Losing Eight Lives

15 | Whoa

"How do you feel Phoebe?" The voice sounded miles away. It has a familiar tone of Steve's deep voice.

"I feel . . ." trapped, frustrated, is what I wanted to say at first. But I stopped, because suddenly I realized I didn't feel any of those things. What was I thinking? "I feel really fantastic." I giggled. My voice sounded funny. Did I really talk like that?

"Good, I'm glad." Steve said.

Why are my eyes closed? They should be open, I decided and opened them fast and really wide. When I looked around I saw that Steve stood in front of me and I was being held by the same guy who chased after me. Why was I trying to escape? I haven't ever felt this great in my life. When I looked around a little more, I noticed Jace and Carter laying on the gravel of the driveway. They weren't moving . . . that was weird.

"Why aren't Jace and Carter moving?" There was my voice again. Huh, I sounded really funny. I giggled again and then waited for an answer.

"They are uh . . . sleeping. They will wake up soon." Steve answered.

I looked at the landscape around me. The trees where really tall. The snow was so white it almost blinded me for a second. My eyes just wandered the world around me in wonder until Steve spoke again.

"Phoebe, you will follow us into the building and listen to what we say, right?" he looked at me, until I looked back at him.

"Hey, you look like those big body guards from the movies! Are you a spy? Do you solve crimes?" I looked at him in amazement.

"Phoebe I am not a spy, and I'm not an actor from a movie. Will you listen to us and do as we ask?" Steve sounded kind, but also sort of frustrated. I wondered why--he looked so cool in that suit.

I admired his black tux and sunglasses for a second before answering. "Hmm . . . sure!" I gave him a big smile.

"Wonderful. We are going to put you down now, okay Phoebe?"

My eyes widened a little and I gasped before looking down at my feet. They were dangling from the ground. Oh, I'm not even standing yet! I laughed at the thought. "Okayyy," I said through my laughs.

The big man who held me slowly lowered me until my feet touched the ground. It felt solid, but looked like a bunch of rocks that I would just slip through. Oh my gosh, I could walk on non-solids! I looked at my feet, eyes wide in amazement. Whoa.

Despite the fact that my entire body felt kind of numb, the solidness under my feet made me feel more stable. I started walking forward on my own and I was so proud of myself. I caught on fast. I wondered why, until I realized that this isn't the first time I've walked. I laughed at my thoughts. Well duh, of course I've walked before.

"Well your walking is a little wobbly but you'll be fine. Come." Steve nodded to Marty before the two of them led the way. The big man who was carrying me threw Jace on one shoulder and Carter on the other. They looked like rag dolls, hanging off of the big man's shoulders. I wanted to be a rag doll too, I pouted. It looked like fun.

We walked into the huge skyscraper. The front doors opened automatically for us, and my eyes widened as they did. Whoa, the doors are magic! I grinned at the glass doors as I watched them close again.

The entrance led to a lobby where a receptionist was on the computer. I smiled and waved to her as she greeted each of us with a nod.

Steve and Marty led us passed the lobby to an elevator, and once on board, I overheard them talking.

"How long does the nitrous oxide last?" Marty asked.

"About an hour, she should be herself at the meeting . . . not that that's a good thing." Steve answered. The two of them laughed quietly.

Whoever "she" was sounded like a nightmare, I thought.

I heard a ding, and the doors opened for us. We walked into a large room in the same order until we came to one of many dark wooden doors. There was a plaque on it that said: Room 156. Marty opened the door and gestured for me and the big guy carrying Carter and Jace to go in.

The room had two bunk beds on opposite sides of the wall. When I walked passed them, I was faced with a huge window that showed the landscape of white snow and gray sky. The walls matched the gray sky, and the carpet was no better. But my favorite part the the entire room was a small TV that hung from the ceiling in between the bunk beds.

"Oh my gosh. There's a TV in here!" I squealed.

The big guy placed Jace and Carter on their own beds as my attention caught the view from the window.

"Wow, we are really high up," I pointed out, and walked over on wobbly legs to the glass. I looked out the window for a few minutes, and suddenly heard a click of a door. When I turned around, Steve was gone. Marty was gone, and so was the other big man in black.

"Hello?" I asked the empty air. I got silence as a response. "Hello? Steve? Where did you guys go?" I wobbled over to the door and tried to turn the nob.

It wouldn't move.

Oh, how silly of them. They accidentally locked me in here.

Well, I thought, I have a TV. And maybe Jace and Carter would wake up soon so I'd have a little company.

I climbed to the top bunk of Jace's bed. Yay, I got the top bunk.

Suddenly the exhaustion of the day washed over me before I even started looking for the remote.

The TV can wait. I'll take a nap, I decided, and closed my eyes.

It didn't take long for me to drift off into the world of dreams and sleep. Which might not have been a good thing.