Fate

9

Chapter 9

"Julia, can you hear me? Julia, talk to me. Please."

My eyes snapped open at the noise at the door. Someone was knocking. Why would anyone knock on the door?

I got to my feet and stumbled. It was so much harder to walk blind. Even moving my leg in front of me was difficult. I was almost at the door when I lost my footing and fell. I put my hands out in front of me but it didn't matter. If I couldn't see, why would I reach out and hurt myself more?

I fell perfectly on my stomach and groaned. Thankfully I didn't feel any pain.

I pushed myself to my feet once more and reached out to the door. I fumbled with the metal until I reached the knob. Somehow, the door opened. If they could knock, why could I open the door?

"Julia, come downstairs and we'll get you something to eat."

"Kellan?" He was there? He was at the door? Just like that?

"Who else would it be?"

"Where am I?"

"Open your eyes. You're right here at home."

My eyes were closed. I opened them and sure enough I was in my room at home. Kellan was standing in front of me, his wings outspread like he was going to fly away.

I sighed in relief and hugged him. "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"You've missed me?"

I pulled back and it wasn't Kellan I was looking at. It was Andreas and the wings were gone.

I screamed and when I blinked, my vision went dark. Sweat was beading up on my neck and my forehead. I could feel the metal table under me and a thin sheet covering my bare body.

"Good job, Julia. We're going to try again in a few minutes." Andreas said from across the room.

I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath.

Andreas had been running new experiments on me where he put me through simulations. It was to train me to be afraid of Kellan and Lucy. And Aryan. My heart was telling me I wasn't afraid but my mind was struggling to remember. So far, I couldn't get through the simulations of Lucy without freaking out. They hadn't tried Aryan yet but I knew it was coming.

"We'll start phase three in a few minutes. Give her time to relax before we do so. And give her some water." Andreas said from across the room.

The doctors and whoever else talked to one another. Their voices were all too hushed for me to hear what anyone was saying. A woman walked over and handed me a Styrofoam cup with water in it. I could feel her lingering beside the table like she was afraid I would run away.

She must have been new.

"Let's get started with phase three. I'd like to have it complete by the end of tomorrow." Andreas said, raising his voice so the entire room could hear him. I wasn't sure how big the room truly was but his voice echoed slightly so the room had to be bigger than my small bedroom was.

He walked over to me and injected something in my arm. His fingers lingered a few seconds before he walked back to the machines. "Are you ready, Julia?"

I wasn't. I hated it. I hated anything he put me through. But what choice did I have?

I nodded, my hands clenched into fists at my sides.

The darkness I saw turned to a white ceiling and I looked around me. I wasn't with Andreas or at home but at the hospital. How did he know I was there? How did he know what it even looked like? Had he been watching me that whole time I was there when Lucy thought I was safe?

Kellan was right.

I got to my feet and looked around the room. Everything was still the same as when I left. But cleaner. I was terrible at cleaning my room and I still was at Lucy's place.

I went to the door and reached for the knob but it disappeared. I pushed on the door but it didn't budge.

"You're leaving already?"

I turned around and Aryan was standing across from me. I knew it wasn't really him but it was still so good to see him.

"Aryan." I breathed, not sure what else to say.

"Stay with me." He said, his voice sounding hoarse.

"I-" I didn't know what to tell him. This was all a simulation. I wasn't going to stay in it forever.

"Don't you love me?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. "Aryan, you know I-"

"Do I, Julia?"

I walked up to him and he took a step away from me. He spread his wings out and wrapped his arms around me.

He started flying toward the ceiling and I shut my eyes.

"Aryan, what are you doing? You're going to get us killed."

"Only you."

I opened my eyes and we were high up in the sky. He let go of me and I started falling. His body got smaller as I fell further away from him.

I screamed and when I thought I was going to hit the ground, the simulation ended and I was back in the same room. The table was cold under my shaking body.

"We're done for the day, Julia." Andreas said, standing on my right side. His arms slipped under me and he lifted me into his arms. Instead of setting me in a wheelchair, he just kept walking.