Chapter Six

Colleen's Memory

   Adam slouched on his tan woven sofa near the warmth of his fire place.  It danced about joyously to the beat of a rhythm-less drummer.  On this particular day Adam had one thing on his mind.  He had never seen a young woman who looked as Colleen did.  She was there with him, in the flesh.  He slammed his fist on the table to the right of the sofa in fury and rubbed his eyes.  He closed them softly.  Her face kept appearing just in front of him.

   Her tiny little elf nose, and green eyes.  But they weren't just green, they were blue as well.  They were magnificent, and unique.  He could see her sitting on the sofa with him, just out of reach.  Gazing at him with her ocean blue eye and burnt black hair cut just above the shoulders.  Adam reached out for her hand, but shook his head.  She vanished.

   "Cindy," he whispered.

   The door began to fidget and the sound of a key inserting into the lock clicked.  Patrick entered the tiny, gloomy house.  The only light emitted from the table light and the fireplace.  Patrick set his keys on the kitchen counter and bayed Colleen to enter.  Adam tilted his head to see her standing in the doorway.

   "What's she doing here," he gritted his teeth.

   "I told her everything about our past.  She needs to know," said Patrick both to Colleen and Adam through his mind.  Adam turned back to the fireplace and gazed and the blazing flames. 

   "I want to help, any way I can," said Colleen quietly.  Adam didn't flinch.  Colleen took a few cautious steps toward Adam from behind.  He continued to stare at the fireplace. 

   "What can you do?" he asked blankly.  Colleen shot a glance at Patrick.  He shook his head.

   "I don't know," she mumbled meekly.

   "You don't know," said Adam in anticipation of her reply.  He turned sharply to face her.

   "No," she whispered.

   "Well shit.  Patrick, nice work.  She cant even make a flower grow and you expect her to help against Ozzy?"  grumbled Adam. 

   "Adam..."

   "He killed..." Adam swallowed and tilted his head snidely. "...he murdered in cold blood, our greatest...first.  Do you really think you could ever stand a chance?"

   Colleen stared at him wide eyed. His coldness and bitter personality repelled her greatly.  She had the urge to storm out and run back to Ozzy.  Adam  made her feel just as terrible as Patrick first did. 

   "I am sorry, uh, Patrick," she said and shook her head causing her light blond hair to wave about.  "I'm going home.  He doesn't want me. Sorry."

   Patrick sneered at Adam who returned the exact same look.  There was animosity there that Colleen wasn't ready to get in between.  She started for the door thinking that at least she could go back to Mrs. Josephine's and escape from all of this. 

   "Stay," said Patrick through his mind. Colleen sighed.

   "Why?  He is a jerk, a total jerk," she said and stopped for a moment.

   "I heard that," said Adam calmly from the sofa.  Colleen's blood vessels tightened and she thought her head was going to burst from embarrassment.  She forgot to talk to Patrick through her mind.

   "I'm sorry.  I..."

   "Yes you did mean it," said Adam just as calmly as before as though he could read minds too.

   "No he can't read minds," said Patrick through his mind again. "He's just very smart."

   Between Adam's confusing talent to pick up on thoughts very quickly mixed with Patrick's super ability to read minds, Colleen was overloaded with puzzlement.  She squinted her face and turned back to face them. 

   "What am I even here for again?" she asked Patrick out loud, and on purpose. Patrick nodded.

   "You're here because Ozzy took an interest in you.  I don't know how many times I will have to say it, but I assume many.  You have an ability and if you can discover it..."

   "Any help would be nice I spose," said Adam dryly.  Patrick looked over at him as this appeared to be out of character.

   "You want me?" said Colleen thinking about what this would mean and how it would affect her life.  She also let herself quickly think about what kind of a person this was making her out to be; latching onto the first person who asks for help and what not.  But in this case, she felt she could trust these people.  In fact she wasn't entirely sure if she didn't still trust Ozzy. Something just told her that Ozzy wasn't a bad man.

   "Alright, I'll help you, I guess," said Colleen.  Patrick nodded once again, very simply and looked over at Adam.  He twitched his nose and lip and turned back around to face the fireplace.

   "You can sleep in the guest room," he said calmly. Colleen started to look down the hall.  It was decorated with paintings, numerous paintings all with no particular scheme and were very modern looking.  But one in piece stood out the most to here, and it looked almost like a purple trumpet in a wide brush stroke style. Colleen stared at it for a moment and took it in.  She felt strange, like she was being pulled into this painting.  It had no piping or anything special that stood out to make it truly resemble a trumpet, but it had a cone like bell, and an oval shape in the middle with a line sticking out opposite of the bell. 

   Colleen closed her eyes and thought of Ozzy and his last words to her. "Colleen if anything happens here that you don't understand I want you to think nothing of it, and run away from it, as fast as you can."  Her mouth started to move, then sound came out.

   "He's not a bad man," she said quietly.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Adam put his elbows on his legs and rest his face in his hands. "He's not."

   "Get out," said Adam through his hands. It required all the courage she had to say such a thing to Adam. He turned glared at her, the flames waltzed in his eyes manically, just as his emotions.

   Patrick closed his mind off to Colleen and thought directly to Adam.

   "She can help us, think of Robert," he said to Adam alone.  Adam lowered his head and swiped his hand across his face in stressed thought. 

   "Fine."

   Colleen smiled and stepped back to meet with Patrick.  Patrick focused deeply and thought only about Adam again for a moment.

   "She will do fine.  She is strong, I feel it," said Patrick only to Adam.

   "Maybe. Why did she have to look so much like Cindy?"

   "It's a good omen that we are nearing victory once again."

   "At what cost?"

   "Colleen.  Are you ready?" said a familiar, yet distant voice.  Colleen reached up as high as she could, she was flying.  A man was soaring with her in the distance above the clouds, but she could not make him out.  She squinted as tightly as she could to see him, but all she could see was the ceiling of the guest room.

   Colleen rolled over and looked at her digital clock on the night stand.  It was eight seventeen in the morning.  Colleen thought back at her dream.  This man she kept dreaming about was so familiar.  She couldn't understand why he continued to enter her thoughts. It was like he was a part of her, but she couldn't remember. 

   She slid off her bed and directly into her slippers.   The mirror across from her bed above the desk reminded her that sleep and hair did not mix well.  She reached for her comb and repaired the nights damage as a familiar sound rolled in from down the hall.  Light footsteps drew nearer to her door.  There was a knock. She slipped her jeans on and shirt to greet Patrick at the door.

   "How do you people do that?" she said while combing her hair.

   "I sensed you were waking up.  I'm dreadfully sorry about Adam," said Patrick.  His dark hazel eyes conveyed the truth.  Colleen saw two different men.  Patrick was the kind gentle soul, and Adam appeared to be filled with anguish.  He seemed more like a bad and unstable man that Ozzy to Colleen.

   "Yeah, I didn't sleep to well last night.  I'm not exactly used to being treated that way in fact I don't really like the notion of sleeping here in the first place," she said quickly, but not exactly in fear. "I can leave any time right?"

   Patrick was taken aback with this statement.

   "Absolutely," he said hastily. "I would never hold you against your will."

   He stayed at the doorway and didn't budge to show respect to her domain.

   "Understand this, we are desperate.  We want freedom and unification of humanity.  That's it," he said kindly.

   "He doesn't seem to," said Colleen as she continued to brush her hair.  It wasn't too tangled, so she didn't need to spend a lot of time on it.

   "I spoke to him..."

   "Good," muttered Colleen.

   "...hopefully he will be a little better today," said Patrick kindly. Colleen put the comb in her mouth and formed a pony tail for the first time in ages.  Colleen stuck her green headband into place just for looks.                  "Something and then it dawned on me.  You have yet to ask one vital question," said Patrick.  Patrick gestured for her to go first.  Colleen raised a finger and grabbed her socks and shoes.

   "What might that be?"

   "You know the war only ended nine years ago right?" Patrick said this with caution.  Colleen shrugged carelessly.

   "So?  Besides, you said no one would ever discover it again or something right?"

   "I did.  But do you care to know how?"

   "So tell me," said Colleen a little impatient now.  Patrick motioned once more for her to walk down the hall with him to the living room. 

   "Just after the decisive victory that won us the war.  I made sure that our people would be safe.  Everyone who already knew that had an ability would go untouched, however everyone else that had any sort of connection to this war had it erased from their minds," said Patrick grimly.

   "It almost killed him to do it," said Adam from around the kitchen wall. 

   "That it did," added Patrick.

   Colleen stopped in the hallway at the sight of Adam.  She still didn't entirely like this man.

   "You gonna be nicer?" she asked before entering.  Adam nodded politely as he could. She smiled meekly and walked over to sit on the sofa.  She thought back really hard for a moment about how this mind erasing detail was connected to her.

   "So, was I one of these people? Wait, of course I was," she puzzled together.

   "Very good," said Patrick.

   "So, why are you telling me anything then.  Shouldn't I just remain ignorant?  And why me?  How is this.  I'm confused."

   "Colleen, you've been having dreams..." started Patrick.

   "Patrick stay out of my head please.  I'm your friend now but please," snapped Colleen an she jumped up from the sofa.  She felt a little bit violated by her new companion.

   "I am sorry.  Remember when I told you we had met before?  This was part of why I wanted you to come with us so badly."

   Colleen pondered for a moment and then recalled it.  When they had first met he did mention something like that, but she passed it by. She sighed and sat back down, twiddling her thumbs a little impatiently. Adam immerged from the kitchen with a few slices of baked bacon and was munching away.

   "Yeah.  A little bit," said Colleen.

   Patrick tilted his head downward, prompting Colleen to think hard.  She did so.

   "Who do you see in your dreams?" said Adam blankly.  Patrick bit Adam with his eyes.  Adam just shook his head and sniffled a bit dismissively.  Colleen paused.  She stopped twiddling her thumbs and raised her now folded hands to her lips.  She began to chew nervously on her right index finger while digging deep to find the answer.  Then she gave in.

   "Who is he?"  said Colleen.  Patrick nodded.

   "He is your brother, Robert Carlyle. But you called him Bobby," said Adam.  Colleen began to remember.  He was so close right then.  She could picture him, vaguely.  He was blond, like she with fair skin and a goatee.  Robert was sort of a boy bandesque type of man. 

   "I have a brother," Colleen said with a meek smile.  Her heart began to race.  This was great.  She wanted so badly to meet him again, but this hope felt lost from the start.  Patrick pursed his lip and sighed through his nose.

   "You had a brother," said Adam.  Colleen couldn't claim she was surprised.

   "What happened?" asked Colleen acceptingly.

   "He was the second person Ozzy killed in cold blood," said Patrick almost immediately.  He sounded outraged and filled with humanity and emotion.  His eyes were focused on one spot somewhere in the room, with full attention in the past.  Colleen thought back to her dream, but she couldn't remember much of it.  She remember two blurry men, that was it.

   "Ozzy was...the chain," she whispered in an epiphany. She remembered there was a distinct, metallic clicking sound in her dream, the same sound she heard at the Starbucks when Ozzy whipped his unique weapon. Then Robert fell dead.

   "Oh my God."  Colleen was overwhelmed with emotion, rage and sorrow. 

   "He uses a powerful toxin that constricts the airway as soon as it enters the brain.  It can be administered anywhere," Patrick muttered.

   She was so close to a man who was not only a murderer and a liar, but the murderer of her own brother. He was so nice to her.  To think it was all just a lie, as though he was just reeling her in like a fish. So filled with guilt and rage she pulled her hands closer to her face to hide herself.  Tears of anger began to stream from her ignorant and gullible eyes.  She felt so stupid for believing his lies when he let her into his house. He could have killed her at any moment. Patrick approached and comfortingly caressed the side of her head.

   "We should have waited," said Patrick to Adam.  Colleen rocked back and forth, biting her finger so hard it nearly started to bleed. Through sniffles and sobs Patrick reached down and easily pulled her hand out from the vice grip of her teeth.  She complied and breathed heavily before sobbing once again.

   "You're right," sobbed Colleen.  Patrick looked down, a little startled that Colleen heard what they had said.  Adam was giving Patrick a look of guilt.  Patrick sighed again and sat next to Colleen on the sofa.  He placed his hands on hers sympathetically.

   "If I get the chance, I'll do it myself," she quivered. "I remember."

   "Everything?" asked Patrick.

   "Vaguely," she said still thinking about the details.

   There was a flicker of an untamed beast that entered into Colleen's emerald green eyes.  It was a determination that she knew could never be stopped.  Ozzy had played her a song of lies, and it almost cost Colleen her life.

   "Start now," said Adam, he raised from his seat towards the kitchen and dumped the bacon bits in the trash.

   "Where are you going?" said Patrick.

   "You know where I'll be," replied Adam and grabbed his keys.  "Focus."

   Patrick brought Colleen to the garage. She was still tingling from this information about her brother.  Everything just sort of drifted past her as she walked.  It was a large bay with no cars of tools anywhere in sight.  It felt like a training ground.

   "It is a training ground," said Patrick, reading Colleen's thoughts. Colleen shot Patrick an furious glare.

   "The best way to find your ability is to do so when you are emotionally free to explore.  Right now.  Make yourself free to hate, love, feel."

   Colleen stood up straight and focused deeply on one thing, Ozzy how she hated Ozzy for what he did to her brother.  She kept replaying the image of her brother on the ground, dead without a fighting chance.  She closed her eyes and visualized herself in the space with nothing else around to distract her.  Colleen had never been so determined to succeed.  She had no idea what would come out of her, but she was prepared.

   "Pay attention to everything that happens with your body, your breath, your heart rate, your temperature, everything you possibly can.  Maybe you have a kinetic response ability. You do not have any visual differences so you must tap into it to bring it out," said Patrick in a ramble.  He was floating around the garage.  Colleen heard his voice move from place to place, but no foot steps.

   "Open your eyes once you have found your center," ordered Patrick.  Colleen did so.  She centered herself right there, in that spot. She felt anchored.       

   "Find that rage, and picture Ozzy."

   Colleen saw him, his tall looming figure appeared just in from of her.  It felt so real.  He was there.  Colleen swallowed deeply and looked over at Patrick.  He was gone.  Ozzy whipped his chain out, but Colleen raised her hand in offence, hoping for anything to happen.  Nothing happened.  She blinked and Ozzy vanished.  Patrick landed next to her and shook his head.

   "It's the first time.  I don't expect you to get it the first time," he said quickly.

   Colleen sat down on the cold concrete floor in defeat.

   "But I was so focused!"  she exclaimed. Sweat started to bud up on her forehead.  Patrick sat next to her.

   "Focus doesn't bring out an ability.  It helps but it is not the only key factor," he said mechanically.  Colleen glanced down at his throat.  This was one of the first times she felt she could look at it without feeling awkward.  It was hideously disfigured.  She quickly got back on subject.

   "What could Robert do?" she asked quite interested.  Maybe this would help her find her strengths.  Patrick snickered a little bit with no auditable sounds other than his breath.  

   "Of all the people out there, Robert was the only one I would consider to have a gift," he said proudly, reminiscing about his old friend.

   "How so? I mean, don't you have a gift?"

   Patrick snickered again.

   "No, I consider this ability to speak with you through my mind to be an easy way out of surgery.  But it is not a gift."

   "So what could he do?"

   "He could heal others," said Patrick proudly.  Colleen scooted herself to face towards Patrick.

   "So why didn't he heal you?" she asked referring to his neck. Patrick raised his eyebrows.

   "Because he died the day before this happened," he said calmly. Colleen bobbed her head up and down a few times.

   "What really happened to him?" Colleen asked.

   "I already told you," replied Patrick.

   "No, I want details.  Like why, and when."

   Patrick stood up and Colleen stood with him.  They mutually decided to call it a day on ability training and headed back into the house.

   "It's not my place to divulge that information to you," he said at last.  Colleen recalled that Ozzy said something similar.         

   "Some one else once told me that same thing.  He said I was..."

   "Familiar?" interrupted Ozzy.  Colleen's eyes shot open and she wheeled around to see Ozzy standing in the kitchen.  Patrick stood motionless.  He was not conjuring this image of Ozzy in her head, this was the real thing.

   "How did you get here?" said Patrick.  A knife began to slowly slide out of the knife holder on the counter behind Ozzy.  Ozzy's once warm, wrinkled face now looked sinister, and menacing, much like it did when Colleen had first seen him at Samuel's. Colleen prepared for anything, but Ozzy didn't flinch.  He just stood there for a moment, and then dissolved into thin air.  Patrick grabbed Colleen and threw her at the corner of the room and shielded her from harm.

   "Shit, where is he.  I can't sense him any more.  He's completely gone," stuttered Patrick.  There was a true sense of fear in his tone.  He was panting heavily and looking all around the room for any signs of Ozzy.  Out of the corner of Patrick's eye came the blade.  Patrick instinctively summoned all his energy and focused it towards the blade.  Behind the origin, a massive whole tore in the side of the house.  Ozzy's flailing, uncontrollable body revealed itself and crashed into the street outside.  

   Colleen allowed herself to get a little bit excited for a moment, but Ozzy quickly scurried to his feet and began clicking his tongue in all directions.  Patrick pushed off of the ground and lunged all the way to where Ozzy stood in full flight.  Colleen followed as fast as she could, in awe of Patrick's finesse.  He flew up a few feet and raised his hand.  Ozzy stood his ground and vanished once again.  Patrick floated in mid air, his arms stretched out wide, waiting for any sign of movement. 

   "Patrick!" shrieked Colleen.  The blade whipped up out of shroud surrounding Ozzy.  Patrick whirled around, it struck him in the calf.  He gasped and tried to scream in pain.  Ozzy materialized himself and violently yanked downward on the chain. Patrick lost control of his flight and slammed into the pavement. Colleen rushed down the front yard towards the combatants. She felt as though she was running slower than she should be.  She prepared to collide with Ozzy and he vanished once again into thin air, his chain as well.  Colleen looked down at Patrick quickly.  He was bleeding heavily from his calf, and was gasping for air.  Colleen panicked, she didn't know what was going on.  She placed her hands on his chest in desperation and confusion and started to perform CPR, but then remembered he was choking and quickly corrected herself and tried to give mouth to mouth.  No air would enter.  He kept helplessly struggling for oxygen.  She started panting heavily.

   With a flash of light she blinked. She was in the garage.  Patrick was standing in front of her.  Colleen collapsed onto the floor, hyperventilating she began to turn purple.  Patrick crouched next to her and felt her forehead.

   "Colleen what happened?" he said quickly and worriedly. She continued to pant and started to go into shock. Patrick lifted her up with his mind and brought her into the house.  He lay her on the sofa and elevated her feet.  She began to shiver frantically.  He grabbed a blanket and threw it over her. 

   "What happened?" said Adam as he entered the house. "I came as fast as I could."

   "I don't know. During our session she just started panting and collapsed."

   Colleen was still shivering under the covers, only slightly listening to the conversation.  Most of her attention was on Ozzy and what had just happened.  It was so real.  It was about to happen again.  Colleen flew up from the sofa and quickly jerked her head in all directions to find him.  He was nowhere.           

   "Colleen lay down, you're in shock," said Patrick while he tried to push her back down.    

   "NO HE'S HERE! I KNOW HE IS!" gritted Colleen through here teeth. 

   Patrick looked at Adam worriedly.  Adam sighed and walked off into his room.  A decision was made to leave the house.  The hope was to help Colleen focus more on the task at hand and rather the fear of Ozzy.  She remained distraught for most of the drive to the country where Adam and Patrick took her to Edmunds Farmhouse.  There she would be amongst friends.  Ozzy had a good sight for those with abilities, but he stayed in the city usually, as public transportation was his main method of getting around.