Dissolve (19 page)

“He is a guy, so he loves it. I feel the connection with him more than Mia’s with him, but I still don’t want to be that girl. Possessiveness is not an attractive quality in a girl. Besides, he mostly thinks about all the change. He is all in, but still he wonders if he can ever die given his new condition.”

“I wish I had that ability. I am stuck with dissolving which is worth nothing compared to super reflexes and mind reading. It sucks.”

“Awe Cora, your ability is actually awesome. You can escape from just about any situation. That is something no one else can do,” Nessa replied.

“Yeah, but I will be naked and very vulnerable. I am not modest, but I am no nudist.”

“Oh hush, that is enough self-pity. Besides, with those sexy bra and panties, you should enjoy it because they are hot. Do you want to know what Noah is thinking or what?” she grinned.

I look up, my blue eyes glittering with interest. “Spill Nessa, what does he think of me?”

“He is totally crushing on you. He also wants to see you naked more. In other words, he is a typical guy. But seriously, he likes you a lot. He is sad that you are still grieving and wishes there was something he could do to make you feel better.”

“Mm, I wonder similar things about him. My only problem is the guilt I feel and my thoughts turn back to Tom in an instant. I can’t help it. It just feels wrong, like I am disgracing Tom and his memory,” I admitted.

“Tom would want you to be happy. He wouldn’t want you to pine after him like this. He loved you very much and would tell you to stop this self-torture before it permanently damages you,” Nessa said.

“Point taken, I will work on that,” I conceded.

“Do you think we were chosen for this higher purpose by God? Or do you think it was pure dumb luck?” Nessa questioned curiously.

“Well, I think it is a little of both. On one hand, I am totally freaked about being a chosen one. On the other hand, I am grateful for the opportunity to make the best of a life most will be robbed of. I know that is a skewed point of view, but I wouldn’t want to be the rest of the population.”

“I am nervous about the car situation. I hope they get a van alright without any complications. I can’t believe I will actually miss that damn rusted purple mustang,” she admitted.

Just then, a sales associate walked towards us and instantly my hackles were raised. The blood in my veins turned to ice and I gave an internal shutter. She was holding an envelope and approached us with a smile.

“Excuse me, but a man left this for you. He said to give it to the two girls chatting at the table by the window,” she said politely before handing over the envelope and stepping away.

We waited until the associate had returned to her perch at the register before looking at the envelope. In plain ink,
Nessa and Cora
were scrolled across the front of it. I gingerly opened the seal and pulled out the folded over card stock. I read it to myself, knowing that Nessa could hear it without alerting the people in the café that way.

Nessa and Cora,

You are off to a good start. More answers wait in Spokane. I will clear the path to the truth for you.

Stephan

Nessa’s eyes met mine and I sighed in horror. This madman knew our every move. He was watching us like a tiger watches his prey. He was playing with us in a real game of cat and mouse. It felt like a thousand needles were penetrating my body as I began to panic. I could feel my molecules attempting to slide apart and I struggled to keep them in check.

Knowing what is about to happen, Nessa grabbed the note, grasped me and led me as quickly as possible to the bathroom. She locked us in the handicapped stall before letting go of me.

“Come on Cora, snap out of it. We are going to be alright, I promise. Don’t do this here,” she pleaded.

Distressed, I wrapped my arms around her for comfort and soon my body tightened and my molecules had settled.

“That was a close call. Thanks for getting me out of the café. If you hadn’t, I would have dissolved right then and there. I could feel it starting to happen.”

“I know, I could read it in your thoughts. It is clear Stephan is still following us and that he has an agenda that we just haven’t grasped yet. We have no choice but to follow his queues and hope we are doing the right thing.”

“I think that is the only option at this point. We just have to shake it off and tell the others when they get here. Did you see that symbol on the letter like the other ones?”

“I didn’t check. I was too panicked by the note. We can check now though,” I said.

We pulled the letter back out of the envelope and sure enough, there in the bottom left corner was an embossed blue recycle sign. The tiny words scripted below it, read
Ashes to Ashes life evolves.

Chapter 17:

By the time the others returned, Nessa and I were bubbling over with the urge to share the letter. We didn’t want to make a production in the middle of the bookstore again so we had to wait until we were alone.

“Did everything go smoothly?” I asked.

Mia held up the shiny new keys and smiled. “We got a van with lots of toys. There is even a TV in it.”

“It is pretty pimped out,” Shane added with a wicked grin.

“That is fantastic news, Cora and I are ready to get the heck out of here,” Nessa replied.

“Is everything okay?” Noah asked.

“We will tell you once we are in the van,” I said grimly.

That was all the encouragement they needed and we all turned out of the bookstore and into the muggy late summer morning. The sun had reached high noon and shone brightly as we walked towards the ruby red van. It was full sized and looked roomy. The van was also brand new. I suddenly didn’t miss the purple mustang anymore.

I jumped into the passenger seat and Noah took the driver’s seat. Nessa and Shane hopped into the two side seats while Mia stretched out in the far back seat.

“I can see the TV perfectly from here,” Mia gushed.

“Good, you can keep an eye on the news then,” Noah said.

“See, I told you I could be of help,” she added.

“Thanks, really for getting this van. I didn’t realize quite how crappy the car was until I got in here,” Nessa told Mia.

“It was my pleasure,” Mia said with a warm smile.

“So what happened at the book store?” Noah implored.

“We got another letter,” Nessa said as she passed it to him.

Noah read it aloud, going ghostly pale as he comprehended the meaning. Then he passed it around so everyone could see the symbol and its inscription.

“What the hell is he trying to do to us?” Shane asked.

“He is baiting us. We are in for one hell of a wild goose chase. The worst part is, that we don’t get answers unless we do as he requests. It looks like going to Washington was the right idea all along,” I mentioned.

“I am so sorry guys. I can’t believe my cousin is doing all of this. It makes me ashamed to call him my family,” Mia said, anxiety flowing through her voice.

“It’s not your fault Mia. No one here blames you for any of this. You were thrust into this situation as much as any of us were. If anything, it must be worse for you,” Shane replied grabbing her hand in consolation.

I saw Nessa silently bristle at the contact, but she didn’t say a word. I gave her an endearing smile and she gave me a soft one in return.

“Thanks, you guys are really great. I am glad I met all of you,” Mia said to the collective.

“So I guess we continue on as we planned. He is going to be on our tail no matter what. Let’s make the best of a bad situation and try to enjoy everyone’s good company on our way,” Noah said as he started the van up.

There was mumbled agreement and then we all fell silent. The gassed up van made its way off of 39
street and back onto I-70 towards Denver. Mia became engrossed in the new television and I looked back at her.

“Is there anything on the news?” I asked.

“Not really, just the stuff about Washington and Alaska. There haven’t been any new attacks. That got me thinking though. If these attacks happened out there and Stephan has been following you guys this whole time, then who eradicated the two states?”

This peaked Nessa’s interest and she swiveled around to look at Mia. “That is an excellent point. I hadn’t really thought about it. That means he isn’t working alone, and we are in even bigger trouble. How do we stop an unknown threat?”

“We play their game until we know enough to put a stop to it. We are immune but the less we know, the more helpless we are. Knowledge is power and we need it to solve this mystery,” Shane said.

“I wish we had a pillow. We should have gotten one at Target when we were there,” Mia grumbled, trying to get comfortable in the backseat.

“We at least have a blanket from your aunt’s house,” Shane said as he rummaged around in the new bags and pulled out an old patchwork quilt.

“Thanks,” she said reaching for it. She folded it up and used it as a pillow before getting comfortable and turning her attention back to the TV.

Nessa swiveled around and I could see the gleam in her eyes when she looked at Shane. Frustration coursed through me as I think about her nixing my suggestions to make an advance. If she doesn’t act, Mia will have him tied around her little finger with the damsel in distress act. As much as I want her to go for it, I know I will be here to pick up the pieces if Mia gets her way. I love Nessa for getting herself into all of this and being here with me.

Nessa must have heard my thoughts because she swiveled back around and shot me a raw look. “Don’t even think about it,” she said succinctly.

I resigned my thoughts and turned to Noah, before asking “what do you think he meant by clearing the path to truth for us?”

“Well, that is an interesting question. I am not sure, but I hope it isn’t more mass murdering. That would make the trip to Spokane even scarier than it already is.”

“I didn’t think about it before but we probably can’t just drive into Spokane. There will likely be National Guard as well as anti-terrorist task forces. They probably won’t let us anywhere near the state border,” I explained.

“That is true; maybe that is what he means by clearing the path for us to the truth. Maybe he has a way to let us in that we just don’t know of yet.”

“It is going to be very surreal driving through an empty state. I wonder if there will be cars all over the roads and ash littering the city still,” I said.

“This sort of reminds me of those post-apocalyptic movies,” Shane said from the back.

“Yeah, maybe like the zombie ones. Except the part with the blood and guts, or even dead bodies,” Nessa added.

After about an hour of speculation and conversation, we settled in. Mia began nodding off in the back. Nessa and Shane were playing the license plate game from the middle. Noah and I were silent except for the tender glances we shared. Nessa was right, he was into me and damn it, I liked him too. I didn’t want to betray Tom’s memory but I also didn’t want to be alone forever. I missed Tom’s company and comfort. It had been hard, even with Nessa to console me.

I turned and looked out the window at the passing sunflowers. Fields of yellow bursts flooded my vision and made me smile. The state of Kansas had been mostly flat so far, but the sunflowers were plentiful. It was a hot day and I could see the heat radiating off of the pavement in front of us. This made me realize how hot I was still and I turned the air on higher.

When I did, Noah placed his hand on mine and looked over at me. “Cora, I like you. I am prepared to wait as long as it takes; I just wanted you to know.”

When his hand touched mine, I felt an overwhelming intensity and I looked up into his chocolate eyes. I searched them, but he was nothing but genuine. “I like you too, I just need that time right now,” I told him with a crooked smile.

This seemed to satisfy him and he returned his attention to driving. I was thrilled but was trying not to let it show. There was major chemistry there and I couldn’t wait to discover it more. Just the feel of his hand on mine sent tiny jolts to my already fluttering heart.

I looked down at my hands and distressed over the state of my nails. A few of them were ragged and broken off. I picked at my cuticles and bit at my nails. I knew it was un-ladylike, but I just couldn’t help it. Clearly Noah had noticed my nervousness and he smiled brightly at me. I felt as if I was a naughty kid, caught doing something bad. My cheeks brightened and he laughed softly.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“No, my nails just look like hell. It is a nervous habit I guess.”

“I am just teasing you,” Noah said good-naturedly.

“We should probably stop in Denver for the night. It will be nightfall when we reach it,” I told him, effectively changing the subject.

“I agree, but since only you and Nessa are on the run, I say we get adjoining rooms in a posh five star hotel. It could be the last night for us to enjoy ourselves. We might as well make it memorable.”

“That could be fun. We could get some alcohol and play truth or dare like kids. I miss having fun. Ever since this started it has been nothing but a nightmare and it would be good to let loose even if just for a night.”