I am number Ten

CHAPTER 3

            I felt suspended in infinite darkness as I sink deeply into an unknown state that I have never reached before. It's not painful, nor is it scary. I feel like I'm swimming in blackness and I have no control over where my destination will be.

        I begin to hear whispers in my ears. They are unintelligible; nothing that Annie has taught me.  They are strange and yet so familiar at the same time. I realize I can move and breathe but I can't see where I'm going or speak. I embrace the silence as the whispers become louder as if to guide me. In that instant, a flash of light appeared above me and I drift into it softly.

        I see a world unlike any other. Lush, colourful and full of light. I observe towering trees, crystal blue rivers and a beautiful sunset over the horizon. I reach out to grasp this reality when I spot a lone figure in the distance. Tall, limber, he faces the same sunset but cannot comprehend its beauty. I sense great agony and despair in this figure. I try to reach for him, calling to him, anything that could get his attention. It is useless though, he does not notice me. I continue to feel his agony and I try once more to scream out.

        All at once I feel I'm being sucked back up. The beautiful visions begin to blur and I feel I'm being pulled forcefully back.  The darkness returns until I hear a voice calling for me.

        I awaken to bright lights and beeping. I blink and try to comprehend my predicament. I feel great despair and panic going on around me. I want it to stop so I can take the time to pull myself together. I hear a flurry of voices and movement around me. I breathe softly and under my breath, I murmur "Peace!"

        I don't know if I passed out again, but the chaos around me ceases. I lift my hand to my face and notice a large bandage around it. I feel my neck is secured firmly and I notice tubes sticking in my arms. My legs are free of anything at all and I try to stand up. A gentle hand pushes me back down and I look up into the sweet face of an elderly nurse.

"It's alright dearie," she murmurs, her voice as warm as milk. "You had an accident on the street but now you are in recovery."

"Annie..." I manage to say.

"Your mother is right here," she said.

Annie appears in front of me and she hugs me, clearly distressed at my accident.

"Are you okay?" she asks me. I can tell by her tone that as soon as we are alone she's going to flip out.

"I'll leave you two alone," the nurse says comfortably. She leaves the room but yet I can still sense that she lingers behind the door.

Annie was about to let me have it but put I put a finger to my lips. She gasps.

"I think this place is bugged," I whisper, "Can you yell at me quietly?"

"What were you thinking?" she says in a hushed voice. "I always objected to this rule of friends but this and then the near-drowning experience! It's hard enough keeping you alive as it is but you're making it worse with this...this...nature you have. Why can't you be aloof like the other Garde are...?"

        I cut her off. "ALOOF!" I practically yell but quiet my voice. I continue through gritted teeth. "The police reports, the internet posting and now..." I catch myself realizing that the third Garde is dead. I want to cry but I fight back tears. "That's not aloof to me. It's weirder if I don't have friends. If you don't have friends, you're marked as weird and that's where the rumours and suspicions start. My method is better; I blend in and draw less suspicion if I'm myself and in a group."

But it puts you at the centre of something if you get in trouble. Then I have to try and cover your tracks!  I hear.

"But it puts you at the centre of something if you..." I stop her.

"Hold on for a second..." I say, noticing something peculiar.

Hold on!! What for? What are you talking about?

"Hold on!! What for..."

I cut her off. "Say something in your head," I say cryptically.

What? Why?

"What Why?" She squeaks.

"Just trust me." I insist.

Okay...Uhhhhhh, Bart Simpson in a bikini...jack elope, you're pendent.

"Bart Simpson a bikini...a jack elopes, my pendant..." I repeat.

Annie freezes in her tracks. I'm freaked out but also excited.

"Quick, what number am I thinking of? Annie says, matching my excitement.

12 3670

"12 3670," I say and I bite my lip in excitement.

Annie practically faints.

Your second legacy has kicked in!! I hear.

"I know" I squeal softly. "I guess that clonk in the head kicked a legacy into gear."

        Annie no longer seems mad but unbelievably proud of me and now it seems okay to cry. I let grieving tears seem like happy tears. I think of Number Three and how frightened the other Garde might be right now. If they have felt what I've felt, they'll all be on edge. One less person for our cause and I grieve as another face from my memory vanishes.

            Annie lets me see my friends. They were all so worried about me and Brad would not leave my side, drowning me in apologies. I assure him that it was my fault entirely. Throughout the greetings, I can hear their thoughts and a few times I almost answer them before they ask the questions. It is going to take some getting used to. The hearing of other's thoughts is a bit overwhelming but I stick through it. Eventually, I'm allowed to fall asleep after my friends leave. I still have a feeling that we're being watched but Annie stays awake just in case. I drift off and let my mind carry on, wondering what I had reached when I went unconscious.