"She's been like this for the last hour", is the first thing I hear as I slowly regain consciousness. "She just suddenly blacked out or something. I don't know what happened."
"It's okay", my father's voice says quietly. "It isn't hurting her any way that I've observed. It's how she regains a memory, that's all."
I make a quiet grunt, moving my head to one side, half wanting to open my eyes, half wanting to go to sleep.
I choose to open my eyes, finding myself now lying on the couch again, my father and sister talking a few feet away.
"He's right", I break in quietly, rubbing my forehead. "It's frightening and annoying, but it doesn't hurt, I promise."
Both turn to look at me, identical expressions of worry written on their faces.
I force a smile and look at Kylie.
"I think you were going to show me a, uh..." I trail off, looking to her for help.
"Televison. Tv. Yeah." She sighs in relief, grabbing a long black rectangled box from the table in front of the couch, pointing it at an even bigger rectangle positioned above the fireplace as she takes a seat in front of the couch on the carpet.
Something flickers on the screen and I jump, looking at it in awe.
"Wow", I breathe as I watch a woman holding a black cone in her hand appear, her mouth moving.
"Turn on the volume, honey", Jonathon says, sitting down beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
A little bar appears on the screen and suddenly, I can hear exactly what the woman is saying.
"Why is she holding a black cone?", I whisper to my father. "That seems kind of silly."
He chuckles. "It's called a microphone", he explains. "It amplifies the sound of a person's voice as they talk into it."
I nod and return my attention to the magic television.
"Theresa Moore, age twenty-three, who has been thought dead for the last two years, was found by the FBI in a private landing strip with two men. There was heavy gunfire, and Miss Moore was unfortunately hospitalized due to a bullet wound to the leg.
"Hospital officials tell us that Miss Moore had been tortured with a method of therapy using electricity, and this had caused her memories to be erased. Nobody is completely sure of her mental state at this time, as her father, Dr. Jonathon Moore pulled her out of the hospital before any exams or tests could be run."
I growl in the back of my throat, a quiet rumble that makes my father glance at me before squeezing his arm around me, lightly kissing my hair.
"Don't listen to her", he whispers in my ear. "You are not crazy, I promise."
Yes I am, I think. You haven't seen anything yet.
"Turn it off", I whisper. "No more. Turn it off!"
"Hey", my father says soothingly. "Hey, it isn't all bad. Kylie, change it to something besides a news channel."
"Okay." My sister clicks a button and the scene changes.
"Why are those weird drawings moving?", I ask quietly, laughing behind my hand at the childish pictures running around. "This is ridiculous."
"They're cartoons", Kylie explains. "They're usually for children, but they are super funny so I watch them a lot."
"Oh." I watched, entranced as a big blue bird runs past a coyote in a blur. Then an anvil falls on the coyote's head.
I laugh, the scene so stupid I have to, leaning my head against Jonathon's shoulder.
My smile fades, leaving me feeling sad.
I've already experienced this, and I might never remember it.
I sigh, closing my eyes for a moment, letting one tear slip out of my eye before telling myself that I'm not going to cry anymore.
It's over and I'm home now. That's all that matters.
----------
"You really do need to eat, Theresa." I shake my head, keeping my gaze firmly fixed of the cartoon playing in front of me, ignoring the plate in my father's hand. "Come on, I have pizza. You can eat it while watching."
"What's pizza?", I ask, glancing up at his face.
"If you want to find out, you'll have to try it", he says, holding it out again. "And I brought soda. Do you remember what that is?"
"Yes, but I never had it", I say, finally accepting the offering. "It was just a small bit of knowledge in the back of my mind."
"Interesting", he says thoughtfully. "We had pizza every week and soda at least once a month. That might require further study once you've healed."
I sigh inwardly, nodding my head as I wonder what other strange things have to do with my condition.
There has got to be more to this than what meets the eye.
The only thing I can say for sure is that this was definitely not a normal kidnapping.
-----
Sorry for the short chapter and sudden changes to the book; I've edited everything on paper and now I'm adding them to the wattpad version.
- Elise
YOU ARE READING
Insanity
Mystery / Thriller"Oh, my God." I look up from my hands, the blade wet with red liquid. "Hi", I say cheerily, giving him a wave, laughing as more drips onto my lap. I gently set the knife down on the counter top beside where I'm sitting, my legs covered in knife mar...
