Cade studied her as she drove. Her hair was still the same shade of brown it had been when he met her. It still had the same vibrant red highlights in it. The length was a little shorter than before. Her eyes were still the same strange shade of violet they had been previously. A shudder crawled along his spine when he recalled how they had looked with the color nearly drained from them. She had almost died in front of him. With a shake of his head, he tried to push the memory away. She looked like she had lost weight as well. Not that she needed to or that she was suddenly scrawny. Instead he could tell she had gained more muscle. Not an obscene amount. Just enough for him to notice. The tank top she wore certainly didn't hurt the observation. Muscles in her shoulders and arms moved fluidly as she maneuvered the vehicle through the mild traffic.
But more than the physical changes, he could sense there were more differences inside of her. Raine was always somewhat distant. Aloof some might even say. He supposed she had to be with all the noise in her head. Now he could feel an invisible wall around her. He had thought when they parted ways last time that she had felt closer to people instead of being a "million miles away" as she had put it. He wondered what had changed.
"I told you what we've done since the last time we saw you. What about you?" he tried.
A slight shrug of the shoulder nearest him. The other shoulder would jar the wounded hand that was resting in her lap. Her gaze flicked to him quickly then returned to the road.
"The usual. Wandered all over the place listening to the voices in my head."
He smiled with her on that. "At least life isn't dull."
"No, can't claim life is ever dull around me."
She said no more and he couldn't think of anyway to find out what he wanted to know that didn't involve a level of bluntness that he wasn't quite comfortable with. So he said nothing.
"I got asked to go through the Academy," she finally offered into the silence.
"Police?"
"Yeah. The St. Louis police offered me a full time position if I wanted it."
"Wow," Cade replied, dully impressed. "Why didn't you?"
She hesitated a half a second before responding. No one else would have noticed, but he did.
"Having a home would be nice," she admitted. "But I've still got things to do. I wouldn't be able to be a full time officer. Not like they wanted anyway."
"Makes sense." Cade knew there was more to it than that but didn't push. "What were you doing in St. Louis?"
"Serial rapist," she replied as she flipped on the blinker with a wrist instead of a hand and headed for the exit that was rapidly approaching. "He was getting more and more violent. Nearly killed a woman before they called me in. He'd been cutting them for a while."
Cade frowned slightly. "Why did they wait so long?"
Raine shrugged her good shoulder again. "The usual. There was no way a so called psychic could possibly help them."
With a snort Cade shook his head. "Somehow I'm not surprised. So you haven't bothered explaining your gifts?"
"It's just easier to let them assume I'm just psychic. They can pretend they understand that. It's a little unorthodox, but people are used to psychics helping the police these days."
She slowed, preparing to turn into a gas station. Handing him a pair of sunglasses from a tray in the console she spared him a glance before she turned in.
"No point in holding a neon wanted sign over your head." The engine died with a turn of the key as she came to a stop next to a pump on the far end of those available. "We'll have to make some changes before we get there."
"Changes?" Cade echoed as she climbed out of the Blazer.
She simply flashed him a smile them swiped a card through the reader. "You're going to have to pump. I'm not sure I can do it all with one hand." As Cade rounded the back end of the vehicle, "I'm going to pee." She looked at her bandaged hand. "Maybe."
Then she headed for the bathroom.
***
A few people took note of her as she moved across the parking lot towards him. One man seemed to memorize her entire backside. Cade felt a pang of something he couldn't quite name. The bandage on her hand seemed to be more spotted with crimson than before. She held the hand gingerly, close to her chest. Just the impact of walking made it throb and she gritted her teeth. Shaking his head, he wondered again why she wouldn't just heal it. Her face was several shades paler when she finally reached him.
"Bathroom visit not go so well?" he asked airily.
"You could say that," she replied dryly. "This whole bathroom thing was easier in a pair of boxer shorts."
Cade chuckled. "You didn't have to change on my account." He grinned at her scowl. "I take it you want me to drive for a while?"
Raine snorted at him. "It's a thought." She jerked her head towards the building. "Go if you're going. I'm ready to be done with this so I can lick my wounds in private."
The door of the Blazer opened smoothly and he peered across the hood at her. "Nah, I'll wait till we're somewhere a little less public." He slid easily into the driver's seat. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before getting all showy about things."
"Tell that to your 'paranoid as hell and psychotic to boot' girlfriend," she retorted. "If she hadn't been such a bitch about things then maybe I could have made my point another way."
He shot her a look. A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth. "I'm not sure which should offend me more. The girlfriend crack or the psychotic crack."
"Take your pick," she muttered as she eased into her seat. "Truth hurts."
*******
The blood seeped through the white gauze bandage as he began to unwind it from her hand. He could hear her teeth grind together with the pain even though he was being as gentle as possible.
"Why do I always end up wounded around you?" she ground out between clenched teeth. Taking a second to crack an eye open she quickly closed it, hissing in pain.
"It's part of my charm," he replied, the joke not nearly as light as he had intended. People got wounded, or killed, a lot when he was around.
Blood oozed from the wound, shiny and wet in the light. The skin around it was angry and red. It was also severely swollen and hot to the touch.
"Maybe we should have a doctor look at this," Cade worried. If the wound had shown any improvement it wouldn't bother him so much. But more than 24 hours later, the wound was still as raw and angry as moments after the knife had plunged into her skin. "This looks like it could be getting infected."
She cracked an eye open again. "Ick," she grunted. "We'll put some antibiotic cream on it and wrap it again. I have some antibiotics in one of the bags."
Not looking forward to wrapping it back up, he stalled while he dug through the first aid kit she carried for what he needed.
"You were sick?"
"Huh?" She blinked at him.
"Antibiotics. Most people don't carry them around for fun."
Again the hesitation was brief but noticeable to him. "I got injured in St. Louis. Just a scratch. Better safe than sorry and all that."
"Mmm," he answered noncommittally. "We'll add an extra gauze pad. Maybe the padding will keep it from being banged around."
"Wrap it tight," she told him, "Pressure to stop the bleeding."
"All right." He put the items on the console between then, glancing at the deserted rest area parking lot. The last thing they needed was some overly helpful highway patrol officer wandering over. "Where are those pills? I want you to take one now."
"In the carry on. But wait until we stop for food. If I take them on an empty stomach it makes me-"
A convulsion cut her off. Her head slammed back against the headrest. Feet drummed against the floorboard as hands flailed in the air. The violent spasms left no part of her untouched.
"Raine!" he yelled. Alarm soared inside of him.
Her injured hand smacked the center console. The items he had placed there scattered and blood spattered the dashboard. More was flung about as her hands sought something unseen in the air. The wound flowed freely now, sending fat droplets of deep red to the knee of her jeans. The fabric sucked up the liquid rapidly and it spread across the faded blue.
Cursing, he reached for the wrist of the injured hand. As if sensing him, the hand jerked away. As it hit the side window blood splattered on the clear glass. The hand slid leaving a smeared trail with it. Cade rose out of his seat part way, reaching for her hand once again.
This time he caught it.
And instantly felt as if a sledgehammer had impacted his brain.
Every muscle in his body contracted with brutal force. His heart stuttered in his chest. Lungs struggled to pull in air. It felt as if a million volts of electricity coursed through him.
Voices and images were like distant memories. Muted and grayed with time. The edges of them faded to nothing.
Children's voices filled the air. Screams and giggles rang out along with the noises from the playground equipment. They ran around the lot, unaware it was about to happen. With a zoom lens in his mind's eye he focused in on the swings. A boy of about ten pumped his legs. Blonde hair shone in the light and his green eyes were filled with a happiness that only children that young can have.
"Mom!" he cried gleefully, "Mom! Watch me!"
The boy pumped his legs one more time. When the swing surged forward he let go of the chain. His giggle rang out as he flew through the air. His descent was controlled and he flashed a smile to his mother sitting on a bench only a few yards away.
Then he was gone.
An instant before his feet touched the ground, the air swallowed him whole.
His mother's scream shot through his brain like needles full of acid. The zoom lens was gone and his vision seemed to rush backwards, pulling him away from the playground. People were still rushing to the mother's frantic side when it all went gray.
Mist swirled around him and he wondered if he had been sucked back to that place an alien warrior had once shown him. He expected it to feel cool against his skin, but instead he felt nothing from it. Directions couldn't be made out and he realized that he couldn't feel his feet under him either. A strange sense of panic slowly started to burn inside of him at being so disoriented. Gossamer shapes faded into and out of view around him. Fear cut through the panic.
Like a firefly, a deep emerald light blinked before him. Slowly it began to gather more light unto itself until it was the size of a small person. Green light shimmered and the mist seemed to clear from it. Suddenly he could feel Raine's presence next to him but he seemed to have no body with which to reach out to her.
Voices started then. They sounded as if they were coming from another room. Muffled sounds that rose and fell as if in conversation. He could hear the sounds but he couldn't seem to make out the words.
A shimmer of violet light that he recognized as Raine started to glow next to the green. The sounds made no sense to him but the feelings did.
Raine was angry and frightened. He could feel the guilt around her as she blamed herself for not stopping it from happening. She was also in pain. He couldn't say what kind of pain exactly, but he could feel it nonetheless.
The green light was simply terrified. Scared to the point that nothing else came through. It was like a black wave threatening to break over him, sucking him under.
Anger was cooled slightly and he could feel Raine try to soothe the green light. After a moment he could feel the terror recede. It was replaced by images that meant nothing to him. More light of various colors being hurled through this colorless place. Feelings of fear and confusion accompanied them. Other emotions and visions brushed against him like a butterfly's wings but they were faint enough that he couldn't quite grab a hold of them.
Then he was being hurled across the mist. As if shoved, he exploded back. His grip on Raine's wrist was broken. He felt the door handle digging into his back.
Shudders wracked her body. Her gaze was distant. When she finally looked at him it was as if she didn't really see him.
"You ok?" he asked softly.
A slow, small nod. "I think so," she replied quietly. But her voice told him otherwise.
Her eyes moved to look at her injured hand in stages. It was held just above the knee. Large drops of blood continued to fall to the now scarlet knee of her jeans. The flow was at least slower than before which was a relief to Cade. Unfortunately, however, the wound was an even brighter red now. Previously the hole had been smooth; the wickedly sharp blade had cut clean. Now the edges were ragged as if it had been ripped open instead of cut.
"We need to get in bandaged again," Cade told her gently as he slowly reached for her arm. A surge of electricity went through him when he touched her, much like the shock of touching a doorknob in winter. A small whimper escaped her at the charge but her eyes remained fixed on the blood spreading across the denim.
"Blood never lies," she murmured.
"No, it doesn't," he agreed. Still holding her wrist in a hand he reached out with the other. Gently he forced her head to turn until she looked at him. "This is getting worse. You need to heal it."
Her voice was still far away. "Can't heal yourself. Nothing big anyway. Takes too much energy."
"Raine," he called her name softly. "Where are you?"
Her eyes were glazed. She was facing him, but she wasn't seeing him.
"The playground," she whispered in that odd, detached tone. "I can still see him."
Fear thundered inside of him. "Is he dead?"
"No" She trailed off and he resisted the urge to prod her. A frown creased her brow. "He just stops."
The grip he held on her wrist tightened. "What do you mean stops?"
The frown grew deeper and she reached out into the air with her good hand. As if she were touching something, her hand moved along a smooth path then abruptly stopped.
"His aura. It's here. Then it just stops."
"But he's not dead?"
"No he was taken. The air just swallowed him."
"What does that mean?"
The hand dropped back down to her lap. Grayed violet eyes blinked rapidly. Finally she looked at him.
"I'm not sure." Her voice was weak but she was really with him again. "But I know what his aura looks like now. What it feels like."
"Yeah, so?"
"Maybe I can track it."