The doctors gave me medicine to calm down. They want to keep an extra eye on me because of the cuts I did to myself, admitting I was the one who set the fire, and my heart rate was abnormally high. The doctor also said I am malnourished and dehydrated which could be from having a limited amount of food in the cabin.
Two cuts on my left arm needed stitches and both of my arms were wrapped in gauze. I was connected to two IVs and a heart monitor. I felt sick to my stomach and hated how I set that fire, which is still burning, and its been a couple days since it happened.
I stared at the wall to the left of me and let tears fall. I turned my whole body, put my hands under my head, and pulled my knees to my stomach. I had the shades of the windows closed, the television off, and the lights off. I listen to the nurses, the doctors, the sound of wheels on the floor, and the monitors going off, it seems soothing to me and occasionally there is sirens going off outside and it reminds me of New York.
I want to go back to New York and be in my own house, in my own bed, and with my family being there. I shivered and wondered if anyone called my parents.
My parents; are they truly my parents or my adoptive parents. Colleen, she is my real sister, we look alike.
My heart began to race and everything became blurry. The monitor started to beep and my chest was going up and down in a rapid pace.
A nurse came in and checked the monitor. "Hadley, slow your breathing, everything's fine." I shook my head and couldn't breath. I was choking on nothing and words were stuck in my voice box. The tears came down in waterfalls instead of single teardrops. "I need oxygen!" the nurse yelled and another nurse ran in with a tank and a mask. "Here, Hadley." I held onto the mask tightly and after a five minutes, my breathing was normal. "How do you feel, sweetie?" the nurse has been the same one since I got here. her name is MaryAnn and she is so sweet and gentle to me.
I have only said a total of five words to her since I got here.
"Did someone call my parents?" I asked after ten minutes of silence. I took the mask off and lay there with it in my hand. I felt like I didn't need it anymore. "Are they coming?"
"The sheriff called yesterday, Sherriff Topher, he was the one who helped you five at the fire scene about three days ago. He has been in the hospital since you all arrived and checks on each of you every six hours."
"I remember him. He helped Joel." MaryAnn smiled. "What did my parents say, are they coming?"
"Yes, they're coming but Sherriff Topher wants to talk to you before seeing your parents. Is that okay?"
"Is he going to arrest me for setting the fire?"
"No, sweetie, he won't arrest you. you were signaling for help. You all suffered with critical injuries and need to stay in a hospital setting. You were all malnourished including the triplets." I let tears fall. "I'm going to send in Sherriff Topher to talk to you, okay?" I nodded and MaryAnn left.
Sherriff Topher came in, closed the door, and sat down in the chair beside my bed. He took his hat off and set it on the nightstand next to him. he grinned and examined me quickly.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked quickly.
"No, I just want to talk to you about what happened in the last ten months. Nothing bad is going to happen to you and I just want everyone's point of view and what you guys saw in the cabin. We found the cabin and are searching it now. The fire is completely out and the cabin's back deck only burned. I have my deputies there now and sending me updates as they come in." I nodded. "Now, Hadley, tell me your story."
I sighed and held my breath. Where do I even start?
"We were all scared because we're used to noise from living near a major city. We have no idea how to take care of ourselves because back home we had maids and butlers and people made us food, we had the life. Being in the cabin was scary. I felt like there were people following, watching, listening to me. After a month of being there, I started to hear screaming and voices. At first I thought it was me going crazy, but everyone else started to hear the screams and voices."
"Were the screams high-pitched, deep, like cries of help, or just faint and distant like?"
"Some would be high-pitches, some were faint, but we mostly heard a girl screaming, almost like a cry for help. I thought I saw a girl standing in the forest and when I ran out to her, she was gone, no where to be found. Oh, and one scream happened and it became so loud, that I thought my eardrums blew out. I ran up the basement stairs but fell back and hurt my back and neck and went unconscious. Locklyn was there but she couldn't help me because that was the day she figured out she was pregnant. I believe I felt someone grab my arm though, or I imagined it happened, but, I think I just tripped on the step and fell."
"Did the doctor check your neck and back for any damage? Do you still have pain there?"
"In my neck at times, but not major."
"Let me get this straight, the President of the United States took you all against your will, put you in this secluded cabin, and never told you when you five were going to leave." I nodded. "Why didn't you try escaping before? Why did you guys wait ten months?"
"This guy in a suit and tie and two police officers took us. When they were telling us about this top secret program, they went through all these rules, and gave us room and bathroom assignments and all this stuff. Well, they said that there is a five year supply of food in the basement of the cabin, we have hunt for meat and fish, and they said there were markers in the ground in a five-mile radius from the front steps of the cabin. If we passed the markers, the guy in the suit and tie and the two police officers would come, arrest us, and detain us for twenty-four hours and also threatened the arrest would show up on our records. We were scared of being arrested and with Locklyn and Trace not being able to walk, we never really thought of it. so much happened that escaping wasn't the top priority, our safety was."
"Why did you set the flare off then? Where did you find the flare? What led to the idea of setting the fire?" I swallowed hard and took slow deep breaths. "take your time with the questions, I'm in no rush." I nodded and looked down at my arms and how I damaged my skin because my mind was wild.
I was thinking off all the confessions I made in the cabin. My intense and hidden relationship with Armin, how I miscarried his child, how I told everyone about my accusation of being adopted, me being beaten by Brad, everything came out. Over the years I kept everything inside and never really showed my true emotions. I slapped a smile on my face because it's what I thought was right when really I was dying inside. I built this giant wall to shield me from the bad and the evil and all it did was cause me pain.
Was I wrong in keeping everything in? was it right to build that wall over the last decade?
No.
I glanced over at Sherriff Topher and he was waiting patiently for my answer. "Over the last few years I went through some stuff and kept it from everyone. While in the cabin everything came out and caused me to become depressed, anxious, and paranoid. A major thing that led to my breakdown was me having this idea of dying to see my," I paused and knew the word I had to say versus the word I was going to say, "my boyfriend who died last year on May 27th from a baseball accident. The issue was that no one knew about our relationship that lasted for about five years. We saw other people but knew we had to be together. I actually suffered a miscarriage and never told anyone but him and it sort of destroyed him more than me. I told everyone about our relationship about a month ago and ever since my thoughts ate me alive. I blame myself for his death because I was going to be the one to save him from his problems. As days passed, the anger inside of me grew and my mind was racing. the voices became louder and the presence of someone watching became stronger. I was looking in the hall closet where the guns were kept for loose wires and bullets to create an alarm, but instead found the flare and decided to set it off. I really wasn't thinking, I was just angry with myself and had to do something to get the anger out. Once I realized I set the forest on fire, I was upset and scared and worried. I didn't want to cause all that damage and I did and now feel terrible about it all."
"Armin was your boyfriend?"
"How do you know his name?"
"That accident made national news and Anya told me about her twin brother named Armin who died on May 27th from a head injury." I started to cry. "Its okay. I get how hurt you are from his death. It was tragic and shouldn't have happened like it did. I understand." I cried harder and shook my head. "Hadley," he looked at the monitor, "slow down, your heart rate is almost 180. Put the oxygen mask on." I put the oxygen mask back on and relax a bit. "Your parents are downstairs and I will go get them to see you. you will all get transported to Quincy Hospital tomorrow morning." I nodded and he left my room.
Five minutes later my parents came in with red puffy eyes; they were crying. I let tears fall but kept the oxygen mask on because my breathing was heavy and rapid.
"Hadley, oh my goodness, look at you," my mother came over and hugged me. "What happened to you? the sheriff said you were in a cabin in the middle of the woods." I nodded. "I can't believe this."
I took the oxygen mask off my mouth. "The President of the United States took us. He ruined us." I put the mask back on.
"And he won't get away with this, I will make sure of it," my father said as he kissed my forehead. "We love you so much, Hadley and everything is going to be okay." I nodded once more.