Fearless: The Retroact Saga, #6

By Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Time and time again, Penny Black has been abused and manipulated because of her powerful abilities and complicated past.

If it was just her, she could take it. But now she's being asked to destroy everyone she cares about for the supposed greater good.

For Penny, trusting herself to make the right decision might be the most fearless act of all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Write Free Press
• Release date: Dec 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781502241498

Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Stacey Wallace Benefiel writes paranormal love stories, often with a time-bending twist. She lives in Beaverton, OR with her husband and their five kids. Obviously, she drives a minivan.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

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CHAPTER ONE

Penny

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Elle takes hold of my arm…

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I’m crouched in a ditch, being drenched by a relentless icy sleet, looking out through Maud’s eyes, at me, Penny, standing in the middle of a blacktop road, conducting. There is a red truck in front of me and when a teenage Dr. Adams uses her powers to try to stop the truck, I counter her movements and spin it around.

Young Dr. Avery and a red headed woman who looks a lot like Dr. Adams are in the front seat of the truck, their eyes wide with fear. Dr. Avery is gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles are white. The woman has to be Dr. Adams’ mom, which means she’s Wyatt’s mom too. He’s just not born yet. She’s got one hand resting on her pregnant belly and the other braced against the dash. She’s doing that weird breathing pregnant ladies do. Hoo hoo heeeeee. Hoo hoo heeeeee.

Maud’s eyes scan the landscape. Foothills, mountains, lava rocks and brush, the blacktop road.

This is the day that Dr. Adams saved Avery and Wyatt’s lives and discovered how to keep triggers from dying.

My stomach drops.

And I’m here to stop her.

The truck halts facing vision-me, and I see Dr. Avery breathe a sigh of relief. The blood rushes back into his hands, his white knuckles going pink. Something about him relaxing, even for one second, pisses the vision-me off and I push my right hand out, palm forward.

Terror rises in Maud’s body and she glances away from me to Elle and Phoebe crouching next to her. Elle is frozen, paralyzed with fear. She’s begging with her eyes for Maud to do something. Why can’t they do anything? Why can’t they move?

Phoebe is watching the scene go down, enraptured. She’s playing with her hair. She could stop me if she wanted to! Surely she has some tricks she uses to get Reed to behave.

I curl the fingers of my right hand and then explode them out in a swift motion, aiming a strong pulse of my power at the truck. The doomed vehicle jerks back, spins around toward Dr. Adams, and then guns it right for her.

There is a sick thud on impact and then the sound of breaking glass. Dr. Adams is pinned under the driver’s side front tire. Her chest crushed and caved in, folding up around the edges of the spiky snow tire. Her face is slack and her eyes are blank. A trickle of blood drips from the corner of her mouth.

Dr. Avery is slumped over, his mangled and swollen face resting against his chest at an unnatural angle. Wyatt’s mom is partway through the windshield, her gigantic belly stopping her from going all the way through. Her face is badly cut and bleeding all over the place. She’s still breathing though. Her chest is rising and falling and her warm breath is visible in the icy cold air. Wyatt is still alive inside her.

Maud watches as vision me approaches the accident I’ve just caused. She’s wishing, dying to scream out at me to not interfere and I desperately want the same, too.

Maud is thinking so loudly, Penny! We need to go all the way back to St. Etienne and end all of us before we began. Penny! If we end our existence, we can end all of our suffering.

Vision me is oblivious. I take a good look at myself. My eyes are glazed over, in a trance-like state, my face expressionless, uncaring, as I evaluate my handiwork.

Dr. Adams and Dr. Avery appear in spirit form. I don’t think Dr. Avery knows he’s dead. He says, Holy shit, and Dr. Adams elbows him. Her elbow goes right through his chest. They both say, Holy shit, and then look at each other’s dead bodies. Their eyes settle on Wyatt’s mom. They think she’s dead and start searching the side of the road for her spirit. Dr. Adams senses I’m behind her and turns to look at me.

Hi! Dr. Adams says in that sweetly upbeat way she talks, no matter how shitty the situation. Oh, my God. Can you see us? Can you help us? Have you seen my mom?

I nod and point at her mom.

Dr. Adams twists up her ghostly mouth. No, I meant her spirit. I don’t know why she would’ve left Avery and me here. Things were getting so much better between us. She takes in a deep breath, not really needing to, and then huffs it back out. And my new little brother … I know it’s frickety fracking grim as all get out, but do unborn babies even have spirits that can, like, roam the afterlife or whatever? Or did he go to the light straight away?

Zellie, honey, her mom barely manages to whisper.

Dr. Avery and Dr. Adams climb up the hood of the truck, getting as close as they can to Wyatt’s mom’s face.

This touching realization apparently annoys vision me because then my hands shoot out, my powers grasping onto their spirits.

What the …? Dr. Avery says as I guide first him and then Dr. Adams back into their bodies. But if I’m here to destroy them, why am I saving their lives?

Dr. Avery opens his eyes and groans. On second thought, he says, get me out of here. This living thing sucks. His neck is still at a not-right angle, probably on the cusp of being broken, but he’s talking, so he’s breathing. Right?

He kind of cough/chuckles and then groans again. He lifts his hand to his head and then pulls it away and stares at all of the blood. Any chance you could rewind me past these fatal injuries to something a little less horrible and more survivable?

Dr. Adams comes to and cries out in one anguished burst.

Zellie? Dr. Avery asks. Honey bear, are you okay?

Zellie? Are you okay? her mom echoes. Her face is beyond pale and the bleeding has slowed way down.

No, Dr. Adams whispers from under the tire. In so much pain. I should be dead. Her voice fades and she passes out.

Another car approaches and comes to a quick stop in the middle of the road. Younger versions of Ben, Melody, and Claire come running. Christopher moves slowly and without purpose, a scowl on his face. Basically, he’s the same.

Maud sees my expression become urgent and my eyes tearing up. I look to be at war with myself. My left hand raises and then lowers. Raises and then lowers. Is vision-me having regrets? Or am I not in control of my actions anymore than Maud and Elle are?

I want Maud to check out Phoebe. What is Phoebe doing? Something is not right with her.

Instead, Maud fixes her focus on the scene before her. Dr. Avery’s eyes are becoming all pupil and his face an ashen gray. Dr. Adams’ crushed body is bleeding all over the blacktop.

My right hand takes the lead and raises, pausing everyone coming toward us. Ben, Melody, and Claire stop moving mid-stride. Christopher and another man, who I think is Frank, take notice of this and rush over to them, which is just what I need apparently, because I trap Christopher and Frank in the pause as well.

Maud turns her gaze to Elle. Look away. Look away, she chants inside her head, as if she can will Elle to heed her words.

Phoebe smiles. Satisfied.

Everything is wrong. Phoebe is not on our side.

With my left hand, vision me pulls Wyatt’s