The Cycle

CHAPTER 14: CIRCLES

CHAPTER 14

CIRCLES

There's an irritating beeping noise emanating from somewhere next to me and I want it to go away. My eyelids are extremely heavy and it takes all the strength I can muster just to open them. My vision blurs for a few seconds before clearing. I'm in my room. The beeping is coming from somewhere beside the bed, but I don't have the energy to move my head. A sharp pain comes from the back of my skull as I think this.

What happened?

I try to remember the events that led to me being here, but my mind goes blank. I remember nothing and this scares me. The beeping continues and it fills the empty silence. I take a deep breath and try to turn my head in the direction of the sound; it feels like I have deadweight inside my head, making it difficult just to move. Somehow, I manage and I see a large machine with a monitor sitting on top of it with green lines continuously spiking the screen. I want to move my head back in its original position, but I don't have the strength to do so, my body just feels so heavy.

I look down and notice there are many wired hooked up to my right arm and this alarms me. The beeping on the monitor begins to quicken as panic settles in my stomach. The bedroom door opens and I see a young man with a police badge hanging around his neck enter the room. He gently shuts the door and pulls a chair beside the bed, beside me.

"Calm down, Elaina. You're alright. Just calm down," he says soothingly. "Focus on your breathing."

Something about him seems oddly familiar, like I've met him before. I inhale deeply until it hurts my lungs and slowly exhale. My heart rate gradually lowers and I hear the man sigh.

"Do you remember anything, Elaina?" he asks quietly.

I don't have the strength to move, let alone speak, but I try my best to get the words out.

"No," I whisper in a heavily raspy voice. It's taking all I can just to whisper.

"My name is Detective Phlox. Does it sound familiar?"

The name definitely rings a bell, but I can't put a memory to the name.

"Yes," I croak.

"Do you remember how you got here?" he asks.

"No."

"Do you remember what happened to Nayland?"

My throat goes dry when he says Nayland's name and I don't know why; my body is responding before my mind can get the chance to.

"No," I whisper, slightly confused. "What happened to Nayland?"

Detective Phlox sighs and looks directly into my eyes.

"Elaina, Nayland committed suicide."

At first I think he is joking, but the strong look of sympathy on his face tells me, unfortunately, his words are true. I press my mouth into a firm line and feel the thin string of tears slithering down my face. The lump on the back of my head throbs and suddenly it all comes back to me. I was at Cheryl Palmers house reading the death note Nayland left for me when I passed out. This is Detective Phlox, the investigator assigned to Nayland's disappearance.