The Leakage

Part 5: Solemn Words

The balmy haze of the floor lamp embellished the otherwise mysterious and drab room in a bittersweet glow. The atmosphere was still, barring the soft ostinato of the crickets that hummed outside.

Becca gingerly rolled over onto her side, but was hindered by a firm lump. Her eyes fluttered open at the impediment.

What the-

The smooth, off-white plaster of the low ceiling was th e first thing Becca's newly awakened eyes could focus on. Slowly, her fatigued hand crept up to her face, rubbing her eyelids to relieve the bothering fog from her hazy vision. It took her a few regulatory breaths to notice the familiar yellow fabric couch she was curled up on - the same one her and her roommates had bought secondhand last year. Her body felt light and well-rested, the only lingering symptom of her nightmare still present was the unrelenting pounding against her temples.

Was it all just a dream?

Still not completely liberated from her slumber, Becca weakly patted on the cushions in an attempt to release the bulges with no avail. When did this sofa get so uncomfortable?! She let out a strangled groan, flipping herself over to face the opposite side and away from the backrest. As soon as her cold shoulder met the cushion, a few hidden figures began to appear in the distance.

The four shadows were creeping closer and closer...

With terribly furrowed brows, Becca squinted a few times as she tried to make sense of the intrusion. Realization alleviated her apprehension and she expelled a breath of stale air;

Thank goodness.

It was only her friends - Bryce, Jackie, Elijah and Sienna - hovering at the living room entrance in a courteous quiet. They weren't moving or giving her the reassuring warmth they are known for. Her chosen family all stood there staring at her in complete stone silence; it was as if Medusa had viciously punished them.

Something about this situation felt unfamiliar and dubious. Like everything was just a projection.

Becca had noted that their sofa wasn't as comfortable as the one she came to know; she wasn't sinking into the plush, nor was she cradled from all sides by the massive throw pillows. Her stiff neck craned to take in the whole living room set - the walls were ghostly, stark and pale, their hodge podge décor was nonexistent, and Elijah's prized 55" television was nowhere in sight. Come to think of it, all notes of sunshine and the busy Boston street view were absent because the large windows were... missing?

Becca's chest began to palpitate. Her dark amber orbs darted in every which way and laden with distress.

What happened?

Gradually all the images manifested before her all at once. She started to remember the case and Travis' betrayal. She could vividly see Rafael wrestling with the assailant and the Senator locking the three of them inside. She recalled the cold feeling of the linoleum against her cheek as she struggled to breathe.

But she was breathing now.

Everything was okay.

Her mind was still here; that had to be good news.

Right?

The debilitating silence was finally shattered by his familiar breathy whisper, "You'll be okay, Becks." Bryce's signature assurance faltered in his cadence, yet his megawatt grin still radiated deep into her core as he always did. Becca's wild, desolate irises began to soften at the sound of her friend's voice, assuring her of her closeness to reality.

"So much for a 'drama free year'," she heard Jackie chuckle morbidly. "You really know how to keep the hospital on their toes".

The standoffish doctor stood there, rocking side to side with her arms crossed over her chest. Jackie's deep brown eyes were hard with expected judgement, yet hints of softness peered out around her pupils. Firm arrogance was Jackie's default look and the hint of pity left Becca unsettled. There was something they weren't telling her.

Next to speak was lovable Elijah. He had his doctor's coat still on and a comic in his lap. Through his infectious smile Elijah's voice cracked, "I promise I'm going to channel my inner Bec and give Sothey the lessons he deserves. You're the best doctor there is, Becca."

Becca went rigid at the melancholy statement.

The next words spoken ricocheted against the walls and fought for dominance with her throbbing headache. "Oh, Becca... I love you."

The sweet yet sullen sing-song voice of her best friend rang through to her core and Becca's eyes began to well. "You're amazing. I kno - I know you can fight this." Sienna was trying to be her always assuring and positive self, yet her words were laced with a hint of vengeful fire.

Fight what? We're here. At home. Aren't we?

Esme's voice was the last to filter through, although from what Becca could tell her intern wasn't present among the phantoms. Becca's head whipped around, trying to locate her. "You aren't going anywhere, you got me?" The intern demanded. "You're stuck with me. I am making your life hell for the rest of our time at Edenbrook. You have no choice."

Confusion struck Becca. Where is that voice coming from? Her brow further creased and her breathing started to increase yet again.

With frenzy rising within her, Becca forced herself to sit up - having e very intention of confronting her friends. Her weightless feet touched the ground and yet she was stuck in place. She fought against the invisible binds as she attempted to reach her arms out to them, writhing against the vexatious cushions.

Suddenly, she noticed Bryce's flawless, warm glimmer turn to icy stone. Something was happening... something bad if Bryce looks that dreadful...

Then Jackie's glare followed suit.

Then Sienna's and Elijah's.

One by one her friends started to vanish, disappearing with just a blink of her cognizant eye. Their shadows formed together, their essences morphing into her favorite face.

The one with that always put her at ease.

The one with the thick, tickling stubble trailing along his chiseled jawline.

The one with the delicate lips pursed into a hard line.

The one with the harrowing Mediterranean blue eyes.

That one with the concern etched into his brows.

He was uttering something that she couldn't hear.

Her soul was raging against her paralyzed form, fighting to reach out. Needing to grab onto his hand and let him know she was here. That she is okay.

Though he seemed close, they felt miles apart; exhaustively out of reach while he was just standing a few meters away.

He hadn't been this far away in months.

Becca couldn't fathom what felt worse: his abandonment and rejection, or this cruel unknown. Knowing that here and now she's unable to touch him, to comfort him, to tell him.

Her heart sank even further.

Becca tried so desperately to speak, to tell him exactly what had happened. Her jaw unhinged a few times, trying to formulate her aberrant thoughts into coherent statements.

Nothing came out.

The words died before they even reached her wilted tongue. Becca tried to expel a large huff of air but even that was nugatory. Her body had thoroughly failed her.

In the distance she could hear him sigh. When she turned to assess his towering form, he wasn't pinching the bridge of his nose like he's so prone to do. Instead, he stood straight and stoic, with shoulders squared and arms folded against his chest, just like when they first met. The only emotion behind his temporal orbs reflected that same look of shock of when he found her stranded under Travis' hand.

His words were uncharacteristically just above a whisper and his lips barely parted. "I'm sorry. I failed you," he called from afar before evaporating into the void like the others.

Ethan...

Becca felt a warmth at the top of her head. A clearing sense of peace began to wash over her whole body, an incandescent white encompassed the space around her. This time she didn't shy from the light, she welcomed it.

This time the ethereal rays lifted her away.