Trapped (16 page)

“Please don’t go. I’m scared. I don’t understand where I am or why
I’m here
. I need to get out of here. I need to wake up. Please don’t leave me!” I begged, tears streaming down my face. I breat
hed in and realized I’m alone again. Whoever he was, he must be
a friend
of mine but now he is gone.

I tried to remember what
happened a
fter I woke
in the field.
I
think I experienced a
moment
of
happiness there. I remember
running and laughing. Why
was
I so happy there? Then what
happened?
I remember screaming.
I
just
couldn’t remember.

The door in fro
nt of me opened. I walked slowly do
wn the long hallway. The doors, walls and ceiling were
painted white
. The small rooms all displayed bars on the doors
. It looked like an insane asylum. I ran down the hal
l searching for an exit. I could hear
feet behind me. I glanced back and saw two large men dressed in white c
hasing me. A nurse followed
them. I ran as fast as I could but somehow they caught me just as I reached the doors to
the outside.
They grabbed a hold of my shoulders and flung me back. My feet flew out from underneath me.
The nurse injected something into my arm. I screamed as I tried to get free of them.
My head started to spin as they
carried
me
back to my room. I was placed on the bed and my eyes shut
instantly
.

I awoke
alone
this time
. I stood up and looked through
the window in the door. I
jumped back when I
saw a man in a suit coming
towards the door.

“Hello Natalie. I am Dr. Michaels. How are you feeling today? A little more c
o-operative I hope,” h
e stared
into my eyes
as he spoke
.

“I don’t belong here. I just want to go home
,
” I told him.

“Where is your home Natalie?
Do you know where you live
?”
he asked.
I
s this a trick question?
Of course I know where I live, my home is with Hayden.

“I live with Hayden in his apartment, in the city. Why?”
I was angered by his question.

“That is what you told me last time. It is good that your stories haven’t changed. Do you know how old you are Natalie?”
Really, how dumb does he think I am
?

“Of course I do. I’m eight
een
,
”
I replied
as I looked away from him. I tried to remain
calm.

“Really
? Are you sure y
ou
’
r
e
e
ighteen
now
?
Well I hate to tell you this again but according to your birth certificate you are sixteen. You live with your parents and your brothers. No one in your family seems to know who this Hayden character is
either
. Is Hayden a ghost Natalie? I understand you have many friends
that not everyone can see. Is Hayden one of them? Like Adam
?” I stared back at him,
stunned to hear him say those
name
s
.

“How do you know who Adam is? Why am I here? Why won’t you let me leave? I won’t hurt
anyone. I just want to go home,
”
I cried.

“I will come back to see you
again
tomorrow Nat
alie,” h
e said this as he turned and walked away.

“Why am I here Dr. Michaels
? Why? Help me please
, I need some answers,
” I shouted
.

“Nata
lie, you tried to kill yourself.
I am sorry but until you can grasp where you are and what happened it is best for you to be he
re.” He turned again and vanished from view
.

“No!” I
screamed. After I tried to kil
l myself I was released into Hayden’s care.
I am
eigh
teen not sixteen.
I don’t understand
any of this
. I shouldn’t be here. This is all wrong.
I looked out the w
indow. Nothing looked familiar
. I have never been here before. Not at sixteen, not ever.
This is not my past.
I walked over to the door and
watched
two pa
tients talking across the hall.

“
Every time
they
attempt to
let her out she tr
i
es to escape. She actually run
s into the doors
until she knocks herself out or h
er hands bleed and she screams
hysterically
. They have no
choice but
to
leave her locked up,” they were looking in to my room as the girl told the other one this insane story about me.

“And they think I’m crazy,” t
he other
girl
replied. They both laughed and looked
in at me again.
They laughed
even more
when they saw me looking
out
. I just glared at
them and walked back to my bed.
I put my head on my pillow.
I tried to remember the voice
that spoke to me
earlier.

“What did
he say?” I asked myself. He
said something
about accepting my fate. I needed
to remember who I
am
now
. I am Natalie. I am a s
eek
er of ghosts. I have inner strength. I have the li
ght in me. I don’t belong here.

“I don’t belong here,
” I repeated this to myself like a mantra. I saw the doctor pass by the door several times and each time he did I mouthed th
e words.

‘
I don’t belong here!
’

I closed my eyes and fell into a deep, dark sleep.

CHAPTER SIX

Carlos returned to find Hayden in the exact same spot and posi
tion as he left him in hours before
.
He
just
prayed
she still breathed.

“
Hayden
,
place her down on these blankets and help me with the tent
,
” Carlos ordered
.
Hayden helped
Carlos
silently
.
Once the tent was
up Carlos made a bed for her
inside. Hayden carried her in and covered her. He listened for her breath, which he
continued to do
every few minutes.

“I called Clive a
n
d told him the situation. He is shocked just like we are. He is
call
ing on anyone that may be familiar with this.
I told him where we w
ere
and that we
didn’t want to move
her
yet
. That
boy was obviously possessed temporarily by some one that can see Natalie and reach us
too
. I wis
h I knew how to conger him back,
” Carlos was trying
to get Hayden to talk with him but all
he would do is nod. He seemed almost comatose himself.

“I brought some food. Hayden you have to keep your strength up. I have no idea what condition Natalie will be
in when she returns to her body. You have to be ready to act,
” Carlos ordered
. This last statement wo
ke Hayden.

“Yes. I will eat,
thank you,
” h
e simply stated.

~~~

The rain poured
dow
n on my face as I looked up at
the
big
blue sky. Everything around me glistened as the burning sun continued to shine through the rain. All of it seemed so surreal, as though I’m in a dream. I loved
summer thunder storms when I was a child. I loved how the sidewalks steamed and the grass
appeared
greene
r
.

Moments later my bliss is
interrupted by people shouting. I wished they would just
go away.
I wanted to push them aside. I didn’t want them to be a part of this moment. I was calm
in this moment
. Why won’t they just go away? I closed my eyes and
everything
did fall away or rather
I
fell into a different place. When I opened my eyes again the
voices we
re gone. I
looked around
,
quickly
realizing that I’m
back
in the woods
again
. This is just as nice as the storm, I thought as I looked around,
surrounded by new spring wildflowers. The delicate white blooms made me smile. I stood and immediately felt the familiar breeze surroun
d
ing
me, the breeze that let me kn
o
w that I am not alone.

“We are never alone,
” I whispered as
I looked
around
, trying to see who is
here with me now. A part of me wished
Cheveyo or Anton
would appear
.
Even Adam would be welcome now
or
even
Beth. Why did she leave
me? Just as I took
a step towards a path that led deeper into the woods
I heard a voice. This voice didn’t sound
familiar to me at all
.

“She doesn’t like the
living. She doesn’t have any
living frie
nds. All her friends are ghosts,
” I heard a
man’s
voice explaining
this
to someone. He can’t
possibly
be talking about me. I have some real friends. I felt hurt
by this stranger
. I just prefer the company of ghosts
to the living
. I can make the choice. I can function among the living. How dare he make me sound like a
freak?

“She is in love with a ghost. She won’t go anywhere unless he is with her, aside from school of course. She is still
attending
high school
.
T
hank goodness
she
hasn’t dropped out. She
isn’t that far gone
,
yet
.
The first time I met her, she just had her first tattoo completed. I asked her what it represented, what it meant to her. The lotus flower, I understood, it’s pretty, but she told me bluntly it meant that something beautiful has risen out of the mud. I related with the symbolism, but then she added a white flame above it. She told me that there is more pain to come in her life, and it will burn her. I’m not sure she’s talking literally.
I just see her as manic depressive. She can’t accept that something is good, without believing it will end.
Her parents should consider putting her in an institution
. I
t’s been my recommendation
since I first met her
. She will never be able to care
for
herself on her own. I don’t know h
ow her mother is
coping with it
, she isn’t very stable herself
. I have been made aware of the times where
Natalie
talk
s
to
herself. In all fairness, I think she
really does believe she is with someone, that a real living person is with her, but
i
t must be so
odd for
those around her
,” t
he voice continued. I
t surround
ed me. I couldn’t get away, he
wouldn’t let
me escape
.

“Shut up! You don’
t know me. Y
ou don’t know anything about it. Just go away!” I screamed. The voice
muffled a laugh
.
I ra
n down the trail
, trying to get this voice out of my head
. I
stopped dead in my tracks,
amazed to see
Adam’s house
in the distance
. I lost my breath
for a moment
as I looked up at the little cottage in the woods. I r
emember
Adam bringing me here and telling me he didn’t want me to
find it on my own.
The hurt I felt then washed over me like an open wound. Even with all the time that has passed and everything that happened between us it still hadn’t completely healed.
He couldn’t take care of me and he knew I couldn’t stay with him. I loved being here with him
though
. There was a time when I
never wa
nted to leave this place. I
wanted to feel Adam hold
ing
me
now
. I ran up the step
s and threw open the door. It’s like I
transported
back
in time somehow.
I
really
believed he wo
uld be in there waiting for me.