CARRIE: Atonement 3

Chapter 3

Jace sat in his apartment, on the couch, with his morning coffee. He was still thinking about the vision last night as he turned on his TV and absent mindedly flipped through the channels. Suddenly a particular news story on the local channel caught his attention.

The news reporter on the screen a young woman with black hair was standing in what appeared to be a parking lot. Next to her stood a slightly older woman with dreadlocks. The reporter was speaking:

"I'm here at the Conover Truck Stop just outside Orlando. Last night this parking lot was the scene of a strange story. It seems that this woman, Lena Walcott, was being harassed last night by a violent ex boyfriend who had violated a restraining order and tried to attack her with a knife. He was stopped with a mysterious young woman in a hood apparently threw three long narrow glass shards through his hand, wrist, and arm." The reporter paused and turned to the lady

"Is that right, Ms. Walcott?"

"Yes," said Miss Walcott, "I didn't even know the girl was there until those glass shards came flying out of the shadows! Then she spoke to me and told me to find my phone, which he had taken away, and call the cops. I went to do what she said and when I got back she was gone. I don't know who she was, it was dark and her face was partially hidden by the hood she was wearing, but I remember she had the most intense eyes."

The Reporter turned to the camera and continued.

"The suspect, a man named Jake Walters, was taken to Orlando General hospital, the man was heard to say that this girl's face glowed red and she turned on him and warned him to stay away from Ms. Walcott or else. Jake Walters has a longing history of Alcohol abuse and violence. This time he faces charges of Violating a restraining order and attempted murder. The doctors say that the young woman's accuracy was amazing. The man's median nerve was severed but no major blood vessels were hit by any of the shards.

As of yet there is still no word on the identity of this hooded heroine."

Jace switched off the TV as the reporter said 'back to you'. He was lost in thought.

"To achieve that kind of accuracy you'd have to be either the world's greatest knife thrower or a telekinetic! I wonder!"

########

Carrie had made it into Atwater early that morning, after grabbing a little sleep in a bus station storage room. She now sat in the coin laundry across the street from the Phoenix Investigations Building. She had changed into her second set of clothes and was waiting for the others to dry. As she sat there watching the dryer spin around and around, the motion soon lulled her to sleep again. This time she dreamt. It was the same nightmare she'd been having for days; she was reliving the black prom all over again!

Across the street Jace was just standing up to down stairs and open the office when he suddenly he flashed to a vision. It was the same one he had in the shower the night before. Only this time it was much stronger this time he was able to more detail including the reflection of the girls face in the eyes of a teacher who seemed to be trying to help her. Jace knew what was coming next in the vision so he decided before he snapped out of it this time, to try and communicate with the owner of these memories. He decided to make it something simple. He concentrated on the phoenix symbol on top of the sign over the front entrance of the building. He hoped to make it appear the vision somehow, to plant it in the mind of the owner of these memories. it worked or so it seemed the phoenix symbol appeared on the wall opposite where this girl appear to be standing when she unleashed the telekinetic shockwave.

Carrie jolted awake and sat up with an almost wild look in her eyes. "What had been that symbol that had appeared on the wall in her dream? It wasn't there the night of the black prom!" Then it hit her. That presence she had felt in her dreams must be trying to communicate with her

She sat there racking her brain trying figure what that symbol was supposed to tell her. suddenly she was jarred out of her thoughts by the loud buzzing of the alarm on the dryer. She stood up and was moving across the aisle from the sitting area when she stopped short. She turned and looked out the glass doors at the building across the street. There on the plaque above the front doors was the bird symbol she had seen!

She was standing there gazing at it when suddenly she received a telepathic picture of a man in a ski mask throwing a knife at the back of her neck. The man was startled when the knife stopped in mid air just an inch from its target. Carrie turned slowly around to face her attacker. Her eyes went black and the knife flipped around, shot through the air and slammed into the guy shoulder up to the hilt!

The man stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. Just as Carrie took a step forward she was blindside by a sock in the jaw by another masked man. She was so focused on dealing with the knife thrower that she hadn't notice the other man flanking her. Carrie hit the floor dazed. The man who hit her stood over her with a sadistic grin on his face and a set of brass knuckles in his hand.

"Hey," snapped his partner, "Will you get on with it, before she uses that Tele-Crap on us again!"

"The man that hired is wanted her to suffer remember," the other man retorted. Carrie fought desperately to clear her head so she could use her telekinesis again. The man standing over her pulled out a small caliber hand gun and aimed at one of Carries legs. But just as he was pulling the trigger there was a flash of white light behind Carrie and the gun exploded. The man screamed in pain and dropped the floor holding his mangled hand. Carrie's head cleared. She turned and saw a young man in black denim and a red shirt standing in the doorway with an outstretched hand. Traces of a pinpoint of light, between his thumb and his other fingers, was fading away.

The other man, who had just pulled the knife out of his shoulder, was momentarily stunned by this turn of events. Then he recovered and made a grab for his own gun. Carrie saw it and reacted. She grabbed the man, by the throat, with her power, as his gun came out of his belt, and with a sharp flick of her arm slammed his head into a dryer window hard enough to crack and bloody the glass. He slumped to the ground unconscious.

Carrie turned to see the young man advancing on the man with the wounded arm. She was impressed when the young man grabbed the thug and lifted him off the ground with one arm.

"All right slime-ball," he growled ripping the guy's ski mask off, "you have five seconds to tell me who hired you two to torture and kill this girl!"

Before the man could answer, Jace suddenly said,

"Thank you. You just told me," and dropped kicked him against the opposite wall. After the man slumped to the floor unconscious the young man walked over to him, pulled something out of the man's pocket and fiddled with it for a moment. Then the young man tuned to Carrie.

"Are you alright?" he asked

"Yeah," she replied, "that guy just surprised me." Carrie grabbed her clothes and backpack and she and Jace hurried outside.

"By the way," he said, "I'm Jace Pierson, Phoenix investigations."

"I know," said Carrie, "I'm Carrie White."

"So you're not just a subconscious telepath." Carrie shook her head. Jace pulled out his Phone and dialed a number.

"Hi," he said into the phone, "Put detective Jackson on the phone."

There was a pause.

"Hi, Steve," he said, "Jace here, Are you still interested in catching those sadist Morton Brothers?"

"Those sickos absolutely!" came the reply

"Well in that case you'd better get some men over to the Quick Coin Laundromat before they wake up." with that Jace hung up.

"I know you found out who hired those men," said Carrie, as they started across the street to Jace's office, "Who was it?"

"Does the name John Hargenson mean anything to you?"

TBC …..

Please tell me what you think