Shards

chapter 8

Chapter 8:

“You okay?” I jumped as James placed a hand on my shoulder.

I'd been waiting in my room for the police to finish with my fake parents. Erica and Leon had taken them back to the station. My mind was still reeling from what I'd heard Mrs. Johnson say. She'd said that she didn't understand the hair thing; in her words. In the panicked moments before Erica managed to get the handcuffs on her, she'd admitted she didn't understand why she'd lied. But if she didn't know, who did?

“Yeah, yeah, fine, just a little shell shocked... you know?”

He nodded. “The more I get to know you, the more curious I get as to where you came from.”

“If you're curious, imagine how I feel.”

He laughed, and touched me on the shoulder. “So, while the police are dealing with the Johnsons, what do you think we should do with your Jaylee theory? I didn't want to tell anyone until I had your approval. I think your paranoia is rubbing off on me.”

“Yeah, go ahead and tell them that I remembered the name, but...” I paused. “Don't tell them what I told you, about my flashbacks. I don't think they'll help in proving my sanity.”

“Fair enough. So, how's your leg feeling?”

I didn't respond. My concentration had drifted back to my dream from earlier that day. I remembered the feeling of the knife blade digging into my hand. There was no way it couldn't be real... It had to be real. Now, with James bringing reality to the situation, I began attempting to deduce how what I saw in my memories could be true. Where in the world would there be a room, littered with the bodies of countless children? How sick and twisted must that place be, that it had forced Audrey to want to end her life? Suddenly, I wasn't so sure if I wanted my memory back.

“Jane!” James was snapping his fingers, in front of my face. “Are you even listening to a word I've been saying?”

“Hmm... What? Sorry!”

I refocused my eyes on the man standing in front of me.

“What's on your mind?” he asked, concerned.

“Nothing really. I just want to know more... You know? Do you think I should try to fall asleep?”

“I know you're tired, but there's one thing I want to try.”James stepped between me and my beckoning mattress.

“What?”

“You're beginning to remember more and more of these dreams, but there are still some details that are a bit foggy.”

“So?” I prompted, moving to sit on the bed.

“When you wake up, first thing, I want you to write down what your dream was about.” He set down a pad of paper and a pen on the table. “Before the memories fade.”

I barely heard him. It was like the conversation was coming to me through layers of muffling fabric. It was like someone had splashed a bucket of ice water on my face. I felt my eyes widen as every hair on my body seemed to stand on end. Danger. I sensed danger.

James stood with his back to the window. Although it was covered in bars, they were spaced far enough apart that I still had a fairly good view of the outside world. Across the spacious hospital courtyard the city sprung up almost right away. Towering buildings blocked the sky almost completely from view. On top of one of the nearest ones, something metallic glinted in the evening light.

“Get down!” I screamed, launching myself forwards, off the bed.

I slammed into James's chest, knocking him to the ground. He attempted to regain his balance, but I used my body weight to send us both tumbling. In that moment, nothing slowed down. It was more like my mind sped up, allowing me to process more information per second. It was like I could feel every particle of air as we crashed towards the ground. Centimeters from my back, the air rippled as a bullet missed us and continued on to crash into the back wall. Our bodies hit the ground at the same moment the metal projectile found it's final resting place.