Juniper Blossom Café
Carrie chose a secluded spot outside toward the corner where she and Sue could speak privately away from prying ears. Luckily, the restaurant was not crowded with only a few patrons enjoying the fresh air which included an old man reading his newspaper, a couple making goo-goo eyes at each other over their dessert, and a university student typing away on his laptop. Carrie ordered a blueberry muffin and latte for Sue while she sipped away at her chamomile tea.
"How's the muffin?" She asked her former classmate as her elbows touched the table. She stared at Sue Snell and tried to find numerous physical faults to make her feel better about herself. Surprisingly, she noticed truly little despite the woman wearing no make-up or looking a bit haggard, but Sue still appeared as youthful as she did in high school. She could not fault her for that. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whomever humbles himself will be exalted. She thought up the words her late mother ingrained in her even though Margaret White tended to take the Biblical teachings to an extreme. For the most part, Sue had not changed a bit as the pretty teenager.
"Good." Sue replied nervously as she picked at the pastry with her fingers. She downed her latte and set the cup back on to the table. "You look good, Carrie." She forced a smile. "Really good."
Sue had to admit that the ten years had been kind to the once shy, awkward teenager. She remembered Carrie as this plain, slightly overweight girl who was ripe for ridicule in school. The once ugly duckling had now lost the baby fat, grew into her slender curves, wore cosmetics, and sported red hair that would obviously make all the "it" girls of their high school jealous. Instead, in her place sat across from her a beautiful swan with the face of an angel and the body of a siren.
"You too," replied Carrie. She lied. Her sixth sense told her something was off and could feel the apprehension emitting from the frazzled, dark curly haired woman. She inhaled for a bit and got down to business. Her question was blunt. "What do you want?"
Sue drank a little bit of her latte to clear her voice. She then leaned in to whisper. "I'm in trouble."
Carrie remained emotionless. "What kind of trouble?" She was determined to interrogate her. "Are you in trouble with the law? Do you want money?" Her voice grew even more serious. She had a reason to distrust people and a blast from the past did not help matters. "If you're looking to blackmail me, then you're wasting your time. I don't have anything of value to my name."
Sue's hands gripped the latte cup hard. Her head shook. "No. I'm not done anything criminal." She paused. "Like I told you, I'm in trouble. The Shop is after me!"
The moment Sue Snell mentioned The Shop, Carrie folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. She and Charlie thought they had eluded the villainous organization but now this strange woman from her past had come back to haunt her. She remained calm to get her questions answered.
"What do you know of The Shop?"
Sue swallowed hard. "I know they are this secret group of bad guys that hold people with certain gifts under lock and key. I know they are dangerous and not above kidnapping and killing people."
"And you know this, how?" Carrie remained skeptical.
Sue's hand reached out to touch Carrie's. "I know this because I was one of those people, they abducted and imprisoned."
Carrie retracted her hand.
"I know all about you, Carrie. I know you have a gift. Psychic powers. Look, I don't blame you for what happened back in Chamberlain. The kids were cruel. I didn't understand it back then, but I do now. Everyone has a breaking point and you reached yours. What our classmates did was wrong and maybe they deserved it!"
Carrie glanced away to stare at some passing cars outside. "No one deserves it! Not even those shitty mean kids that tortured and bullied me! Look, I lost control and blacked out…I didn't mean for any of it to happen." The realization of what she was saying hit her. "Wait a minute, why am I telling you this?" She pushed her chair away from the table to get up. "I think what you're saying sounds crazy and I think coming here was a mistake…"
Sue's hands slammed the table. "My daughter has powers too!"
This loud outburst should have caught the attention of anyone around the vicinity or a passing bystander, but everyone had been too wrapped in their own businesses that they ignored the crazy woman ranting. Once again, Carrie calmly sat back down and pushed her chair back to the table.
"Care to explain what you mean?" She whispered to her lunch companion.
"My daughter Izzy, "explained Sue, "She has gifts, like you. She can see the future, like premonitions and she could travel outside her body, astral projection I think that is what they call it. She can do things, I swear!"
Carrie listened intently. Sue sighed and changed the topic.
"I knew something was off the night of the Black Prom. I could feel it. When Coach Desjardin threw me out of the gym, I managed to sneak a peek through the gym window. I saw what the kids did to you. I saw Chris Hargensen dump animal blood all over you after you won Prom Queen. I saw the bloody bucket fall out of the rafters and bash Tommy's head. I watched as they made fun of you and laughed at your misery. I couldn't believe how cold, heartless, and cruel our classmates had become."
"Cruel and heartless, yes." She agreed with Sue. "Deserving of death. No."
Her lunch companion sighed. "Perhaps not but I can't fault you for what came next." Sue's eyes darted downward. "I thought I was going crazy or that I was dreaming it all but then things became strange." She looked to Carrie. "Your eyes stared at nothing, unblinking, as if you were possessed by something dark and sinister. Suddenly, the room spun around with chairs and tables thrown about with nothing holding them up, bodies of people catapulted by an invisible force while a fire ignited out of nowhere and surrounded the gym. I watched in horror as a hundred bodies scrambled for safety only to be crushed, trampled, or burned in the frenzy. I tried to open the doors to let everyone out, but they remained mysteriously locked and all I can do was hear the screams of everyone being engulfed in flames!"
"And where was I in all of this?" Carrie questioned her.
"You were at the heart of the melee," Sue continued. "You were the puppet master somehow pulling the strings. I couldn't explain the scary, miraculous things you were doing but I knew I had to get out of the way before something terrible might make me the next target." She grabbed her latte and took another sip. "I watched as you somehow made the car that Chris and Billy Nolan were in suddenly crash and overturn and I secretly followed you as you literally destroyed the town on your way home. What I couldn't figure out was how you survived the collapse of your house after you destroyed it with you and your mother inside of it."
Carrie shrugged. "That I don't know. That whole night is a blur."
Sue drank her latte and nodded. "Pathological temporal displaced amnesia."
Carrie's head cocked at her answer.
"It's a rare, controversial neuro-behavioral disorder where the brain shuts off a major memory of a traumatic event, during which time, the victim might be involved in a negative action that he or she may not be aware of. In your case, the trauma of extreme bullying caused a catalyst for your brain to go into defense mode by using your abilities to cause destruction upon Chamberlain. It was an involuntary response which explains why you have severe memory loss of that night. Hence, you're not responsible for casualties of what happened."
Sue noticed Carrie's surprise at her answer. She smiled.
"I majored in psychology after my daughter was born. I then got my Masters and became a guidance counselor to help other troubled teens."
Scratching her head, Carrie appeared skeptical. She once again looked away and stared back at the bookstore across the street.
"You didn't know it," said Sue. "But I did my research. I considered everything surrounding the Black Prom. Thank God for the internet and the library archives. I found a connection with a drug called Lot 6 and how this secret company calling itself The Shop had been paying willing participants huge sums of money to be part of a drug research experiment. Your father, Richard White, was one test subject. He was mysteriously killed in a construction accident after you were born."
Carrie's eyes lit up. "You know about my father's accident?"
Sue nodded. "It turns out The Shop had been doing this in other small towns. They entice poor working-class folks the promise of big bucks if they join their little field research, inject them with Lot 6, and watch as many of them get sick or die as a result. Those that survive sometimes exhibit some sort of supernatural ability to which they abduct the patient and cover-up their missing disappearance."
"That doesn't explain the connection with my father's death," noted Carrie.
"I'm getting to that," said Sue. "It turned out that your father exhibited signs of low-level psychic abilities. Clairvoyance. That is when a person touches an object and suddenly knows everything about that item from who touched it to whom it last encountered. Your father was a smart man and figured out what The Shop was doing and how Lot 6 affected him and other patients and threatened to go to the police with this information. Apparently, The Shop didn't like this and murdered your father. They made it look like an accident."
Carrie absorbed this new bit of information. "Momma always told me that he accidentally fell on the job. She wouldn't give the full details; instead, she made me accept this story as the truth."
"Then there's more," Sue continued. "Lot 6 patients carry a hereditary gene that gets passed on to some sort of ability to the offspring or descendant. Your powers are the result of your father's participation in the experiment while Izzy must've gotten her gifts from Tommy."
Carrie gasped. "Tommy? As in Tommy Ross? Your high school boyfriend?"
Sadly, Sue nodded. "After the incident with the Black Prom and your supposed death, it all became too much for me. I had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized for three months. There, I discovered I was pregnant with my daughter. I didn't think Tommy carried the Lot 6 gene until I learned later that his father participated in the same experiments as Richard White. After Izzy was born and began displaying incredibly special gifts, I put two and two together that she was too was a progeny of Lot 6."
A comforting hand reached over to ease the distraught woman. Carrie held Sue's palm and smiled. The reassurance made her former classmate feel at ease.
"It's all right," she replied to Sue. Her voice emitted a sweetness of honey and compassion. Carrie's fingers squeezed gently and allowed her lunch to companion a moment to cry.
Tears welled up around Sue's face. "You don't understand. The moment Izzy turned ten, her powers manifested even stronger. She'd get clear visions in her dreams of people dying that would come true. She'd project an image of herself into another room while her physical body would remain asleep in another. Eventually, The Shop found out about her and sent their goons to kidnap us. We've been held captive for six months before I was able to escape!"
Carrie quickly released her hand. "How do you find me?"
Sue wiped her face and gulped. "I have a friend who helped me. A hacker. She helped me find where you and your friend were hiding. She knows you're here with Charlie McGee!"
Suddenly, Carrie's face became pale. If Sue Snell and her hacker friend could find her and Charlie this easily, then that would mean that The Shop would soon be on their heels in no time. She quickly got up from the table.
"I'm sorry, Sue." She apologized. "But I can't help you. I have my own life to worry about."
In desperation, Sue reached over to stop her. "Wait, Carrie! You don't understand! You and Charlie are the only ones that can save my daughter! They still have Izzy! That is why she sent me to find you! You can help us!"
Carrie's hands pulled away. "Sorry, I can't!" She started to sprint across the street.
"Carrie! There is something else that you need to know!" Sue called out to her.
Carrie barely got a few feet before she crashed into someone physically imposing and exuded an air of pure masculinity. She looked up to see Professor Paul Sandza's gorgeous eyes staring down at her. Though the man was quite handsome and filled out his dress shirt and slacks quite well, she had bigger issues to worry about.
"Whoa! Where's the fire?" He giggled as he released the young woman. He pointed back toward the table she shared with Sue and pulled up a nearby chair to join the duo. "Hope, I'm not interrupting anything?"
Acting as if everything was fine, Carrie played up the charade. "Oh, not at all." She grinned. "I was finishing my lunch with an old friend." She turned to Sue and made the introductions. "Professor Sandza, this is a former classmate of mine, Sue. Sue, Paul." Her head addressed them both to which the two shook hands and shared an introductory greeting.
"Please to meet you," Sue feigned a smile. "I'm in town just visiting Car…"
"Francine!" Carrie interrupted. Her eyes blinked a coded message to her. "You came to visit me, your old friend, Francine!"
Immediately, Sue understood her signal and played along. "Yes…uh…Francine!"
"That's awesome!" Paul laughed. "It's great to meet one of Franny's friends!"
"It sure is," lied Sue.
Paul slowly leaned in to whisper. "Especially when I know you are being watched, Miss Snell!"
His tone turned instantly serious.
With her face now in shock, Sue dropped the act. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
"A friend," said Paul. He then addressed Carrie. "Just like I know Francine is your alias, Carrie White."
Carrie swallowed hard and said nothing. She prepared herself for an attack and steadied her mind to do what she needed to escape. Just one push and that would give her plenty of time to make her next step.
"Relax." Paul stated. He whispered even quieter. "I know you don't want to believe me but, trust me, I'm on your side."
Sue remained skeptical. "Why should we believe you?"
"Because," replied Paul. "The Shop is already here spying on you!"
The two women looked at each other in surprise. Out of nowhere, this total stranger made a revelation that shook them to the core. Paul put a finger to his lips in a gesture of silence as the three sat back down quietly and waited to see what would happen.
Carrie, Sue.
A voice echoed around them. Like a ghostly wail calling out to them, both ladies did a double turn to make sure they were not going crazy.
Don't be afraid. I'm like you, Carrie. I'm a Lot 6 child also. My power is telepathy. I can read minds and communicate with others through my thoughts. Without speaking, I want you to pretend we're having a nice lunch but talk to me with your inner voices. I can connect multiple conversations at one time. Paul's tone sounded serious. He nodded to Sue. Same with you too, Sue. I know about your daughter, Isabelle, and her gifts. I need you both to play along. The Shop is watching us.
Sue frowned. She let her mind do the talking. Who are you? Can we trust you?
My name is Agent Paul Sandza. Paul answered in his head. I'm with the covert special ops division of the Pentagon. We've been monitoring The Shop's activities for decades and have been working to put a stop to their organization. And yes, Miss Snell, you can trust me.
So, you're not really a college professor? Carrie asked in her mind. It's all a ruse?
Paul nodded. I needed a front, so we could find you and Charlie McGee. Our intel tracked The Shop here to Fort Lindell. We had to get to you first before they did. They already made a move on Charlie's workplace.
Oh my God! Carrie's thoughts turned to worry. Charlie! I must help her!
Relax. Paul reassured her. I have another operative protecting her. I just got a text from my partner that both Jane Delano and your girlfriend have been rescued from The Shop's attack at the garage.
Girlfriend? Sue flinched. Her eyebrows shot up. You and Charlie are a ...?
Couple. Carrie finished with a sigh in her head. It's been ten years, Sue. People change and discover their true selves over time.
Sue shrugged her shoulders. Hey, it's cool. She smiled. I think it's great you found someone. Consider me an ally.
Internally, Carrie appreciated her old classmate's support. She returned her gaze back to Paul. You mentioned a Jane Delano as also being rescued. Who is that?
Sue jumped in. She's with me. She is the hacker friend that helped break me out The Shop facility. She was the one that helped me find you and Charlie.
And my partner has them both in a van heading this way to pick us up. Paul added.
Hold on a minute! Carrie stated with skepticism. How do we know that you're not working for The Shop?
Because, started Paul, the people sitting outside all around us? They're not customers. They're operatives for The Shop!
Both women's mouths dropped.
Are you sure? Sue questioned.
Carrie, said Paul. You can sense when something is off. That is part of your gift. Without making yourself conspicuous, I want you to really examine some of the people that are seated by you. Notice what is different about each of them.
A hand parted a strand of red hair from her face. Carrie quickly glanced at the old man reading the newspaper and read the headline on the front page. It concerned the passing of a tax increase for Fort Lindell that occurred yesterday. This appeared to be nothing new, except the lawmaking bill was announced two weeks prior. The old man seemed to be reading an old periodical. She suddenly began piecing together the errors all around her.
The loving couple? They had not touched their dessert and kept eyeing their phones strangely beneath their table. The college student on his laptop? The university sweatshirt he was wearing should've been a dead giveaway especially since the college mascot is an eagle and not an iron-on duck that could easily be seen on the shoulder sleeve. Paul Sandza was right. These were associates of The Shop.
What do we do? Carrie asked the agent with her mind.
Paul signaled to the two women with a simple nod. Act normal. Pretend that lunch is over and we're saying our cordial goodbyes. Each of us will leave the table and go our separate ways. As soon as you're out of sight, quickly meet toward the end of the block across the street from the bookstore. A van will be here any minute to pick us up.
The trio agreed. Paul went first and stepped away from the table. As soon as Carrie and Sue began to walk in opposite directions, the four Shop associates quickly rose as well. Each of them reached into a hidden area of their clothing to draw their guns.
"Paul!" Sue screamed.
Instantly, Carrie drew upon her power and prepared to push the four Shop agents around the sidewalk. However, Paul waved his hand to her and glared at the quartet of enemies who had their pistols aimed at him.
Paul displayed a smirk. "Not this time." A very, mellow energy saturated the air. It rose like a strong breeze capturing a leaf and dropped it quickly as if that same gale had come and passed without warning. Each Shop agent felt it. Their eyes becoming heavyset. Their arms drooping. It finally gave way when their legs gave out and each of the four-dropped face first onto the pavement.
Sue and Carrie stared at the bodies sprawled unmoving on the concrete.
"Are they…?" Sue nervously wondered.
"Dead?" Paul answered. "No. Just sleeping." He grinned. "Did I mention that I can hypnotize people too?"
An explosion startled everyone as screams came rushing out the front doors of Covers. A few people ran outside the front doors of the bookshop, while Carrie and her friends hit the ground for cover.
Turning their attention across the way, they watched as a short, fat, balding man in glasses wearing a stained Hawaiian shirt and frayed khaki shorts fired several rounds into the air. Beneath his arm struggled an African American woman in a denim jacket and sporting a Covers nametag did Carrie recognize the person being held hostage.
"Rhonda!" She yelled toward her friend and coworker now being held hostage.
"STAY BACK!" Mr. Loudmouth threatened. He shifted his position and pushed the edge of the gun toward Rhonda's temple. He glared at Carrie and Sue. "TRY ANYTHING AND I'LL BLOW THIS BITCH'S BRAINS OUT!"
Putting her hands up, Carrie moved slowly to the man. Mr. Loudmouth was not having it.
"Franny…" Rhonda's mouth quivered. She could feel the pressure of the edge of the pistol to her face.
"I'M WARNING YOU!" Loudmouth shouted at Carrie who stopped dead in her tracks. "I MEAN IT! I'LL SPLATTER HER BRAINS EVERYWHERE!"
Agent Sandza pushed his mind into Rhonda's captor. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Nothing.
Loudmouth cackled. "Trying to control my mind, Sandza?" He shook Rhonda who whimpered. "Neural inhibitors! Courtesy of The Shop! They had them implanted. Prevents psychic freaks like you from doing one of your Jedi mind tricks!" He shifted his focus back to Carrie and then to Sue. "You two! Looks like The Shop is going to be extremely interested in you both! My colleagues should be here any minute! Enjoy your last taste of freedom, ladies! You belong to The Shop now!"
Carrie took a step forward again.
"I SAID STAY BACK BITCH!" He warned her. He now positioned the gun into Rhonda's cheek. "USE YOUR FUCKING POWERS AND I'LL PULL THE TRIGGER SO FAST, YOU'LL BE PICKING PIECES OF YOUR FRIEND'S FACE HERE!"
Rhonda's eyes welled with tears. "Franny…"
This caused Loudmouth to laugh even more. "Franny? Franny? Is that what she is calling herself now?" He taunted Rhonda. His voice purred in her ear. "Want to know the truth? Your friend, Franny there is a liar. Her real name is Carrie. Carrie White. And she's the biggest fucking freak on the planet!"
His words soaked in for a minute. Rhonda's head was spinning from what this crazy customer was telling her.
"Franny…I mean Carrie." Still confused, she tried to make sense off it all. "I don't understand."
"Simple," hissed Loudmouth. "Your friend is not only a grade-A bitch liar, but she is a fucking freak with powers…"
The sound of screeching tires interrupted Loudmouth's speech. Too distracted by the gray van that was barreling down the street, he turned the gun away from Rhonda and aimed it toward the vehicle. His finger pulsed along the trigger when Carrie seized her opportunity. Focusing her power around Loudmouth and his captive, her mind shoved Rhonda to the ground as she managed to wrap an invisible clenched fist around the captor and lift him through the air. Then with enough force of a Mack Truck, she threw him at the thick, glass window at the front of Covers. Shards of splintered debris sliced and diced The Shop agent until nothing was left but a huge scarlet stained that soaked up the bookstore's carpet.
The gray van slowed down in front of the group as strange looking goth girl slid open the back door and directed Paul and his friends.
"Get in!"
Carrie could see an unconscious Charlie lying on the floor of the van, while an older silvery, blonde woman took control of the driver's seat. Sue immediately show her familiarity with the gothic teen and climbed into the van.
"It's good to see you, Jane!" She smiled at the stranger. Paul called shotgun and took the passenger's side next to Svetlana as Carrie assisted Rhonda into the vehicle. The shocked woman reluctantly joined their little posse but deep down she trusted her friend's judgement. Once inside, she instantly probed her coworker.
"Franny…er Carrie, whatever your name is!" She clucked. "What the hell is going on and who are all these people? More importantly, did some ghost just shove a guy through a glass window?"
Jane shut the back doors and signaled for Svetlana to drive off. A couple cross street in, Carrie attempted to answer her friend's questions.
"It's Carrie." The redheaded woman admitted. She gestured to a sleeping Charlie. "And Liz's real name is Charlene or Charlie McGee. We're on the run from some unbelievably bad people."
Rhonda swallowed. "Are these people called The Shop?"
"You've heard of it?" Paul chimed in from the front.
"Not really." Rhonda responded. "That fucker with the gun who kidnapped me kept mentioning it. I don't know what that meant."
Carrie sighed. "It means that good and evil exist in the world and the only way to stop the villains is by having superheroes save the day. And no, it wasn't a ghost that pushed your armed kidnapper. It was me!"
Her coworker flinched. "What do you mean it was you?"
She nodded. "It's true. I did it. I'm a superhero!"