Computerized

Chapter Three: Repeating Message

Get Ty Stanton. Find Dr. Belford. Get Ty Stanton. Find Dr. Belford. Tell no one about your surgery.

It was an oddly simple message, yet so confusing. I shook my head, hoping it would shake the thoughts away too, but it didn't. It was stuck in my mind like a catchy song, running through my brain over and over again.

"You okay?" Matthew raised an eyebrow at me, concern written in his face.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," I paused. "I'm going to go use the restroom." I stood up and rushed out the door in what I hoped was a non-conspicuous way. I didn't even know where the bathrooms were, so I just started down a random hallway.

Pictures of scenery, buildings, businesses, and doctors were placed in neat rows along the walls. Every once and a while a nurse would walk by, usually stopping and asking me if I needed directions or help, but I'd just tell them I needed a little walk. The nurses understood and continued on their way, leaving me be. A couple doctors passed, ignoring me, but I didn't blame them. They had patients to tend to and couldn't be bothered by a confused teenage girl wandering the halls aimlessly.

Something came to mind. The boy who had left the note was in this building, and I had his number. A part of me wanted to believe this was all some sort of practical joke, but I knew it wasn't. No one knew as much about me as he did—and I'd never even met him.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, along with the note and dialed the number scribbled across the paper. One ring...two rings...three rings.

The other line went silent and then a deep voice broke through. "Hello?"

"This is Rebecca," I stated.

"Oh, I've been waiting for you to call."

"Yeah, I'm sure you have. Are you in the hospital right now?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Meet me in front of the restrooms by the entrance doors," I instructed before ending the call.

Minutes later the dark haired and dark eyed boy emerged from around the corner, his scrutinizing eyes glancing around until he spotted me.

"Why are you here?" I asked immediately, not letting him get a word out before I did.

"I'm getting to that if you'd just listen," he said bluntly, his eyes narrowed. "I need your help."

"Your Ty? The guy this message has been telling me about?"

"Yes. I can prove it," Ty said. "Your name is Rebecca Norson. You were born today in West Stone Hospital, just the same as me. I know you're an orphan but you're adopted by Janet and Jack Norson-"

"I believe you!" I screeched, holding out my hands to stop him before he creeped me out even more. "How do you know all of this?"

"A couple of weeks ago I starting having episodes and getting the same message your talking about. I don't really know what they are but they're painful and I think they're killing me," Ty said, his voice was low, so that no one else could hear us even though no one else was in this hallway. I could still hear fear thick in his tone. "At first they would only last for thirty seconds, maybe a minute. But now they're getting worse. They're more painful—longer, but one thing has stayed the same— the message that keeps running through my mind."