Link Six (completed)

Chapter 3 - Big Mistake

Where are they? Leeanna thought to Emma.

"I don't know," Emma replied. "They're a lot better than they were last time." Leeanna nodded in agreement, opening the closet door and peering inside.

I have a feeling they're up to something. Leeanna thought towards Emma.

"You always have a feeling everyone's up to something," Emma pointed out.

True, Leeanna replied. Emma poked her arm under the bed, though she doubted that either of her uncles could fit under there. Uncle Bob and Uncle Pip weren't in the next room either. By the time Leeanna and Emma had searched the whole house thoroughly, they were becoming discouraged.

"Where are they!" Emma cried. Leeanna saw the nervousness building in her face, and in her mind.

It's okay Em, relax they're most likely outside, Leeanna thought at her. Emma calmed a little bit, but she still was nervous.

The girls checked by the pool, no uncles. They scaled the backyard, no uncles. Leeanna was beginning to get nervous also, then movement inside the car caught her eye. She gently nudged Emma and pointed towards the car.

"They're in the car?" Emma whispered confusedly, noticing the silhouettes . "That's a strange place to hide." Leeanna nodded in agreement. She tried to reach the minds of her uncles, but they were too far away.

Come on, Leeanna ushered taking slow steps towards the car. It was clear that their Uncles were crouching down trying to hide from them. Leeanna and Emma weren't idiots.

Forgetting to read their minds, Leeanna used her fingers to count one, two, three, and then she pulled open the door.

"Aha-" Leeanna was grabbed and yanked into the car. Immediately she began to fight and scream. But Uncle Pip had covered her mouth.

Emma didn't even begin to get a chance to run away, because as soon as Leeanna was in the car, Uncle Bob snagged Emma. Then, everything broke loose.

Uncle Pip felt a deeper sense of remorse the farther they got from the house. Leeanna and Emma had stopped screaming and fighting, but from the plague of thoughts that were flooding into him, he knew that they were far from content. He assumed Uncle Bob felt the same from his distressed expression.

I'm making a mistake. I hate myself now. Leeanna and Emma hate me. They'll never forgive me now. Never in a million years. They know everything. They're not going to trust me ever again. They hate me. They. Hate. Me. Uncle Pip knew the thoughts weren't his own, Leeanna was crafting them so they seemed like his own. Even so, he believed them and knew that they were true. He knew that this was a mistake, a terrible mistake.

The feelings that twisted through Uncle Bob were agonizing. Derived from the stiffness of Emma in his lap, they were her feelings - her feelings that she was putting into him. Emma was heaving with shuddering breaths that told him what he had already known, she was crying. Uncle Bob, on the other hand, was resisting the urge to cry. He was feeling betrayed, sick to his stomach, tortured, upset, frightened, angry, hateful, distraught and more feelings that couldn't be expressed in words. How could someone manage all of these at once without breaking down? Emma had to. And he had caused her to. He added one more feeling into the mix: remorse.