The Mind Bender

Chapter 7

Dane sat quietly in the car as his mom drove. He gazed at the houses they passed by. He looked bored. While he was thinking about the things that had been happening to him, the voices in his head and his weird ability, he felt his mom touch his shoulder. He looked at her and saw her smile at him.

"Are you okay?"

He didn't know what to say, because deep inside he knew he wasn't okay. He was weird. He felt weird. Children his age never had voices invading their consciousness. That he had to go through the ordeal bothered him a lot. "Mom, is there something wrong with me?"

"No, sweetie, there's nothing wrong with you." Elaine shifted her gaze to the road.

Dane was dubious of his mom's reply. Something told him she just said it to make him comfortable. But her sugarcoating made him feel even stranger. "Mom, I still hear the voices in my head."

Elaine went silent for a few minutes. "Do you want me to call Frank?"

Dane couldn't answer her. He wanted help, but he didn't trust the man. "I don't know."

"He says he can help you."

"I don't trust him."

"Why?" Elaine frowned.

"We don't know him," Dane answered while looking outside the car.

"We didn't know Dr. Griffith, too."

"Mom, I couldn't..."

"Couldn't what?" Elaine raised her voice a bit as she steered the wheel.

Dane hesitated for a while but spoke. "Read his thoughts."

"You're not supposed to read people's thoughts, Dane."

He heard the anger in her tone. "Sorry. It's just that I can't control it," he said.

"Then maybe you really should see Frank."

His mother's suggestion silenced him. He sat quietly as his mom drove, wondering whether he should let Frank help him. Despite his misgivings, deep inside he knew he needed help. The soft light that seeped through the tinted window revealed the dark circles around his eyes.

Later that night, he lay in his bed. The bedside lamp lit his pale face in yellow cast. It was past ten in the evening, and his eyes were wide awake. A few poignant events haunted his consciousness.

His father's death blighted his cognition, impressing guilt on his mind. Something in there screamed he had killed his own father. But the other half of his brain absolved him. No, he couldn't blame himself. He only defended himself from his father's ballistic outrage.

What about Max? His bully lay in a coma. He wasn't sure how it happened, but perhaps he had a hand in whatever betided the stocky boy. On the other hand, he felt comfortable knowing he wouldn't have to feel worried about going to school and dealing with his uncontrollable mischief.

The voices inside his head were fainter this time. Even so, they still gave him a dull headache. Why couldn't the bothersome noises just fade away? He had been asking himself this question for while ever since the haunting voices troubled him. It's like he's hearing everyone in town whispering inside him. He had a hard time trying to ignore the voices.

Elaine had set up a stereo inside Dane's room. His audiologist suggested masking the noise inside Dane's head with white noise. The boy could hear sounds of waves crashing the shore in his room. It helped a little.

"One, two, three, four..." Dane counted as he kept his gaze on the ceiling. Soon enough his consciousness drifted away and the quiet blackness embraced him.

* * *

A strange voice echoed next room. It woke Dane up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Nothing seemed strange. The stereo was still playing ocean waves. But there was some strange presence in the house. The boy could feel it. No, he could hear it. He could hear him, his deep, guttural voice in the room next to his. In his mom's room. He got off his bed and walked to the wall that separated his mother's room from his. He pressed his ear against the wall.

"Do it... Trust me, you don't want me to do it."

Dane struggled to understand what the man in the other room was saying. It sounded strange. Was his mom seeing another man? Maybe she was lonely and she needed someone else to look after her after Henry passed. Or so the kid thought. Why hadn't he seen him?

"Do it, Elaine. Do it!"

The thunderous voice astounded Dane, who began scowling as he pressed his ear harder against the wall, trying to listen to the voice.

"I can't. Don't make me do it."

He heard his mom's soft voice and the reluctance in it.

Dane grew worried. Then he heard somewhat a flat object hitting her skin. He heard her yelp. Alarmed, he left his room hurriedly and ran to his mom's. The door was locked. "Mom." He knocked. "Mom!" He listened for a response. Nothing. He pressed an ear against the door. The room seemed quiet this time. "Whoever you are, don't hurt my mom!" But the truth is, he was scared.

The doorknob turned. Dane's eyes grew wide as he stepped back. The door opened.

"Dane, what's wrong?" Elaine came out of her room in her nighties. She looked sullen.

"Who's there with you?" Dane tried to peek into the room.

"What do you mean?" She turned to look at her room.

"I heard you and a man talking," Dane said without blinking. But Elaine's angry and curious facial expression sent him a stark realization -- that what he had heard didn't come a physical source. He ran into her room. There was no one there.

"What are you talking about? What man?"

After realizing no one was really there, Dane walked out of the room, but Elaine grabbed him by the wrist.

"Tell me, is it the voices in your head again?" she asked calmly but gave him a stern look.

He stared at her and then looked away. "Maybe I was just dreaming."

"Go back to bed." Elaine then closed her room's door.

Dane stood there for a moment and then looked around. The house seemed quiet. He went back to his room where he waited until his eyelids closed.