The Starseed Experiment

Chapter Seven, Part Three

She had a night of passion with the man in her head, the voice who claimed to be her celebrity crush. She had moaned out his name, fantasizing, feeling that doubled intensity that she had come to crave. It felt like a cosmic force entering her body. She felt a bit unsure, if she were crazy, if it wasn't real, then she was acting like a complete fool. At least no one would know. Everyone had fantasies. She told the voice she loved him, and to her joy he said it back.

The next morning the psychiatrist called her back into his office. She sat down in front of him, again, with her hands folded in her lap. He held his clipboard on the top knee of his crossed legs. She regarded him meekly, like he was going to reprimand her, but all he said was, "Do you still believe you're an alien?"

This was crazy, how many times were they going to ask her that? What about it were they so fascinated with? She simply nodded. The doctor just hummed before stating what he seemed to hope she would take as fact, "There is no one following you. That is a delusion. You made up a scenario where you wouldn't be so alone. Be like the tiger and learn to get by on your own."

He ended by nodding, something about the way he was looking at her made her feel like he was trying to hint at something; upraised eyebrows, an expression like he was trying to get a secret across to her. What was it about tigers? It was too insane, she was insane; this place was insane. The only thing she felt wasn't, was the voice in her head. It could have been seen as 'just in her head', but it felt real, there was something tugging at her core, something making it undeniable. She nodded in return, but she had no idea what to say. She wasn't going to question someone who was keeping her locked in this place.

"Good, now, we will be discharging you today, you've shown great cooperation," and with that he left the room.

Jezebel walked out of the room, a bit dazed, surprised they were actually letting her go. She spent the rest of her time in her room, she was thinking about what she would do when she got out. She knew exactly what she was going to do, but that didn't mean she didn't have doubts. The doubts grew larger when she was given her belongings and was sent away in a taxi. She had nowhere to go, she couldn't go home due to the fire, and she couldn't go to her mother, who had crushed her in not believing her. So she told the driver the address of a hotel. She had a good amount of savings, she could afford it until she figured out something else to do. But she already knew what she could do. She just had to ruminate on it a bit. Needed to talk about it.

She sat on the bed, closing her eyes, speaking inside her head, "You want me to go to you? Will you meet me at the airport?"

The male voice responded, smooth and deep, but there had never been much emotion to his voice, "No. Someone else will meet you there. They will bring you to me."

Her chest collapsed in disappointment. That made it even more difficult. If she was going to leave, then she had to trust that he would be there waiting for her; she was already having a hard time with believing that. She felt so much apprehension. "Can you prove to me that you're Roland? You sound different in my head."

"I will make a new video right now. I will talk about roses."

She had to think. Had he ever talked about roses before? She had seen all of his videos and couldn't recall any where he had. So she believed him. If he talked about roses in his next video, it would mean it's real. "Ok."

She laid on the bed, scrolling through stories yet again out of boredom, and this time there were hardly any celebrities posting, and those that had seemed upset in some way, talking about being failures. Which was quite odd. But she tried not to think too much of it. Suddenly she came to Roland Asher and she watched, captivated. He was so alluring, so ethereal, and she wondered immediately what he would be like in person. She hoped it was real.

"You are all flowers blooming, roses..."

That was all she needed, completely checking out after the word and locking her phone screen, "Thank you." There was no response but she could relax now. Although, it was still weird that she was trusting a voice in her head, with no indication of truth other than a video as proof. "I will go tomorrow."

But she already knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. And it appeared that Roland knew as well, "Come now."

She opened her eyes and opened up her phone, immediately looking at plane flights. She could get a ticket for one that left in a couple hours. She bought it and ran outside anxious to call a text. She couldn't believe what she had just done, that she was going to Los Angeles on a whim. She took out a cigarette and smoked as she awaited her taxi with jittery anxiety. When it finally came she got in, told the driver to go to the airport, and an hour and a half later they were there.

Waiting for the flight calmed her a bit, she began to rationalize everything. She didn't feel crazy anymore, she felt like herself, normal. She felt calm for the most part, thinking about the evidence and her past, but, "I'm scared," she confessed.

"Soon you will be here with me."

The flight was quiet, she didn't feel like talking to him, trying to distract herself by sleeping. She awoke when the plane landed and walked down the ramp to find a man holding up her name. Just like in the movies. Apparently it was a real thing people did. Already it was promising, someone had known she was coming. But then her heart spiked with fear, what if it was somehow a trap. Her heart pounded as she neared the man, but then she suddenly felt a warm, calming sensation wash over her. She could feel bliss, subdued excitement. She smiled and knew it was him, projecting his feelings onto her. It was amazing.

The man smiled with a curt nod and led her out to a sleek black car. He didn't speak to her, even when she asked if he was taking her to Roland. She may have taken that as a bad sign if she hadn't felt so good. She felt very pleased with herself. "Soon," the voice reminded her.

She was let out at a large house hidden within a secluded neighborhood. The man did not lead her to the door, so she had to make her way up the path without knowing if she was walking into something sinister. But as she neared the door she felt a strange but miraculous sensation overcoming her heavier with each step. All she could think was, soulmate.

When she went to knock on the door it opened before she made contact. It happened in slow motion, she could see the door opening, but it took forever for her to finally see who was behind it. Although she had been somewhat expecting it, it was still an immense shock. There he stood, more beautiful than he had been in his videos. Roland.

He smiled wide, the pure joy on his face matching hers.