Determinant -Guardians of Vesturon [3] by A.M. Hargrove Read Free Book Online Page A

face right in front of me.
    “What’s going on?” I asked.
    “You were screaming in your sleep. You scared the daylights out of me!” She was clearly agitated.
    “Sorry,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I was, in fact, relieved she had woken me up. I had been dreaming about my parents and that was something I wanted to keep buried.
    “I guess it’s all the strain of Maddie’s disappearance.”
    “I guess so. Don’t do that again, okay?”
    “I’ll try Carlson,” I said drily. As if there was any way I could control it.
    If I thought my dreams were bad, they were nothing compared to what Cat was experiencing. To put it bluntly, she was going crazy. She and Maddie had become inseparable, almost like sisters. They were the best of friends and Cat was struggling with all of this.
    “Any word?” Cat asked as she barged through the door.
    “Nope,” I answered, kicking my toe against the doorjamb. We would repeat this sequence daily. Somehow, Cat and I were steadfast in our refusal to give up hope.
    One day though, I came home and Cat was grinning from ear to ear.
    “You are not going to believe this!”
    “What…don’t keep me hanging!” I yelled.
    “She’s back! They found her! You won’t believe this but she showed up last night at the hospital down in Spartanburg. Random, I know. It’s pretty weird too because the hospital doesn’t know how she got there. The staff said that one minute she wasn’t there, and the next minute she was!”
    “I’m not following you,” I said.
    “Well get this. Maddie doesn’t remember a thing either. Nothing at all. She doesn’t know where she’s been or what happened to her. The doctors say she had some bones that were broken but have pretty much healed. The bad news is that her spine was injured so she’s lost the use of her legs.”
    “Oh no!” I couldn’t imagine that. What must Maddie be feeling?
    “But she’s okay otherwise. This whole thing has been so bizarre!” I could tell Cat was on cloud nine with joy.
    “Yeah, definitely bizarre. This is hard to process.” I was dazed.
    “I know. I’m heading down there tomorrow to see her. You want to come?”
    “Yeah! Oh darn. I can’t. I have hours at the bookstore and Karl won’t let me switch. I’m sorry. Please tell her how happy I am she’s back!”
    While we were ecstatic she was alive and as well as could be expected, we were heartsick over what she had endured along with the fact that she had decided not to return to Western. We all attempted to change her mind, but she was adamant about staying in Spartanburg. Cat was devastated by this but she understood that Maddie was much more comfortable in her home and we realized it was the best decision for her.
    We visited her several times and she was making awesome progress. She even had learned to drive. We’d joke about how she was hell on wheels. She wasn’t the greatest of drivers before, but now…well, get the women and kids off the road. Maddie was clumsy at best, but behind the wheel of a car without the use of her legs…it was a scary thought indeed! I finally felt the burning pain in my stomach ease and at last I was able to eat. It was short-lived though.
    *****
    A couple of months later we were reliving the nightmare. I can still remember the look on Cat’s face when she answered her phone that fateful day.
    “Hiya!” Cat said. She liked to answer the phone like that. She loved how goofy it sounded.
    “What?...No! When?...Call me as soon as you know something!”
    The look on Cat’s face was frightening.
    “She’s gone again,” she whispered.
    Maddie left Cat’s cell phone number as next of kin with her home health care nurses. One day, when they went to her house, Maddie was gone. She had vanished again and this time it was seemed she wasn’t coming back.
    Several scenarios went through our minds…suicide for one. Except nothing added up. She had seemed happy. Her nurses even said she was spunky and in great spirits. The