Immune (The Rho Agenda #2)(86)

“As scared as we are of what is happening, I think we’ve got to accept these gifts and learn to use them. I want you to let me teach you the meditation trick. Then I want you to stop taking the drugs they have you on.”

Heather had known what was coming from the instant Mark had started talking, but his demonstration had at least made such a thing seem possible.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“I know. You’ve always been as aggressive and confident as I am. Do you remember that day when you talked me into climbing Ship Rock on the hard side? That’s still your personality.”

“Maybe.”

“No maybe about it. You’re not going crazy. You have a gift for seeing visions of the most likely outcomes. You just have to learn to turn it on or off at will. Maybe that’s as simple as remembering what it feels like when a vision is coming on or when one isn’t. I don’t know, but we need to find out. I think we’re going to have to learn to use every bit of our augmented brains and bodies to have any hope of stopping the Rho Ship and Dr. Stephenson. Besides, after what that bastard has done to us, I want to nail his ass to the wall.”

For several seconds Heather remained still, remembering the feel of that climb up the sheer face of Ship Rock, the thrill of fear as she dangled from the wall, and the exhilaration of reaching the summit. Ever so slowly, she nodded.

“How do you want me to start?”





88


Having spent the day working with Heather, coaching her on several of his favorite meditation techniques, Mark was as optimistic as he’d been in the last six months. Heather was always great at whatever she put her mind to, and once she had decided to master the techniques he showed her she was nothing less than amazing. Sometime around three o’clock, as the Thorazine dissipated from her system, she had wavered under the impact of an impending vision. But Mark interceded, physically shaking her until she regained her focus on his face. Then, ever so gently, he made her recall one of the meditation levels she had achieved.

The memory of how she had felt during the meditation worked its magic, completely banishing the vision and its associated sense of loss of control. Heather was so thrilled that she hugged and kissed him, something that almost caused Mark to lose his own self-control. He was quite certain that, if the kiss hadn’t been quite as best-friendish, he would have devolved into a lovesick idiot instead of her self-control coach. As it was, he barely managed a congratulatory smile and some generic words of encouragement.

Fortunately, the moment passed before he succeeded in making a complete fool of himself. The next part of their practice session was the most dangerous. In order to practice turning off the visions, Heather needed to learn to turn them on at will. That meant having her focus on how it felt just before she had succumbed to her past hallucinatory experiences.

Their only goal for now was to have her practice stopping the visions as they began. Mark had Heather seat herself on the couch where he could watch her closely, promising to wake her from her trance if she didn’t bring herself back within one minute. She nodded that she was ready, then inhaled deeply, letting her breath out slowly. As Mark watched, Heather’s eyes acquired a faraway look, as if she was no longer in her living room but was looking out over a distant landscape.

Mark glanced at the second hand on his watch. When he glanced back up, deep lines of anxiety etched themselves across Heather’s beautiful face. Another quick glance at his watch showed that less than fifteen seconds had passed. There was no way he was going to let her go through a full minute of whatever was scaring her so badly.

Mark had just reached out to gently shake her shoulder when he saw the change. A look of peaceful bliss replaced the worry lines as her breathing slowed and steadied. With a gentle smile, Heather touched his hand, her eyes once again fully alert to his presence.

“I’m okay. It worked.”

Mark suddenly realized that he was the one who hadn’t been breathing, something he remedied with a gasp of relief. “Wow. The look on your face scared the crap out of me. It was so intense I was afraid you weren’t going to be able to snap out of it.”

Heather sat up. “It was so hard to remember that what I was seeing wasn’t real. Once I was able to think of that, remembering the meditation was easy.”

“Can you remember what you were seeing without slipping back into the vision?”

Heather nodded. “Jennifer was there.”

“Where?”

“I’m not sure. She was doing something with her mind. Then she looked at me and grinned. Something in that look spooked the hell out of me. That’s when I remembered to try to bring myself back.”

“Well, at least that worked.”

Heather’s smile returned. “I think it’s going to take quite a bit of practice to get good at going in and out.”

As she tried to stand, her legs wobbled and she would have fallen had Mark not been there to steady her.

“You okay?”

Heather straightened. “I think so. Just got a little lightheaded for a second. That must have taken more out of me than I thought.”

Seeing the concern on Mark’s face, she laughed out loud. “Mark. I’m really okay now. You can let go.”

Mark released his grip on her arm. “Okay. I think that’s enough practice for today.”