Karen asked, “How do you know he was trying to kill you and not just overly rough?”
Sylvia thought about that for a moment. She knew the answer to the question, but she didn’t dare tell Karen what she knew about parallel dimensions.
Sylvia said, “I could see it in his eyes. They showed me pure evil for a moment.”
Karen asked, “How do you know what pure evil looks like in someone’s eyes?”
Sylvia answered, “Because I’ve seen it in my father’s eyes. He tried to kill me.”
Karen said, “I’m sorry to hear that. So, what happened after you let him know he was over the line?”
Sylvia replied, “We had sex, but it was because I didn’t want to provoke him again.”
Sylvia was lying to Karen to avoid telling her how she knew Brian’s intent. Karen noticed, but chose not to say anything.
Karen asked, “What about your religious standing?”
Sylvia said, “I’ve never believed in God because I don’t see how a God who cares about people would let so much evil go on for so long without doing anything to stop it. On the other hand, things are too organized to be the result of random chaos over the course of a few billion years.”
Karen said, “I can’t answer the question definitively. I can only point you to find your own faith, or strengthen it if you already have it. It seems like you have some major conflicts in your belief system.”
Sylvia said, “You don’t know the half of it. I have beliefs that make no sense to my reality, and a reality that makes no sense to anything.”
Karen said, “It can’t be all that complicated. Why don’t you tell me about it and see if I can help you make sense of your situation.”
Sylvia thought about it for a while, and she decided to let down her defenses. She was a little apprehensive about telling Karen her secrets.
She thought, “If she was a psychiatrist, I’d never tell her anything about my life. She’s just a religious counselor, so it should be safe.”
Karen waited for a response. She could tell that Sylvia was debating whether to tell her the truth or not.
Karen said, “I can only help you if you’re honest with me. If you’re not, then you’re probably wasting both of our time.”
Sylvia said, “Is what I tell you confidential?”
Karen said, “Only the walls hear our conversation, and they can’t talk. Your secrets are safe with me.”
Sylvia said, “I have some pretty big secrets. I know some grand secrets that the universe revealed to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I probably understand things that you’ll never even realize exist.”
Karen said, “I’ve heard some pretty crazy stuff before. There’s very little you can say that would surprise me.”
Sylvia told Karen about her gift. She let Karen hear everything about her life. The memory problems, the uncertainty, the realization and all the truth was told to Karen on the couch.
Karen was listening to Sylvia speak. When she heard that Sylvia was a traveler, she sent a text message to some of her colleagues.
Sylvia was crying by the end of her confession. She came to Karen looking for answers, but Karen didn’t offer anything to her.
Sylvia asked, “Why are you so quiet? You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
Karen answered, “No, I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you’re very dangerous.”
Sylvia looked around the room again. She noticed the degrees on the wall. Karen was a licensed psychiatrist. Sylvia’s blood felt cold in her veins, as she was suddenly very scared. She tried to get up, but something held her on the couch.
Sylvia asked, “Why can’t I move?”
Karen answered, “It’s a psychiatrist’s trick. While you were speaking, I sent a telepathic message to you that immobilized you. When you confessed that you’re a traveler, I had all I needed to start the procedure to make sure you can’t alter the whole universe.”
Sylvia said, “I came to you for help, and you’re going to lock me away. You’re pure evil.”
Karen said, “No, it’s you who’s pure evil. You don’t realize the carnage travelers have caused over the course of time. I can’t allow you to remain on the outside.”
Karen’s colleagues arrived. One walked over to Sylvia with a syringe in her hand.
Sylvia screamed, “No, don’t sedate me. Let me go!”
Karen said, “You need to calm down. You’re going to be sedated and checked into a mental health facility whether you struggle or not. It’s easier if you just go peacefully.”
Sylvia said, “Fuck you, bitch! You’re a lying cunt who deserves to die in a fire.”
Karen said, “Sedate her and get her out of my office. I don’t need any drama. This has to remain covert.”
The colleague with the syringe injected Sylvia with flunitrazepam. She felt disconnected and then became unconscious.
Chapter Nineteen
72 Hour Hold
While the universe allows psychiatrists to take travelers as prisoners, the laws on Earth do not. The law does, however, allow psychiatrists to hold people suspected of being a danger to themselves or others for 72 hours.
Sylvia woke up in a hospital bed. She was wearing a gown with no belt. Her shoes were on the floor next to her bed, but they had no laces. Anything that could be used to commit suicide was taken away from the patients.
Sylvia said, “Where the hell am I?”
Then she remembered what happened at the counselor’s office. She knew that she’d been taken to a mental health facility.
She said, “Oh, this must be the funny farm.”
She tried to get out of the bed, but she was restrained. Her legs and arms were shackled to the bed to prevent her from taking revenge on the staff of the facility.
The charge nurse noticed that Sylvia was awake and ordered a subordinate nurse to check on her. The subordinate nurse went into Sylvia’s room covered in protective gear.
She asked, “Can I help you, dear?”
Sylvia saw the nurse and started laughing. She couldn’t believe how she was being treated. It made her wonder what Karen had told the staff. Her laughter reinforced the staff’s belief that she was crazy.
Sylvia asked, “Why am I tied to this bed?”
The nurse replied, “Because you tried to kill your boyfriend. You’re classified as a class one threat.”
Sylvia laughed and said, “I didn’t try to kill anyone. He tried to kill me, but that was days ago.”
The nurse said, “We all saw the video of you attacking him. Anyway, we’re going to serve dinner in a few minutes. I can’t untie you until then.”
Sylvia said, “This is ridiculous. I’m not dangerous, and I’m sure as hell not violent.”
The nurse said, “Okay, ma’am; whatever you say,” in a very patronizing manner.
Sylvia was offended, but chose not to say anything else. She didn’t want to be sedated again and miss dinner. She was hungrier than she thought she should be.
She thought, “I wonder how long I was out. I wish this room had a clock or something. It’s probably too dangerous to give a violent person a heavy object that they can throw at people.”
Sylvia looked around the room for her purse, but it wasn’t in the room with her. The staff had locked it in a property locker and didn’t have access to it unless a psychiatrist was on the premises.
Sylvia thought, “Damnit! I should’ve put my phone somewhere else. Now I can’t call anyone to come help me.”
She knew they couldn’t hold her in the facility for more than three days without a court order. She was a little worried about the video the nurse mentioned, especially because she didn’t know how it portrayed her.
She thought, “I’m going to go fucking crazy in here. Time just crawls along, and it feels like there’s no escape from the boredom. I knew I shouldn’t have told that bitch anything.”
The nurse arrived with an entourage. She had the dinner cart with her. Sylvia saw the food and got more exci
ted than she should’ve been. She was starving.
She asked, “How long was I sedated?”
The nurse replied, “You were out for 10 hours. I wish I could sedate you again right now. I’m terrified that you’re going to attack me.”
Sylvia said, “I’m not violent. I don’t know what you saw, but I didn’t attack Brian.”
The nurse said, “Nevertheless, I’m not unrestraining you without some backup. These men all have weapons, and they know how to use them. If you get out of line, they’re not going to hesitate to put you down.”
Sylvia said, “I’m not going to hurt anyone.”
The nurse moved toward Sylvia very slowly. She untied the first strap around Sylvia’s left arm. As she untied the restraint, the men raised their weapons. Then the nurse untied the restraint on Sylvia’s left arm. The nurse moved quickly to the food cart and served Sylvia her dinner. The nurse left the room so Sylvia could eat, but the guards remained to make sure that Sylvia didn’t try to escape.
Sylvia ate her pork chops and applesauce, but she still felt hungry. The pork chops weren’t small, so she didn’t know why she still felt hungry.
She said, “I’m done with dinner. You can call the nurse back in here.”
The guards called the nurse, who took Sylvia’s tray and put it back on the cart. She walked back to Sylvia and the guards raised their weapons again.
Sylvia said, “I know, you have to restrain me again.”
The nurse pulled out a syringe and injected Sylvia with more flunitrazepam. Sylvia was angry that she was being sedated again, but she was sedated too quickly to protest.
For the next two days, Sylvia was sedated twenty hours a day. She was only allowed to eat and relieve herself. When she had to relieve herself, she had to do so in a pan placed under her. She wasn’t allowed any privacy because that would’ve required the staff to unrestrain her.
Near the end of the third day, Karen came to check on her. She was trying to get Sylvia to say or do something that could be used against her in the court hearing later that day.
Karen asked, “How are you feeling?”
Sylvia said, “I’m feeling pretty good now that my time is up. You can’t hold me for longer than 72 hours without a court order, and I don’t think you’re going to get it.”
Karen said, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. The video evidence is hard to dispute.”
Sylvia said, “I know it’s a fake, and I’m sure that the judge won’t be stupid. I’m sure he’ll see right through your lies.”
Karen said, “You could just confess to the whole thing now and make this a lot easier on yourself. You’d end up in a psychiatric hospital for the rest of your life instead of prison.”
Sylvia said, “The only place I’m going is home, you retarded bitch. If I wasn’t stuck in this bed, I’d kill you right now.”
Karen said, “Such a temper. No wonder you’re here. Brian sure lucked out that you can’t hurt him anymore.”
The hearing was brief. Karen played the video showing what Sylvia said to her in court, and that sealed Sylvia’s fate. The judge ordered her to be held in the psychiatric hospital until trial.
Sylvia tried pleading with the judge, but the two videos were compelling evidence. She might have convinced the judge that the first one was a fake if the second one didn’t have her threatening Karen. She wasn’t looking forward to living the next few months of her life sedated.
Chapter Twenty
Escape
Sylvia started thinking about how to escape from the psychiatric hospital. She thought about taking her chances with suicide, but it was nearly impossible to accomplish. She was sedated most of the day, and when she wasn’t sedated, she was under armed guard. She considered trying to run when a sedation break came, but it was just as difficult as suicide. She couldn’t see any way out of her situation, but she kept thinking. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to formulate a plan while sedated.
Jenni called the facility after the news showed Sylvia trying to kill Brian. Jenni knew that Sylvia would never do such a thing, but she wasn’t sure how the video showed what it did.
The charge nurse answered, “Thank you for calling, how can I help you?”
Jenni said, “I’d like to talk to Sylvia Castellanes, please.”
The charge nurse said, “She is an inmate. She cannot receive calls, but you can make an appointment to visit her during regular visiting hours.”
Jenni said, “An Inmate? She hasn’t committed any crime.”
The charge nurse said, “She’s accused of attempted murder and aggravated assault. Now, do you want to make an appointment or not?”
Jenni replied, “Yes, I want to make an appointment.”
The charge nurse said, “You can come in tomorrow at 1:30. Visitations are 20 minutes, and if you’re late, you’ll have to reschedule.”
Jenni said, “Okay.”
The next day, Jenni was waiting outside the mental health facility at 1:00. She made sure not to take anything with her that might not allow her to see Sylvia. At 1:28, she walked into the building and had to pass through a thorough inspection. Her bags were inspected, she had to remove her clothes, which were inspected, and she was subjected to a strip search.
She thought, “They go through a lot of trouble to keep innocent people locked up. I even feel like a criminal just coming to visit.”
Sylvia was placed in a 5’ by 10’ room with a metal table and two chairs. The table and chairs were both bolted to the floor. There was a camera on the ceiling so the staff could make sure nothing illegal was happening. Sylvia was shaclked to the table and handcuffed. Jenni was brought to the room and allowed to see her friend.
Jenni asked, “What the hell happened to you?”
Sylvia said, “I went to see the counselor. She made me trust her, and I told her about my life.”
Jenni said, “I thought you said that counselors aren’t psychiatrists.”
Sylvia said, “Apparently, some of them are. I made a huge mistake, and now I might have to stay here forever.”
Jenni said, “No, you’ll go to prison. You’re accused of attempted murder.”
Sylvia said, “My lawyer wants to pursue the insanity defense. If it works, I’ll stay here. I think it’s what they want anyway. They have total control over me here.”
Jenni asked, “How do they have control over you?”
Sylvia answered, “They have me sedated twenty hours a day, and the rest of the time I’m under heavy armed guard.”
Jenni said, “There’s got to be a way to prove that video’s a fake.”
Sylvia said, “I don’t see how. I’m stuck in here sedated, so I can’t find the original. You’re not able to get to it either, because they keep the original under lock and key.”
Jenni said, “You’re forgetting something. They released a version of it to the press. I recorded that version. It’s harder to prove a fakery that way, but I’m very resourceful.”
Sylvia said, “You probably shouldn’t have said that in here. They have cameras everywhere.”
Jenni said, “I can tell a fake camera when I see it, and that camera doesn’t have any innards. We can talk about anything in here as long as we keep our voices down.”
Sylvia said, “I want to escape. It’s more likely than you proving that video’s a fake.”
Jenni said, “That’s a very bad idea. If you escape, they’ll have legitimate charges against you and it’ll be really hard to convince them that you’re innocent.”
Sylvia said, “I just hate being sedated all the time. I had a life outside this place. Now I have nothing but drugs.”
Jenni said, “I’ll work on proving that video’s a fake. You just have to deal with the sedation for a while.”
Sylvia said, “Please hurry. I hate this place.”
Jenni said, “I will. I’ll bet you’ll never talk to a psychiatrist again, though.”
Sylvia said, “Or a psychologist, or a counselor or anyone else
who might have a degree in mental health.”
Jenni said, “Give me about a week, and I’ll have evidence to show a judge.”
Sylvia asked, “How long do you think it’ll take to get out of here once you convince the judge?”
Jenni said, “The wheels of justice turn very slowly. You might still be in here for another month or two.”
Sylvia said, “Please try to hurry.”
The guard came back to the visitation room. He escorted Jenni back to the visitor’s lounge so she could sign out of the facility. Then he took Sylvia back to her cell where a nurse sedated her.
For the next four days, Jenni watched the media’s version of the video. She clearly saw Sylvia chasing Brian down the street with a knife. Sylvia tackled Brian and raised the knife to stab him. She lunged forward with the knife, but Brian moved out of the way and the knife hit the street. The knife broke and Brian escaped. That’s where the video ended.
Jenni said, “I don’t see what they did, here. Everything looks legitimate. I wonder if Sylvia really did it.”
She called Brian, but he didn’t answer his phone. She went to his house, but he wasn’t home, and his neighbors hadn’t seen him for days.
She thought, “What the hell is going on, here? Why would Brian leave town after Sylvia broke things off with him?”
She checked with his church and his work. They hadn’t seen him, either. He took a few vacation days at work, and his boss thought it had something to do with Sylvia attacking him.
She thought, “I’m missing something here. I need to clear my head.”
Jenni went home and turned on her television. She watched a show about dumb criminals. They were showing videos of past crimes and how the criminals were too dumb to get away with them.
Jenni said, “They’re going to show that fake ass video of Sylvia one day. This show is so stupid.”
Then she saw what she was hoping to find. They showed a video of a couple fighting. The circumstances of the fight were identical to the video of Sylvia and Brian. The action was the same, and the result was the same. She turned on her DVR to record the video when they replayed it, and she captured the video to compare it with the one of Sylvia.
Among the Stars Page 11