****
Juni closed the door behind Oliver and breathed a sigh of relief. She was on information overload. Her feet felt like bricks as she trudged into her bedroom, stripped down to her skivvies and collapsed on to the bed. She hadn’t felt this drained since she had the heart transplant. The wayward thought made her struggle against the approaching oblivion of sleep. Afraid of some sort of paranormal attack, she fought to stay awake before falling victim to her weariness.
****
The moment she opened her eyes she knew something was wrong. She was in a black sedan with Oliver at the wheel. Rain pounded onto the roof and the road in front of them.
“It’s really coming down out there,” she said.
“I know. I’m glad we’ll be home in the next fifteen minutes. People tend to lose the ability to drive when it rains.”
?
?Lose? I’d say half of them never possessed the ability in the first place,” she said.
Juni found herself laughing even as the panic set in. She knew how the story ended, and she had no desire to experience it in person. They said if you realized you were dreaming you should be able to wake yourself up. Wake up! Come on! Wake Up! This is just a dream! She chanted the words over and over, but nothing happened. She attempted to lift her hand to bang on the car window, and found she was paralyzed. She watched in slow motion as the car beside them veered into their lane. Oliver jerked the wheel to his left, and the black sedan fishtailed, careening out of control as it slammed into the guardrail.
There was a moment of resistance, and then they were airborne. A scream was torn from her throat and pain shot through her body as her head slammed against the glass. Unlike Oliver’s wife she was wide-awake when the car hit the water and began to fill. No matter how many times she told herself to take slow even breaths she began to hyperventilate as the water crept higher up her body. When the water reached her chin a brown haired woman appeared before her. With golden skin and beautiful green eyes, she was a vision with a kind voice.
“Let me help you.” She reached out her hand and grasped the seatbelt that kept her held hostage, and paused.
“We’re in your mind. I can only assist you if you give me the power to do so.”
“Do whatever you need to.”
An almost evil gleam lit the mystery woman’s eyes and she had the feeling she’d sold her soul to the devil.
“Done.”
The world around her began to spin and her lids drifted closed.
“You should be more careful. You don’t want to end up like Oliver’s wife did,” were the last words she heard.
Chapter Eleven
Oliver sat across the table from Juni at their favorite greasy spoon and fought back a frown. He observed her from over the top of his menu. The two of them had been dealt a shitty deck last night, but her actions made red flags pop up like daisies. Her mannerisms, outfit, even her voice were slightly off. Like there was someone inside working her controls, yet unable to imitate her accurately. Normally he’d chalk it up to a bad day. With all that had happened recently, he’d be a fool to ignore abnormal behavior. He glanced down when she looked up, and pretended to read.
They’d spent the past three hours in the library skimming through books on the paranormal, spirits, and ghosts. When their stomachs growled and their brains felt filled to the brim, they decided to break for lunch. All morning Juniper had seemed to be in a daze, but now it was getting worse.
“Are you guys ready to order?” the blonde waitress asked as she returned and stood at the end of the table.
“I think so.” He glanced over at Juni who nodded her agreement.
“You go first, babe,” he said.
“I’d like a wasabi burger with fries.”
His heart skipped a beat as he stared at the imposter in front of him.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked.
“Yes… why?”
“Because you’re allergic to wasabi.”
For a moment her face filled with fury before it smoothed back over.
“I’m so exhausted I’m not thinking straight.” She gave a chuckle that sounded fake and brittle to his ears. “I’ll just have a cheeseburger with everything and French fries, and a root beer.”