Spark by Melissa Dereberry Page A

rat?”
                  “No,” Zach corrected.  “My dad was trying to help you.”
                  Funny thing.  I didn’t even budge.  Didn’t try to pull my hand away, didn’t try to run.  At that point, nothing was going to surprise me.  “Wow,” I said again.  “That’s better than Siamese twins,” I added.  An afterthought. 
                  “Huh?”  Zach was the poster child for confusion. 
                  “Nothing.  Never mind. Anyway, I don’t believe a word of what you’re telling me.”  I started to get up.  “And I’m getting tired.”
    “Wait.”  He typed a few letters, and started a music player on his computer.  “Listen.” 
     
    String up the stars and steal the sky
    Today is a dream, today is goodbye
                  Take it all with you, take every last sigh
                  String up the stars and steal the sky
                  Today is a dream, today is goodbye.
     
    It took me a few moments of sitting there, just enjoying the music before it hit me.  It was the song Dani and I had listened to, back when we were kids.  I sat down hard in the chair in disbelief, just shaking my head.
    “You’re not freaking out,” Zach observed.
                  “Why should I?  Crazy is normal at this point.”  I sighed, resigned to the fact that I was in way deeper than I ever imagined I’d be.  There was definitely some truth in what Zach was telling me.
                  “And,” Zach continued.  “I have been reading all about you.  From your… um… brain data.”
                  “What do you mean?”  I admit the fact that someone had not only studied my brain covertly, but had recorded stuff from it, was a bit disturbing. 
                  “The lab contains all the digital files from the patient’s recorded brain waves.”  He coughed a little bit, on purpose, it seemed, to ease the tension that we were both starting to feel.  “It’s all here.”
                  “But why me?  I mean, how did the doctor know about me?  And more importantly, why did my parents give him permission to hook up crap to my brain?”  I felt violated for something I never even knew was happening to me.  I was getting severely annoyed.
                  “After the accident, your dad contacted mine.  They were old friends.  I think your dad knew about his research.  Maybe they thought it would help you.  Your parents were desperate for answers.”
                  I felt like crying and I couldn’t decide if it was because I felt sorry for my parents, or I was just fed up with my life.  “Great.”  Being a sci-fi special of the month was the last place I thought life would take me.  But then, freaky is as freaky does.
                  I still wasn’t convinced, but you had to give him credit for trying.  “Ok,” I hesitated.  “So what, my brain waves were recorded for science.  Yeah me.”  If I was involved in some intricate scientific experiment involving comatose me, brain waves, and lightning in hopes of reviving me, what was the point of talking about it now?  It was all over.  Yet, there was something else.  Zach had clearly said it was related, somehow to him, and by default, apparently, to me.  I took a deep breath.  “So, what does this have to do with me and you?”  I asked, finally.  “Why are you telling me about this?  Why not just leave it alone?  I could have lived without knowing any of it.”
                  “Because I love you,” Zach said.  “I know it sounds weird, but it’s true.  You won’t understand it yet, not until…”
                  “Until I trust you,” I offered. 
                  “Right.”  Zach started punching more keys on the keyboard.
                  “Zach, a document on