Fallen

by J. Dursky

  Chapter 22

   

  The alarm goes off on the watch.  I try Lila on the radio again, silence. I walk to the door to exit and recall the code.  He said it makes an X on the keypad.  I press the keys, 159357 and the door slides open.  When the doctor told me to take a right, two lefts, and a right, did he mean the first right is immediately out of the door?  It has to be.  I follow the instructions and get to a hallway with rooms with windows.  They are about waist to head high and probably five feet long.  They must be one way mirrors because as I walk by and look inside, no one turns to look at me, unless somehow I’m invisible, which I doubt. The idea nearly makes me chuckle.

  I walk past a room on the right and see a familiar yet unwelcome face, Mike Farrell. He is wearing a Melcher football t-shirt. I would love to play our football game now that I have this strength and speed. I could teach Mike a thing or two. He’s reading at a desk in the room. What is he doing here? He can stay locked in that room for all I care. Mike has always been such a dick. I remember his tone just before the football game and it makes my blood boil. His teammates even despise him. One of them, Jeremiah, told me he pinned him down in the locker room after a game for dropping an interception and choked him to the point of needing medical attention. They even won the game. What I hate most about him is, he saw my stepmom grocery shopping one day and rammed his cart into hers, making it seem like an accident, but it hurt her wrist and it needed surgery. For him to not only hold a grudge against me but to take out his aggression on my stepmother by hurting her is why I hate him. She told me he smiled when he saw her in pain. I just walk past his room. 

  Halfway down the hall I look to the left and into one of the windows.  I see Jensen.  He is sitting in front of a TV playing video games.  There is a numeric key pad on the outside. I type in the code. A red light flashes and makes an annoying buzzing sound. It must not be the same code for all of the rooms. I tap on the glass.  Jensen doesn’t flinch.  This room must be sound proof as well.  It reminds me of the sound proof room when I heard Dr. Hunter. 

  I close my eyes and focus on my ears.  I hear ringing. It is faint at first, and then it gets louder.  As it gets louder it starts to break up.  I hear gaps in the noises, pulses, voices, and music.  I can hear clearly into the room.  I can hear the game he’s playing.  I knew this would be possible but it still freaks me out a little.  If I can hear in the room, can I get him to hear me?  It seems impossible but it’s worth a try. 

  "Jensen."  I say softly. 

  I hear silence.  I open my eyes and see him inside.  He presses the pause button and is looking toward the door.  He looks confused, as I would in this situation. 

  "Can you hear me Jensen?"  I ask.

  "Yes, I can."  He replies with a confused look on his face.

  "Can you open the door?" 

  He gets up off the floor and rushes to the door. 

  "Yes, my sister told me the code if I ever needed it.” 

  I hear the beeps as he presses the numbers.  The door slides open and he looks up at me.  

  "I knew it was you! How did you do that?"  He asks me.

  "To be honest, I'm not sure."

  "I've never met anyone else who can do that."

  "Anyone else?"

  "Yeah, my sister, Michaela.  She can talk to me inside my head.  I haven't heard from her yet today.  She usually tells me what is happening to her." 

  Since he is fine, the complications Alisabeth was talking about must be Michaela. Is she dead? I remember Alisabeth saying Dr. McNeal’s patient died this morning. 

  "This may seem like a strange question but, has your sister ever said anything about seeing the future or what is about to happen?"

  "No, not to me, why?  Did she talk to you?"

  "Yes, she did.  She told me about a decision I would have to make.  Do you know anything about it?"

  "No."  He says as he shakes his head. 

  Suddenly I hear my radio crackle.  I unclip it from my pocket and hold it up by my ear. 

  "Baby, can you hear me?"  I hear through the static.

  "Yes, I can.  I am here."  I respond.

  "They are here!  A bunch of them are eating the bodies in the yard!" 

  "Stay down. Stay quiet, I am on my way!"  I yell with seriousness in my voice.

  "No, don’t come!  I had to shoot a few of them to get to the truck and I’m already going down the driveway to find Darr like the girl told me.  I trust Michaela. There’s no time. I have to leave here now!"

  "Just wait, I can be there in less than an hour!"  I say desperately.

  “NO! I’m leaving, I know not to look in their eyes, I got out of the school just fine, and I can protect myself! Stay there and fix this. That is how you can save me, by saving everyone!” 

  With increasing static on the radio, I think I make out her final response.  She said something about not being there, Darr hiding, and she loves me. 

  I wish I heard it all.  I wish I could tell her I love her too. I’m not sure what to do. 

  Before I can hit the radio button again to try to speak to Lila, a voice comes over the loud speaker.  It is a woman's voice. 

  "Mr. Dursky, please stay where you are.  My name is Dr. McNeal and I would like to speak with you.  It has come to my attention you may be able to help us out of this, debacle.  Please, remain where you are." 

  I look up at the ceiling a few yards in front of me and see a camera. I hadn’t noticed them before. They must have been watching me the whole time. 

  I know if I stay she may try all the things Michaela warned me about, and Lila will be ok.  But I am starting to learn about my abilities and don’t think they can keep me against my will.  On the other hand, what if she’s wrong?  I have this urge to go protect Lila.  Can that really be worse in the long run?  She is the love of my life and I’m stronger with her than I could ever be on my own. 

  This must be the choice Michaela warned me about.  When broken down to one word for each path, my choices seem to be, Power or Love. 

  I look at Jensen, he looks up at me, and he asks, "What are you going to do?"

  Thank you so much for reading Fallen.

  I encourage you to leave a review at

  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25866429-fallen

  Now that you have finished Fallen you may choose between Love and Power. Please read the back of each before making your decision. You do not have to read them in a specific order, the choice is yours!

  Special Thanks!

  Beta Readers:

  Brian Darr, Tami Retzlaff, Linsay Jackson, Brittany Backus, Bonnie Stalzer, Gina Horkey Davis, Liz Strassman, and Ayla Crosby. (Who only read until “her character died”)

  Creative Input/Editing

  Brian Darr, Tami Retzlaff

  One Final Thanks

  The last thank you goes to Mike Farrell. Not everyone is awesome enough to let me make them the villain in a story. He really isn’t a bad guy, I just needed a badass for a villain. Thanks for letting me use your name and likeness.