Madness or Purpose Read Online Free PDF Page A

rolls over and starts snoring quietly.
    I have never heard her speak like this in her sleep. She definitely has never responded to me either. I don’t know if what she speaks of is a fear from her subconscious or if she knows something subconsciously that I need to worry about. She said she loved me! Holy hell! I really need to talk with Dean. This is getting crazy and frankly I am terrified. She shattered a mirror the length of the bathroom wall and now that I am looking around every piece of electronic equipment with a clock is flashing. Did she cause a power surge? I gently tuck her hair behind her ear and gasp. On her temple is a fresh burn mark? What the hell is going on? I let my fingers linger just a moment or two. Zoe looks so fragile, so delicate, yet when she sleeps and lets her guard down she always does. When she is awake she has to be some kind of warrior, it’s like she sees the world as her greatest enemy and can’t show any weakness. If she only knew just how strong she really is and that it’s the world that should be afraid of her. I try to heal what I can of her burn and leave her on the futon.
    I walk to the back end of the kitchen and fish my phone out of my pocket. I quickly dial Dean’s number and it begins ringing on the other end. As the phone picks up I hear “Dean here.” “Hey, it’s Gavin.” “Hey, what’s up buddy?” “I need to chat” I said as I exhaled. “You alright kid?” Dean asks. “I’m not hurt or anything, but I need someone to bounce something off of.” I admit. “Well, shoot” Dean replied.
    “It’s about Zoe. I don’t know if this is best over the phone. Can you drop by?”
    I question. “You sure everything’s ok Gavin?” “Just come by we can have a couple beers and chat” I suggest. “Who’s beer?” Dean questions. “It’s on me man.” I laugh. “Just get your butt over here.” “Sure thing kid, give me 10.”
    Dean says before I hear him hang up. I quietly slide the unopened pizza into the bottom shelf of the fridge. We can eat it whenever she wakes up. I toss some ice into a large Tupperware container and add some beers. As I make my way out of the kitchen I snag a bag of pretzels off the counter and bend down to unlatch the dog kennel. We make our way to the back door and out onto the fire escape. Relic makes herself comfy on an old mattress and I settle myself in an old camping chair. I set up the pretzels and beer on some old wooden crates and put my feet up on the rail while I wait. I leave the door cracked so I can hear if Zoe wakes up. My phone buzzes as Dean shoots me a text. “Be up in a second.” I respond “fire escape, Zoe is sleeping.” A few moments later I hear his boots on the metal stairs. As his tangled mop of brown hair appears in the opening to the stairs he asks, “jeez, could you live any higher up?” I laugh. “You’re just getting old.”
    “So, kid what’s got your panties in such a bunch that you had to pull me off my couch before 4 in the afternoon on a Friday?” Dean asks while rubbing his scruffy chin. Using the inside of my elbow I twist off the tops of two beers and hand him one and start in on relaying the events of the past few days. Dean listens intently and as I get further into the events his brow furrows and at certain points concern and confusion flash across his weathered face. Dean is years my senior and even though he is just like me he still doesn’t know everything there is to know about who we are. He has some connections to those who know our history in detail and to those who have insight to our futures but even he can’t always provide insight to events that unfold. For instance, he has helped me to determine that Zoe has had her identity hidden by a form of magic that has some type of time release. Basically, the effects hiding her true nature from herself and the world will wear off. It seems as though she knows at some level, but most of it seems to be at the unconscious level.