Outbreak by Christine Fonseca Page B

table. “You and Josh were part of those experiments she spoke of, weren’t you? Mark was right, you really are psychic.”
    My mouth refuses to work, so I nod instead.
    “Where is your mom now, Dakota? You weren’t on vacation, were you?”
    I shake my head, still unable to speak. Tears flow down my face and Elaine scoops me into a hug.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I say as a large sob escapes. “I couldn’t. I still shouldn’t say anything.”
    “Shh,” Elaine says. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe here.”
    “That’s just it. I’m not safe. I won’t ever be safe. And now that you know . . .” My voice cracks on the last words.
    “I’m fine. Nothing will happen to me,” Elaine says. “It’ll all be okay. I promise.
    I wish I could believe her.
    “You have another brother,” she says.
    “I have another brother.” The words are barely more than a whisper. I pace the room and the apprehension builds under my skin. My mind spins. A younger brother. I can’t believe it. “Elaine, what if he’s like me? What is he has gifts?” Emotions fill me, forcing out all reason. “I have to find him. I need to make sure he’s okay.”
    “Dakota, where would you even start?”
    “I don’t know. But I’m not going to let him wrestle with this all by himself.”
    My thoughts race as I begin to make plans. I grab the envelope and search the contents again. “Maybe the person who sent it knows something, anything that will help me figure things out.” The words come out too fast.
    “Dakota, wait. You’re jumping into this too quickly. You need to take a breath and make a plan.”
    I am planning. And there is no way I am going to abandon my brother. Not after I already lost Josh.
    “I need to figure this out,” I say as I leave the house.
    “Where are you going?” Elaine calls out
    “For a run. I have to think.”
     

     
    My feet pound on the dirt path that extends from the house to the shoreline. I used to run every time life became more than I could handle. I ran when Gabe dumped me. I ran when David left without a word. And now I run to avoid the betrayal I feel from my mom for the baby she discarded—Liam.
    My feet hit the sand in pulsating rhythms. I haven’t run like this since I left Cambria. Having the opportunity now reminds me how much I’ve missed it.
    Wind whips my hair back as the ocean presses along the coast, casting its spray in my face. I picture my mom, my childhood. Familiar stretches of darkness push out any other thoughts. I sharpen my focus, determined to find the missing moments of my life. There has to be an echo of the past, something to help me regain everything that was lost.
    Everything she stole.
    The more I try, the less I see. Snippets of time get lost in the void of my thoughts. Anger swells for Mom, my father, Josh, David.
    I run faster, harder.
    Sweat beads my brow and my breath comes in labored pants. My legs pump as my feet sink into the wet sand. The sun beats down, warming my body further. I can’t keep up this pace much longer.
    The more I run, the further I push into my mind. And the more my memories fail. I scream my frustration and slow to a stop, unable to quell the rising pain in my side.
    At once something touches my thoughts. Someone. Apprehension crawls along my spine and spreads through my skin. Anger and frustration mix in equal proportion.
    You .
    LeMercier forms in the black abyss of my thoughts. He smiles, laughs. Another presence filters in, just as sinister and self-satisfied as my father.
    “Get out,” I yell into the wind.
    A flock of sea birds take flight, disturbed by the unwelcome noise of my voice.
    “I said, GET OUT!”
    More laughter permeates my thoughts as each presence is tossed from my head. I turn and run back toward my home. LeMercier remains on the fringe of my awareness. His presence conjures images of Mom, her first husband and a version of LeMercier I can’t believe exists.
    I taught you better than