Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(38)

Before I had a chance to answer my own question, he reentered my thoughts. “Show me her brain.”

Without hesitation, I pulled her brain up, just like a doctor displayed an X-ray or CT scan. As before, the fluid pooled at the base of her brain, and was most likely the culprit for keeping Sandra in a coma.

“Now, heal her.”

Lexi, don’t react to my voice, Jack said. Kyle and I are on our way. Just keep Jonas busy until we can get there.

I couldn’t risk telling Jack that it wasn’t Jonas who had control of me, especially since he didn’t even know about Ty yet. I directed my attention back to Sandra’s brain. I could see the small holes that allowed the cerebral fluid to leak. I thought I could heal her—but at what cost?

I tried to turn, but met a wall. Jonas wrapped his arms around me, keeping me pinned to the ground in front of Sandra. His presence slithered into my mind, and immediately shoved Jack out.

My hands trembled at my side at the thought that healing Sandra might kill me—if not physically, then mentally. Healing someone this way was not natural.

Stop stalling. He squeezed my body again, forcing my attention back to his commands.

There was no way out of this. I honed in on the tiny holes. As if using a blowtorch, I welded the holes shut, one by one, until the brain looked intact physically.

Amazing, the voice inside my head said.

As with Addison, pain began to pulsate behind my eyes and around my temples.

I’m here, Lexi. It’s really me. It’s Jonas. His voice was smoother, gentler.

Jonas? I whimpered. I don’t know what to believe anymore.

I closed my hands into fists. My arms tightened under the hold Jonas had on me. Only, I was supposed to believe it wasn’t truly Jonas hurting me and forcing me to heal Sandra.

You have to finish this. If you complete the healing and get rid of the fluid, the person controlling my mind and yours will leave.

How do you know this? I asked. I never thought I’d feel relieved to have Jonas inside my head. There was only one thing left for me to do to complete the healing: get rid of the fluid causing the coma.

They want Sandra back. Give them that, and they’ll go away. For now, at least.

Fear of Sandra waking compounded the growing headache, but fear of the person controlling Jonas practically paralyzed me. I brought up Sandra’s brain again. The only way I knew to get rid of the fluid was to flush it out the same way I’d flushed the drug from Jack’s brain last week.

I wrapped my mind around the fluid, gathering it. I sent it through Sandra’s body and out.

Liquid spewed from her mouth, spreading all over the white sheet and blanket that covered her. Like a river, it ran in the creases of the blanket, spilling onto the floor. Sandra coughed, choking on her own vomit. Jonas shoved me to the side with such force that I fell to my knees.

The pain in my head forced me to collapse fully onto the cold floor. The room spun out of control. The presence inside my head—Jonas, or the person controlling Jonas, I wasn’t sure anymore—was gone. And so was the calming force that had steadied me while I healed Sandra.

I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling before closing my eyes tightly. At least I hadn’t passed out like last time. Seconds passed. I slowly become more aware of the other two people in the room.

“Oh my God! What happened?” the only other female in the room asked.

My eyes sprung open at the sound of her voice.

Sandra’s voice.





Chapter Seventeen


“Mom, what were you thinking?” Jonas’s voice came out breathy.

Mom?

My head ached. It hurt to move, but I had to. I rolled onto my side and pushed myself up on my elbows.

Jonas was bent over at the hips. His breaths came out labored. He balanced with one hand on his knee and dug his other palm into his chest.

I recognized a panic attack when I saw one.

Sandra lifted the vomit-soaked sheet and moved it to the side. Her nose scrunched up in disgust. “Where am I?” she asked. She moved her legs to hang off the side of the bed.

“Wait.” Jonas moved to the other side of the bed and stopped her from moving. “You’ve been in a coma.”

“A what? For how long?”

I sat up, scooted away from the two of them, and leaned against the far wall. If I had the strength, I’d do whatever I had to do to run from that room. Why had Jonas called her “Mom”? It wasn’t possible. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“A month. Maybe a little less.”

Sandra seemed to think on that. “Then, how—” Her words were cut off. Jonas’s eyes drifted from Sandra to me. She slowly turned, and I wanted to shrink to nothingness.

Sandra’s eyes widened. She slid off the bed, stood, and turned to me, falling into Jonas.

“Careful,” he said, steadying her.

She grabbed onto his elbow and walked slowly around the edge of the bed, hesitating at the foot. “Did you…” she paused. “Did you bring me out of the coma?”

I didn’t expect her voice to sound exactly like mine—with a little less Kentucky twang, maybe. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. What was I supposed to say to this woman? My eyes darted around the room, then back at her.

“You don’t have to be scared,” she said, taking another step closer.