Cognitive Deviance

26. Insomniac

Then she saw the masked man in the mirror.

She jerked around to look behind her, her heart suddenly pounding out of her chest. The holographic lens of her ThoughtControl piece emitted a ghostly blue glow in the limited space around her. When she turned around, all she found was a white towel hanging on a rack, red lacing trailing around its corners in the shape of X's.

What the hell, she thought.

She looked over at her bathroom window, the opaque glass preventing her from seeing outside. She could hear the ice particles lightly crackling against the glass as if tiny pebbles were pelting it, and the wind rushed by with an ominous whistle through the vents and through the small spaces in her walls. Paranoia filled her like poison as she urgently strapped the splint back on.

She heard her apartment door slam shut.

She backed into the sink and took a quick glance at the doorknob to ensure it was locked. Her grip on the marble edge of the counter tightened as she heard the sounds of footsteps clattering across her living room floor. The lens of her ThoughtControl was the only thing preventing the darkness from devouring her, but it didn't make her feel safer.

Ellie? she communicated through her piece. Where are you?

Think of your favorite places in the world, Ellie replied. Those are the places I will definitely never be at.

Ellie, I'm serious! I think someone just broke into my home!

You're the doctor-cop here. Just asks the bastard about his feelings or any known conditions he has or something rehearsed and generic like that.

Margo gripped the edge of the counter tightly once again as she heard another series of footsteps.

Now isn't the time for me to be an Empath, she continued.

Good. Because if this situation relied on you being a good Empath, you'd be screwed.

That last comment got to Margo. She had to do everything she could to maintain her composure, especially in this situation. I know I've made mistakes, she explained to her sister, but I've been doing my best to be a better person.

Then if you're looking forward to being a better person, how about you get the hell out there and deal with that intruder of yours?

Ellie, why are you acting like—

But she couldn't send another message. She could feel the connection cutting off, reminiscent of the abrupt feeling of forgetting something. Like a part of her mind had disappeared from the rest.

She froze in place as her unwanted guest wandered around her living room a little while longer before she heard the sound of her door closing once again. Her apartment grew eerily quiet. All she could hear after that was the snow pelting her window and the wind.

I'm a Psychwatch officer, Margo told herself. I've got this under control. She placed her hand in her pocket and winced in embarrassment. It would be easier if I had my Fatemaker, damn it.

She waited a little longer, hoping the sound of the breeze outside would eventually be the only thing haunting her home. She kept herself against the sink, contemplating sending another message to one of her colleagues at Psychwatch before turning down the idea. She wanted to handle this on her own. Something made her feel like she had something to prove.

Five minutes later, she opened the door.

The blue glow of the holographic lens of her piece lit her path. The rest of her home was shrouded in the dark of night. To her left was the living room, her only way out. She tiptoed over to the coffee table, where her Fatemaker and car key were hidden in a drawer. The floor was cold against her bare feet, and she repeatedly glanced back into her bedroom, hoping she'd be the last person to emerge from it that night.