The Wastelands

Chapter 19

The laughter in her mind came to an abrupt end. The doctor disappeared and her eyes slowly fluttered open. Frank held her against his chest for a long moment until the tension in her body gave up. Until the slightest hint of control eased back into her mind and she stared at the empty bedroom.

"You're not there anymore, Blue. You here with me; not the Hospital." Frank whispered in her ear.

She gritted her teeth and took a few deep breaths through her nose. Tears drifted from her eyes and she shuddered. She glanced around her bedroom, taking in the familiar sights and sounds. No remnants of her stay at the Hospital looming in the corners or fighting back to the surface of her mind. The monster was back in her head where it belonged.

He's gone for now, but he'll be back. He always comes back to find me.

Slowly, after she gave up the struggle completely, Frank loosened his hold and backed away. He kept his hands on her shoulders and stared into her bloodshot eyes.

"You're safe here," he spoke, "you know that right?"

Her head bobbed up and down in response. A man stood in the doorway behind Frank with worry in his eyes. When they met, she was determined and in control. Now he stared at a girl with demons roaming around in a mind he could never understand.

"Where were you this time?" Frank asked, always curious to see where her nightmares took her.

She blinked a few times, then answered, "No."

"Please tell me what happened." He pleaded.

Her lips quivered, "I can't. If I say it, I'll be back there again. It'll start all over and it will never end. He will always be here to torture me. He lives in my head to haunt me. You don't know what it's like."

Frank slowly sat on the bed beside her and put an arm over her shoulder, "You're stronger than you think. That man doesn't own you. One day the nightmares will be gone and you'll be able to sleep."

She shook her head, "They will always be there!" She seethed, fighting against his grip, "They are stuck in my head like this damn monster and they'll never go away. No matter how much I beg them to stop; those nightmares are here to destroy me. That fucking doctor will be forever lodged in my head and I'll never stop hearing his voice. His eyes will never go away. And what he did..." she couldn't finish the sentence without floating back to a time she wanted to forget.

Frank held her tighter, trying to get her to stop fighting. It rarely worked to calm her down and she wound up giving into the suffering of her dreams. There would be more nights he'd wake up to her screaming or shouting at an invisible entity toying with her. He hoped that by having her talk to him about the nightmares, they would eventually get easier to deal with. It seemed they only got worse as the nights went on and he understood why she rarely slept.

Blue struggled and pushed against him until she was finally able to free herself from Frank's grasp. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood from the bed, finding her boots on the floor by the closet. She quickly stepped into each one and zipped them to her knees. The black jacket hung from the hook on the door and she threw it over her shoulders and zipped it up midway.

She stormed to the balcony doors and ripped open the curtains. A cold rush burst into the room when she opened the doors and stepped outside. In a flash, she jumped over the railing and took off running over the thick layer of snow.

Frank stopped trying to keep her from running off. It was her system of working through the anger in her mind and fight the monster's urge to control her. His eyes turned to Parker still standing in the doorway. He forced a smile and the man returned the favor.

"You asked me earlier what she is," Frank began, "well, this is it. Beneath the tough exterior, she is battling a lot of horrible things that happened because of one man's sadistic plans for her."

"Who is that one man?" Parker asked.

"President Damien Whiley. He gave the Hospital the funding for an experiment and one doctor stole her life." Frank replied. "She can never go back because of what he did to her."

"Where is she going now?"

Frank stood from the bed and walked to close the balcony doors. He left the curtains open, then headed for the hallway, stopping at Parker to answer the question.

"She'll be back in a little while. Once she drives off the hatred and regains some control, she'll come home and be back to her charming self." Frank stated, then strolled out of the room.

"You're not worried about her being out in this weather?" Parker asked, following Frank to the stairs.

"The day I have to worry about that girl is the day we'll all be in a lot of trouble." Frank replied, stealing one of Blue's favorite quotes. "You should just focus on getting cleaned up and into some fresh and warmer clothes. She'll come home when she's not as pissed off at the world."

The two men headed down the stairs. Parker drifted into the living room to check on his sister. The girl slept soundly on the floor, quietly snoring peacefully for the first time in months. His mind was still a mess after watching Blue jump off of a balcony on the second floor of the house.

Frank went into the kitchen and walked to the backdoor. He pulled the curtain aside and stared into the backyard. The sunlight reflected off the snow, causing him to squint from the harsh light. He found the girl's tracks and noticed she headed for the woods again. It was her favorite place to go when she needed a break from reality.

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