The Moonless Sea: Mirocele Series, #2

One

It was moving, a deep violet image glowing strong and stable amongst the flickering rainbow of the companion auras surrounding it, and the others in the team were closing in. They had been tracking it for days, and now persistence was about to pay off, the capture only minutes away.

Misty, you in yet? Decco called into his two-way radio.

Yeah, the reply was drawled. The girl’s voice sounded far too young over the air.

Have you got it on scanner yet?

No, I’m still up in the car park. Just give me a couple of minutes, eh.

What about you, Georgie? There was no answer.

George, you hear me? Still no answer.

"I’m here, Decco," the voice was mature and female.

Thanks, Gale. Where are you?

I’m on the concourse. I’ve got it on my screen.

Decco could see Gale now, a hard silver ball amongst the shifting flux of aural signatures. He didn’t dare look directly at her in case his eyes should somehow veer toward the mirocele. The creature shouldn’t know they were there unless someone with the gift was suicidal enough to concentrate directly on it.

Where was George?

Then something abruptly shifted and Decco watched in dismay as the colors changed, the violet of the mirocele peaking to a depressingly familiar, fast fading electric-blue as the thing fled.

Who fucking looked? Decco roared into the radio link. A middle-aged couple walking past looked disapprovingly at him but he was beyond care. Decco was livid but gave the others time to respond so they could all see who was now amongst the dead.

I’m okay, Decco, Gale responded first.

I’m fine, Decco, Misty called. I only just got into the complex.

Decco felt a sour sinking in his stomach. It was George. As if they didn’t need more men and he had to go and do a stupid thing like that.

Okay guys, pack it in. Let’s get the fuck out of here.

What’s the problem? For a moment Decco didn’t recognize the voice then in stunned recognition heard George say, What’s going on?

There was silence for what seemed like minutes but must have only been seconds.

Will someone tell me what is going on, George said, and why is that aura going nuts on my screen?

Decco looked back at his screen, the blue signature had gone as he’d expected but there was another on the screen that glowed almost as brightly, a hot, pigeon-blood red. He ran to the rail and looked down into the crowded mall.

On the tiled floor below lay the hunched body of a man and standing over it the distraught figure of a middle-aged woman.

Of all their rotten luck, there had been a sensitive in the center and his dormant skill had been triggered by the close proximity of the team. Worse still had been the lethal closeness of the mirocele when the man had come into the knowledge.

Decco looked across at Misty and George standing at the rail on the other side of the concourse. In their silvered glasses they could see little else but the images generated by the interface scanners built into the lenses.

Pack it in, he said into the radio in disgust. We’ve just killed a latent.

He’s still hot, said Misty.

It’ll fade. Believe me, it’ll fade.

Decco, frustration obvious, snapped shut the monitor case and turned to join the others. It was the second time they’d missed this mirocele and he didn’t want to make it a third.

Sunday 11.45 am

Dave Hathaway was a big man and he sold shoes for a living. Not for him the lingering odor of tinea and bacterial rot, he was a shoe salesman of the metallic kind. His trade: the specialist field of corrective shoeing for racehorses.

At social functions Dave gained perverse enjoyment telling people he was a shoe salesman, expecting the obvious, ‘What, men’s or women’s?’ His reply of ‘Horses’ often received a moment of incomprehension and then invariably an uncomfortable silence. Sometimes followed the excuse, ‘I must find my husband,’ or ‘excuse me, my drink is empty’. Though, every so often, he’d meet a horsey type, and then the conversation would flow. Strangely, though, horse talk wasn’t his thing. In spite of his trade he just wasn’t that into horses.

Dave’s job saw him away from home for weeks travelling in a high-top Ford Transit filled with display racks of shoes to cover all the conceivable hoof problems. The white sides of the van were decorated with the foot high words, ‘Horseshoe Man’, and a big picture of a stylized blacksmith holding a golden horseshoe in one hand and a hammer in the other.

Dave remembered stopping in Lismore shortly after he’d had the sign writing done and overheard a little boy asking his mother, ‘Is Horseshoe Man a superhero like Spiderman, mum?’ He hadn’t felt much of a superhero that day having been kicked in the leg by a frisky colt he was trying to inspect. The mother’s reply lowered his mood even further: ‘Be sensible, Ben. Does that man look like a superhero?’

He remembered the little eyes staring intently at him, probing for the superman inside, until he turned away in his characteristic manner. It had always been that way. He’d been described as a plodder, which was probably one of the more flattering descriptions. ‘Fat’ and ‘useless’ were some of the ones he didn’t care for. While Dave was a large man he was big boned and healthy and he took life at his own pace, except when he was being pushed by the Nova Shoe franchise owners.

Dave’s job was about travelling. The east coast was his service area. 3750 kilometers of it. It was something he detested even though he accepted it stoically as part of the job. He lived in a deep rut, working at a career he’d fallen into but lacking the motivation to find something better.

That fateful Sunday was part of an infrequent rest break and he was spending it with his wife, a patient and loving woman who would have been far happier with Dave at home full-time. They walked through the shopping center, hand in hand, like young lovers. Both forty-one and married twenty years they didn’t fit the mold of long married couples. They were childless but not for want of trying. At an age when many of their friends were anticipating the not too distant years of grandparenthood they’d almost given up hope of ever becoming parents. They’d vainly tried every known test and procedure short of IVF but there seemed to be nothing wrong with either of them.

In spite of the frustration neither had grown tired of the other and their love life was still fresh and inspired. Dave wasn’t looking forward to the following day’s travel to Townsville but he was looking forward to the coming evening with Lyn.

Sunshine Plaza Shopping Centre was crowded for a Sunday morning in the off season. They’d seen a few familiar faces but most were strangers, and some very peculiar ones at that. Horrified fascination had been Dave’s reaction to a passing couple, both walking advertisements of the body piercer’s art. Her face was studded, ringed, clipped and chained and Dave shuddered to think what might be covered by the skimpy hot pants and bikini top. Her bare chested companion was no less pierced, with nipple rings, multiple earrings and barbell piercing’s through his lips, eyebrows and tongue. Dave couldn’t think why anyone would welcome that many extra holes.

An overdressed, little Filipino woman hobbling along on four inch stilettos caught their eyes and they forgot the metal freaks. Dressed in a scarlet sheath she moved forward on rapid mincing steps, clattering madly on the tiled floor, an improbably large bosom thrust out in an attempt to maintain her balance. Once she was past them Dave and Lyn shared an amusement filled glance.

Oh my, will you look at her, Lyn was staring at another strange sight coming toward them across the open area below the auditorium.

As Dave’s eyes made contact a number of things happened to him: he registered the old fashioned look of the dark-clothed raven-haired woman with the flashing eyes, then her image blew apart. Something blue burned its way into his face and his eyes were seared by a kaleidoscope of color. The crowd of shoppers suddenly transformed into a circus of coruscating shapes barely recognizable as human bodies. The woman was similarly transformed into a column of blue-white fire in contrast to the dull yellows and oranges of the figures around her. Before Dave hit the floor his mind registered the tendrils of blue smoke that seemed to extend from the closest of the colored shapes to the blue outline of the woman before him.

As his agony filled world dissolved into red flames Dave saw the woman as she truly was, a gigantic insect-like thing of polished crystal. One of the blue tendrils was attached to him and even as the creature turned and fled with astonishing speed the tendril stretched and grew, following the thing out of the shopping center. It seemed to grow impossibly thin but still pumped painful sensations into Dave’s mind as the creature ran. As the tendril seemed finally to snap and race back into his body Dave’s extrapolated senses came crashing back into his mind and the true pain began.

To Lyn it seemed that Dave was suddenly struck into immobility before he fell to the tiled floor and went into convulsions. She didn’t see the dark-haired woman turn and flee; she was more concerned for her husband. It took only seconds to realize something was dreadfully wrong and holding him in her arms she made an impassioned plea to the shoppers around her.

Will someone help me please? I think my husband is having a heart attack.

Time passed maddeningly before anyone stepped up to help. A number of people walked past in fear. When she screamed, My husband is dying, they only moved the faster.

A man’s hands held her shoulders and moved her aside.

Let me look at him, I’m a paramedic.

The metal freak they’d seen earlier gently rolled Dave onto his back and pulled back his eyelids to reveal brown eyes rolling and twitching in sightless, nervous action. The man held Dave’s wrist and checked for a pulse.

After a few seconds, he said, Well he’s not having a heart attack. His pulse is strong, a little fast but okay considering what he’s going through.

What’s that? Lyn asked.

I don’t know, lady. A stroke maybe. His breathing’s fine. I think the sooner we get him to hospital the better. My wife just called for an ambulance.

Lyn looked up into the eyes of the woman with the stainless chain linking her left nostril to her eyebrow. She’d just closed her mobile phone.

Wally, they’re on the way.

Thanks, Jen.

Lyn.

She looked down at Dave in shock. He stared past her with sightless eyes. She grabbed his cold hand. It’s going to be okay, Dave, I’m here.

I know, I can see you, love.

I think he’s going to be okay, she said hopefully to Wally.

He’s got to go to hospital, lady, Wally replied quickly.

Of course, she agreed.

Dave’s face had become pale and bloodless; his eyes seemed to bulge with internal pressure. He said in a small voice, Wally, thanks for your help, just before his eyes rolled back into his head and he whacked back onto the hard tiled floor. He didn’t hear Lyn’s scream of anguish; he’d moved into a world of complete darkness.

***

Dave came back fast. One moment he was in dark nothingness, the next, a place of light and color. He could make out the shapes of people, shapes that glowed in orange, red and yellow smudges. There were also greens and blues and hard browns. For a moment he wondered what was wrong with his eyes then he realized they weren’t open. A large pink shape detached itself from a small group and grew larger in his strange mind sight.

Dave opened his eyes and saw Lyn in front of him. A glad smile lit her worried features. It was the same Lyn but there was something new. The peach-pink glow hadn’t entirely left her and he saw it in the air around her as a hazy corona, visible, but almost not there.

You gave us a fright, mate, she said as she took his hand in hers.

What’s wrong with me?

Lyn looked to the doctor who came over to the bedside. He was a thin, dark-haired man in his mid-thirties with something tired and sad about him that concerned Dave.

I’m Josh Reilly, Mister Hathaway. We don’t know what happened to you. I’ve run an ECG and we did some neural tests but everything seems normal. I want you to stay in tonight, so we can keep an eye on you. Your wife has admitted you. I think we just need to wait and watch. If you’re still okay tomorrow I think we can release you but I’d recommend a scan just to confirm we’re not dealing with a tumor or an aneurism. How’s your eyesight, Dave? No double vision?

Dave thought about his vision, it was certainly peculiar. But was it something wrong? He was seeing with a clarity that he could not have believed possible hours earlier, if anything his vision was brilliantly improved.

No, its fine thanks, Doc, he said, suddenly ashamed of his inability to tell the truth.

Okay, well let me know if there’s anything troubling you. I’ve got to check on one of my other patients if you’ll excuse me, the worry was back in Josh Reilly’s face.

The boy’s okay, Josh.

The doctor turned back with a perplexed frown, What did you say?

The boy, he’ll be fine. The one you operated on this morning. He’ll make a full recovery.

Why? How do you know that?

They were all looking at him strangely. Lyn had a horrified look of fear on her face. Why had he said that? He knew it was important but just didn’t know how he knew. The boy was out of danger and would start to mend now.

I just know.

Stay with me, Dave. Lyn clenched his hand till it hurt.

Hey I’m not going anywhere, I feel great.

Lyn started to sob quietly; her face twisted in anguish.

I don’t want to lose you, Dave.

You’re not losing me, love. I said I feel fine, and I am.

Josh Reilly broke in, Mrs. Hathaway, I can’t find anything wrong with your husband. If he says he feels okay, then he most probably is. I’ve got to go now. I’ll drop in later.

Thanks, Doc, said Dave.

Josh Reilly left the room and Dave struggled to face Lyn.

What happened to, Wally?

Who? Lyn asked.

The guy with the piercings.

Oh, he’s back at the shops I suppose, Lyn said in a puzzled voice.

They seemed like nice people.

I thought you hated those sorts of people, Dave.

I suppose I did, Dave said thoughtfully. They were good people though.

How do you know? Lyn’s face expressed her disbelief.

I could see it in them. I can see things a lot differently now, Lyn.

But your eyes were never a problem, Dave.

It’s not my eyesight. I can see inside people, see their fears, their loves. I can’t explain it. It’s as if they become a part of me for a while.

Dave, Lyn started slowly. Are you sure? Why are you saying this?

Something’s happened. Something good, I think.

Lyn’s expression reflected her doubt. But he saw the sudden shift in her aura, that shift of acceptance. Did she believe him? No probably not. But he’d convince her in time.

If what you say is true, Dave, it could be a bad thing.

With a sinking feeling, Dave realized she was right. He was convinced in the basic good of his fellow man but he knew there were bad ones out there. How would he see them and would he know to avoid them. Some instinct told him that the skill wasn’t going to leave and if anything would become more powerful.

He wondered what that thing had been, and what had it done to him?

Yeah, Lyn, of course, you’re right, Dave closed his eyes and relaxed back against the pillow. It was going to take some getting used to. The images seemed more intense without the interaction of normal sight. Lyn was a warm pink wash. In that glow, Dave felt the strength and beauty of his partner as if he was a part of her living body.

He didn’t realize it at the time but he was being soothed by the woman who loved him, as she’d soothed him many times before with her presence.

When he woke, the room was dark and his inner sight had dimmed. He still saw auras but with the low light the images had diminished as well. Even the plants threw hazy colorful outlines that seemed to sway to silent music. The palm in the corner radiated a desperate brown in stark contrast to the soft grey of the ornamental cactus in the pot next to it.

Dave’s bladder was near to bursting and he wondered where the toilet was. He went to swing himself out of the bed but immediately felt resistance. Twin cables attached to his chest snaked across to a monitor on the right hand side of the bed. The sticky pads painfully tore away tangles of hair when he removed them and immediately a red light started to flash on the monitor.

He was on his feet and moving toward the hall when a nurse met him at the door.

Up and about are we, Mister Hathaway. Are you alright?

Yes thanks, I just wanted to find the toilet.

Okay, I’ll take you down there.

She led him out into the hallway which was better lit than the room. The nurse was middle aged but definitely not unattractive. She generated a strong and reassuring signal to Dave’s newfound talent. As he followed, Dave found himself admiring her shapely white-covered bottom and the clever way her soft shoed feet worked on the hospital linoleum.

Uh, the palm’s nearly dead.

She slowed so he could catch up and turned to him, What did you say, Mister Hathaway?

The palm in my room is nearly dead. I don’t think anyone’s watered it. My name is Dave by the way.

Nice to meet you, Dave. I’m Alison Cooley. I’ll get some water when you go back, we’ll see if we can save that palm. How do you know it’s dry, did you check it?

No, I could just tell.

Alison looked at him from the corner of her eye as they walked.

You’re not the guy who told Doc Reilly that Rubin Hager was going to be fine, are you?

Probably, he smiled at her.

That’s all he talked about this afternoon, just couldn’t get over it. He looked in a few times but you were asleep. Here’s the toilet, I won’t be far away. Nice outfit by the way.

Dave went into the toilet without fully comprehending what she’d said but he soon realized. He was dressed in a surgical gown and was naked to the rear. He’d been walking down the passage with his hairy butt exposed to the world and somehow hadn’t known.

Who put me in this bloody thing? he asked on the way back to his room.

I don’t know. Whoever was on yesterday morning I suppose. I guess you didn’t bring any pajamas with you?

No, I don’t suppose so. Do you know where Lyn is?

Your wife? She went home when she realized you were out to it. She’ll be back in at about six she said.

What’s the time?

Just after four, she said as they went back in his door. She walked straight to the palm and checked the soil in the pot, before emptying the jug of water she’d carried in.

Dry as a wooden god, Alison Cooley declared. You know how to call ‘em. Anything I can get you before I go?

No thanks, Dave replied as he eased himself back between the firm hospital sheets.

I’ll leave the monitor off; I don’t think you need it.

Thanks.

He could hear the soft squeak of her rubber soles as she moved back to the nurse’s station. Dave had been fully convinced he was going to be awake all night thinking about what had happened to him but he found he’d slept for nearly sixteen hours straight and he was feeling sleepy again. As he drifted off, the thought went through his mind that his body was repairing the damage.

Two

Monday

The sharp sound of cutlery and stainless plate covers woke Dave. Soft sunlight through the open venetians mixed warmly with the cold fluorescent hospital lighting. Lyn slumped in the chair across from him and he watched her for a moment. She was awake but hadn’t noticed his wakening. The nimbus of pink was almost gone, the ability to see things was fading and he felt a pang of loss at the realization.

Hey, you, she said when she realized he was awake.

Hey, yourself, he said.

How are you feeling, love? she asked as she rose and walked to his side. She took his hand in her warm hands; he gave hers a reassuring squeeze.

Bloody good, and he realized it wasn’t just words. He felt fantastic. Maybe it was the long sleep but he didn’t think he’d felt so full of life in a long time.

She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and he hungered for more. Sensing that he needed more than a kiss Lyn sat on the edge of the bed and put her arms around him and held him.

You sure gave me a scare.

Dave wasn’t listening to the words. He was savoring the feeling of her and it wasn’t a sensation he was used to. Yesterday a hug would have been nice; today it was a joining. Dave could feel Lyn’s tenderness and when he closed his eyes he could see the warm pink glow of her being.

Lyn pushed him away when she realized he wasn’t quite with it. He opened his eyes and knew his newfound ability hadn’t left. Lyn was surrounded by the renewed glow of her aura. He found he could increase his ability to see the aura simply by concentrating and willing himself to see it.

How is he this morning? the voice was familiar.

He looked up and saw the nurse from the early hours. She was glowing too. Yellows and oranges swirled around her but there was something wrong. A sinister darkness had invaded her colors and was hidden away behind all the healthy outer glow.

He said he was feeling great, Lyn said, but then he sort of spaced out.

Oh, she came over to the bedside and lifted his wrist for a pulse check. Are you alright, Dave?

Yes, I am thanks but I’m worried about you, Alison.

Me? she laughed. I’m fine.

No, you’re not, he said. You’ve got a growth in your bowel, and you need treatment. Please believe me. This is very important.

This isn’t funny, Dave, she said.

No, it isn’t, Dave, Lyn said. Apologize to the nurse. This isn’t like you, Dave.

Dead right, Lyn. It isn’t like me, but it is vitally important that Alison sees a specialist. He looked at Nurse Cooley and said, Remember the palm and Rubin Hager?

Alison Cooley’s face paled then she turned hesitantly before walking to the door. She was about to leave but decided she had a job to do and came back into the room.

Do you need to use the toilet again, Dave? she asked.

No thanks, I’m not going back there at this time of day with my bum hanging out. He also realized that he’d be more embarrassed by his other problem. The close contact with Lyn had stirred something which would be just as obvious as the bare bum in the thin hospital gown.

I bought your pajamas in, Dave, Lyn said.

Thanks, love.

Breakfast will be coming around soon, I hope you can eat something, Alison Cooley said.

I will. I’m starved.

Breakfast was passable scrambled eggs and bacon, toast and jam, and a small bowl of cereal and fruit yoghurt. Dave left none of it and while he didn’t feel hungry he knew he could have eaten a lot more. He was cursed with a slow metabolism and tended to gain weight easily and he currently supported a belly that many pregnancies wouldn’t rival.

Josh Reilly came to see him early in the morning and while he couldn’t see a reason why Dave should stay in bed he wanted him to remain in for the rest of the day. Alison Cooley’s story hadn’t helped Dave’s case for an early release as had Lyn’s own concerns about Dave’s health. He was booked in for an MRI scan during the afternoon and it was suggested he take it easy for a few hours till he was to go in.

Lyn had bought in some comfortable clothes in anticipation that he might be released that morning so he was able to change out of the unflattering hospital gown.

At morning tea time a new nurse came in to check on him and he asked, Where’s Alison?

The new nurse was older and sterner and she looked at him sharply before replying, You got her very upset, Mister Hathaway. If you must know she’s gone off to prepare for a bowel scan with Doctor Thorpe.

Thank god, he said.

I don’t know if you get your kicks from upsetting people, Mister Hathaway, but I don’t find your behavior very amusing.

Dave didn’t often respond to people but he found the nurse’s response caustic and unfair. Instead of making an equally caustic reply he pushed out with his ability and viewed Sister Jane Thacker with an intense appraisal.

She was leaving the room when he finally said, Sister, I suggest you don’t judge me. Alison will be found to have a tumor. You, however, need to seek treatment for the mole on your shoulder that’s been irritating you. It is malignant and will take your life if you do nothing. He met her belligerent stare for a number of seconds before she finally turned away with fear in her eyes.

Lyn looked across at him from the seat. Her expression was unreadable but her aura remained that same calm, soothing pink.

What’s got into you, mate? she finally said quietly. This isn’t you.

It is now, love.

Do you really believe you can see these things?

Yep, he said with utter conviction.

What about me, what do you see in me?

Dave grinned a crooked grin, Lyn, you’re healthy. You are full of everything good. And I’m bloody lucky to have you.

Two hours later Doctor Reilly dropped in to see how Dave was coping and to tell him how the scan would go. Reilly was particularly concerned that his nursing staff were finding it necessary to race off for cancer checks but was fulsome in his appreciation of Dave’s arm’s length prediction of the previous day.

How did you know I’d operated on the boy? he asked in puzzlement.

I could see it in your eyes, Dave replied.

Reilly was skeptical and at the back of his mind believed that Dave Hathaway must have overheard some of the staff talking about the operation and had picked up on his anxiety. Dave gave the doctor a quick going over as Reilly took his pulse but apart from tiredness the doctor was in perfect health.

At 2.00 pm a new nurse came to take Dave and Lyn to the MRI room. Dave resisted the urge to use his new ability on this one; she looked young, healthy and beautiful. He just let his eyes do the checking out this time. Lyn caught his look and gave him a mock frown. He smiled happily back at her.

Dave knew what was to happen and was very relaxed about the procedure. He opted to use the earplugs instead of the headphones and lay back on the trolley and waited for the operation to start. In spite of the noise in the tunnel Dave dropped off to sleep and didn’t wake until the procedure had finished. If anything, the need for sleep was the thing most worrying him.

Two hours later saw Josh Reilly back in his room to discuss the images.

Good news, Dave, he said as he entered the room, on two counts.

Great, does that mean I can go home?

It does, though I would like to keep you here.

Oh, why’s that?

Well let’s discuss this scan before I get into that. The imaging gives you the all clear. Everything normal, so no problems there.

Sounds like there is a problem somewhere else? Dave commented

No, no, Josh reassured, It’s just about your predictions. Alison Cooley has a growth on her large intestine. She’s had no symptoms and wouldn’t have considered tests if you hadn’t said anything to her. She’s booked in for a colonoscopy in two days. The other issue is Jane Thacker’s melanoma. She had it removed this evening and while she’ll need monitoring her future is probably a happy one. My question is, how did you do it?

I can just tell, Doc.

How long have you been able to do this?

About twenty-four hours.

If you ever need a job give me a call. I could be the best doctor in town with you on my side.

Yeah maybe, Dave wasn’t so sure. This is all new to me. I don’t even know if it will last.

Lyn and Dave checked out half an hour later. Twenty minutes later they were home.

The worker’s cottage on the outskirts of Nambour had been their home for eighteen years but coming home was strangely new for Dave. The garden that Lyn planted, tended and loved had never interested Dave the way it did Lyn. It was just a part of the house and while he would have noted the loss if it weren’t there it had never really spoken to him before. Today’s walk through the gerberas, petunias and pansies was an aural revelation. Aside from the visual blaze of reds, purples and vibrant green, the healthy plantings now pulsed with aural signatures that awed him.

Lyn had the front door open and looked back to see Dave staring at her garden beds as if entranced. She stood in amazement as he reached out to stroke one of the flowers. She found herself looking up the street almost shamefully to see if any of the neighbors had seen Dave’s strange behavior.

Are you okay, Dave? she asked.

His head flicked around as if he was waking suddenly, Yeah, love. Your flowers are looking fantastic, but there’s something wrong with that rose over there?

She laughed in genuine amusement, You bullshit artist, don’t tell me you can tell if plants are sick as well. You know darn well I told you that rose has collar rot. Come on inside with you now, you’ve got to ring Ray up in Townsville and tell him you won’t be there tomorrow.

Lyn cooked up a meal of lamb chops and roast vegetables which Dave demolished with gusto, it was the best cooking he had ever eaten and he told her so. She thought he was laying it on a bit thick and that his appreciation might have been buoyed by the half a bottle of Shiraz he’d put away with the meal. In spite of his protestations of having spoken only the truth Lyn couldn’t help feeling there was something insincere about Dave’s approach. He’d never been excessively praising of her cooking or anything else for that matter. If she cared to analyze Dave’s faults taking her for granted had been the one that had most annoyed her. His effusive praise of her cooking this night concerned her because it was so unlike him.

If she had concerns at tea her worries were swamped by the tide of passion that threatened to crush her at bedtime. Dave had always been a considerate and energetic lover but now he was almost a stranger. His lovemaking that night had a passion and power she’d never experienced before and she found herself sensually overtaken by feelings and emotions that were totally new. It was as though she was being loved by a stranger, a stranger who somehow knew how to push all her buttons. Her orgasm was so much more intense and prolonged than any before and she did something after that amazing lovemaking that she rarely ever did. She cried.

Somehow Dave knew every right word to say and held her as she wanted to be held. This wasn’t her Dave. In an intense moment such as this he was more likely to roll over and go to sleep. Lyn’s thoughts were in such mental confusion that sleep swirled untidily in and finally strange erotic dreams swamped her in their dark embrace.

The night of the wondrous sexual sharing was a pivotal point. Dave knew she was pregnant from the first moment and just as he could see the cancers in the nurses, so too could he see the golden nimbus of new life growing in the warm pink embrace of Lyn’s womb.

He’d woken late the following morning and spent much of the day newly in love with Lyn. He didn’t tell her she was pregnant, she’d find that out in time and he’d be blissfully happy for her with the news. Lyn was also newly in love with the wonderful stranger who had come into her life.

They spent a lazy day together doing the innocent little things they were wont to do on lazy days. Reading the paper and drinking cups of tea took up hours of the lazy time. Repairing depleted energy levels required sleep and Dave’s day was shortened by four hours with an afternoon nap. When he woke, he saw Lyn beside him on the couch quietly working at her needlecraft. She hadn’t moved. The sun was going down behind the mountains and all was well with the world.

They ate early and sat for hours on the verandah watching the lightning in the storms to the south. There was no thunder to be heard from the glowing towers of light; the storms were too far away for that.

Dave, what happened last night?

Lynnie, I think I finally woke up, he said cryptically.

What do you mean?

I finally know what it’s all about. Life I mean, and the way things are supposed to be.

You have become the strangest man, David Michael Hathaway.

Lynnie, you’re a bit mysterious yourself.

"That’s just the way it is, big feller. Don’t worry; I think this is the way it was meant to be. I’m tied to you but I’ve got to admit that in the last few years I’ve had some second thoughts. I haven’t said anything, but you’ve been worrying me. You seemed to lack something that other men have. That spark of energy, that creativity. You’d come home and you’d just do nothing as if your life was that bloody van full of horseshoes and you were just pacing yourself till you had to go again.

"Sure, we did things, sex was good, we’d see lots of movies, read lots of books, but it just wasn’t a life with life, if you know what I mean. I’d look at you and you’d be just, I don’t know...just, Dave. Now, somehow, there’s a spark there. No, not a spark, more like a bloody great flash of lightning.

Far to the south a monstrous bolt of light had hit the ground and the cumulus clouds were written in fiery glory for a few seconds. Lyn hadn’t finished.

I suppose I should be worried about what happened to you at the mall but I can see now that you have to find yourself before you can be truly useful to me.

Dave smiled at her in the semi darkness. I think I already have been useful, Lyn.

She laughed, You mean ...? Oh yeah.

That one last word said it all for her, but that wasn’t what Dave had meant. He wasn’t about to tell her about the growing life inside her belly. What if he was wrong, even though he knew he wasn’t? They hadn’t spoken about the sex, but all day they had lived it.

There was no lovemaking that night and they both fell into a deep sleep, arm in arm. Neither of them heard the soft falls of rain during the night and they woke to a sunlit morning filled with the spicy freshness of coastal Queensland.

After a slow breakfast they went for a walk through the cane fields at the back of town. It was all so new to Dave, the beauty of the valley called to him as it had never before. Reaching out with new power he could sense all the little life at the sides of the roads. He could feel the rats, snakes and toads lying quietly in the matted sugar cane that grew right to the edge of the cracked bitumen. In the past, he’d never considered the cane fields to be anything other than cane. It was another revelation.

Later in the day Dave helped Lyn in the garden, something he rarely ever did. Lyn was happy with her new man but there was sadness at the knowledge that she would soon lose him. Dave had rung Ray Coleman in Townsville and told him to expect him on the Friday, two days hence. Dave knew the time with Lyn was important. A bond was being reforged and he was recovering and becoming stronger.

But he had to leave early the next morning, he still had a job and people were relying on him. Dave considered that in time he might learn his way to something new. He had no idea of what that might be but he had been given some inkling of what he could do at the hospital. He wasn’t about to become a doctor in his middle life but he knew with certainty that he wouldn’t be peddling iron much longer.

The day was marred only by one incident, one that would have a profound influence on Dave and the effect that his newfound perception could have, for good, and for bad.

Kurt Mathis was one of the few men Dave regarded as a true friend. They drank at the same pub, enjoyed their rugby league and keenly followed the V8 supercars. Lyn on the other hand didn’t like Kurt although she got on well with Penny. Dave had asked her why she didn’t see a friend in Kurt but she couldn’t explain it, she just found him creepy.

Kurt and Penny arrived after lunch for a surprise visit. Dave was happy to see his mate at the door but was dismayed to soon find he was happier to see Penny. Almost unconsciously he’d used his skill to analyze his friends’ auras and he didn’t like what he saw. While both seemed healthy there was something unsettling about Kurt.

Hey, how ya going, old buddy? Kurt said as he shook Dave’s hand. Kurt was as tall as Dave, a lean crew-cut blond-haired man wearing a blue Holden HSVT-shirt, shorts and thongs.

Not bad, mate, he replied. How are you, Penny?

Penny gave him a small and, for some reason he felt, sad smile. Penny was dark where Kurt was fair, slim with large breasts and a beautiful but melancholy face. I’m good thanks, Dave, where’s Lyn?

Oh, she’s in the kitchen, cleaning up from lunch. You coming in?

Lyn had a tea towel in her hand when they came through the door; she quickly dropped it on the table and gave Penny a hug.

Hello, love, how are you? she said and almost as an afterthought said, Hello, Kurt.

Oh, I’m bloody great, Lynnie, Kurt said with a challenging grin. Lyn’s face hardened. She didn’t like anyone, other than Dave, calling her Lynnie and Kurt knew it.

A cup of tea and something to eat, guys? Dave asked.

No, you’ve just had lunch, Dave, Penny said.

I could do a bit more, Dave said, I’m still hungry.

He is too, Lyn added. He’s been eating like a horse since he came out of the hospital. I’ll cut some cake and we can have a cuppa. She started taking the cups and plates down as they talked.

So, what happened to you? Kurt asked.

I don’t really know, Dave replied. I just had a bit of a turn, must have been a virus of some sort. Lyn met his eye for a moment but didn’t say anything.

Come on, sit down, Dave went around the table and pulled out a chair for Penny, she gave him a strange look. Kurt’s glare was filled with suspicion. As she sat she drew a sharp breath that was lost on Kurt who was pulling out a chair for himself and also on Lyn who was getting a teapot from the cupboard. But it wasn’t lost on Dave.

Are you okay, Penny?

I’m fine thanks, Dave, she said with a quick fearful glance at Kurt.

No, you’re not, Penny, Dave said. Lyn looked up in consternation.

I’m fine, Dave, Penny said again, something like desperation in her voice.

You’re not, you’re hurting. He reached out with his aura and knew what was wrong. He couldn’t see the bruised breasts and aching ribs but he felt the pain, as if it was his pain. With a sinking feeling he knew what the darkness he’d sensed in Kurt was.

One path he could have taken was to back off and pretend he knew nothing. The old Dave might have taken that road but the new one was made of different stuff.

You’ve been hitting her, he accused Kurt. How long has this been going on?

Kurt had a crazy look in his eyes. He looked to Lyn for support as though to say ‘What’s gotten into Dave?’ Lyn wasn’t offering support and her face had stormy anger written on it.

You have been hitting her, Kurt. Come on, I’m supposed to be your mate. What’s it all about? Dave said.

Fuck you, Dave, Kurt threw his chair behind him as he came to his feet. He wasn’t as heavily built as Dave but he gave every indication he was ready to fight. Dave had seen him like this before but then it had been a drinker’s reaction to another’s drunken rudeness in the pub.

Cut it out, Kurt, Dave said. He was angry but not to the point where he was likely to hit Kurt. Is it true, Penny, has he been hitting you?

No, Dave, what’s gotten into you. Dave knew the lie and Lyn had seen it too.

Don’t crap me, Penny, I know when you’re lying, Lyn waded in.

Oh, fuck this! We’re out of here! Kurt yelled. He grabbed Penny’s hand and tried to haul her to her feet. She resisted but she was in obvious pain.

Dave slapped at Kurt’s wrist. He didn’t hit hard but did something he hadn’t realized he could do till then. His aura interacted with Kurt’s and he gave him the equivalent of a psychic punch. Kurt pulled back in pain and stood there rubbing his wrist with an angry look on his face.

What the fuck is this? You’ve been talking haven’t you, you bitch, Kurt accused his wife. He appeared ready to punch her in the face; Dave stepped up to Penny’s shoulder. Penny said nothing, sitting with her head down, looking at her lap.

I think you’d better piss off, Kurt, Dave said.

Not without my wife I don’t, prick. Kurt was in Dave’s face. Dave’s expression was hard to read.

Get out, was all he said.

Kurt wasn’t about to be pushed around but Dave took the initiative. He grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him toward the door. Kurt tried to fight, futilely. It was as if he’d become an unruly child being taken to his room by an angry parent. Kurt swung his free arm back at Dave but was shocked into submission when Dave blocked the blow with his other arm and at the same time gave him another jolt of aural energy.

Dave threw him down the short flight of stairs to the front lawn. Kurt got up fast and stumbled to the gate, Dave could see the tears on his face.

Keep going and don’t come back or I’m calling Billy Burton, Dave told him. Billy Burton was the senior sergeant at the police station. Billy was an old friend and often drank with both men at the pub and Dave’s threat held power. The last he saw of Kurt was the Toyota station wagon roaring past his front gate, accelerating fast.

Penny was crying and Lyn was holding her hand at the table. Lyn looked up with a small smile of encouragement as Dave returned to the kitchen. Penny looked up quickly but put her head down again. Dave sat in the other chair beside her and took her other hand. She had a tear soaked handkerchief in that hand but Dave wasn’t embarrassed, she needed the support of both her friends.

Penny looked up with red eyes and asked, How did you know?

I felt it. He hurt you where the bruises wouldn’t show. How long has this been going on, Pen?

She stared off at the wall and said, "Years. It’s been going on