SYNERGY

Broken 22.

All day and night my mind was filled with fire I had tossed and turned from it. My room was pitch black when I finally awoke. I didn't know how long it had been. I reached my hands in the air wriggling my fingers, the room felt cool. Every so often I would hear a voice I wasn't sure was my own and would sit up looking for it. It had been a year or so since my last episode and I wondered what had triggered this. I forced myself out of bed and threw a sweatshirt on, taking in my reflection in the mirror. Dark circles were prominent under my eyes now. I made my way to the stairwell rubbing each cold stone as I made my way down. I passed the front desk; Loretta wasn't there just silence. Walking outside, it was cold compared to my stale room, the night air slapped me in the face. I ran out to the middle of the courtyard and looked up at the stars. They seemed to calm me down reminding me that there will always be stillness no matter how often things change.

Julius Caesar came to mind; It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves...

I turned around and Astrid was standing there with open arms. "Kip?" She spoke softly.

"Astrid? How did you get out here?"

She cooed at me, "come here."

I walked to her letting her wrap me up.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"I don't know, but I know I'm not okay right now." I confessed burying my head into her shoulder as she hugged me tighter.

"It's happening again isn't it," Mr. Walston stated behind me.

I didn't hear him walk up, but he was standing there with two slugs on each side. Astrid was no longer in my arms; she was never there.

I didn't understand, it felt so real. I grabbed my head as reality started slipping. I've been trying to hide it for so long, but I knew he was bound to find out.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked.

Forever I thought. " I think this past week it's been like this."

He nodded and snapped his fingers. Two slugs came forward grabbing me. I didn't even fight this time; I knew this was for the best. I gave up in their arms letting them drag me to the edge of the courtyard. I already knew where we were going, the lab that was stationed outside the grounds. I knew that place well, last time I spent 3 weeks there until Mr. Walston deemed me "normal" enough to return to school and I knew I needed to get well soon so I could take Astrid on her first mission.

Mr. Walston pulled his phone out and spoke, "we found him, can you open the portal on the East side of the wall." Suddenly a big whirling vortex opened up in front of us as he snapped his phone shut.

They pushed me through, and we traveled to the lab. Portal travel always made me nauseous, even in that short amount of time it made me want to puke. When the ground finally stopped spinning, I looked up. I was in the familiar metal room again, face to face with Dr. Mendel.

"Evening Doc," I enthused tipping an invisible hat to him.

He sighed, "come on Kip let's get you fixed up."

I followed him to the evaluation room; it was cold and sterile as usual. There was a single chair in the room I sat down and he began to cuff me. I could have easily shape shifted out of the cuffs, but what good would that do.

"Go ahead and relax Kip."

I knew what he meant.

I changed back into to the scarred monster I was as he lifted my chin to examine my face.

"How long have the hallucinations been going on?"

I cleared my throat, "two days at most."

"Do you have any idea what started them?" I thought of Astrid immediately, she was the only thing new in my life and I knew Mr. Walston already suspected something was going on. No, I have to say something else.

"I've been having the dreams again sir." That wasn't exactly a lie.

"Which ones? The ones of the fire or the missions?"

"Both," I admitted.

I looked up and Astrid was standing behind him. I shook my head trying to make her go away. Suddenly, my mother walked up, her skin was beginning to melt away and an empty skeleton took her place, I couldn't hold it in any longer any control I had was slipping. My heart rate quickened, and my pupils dilated, so much for keeping my cool.

"Kip are you okay?" Dr. Mendel asked concerned, but I couldn't hear him it sounded like he was under water.

I started shaking. Who am I? Why am I here? I need to get out of here.
In a flash I changed into a small child slipping my hands out of the cuffs. Then I shifted back into my normal smooth face I wore and grabbed him by the throat, shoving him as hard as I could against the wall. He was starting to turn blue bubbles of spit pouring out of his lips when the doors slammed open and three slugs ran in trying to restrain me. I elbowed one in the face knocking him back my grip slipping off Dr. Medal's throat. He slid down on the floor gasping for air. The slugs were on me again and I managed to get behind another snapping its neck.

I ducked under the third as I ran out the door. Rounded the corner everything became bright.

"Back away!" I screamed as two more slugs came towards me.

"Kip stop!" Mr. Walston commanded.

When I saw him, a memory flashed in my mind of when I was a little boy, he was angry with me and beating me with a two by four. I started towards him, he blocked my punches with prestige then managed to wrap his arm around my neck in a headlock restricting my airway. What did I expect? He was my original teacher, he managed to hold me down long enough for Dr. Mendel to inject me with a bright green substance, everything around me started fading.

"Put him back on the maximum dosage!" I heard Mr. Walston command then everything went black.