Fort Oakley | Part One

14 | Something's Watching And It's Not Friendly

By the end of the next day, I was feeling better—physically, at least. The events of yesterday still haunted me, playing in a continuous loop in my mind.

After Mina had helped me into Claire's house yesterday, she and Maurice had to go back to the hospital to report what had happened.

When they were gone, I cried.

What Dr. Mallory had done terrified me, and the damn hallucinations I had in the back of the ambulance hadn't helped.

More than once I had to stop the thought spiral in my head because I freaked myself out each time my mind wandered down a path I didn't want to be real.

I decided to call Sheriff Lucien. Claire wasn't answering my phone calls or messages, and I really needed to talk to her. Maybe she'd answer him or he could find out where she was.

"You okay, Charly?" he answered, his voice gruff but warm, as always.

"I'm fine," I said quietly, even though I was far from it. "Have you heard from Claire, Sheriff? I've been calling her for days, but she's not answering her phone."

There was a pause on the other end. "No, I haven't heard from her either. I figured she was busy with a new client so I didn't want to bother her. But I'll see what I can do, Charly."

"Thank you, Sheriff. Can you let me know if you hear anything?"

"Of course, Charly," he said. "Are you still okay at the house? With groceries and stuff like that?"

"Yeah. Claire transferred money into my bank account before she left."

She always left me cash when she went away for a client, which was only adding fuel to my paranoia.

"Well, you let me know if you need anything, Charly. And if you want to crash at my place until she comes back, you don't even have to ask, kid."

He ended the call after we said goodbye and I stared at my phone, the screen dark.

Something was wrong with the entire Claire situation, and the gnawing feeling in my gut only grew stronger each time she didn't answer her phone.

The walls of the house felt like they were closing in on me, suffocating me with everything that had happened. I couldn't sit around any longer.

I needed to get out, to clear my head.

Without thinking too much about it, I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door, the cool night air hitting my face like a splash of water.

I headed for the old foundry bridge. I knew it was risky to go there alone, especially after what happened at the river, but the thought of being trapped inside was unbearable.

The walk there was uneventful, the path illuminated only by the pale light of the moon. By the time I reached the collapsed structure, the familiar sense of isolation washed over me.

Sitting on top the the bridge, looking out at the dark expanse below, I tried to sort through the chaos in my mind.

Everything with Jacey and my childhood had been swept aside, Dr. Mallory's words before he drugged me taking over all of my thinking power.

'It's time we cleanse your soul of all impurities so we can begin the Trancension.'

What the hell did that even mean?

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced everything was connected.

Jacey said that the pills helped suppressed my memory and made me suggestible to any truth someone told me.