Never Back Down (Split Between Worlds Book 1)

Chapter Fourteen

                                  Aerity

Aerity had an internal alarm clock that always seemed to wake her up at 6 no matter what. It wasn't fun on the nights she and Elias went out to have a good time, but it was great for her job. She had never once been late since she started working there. Her father most likely would have informed them by now that she was missing. There was no way they would believe that she would just not show up. With how much she trained and was around cops, most assumed she would get into a violent, cool job of sorts. Like being in the CIA or on a special op strike team but no, she did none of that. Even though it would be crazy cool. For as long as she could remember, she was intrigued by the way the mind worked. Every case her father was working on had a person behind it. What made them do what they did? How could the human mind convince you to murder, rape, steal? It fascinated her.

She took psychology in college while simultaneously volunteering in a mental institution to get hands on experience. Her ultimate goal was to become a therapist, but she ended up enjoying what she did so much that she simply stayed there and they just started paying her. Eli always said that if she stayed there too long, she was going to be admitted in the nuthouse herself. As she looked around the room yet again, still no closer to home, she had to wonder if Eli was right. What if she officially went crazy? Maybe this was a dream world where she was really strapped up to an IV, thinking it was all real. She didn't think she was crazy but come on...that's what they all say. If she did get home and try to tell them, she already could see the expressions of concern as they looked down at her.

Aerity had seen it every day at work. It wouldn't be the first time someone claimed to have traveled to a different world, but their story normally ended with them meeting up with Alice and the mad hatter for tea and crumpets. Yeah, not a lot of stock went into what they said but seeing what she did now, maybe she would have listened more closely. She even heard stories about some loco cocos that were there before her. One was even a famous scientist who had created massive beasts who went around eating people. Her father had been working the case. The creatures had attacked the lab that the woman worked at, even killing her own parents who apparently owned the company. She had help escaping but then they had found her again. When they caught her for the second time, she was spouting about being a kidnapped Queen from another world. Needless to say, the woman was strapped up and locked in a padded room in sector D. So, basically, there wasn't much hope for anyone believing her anyway. Aerity was attached to her life unstrapped, not to mention people in the psych ward reeked of desperation. One could smell their crazy from miles away.

That was where she received a lot of her scars. People snuck in weapons and were willing to attack the closest person to them, in order to escape. Bobby pins, spoons, finger nails, whatever they had, they used. That's part of why she learned self-defense. Ever see a crazy person attack someone with a paper clip? Well, it's been done. No one understood just how sharp those little buggers are. Many questioned why she liked it there and she honestly couldn't answer. She liked the crazy. It was a simple way to delve into someone else's problems instead of focusing on her own. It helped to remind her that she was alive, well and all her brain cells functioned. Showed her that any situation that she encountered, she could handle. She was ready! It also didn't hurt that she was an avoider. One of those that sucked their emotions in so deep and tried to make a joke out of every situation. Yup...she was one of those, but she was also someone who didn't take others or new experiences for granted. No one knew which day would be their last. Which made her determined to make the most out of this, even if she was clueless, alone and betrothed to some weird prince. This was just a new spontaneous adventure and she planned to live it to the full. Even if she was crazy, she would make this one hell of a ride.