“Yeah, sure.” She said smiling.
A noise of complaint came from Doc, but Arrow seemed pleased by her response. The pair of them exited the car and Harmony made sure to grab her phone, keys, and wallet. She locked the car and followed the two men down to a small houseboat. When they were inside, she shut the door behind herself. Arrow slid unceremoniously into a recliner and let out a low whistle.
Doc didn’t seem interested in relaxing because he continued to study Harmony.
“So, your name is Doc?” She ventured.
“To you.”
“Aw, c’mon, Doc. Tell the girl who you are. She ain’t goin’ to the police.”
Arrow had her pegged. She didn’t plan on calling the police for anything at this point.
“I am Dr. Clive Evers.”
“Harmony Latham. I think we met before but you were wearing a mask.” Dr. Evers looked confused until she pointed to the scar on her forearm and his eyes lit up. “You did well.”
“I am ashamed to say that I don’t remember your specific surgery but I am glad that it was successful. I have been doing so many lately.” He flashed a crooked smile that was whiter than his shirt. Clive glanced at Arrow who was nodding off in his recliner. A flash of revulsion crossed Clive’s features, twisting them into an unpleasant mask which was quickly replaced by a practiced smile. “I guess I’ll shove off.”
Clive turned on his heel and went back out on deck. For an awkward few moments, she stood in the cabin alone with a man she had just met who was snoring as another man she just met pulled up the anchor. When the clock hanging above the window had ticked off 3 minutes, she approached the fuzzy brown couch, lowered herself down onto it, and shoved her hands under her thighs for added security.
This was the most interesting her life had been lately. She wasn’t sure how much more of it she could handle. Her anxiety was still somewhat distant but she could feel it creeping at the edges of her awareness. It just wanted her to know it was there and ready to overtake her.
With a gentle scraping sound and the slapping of water against the hull, the boat began to move away from the shore. She could hear the “thunk” of Clive jumping back on board presumably after pushing the boat. These sounds triggered her fear and she had to bite her tongue to keep from breathing too fast and too heavy.
“What am I doing?” She muttered. Regrets were building but it was too late now.
“I’ll be up top driving if you need anything.” Clive said poking his head in through the door again.
“O-okay.” Harmony said shyly.
He smiled again and shut the door. She heard his fading footsteps and the sound of the motor start shortly after. They weren’t going fast but she could feel that they picked up speed. She turned around on the couch and peeked out between the blinds. She couldn’t see much besides the moon casting silver light on the tips of the fir trees and peaks of the small waves of the water.
“You’re going to be okay.” She whispered to herself.
With a sigh, she stood and walked over to a door that led to a small bedroom. She went inside and locked the door behind her. As she cautiously laid back across the bed, the weight of what was happening fell on her. She pulled her phone from her pocket and wasn’t surprised to see no notifications. While she was tempted to check all her social media accounts, she knew that would only increase her anxiety. Doubling down on her decision, she powered down her phone and pocketed it.
She was breathing in the damp and salty surroundings while letting Arrow’s snores from the other room lull her into a half-dreaming, half-waking state. The place in her mind drifted to Haven and the dead child in her yard. The strange woman with the dreadlocks. The woman in the gas station. Why were these apparitions following her? She had never believed in ghosts, but all these experiences were beginning to make her feel like she would need to believe in them soon or they would do something much worse. The last face she saw before drifting into a deep sleep was Lyric mocking her.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
PAT’S SENSE OF security had left him. Everything he knew and everything that gave him comfort was gone and his paranoia was going into overdrive. The darkness he had been sucked into had taken him completely, so when he woke up in a white room it was an unsettling contrast. His body felt heavy as if he had been sleeping for weeks. He could hear the humming of machinery punctuated by occasional beeping. The ceiling that he looked up at was domed and came to a point in the middle where the housing for a security camera resided.
As he tried to move so he could see more, he realized he was strapped down on the uncomfortable bed. He moved his head barely an inch and could feel throbbing at the back of his skull. He had only ever had that kind of pain on his head when he had had the chip installed the first time. The first time he wasn’t strapped down, though.
“Are you awake?” Said a soft feminine voice.
“Yes.” His voice cracked as he forced the single word out of his mouth.
“I can’t move either.” She said simply.
“Why are we strapped down?”
“They don’t want us getting away.”
The statement caused Pat’s heart to twinge. “What did they do to us?”
“I’m assuming we both had the microchip surgery.” She said an edge of bitterness to her tone.
“Are we still at Winston Wellness?”
There was silence. He could hear the sound of the woman trying to move around but she did not answer right away. Then she said, “I don’t know where I am.”
Just then a door clicked and swung open into the room. Pat strained against his restraints to try to see anything that would give him an idea of where he was, but the straps were too tight. Because of this, his ears perked up to try to catch every sound. Footsteps. The clink of metal against metal. Beeping.
Just then a young woman in a white coat and white mask came into view. She jiggled his restraints to make sure they were still fastened. She then slipped a cold hand under his head to feel the place where his head throbbed. He winced and her beautiful blue eyes crinkled in sympathy.
“Sorry.”
“Where am I?”
“In the recovery room. You have to stay absolutely still.” She warned in low tones. She quickly moved to the woman next to him.
Before Pat was able to ask more questions, the clicks of the door opening and closing could be heard again.
“She refuses to explain. She just comes in to make sure our vitals are good.” The female patient said.
“This doesn’t feel right. I just came in to have my chip reinstalled.” Pat said.
