They stop at the door. I hear one of them nod their head. A hand touches the doorknob.
“Locked,” she whispers.
“Now what?”
She sighs.
“This is my fault. I knew I should have pushed harder to get him under observation. He’s probably on the bathroom floor with a stomach full of pills,” she says.
“Why write a note asking the neighbor to kill you and then come home and do it yourself?” he asks.
I hear the policewoman shrug.
So this is about the note that I left for Amber. She must have called the police as soon as she found it. I trusted her and she snitched on me and my plan to end my life. They’re going to keep looking for me. This policewoman feels guilty about failing me and I bet she is going to keep trying to track me down. Maybe they’re going to go get a warrant and come back to search the house. ‘
That idea enrages me. This was Uncle Walt’s house. How dare they try to come in here without permission?
If I could only move, I could fix this problem right now.
I’ve developed this problem though. When the sun is above the horizon, even if I can’t see it, I have a problem moving. I think that if I were stronger I might be able to move. I’ve been living on meager rations of ticks and spiders. That’s not enough to sustain me.
I have to try.
With all my effort, I manage to tap one of my talons against the floor.
On the other side of the door, the woman catches her breath to listen. The man opens his mouth to say something and I hear her shirt move. She must be gesturing for him to be quiet.
I tap again.
The doorknob rattles and my talon gains a little strength. Energy pulses through me as the imaginary yellow waves flow out from my percussive sound. My tapping picks up a rhythm and I focus my concentration on the door lock. This mechanism is much smaller and lighter than the deadbolt at Mr. Engel’s house. With just the right series of taps…
The lock clicks.
I stop tapping.
I know the policewoman heard it. I can sense her focus. Her muscles are tensed. She must be staring at the knob.
“What was that?” the man asks.
“I don’t know. I think the door is unlocked though.”
“Should we try it?”
“I don’t think so,” she says. Her instincts are serving her well. That’s bad news for me.
(I don't know why she changes her mind.)
I don’t know why she changes her mind.
All I know is that I hear the knob as she grips it. I hear her fingers clench and my beating heart sends all of my energy to my eyes. When the door opens and the sliver of electric light begins to invade my space, I’m ready for her. The light touches my toes and she peers around the edge of the door. I catch her in my stare.
I absorb her conscious mind into mine. It’s as easy as catching a bird that’s fluttering against the inside of a window pane. I fold my thoughts around hers and capture her will. She is completely hypnotized by my stare.
It only takes a moment for her partner to realize that she’s frozen. He kicks the door open the rest of the way as he takes a step back. The shed lights wash over my skin. It’s terrifying to feel the rays of light penetrate me. Little explosions of pain erupt all over as I try to hold the woman’s eyes and capture the man’s at the same time. My heart is pounding inside my chest at the exertion. I wrap both of their minds together inside mine and bind them in the swirling spirals of my eyes. They fight me. These people are strong.
There’s no way for me to hold them as I burn in the electric light.
The man’s hand is right near the switch.
I push on his mind, trying to exert myself. At first, all he does is twitch and sway. This is like trying to operate a remote control car while it’s heading directly towards me. I have to reverse everything I see in order to manipulate his left hand. Finally, I get him to raise his hand and flop it towards the switch. When his fingers smash against the switch, the shed lights go out and relief floods through me.
In that moment, I lose the woman.
She manages to look away, breaking my hold on her.
She reaches for her gun.
This is what I’ve been hoping for, isn’t it? I wanted someone to put me out of my misery before I could transform into a monster. I’ve already changed much more than I would like to admit. All she has to do is point that deadly piece of metal and pull her trigger and this will be over. Hanging didn’t work, but I’m sure that scrambling my brains with a bullet will do the trick.
It’s not up to me though.
The infection has engendered lizard instincts inside me that I can’t control. Just like I forced him to turn off the lights, my hypnosis forces her partner to fall on her, knocking the muzzle of her gun away from me at the same moment that she pulls the trigger.
The blast appears wonderfully beautiful at first. I see the waves of pressure come from the muzzle as they escape with the projectile. They’re bright orange and yellow, like the sun on a perfect day. Bouncing off the walls and officers, the ridges of sound light up everything in perfect detail. Then, in an instant, the first sounds begin to hit my ears.
The assault rings like chaos inside my skull. I shrink back, shrieking in pain as the bullet plows into the
