Glimpse - A Novel Part 12

Oh G.o.d. It was something awful. "Just tell me," I said, bracing myself for the Apocalypse.

Grandma started pacing again. "I used to believe that the visions were triggered by the first person you fell in love with. That would be true for me and while your mother loves your father now, Mike was the first man she loved."

She avoided making eye contact with me. "However, on speaking with other seers in The Society, the consensus is that the trigger person is actually...the individual you have a strong physical connection to, not necessarily the first person you love."

Claire and Melody turned to look at me so fast I could hear their necks crack.

I was beyond mortified. "What?"

"Dude, did you and Avery...?" Claire said.

"No!" I turned seven different shades of red.

Claire's eyes got wide. "But it was only a matter of time?"

I didn't answer. I was not going there with my mind-reading grandma and super nosy aunt in the room.

Melody intervened. "Well, there's no way that anything is going to happen now, not after he called her a stupid freak." She snorted. "He's such a b.u.t.twipe."

Grandma went into the kitchen. She started spooning ca.s.serole into bowls.

Mel put her arm around my shoulders. "So, let's hear some more about this Lookout thing."

Aunt Hazel also seemed eager to move away from the discussion of my chast.i.ty. "The Lookout creates cover stories, asks questions, and brings attention to herself. For example, in January, we had a case in San Francisco-"

"San Francisco? You work in California too, Aunt Hazel?" Melody was impressed.

"Yes, we have several residences up and down the West Coast that we all share, depending on who is working on what case. We spend a good amount of time in Los Angeles. It's what you might call home base."

Grandma came back into the room and handed out bowls of food with forks sticking up out of them. She sat back down in her kitchen chair.

Aunt Hazel took a hearty bite. "So, as I was saying, there was a woman in San Francisco that Rachel had seen being carjacked in a parking garage. Then she was forced to drive out to the country by this man, where he raped her."

She leaned forward, getting into it. "Now, sometimes we can get to the scene before anything has happened. With this case, the carjacking was already in progress. So, while I made sure that no one was watching Rachel, she rewound the scene back to before the woman entered the parking garage. I called 9-1-1 and reported a car theft. When we heard the authorities coming, your grandma made a quick getaway as I watched the police catch the man breaking into the woman's car."

She took another bite. "After his apprehension, it was discovered that he was a serial rapist who had been terrorizing women in the area for several months."

"What happened to the woman? Did she remember being rewound?" I asked. I'd never had the chance to discover if the people I'd rewound knew what happened to them or how it felt.

"Usually, people are aware that something has happened to them. For instance, this woman came out to the parking garage and there's a scary man with a gun being arrested for breaking into her car. But, people don't trust their own minds a lot of the time. They're quick to forget the specifics of being rewound."

Melody was following the story intently. "What about video surveillance in the parking garage? How do you get around stuff like that?"

"Good question, Melody. That can be a tricky situation. Most of the time-"

"Interesting," Claire interrupted, "Now, can we get back to this Avery and Zellie doing it thing?"

"Ugh! Leave it alone!" I reached around Melody and slugged Claire on the shoulder.

"What! You don't wanna know if psychic granny here has seen what's going to happen with you guys?"

All three of us girls looked to Grandma. She held her fork to her mouth, about to take a bite. "I haven't tried to see and I won't unless you want me to, dear."

I glared at Claire. "I'm not ready to go there yet."

Claire pouted. "How could you possibly not want to know? I just don't get it."

Fine, I'll tell her the truth. Maybe then she'll shut up about it. "He triggered the visions, but that doesn't mean that it was love, okay? Get it?" I leaned my head back and forced the tears I could feel coming back in. "Avery doesn't love me anymore and he doesn't have to for this stuff to work." I looked at Grandma. "So, if that's what the future holds, I don't really want to know."

Grandma nodded her head. "Fair enough." She set her bowl down on the floor. "That's plenty of questions for tonight. What do you say we do something normal? Big Brother's going to be on soon."

At six the next morning Grandma shook me awake. "Come on, we've got a lot of work to do. Get dressed. I've put the kettle on for tea."

I scooted to the edge of the pull-out couch I shared with Melody. I tried not to step on Claire, who slept on an air mattress positioned between the couch and a closet door. Our sleeping arrangements took up almost the entire floor of the family room. I made my way into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, washed my face and threw on the only clean outfit left in my suitcase.

Grandma was waiting for me when I opened the bathroom door. She had two insulated mugs in the crook of one arm and her large brown purse in the opposite hand. "Ready?" she whispered. "Let's walk over to the MAX station. I try to take the light rail when I'm in Portland. Parking downtown," she rolled her eyes, "there's always construction."

We stepped outside. It was already muggy. July was the worst. It never cooled down past seventy at night and with our close proximity to the Willamette River, moisture clung to the air. I pushed the sleeves of my pullover up to my elbows. "What are we doing today, Grandma?"

She handed me a mug. "I thought we'd go downtown. Try and find you someone to rewind."

"I don't know." I took a drink of tea. "The last time I did a rewind I ended up in the hospital."

"That's because your ability had to work without your consent. When your intention is to rewind, the process doesn't take so much out of you." She nodded toward my tea. "Still, you'd better drink up."

We descended the stairs to the MAX platform and sat on a metal bench under an overhang. While we waited for the next westbound train, Grandma dug in her bag. She tore a prepaid ticket from a book and gave one to me.

"Here we go." She stood up and walked to the edge of the platform. I followed. We boarded a car with two seating areas, one on the level we were standing on, and another up three steps. Grandma chose to sit on the lower level facing towards the upper level.

When the MAX started moving, she leaned in to me and spoke in a hushed tone. "Okay. What do you feel about the blonde woman sitting on the upper level there, with the red s.h.i.+rt?"

I was confused. "What do I feel about her?" I studied her for a moment, nothing popped into my head. "I don't get a reading on her, if that's what you mean. I think I'm better at guessing after they've already gotten sick or hurt themselves."

"Focus, really try to see it happening."

The MAX slowed down and the woman got up, walking toward us to the steps. The vision clicked in my head. I leapt forward from my seat and caught her by the arm just as she slipped down the steps. "Watch it now!" I said, helping her to her feet.

"Thank you. I just about bit it big time, didn't I?" She giggled.

"Yeah, you might wanna rethink those high heels. You're liable to break an ankle."

The MAX came to a stop and the doors opened. The woman got off the car, giving me a little wave. "Thanks again."

I sat back down next to Grandma. "How was that? I thought just plain helping her was easier than trying to rewind her fall."

She put a finger to her lips and patted my knee. "That was great. You're right about not rewinding, far too many people and neither one of us has our Lookouts."

"So, is Aunt Hazel going to be giving Melody lessons too?" I whispered.

She nodded. "Just as soon as one of us has a vision that deserves the full treatment."

We crossed Steel Bridge. I looked down at the water. I'd liked helping that lady, keeping her from breaking her ankle. I concentrated on the boats below. Everything seemed to be going well, which was good I supposed. That thought made me get the giggles.

Grandma patted my knee again. "I know you're anxious to get started Zellie, but let's try and not wish someone were drowning."

The MAX made a stop in Old Town. Grandma nudged me with her purse. "This is where we get off."

I followed her from the MAX down an alley between a strip club and a Chinese restaurant. What? Your grandma doesn't hang out in places like that too? It was kind of gross.

"This is usually a reliable place to find a few drunks napping. You can practice your rewinds here." Grandma stood and pointed to the end of the alley where three dumpsters sat all askew.

I didn't walk any further. "You want me to practice on drunks?" That was way icky, morally speaking.

Grandma threw her hands up. "It's either that or coma patients, and half the time they wake up after being rewound. Drunks ask fewer questions."

I sighed. "All right, how do I start?"

She walked toward one of the dumpsters and peered inside. "I'm going to lift this gentleman out and then you can put him back in." She held her arm out. "It helps if you channel the energy through your fingers. Try it, you'll feel what I mean. Concentrate. Focus on your intention. See the rewind happening." She spread her fingers apart, lifted her arm up, summoning.

Two dirty bare feet rose into the air and out over the dumpster, bending the man they were attached to over the edge. Grandma flicked her wrist back. The man's toes found their way to the ground. He stood up. She held him there. "Okay. I've got him. Now, you help him back in." She nodded at the dumpster.

"This has totally got to be illegal," I muttered. I put my hand out in front of me and focused. I pictured the man floating, moving upward. He lifted a foot.

Grandma stepped away, her arm down at her side. "That's it, easy now."

The man didn't move. I tightened my focus. Uh-oh. Pine. I struggled to hold onto him. "Grandma, I'm about to..."

He was sitting at a long cafeteria table in a gymnasium eating chicken and noodles off of a paper plate, looking a little cleaner than he did now. His chin-length gray hair was combed back out of his face and he had different clothes on, jeans and a white Blazers t-s.h.i.+rt. Another man came up behind him, staggering and dragging his left foot.

"Hey. David. You gonna pretend you don't know me?" the man said.

David turned away from his food, terror in his eyes, and looked back. The other man jammed a pocket knife into his neck. Blood poured down David's chest, soaking his s.h.i.+rt.

I snapped back. David lay on the ground against the wall, his knees tucked up to his chest. Grandma took her cell phone out and held it up. "Do I need to call Hazel and Melody?"

Why does everyone have a cell phone but me? "Yeah," I said. "Do you have a camera on that thing? You might want to get a picture of him."

Grandma aimed her phone at David. He stretched his legs out straight and rolled over, facing the wall. She tiptoed past him and hooked her arm with mine, pulling me out to the street.

I looked back. "Shouldn't we warn him or something?"

She shook her head. "It's against The Society's rules I'm afraid. We can prevent, but not warn. It helps us keep a low profile." She took my hand, closed her eyes and saw the David vision. "Stabbing. Those are always so b.l.o.o.d.y. Let's get back to the apartment." She led me back to the MAX.

Waiting, Grandma called Aunt Hazel.

"Zellie's had a vision," she said, muted. "We're getting on the MAX now. We'll be home in twenty minutes. Wake the other girls up if you haven't already."

When we arrived at the apartment, there was a dry erase board set up in the family room. Melody jumped up from the couch, taking the cap off of the blue marker in her hand. "Tell me every detail. I've totally got this."

I walked past her to the bathroom. "Hold on, I'm sweating to death." I dug around in one of Melody's suitcases. "Can I wear your green tank top?" I called to her, ripping the pullover off and putting the tank top on before she could answer.

"I guess. Hurry up!"

I came back into the room. "Okay. Details..." I paced, while Melody wrote. Aunt Hazel, Grandma, and Claire all sat on the couch, observing. I felt like Mel and I were teaching a seminar in freakanomics. "His name is David. He's homeless. He's got gray hair. Skinny. In the vision he was wearing light blue jeans and a white Blazers t-s.h.i.+rt. Grandma's got a picture on her cell."

Melody looked at me. "Grandma's got a cell phone? Seriously?" She glanced at the phone Grandma held up. "What else, Zellie?"

I ran my fingers through my hair. "Let's see. He was in a gymnasium, but it was set up like a soup line or a shelter. Eating chicken and noodles I think? I didn't focus on getting a good look at the other guy, the one who stabbed him. Did you, Grandma?"

She closed her eyes. "Short. Wearing a baseball cap, pulled down. Mariners colors. Black polo s.h.i.+rt. He's white. That's all I can see."

"What else do we need to know, Aunt Hazel?" Melody asked.

"Those are some really good details. What do you think should be our next step, Melody?"

She scanned the dry erase board. "The next thing I would do is call local aid organizations and find out if they serve their meals in a gym. That right there makes me think it's a church school thing, like St. Mary's in Rosedell.

"Then I need to narrow the list down further to places with a preplanned menu and find out what day they're serving what David was eating." She chewed her bottom lip, contemplating the board again. "I'm a.s.suming it's local because they're probably both homeless and...I'm thinking it's all going to go down soon because they're dressed for warm weather."

"Crackerjack!" Aunt Hazel said, "Let's you and I get started calling places." She took the phone book from the drawer in the telephone table and handed Melody the cordless phone.

Claire got up from the couch, mouthing "crackerjack?" to me. What can I say; Aunt Hazel was a little weird.

"I'm going to step outside and call my parents," Claire said, "I'll be right back."

I turned to Grandma. "What do we do now?" I rocked back and forth on the b.a.l.l.s of my feet, hyperactive as all get out.

"We let our Lookouts do their job." She got up and came to me, putting her arm around my shoulders. "You're doing great. I wish we would've been able to practice rewinding, but this is where we're needed, I guess. Are you up for trying to get a glimpse of the future?"

My stomach spoke up.

Grandma smiled, "After breakfast then? We never did eat those bagels I brought with me this morning." She picked her purse up from the couch and extracted a brown paper sack.

"Mm, purse bagels," I said, holding out my hands.

Avery stared at his bedroom ceiling listening to the phone ring, hoping Mrs. Wells would answer it. When she hadn't picked up after the sixth ring, he grabbed the phone and hit TALK. "h.e.l.lo?"