He fell to his knees.
Blue liquid stained their lips. They each clutched an empty vial. The mother held her son in a final embrace as they lay there, still and lifeless.
"No! Damn it, no! Why?"
He rummaged around on the floor, looking for anything that might save them, but found nothing. He shook their bodies, did mouth to mouth, used all his first aid training, but dead was dead, and they didn't come back.
This blue drug, a savior to him, was a death sentence to anyone without powers.
Grief choked him, but he didn't have time to wallow in it. He had to act fast, to figure out what to do next. What should he do with their bodies? Whom could he call? How would he even call? He'd seen a pay phone outside, but did he want to get involved with this—illegal drugs and two dead bodies?
Just as Drake rose to leave, Toby's hand twitched.
Chapter 74 – Sam
I push the truck back and forth on the living room floor, then slam it into the block. "Vroom, vroom, watch out!"
I'm me, but not. I look down and see the body of a little boy. I'm in his mind, in his memories, not my own.
Around me, beautiful things hang on big walls. The furniture is fancy, the kind kids aren't supposed to sit or play on.
Someone comes into the arched glass doors that lead to the foyer. The little boy knows what a foyer is, though he thinks the word is funny.
A man walks in, tall and handsome. He's holding a baby.
I—or rather the boy in me—jump up, excited. "Is that her? Is that her?"
The man smiles. Something about his smile makes me—the real me—shiver. But the boy I live in doesn't seem to notice. He's focused on the bundle of pink blanket.
The baby wiggles and the man holds her out. "This, Son, is your baby sister. Isn't she beautiful?"
I nod. "Maybe when she gets older we can play together." I can't wait to play, to have a little sister.
The man shrugs. "Maybe." He looks at the baby again. "Isn't she perfect?" He holds her in front of a window and the baby almost seems to glow. "She may be the one."
"The one what, Daddy?"
"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it. I have to put her down for a nap. Your mother will be home soon, and I want to show her the new baby. You stay here and play."
The boy doesn't listen. He follows his daddy up the staircase, too full of excitement to stay still. "Which room will she sleep in? Can she sleep with me? I don't mind sharing."
"She won't be staying here, Son. No. She has another destiny ahead of her."
The boy looks again at his little sister. She's so cute, with soft dark hair and big blue eyes. He wants to hold her, but knows his daddy won't let him.
His daddy looks at the baby and smiles. "She's the key. One day, she'll solve everything."
***
I woke up, heart beating through my chest, a fine sheen of sweat covering my body. What a freaky dream. Something told me it was a scene from the Seeker's life, but what did it mean?
A niggling of foreboding nudged me, and I panicked. My baby! Where is my baby?
I looked around and saw her in the arms of the last person in the world I expected to see.
Mary stood, cooing and staring at Ana, unaware that I was awake. She murmured to herself. "She's so beautiful."
The words echoed my dream, and a shiver ran up my spine. "Mary, give her to me."
The light from the window lit up Mary and the baby like an image of Christ with his virgin mother. The comparison almost made me laugh. Mary, a virgin? Yeah right.
Mary had changed. Burn scars marred the once flawless skin down the side of her neck, but her golden hair was perfectly styled, as usual. She paid little attention to me. I sat up and was about to use my powers to force her to bring me my baby, when she finally looked up and handed Ana over.
Love washed through me in waves as I stared at my daughter. I never knew anyone could feel this way about another human being. I'd loved her while I carried her to term, but nothing like this. This little cherub-faced girl with big blue eyes had stolen my heart. If only Drake could be here to see her, to fall in love with her himself.
"I love you, Ana. I'll be enough for the both of us, I swear." Only then did I realize Mary was still standing there, watching me. I'd seen her die. "How are you here, Mary? We thought you were...."
"Dead? Yeah, I've gotten that a lot since I've been back. I didn't die, no thanks to all of you who just left me there. Fortunately, IPI found me, and I had the distinct pleasure of recovering in their dreadful facility. You would not believe how miserable it was."
I couldn't believe she'd survived what Drake had done to her. Did she remember? "What happened to you?"
"I'm not really sure. They think I got caught in a fire. Well, they know I got caught in a fire." She fiddled with her hair until it covered her neck—a gesture that looked practiced. "But they think I hit my head and lost some of that time right before. So, yeah, not sure."