Aella pressed her knees against her hands. The skin around her eyes tensed. Right before Hayes had rang the bell, she had been blindsided by a hysteric cry she couldn't completely cover-up. Her eyes were still red and there were traces of tears on her cheeks. She didn't dare to look at Hayes.
He sat in front of her, but she could feel his despair. It hit her like a hailstorm, ruthless, cold and painful.
She breathed, shakily. She wished he said something. Not that she had any right to do so: he had asked her what was going on and how she was feeling for three times now. Her lips felt frozen. And still she blamed him for being satisfied with her silence. Then, out of the blue, one of the voices started screaming. So shrill, so raw that she cowered. She grabbed her head and started to cry again. What next? Would they lock her up in a mental institution?
Far away she heard Hayes calling her name. Repeatedly, more intrusive. Aella tried to pull his voice back to her, but the screaming went on, turning into sobbing.
In the end it became quiet.
Dead quiet.
Aella couldn't remember that she had closed her eyes, nor that she had fallen on the ground. It felt as a black out.
Hayes sat beside her, on his knees. In his hands he held a cellphone.
"Have you... called the ambulance?" she asked with a shaking voice.
He looked at her with a pale face. His eyes darted in all directions.
Aella bit her lip. Why am I doing this? Why am I dragging him into this shit?
"It was so... terrifying... I thought you were having a seizure. What happened?"
Aella got her knees up, laid her head against. She had to tell him.
"Since the lightning strike... I hear voices. They scream, beg for my help. As if... As if they are dying."
Silence. Carefully she peeked over her knees. Well... how did you react on such a message? If he had told this to her, she had sniffed dismissively, telling him that he probably should leave the drugs alone.
"Did you went to a doctor?" he asked eventually.
She shook her head. "I don't dare. I'm afraid they believe I'm crazy."
Hayes laid his hand upon hers and tried to catch her glance. She looked at the ground on purpose. "What... what do you believe?"
"I don't know. Everything is different since that day."
Countless thoughts raged through her head. She thought about the recurring dreams, which she had had before the lightning strike. It felt as if the dying people she had seen had received a voice now.
"Come. I want to show you something." She stood up and walked to her sleeping room. There she handed the notebook in which she had written down her dreams. "The last weeks I had very realistic dreams. I... I want you to read them."
Hayes took the small book and sat down on the edge of the bed. The frown on his forehead could mean a lot of things. Did he think it was strange she entrusted him something so personal? Did the fact that she had crazy dreams confirm his suspicions that she was insane?
She barely dared to breath while she awaited his verdict. Sweat drops itched in her neck. He turned a page. Said no word, hardly moved. She bit her fingernail.
After an endless time he looked up. The expression on his face was one of anxiety.
O God, he really doubts my mental health.
"D-do you think I'm crazy?" Her voice trembled. She felt weaker than she had ever felt.
"Maybe that had been better." He closed the notebook without making a sound. "But what's more worrying... is that you write about Loki."
