The Heroes We Weren't

Chapter 15 - Your 'High' Without The 'Ness'

"Interesting." Adam tapped his golden pen against the clear page of a notebook.

I had told him everything of my journey this morning; the boy in the hospital bed, the other man who had hinted on breaking the watch, as well as Hyun-Soo's reaction to the dream world after (presumably) taking the pill. The last mentioned seemed to trigger Adam's love for mysteries just a tad bit extra.

"And you," he pointed his pen to me, "did you not experience a troubled state of mind when you first entered the dream world?"

I shook my head. He let out another one of his hums.

"Interesting indeed."

"Should I worry about him?" I asked.

"Mister Garcia told me," Adam placed his pen on his notebook, "that Johnson only needs one soldier at a time, which is why you were called first after the termination of the other soldier's contract. Now should someone else enter the dream world by, say, the use of a pill-"

"Are you saying that Hyun-Soo is now a soldier as well?" I interrupted him.

He shook his head.
"I believe that he is but a bystander. A man who has seen something he was not allowed to see. Thus, the dream world is giving him a hard time. He is not supposed to be there, but so long as he does not sign any contracts with Johnson - he is, like I said, just a bystander."

I nodded and threw a quick gaze at my phone. No new calls or messages.

"You met Mister Garcia yesterday, didn't you?" I asked, remembering that Adam had come to find me after noticing that I had altered the memory of the fortune teller's husband.

"Yes. After I met you I wanted to ask him about Lizette."

The back of my neck let out a small crack as I had raised my chin too quickly.

"Lizzy?"

He nodded.

"I wished to ask him if there was any way for Johnson to alter your vision. To make it seem as if you were actually seeing your friend, even though she was not there."

I widened my eyes, moved in my seat.
"And?"

"I am sorry." Condolences once again. "But there is no such thing. I stand by my theory that the state of your frozen body must have altered your dreams."

'Don't get your hopes up', Hyun-Soo had told me. He had been right, even though this conversation had been about another person all in all. I swallowed - I didn't know where to rest my eyes. I resorted to letting my gaze flicker over the room, much like a spectator to a bad game of table tennis.

"It is understandable," Adam lowered his voice, saddened by my reaction, "you were bordering on death after all."

Death.

Bordering on death.

Here is a fact or two if one should have missed them - Lizzy was dead. Hope was in a coma; Hope was therefore bordering on death herself. The echo of Adam's knowledgeable words tangled up with my own thoughts - like a newspaper page full of crossword puzzles.

Cruel Crossword Daily
Number One, Horizontal: To see Lizzy / Hope
Number Two, Vertical: Freezer

Bingo, got it, ding-ding-ding.

"There's this girl!" I gasped and stood up from my chair, leaving Adam surprised by my sudden change of mood.

"She's in a coma but I wish to help her. You see, while I was close to dying, I was able to see her." I went on and on, gesturing with my hands, "But this morning, when I was perfectly fine, I couldn't find her."