The Stolen

Chapter 23

A high-pitched scream is escaping my throat, and I can't hold it back.

 When I am finally able to control it and stop, the sound is still echoing through the completely silent room.

 I look at the floor. Olympia's body lies there, still, her chest not moving like it should. I can't process what has happened, and apparently neither can Nico. He's breathing heavily; he's looking at Olympia like looking at her is going to bring her back to life. I can't take my eyes off the horrendous scene happening before them.

 "Take her out of here," Brooke says. "She'll just be a distraction for them. I want them looking at me."

 The same soldier who tried to defend Nico seconds ago now takes Olympia's stiff body and throws it out of the room. I see a shadow throwing it into a bag, and I hear a loud snap. I flinch at the thought of her arm or her leg breaking.

 She is dead, and I feel numb.

She is dead, and I am dancing inside a cloud, I am moving around and I can see my body hitting people and walls and falling to the ground and I hear myself screaming, but I don't feel the hits nor I feel my own voice in my throat.

 She is dead, and these three words have brought me to the edge of the cliff. One more step forward, craziness. One step back, sanity.

 Sanity that won't last for long. The hits are just going to keep coming at you.

 The voice in my head is back, and this time I listen to it. I don't even make the effort to try to control myself. I see arms holding me and finally give up. And my uncontrollable body gives up with me.

 <><><><><> 

 I'm in a hospital, trapped inside a bed.

 Well, I'm not actually trapped, but I feel so weak I can't get up.

 I can't even move my arms to try to get out.

 The hospital people are feeding me. My mouth tastes like Aceso's, the medicine Ségolène gave me.

 My eyes are open, but I don't recognize anything around me, except the fact that I'm in a hospital. I blame the faint light above me. It doesn't let me see anything.

It smells like hospital, and Aceso's tells me I'm right.

 I yawn. The muscles in my face hurt because of the effort.

 I really need a nap.

 <><><><><> 

 I feel strong enough to open my eyes again.

 Yes, I am strong enough. My eyes are able to see the white ceiling and the white bed covers over my nose. I can't take them off; they're too heavy for me. Besides, my arms are not ready to lift anything.

 I turn my head, feeling pain in my neck. I close my eyes slightly because of the pain, and then open them as much as I can. I can't fall asleep again.

 Trinity is in the other bed, sleeping peacefully. When I look at her, she opens her eyes and smiles at me.

 I try to scream, but I can't. My voice isn't mine.

 She's not real, I tell myself. But she doesn't seem to agree.

 "Hi, Chrix," she says. "You okay there?"

 I'd like to answer and then shout for help, but I am not able.

 "Yeah, I know you don't feel able to talk." She shrugs. "It's okay, you know. I was like you few days ago. Or maybe it was weeks. I don't know much about time. I don't know much about anything, really."

 What is she? Is she an apparition? Is she a person my mind created to try to tell me something? I used to go to a therapist before I went on the ship. I learned a few things about psychology, but I don't know much about people who see things that aren't really there.

 Hallucinations feel so real, it's pretty scary.

 <><><><><> 

 Trinity is gone.

 It's the first thing I notice when I open my eyes.

 I was sleeping with my head tilted, and now I feel dizzy and my neck hurts, but at least Trinity is gone.

 "Hey," a voice says. "No, no, don't turn your head. I'll go to that side."

 Nico enters my zone of vision. "Hi," I say. I'm glad to hear my voice again and feel the vibrations in my throat.

 His eyes are red and he looks weaker than usual. "I just wanted to say sorry for everything. For not trusting you and for making you feel bad about yourself. I'm really sorry, and I'm so angry with myself that I didn't tell you when she was still present."

"Don't worry, Nico. Olympia wouldn't have minded. She'd still be proud of you for telling me." We both flinch when I say her name.

 Why did it affect me so much? I didn't know her like Nico did. Maybe I was affected by death, not specifically her death.

 I disgust myself with this thought.

 "I'm still really angry at myself," he mutters.

 "Don't be. You're a good person, Nico. Deep down."

 "Too deep down, I believe." He's laughing a bit, but tears are streaming down his face at the same time. I was sad before he came, but I am even sadder now.

 "Are you okay?" I ask.

 "No, there's no way I could be okay in a situation like this," he says. "The world is upside down since you got here. Everything's crazy. That's why I didn't like you when you came. You meant trouble. You meant Inés."

 "Did you know she would act like this before she arrived?"

 He nods. "Yeah. Why do you think we were so scared? I even think we weren't enough scared, because if we were we would have hid better, and no one would be dead."

 "It was inevitable, Nico, there was nothing we could..."

 "She wouldn't be dead if we would have hid better. She wouldn't be dead if I hadn't thrown that punch at Inés. She wouldn't be dead if I had died!"

 He's going crazy. He's going through the same thing I went through.

 Dancing in a cloud.

 The cliff.

 One step back.

 Two steps forward.

 He collapses on the floor.