Faded Encounters

by Elsy Green

  “I’m don’t know.” Sophie swallows down, her face a pale shade that matches her knuckles.

  “Sophie.” I reach over and place my hand on her shoulder. “You don’t have to do this. We can go back right now.”

  “They were at my house, Allie. I’m part of this now. We can’t go back unless you want to end up like Ethan.”

  I look over my shoulder at an unconscious Ethan slump over in the backseat. Daniel’s tried to make him comfortable, but he doesn’t look anywhere near comfort. I blow out a breath and meet Daniel’s eyes. He shrugs his shoulders and mimics my deep breath, just as clueless as the rest of us.

  “We can’t just drive forever. We need to get Ethan checked out.”

  “I know. I think I know a place we can go. Mason told me about this abandoned mill a little way outside of Greenville, I was thinking we could shack up there until we figure out what’s going on.” Sophie shrugs, looking over at me and then Daniel in the rear-view mirror for approval of her plan.

  “Okay.” I nod and sit back in my chair trying to push all the thoughts that want to creep into my head out. I’m in survival mode now, I can’t waste time thinking about what all this means. I have to focus on getting out of Greenville and staying away from Nora.

  Not to mention figuring out what the heck is wrong with Ethan and how we wake him up. This is my fault after all, it’s all my fault. I mentioned Ethan and Sophie to Nora and now they are involved. And I dragged Daniel into my escape plan. I’m responsible for whatever happens next. I’m to blame if this all goes south.

  I lay my head back on the seat and close my eyes as I try to think. We need a plan. We need a solid plan to keep us safe. I’m just not sure how to formulate one. My brain and my gut have gone silent, giving me nothing but static. She did what she promised and now she’s in hiding. Making me wonder where she goes when she’s not talking to me. And why can’t I control her? is she really a voice? Or is she something else?

  Whatever it is, it seems like we can’t coexist for very long. She only breaks through at certain times with certain information, never the full picture. I was sure she was trying to take over, push me out, but now…. now I think she’s trying to help. The dreams must be hers. She’s trying to tell me something…what I can’t grasp.

  “That’s it, I can’t take it any longer,” Sophie sighs.

  “What?” I turn to her in confusion.

  “Not talking about it. What does that blonde goddess want with us? We can’t just ignore her and hope she goes away, we have to figure out what she’s doing.”

  “You’re guess is as good as mine, Sophie. She wasn’t who I thought she was. I mean the first time I met her she seemed nice and professional and then I woke up and found her strapping an unconscious Ethan to an examination table.”

  “Which is why we need to get ahead of her. I mean she already got our parents to consent to placing us in a mental institution. What else is she capable of? I mean what does she want with us Allie?”

  I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to answer any of Sophie’s questions. I don’t know what Nora or Ryss wants. All I know is somehow I’m in the middle of all of this. and I got them all involved along the way.

  We turn off of the highway and onto a dirt road. Sophie doesn’t even slow down as she speeds down it, dirt and dust flying up everywhere occluding our view as we drive in eerie silence for what feels like hours.

  “We figure out what we have in common,” Daniel says quietly from the back seat. Sophie quirks a brow at him in the rear-view mirror.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nora seems to have an agenda, the people she locks up and experiments on or whatever you want to call it, they must have something in common. Or else why would she do it? What’s here agenda if it isn’t helping the mentally ill?”

  “Who’s Nora?”

  “The blonde lady,” I chime in.

  “I thought her name was Ryss?”

  “Who’s Ryss?” Daniel leans forward poking his head in between our seats.

  “She’s the lady I dream of, the one that looks just like Nora.”

  “You dream of the Doctor?”

  “Well…I’ve had a few dreams where someone like her is in them. I’m not exactly dreaming of her. Her name is Ryss in my dreams.”

  “Huh, is she good or evil in these dreams?”

  “Definitely evil,” Sophie answers for me.

  “That’s no coincidence. If I’ve learned anything about these dreams, it’s that they are never wrong about the character of those we see. It’s like our mind is trying to tell us something. Or warn us. If Ryss is evil in your dreams, then Nora is too. We can’t trust her.”

  “You have dreams too?” Sophie turns in her seat to face him and I have to grab the wheel so we don’t fly off the road.

  “Yep. For as long as I can remember.”

  “Sophie!” I interrupt their little private convo.

  “Oh sorry.” She turns back to the wheel with a repentant smile. I roll my eyes and lean back in my seat getting more anxious by the minute. “So, do you see Allie in these dreams?” Sophie gets back to the previous conversation.

  He looks over at me and shakes his head. “No. I mostly see a younger girl that looks just like me. Chocolate hair, chocolate eyes. Her name is Lyra. I think she’s my dream persona’s sister.”

  “Huh, anyone else you’ve seen? Anyone in Greenville?”

  “Well, I haven’t really been out and about in Greenville, but I have dreamt of you Sophie. That’s why I knew we could trust you.”

  A creepy looking abandoned mill comes into view and Sophie stops the car in front of it, turning completely in her seat as she stares stunned at Daniel.

  “What do you mean you’ve seen me?”

  “I don’t know. It’s like how Allies sees the doctor. It’s not you, but the person in my dream looks like you. Shiny, long auburn hair, beautiful, big blue eyes, a fiery personality, and gorgeous full lips.” Daniel shrugs like what he is saying is the most normal thing in the world. “The only difference is the name. You go by Annia in my dreams.”

  Sophie smiles bashfully, her teeth jutting out just above her bottom lip as she bites into it like she’s unsure how to react to his compliment. He’s talking about someone that is obviously not Sophie, but she’s still flattered by his description of their resemblances.

  I blink absently at Sophie and Daniel ignoring whatever is going on between them. I’m too focused on that name, Annia. I’ve heard that name before. I know that name, why do I know that name? I’ve never dreamt of an alternate Sophie. I mean I guess one time I dreamed of her, she was there at the school, before Riella found the bodies of Nadia and Theo.

  “Oh my gosh! I dreamt of you too. I mean I just thought you were Sophie in my dream, but now it all makes sense. You were Annia.” I shake my head and close my eyes. “That’s not possible, we can’t dream of the same people.” I turn to Daniel for some sort of explanation, but he just shrugs completely clueless.

  “I’m going to need a bigger dream board.” Sophie smiles excitedly like this is some sort of treasure hunt. It’s not. It’s nothing like a treasure hunt. “Welcome home for the next…well forever, I guess.” Sophie grimaces as we all exit the car and look upon the structure in front of us.

  It’s still standing which is a plus, a few loose boards hanging down from the shutter windows and roof, but the foundation looks solid. It reminds me more of a big barn opposed to your traditional mill. It’s two stories high and a big rectangular well…barn shape, painted red and brown, just like you’d expect.

  The stars shine brightly above it, crickets sing into the silent air, and the dirt around it remains desolate. It’s all alone out here, no other houses, no structures, just a lonely windmill off to the side, which is probably where it gets its name. We are all alone out here, completely and utterly alone. I can’t even hear the highway from here. We’ve gone off the grid.
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  “I’ve got some blankets and other miscellaneous things in the back; I’ll grab them if you guys want to go in ahead and check it out,” Sophie says. Daniel and I look at each other over the car and shrug.

  “Let’s grab Ethan, he looks a bit squished back there.” Daniel nods at the crumpled-up Ethan in the back. I cringe seeing his big frame stuffed in the back and head over to his door to help Daniel carry him inside.

  We both take an arm and hoist him over our shoulders like before, carefully dragging his still unconscious body into the dark barn. The big red doors keeping us out aren’t secured and we get inside easily. We are instantly hit with an old musty smell that reminds me of an old museum, but it’s not overwhelming.

  The loose boards on the roof create a kind of sunroof that allows the moon to shine down on us and give us much needed light to see inside. It’s empty inside, a few gigantic sacks of flour here and there and some odd farming equipment. Other than that, it’s just dust and some lonely spiderwebs.

  I spot some old flour sacks off to the side and motion for Daniel to follow me. We lay Ethan on top of them and he lets out a heavy sigh obviously happy to be out of that cramped backseat. Sophie hurries in after us, locking her car and closing the barn doors with some sort of rope she had in her trunk. Apparently, Sophie comes prepared.

  “I’ve got blankets and clothes.” She hands me a fresh pair of clothes and I realize I’m still in this nasty hospital gown unlike Daniel who is in light blue scrubs.

  “Thanks.” I take them from her and quickly get dressed.

  “And I had some stuff of Mason’s that might fit you.” She smiles at Daniel and offers him a fresh pair of clothes. Probably a good call not to be seen wearing scrubs with the Greenville Behavioral Health logo on it.

  “Thanks.” He gives her a handsome smile that makes her blush. “I probably shouldn’t ask who Mason is, right?” He looks over at me and then Sophie.

  Sophie laughs and bites down on her bottom lip again. “Just a friend.” She shrugs and I have to hold back the startled gasp that wants to escape. Sophie has never referred to her very serious boyfriend as a friend. Sophie is loyal to Mason through and through, even though he’s a total tool and I wouldn’t mind seeing her move on, she’s never ever shown any interest in anyone but Mason.

  Sophie must sense my gawking because she shoots me a stern look that says it all, I’m to keep my mouth shut about Mason. I give her a wide-eyed stare letting her know I hear her loud and clear. I mean I don’t know this Daniel guy from Adam, but so far, he seems a lot better than Mason. If Sophie wants to venture then I’m not going to stop her. Especially because we have no idea if we are even going to survive the night.

  After I’m all set in my fresh clothes I turn my attention back to Ethan draping him with a blanket and brushing some hair from his eyes as I frown down at him.

  “What do you think she did?” Daniel hovers over us.

  “I’m not sure. I thought he would come to at some point. Nora told Garret she used a mind trick on him, but he’s pretty beaten up. I don’t think that’s all she did.”

  Daniel shakes his head and sighs. “Maybe his body was trying to protect him from the pain.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” I sigh and graze the back of my hand over his cheek, even unconscious he’s still handsome as ever. A shiver runs down my spine at our touch and for a split second I swear I’m transported somewhere else, but when I open my eyes I’m still sitting next to Ethan with Daniel and Sophie hovering over us.

  “Where do you think he went?” Daniel cocks his head to the side as he narrows his eyes on Ethan’s closed eyes. I notice them too; his eyes are moving rapidly back and forth beneath his resting eyelids. It looks almost like he’s watching a ball move at hyper speed or something. His eyeballs darting every which way as they fight to keep focus on whatever it is he’s trying to focus on.

  “I hope it’s somewhere good.” I graze my fingers over his cheek again, grimacing at what he must be going through. Going through because of me, all because of me and my big fat mouth.

  “We should probably keep an eye on him during the night. Have someone stay up with him, just in case.”

  “Good idea.”

  “I’ll take first watch.”

  “Oh…I…” I stumble over my words. I don’t want to leave Ethan right now. I’d rather sit her and watch him sleep.

  “You should probably get some rest.” Daniel puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I’ll take good care of him, you had a big day today, that can take a toll on you physically and emotionally, try and get some rest.” He pats me on the shoulder and settles down next to Ethan with another reassuring smile.

  I sigh and slowly get up, I know he’s right, I do need my sleep. It’s just I’d rather being doing other things than sleeping, any other thing.

  “I made a spot over there.” Sophie jabs her thumb towards a cozy looking pile of blankets she’s set up for us. “I’ll join you in a minute. I want to ask Daniel a few more questions for my dream board.”

  I scoff and shake my head. “Alright, whatever you say Sophie.”

  “I’m serious. This is all business.”

  “Uh-huh.” I roll my eyes as I move past her and onto the freshly made blanket fort. I might not want sleep, but my body sure does. The minute I lay down my eyes close and my mind starts drifting off to sleep as I listen to the insane flirting going on between Daniel and Sophie. They think they are whispering, but those two wouldn’t know how to whisper if their lives depended on it. I hear all their loud giggles and flirty remarks.

  “So why have I never seen you around?” Sophie finally asks something of relevance.

  “Well, I’ve kind of been detained my whole life?”

  “Your entire life?”

  “Well no. I grew up outside of Greenville in a town called Wellford. It’s about thirty minutes northeast.”

  “Yeah I know the place.”

  “Oh cool. Yeah, I grew up there. Small town just like this. I started having some weird dreams about the age of…” he trails off and I can’t help the sleepy eye I pop open to spy on them. He’s looking off into the distance, his face screwed up like he’s perplexed by something. “I don’t remember actually.” He rubs his chin and his eyes avert to the ground as the wheels continue to turn in his head.

  Sophie places a comforting hand on his knee that brings him out of his stupor. Their eyes meet and she smiles that sweet, caring smile that touches you deep into your soul and makes everything better. And just like that he’s gone, a big goofy grin spreading over his lips in response.

  “It’s okay. I read up a little bit on Greenville Behavioral after Allie was admitted, the lack of human contact and isolation alone can make us forget who we were before.”

  “It can, thank you.” He places his hand over hers and her cheeks turn a ruby red color. I roll my eyes and roll onto my side determined to ignore them.

  “Anyways,” Daniel continues, “I ended up in Greenville and have been here ever since. Dr. Medlen used to do these odd therapies with me, talk therapy, art therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, but nothing really worked. I mean the dreams were less frequent, but still there. She would get pretty frustrated when I would tell her about them and suggest we do something even more drastic than the last therapy, after a while I just started lying to her. It was better for her to think her therapies were working then to be put through some of the things she wanted to do.

  “I mean the only other time I saw other patients was when they were wheeled out of the lab unconscious and I wasn’t dumb enough to let her do that to me, so I kept my head down and told her what she wanted to hear.”

  “That’s amazing. I mean you, you’re amazing. To go through all of that and still have such a good outlook on life. You don’t even seem like you’ve been affected at all by the therapy. You seem perfectly normal.”

  Daniel chuckles. “I’d like to think I am. I mean I’m just like Allie p
lagued with weird dreams, but still the same person on the inside. That’s why I think us being together means something. I’ve never met anyone like me, anyone that has the dreams and isn’t actually crazy. I know this may sound nuts, but for some reason I think we were supposed to find each other.”

  I don’t hear Sophie’s response, their voices are already fading into the background as sleep finally wins, taking me hostage for the second time tonight.

  C.19

  I sneak into the hallway to get a drink, the lights in my room keeping me from sleep. I hear hushed voices and stop in my tracks as I spy Nadia and Theo arguing in the living room. Nadia looks really upset, like she’s been crying and Theo’s hair is all messed up like he’s been combing his fingers through it. He only does that when he’s frustrated. I creep a little further down the hall, hiding behind the wall as I listen to what they are arguing about, hoping it’s not me again.

  “We can’t raise her like this, Theo. We can’t continue this lie.”

  “What do you suggest we do Nadia? She’s too volatile, we can’t exactly tell her the truth. We can’t tell anyone the truth. We’ve made our beds and now we all have to lie in it.”

  “We messed up. We didn’t think it through. She’s not connecting with us or anyone for that matter. It’s like she senses she’s different. It’s like she knows she doesn’t belong.”

  “That’s not true, she’s connected to us.”

  Nadia shakes her head, placing a hand to her forehead as she takes a seat on the sofa. “Maybe that’s the problem. She seems too connected to us. You see the way she reacts when anyone else tries to get close.”

  “She’s protective, that’s good.”

  “She’s possessive. It’s different.”

  Theo lets out a breath and takes a seat next to Nadia placing a hand on her knees as he talks. “We risk everything if we tell the President the truth now. He’s placed great trust in our program.”

  “He placed great trust in us. And we lied to him.”