Saving Annabel

Chapter 15

Tyler is in the nursery again today. He had stopped casually to talk to some nurses, but now I notice him staring at a few of the babies. One of them is Christina's. On reflex, I position myself innocently between the baby and Tyler's line of vision. He gives me an annoyed look, but then turns away. I feel a small sliver of triumph. That feeling goes away when I see him flash a smile at Sophia as he leaves. A giggle bubbles out of her.

I grimace and look away. I have to remind myself that Sophia doesn't know. She doesn't have anyone in her family that has been directly affected by the officers. No one in her family has a disability that prevents them from leaving their room for fear that an officer will kill them. She hasn't gone through what I have.

I remember that I'm supposed to be following Tyler around so I pack up and leave, hoping to find him in the wheat fields.

Like I had expected, he's there, talking to his officer friends. I'm thankful that his back faces me as I sit down about fifty yards away. I busy myself with forms, occasionally glancing up. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be looking for. Tyler is not doing anything out of the ordinary and he always talks to a lot of people in a day. How am I supposed to narrow who has an ability based on who he talks to? Heck, I was once his suspect and he didn't even talk to me. That could open up the possibilities to basically anyone he comes in contact with!

I glance up from the papers again and see to my alarm, Tyler looking over at me. He turns, says something to his fellow officers, and starts walking towards me. My heart jumps in my throat. He's coming over to me. He must know something. This is it. This is how I die.

No, I tell myself, I need to calm down. This is a good thing. How else am I supposed to find out anything?

I stare back down at my papers and collect myself. His voice comes sooner than I expect it to.

"Hello, I'm Tyler."

I look up at him, acting surprised. Without missing a beat I respond, "Hi, I'm Raegan. It's an honor to meet you sir."

His hand is extended to me in a handshake and I shake it with confidence, my hand only slightly clammy. I'm confused for only a second for why he's introducing himself, but then I remember that I'm supposed to have my memory erased.

His eyes are hesitant and scrutinizing. I realize with a start that he's testing me. So he does suspect something. I lose my collected demeanor for just a second as I jerk my hand away from his.

I let out a nervous laugh. He stares at me, waiting to see what I'll say.

"I know you." I say, mustering up my almost nonexistent acting skills. "You're the nice officer who picked up my dinner a few weeks ago."

Tyler becomes at ease, obviously having believed my line.

"Yes, that's me."

He pauses, before saying, "So, what brings you here? I see you here almost everyday." He looks at me with curious, but bordering on suspicious, eyes.

I realize talking to Tyler will provide a chance for me to learn about who he might be interested in. This could potentially work in my favor and help me find someone with an ability.

"I just like the sunlight coming in." I smile, shrugging my shoulders. "That's all."

He sits next to me on the bench, looking out over the railing. "I agree. It's quite nice."

I peek over at him. His blonde hair is neatly slicked up and his thick eyebrows are scrunched together, as if he's in deep thought.

"What are you thinking of? Is something bothering you?" I say lightly.

Coming out of his train of thought, he looks at me dumbly before processing what I had just said to him.

After a few seconds, he answers me. "Oh, I'm just thinking about how it's unfair that the farmers need to work for such long hours, you know?"

"Yeah," I reply unfazed, but my insides recoil at his response. I feel cold inside and disturbed by his words. He's lying. Then, for just one second, I feel something, something like electricity vibrating through my body. An image flashes in Tyler's eyes. An image of me—me radiating energy.

For the first time being around Tyler I feel chills crawl down my spine. It's as if I had peeked into his soul, even if it was just for a second. I see him give me a weird look and I turn away, my heart pounding in my chest. I need to leave. I can't take this.

"Urm. I'm sorry sir, but I uh need to go. Like right now." I stand up, not waiting for his reply and rush out of the field room.

I reach my room breathless and collapse on the floor. My brain pounds against my head and all I can manage to do is curl up in a ball by the door.

I forget Annabel is in the room until she lies down and snuggles in next to me.

"It's okay Raegan." She whispers to me, wiping a few stray hairs from my face. Then she closes her eyes and sleeps, but her soft breathing comforts me.

I stay there for what seems like hours. Annabel, forgetting why she's sleeping on the floor, eventually gets up to sleep in the bed, but I can't move from my position. My mind replays those vulnerable seconds with Tyler again and again, trying to make sense of it. Was this some part of my ability? I consider telling Dr. Shields, but I decide against it. I don't want to take the risk of Dr. Shields disallowing me to use my ability. I really want to see if it will happen again—to prove to myself that it wasn't just a product of my imagination.