Arman kept his eyes on the road as he thought of what to do next. His mind clear from any unwanted noise.
The hospital he knew was slightly bigger than a postcard image in the rear-view mirror. There was no longer any throbbing in his head too. Breezy, just like the wind passing through the pickup's passage. Perhaps, distance somehow impacted John Doe's crazy abilities. He suddenly wondered if the woman beside him had the same ability.
"Can you read my mind too?"
Yes, but I don't wish to.
He turned to see her peering at a point where the hospital had been.
"Thank you. You saved my life back there," said Ain.
"Don't mentioned it. Come to think of it, it was you who saved mine. I didn't realize he was so strong."
"Do you know his name?"
"The dead man? Wong Wei Chang. Brought in by his family four, five months ago for treatment."
"Sorry, but what kind of hospital was it? He had…. others inside of him. Even before he died, the chatter didn't stop. The place was full of chaos…"
She closed her eyes. Both her hands covered her face as her body then shook.
Arman didn't know how to react and opted against saying anything. He took off the earphones from both ears and switched on the radio player. The night deejays filled the cabin about pranks people play on one another when bored.
Traffic was close to zero and Arman managed to shave minutes off his usual journey time to reach his rented house. The units in the area were all dark, their occupants no doubt fast asleep, thought Arman. He drove his pickup carefully. The small road made narrower by cars parked on both sides.
The housing area was a suburban development which found its tenant from amongst the hospital staff and family member of contractors and suppliers of the army camp some eight miles away. Fairly basic, the units comprised of single-story terraces with two plus one rooms. When Arman moved in without checking out the units, he found out the plus to be more a utility than livable space. He had the luxury of two bathroom, though. Most of the units were rented out. Their owners, mainly working executives.
Relieved to find his driveway not blocked, Arman parked his pickup right before the gate. His passenger had since quietened down. She sat ramrod and stared into the darkness.
"I need to go inside to get some of my stuff. Money, some food. Won't take long? Will you be okay?" he asked.
"… Shouldn't we be going to the police or something?"
"And tell them what? I can't explain what happened back there and…"
"…there's a danger he would control others just like the man I killed…"
Silence descended between them. Arman didn't know if she was reading him. Her words mirrored exactly his fears.
Might even be me. I had lost it once.
"Let's figure this out when we're on the road. I know of a safe place we could port. Then we decide what we should do," he said.
It's not like I have much of a choice, now, do I?
Arman was about to exit when the thought-speak hit him. He sat himself down again and glared at his incidental passenger.
"Don't do that!" he said, voice raised. Saw her flinched.
Cool it, Arman. You're both in the same mess.
"Please don't… Felt like he's in me all over again," he said, his voice softer.
"Sorry… It's almost instinctive. Go ahead. I'll be fine."
Once again, she had the zoned look as she stared into the distance. The hair on Arman's nape stood. He was sure she was using her telepathic abilities. Just not on him.
Canny is so going to be mad when she finds me missing…
Arman went inside his house and switched on a single light to avoid attracting attention from his neighbors. He took out a backpack from beneath his single bed. Packed himself some clothes, pants and his toiletries travel pack. He knelt next to his closet and withdrew a small box from the bottom drawer. Pocketed the cash within.
"Okay, what else do I need?"
Arman looked around his room. Bare except for the picture of a guitar hanging on the wall. He went to the fridge and looked inside. A pack of apples, some cheese, and two bottle of fruit juices. Scooped everything into a plastic bag.
A sudden movement to his left almost made him jump. A swearword stuck at the edge of his lip and a sigh of relief to see a mouse snooping around a darkened corner. Arman glared at the rodent and then raised his hands. The mouse scurried away, but he could sense it was hiding behind the fridge, curious.
He took a prolonged look, said "Goodbye house" and slung the backpack on his right shoulder. Carried the plastic bag in his left hand. He returned to his pickup to find the driver's light switched one. His passenger reading one of travel brochures he had taken from a Travel Fair Exhibition some months back.
"My neighbors might just be looking at you right now. Wondering why I'm with a woman deep into the night," he half whispered.
"I've checked. They're fast asleep," she said.
He stared at her, chucking everything he carried into the rear compartment.
"You shouldn't be invading people's privacy, for God's sake! That would make you no better than he was," he said, anger rising as he recalled the malevolent thoughts John Doe had planted in his mind.
"It's not like I can shut myself down. Like this. There. Happy now?" she said, switching off the cabin lights and replacing the brochure into the center console slot. He looked at her, seeing her face clearly for the first time that night.
"I don't even know your name," she said, face turned towards him.
"Arman," he answered and maneuvered the pickup into the narrow space ahead of his neighbors' parked motorcycles.
"Arman. I'm so sorry I got you into this mess" she said.
Arman laughed a bitter one. The main road loomed ahead.
"You didn't. Well, not really. I was on night duty. The man who goaded Mr Chang into attacking you also attacked one of my friends. Caused the old man an emotional breakdown."
"The man you called John Doe?"
"Uh hmm… He toyed with my mind with horrible thoughts. At times, it felt like my head was going to explode. Come to think of it, your thoughts in mine feels different. Still annoying, but yours don't hurt."
"I don't really know the mechanics of it."
"Were you were born with this ability? Do you know?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
"No idea. My memories are all jumbled up. I remember things I did as a child, during my schooling days, my achievements, but I don't know who I am, who my parents are, what I did before I woke up in the hospital… All those are a big fat zero."
"How exactly do you hear my thoughts? Do you like think, okay, I want to listen to this guy's thoughts, and go, wham!"
"I hear a whole lot of thoughts. Those I want to listen to I can amplify. Like tuning into a radio station and tuning in for the clearest reception."
"Wow. That is awesome. I wish I have the same ability."
"No, you don't. You're also looking at a whole lot of vile and nasty thoughts. Freaks me out."
She went silent for a while and then said: "Can you tell me what you know about me?"
Arman turned to her and let his gaze lingered for a while before returning to the road.
"Not much really. You must have picked out some of them from… you know, reading my mind."
"In fact, no. I can just tap into what people are thinking out loud."
Arman nodded, said: "I really don't know that much but for what it's worth…"