Hear the Children Calling Page 23

  “I have a suggestion,” a woman said. Ralph recognized Alice Segal’s voice, cold and calculated. He had always hated that woman, with her probing eyes and grim expression. Unlike Ralph, Alice Segal knew exactly what she was getting when Jennifer was given to her years ago. She didn’t love that little girl the way Ralph loved Michael. She saw Jenny as a lab specimen, part of a horrible, grand experiment.

  “Why not employ some of the telepathic children?” Alice said. “Surely they could find Jennifer and the boys quickly enough.”

  So, Michael isn’t alone, Ralph thought.

  “Get on it, then,” Dr. Adams said. “I’m going back to the sister. If anyone can lure Michael Colpan back here, it’s her.”

  In the dark, Beth shook her head. A few moments later, the light from the vent was cut off, and they knew it was safe to go on.

  “He’ll be in the room in a minute,” Ralph said. “And he’ll be looking for us then.”

  “Will he think about the vent?” Beth asked as she crawled forward.

  “Not right away,” Ralph told her. “I fixed the door lock to make it seem we broke out. We’ll be free before he thinks to look here.”

  “God, I hope so,” Beth whispered.

  40

  THE GROWN-UPS WERE GETTING CLOSER. THE THREE children knew it, not only by their gifts but by the way sleeping birds would suddenly shoot up into the darkness, or by the pounding hooves of startled deer. Even in the moonlight, junipers and pines fashioned dark shadows that slowed their progress. Worse than that, none of them had any idea where they were going. They’d been running for nearly three hours now, and all three were exhausted.

  “Please, Tommy,” Jenny said, since Tommy had taken the lead after his confrontation with the dog. “Can’t we hide and rest? It’s so cold.”

  “We have to move as far as we can before daylight,” Tommy insisted. “They’re right behind us, Jenny. You know that. And you know what’s gonna happen if they catch us.”

  Michael shook his head. “But my dad would never let—”

  “I wouldn’t count on your dad doing anything,” Tommy said coldly, shooting Michael an angry look. “None of us was able to reach his mind. Come on, stop being scared. It was your idea to run away, so let’s run.”

  They hadn’t walked another ten yards when Jenny suddenly stopped, bringing her hands up to her face. She moaned softly, standing like that for a few moments. Michael and Tommy watched her in bewilderment, teeth chattering loudly. Then she said firmly, “No!”

  “What’s going on, Jenny?” Michael asked.

  “Voices,” Jenny replied, bringing her hands away from her face. “There are voices in my head.”

  “That lady with the brown hair?” Tommy suggested.

  “No,” Jenny said. “I’m not sure who . . .” She gasped, a thick cloud forming in front of her mouth. “Bambi,” she cried. “And some other children. The grown-ups are making them find out where we are. Michael, Tommy, they’ll be able to catch us if the other kids help.”

  “Then shut off your mind,” Tommy ordered. “Don’t let them in.”

  “Don’t be so stupid,” Jenny snapped. “I don’t know how to do that.”

  “We’re doomed,” Michael groaned. He cocked his head. “You hear that? More dogs! And I hear grown-up voices. They can’t be that far away.”

  “What’re we gonna do?” Jenny asked. She thought of her mother, and how much anger and hate she felt when she had sensed the woman as part of the search team. How could a mother hate her child so much? She did not want to confront Alice.

  “We’re gonna move faster,” Tommy said. “Maybe they have kids working against us, but our powers are pretty strong, too. Jenny, maybe you are right. Maybe we should find another cave to hide in. But instead of resting, we’ll figure out a way to fight back. We’ll concentrate on pushing Bambi’s thoughts someplace else.”

  Michael nodded eagerly. “Trick ’em. I get it, Tommy. We’ll make them go someplace else.”

  “Will it work?” Jenny asked.

  “I don’t know,” Tommy said. “But we’ll try. Let’s get going, okay?”

  Silent again, they pressed forward, ducking through low-hanging pine branches and between crevices where no adult could possibly maneuver. In a short time, they found another cave. The sight of bones at the entrance made them stop, and Michael whispered to Tommy, “Can you handle a bear or a mountain lion?”

  “I don’t know,” Tommy whispered back. He peered into the darkness. “Can either one of you guys sense if there’s something in there?”

  Jenny and Michael stared at the cave opening for a few moments. Then they turned and said in unison, “It’s empty.”

  Thus informed, Tommy led the way into the blackness. They groped along the cold wall, turning into countless passageways, until they saw a shaft of moonlight beaming from the cave roof up ahead. It illuminated a good-size room.

  And a huge, hunkering bear.

  Tommy signaled to his friends to be quiet, but Jenny let out a cry of dismay. The bear turned, eyed them for a split second, then turned and climbed up on a rock shelf. It roared, lumbering around the cave in search of a way out. Frightened, trapped, it turned from flight to fight instinct. It started toward the children . . .

  “Tommy, do something!”

  . . . reared up on its hind legs . . .

  “I can’t. I’m too scared.”

  Jenny screamed, backing away. In the darkness behind her, she couldn’t find her way out of the cave. She heard the boys crying out behind her, heard the bear’s deafening growls.

  “Tommmeeeeee!” Michael’s scream made something snap in Tommy’s mind. He had never tried using his powers to their fullest, but in a moment of sheer panic, when his own self-defense mechanisms set in, he imagined the bear to be a cloud of dust.

  The great animal’s roar stopped halfway in its throat, because suddenly there was no throat to emit the sound. There was no bear. In its place stood a thick brown cloud, smelling strongly of bear for a moment, then of fish, then honey, then blood. Then, nothing but the smell of a dirt cave. The cloud was gone, too.

  Michael turned to Tommy, ready to congratulate him. But his friend had collapsed to the ground and was curled up like a newborn baby. Tears streamed from Tommy’s dirt-smudged face, and a strange keening noise came from behind his clenched teeth.

  “Tommy, what’s wrong?” Michael looked behind himself for Jenny, but the girl wasn’t there. Forgetting her for a moment, he sank to his knees and put a hand on Tommy’s arm.

  “Tommy, you okay? You saved us, you know.”

  “I—I never killed anything,” Tommy said. “It hurts. My head, my whole body, everything hurts.”

  “Oh, geez,” Michael whispered, not knowing what to do. “Maybe Jenny’s got something in her bag.” He jumped to his feet and ran to the dark passageway, calling Jenny’s name.

  Trapped by the blackness, Jenny hadn’t gone very far, and she came immediately. When she saw that the bear was gone, she looked at Michael questioningly.

  “Tommy turned it into a dust cloud,” Michael said. “But it hurt him really bad to do it. I guess none of us knows how much power we really have.”

  Tommy moaned all the more loudly.

  “Maybe a cold drink,” Jenny suggested. “And rest. I don’t care what you say, Tommy. We can’t get away from the center if we’re worn out. And you can’t go a step farther.”

  She opened her bag and pulled out one of the drink boxes she’d stolen from her parents’ refrigerator. Unwrapping the straw, she stabbed it into the little silver circle at the box top and handed it to Tommy. It wasn’t medication, but the juice was refreshing. Tommy realized his friends were right. They were exhausted—and, Tommy suddenly noticed, absolutely famished.

  “Have you got any food in that bag?” he asked Jenny.

  “Sure I do,” Jenny said. “A couple of apples, some raisins, some cheese slices.”

  Tommy managed to sit up. “Gimme a piece of ch
eese.”

  The boy ate the small orange square as if he were half-starved. Jenny turned to offer some to Michael.

  “That’s okay,” Michael said. “I have a candy bar in my backpack.”

  “A candy bar,” Jenny snorted. “That isn’t nutritious.”

  Michael shrugged, not really caring about nutrition at this point. They didn’t even know if they’d ever leave this cave alive. He unbuckled the straps of his backpack and rummaged through his clothes for the candy bar. Instead, he found the file folder his father had asked him to pack at the last minute.

  “What’s that?” Tommy asked.

  “I don’t know,” Michael said, opening it. “My father gave it to me.” He started reading, turning so that the shaft of moonlight gave him the best illumination. Once in a while, Jenny or Tommy would interrupt him, but he’d hush them irritably. By the time he’d finished with the papers, tears were streaming down his cheeks.

  “Michael?” Jenny asked very softly.

  Suddenly, Michael pulled back his arm and thrust the folder forward with all his might. Papers scattered everywhere.

  “They lied to us,” Michael cried. “My dad, my mom, your parents, Dr. Adams, they all lied.” He threw himself flat on the ground and began to pound the dirt, sobbing so uncontrollably that neither Tommy nor Jenny could get through to him. They moved nearer each other, hugging against the cold and the fear that Michael had discovered something very, very sinister.

  41

  DANNY CAUGHT THE LAST POSSIBLE FLIGHT FROM Detroit to Boston. Within an hour, he had arrived home. The house seemed so cold now, so full of Kate and the children that every room reminded him that his beloved family was not there. He picked up one of Joey’s stuffed animals and clutched it tightly. Blood had congealed on the knuckles of both hands, some of it his own, some of it Ronald Preminger’s.

  Danny let the animal drop and left his sons’ room. A quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up after his long trip, and he was on his way out again. He knew that visiting hours had been over long ago and that he’d have to sneak into Kate’s room. He knew exactly where Laura was now, and Kate was the only one who could communicate with their daughter.

  When he reached the hospital, he found a parking space in the almost-empty lot. Gull’s Flight was such a small town that there was no hope of the reception area being crowded enough for him to slip by unnoticed. But miracles do happen, and by some chance tonight there were five people standing in front of the desk: two very pregnant women, one leaning against her husband with her eyes closed, the other standing between what seemed to be her mother and sister. While the receptionist busied herself with signing them in, Danny hurried toward the elevator banks and up to Kate’s floor. He wasn’t certain how he’d get by that nurses’ station, but luck was still with him, and at the moment it was empty. Quickly, he went to Kate’s room, thanking God for the additional luck that she didn’t have a roommate.

  She was sleeping, but Danny could tell by her pained expression that there was no peace in that sleep. Did she dream of Laura? Or was she thinking of their two boys, sleeping downstairs in Pediatrics, waiting for the results of tests done on them? Did nightmares tell her that she would lose her sons the way she lost her daughter?

  But we didn’t lose our daughter, Kate. She’s alive.

  Gently, he kissed her on the mouth. She stirred, frowned, and wriggled deeper into her pillow.

  “Kate?”

  Danny’s whisper brought a shuddering sigh from her. A moment later, she opened her eyes. Recognition opened them even wider and she sat up abruptly.

  “Danny, what are you doing here? It must be past midnight! Oh, my God, it’s the boys, isn’t it? I was dreaming that they were with Laura, running away from me. What happened to them?”

  “Shh,” Danny hissed. “You’ll bring the nurses running. The boys are fine, Kate. Well, I mean that I haven’t heard anything bad. But I’ve got some news for you.”

  Kate pressed a button, bringing the back end of her mattress up to a comfortable position. “News?” she echoed. “Is that why you didn’t come during visiting hours? Where were you, Danny?”

  “Wheaton,” Danny replied simply.

  Kate opened her mouth to question him, but he hushed her with a finger placed to her lips. “I went to see Ronald Preminger,” Danny said. “I thought he might know something of what happened to Laura. After all, he was the one who gave me the Neolamane for you.”

  “Neolamane,” Kate said. She nodded, remembering. “We called it a miracle, didn’t we, Danny? Is that what happened to Laura? Did that drug do something to her?”

  Danny nodded, surprised at the perception Kate was able to show despite all that had happened to her.

  “Neolamane is—I mean, was—manufactured by LaMane Pharmaceuticals,” Danny said. He went on to explain the strange side effects that had occurred with the drug and how it was quickly pulled from the market. “Of course, no one mentioned the mystic side of the drug, how in some children it fostered supernatural talents. Our Laura was one of those, Kate.”

  Kate’s green eyes slitted. “And those people took her to study her,” she said, “Like some lab specimen. A three-year-old girl. Those slimy—” She stopped herself, looking up at Danny again. “Did Preminger say anything?”

  “After I blackened both his eyes and did some other damage to him,” Danny answered, holding up both his bruised hands.

  “Oh, Danny!” Kate took the hands and kissed them.

  “I know where Laura is, Kate,” Danny answered bluntly. “When you had dreams that she was in a desert, you were almost right. Actually, she’s in a place called the LaMane Center, a few miles outside Albuquerque, New Mexico.”

  “Then let’s go there and get her,” Kate cried.

  “It isn’t that simple, Kate,” Danny said. “Not after all these years. Preminger confessed those children were brainwashed to forget their pasts. There’s no doubt that Laura has a new family, even new parents she’s very fond of. She may not want to come with us, even if we could prove she was our daughter.”

  For a few moments, Kate stared at the floral pattern on the curtain by her bed. Almost imperceptibly, her lower lip began to tremble. Then, tears streamed down her face and she brought her fist to her mouth. “She can’t love a new mother,” Kate cried. “I’m her mother. I am! And she must sense something about that or else she wouldn’t be calling me in my dreams.”

  “Then that’s the way we have to get to her,” Danny said. “Through your mind, Kate. You have to try to call her.”

  Kate shook her head. “The last time I tried, she denounced me and ran away. I don’t want to scare her again.”

  “Someone made her talk that way, Kate,” Danny said. “There’s only one hope, and that’s if you can convince her to at least meet with me. I don’t know how she’ll get away from that place, because Preminger says its well-guarded. But somehow, we’ve got to arrange it. There’s a seven A.M. flight to Albuquerque, and I’m going to be on it.”

  “Danny, I have to come with you,” Kate said.

  “You can’t,” Danny insisted. “Kate, there’s no time to argue about this. You have to stay here with the boys.”

  Kate thought for just a moment, then nodded. Danny was right, of course. What would Joey and Chris think of her if she wasn’t there for them when they woke up?

  “I should arrive about ten A.M. their time,” Danny calculated. “Meanwhile, you’ve got to work on getting her back again. Call her Jenny if it makes her more comfortable, but convince her that we’re her friends and that we want to help her.”

  Kate rubbed the tears from her eyes. “She must want help, if she’s been contacting me.”

  “That’s right, Kate,” Danny encouraged. “So close your eyes and call our daughter back to us.”

  42

  IMPATIENTLY, JILL DRUMMED HER FINGERS ON THE counter of the Rent-a-Car desk.

  “You say there’s a strange noise under the hood?” the woman behind the
desk asked.

  “Three times,” Jill repeated in a monotone. God, this was tiresome. “The car was fine until about an hour ago, and then it started making this odd ka-lunk, ka-lunk sound. Look, I’m really pressed for time. Do you have a car or don’t you?”

  “We don’t,” the woman answered. “But I’ve been on the phone to other rental agencies, trying to find one for you. It’s been difficult. Not only is there a furniture convention in town, but the Balloon Festival starts tomorrow.”

  Jill sighed, realizing the woman was doing the best she could. Still, it was frustrating to know how close she was to Ryan. If she dared to use the same car she’d been driving for the past two days, she could find him. But part of her strategy was to get an entirely different car, one they wouldn’t be looking for. She hadn’t yet made a phone call to the LaMane Center because it was only twelve-fifteen in the morning.

  She walked across the hall and plunked down onto a bench. By all rights she should have been tired enough to fall asleep, even here. But the thought of being without a car was like a powerful stimulant. Fidgety, she got back up and walked over to a newspaper rack. There was only one copy left, and since it was past midnight, this made it a day old. She took it without paying for it and brought it back to the bench. Shuffling through the pages without really seeing them, she was suddenly stopped by a four-color spread depicting hundreds of brilliant balloons. The caption explained that this was taken at last year’s Balloon Festival and that the next one would commence tomorrow. It was a beautiful shot, but what caught Jill’s attention was the small map drawn in one corner. The field being used was almost halfway between the city and the LaMane Center.

  Wheels began to turn in Jill’s mind, ideas forming even as her eyes started to droop closed. With the thought that the Balloon Festival would be the perfect place to hide when she escaped with Ryan, she fell into reluctant sleep.