Dying to Remember (The Station #2) Read online

  DYING to REMEMBER

  The Station - Volume 2

  By Trish Marie Dawson

  Text copyright © 2012 Trish Marie Dawson

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the author.

  Amazon Edition

  This book is for the teens of the World.

  You are our future. Be kind to each other.

  - No matter what happens…live well, love hard and laugh always. - Piper Willow

  TABLE of CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  DYING to RETURN

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  PROLOGUE

  When I arrive back at the Station the first thing I feel is the cool floor under my naked feet and I tuck my toes in, pretending the ground is grass and that my toes are deep inside the moist soil of a Pennsylvania forest. For just a moment I let myself feel sad as I realize it's a sensation I won't ever experience again, at least not in my own body. I spend at least a full minute standing in the dark room allowing my imagination to take me to the woods of Erie. I drag my fingers up and down my arms to simulate the feeling of rough tree bark against my skin and imagine that I'm twenty, thirty, forty feet up in the air climbing a giant conifer.

  When I open my eyes I see nothing but black. I'm not perched on the top of the highest tree in the woods, or walking barefoot through cool, damp grass. I'm standing in one of the Depot arrival rooms. Who knew it was possible to miss trees so much?

  I take a deep breath and step forward, knowing that the doorknob will find its way to my palm practically on its own and the moment my warm skin meets the cold metal the door slides effortlessly open. Light floods in around me from the hallway and there to greet me is Niles. I rush into his waiting arms and sigh deeply into his blue sweater vest.

  He's patting me on the back and though I can't see his face, I know he's smiling. "I take it this case ended better than the last?"

  I nod into his slightly squishy chest. "I did it. I helped her." I beam up at him.

  "Yes, dear, you definitely did. How does it feel?" He asks.

  "Amazing."

  The wrinkles around his eyes deepen as his smile broadens. "That's how it's supposed to feel. If you do it right." He winks at me and points to Abby's card that is in the portal slot I used for Sloan. "Don't forget that."

  I cross the room in three strides and pull the slate gray card from the wall. I tenderly hug the thick glass to my chest; this is all that is left of Abby after-all.

  ***

  We leave the Depot room in happy spirits and enter the long hallway that leads to the other side of the Consignment Department. Niles walks beside me in the hall as we weave around a handful of others. He's listening to the highlights of Abby's case with interest until he notices Carlson bounding toward us with his metal clipboard clutched tightly to his thin chest, as usual.

  "Is everything okay, Carlson?" Niles asks him.

  "Yes, yes. But I need to speak with you Abbot," he pauses to clear his throat and sends a nervous glance in my direction. I just got back; surely I couldn't have done something wrong, could I? "It's um, it's about her."

  "Piper?" Niles seems just as surprised as me. I have done something.

  Carlson bobs his head up and down and looks at me again with an almost pained expression on his face. Wow, this must be bad.

  "I'll be right back, Piper. Okay?" Niles tries to smile at me, but it doesn't do much good. I can't speak so I just nod my head and watch them walk down the hall together, disappearing into one of the small rooms. Oh crap. What's happened now?!

  ***

  I stand awkwardly in the hallway holding Abby's glass card to my chest like it's a life raft. I feel like I'm floating alone in the sea and every time someone walks past me and bumps into my arm or shoulder the sensation startles my body and my insides rise up and down, like waves from an ocean storm.

  I'm pretty sure I've made myself sea-sick by the time Niles and Carlson exit the small room and I almost puke on my feet when I see that his face is set into a worried frown. I've spent however long it was that he was in the next room running through everything I did with Abby. I followed ALL the rules, more so with her than I did with Sloan. I'm confident that I haven't done anything too awful to involve Niles. So what's going on?!

  "Piper," he says my name softly.

  I nod, waiting for my banishment or public humiliation to come. Niles simply takes my hand and pulls me next to him. We begin walking back down the hall, toward the room he and Carlson spoke in and suddenly I panic.

  "No, wait."

  I stop hard enough that the soles of my bare-feet squeak loudly as they skid on the smooth, cold surface of the Consignment Department floor. Niles stares at me, waiting for an explanation.

  "Who's in there? Am I in trouble?" My voice is strained to a point that even I don't recognize it.

  "It's nothing like that, dear. But I need you to come with me. Please?" He holds his hand out and I count slowly to ten before placing my fingers onto his outstretched palm. Forget shaky hands, my entire body is trembling. I've just begun to follow him when Carlson rushes at us, muttering.

  "Crap. Crap." Carlson nearly drops his clipboard at his feet as he attempts to hurry down the hall.

  Niles glances over my shoulder to follow Carlson's gaze and freezes in place, his mouth agape, his hand gripped tightly around mine.

  "Niles? Are you okay?" I ask, afraid of the shocked look on his face. Slowly I tug my fingers from his grasp and shift slightly as Niles continues to stare at something behind me.

  Suddenly I bump shoulders with a taller man as he rushes by my left side and I'm spun in a half circle by the force. I hear him mutter an apology just as he passes me but his attention is set on Carlson.

  Niles is staring at the man, a look of concern on his face before he glimpses down at me briefly. I glance back in Carlson's direction, not understanding at all what is happening. He's now talking to the tall man that collided with me in the busy hallway. I see nothing extraordinary about him, other than the fact that he must be a New Arrival since he's holding the single sheet of Station Guidelines from Orientation carefully in one hand. His six-foot build towers over the fragile looking Carlson but he still seems small in the hallway. After Carlson speaks to him, the tall man straightens and begins scanning the busy hallway looking for someone. He raises a toned arm up to push his hair off his forehead as he turns in my direction and I catch a peek of something green beneath the sleeve of his t-shirt.

  My entire body goes weak and my fingers release their tight hold on Abby's card as our eyes meet. The glass slides down the front of my baggy shirt and hits the hard floor with a sickening sound as it shatters loudly around my feet. I don't notice it. But everyone else does, including Niles, who gasps beside me. All eyes turn to face me; the girl that just destroyed a precious and irreplaceable Assignment card, but I focus only on the man standing ten feet away.

  Carlson gapes at me in horror. He clutches his metal clipboard to his chest and shakes his head disapprovingly at me. But I'm not looking at him. I can't tear my eyes away from the shocked man by his side. Carlson quickly grumbles something to the New
Arrival. I watch as he leans down to hear what Carlson has to say and a familiar set of dark curls drop over his forehead. No, no, no, NO, NO!

  Everyone is still staring at me. Niles is kneeling on the ground, sweeping some of the glass shards into his hand but I don't care. I don't care that Abby's case is lost forever, because he is here.

  Sloan is at the Station.

  CHAPTER 1

  "What…what…are you doing here?"

  My whispered words drift across the hall as Sloan and I stare at each other. My senses become heightened but at the same time, restricting. I'm aware that others are around me, because I can hear the steady rhythm of their breathing. The stale inhales and exhales of startled Intake Specialists and confused Volunteers echo up and down the walls. But I can't focus on anyone, not enough to identify faces. All I really see is Sloan.

  "Why are you here?" I ask again.

  "Should we go somewhere private, Abbott?"

  Carlson ignores me completely, aiming his question at the man kneeling beside me. I'm suddenly aware that Niles is at my feet, quietly picking up the shattered remains of Abby's glass card. But I won't take my eyes off of him. Not yet. Not until someone tells me what is going on.

  Sloan takes two steps toward me, his face a myriad of confused expressions. Carlson reaches out to stop him but his hand is easily shrugged off the taller man's arm as he continues to move closer to me, narrowing the gap between us quickly.

  "I…I know your voice," he stammers. The blue of his eyes is electrifying. Seeing him in person is just unreal.

  "What?" Niles and I both speak the word at the same time.

  "I know you. Don't I?" Sloan turns to look at Carlson, who is just as confused as the rest of us.

  Forgetting the mess on the floor, Niles stands quickly and tugs on my arm, pulling me with him across the hall and through the first available door. Carlson doesn't need to tell Sloan to follow, since our eyes hardly break their connection as I'm rushed by him. How did you get here…what happened?

  As I pass through the doorway, I'm finally forced to look ahead of me. Niles has pulled me into another smaller hallway with several doors that line the walls. I have no idea what rooms lie beyond them. The walls match the milky white color of the floor and ceiling and I lean against the smooth surface of the nearest wall, feeling the coolness of the glass on my skin as Sloan is rushed into the room by Carlson.

  Struggling to regulate my breathing, I watch as Niles comes to a stop a few feet away and stares at Sloan as he shuffles into the small hallway, waiting quietly for Carlson to close the door. Once he does, it seems the men all begin to talk at once. I try to tune out everyone but Sloan. I hear only bits and pieces of what he says.

  "I don't understand…explain this to me like I'm five…what the hell is this place…who is she?"

  It's the last question that slaps me out of my shocked semi-aware state. I push off the wall, moving slowly toward the three men who are all now staring at me with different expressions. Niles looks worried, Carlson simply looks angry and Sloan…Sloan wants answers. His blue eyes are glowing with pain and confusion. I remember the day I awoke at the Station. How lost I felt not knowing where I was, or what this place did. Sloan was there now, in that moment.

  While Carlson folds his arms over his clipboard and hugs it to his chest again, Niles clears his throat as I approach. Apprehensively, Sloan shifts on his feet, watching me until I stop within arms' reach and stick out my hand.

  "Hi Sloan, I'm Piper," I say in a voice as confidant as I can manage.

  "Piper." He blinks and then takes my hand, letting me slowly pump it. The heat from his skin radiates through mine and the shock of actually touching him sends a slow-dancing shiver up my spine. He doesn't let go, not right away.

  "Piper Willow. Is that your name?"

  "That's me," I say with a faint smile, attempting to stop the shake in my voice.

  "I remember you," he says.

  My mouth falls open slightly and I stare between him and Niles. "Remember me? We've never met before today, Sloan," I say.

  "But I heard you; your voice. I know it was you."

  He looks me up and down, as if placing my body with my voice. For the umpteenth time I hate what I'm wearing. Meeting Sloan in my pajamas is beyond embarrassing; especially when he looks amazing in his faded jeans and heather grey t-shirt. And he's barefoot. He has great feet. I tug at the hem of my top, trying to stretch out the loose tank so that it covers more of my hips.

  "Son, what do you mean, you heard Piper's voice?" Niles asks.

  "Uh. I don't know how to explain it, but I know her," he says as he turns to face me again. "I know you."

  "Carlson, have you had a chance to explain Volunteering to Sloan?"

  "Abbott, the boy was just on his way to Orientation. He doesn't know nothing about nothing, yet," Carlson says with a sharp edge of irritation coating his voice.

  I notice Niles glaring at Carlson, who wisely bows his head a bit before staring down at the floor. He uses his clipboard as a shield by raising it to just below his chin. The man annoys me tremendously. Spending an eternity with Carlson might just kill me for the second time.

  "Well," Niles says to no one in particular, "…this is definitely not something I can handle alone. I'll be right back. The three of you, please stay here."

  When Niles leaves it's as if all the oxygen in the room is sucked out with him. Carlson is still staring at the floor, holding on to his trusted metal 'to-do' list as if someone wants to steal it from him. And Sloan and I exchange several awkward glances at each other before we both find different walls to lean on. I still want answers; the first being…what is he doing here?

  Just as I'm afraid I might scream into the suffocating silence of the narrow hallway, the door opens again and in steps Edith. This is only the second time I've seen her and she's just as striking. Her big bangs shift around her face as she enters the room with a tight smile. Carlson looks about nervously while Sloan stares at her…most likely curious as to why she's dressed in a baby-doll nightgown in the middle of the day.

  Oh Sloan, I didn't want this for you.

  "So," she looks from me to Sloan as she talks, "I see we have a bit of a unique situation on our hands."

  Unique? I'm not the first Volunteer to meet their Assignment. What's unique about that?

  "Mr. Nash, my name is Edith Ray. Welcome to the Station." She smiles at him while they shake hands.

  "Hi. I'm a little lost here," Sloan admits.

  "Of course, I understand, I do. But I have to ask you something before you continue on to your Orientation, Mr. Nash. If you don't mind?"

  He shakes his head so she continues, "Mr. Abbott has informed me that you mentioned knowing Miss Willow, knowing her voice. What did you mean?"

  He blinks at her several times. "Uh, I don't know why, but I recognize her voice from…before. And she told me her name. I don't know how, exactly, I just heard her. I'd know her voice anywhere."

  I feel my cheeks heat up like a furnace. Don't look at me, please don't look at me. Of course when I glance up from staring at my big toes, he's watching me intently. Great.

  "Before you came here, the two of you did not know each other," Edith says quietly, and both Sloan and I nod in agreement before she continues, "I'm not sure I've ever heard of an Assignment being able to not only remember but identify his Volunteer by voice. I'll have to discuss this with the others. Piper," she turns to face me, "I need you to refrain from volunteer work until we get this all sorted out, okay?"

  "Okay. But, what should I do?" The coolness from the floor shoots up my legs as my knees nervously knock together.

  "Mr. Abbott will find something for you to do, I'm sure. Right, Niles?" She smiles sweetly at him and it's clear to me they are closer than friends.

  "Yes, Edith. I will have her shadow me until we find a job for her," he answers, matching her smile with a flash of white teeth.

  Job?

  "As for you, Mr. Nash, you really mu
st continue on to your Orientation. Your questions are best answered there. Shall I accompany you and Mr. Smith?" She gestures with her delicate hand for them to follow her out of the room.

  Sloan sends me one more inquisitive look before disappearing into the main hallway, instantly getting lost in the rush of busy Station dwellers. My legs finally give out and I slump against the wall, sliding down it to the floor, where I intend on staying until I see a flying pig or Hell itself, frozen over.

  "Piper?"

  I ignore Niles. I want to ignore everything. I'm stubbornly waiting for the flying pig.

  "Piper. I'm just as confused as you are right now, but you have to talk to someone. The Station doesn't work well if we don't all work together," he says gently. With a heavy sigh, he first squats and then sits down beside me. The pleats of his pants spread out as he hooks one leg over the other and loosely folds his hands in his lap.

  "I can wait," he says calmly.

  You'll be here all day. Oh, but wait, we don't HAVE days or nights at the Station. So maybe you'll be here forever. The thought depresses me. Where's a flying pig when you need one??

  "What am I supposed to do now, Niles?" I finally break the silence.

  "Honestly, Piper, I'm not sure. But we will get it all figured out. Don’t worry; Edith knows what she is doing," he says as he pats my bent knee.

  As I fold my legs up higher into my chest so that I can rest my chin on them, I'm contemplating the point of my existence, dying to remember a time when things were so much simpler when the door bursts open and Mallory throws herself ungraciously into our little hall and stumbles over to my feet.

  "Piper! I've been looking for you everywhere! I ran into Carlson in the hallway, which is great because I really need to talk to you," she says, nearly out of breath.

  "Mallory, if it's bad news, I can't handle it right now." I cover my face with both hands so I don't have to look at her perfectly shaped, thin legs standing just inches away from my own gangly ones.