s the best bet,” Gini suggested. “If you have any blankets or jackets you’ll probably need them, as the tent only has the basics in it.”
“Gail, see if you can find the blanket in the back. I’ll bring in the cooler with Alex’s food,” Cate said as Alex followed Gini to the smallish tent.
“So, what kind of a name is ‘Gini’?” he asked. “Short for Virginia, or something?”
“Or something,” Gini answered. “Actually it’s short for Genevieve, which I got from my Italian grandfather. I was never that fond of the name, so I simply shortened it. It’s unique, it’s short, and it’s easy to call out if you’re in trouble and having difficulty speaking, so it’s ideal for the kinds of things that I do,” she said as she unzipped the tent and climbed in. Alex climbed in after her.
The inside of the test was as sparse as the outside, but it was also as carefully laid out. There were supplies around the edges, where they could be quickly accessed, but there were no personal effects aside from a dream catcher hanging from the ceiling, another large feather likewise suspended, and a dangling claw of some kind. He did notice a small photo album among other books under the sleeping bag, which he assumed contained her few personal photos. At least she had a good collection of reading material.
“So what are you planning on doing?” she asked Alex guardedly as Cate came in, already making the little tent more crowded than was comfortable. Cate dragged her cooler in with her. “I don’t think I need any more ‘talk therapy’, and the doctors said they couldn’t do anything for me medically.”
“No, I’m going to take a different approach. While I was in San Antonio with Caity we discussed mTBI cases, which is what I suspect you have, and she laid out some ideas that I’d like to try. But first I’d just like to give your brain a simple little energy bath. It won’t hurt, and it should allow you to think more clearly, which should help.”
“Well, if it won’t do any damage, OK. But if you try to fuck with my head you won’t like how it ends,” she warned him. “But yeah, TBI is what they classified my injuries as, though they said it was probably more psychological than from any real combat injuries.”
“OK, I’ve been warned. I don’t think the difference between head injuries and ‘battle fatigue’ will affect how I plan to treat it. Now just sit and relax,” Alex said, as he moved behind her and put his hands against the sides of her head.
“Gail, I think you’re needed in here,” Cate called out. She recognized there wasn’t room for them all, so she climbed back out, heading for the car where she was planning on catching some Z’s.
“I think she’s setting up a peripheral guard,” Robin teased. “I’ll head in. I got a quick overview on what to look for, and I can talk to Allison and Liv, so they’ll cover anything that I don’t know yet. Don’t worry about us.”
“Just make sure to keep an eye on Alex. If he tries too much, he’s likely to get weak fast, and you’ll need to have food ready, otherwise he’ll be useless for the next several hours,” Cate warned as she headed for the car, though she stopped to admire Gini’s motorcycle before she did. It was indeed one sexy little vehicle, even as covered in dust as it was.
Robin scampered quickly into the open tent, making sure to zip the opening closed to keep the drifting dust out. She observed what Alex had already started on, nodding that he seemed to be applying a good overall flow as she got her water bottles out. She tossed him some of her beef jerky, thinking it would serve him better than eating a candy bar after he got in trouble.
Gini was surprised that Alex stopped whatever he was doing almost immediately, and frankly, she didn’t think he’d actually done anything. He hadn’t even touched her, and he hadn’t been there long enough to have done anything. For as powerful as she could both see and feel him to be, she wondered if he was just humoring her.
“How do you feel?” he asked as he sat down in front of her again, just enough to the side so that Robin could get a clear view of her.
Gini cocked her head considering his question. She sat still for a second and then shook her head a little, as if unsure of her response.
“Shit, what the fuck did you do to me?” she asked, turning to regard him, only having to look away once again. “My head is clearer than it’s been in a long time. I feel like I did when I was a kid back in Boot Camp.”
“It’s temporary, but it should last long enough for you to help with your own treatment. I need you to be at your best. Now, this is where it gets interesting, and where it’s going to take a long time. I’m going to ask you to simply run through your memories and think about a whole variety of different things. What I’m looking for are either positive or negative memories. But I’m especially interested when you hit anything that brings up memories of the war. So anything that causes a panic response, or that makes you think you’re back in Afghanistan, let me know immediately, OK?” Gini simply nodded so he continued.
“When you have a positive thought, just hold up your index finger. It doesn’t matter when it occurs, or what you’re thinking. If we’re asleep, just kick me and I’ll look to see what you’re trying to tell me. Don’t bother to tell me what you’re thinking, as the act of trying to put it into words might cause your brain to shift focus.”
“You’re going to be here overnight?” she asked guardedly.
“Oh, yes. I suspect we may be here for quite a few days. If you don’t have enough supplies for us, we may have to let Gail take your bike to get more, but to do that you’ll have to promise not to kill me until she gets back, OK?” Alex teased.
She grinned, his off-beat sense of humor appealing to her. This was the kind of thing they’d teased each other with in the Army.
“Now, if you have a negative thought, hold up your second finger, and if you have a combat related memory, especially a negative memory which conjures up a fight or flight response, hold your whole palm open. Those are going to be our bread and butter. That’s what I’m here to try to cope with.”
“This doesn’t sound like any medically approved treatment that I’ve ever heard of,” Gini warily told him.
“Actually, it was suggested to me by Caity, and she claimed it was based on the latest research and has been borne out by experience, but that it’s very hard to get without specialized treatment.”
“Oh, sure, I’ve had doctors ask me to visualize things before, but usually they’d describe something then ask me how I felt about it, which didn’t seem to do much besides entertain the shrink. Somehow I don’t think you’re doing the same thing.”
“Oh, I’m not,” Alex responded, before he turned to Robin. “Say, this jerky is actually fairly good. It’s tough, but it’s got a unique taste. What is it?”
“It’s bear meat. Try this one, it’s snake. You might find it more palatable, as it’s tenderer than the bear. And don’t forget to keep drinking. It’s easy to dehydrate out here in the desert, even if you don’t think you’re exposed,” she instructed.
Gini wordless raised her index figure, so Alex leaned over and placed his hand near her head for a second.
“Hey, that’s nice. I’ll have to try to have more of those.”
“That’s the whole idea,” Alex told her.
“So what happens when I have a negative thought? You smack me upside the head?”
“Hey, I could never hit someone as pretty as you, ‘cause if I did you’d likely beat the crap out of me. No, I’ll apply a similar approach.”
Curious, Gini raised her second finger.
“Is that real, or are you testing me?” Alex asked. Before she could respond Robin did.
“It looks like it’s pure curiosity. I don’t know how to read individual thoughts, but it doesn’t look like she’s being straightforward.”
“Damn, human lie detectors,” Gini said, smiling.
“There’s no way to use your ability to read minds, but you can use them to figure out what someone’s underlying motives are, just like you did,” Alex told her. “You’re learning quite well.”
“Well, don’t congratulate me too soon. It was Alison that told me what it meant.”
“Still, you’re getting the hang of this pretty quickly. Tell Alison hi for me, will you,” he replied with a smile of his own.
“She says ‘hi’, and that she’s glad that someone is including her in your newest experiment.”
Alex simply replied by sticking his tongue out at her, but just then Gini held up her second finger again. This time, instead of questioning her, Alex held his hand near her head, where she couldn’t see it, after having spoken briefly to Robin telepathically.
“Whoa? That’s not what I was expecting. What the hell did you do to me? It feels like I just lost a dozen IQ points,” Gini complained.
“Just wait until you have a flashback,” Alex warned her as he settled back, reaching for the nearby water bottle. This was going to be a long process. Since it had never been tried before, he had no idea how long it would take, or even whether it would work or not, but it was worth trying, and he knew that Caity and Lists would be anxious to hear how well it worked, and it was the only way he could think of improving Gini’s life. He just couldn’t bear the idea of her living the rest of her life in isolation, hiding from the rest of humanity.
“OW!”
Robin sat upright, not knowing what was happening. She’d learned over the years to sleep lightly, rousing at the most subtle of environmental changes, but she hadn’t been awakened before Alex had cried out. As she regarded him, he was already reaching up to Gini’s head.
‘Are you sure you should be doing that?’ Robin asked, worried about what he appeared to be doing.
‘No, I’m not sure about what I’m doing, but it’s the only way I can see to achieve what I need to do. But make sure you watch me. I need to do this in a very controlled manner so I don’t inflict any damage. Let me know if I drain too much from any one area, and watch the surrounding tissue. We don’t need any collateral damage here.’
That response, while hardly comforting, reassured her. Gini never said anything, but Robin could see the wild look she’d had in her eyes was quickly fading, and now she looked much calmer.
“Thanks. I was just about to slit your throat when I remember your finger symbol. Then I had to make sure you were awake, so to make sure you weren’t really an Al Qaeda member, I kicked you a little harder than I really needed to.”
“While I can understand the sentiment, next time, don’t try to incapacitate me quite so much. I’m hardly able to hold my hand up to do the procedure.”
“Hey, don’t whine. You only need to hold it up for a second. If you really were an insurgent, a simple kick like that wouldn’t likely have stopped you, and I’d have given you enough time to either shoot me or to set off an explosive. I figure I must be doing better already.”
“Well, I can see why your Army buddies stopped sleeping with you, then,” Alex responded. “It’s hardly the ideal way to cap a romantic interlude.”
“OK, it seems to have worked. My brain feels like cotton candy, but I’m not longer feeling panicky. Can I go back to sleep now?” Gini asked.
“No, this is the first flashback we’ve had when you were ready to strike out. Think about associated memories, especially when this has happened in the past, and see if it triggers anything.”
So it was a while before any of them fell asleep again. Cate never noticed a thing, softly snoring in the back seat of the car, but Gail woke up, noticing the sudden glow of anger coming from the tent before it faded. It took all her self control to keep from reacting instinctively, but she relied on her trust of Alex to overcome her fear of what Gini might be capable of. She was happy when the intense glow quickly faded, first turning into a duller shade of the same color, and then fading away entirely. He must be doing something right in there, she told herself before she finally settled down again. She just wished that someone had suggested she bring her own sleeping bag.
She reminded herself she could have slept in the front seat of the car, but the hard ground was easier to deal with than Cate’s snore. She didn’t know how Alex and the others put up with it, but then she figured she wasn’t normally like that. It was probably just her reaction to all the dust in the air.
‘Hey, girl, are you awake yet?’
‘Whoa? Oh, yeah, I guess so. I’m guessing this is Alex?’
‘Yeah, who else would it be?’
‘Oh, I can think of any number of people right off the bat. Gail, Allison, Liv, Shani, but not Cate or Becky.’
‘OK, point taken, but I thought you’d have recognized my telepathic voice, at least?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I did, but I was just so surprised I didn’t have time to think my response all the way through. But, since you asked, yeah I’m up, but I’m not used to people speaking in my head when I’m out for my morning run.’
‘You always run before dawn?’ Alex asked.
‘It’s the best time, especially if you don’t want to fight with several hundred competing soldiers,’ Caity answered.
‘Hey, I have some interesting news for you. I’ve met an old friend of yours, and I’ve been trying some interesting things with her.’
‘Alex, I told you, I’m waiting until I meet the man I’m going to marry, so I don’t need you describing your sexual shenanigans while supposedly boosting people,’ she responded.
‘No, no, it’s nothing like that. It’s Gini, Genevieve Connolly. We ran across her here in the middle of the desert in northern Arizona.’
‘Really?’ Caity asked, slowing down her pace as she considered what that meant. ‘I was worried about whatever happened to her. She disappeared just about the time you showed up. She simply didn’t show up for her treatment, and no one’s ever heard from her again. Is she OK?’
‘She’s fine. It turns out she’s another Seer like you. When she felt me approaching San Antonio, she took off, but I’ll let her explain it to you personally when she’s ready to talk about it. Right now I wanted to let you know what I’m trying with her.’
‘And it doesn’t involving boosting anyone?’ Caity asked again, just to be sure. She’d had enough trouble not giving up on her principles when he’d been in town. She really didn’t need him putting ideas in her head now that he was no longer there.
‘No. I’m treating her. I’m trying what you suggested. Giving specific areas of her brain an immediate treatment based upon what she’s thinking about and how she’s responding to it.’
‘Really? That sounds intriguing. You’ll have to tell me about it in detail, but before you do, how’s it working out?’
‘So far so good. She seems to be making steady progress. I’m not sure we’re quite out of the woods yet, but she seems more even tempered than she was, and she’s reaching out to those around her more already.’
‘Wow, that IS amazing. Last I saw her, she was a real mess. She was about ready to give up on humanity. I didn’t think it would be long until she did herself in. When she disappeared I had base security search her place. They didn’t find anything, though. She’d packed everything up and moved out overnight.’
‘Yeah, she told me all about that. I just wanted to let you know so you could tell Lists what we’re up to. Anyway, I’ve got to go. She just had another negative response, so I’ve got to treat it. After that we’re going to have an early morning breakfast watching the sun rise over a beautiful Arizona mountainscape. It’s really beautiful. I’ll talk to you later.” And with that he was gone as suddenly as he’d appeared in her mind.
“So how’d it go last night?” Cate asked between yawns, scratching her ass as she approached the camp fire.
Gail just rolled her eyes. “You’ve been spending too long with your brother. You’re losing all your sex appeal.”
“Ha, I never had any. Remember, I’ve always been more interested in studying than flirting. And since we both act the same, he can’t complain when I do the same things he does.”
“Hey, I’ve always said being sexy is over rated,” Gini said. “I learned a long time ago, the best way to attract men’s attention is to casually mention you’ve been out shooting. As soon as they hear that, they’ll flock to you like flies to shit.”
“Really?” Cate asked, surprised to learn something about human interaction she hadn’t read first in a book.
“Yeah, guys are so surprised to find a woman interested in something that they’re interested in, they go nuts. After that, all you need to do is mention you like bikes, comment on the latest football scores and you’re in like Flynn.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Alex said.
“Alex, it’s going to take more than that to keep some guy from wanting to shoot you,” Gail warned him, which made him smile in response.
“So you never answered my question. How’d it go last night?”
“Actually, as much as I was dreading getting involved with this, and as little success as the doctors had, it went really well,” Gini responded. “My mind is clear, I’m feeling much more social, and I don’t mind a bunch of strangers eating all my food.”
“You’ve also been glaring at me much less today, and your mouth isn’t quite as sharp either,” Gail observed. “But in case you’re interested, the bit about guns works with women as well. Maybe not as well, but I don’t think it’s so much a shared interest as it is just a unique situation.”
“You got many bullets on you? Maybe we could try some target practice?” Gini offered as an attempt to mend fences with Gail.
“You got a target?” Gail asked.
“Sure, the rock over there is 50 feet, the cactus behind it is close to 25 yards, fairly standard distances.”
“You’ve got all the amenities here, don’t you?” Gail teased.
“Speaking of amenities, how do you use the commode without flashing your butt at everyone?” Cate asked.
“You make sure you wake up before everyone else,” Robin answered simply.
“Hey, half of us have seen your ass often enough, and while I doubt the new girls will be overly interested, I doubt they’ll be shocked by it,” Gail noted.
“What about you, Alex? You ever tried shooting a pistol?” Gini asked.
“Nope. Never really saw a need. I was never a threat to anyone before, and now I’ve got Gail to do all my shooting for me.”
“Aren’t you interested in what it’s like? Don’t you have the typical guy’s competitive drive?”
“Alex, competitive?” Cate scoffed. “He was on the gymnastics team but never really competed. He’s almost as smart as I am, but he doesn’t compete on his grades, although you wouldn’t know it for how he’s been acting lately,” she said as an aside to Gail, who nodded in acknowledgment.
“Hey,” he complained. He paused a moment before adding a specific objection, then meekly added, “I like competition, as long as it’s something interesting.”
“Uh, are you sure it’s wise to… uh…” Cate said, unable to figure out how to delicately finish the sentence without insulting the woman with the gun and the unsteady temper.
“Hey, I’m perfectly capable of learning to shoot a gun,” Alex responded, assuming Cate’s objections were based on his lack of physical coordination.
“Sure, come stand over here,” Gini said, leaving the cactus leaves she was grilling before she mixed in the eggs she’d just bought at Billy D’s. “I’ll get you a smaller sized pistol.” She started to walk off when Alex mistakenly stepped on a branch that had fallen off the nearby firewood pile. Gini spun around instantly, drawing a pistol Alex hadn’t even been aware she’d been carrying and pointed it right at his chest. Alex stepped back a half step in fright, but when she didn’t fire he looked at her face, and saw her eyes were flicking back and forth, as if she was searching for a hidden combatant. No longer thinking of himself, Alex calmly walked up to her.
“Alex, it’s not safe approaching someone experiencing a….” Gail tried to warn him, but gave it up after she saw he wasn’t paying any attention.
Alex was carefully watching Gini’s reaction as he approached her. Her eyes continued to switch back and forth, looking for whatever had triggered her reaction, but her gun never left his chest. When he got close to her, he reached up and placed his hands on either side of her head. She flinched back, raising the gun higher, pointing it at his face, but she’d pulled her hands back, so her arms were now crooked. Alex held his hands there for only a moment and then backed away. She didn’t lower her gun, but she was no longer aiming it directly at him. She shook her head then tried to look at him again.
“Thanks. I’m sorry, I…,” she said before Alex approached her again, despite the fact she was still holding the gun unintentionally pointing at his head. He reached up again, this time with only one hand, just holding it before her forehead before pulling back again.
“Wow, it’s surprising that works so well. I’d thought that approach would have taken much longer to work,” Robin said.
“Me too. Frankly, it shouldn’t have,” Cate commented.
“How do you feel? Do you feel… stable?” Gail asked. No one had noticed, but she quietly placed her own pistol she’d pulled when Gini had drawn hers, back into its hidden holster behind her back. She’d been afraid to point it at her, for fear the sight of another gun might make her lose it altogether.
“Yeah, when I heard the… gunshot, I… sort of freaked out. I thought I was back overseas. I saw Alex, glowing like the sun, which fit in with my image of the desert over there, but I couldn’t figure out where the threat was coming from, so I kept my gun pointing in the direction of the glare, assuming whoever was threatening me was hidden by the sun. If anything unexpected had happened, I might have….” She let her words trail off, afraid to say what she’d come so close to doing.
“Do you really think it’s safe putting yourself in this position when so many people….” Cate stopped speaking when Alex glared at her.
“She needs this, and she won’t feel secure in herself until we complete this treatment,” Alex insisted.
“How about if we, uh, put all the guns down for the moment,” Gail suggested. “After all, if anyone attacks us, I’ve got us covered.”
“Uh, yeah, that makes sense,” Gini responded, carefully placing the gun on the ground and stepping away from it, still nervous about what she’d almost done.
Robin walked up from the far side, reaching down and taking the gun, taking it with her as she returned to the fire, not willing to take the risk of putting it back in Gini’s tent.
“I’m really sorry, Alex,” Gini said, rubbing her arms to hide the fact her hands were shaking. “It’s not like I don’t know something is wrong when it happens. I know it doesn’t make sense. That’s why I was so skittish. I was trying to deal with a life or death situation while reminding myself it’s probably not real. But I was thrown off by my inability to see there was no threat.”
“Hey, don’t worry. It’s part of the process. I expected a few setbacks, but I needed to be here for the actual flashbacks as well as the minor unpleasant memories. Now let’s see about getting that breakfast started.”
Everyone jumped when someone knocked on the door. They’d been sitting around, trying to keep themselves entertained while worrying about Alex and the others. They’d been gone for quite some time, and they had no idea what had been happening. He’d told Patricia they were going to be a ‘couple of days’, but that was all they knew. Sammy got up to answer the door, since, as the only guy, they felt more secure that way.
He opened the door and saw another Native American guy, much younger this time.
“Excuse me, Billy D suggested you might know where Robin is? I came to give her a lift back home.”
“Uh, we haven’t heard from her for a while, we’re…,” Sammy said before finally sighing and turning around. “Patty?”
“I’ll talk to him,” she said simply. With that Sammy turned back to their new guest.
“Want to come in? We’ve been waiting for them, and it’s probably more comfortable in here than it is outside.”
Before the younger man could respond, Patricia spoke up. “He says they’re on their—”
“Hey, is that a motorcycle I hear?” Jordan asked, leaning forward. Chelsea got up and moved to the front of the bus where she could see out the window, but before she could see anything a small dusty motorcycle with two riders pulled up.
“Looking for someone?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, where the hell have you been?” Erica demanded, sounding upset as everyone surged to the door. Their new guest backed up, letting them all cluster around Alex and Gini as they got off her motorcycle and brushed themselves off.
“Is Robin with you?” the new guy asked.
“She’s on her way, we left them behind ‘cause they weren’t keen to drive as fast as we were,” Gini answered as she took her helmet off.
“Oh,” he answered simply, stepping away to observe the others and patiently wait.
“Do Gail and Cate know you’re riding that thing?” Patricia asked, arching her eyebrow.
“Nah, we kind of left them in the dust,” Alex confessed.
“We didn’t think they’d appreciate it, so we didn’t exactly stop to ask how they felt about it,” Gini added.
“Well you seem to be in a better mood,” Patricia observed, watching Gini smiling at everyone.
“Hey, blame your friend with his ‘magic hands’,” she answered.
“So is that what took you so long?” Mac asked, actually curious what they’d been up to.
“Nah, it was nothing like that. I didn’t fool around with or boost anyone. This was all therapy,” Alex informed them.
“Well, you do realize that we’re way behin—”
“That’s OK, Erica, I contacted everyone and told them he was delayed,” Patricia informed her before she could say any more.
“What are we late for? I thought we had several unscheduled days until the concert in Vegas on Friday and Saturday?” Alex asked.
“We, uh…, say, did you talk to Cate about what her, uh, plans for the next several days are?” Erica asked, nervously shuffling her feet, afraid to meet his eyes.
“No, she didn’t mention anything. What’s up?”
“Uh, nothing. She’d mentioned something, but I guess it can wait,” she replied.
Alex simply shrugged, handing Gini her spare helmet back. “By the way, Gini, if you were up here hiding away from everyone, why do you keep spare helmets around?”
“Oh, that’s easy. Even if I don’t trust myself around people, I’m not likely to turn away a friend, a fellow vet, or someone in distress. Think of it as my being a solider, I’m always prepared for any circumstance. While I don’t plan on certain things, I know I need to keep certain things available in case they’re necessary.”
“Good enough,” Alex conceded. “And thanks for the ride. It was fun. I doubt Gail will let me try that again, but it was a blast.”
“You’re probably right about that,” she agreed. “I get the distinct impression she doesn’t trust me, but I know what I’m doing behind a bike. I don’t take chances. Even if I had a flashback, which is unlikely, I’d put the bike down carefully before I tried to do anything else.”
“You really don’t have to explain,” Alex told her. “I understand. Don’t worry about Gail. While she doesn’t trust you, I do, and she’ll follow my lead.”
“So, to follow up on my initial question, how are you doing, Gini?” Patricia asked her again.
“Oh, I’m much better, as you can tell from my cheerful disposition,” she replied smiling. “I was terrified of people before, never sure when I’d go off on someone, but Alex has really helped settle my mind.”
“We aren’t finished yet,” Alex added, “so she’ll be traveling with us for a while. I need access to her so I can react to whatever she experiences. I need to be there whenever she has a flashback. I’ve almost got this beat, but the last 5% is always the most difficult.”
“Uh, how long is she going to be with us, then?” Erica asked, glancing at her nervously.
“Yeah, remember, we’re already pretty crowded as it is between all of you, our instruments and all of Cate’s damn mice,” Sammy reminded him.
Just then Alex’s little car pulled into the garage’s parking lot, skidding to a stop beside them, trailing dirt all around it. It looked a little worse for wear.
“I think we’re going to be disturbed in a minute, but I’ll need you, Sammy and Gini to help me figure out how to hook Gini’s bike to the back of the van.”
“ALEX!” Gail shouted, as she climbed out of the car and angrily slammed the door shut, sending up another cloud of fine sand. “What the fuck do you think—”
“He’s fine,” Gini said, getting between Gail and Alex, trying to protect him from anything that might threaten him. “I know you don’t trust me, but I take my responsibilities serious.”
“Down girl,” Alex calmly told her in a quiet voice. She glanced back to ensure he was serious, then quickly backed off, giving Alex room to do whatever he wanted. “I needed to demonstrate to Gini that I trust her. It was necessary, and an important part of my ‘therapy’.”
That simple explanation took the wind out of Gail’s anger, she wasn’t sure how to respond, but simply shut up and backed down.
“That might be enough for her, but I’m not about to back off,” Cate insisted, marching up between him and Gail. Gini started to get between them, but with another glance at Alex backed off again. “Do you realize what you could have done if you’d gotten into an accident? What it would have meant to your mission, to all those people depending on you to find them? What it would have meant to me?” she asked as she broke down in tears, clutching him tightly to her.
Alex just stood there, calmly holding her, letting her cry herself out. He knew there wasn’t anything he could say to solve this. She had to get this out of her system. It wasn’t her fear of his getting into an accident, it was her fear of his upcoming death, and this was just another trigger point. He knew the talk about Shani the mouse had started it, and his running off had set it off. So he just held her. They’d talk about it when she was ready.