Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Jenna could hear her. Talk to my son! Give him a message from me! It's important!

'Get out, get out!' Ken yelled.

'Shh,' Jenna hissed. 'I'll go and check out the other side of the house.'

She didn't expect to find anything there that might give her a clue as to whether anyone was inside, but she needed to get away from Ken and what was going on in his head. She had an idea.

She thought about the time she'd been able to hear Emily's call for help. If Emily was in this house, Jenna was closer to her than she'd been that time. She pressed the side of her head against the house and concentrated.

She heard nothing-not through her ears, not through her head. She knew Emily was capable of blocking Jenna's mind-reading skills, but surely at a time like this she'd be trying to make contact.

She thought she heard something-a dull, low murmur. It could have been the wind in the nearby trees, she supposed. Or maybe her own heartbeat. But somehow, at that moment, she knew for certain that Emily was in this house. The others, too, probably, and whoever was holding them captive. But it was Emily she sensed. Emily was close by, maybe even leaning against this very same wall on the other side. If only she could understand what Emily was thinking. She was a mind reader, so why couldn't she read the mind behind this wall?

Because the mind on the other side of the wall wasn't sending a message. It was showing her a mood. Jenna could feel it. It was like a thick, dark cloud coming down over her, enveloping her in despair. Sadness. Hopelessness. That was what Emily was feeling at that minute.

Ken joined her. 'I got rid of that woman. Have you seen anything?'

'Emily's in big trouble,' Jenna told him. 'Which means they all are. We have to get in there, Ken.'

Ken nodded grimly. 'Which means we have to get Charles.'

Chapter Eleven

HEY, CHECK THIS OUT! Emily, come over here!'

Emily looked up from the book she wasn't reading. Amanda-Sarah beckoned to her. Listlessly, she rose and went to the sofa where Amanda-Sarah and Tracey were sitting. 'What?'

Amanda-Sarah's eyes were bright. 'Watch this.' She looked at Martin, who was in front of the screen by the Xbox console, holding the controller. His thumbs moved rapidly, hitting the buttons that controlled the action of the characters on the screen. Suddenly, he let out a yelp.

'Hey! That's not what you're supposed to do!'

Emily shrugged. 'Martin's talking to the TV. So what?'

'No, you don't get it,' Tracey said excitedly.

'Sarah-Amanda-whoever she is, she made Martin hit the wrong button! She's getting Sarah's gift!'

'So far, I can only make his thumbs move,' Amanda-Sarah said. 'But I could get stronger, I think.'

'That's nice,' Emily murmured.

'Nice? Emily, don't you see what this means? If she keeps practicing, maybe she can end this crazy business!'

Emily shook her head. 'I don't think so.'

'You don't think I'm going to get any better?' Amanda-Sarah asked.

'I didn't say that. You'll probably get better at using Sarah's gift, but it's not going to stop the robberies.'

'Why not?' Tracey asked.

'Because … I just don't think it can.'

Amanda-Sarah looked annoyed. 'You know, you're being a real downer, Emily.'

Tracey agreed. 'Yeah, what's wrong with you? You act like you've given up.'

Emily raised her head. What was the point of hiding the truth anymore? They might as well know why she was so depressed.

'That story I told at lunch-it wasn't a made-up story. It was my real vision. We're going to be robbing banks.'

Neither Tracey nor Amanda-Sarah responded immediately. They both stared at her like she'd lost her mind.

'I don't know why, but for some reason, we're all going to help them. When I had the vision, I didn't understand how this could happen because Amanda can't do what Sarah can do. But now that Amanda's getting Sarah's gift. . well, it all makes sense.'

They still didn't look convinced, so Emily went over the vision again.

'Remember what I said? Tracey would disappear and follow a banker into the vault, where she'd see the combination to the safe. Martin would break down the door leading to the vault. Amanda would stop the security guards from interfering. And Clare would drive everyone away in an SUV.'

'I remember what you said,' Tracey told her. 'But there was something you left out. Where are you when all this is going on?'

'I'm not absolutely sure,' Emily said. 'I wasn't in my own vision. Maybe I'm being held hostage. That could explain why the rest of you go along with the robbery-because they'll hurt me if you don't.'

Amanda-Sarah looked skeptical. 'But you're just guessing, aren't you? You didn't see yourself as a hostage in your vision.'

'That's right,' Tracey said. 'Maybe you're not in the vision because you escaped.'

Emily drew in her breath as a tiny bell rang in the back of her memory. 'I forgot about that!' She sat down between the two girls. 'I had another vision just before lunch. It was a vision of Martin throwing this sofa across the room with so much force that it broke the door down.'

'And we escape through it?' Tracey asked excitedly.

Emily tried to remember. 'That wasn't part of the vision. But somebody should be able to get out the door, shouldn't they?'

'There you are!' Tracey declared triumphantly.

'You escape, and you run for help. The rest of us go through with the robbery, but when Clare takes off in the SUV with us and the money, there's a roadblock and a dozen police cars to stop the car at the corner!'

Amanda-Sarah looked at her in surprise. 'Are you having visions now, too?'

'No, I'm just being logical. This explains everything!' She turned to Emily. 'What do you think?'

Emily could actually feel the dark cloud of depression begin to lift. 'You're right. Madame said I had to learn how to interpret my visions instead of just taking them literally. This is a perfect example. I had a very clear vision of a successful bank robbery, with all of us playing our parts. But none of us wants to commit a bank robbery.'

Amanda-Sarah glanced at Martin. 'I'm not so sure about him.'

Tracey disagreed. 'I don't think Martin really wants to be a criminal. He just thinks it would be exciting, like a video game. In the real world, he'd be scared out of his mind.'

'Anyway,' Emily went on, 'it's all starting to make sense now. But there's still something we have to figure out.' Now she directed her attention toward Martin. 'How are we going to get him to throw the sofa?'

The three of them studied the small, thin boy. Oblivious to their interest, Martin's eyes remained glued to the screen while his thumbs tapped rapidly on the controller. The girls considered various options quietly and came to an agreement.

Recalling what had happened in her vision, Emily rose from the sofa and stationed herself beside the door. Amanda-Sarah also got off the sofa and then went to the opposite end of the room, where she positioned herself just behind Martin.

Tracey, the only one remaining on the sofa, spoke. 'Martin, aren't you ever going to stop playing video games?'

'I like video games,' Martin said. 'Maybe someone else would like to play that game,' Tracey said.

'Too bad,' Martin said.