Hyper

Power

Harper opened her eyes slowly, welcomed by the same fluorescent lighting she got used to at the hospital. Mom held her hand tightly.

She's wearing different clothes, Harper noted to herself. "Hey Mom, how long was I out?" She asked.

"Three days, Harper! And the doctors are getting very worried about you." Harper closed her eyes.

"It's okay, Mom. Don't worry about me. I'll solve everything," she gave a weak smile, but Mom wasn't returning it.

"And how do you expect to solve anything? Did you become a doctor in your amnesia?" Mom was angry.

"Everything, I'll solve everything, Mom. Just trust me," she still smiled. A doctor came into the room, with students following, interrupting the conversation.

"Oh, you're awake. I'm glad." The doctor said while the rest were taking notes. "Can I go home now?" Harper asked.

"Home? You were in a coma for three more days. You're not going anywhere before we understand why and find some way to help you." The doctor smiled, but his words were very serious.

"I have about three points in my brain with something between a tumor and dystrophy. It's caused by some sort of contagion that your science has never seen, and you have no idea how to treat it. I do. Can I go home now?"

The doctors were completely shocked. "How did you know? That's exactly what we've found, but there's no way you can know that."

Harper looked out of the window. "It doesn't matter. You have nothing that can help me, but I do. Just let me go home," she ordered.

The doctor and the students argued among themselves until the doctor turned back to Harper. "Look, this isn't something we can ignore. I don't know how to even describe my thoughts."

"I want to run some more tests and maybe bring in a few colleagues to help brainstorm. Just give me a few days to solve this thing," the doctor pleaded.

"I have one, maybe two weeks to live. I don't want to waste them in a hospital bed. Take a couple of days, and when you accept that you can't do anything, let me go."

Harper almost shouted. The doctor left, his students with him. Mom had tears in her eyes. "Two weeks?" The tears started flooding.

"I'm sorry, Mom. But I can't explain myself just yet. I need to get out of here and find some answers. Maybe everything will be alright in the end."

Harper held Mom's hands, trying to console her. "I'm not gone yet, so let's make the most of this time, okay?" Mom tried to smile and be brave for her daughter, but the tears kept ongoing.

***

Harper walked with her mom out of the hospital. "If I faint again, don't bring me here. Just take me home to rest."

Mom didn't know how to answer; she just nodded. They drove home together, and Harper went straight to her room.

She sat on the bed, picked up her phone, and tried to turn it on. "Dead. Nothing a little power can't solve." Harper giggled at her pun but stopped abruptly. She shook her head, admitting her horrible humor to herself.

She charged her phone with her energy, and it turned on to a lot of notifications. Most were spam from apps, but there were a few messages.

They were from an unknown number, and Harper was hesitant to open the app.

She could see the last message, though, and it scared her a little bit. "Fine then, ghost away," she read aloud.

Eventually, Harper gave in. As she was about to open the messages, Zoey entered the room. "You've never learned how to knock, have you?" Harper teased.