Page 41 of Controlled Chaos

“Exactly. They’re easier to control within reaching distance, don’t you agree?”

I slipped the gun from beneath my shirt and was about to step out and kill them both when Frankie stopped me again. The need to put a bullet in their heads tugged at my resolve.

Frankie gestured to the pod of forbidden seeds and the flowers within reach. Her eyes pleaded with me. I knew that look. The one that said don’t do anything rash, that there were more lives at stake than just your own.

I also knew this was my one chance to stop Thaddeus from ever controlling Porter again.

Frankie leaned in to whisper, “What if there’s a bigger conspiracy. What if it’s not just the two of them?”

She was right, damn it. What if there were more people involved?

The voices moved farther away as we squatted in our hiding place. I leaned back against the trunk of the tree as my mind raced, trying to figure out what I needed to do.

“Your boyfriend is in deep shit,” Frankie whispered.

“He’s not the only one,” I said. Porter’s mother was too. The idea of it was far-fetched but still, I could feel it like I knew exactly what type of plant that was. Porter’s mother was being manipulated and no matter how crazy it sounded; I’d bet they were using devil’s breath to keep her in a chemical-induced state.”

“Do you suppose their chasing the drug with post-hypnotic suggestions?” Frankie asked.

The puzzle pieces were starting to fit together, forming a terrifying picture.

“I’ve got to warn Porter and save his mom.” I rose from my spot and grabbed one of the forbidden fruits, sticking it into the pouch just to prove I was telling the truth. We were going to need evidence to make my accusations stick. If that didn’t work, a bullet through the head would do. If they were getting the powder Frankie had seen them putting in the food from these seeds, the entire compound could potentially be under some sort of altered state.

“When did they serve the soup?” I asked.

“The day before you got here,” Frankie answered. “I think they’re spicing things every other day from what I can tell or at least on the new recruits when they’re brought in. They go from wild children to compliant like someone flipped a switch.”

“It’s got to be the drug and the hypnosis.”

“This is nuts. I knew this place was jacked up, but spiking food with drugs,” Frankie said, hurrying out of the woods as she kept looking over her shoulder.

“Have you noticed anyone going missing?” I asked as we hit the beach. We were walking in a quick clip back toward the campus.

“Not since my arrival, but then again, I wouldn’t have questioned it, especially if they weren’t following the rules. They tell you when you arrive that they can give you the boot off the island any time, day or night.”

If that was how the deaths of these girls was going undetected, then why kill one that had family waiting for her to come out of the program? Being away from Porter had its advantages, particularly with the use of my ability. Knowing things like that damn drug would be useful, but I had this uncanny feeling that I needed to be closer to him. Near him. Like the pull of a magnet. Without question, I knew not only that he was my potential future but the man behind my demise.

The closer we got back to the compound, the less imagery and knowing popped into my head. My proximity to Porter was like an energetic puzzle that snapped into place. I could feel the exact moment that we connected. It was alarming, but it gave me a false sense of safety that didn’t make sense.

I slipped my phone out of my pocket and typed out a text to Fillpot with a message that was straight to the point. One that couldn’t be confused.

Thaddeus is using hypnosis and devil’s breath on everyone on the island, including Porter’s mother, going back years to when Porter was on the island. He was also hypnotized, and it’s his face that is behind the trigger that kills me. Warn Dakota and stop the graduation ceremonies. You can’t let anyone else on this island. The food is being drugged.

My phone was still sending the message when I left Frankie and hurried to the back of my bungalow and slid inside, hoping no one was awake that could catch me. I didn’t breathe with relief until I was locked inside. I shrugged out of the shoulder bag and looked through each drawer for something plastic or seal-proof for the deadly pod with its satanic seeds. I found a trash bag under the sink and used it, carefully removing the pod from the carrier into the trash bag. I stowed the other fruit away and took the bad pod to our room to hide as the proof we might need.

Porter rustled on the bed when I quietly walked in, heading to the closet. I stuck the seeded pod into a pocket of one of the hanging dresses that was pushed toward the back.

I eased the bathroom door shut and changed out of my clothes into something to wear to bed and washed my hands twice just as a precaution.

When I opened the door, Porter was staring at me. His color had returned to his face. His eyes were crystal clear and alert. He was better now, in every way besides what was hidden in the recesses of his mind.

“How did it go?”

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