Page 33 of Dark Visions (Strange Gifts #1)

Flip had taken on cooking duties and made a breakfast big enough for thirty people. Aislinn smiled at the big man, the pride evident as he settled next to her with his heaping plate of food.

“You’re a good cook,” she said, smiling at him.

“Thanks,” he grinned. “I like food, and to prevent me from starving, well, I had to learn to cook.”

“Does it, by ‘it,’ I mean your gift, does your gift make you hungry?” she asked. Flip set his fork down, looked at his plate, and then up at Aislinn.

“I never thought of it before, but yea. It makes me feel as though I haven’t eaten in months. I tend to gorge if I’m not careful after a big incident. Little things, like moving a book or something, feels like nothing, but if I move a large object…”

“…like the garbage truck,” she smiled.

“Yea, like the garbage truck. Well, then I could eat all day and night.”

“Fascinating,” said Adam, staring at them. “I get the same way. If I have a particularly complex surgery that requires me to exude more energy than the average event, I’m ravenous. I tend to go for carbs, lots of junk food like tacos, chips, popcorn, endless amounts of bread. I can eat an entire loaf.”

“Huh,” said Flip, “I want meat. Tons and tons of meat. I once ate four steaks and two burgers after I moved a car.”

“It’s sugar for me,” said Aislinn, smiling. “Everything from candy bars to cupcakes and brownies. What about you, Kane?”

“I-I don’t know,” he said, thinking. “I seem to be thirsty mostly. My last case, the one I finished and saw you. I followed you to the hospital, but I drank like ten sodas in about twenty minutes. The nurse even asked if I was okay.”

“Okay, so carbs, meat, sugar, and liquid,” said Adam. “Now, if Spook would just tell us…”

“Shut the fuck up! I’m not some freak!” he shouted from the corner where he sat with his computer. He turned to face the foursome, his face red with anger and embarrassment. “I-I’m not a freak.”

“Is that what you think I am?” asked Aislinn.

“N-no, I… Aislinn, don’t do this,” he said, staring at her.

“We’re not freaks, Van, none of us. When you realize that you’ve been given a gift that will make a difference in this world, you’ll be better off.”

She turned back to her plate of food and continued to eat her pancakes. Flip eyed Spook, letting him know that his outburst was not a good thing. Kane eyed his friend.

Spook stared straight at the group, his computer pinging behind him. Without turning, he spoke.

“She’s on the move. Headed toward the hospital if my guess is right,” he said, staring at Aislinn, who only smiled.

“Wait, how did you know that?” asked Adam. “You didn’t look at the screen.”

“He knows,” said Aislinn. “Call Christopher and let him know she may be headed to the hospital. He’ll need to let the staff know to not give anything away.”

Adam nodded and moved toward the window, dialing Christopher Krauss.

Aislinn continued to stare at Spook, who refused to look away. She knew. Somehow, she knew about his gift. If anyone found out, anyone in the government, he would become a freak show or worse. Most likely, they would carve his brain open, and he would never be the same again.

Aislinn continued to smile at him but said nothing. Kane watched the interaction with curiosity and, if he were honest, a smidge of jealousy. Something was happening between his woman and his friend, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. In fact, something was happening between his woman and ALL of his friends.

“Okay, he’s going to call the hospital and tell them he has a woman who’s going to ask for his brother, and they are to pretend he’s out with a death in his family,” said Adam.

“She’s there now,” said Spook.

Adam stared open-mouthed at his friend, shaking his head. Flip looked at Spook with curiosity but said nothing. He understood what it was like to be judged. Hating the silence, Kane spoke up.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, sitting between Flip and Aislinn. “We all seem to have some sort of voodoo connection here. Especially all of us with Aislinn. I personally think I was supposed to find her. She was supposed to be mine. I knew all of you before, but none of us knew about our gifts. I think all of this was supposed to happen. I don’t know why, other than I think together we’re stronger than apart.”

“What do you mean?” asked Flip.

“I think we’re supposed to work together.”

“You mean as private security?” asked Adam, curling his nose.

“I don’t know if it’s just private security anymore,” said Kane. “Think about it. With all of us together, the impact we could make on national security threats.”

“Christ! Are you fucking crazy?!” said Spook. “They would never believe any of us, and even if they did, they’d want to experiment on us, cut us open! No fucking way! I agreed to help with this, but that’s it.”

“Van, he’s not suggesting that,” said Aislinn calmly. “I think he’s saying that we might be able to help in ways that only we know. Finding things that the government or others might ignore. No one would need to know about the gifts.”

“Exactly,” said Kane, eyeing Spook suspiciously. “I wouldn’t tell anyone about our gifts, Spook, ever. But I do think we could make a huge impact in the world.”

“It’s an interesting idea,” said Adam. “My practice is really good, but I have to say, I’ve been careful not to let others near me when I’m operating for fear of them finding out what I do. It would be good to have it on a smaller scale.”

“What do you think, Flip?” asked Kane.

“I got nothing going on,” he said, grinning at Aislinn. “I thought I was hiding, and yet something brought me here to all of you and especially to her. It’s like she’s the glue or something. I don’t know. I know that I feel more in control when she’s around. Maybe it’s her gift. I mean, I know she can see evil in people and all, but maybe she helps to keep us all grounded as well.”

“I think it’s the opposite of that,” said Aislinn. “I think you all keep me grounded. There is energy when we’re in the room together. I can’t explain it. I do wonder, though, what happened to all of us that gave us these gifts.”

“It’s a great question,” said Adam. “We four were in the Army together, but you weren’t. Besides, we had our gifts as children.”

He eyed Spook for affirmation, but the young man said nothing and showed no signs of involving himself in the conversation. Adam’s phone pinged, and he looked down.

“Christopher is confirming that Deborah went to the hospital and asked for him. The nurse told her he was out for a family funeral, and she seemed to accept that.”

“Where did you live?” asked Aislinn. All eyes turned to her, looking confused. “When you were children? Where did you all live?”

“Well,” said Adam, “my dad was an Army surgeon as well. I lived in many places. Fayetteville, Shreveport, Sierra…”

“Wait, Sierra Depot?” asked Kane.

“Yea, it was the weirdest place ever. No towns around, nothing, just munitions.”

“I was there,” said Kane. “As a kid, I was there. My old man was a contractor on the base.”

“Fucking hell,” whispered Flip. “I was there too. My father was stationed there for two years.”

All eyes turned to Spook. His mouth held in a tight line, his fists clenched at his sides. He was battling something internally but hearing the words from the others had his mind racing.

“I lived there too,” said Aislinn, staring at Spook. “My father worked on a laser-guided system, repairing, not building.” Her eyes continued to stare at Spook, the others holding his gaze as well.

The deafening silence covered the room like a blanket of fog. No one moved, no one took his or her eyes from anyone, just staring ahead. Spook finally blinked and looked at each face, settling back on the sweet face of his friend’s woman.

“I lived there, too.”