“Enough for a soup?” I asked.
“Yep.”
“Wouldn’t want to worry your parents by being gone too long.”
“Not with a mad woman out there.”
“Yep. True. Who knows where she’s lurking?”
She nudged me.
She relocked the door and we started back with Sky-Guy slinking along behind us.
I walked into the living room with the basket and overhead whispering in the living room. As I approached, I heard the mention of Jaxson's name and I paused.
Amber didn’t catch my cue, and kept talking to Sky-Guy who had followed us inside. “Want some water?” She poured some water into a saucer and placed it on the floor.
I peered into the living room.
“Did one of you mention Jaxson? The guard from the prison?”
“Yes, I’ve been told that he’s asking around about you.”
They mistook my facial expression for fear and Ruby took my hand. “Don’t you worry one little bit, Saige.”
“Dawn, Mom. You gotta get used to calling her Dawn.”
“Only in public, Amber.”
“Who has he been talking to?” I asked, pretending not to be worried. I kicked at the floor with my shoe.
“A lot of people in my network. Most of those who were living back at the apartments. It makes me feel a lot better about coming out here. Truly does.”
“He’s creepy,” Amber said.
“Some others are noticing increased numbers of robotic insects patrolling. And my informant said that Officer Chase is displaying pleasantries on the surface, but his snake-like temperament runs deep. He is one heck of an actor. He plays an essential role in that prison; I can tell you that.”
“He seems pleasant?”
“He’s likely playing it cool because he is worried that if he doesn’t get you back to the prison soon, he may be beaten himself.”
“Would they do that? I mean, punish him that way?”
“Oh, let’s hope so.”
Meryk said, “He was in charge of you. You got away. He will be in huge trouble if he doesn’t bring you in. Mr. Parr is likely beating the crap out of that kid. I’ve never seen a prison escape ever in the time that this prison has run. Geez, and weeks after Parr got there. Years and not one escape. Surely, he will pay for that. And Mr. Parr was brought into the prison as a tough warden to replace that weak guy…what was his name?”
“Johnson. He was a nice man.”
“He served the purpose because he followed the rules. They were running experiments and testing who knows what, and he never questioned any of it. That’s what made it difficult to learn anything; that guy knew nothing. Obviously, the secrets are now too precious to have even him there. Enter…Mr. Parr.”
“He was awful. You should have seen the difference in the place before and after he and Dr. Cook came into the picture.”
“Who is Dr. Cook.”
“Dr. Bailey Cook. She was there, too.” I told him about the two times I met her. “She even changed the date that the Paragon was supposed to come. Mr. Parr didn’t seem to like that.”
Meryk rubbed his chin.
“My treatment wasn’t Officer Chase’s fault. It was Dr. Cook’s and Mr. Parr’s instructions.” I averted my eyes.
“Who cares, as long as he gets his…For what he did to you, I hope he fries. I hope they whip him straight to hell.” Ruby crossed her arms.
“Ruby, come on…” Meryk said, as Amber strolled in with Sky-Guy in tow. At first, I thought that Meryk was going to tell her that she was going overboard, and I wanted to tell her what I thought about Jaxson, but I hesitated. But instead, he said, “No. The prison serves a needed purpose. For the most part they do a good job. It’s what is secretly being done in that building that is worrisome.”
“I agree. Jaxson was just doing his job.” I crossed my arms.
Ruby’s eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to tell us, Saige?”
“He was following orders. That’s all.”
“I can’t believe you are saying that after he whipped you,” Amber said.
“I don’t blame Jaxson. I blame Mr. Parr for not believing my story and for giving Jaxson the interrogation methods to make me talk. Jaxson didn’t know that I told the truth…his boss told him it was impossible.”
“Amber, why don’t you go on upstairs,” Ruby said. She obviously had questions for me. “Let us talk.”
“I think I’d be safer here,” Amber said.
“You could go show Sky-Guy the barn and tell him he can catch the mice in there.” I winked at Amber.
Amber rolled her eyes and left the room, mumbling down the hall towards the exit. She whistled for the cat. Sky-Guy followed.
“I just want to say that I have my doubts about Jaxson’s role. Um…”
“Go ahead, Saige,” Ruby took my hand. “You can be honest with us. We will not judge you.”
“It’s just that the pills that the prison had the guards take for the virus I supposedly carried, well, they made the guards rage.”
“Rage?”
“They flip out…those mood swings that your insider described…I have to be honest; I think the medication is what’s causing them. I told Jaxson not to take them…and as soon as he stopped, he was different. More consistently calm and sensitive. I don’t think he was in control.”
“If that’s true, then you can’t be sure that the prison hasn’t been more careful with his taking his pills. Like a prisoner, they may be monitoring more closely. You can’t be sure that they haven’t realized how unnaturally consistently nice he has been at the prison. They will notice his lack of anger…”
“No, you said yourself that he’s been angry in there. It could be an act.”
“Why would he be acting like he is angry? What are you not telling us?”
“Well, there’s more…”
They leaned in.
“He pretended to whip me so that he wouldn’t hurt me. He made me scream out with each pretend whip so that no one would know.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell anyone. This needs to stay between us. We have to assume that the insider is a possible problem with spreading news, too. I think if you really want me safe, the things I am about to tell you need to stay between the three of us. Is that fair?”
They nodded, without even looking at one another.
“I trust that you will keep me safe. And if you want me safe, then you need to trust me when I say that I think that he was on my side when I left the prison. I’m not stupid. I know that they may have done something to switch him back. I won’t sneak out to see him. I won’t meet with him alone. I won’t invite him here. I won’t send a message to him. I just want you to know that he might not be the bad guy that I first met behind those walls. He may have been manipulated with those pills. As long as he doesn’t take them, and plays the game on the inside, just as I had, then he should be okay.”
“Did he help you escape?”
“Please. You have to just be quiet about that. If they find out, they will hurt him. It’s not what I want. I want to…”
“What?”
“I want to help him.”
“Do you care for this man?”
“I’m not saying that. I want to repay him for saving me. This has nothing to do with feelings. I just want you to understand him better. He shouldn’t be blamed. He might be able to help me get back home.”
“I don’t think he knows anything. There’s gotta be another way to find out how. There’s got to be someone who can help. Let me ask around. Let me work on this.”
“That’s fine. But keep in mind that Jaxson may be the guy who may know the answers.” At least they now knew that there was a chance that he was a good man and they knew how to keep me protected. If Mr. Parr got his hands on me, death would surely find me.
Chapter Twenty-Three
By the middle of May, I was getting a little stir crazy. Meryk wouldn’t let me out of the house
unless I stayed with Amber, and we made it a quick forage. Eventually, he seemed more relaxed and began to let me sit on the porch or do some gardening along the side of the house. Later, he let me take very short walks along the edge of the property.
Sky-Guy had shown that he was essential to my safety when one evening he came to the living room with something in his mouth. When he dropped it, I cringed. It was a cockroach.
I leaned over it, after grabbing a rag and then I noticed a flash of green light. It was one of the robotic bugs. “Where did you find that thing, Sky-Guy?” I picked up a small teapot and threw the rag to the ground. I knelt next to the broken bug, its eyes fading. I pounded it to smithereens. Nothing had ever felt better.
In retrospect, I should have told the family that I had found such a thing on the property.
Meryk met with his people often, trying to find out how the other woman had switched lives with me. He hadn’t brought much new information. I felt like it might never happen. I missed my mom and sister. I felt helpless, defeated and out of sorts.
After dinner one evening, the back of my throat tightened as I thought about my family. I stood on the porch and wiped away a few tears. The cool air drifted over me and I drew in a deep breath.
In the Spring dusk, a wild view of tumbling hills rolled away and lost themselves in the depths of the trees. The sky was cloudy and only for brief moments could the sun penetrate the gloom.
Wildflowers swayed in the breeze and the tall grass bent. When the shade from the trees felt more like the cold of the prison cell, I held the yellow and orange shawl closer, wrapping it around my body.
The dense canopy of the trees made me feel safe even with the light mist cast low. The forest was humble, luminous, and diverse. Its canopy was dominated by hemlock, yew, and pine, but still plenty of light passed through their crowns for a plethora of saplings to cultivate the moist and fertile bottom layer below.
Thick climbing plants waved from a couple of trees, and a range of flowers, which blossomed brightly, stood out against the otherwise jade forest floor. A tumult of beastly noises, most of which were insects and critters, resonated through the air, and overpowered the croaks of frogs in the nearby ponds.
The shadows were long in this forest, and something about it made me feel secure in its embrace. I welcomed the fresh air and soft ground.
The air was cooler this evening than it had been previously, but perhaps inside the forest, the warmth of the sunlight didn’t find its way through the thick branches of leaves. The cabin held areas where the sun penetrated against the stone and wood of the building and kept it warm. Here, however, the light was dim but welcomed.
For the first time in a long while, the feeling of being alone brought tranquility rather than fear and desperation. This made me feel strong and empowered.
I took my shoes off to feel the grass beneath my toes and I watched as the flowers swayed in the breeze. I followed the direction of the sound of water trickling and located a brook meandering through the forest. I put my shoes down on a large rock and leaned on it to roll up my pants.
The water shimmered in the dappled sunlight. The algae-covered rocks were slippery and I carefully placed my feet as I edged across the brook. The sun peeked out and shone down as I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. One could forget their troubles on a day like this…except for that familiar whirring sound that had suddenly caught my attention.
Fear prickled my scalp instantly. The shadows seemed to move now, and elongate as if their talons were grasping for me. They stretched towards the water. The sound was closing in, as if it had caught my scent.
I plunged into the mud and began to spread it over my body, face and hair. I rubbed at my arms and legs and then looked across the stream. I didn’t take time to contemplate between options. I dove into the water and reached the other side, gulping water but not coughing. Once I fell into the bank on the other side, I grabbed blobs of mud to cover myself as I ran.
I should have told someone where I was going!
I leaped across a fallen tree trunk, and ducked under the low hanging evergreen branches. I stumbled over the uneven mounds likely built by huge ant colonies.
I hid behind a tree for a moment to listen but with the water trickling along, I couldn’t catch the sound. I knew that I needed to move. My breath made wafting clouds in the cool air. As my pulse pounded in my throat, I pushed off the tree and ran as fast as I could. I wouldn’t risk falling at this point. Those precious moments would counter the need for the speed.
I scrambled up a low hill, grasping at the grasses for leverage. I slipped on the slick moss and fell onto my face. I tore at the ground and got back on my feet. I left my shoes at the water bank!
The whirring of the machine gave way to its approach. My breath had stalled in my chest.
I paused to choose a direction. Hills might slow the many legs of that insect. I chose that direction. Up another hill, I climbed and then slid down the other side. My body slammed against the ground, and still I pulled myself using branches of a tree. I lost my balance and stumbled. I had to slow down or I would sprain an ankle.
The sound of the machine approached. Faster than I expected it could.
The flickering of the sunlight as it weaved its way through the thick canopy cast confusing shadows that made me think the monster was at my heels.
Birds took flight from a tree, startling me half to death.
I came to a patch of white flowers. I ran through them, tramping on their petals.
As the ball of fear formed in my chest, I realized that I had run further and further from the cabin. I would lose my way. And then what? I kept going despite the worries that shattered my mind. A sudden wave of chills spread over my body.
The fear resonated in my limbs. I couldn’t be certain it was coming. Sooner or later, it would get through the water and it would still be coming. I grabbed pine needles and smashed them between my fingers and began to rub the oils over my skin.
My stomach clenched as I found that I had managed to clear a hill, and the only way to go was straight down. I slid down through the dirt, without slowing. I made it to the bottom and hid behind a set of vines near a large oak tree. A dizzy spell came over me and I waited a moment for my head to clear.
A cast of light illuminated a tangled ball of vines at the bottom of a tree. The shadows reached and I crawled into the vines. I continued to scrub with the pine needles. My dry mouth craved water. My eyes bulged. I slowed my breath so that I could listen for the sounds of the robotic beetle. All I heard was the sound of the birds. Birds were a good sign, right? If the birds were chirping, then the creature was not near. Right?
I hunkered down to stay as inconspicuous as I could. I spread dirt over my clothes and skin. Then I stopped and let my breath catch up. The smell of decay rose from my skin as the mud emanated the scents of fish and rotting plants. I tasted bile.
I had to find my way back to the cabin. I didn’t know how to decide when the coast was clear. Night fall? Was that when it would need to return to its charging station? Isn’t that what someone said? That they needed to charge? Some were solar. Some were electric.
Then the birds stopped chirping.
I held my breath and scanned for a weapon. If it caught me here, it would kill me. Or would it capture me? Did it mean to bring me back with it? Would it kill me and just bring my body? Would it record where I am and then guards would be dispatched?
I heard the whirring sound. I noticed a large branch on the ground. I took the moment to watch for movement in the tall grasses and bushes. I stepped out and grabbed the branch. I crawled back into the vines. I listened for the sounds of the creature.
A branch snapped.
The birds remained silent.
My pumping heart resonated in my ears.
Rustling of leaves.
The clambering of the metal as it approached.
The vines chaffed against my ankles as I pressed myself into the bark of the oak.
My hair tangled into the twists and turns of the natural bends of the plant.
“Saige?!” My heart dropped. Amber was looking for me. Had she crossed the river or was she calling from that far away? What was she thinking? That robot would hear her!
I heard the machine now, moving fast. Away from me; It was moving towards Amber’s shouts. The robotic creature must have been programmed for that family, too. Had they learned that I had been hidden away and that this was the family capable of such treason? My stomach sank.
I dashed out of the vines, running towards Amber as she called my name a second time. I jumped over the stumps and slipped on some rotting leaves. Then an iridescent entity came into view and I heard my name called once more. And it wasn’t Amber who had called me.
A clear bodied machine scouted the area for me. It repeated my name once more. The machine mocked me. It had tricked me into thinking that Amber was going to get hurt and yet it had recorded her voice or mimicked it. Then, I heard another call out to me from further away. Then another, from another direction. They were closing in. They had found me after all.
I turned, and ran, in the opposite direction than the cabin, to lure them away. My heart pounded in my chest. The ground was uneven and even though I would risk a sprain, I ran with all of my might. I canvassed the area as I ran for a tree to climb, taking a desperate chance that they would not find me in a canopy high off the ground.
Branches broke under the legs of the robotic insects. It sounded like dozens were searching. I didn’t feel like they had found my scent yet because they were still calling out my name in Amber’s voice.
I came across a tall tree with a low stump that allowed me to climb up and grab the lowest branch. I climbed as far as I could and then I noticed something in the distance. A fast-moving river. Heavens! It’s the river that runs to Brosrock Lake in my Edgefield! And…then my mind skipped to the waterfall that was natural in my world. Maybe…
I examined the forest in the distance for the creatures. Their iridescent bodies camouflaged well into the trees and vegetation. It made my heart race. I could hear branches snapping but could see no entities.
Switched and Fears Page 16