Troop left Kristi’s—Pierce’s room. He stood right by the doorway long after the door had swung shut.
Chelsa came up beside him. She took a look at his face and said, “Did it really go that bad?”
“She’s not the same. Kristi—Pierce—whatever her name is—I barely know the girl in that room. She acts like a stranger; she doesn’t remember me at all.”
Chelsa glanced down by her feet forlornly. Ghost. Her faithful companion was dead. Killed by Kristi/Pierce. They had buried the leopard in the woods shortly after they had returned from their excursion.
“So she’s calling herself Pierce now?” Chelsa asked.
“Yeah. But I keep on thinking of her as Kristi. I mean—they are the same person, right?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Chelsa chewed on her lower lip. “Maybe that girl only looks like Kristi, but really isn’t her.”
He shook his head. “I’m positive she’s Kristi. The Kristi we know is just buried somewhere inside her.”
“Well, if she is Kristi, the Kristi we knew is long gone. That girl murdered Ghost. Kristi would never do that. And she tried to kill you twice. Don’t deny it. I saw her try to throttle you in the room.”
“You think it’s a lost cause,” Troop stated flatly.
“I never said that.” But it was clear Chelsa thought so.
She’s still upset about Ghost’s death, Troop thought. Then he remembered what he was supposed to be doing: finding some healing salve. He couldn’t let a friend suffer, whether she considered him to be a friend or not.
He hurried to the first aid room. All of the nurses were busy, so he quietly snagged a tube of salve and some other basic medical supplies from the cabinet when no one was looking. On his way back out, he caught sight of someone familiar. Jaiden. He called out his name.
Jaiden paused in his steps and turned around. “Troop! Good to see you.” He crossed over to him in a few leggy strides.
They appraised each other for a moment, thinking of their last meeting. It hadn’t exactly ended smoothly.
Jaiden broke the silence. “I heard you found Kristi.”
Troop shrugged. “Kind of. She’s not…the same.”
“What do you mean?”
“She doesn’t remember who she is. At least I don’t think she does.”
“I want to see her.”
“Alright. Let me go find some stuff—she’s hurt pretty badly—and then I’ll take you to her.”
Jaiden fell in step beside Troop. They quickly located some spare clothes and snitched some leftover food from the cafeteria.
Troop halted Jaiden in front of the door. “Let me go in first. I’ll let you know when you can come in.”
“She’s my sister.” Jaiden jutted his chin forwards stubbornly.
“Well, she doesn’t know she’s your sister. Look, I’m not trying to make this more difficult than it needs to be. Just cooperate with me, please.”
