Girl Possessed (Book 1 of The Girl Trilogy) (5 page)

As we drove further south, out of Los
Angeles County and beyond, the strangest thing happened. I started
hearing music in my mind. The sounds were faint, but utterly
beautiful.

As far as I could remember, I had
never been this far south before. My mother always insisted I stay
in the city.

She was still voicing her hatred for
the serpent people when I interrupted her. “Can you guys hear
that?” My voice was hesitant.

My mother seemed annoyed. “Hear what?”
She looked around.

“
It sounds like music is
playing.” I glanced at Shaul. The glint in his eyes sparkled, but
his expression was mysterious and indiscernible as he
drove.

Mom shook her head. Her intensity
seemed to calm. I suppose she had vented enough about the evil
invaders whom at present we were powerless over.

Then, to my embarrassment, she said,
“Cordellia is a gifted singer.” Her face lit up as she looked at
Shaul.

He smiled as if she had told him a
silly joke. “Really?”

“
Oh, yes. She sings like an
angel.”

He hissed, “Get out.” Then he looked
at me daringly. “Sing something, Cordellia.”

I blushed, frustrated that my mother
had put me on the spot. “I’m not going to sing!” I
complained.

“
Please, Cordellia.” My
mother nudged me. “Sing my favorite song.”

“
Yes, Cordellia, sing it.
Make us happy.” He looked at me through his thick dark
lashes.

His mocking expression humored me and
I figured, why not? I’ll show him. I might be hunchbacked and
skinny with dry, flaky skin, but one thing I had going for me was
that I could sing like an angel.

I began singing my mother’s favorite
song which was in Hebrew, the language of angels and God as she
told me in the past. It was a Psalm from the bible. Though I hadn’t
had any voice lessons or any formal training in music, I had been
told my voice could reach the stars and radiate on high. That made
me laugh, but normal people actually said things like that after I
sang to them. In one sense, it was kind of true in a way because as
I sang, my mind felt like it was entering, secret places or maybe
even other realms and I felt free as a bird, soaring through the
notes upwards toward heaven.

It wasn’t a problem that I heard the
unexplainable faint sounds of music in my mind this early, dark
morning because I was able to incorporate the background into my
vocals. The rhythm of the lute brought passion to my voice as I
sang about God and spiritual concepts that I didn’t even
understand.

But, as I sang, and the more connected
I became, I noticed Shaul’s increasing discomfort. He grabbed the
steering wheel tightly and his nostrils began to flare. It looked
like he was in an agonizing pain that increased in intensity with
each lyric. A few more notes into the song, his face started
turning red and he shouted, “Stop! Please, Cordellia,
stop!”

I stopped singing at once, feeling
embarrassed. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just pretend to
like the song. He pissed me off. Was he trying to ruin the one
thing I loved?

I could tell my mother was a little
taken aback by his outburst, but she didn’t say anything. After
all, we didn’t really know him and we were in a vulnerable
situation.

That’s when the seriousness of our
actual circumstances started sinking in. We were in a bad place.
Now that we had lost our cave on the island, we really had nowhere
to go. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go to Seneca Mountains because
I didn’t really want to be around Shaul anymore. I sensed that Mom
didn’t have any substantial plans for us.

My stomach started knotting up and I
just stared straight ahead watching the night, feeling the fright
penetrate my essence.

6

“
I hear the music too.”
Shaul tensed. He tightened his lips, gazing at me through narrowed
eyes as he drove.

“
Really?” I turned to him
looking past my mother.

His stare remained fixed on my
face.

My mother rolled her eyes. “I can’t
hear anything, but the air whizzing past us.

“
Is the song gradually
intensifying in your mind as we head further south?”

He turned away, clenching his teeth
together in vicious agitation. Grasping the steering wheel tighter,
he attempted to calm himself.

Then, suddenly, he turned off the
freeway, directing the speed wave over the side rail, over an
abandoned food house. He accelerated, lifting over a long stretch
of trees, and spun the auto in a three-sixty where he parked in
front of an old Victorian home in a residential
neighborhood.

“
Wait here,” he mumbled.
“I’ll be right back.” He rushed out of the car, locking us in, and
jogged to the back of the house.

My mother shook her head, her eyes
wide. “What’s he doing?”

“
I have no idea.” I twisted
a strand of my long black hair around my fingers to calm
myself.

“
What’s all that about
hearing music in your heads?” she asked as she tried to unlock the
door unsuccessfully.

“
I don’t know, but at least
I’m not the only one hearing it. Looks like you need your hearing
checked, Mom,” I snorted. “Maybe the CDV is on and you’re tone
deaf.” I knew that wasn’t true and that the enchanting sounds I
heard were in my mind, but I enjoyed teasing her.

“
I just can’t figure out
what Shaul’s problem is,” I continued.

“
He seems a bit
unstable.”

“
I’d say so.” But, as
unusual as Shaul was, he utterly fascinated me. “Any ideas where we
should move to?”

She looked burdened. “I haven’t
figured it out yet. We don’t have any of our supplies anymore, so
it’s going to be difficult to set up in the wilderness.”

“
We don’t even have coats
or sleeping bags for the nights.”

My mother nodded. “No tent, no
clothes, no knives.”

“
I think we should stick
with Shaul for awhile and see what the community in Seneca
Mountains is all about. If we don’t like it there, we can always
leave.”

My mother sighed. “Honestly, I don’t
see any other choice, but I’ll think of something—hopefully.” She
had a pessimistic expression on her face when she looked up.
“Please God—help us.”

Shaul rushed back to the car carrying
two large bags. He had a mischievous grin on his face as he opened
the passenger door. “Got some supplies for you both.”

When I glanced over at Mom, I saw her
eyes were lit with joy. “What kind of stuff do you have
there?”

“
Clothes, coats, sleeping
bags, tents, knives, toiletries, etc.”

“
How did you get all this?”
I asked somewhat skeptical.

He chuckled blackly. “I have friends
in high places.”

“
What’s that
mean?”

“
For me to know and you to
find out.”

I couldn’t help but laugh—it just
sounded so childish what he said. But, I have to admit—I was more
than curious.

“
I’ll just put the bags in
the trunk and we’ll be off and flying.” His smile was
mocking.

As we continued onward with the speed
wave back on the freeway, the music in my mind continued. It really
was entrancing and I felt it was drawing me somewhere as if there
was something in the distance that beckoned me. We were moving in
the right direction. I sensed that.

Shaul still looked uncomfortable as he
drove, but he didn’t say anything. His face seemed tight and his
jaw was clenched. I noticed his fingers tapping against the
steering wheel to the rhythm of the song that was playing in my
mind.

I wondered why the music bothered him.
To me the songs were the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard.
But, the notes connected me to Shaul somehow and to the place that
we were going. I was certain of this and I sensed that Shaul was
too. It angered me that this affinity toward me and our destination
agitated him so much.

Daybreak hit. The sun began to rise
over the mountains to the west. We whizzed by the golden views of
San Diego’s abandoned metropolis. Nothing was entirely clear at
such a high speed, but the collage was splendorous like a dreamy
abstract painting.

I noticed the songs were more intense
in my mind now, more alluring. As we came closer, I gained more
clarity. I was being beckoned to a lake. I saw images of cool,
refreshing water in my mind.

“
Well, like I said…” My
mother was yawning as she spoke, “…we won’t be going with you to
Seneca Mountains. Now that we have supplies, thanks to you dear
Shaul, we can make it on our own.”

I sensed her doubt. She wasn’t her
usual confident self.

Positioning her long sandy blonde hair
over one shoulder, she continued, “Can you drop us off at a park
along the way?”

“
Mom!” I turned to her, my
face flushed with a surprising fury. “I don’t want to be dropped
off at a random place that we know nothing about. We’re going to
the lake. I mean Seneca Mountains.”

She appeared surprised by my adamancy.
“We, uh…” Her mind seemed conflicted. “I want to find a community
that unifies to overthrow the serpent people. We have to wipe them
off the face of earth…”

“
Stop, please.” I looked at
her, my eyes wide. “Maybe we can form a coalition with the Seneca
community. But first we need to get to a safe location, so we can
do some research and make a rational decision.”

Her face was flush. “Ok,” she
responded hesitantly. “Let’s go with Shaul, but only for a short
time. I’ll ask around about other places and then we’ll move on.
How’s that sound?”

“
Great.” Though I was
surprised that she had succumbed to my demand and didn’t reprimand
me for my brazenness, I was relieved she had because the
overwhelming desires I felt spawned by the music gave me no choice
and I was afraid if she didn’t agree, I would have been overtaken,
and gone without her. Ordinarily, I would never do such a thing—I
loved her and was deeply attached to her—but, the music’s callings
were consuming me.

“
But, whatever you do,
don’t go to the lake there.”

“
What?” I turned to her,
feeling utterly perplexed. “Why not?”

“
Not now, Cordellia.” Her
face was flushed with worry.

I looked at Shaul, but he was filled
with angst. His piercing eyes stared too intensely at the road
ahead.

Shortly thereafter, just as I noticed
the freeway had changed to Interstate 5, Shaul merged onto Highway
8. There were lots of dilapidated high rise buildings, ruined from
looting fires. The sun was bright and wonderful, but the city was a
ghost town. The thought of so much starvation and death saddened
me.

We zipped through the city and were
now gliding through the countryside. The trees along the highway
were dead and blackened from the fires spread by The Great Sun
Scorch.

I noticed we passed some desolate
country towns. Most I couldn’t see the names because we were moving
at high speed, but I did notice a town called Pine Valley. The pine
trees there looked like long black sticks with barren branches
where the greenery had burned away. Billboards on the sides of the
highway had fallen onto the pass, but we flew right over
them.

Awhile later, my mother had fallen
asleep between us. Shaul turned off the highway and flew the speed
wave up a long winding road. To my surprise, the trees there were
so green and lush.

The music intensified even greater in
my mind. “Hurry, Shaul,” I demanded, feeling utterly anxious to get
there.

He ignored me, as he grasped onto the
steering wheel with all his might. His desires seemed to rise up
within him as well and he kept his gaze away from me. His body was
subtlety moving to the beat of our song.

In my confusion, the road leveled and
then descended into a colorful, floral valley. The musty scents of
nature filled the speed wave. I tried to control myself and talk
myself out of my consuming yearnings, but they intensified further.
In my inner turmoil, I turned away from Shaul and stared out the
window at its loveliness, digging my fingernails into the
armrest.

In a fury, Shaul parked the car at the
edge of a green lush mountain. “Let’s hurry,” he commanded with
subdued desperation in his voice.

7

Shaul retrieved our bags from the
speed wave while I woke up my mother.

“
We’re here,” I said trying
to act as calm and normal as possible.

She stretched and gazed out the window
groggily. “Wow!” Her eyes widened. “What a beautiful
place.”

“
Ok, let’s go,” I motioned
her out of the car and got out.

Shaul was already trekking up the
mountain with all three of our bags slung over his
shoulder.

“
Hurry up, Mom,” I gasped.
“Shaul’s already left.”

She looked at me surprised.

“
Come on!” I said, my voice
edged with angst.