*Author's note: I will continually edit these and all stories I write; I'm compulsive that way. :) Sorry FOX and TnT...
Chapter 9 Ripples
She could only hope that these visions would stop. But the were growing faster; all she could do was hope that they were just imaginings.
English was almost over. She had spent most of it looking over her should at the door, watching for some hint of her demons. There were about five minutes left to the rest of class and everyone was standing around waiting for the bell to ring. Leigh stood listen to a group of friends talk about the latest movies. The feeling washed over her again, and she glanced at the doorway. A black trench coat floated across her eyesight. She turned in shock. Lyle spun towards her, drawing his weapon. She saw him pulled the trigger, the bullet sliced the air.
"Leigh!" She blinked, her friend called her name. "Hey, wake up, the bell rang."
She could no longer concentrate; and she had a slight headache. The feeling that someone was watching her was growing to the point that she unconsciously glanced over her shoulder every now and than.
In the middle of a test in her science class, Leigh glanced up and stared at the doorway.
"I'd like to remind you to keep you eyes on your own test, please," Mr. Meissinger said meaningfully to the class, peering at Leigh over his book.
Leigh stood up, fixated, and backed up several steps, almost tripping over her chair. Several of the kids snickered. Mr. Meissinger cleared his throat. Leigh fell back into the chair, dazed.
She picked up her pencil and tried to write on the paper. Her hand shook badly.
"Miss Sanchez, is there something you would like to share with the class?"
"Lyle," she muttered.
"Miss Sanchez," he said annoyed, "The principal's office is right down the hall if you would like to discuss this with him."
She gazed at the paper, confused. The black ink glowed bright red. She jumped up out of the chair.
Mr. Meissinger slammed his book down. "Miss Sanchez, sit down," he shouted at her.
She ignored him. "Lyle!" she stammered.
"Miss San…" he stopped when someone knocked on the door. He was startled by the noise, but stood up and walked over to the door. Leigh listened as two voices fought.
"No," she murmured. The other students looked at her in confusion and interest. Then Mr. Meissinger came flying through the doorway and crashed into a lab table. Several students gasped.
"Leigh!" a voice yelled. Lyle stepped into the classroom, "Leigh, I know you are here."
She ducked under her table just in time.
"It would be easier to come out now than to have me search for you."
She searched frantically for the switch to the microphone. She whispered to Jarod, but all she heard was static. Unfortunately, so did Lyle. Lyle crossed the room to her table and was about to shove it aside when she stood up suddenly.
He held his gun out at her with both hands.
"Don't try anything," he said and reached one of his hands out, "Give me that."
She put the microphone in his hand. He threw it to the floor and it shattered on impact.
"Jarod isn't there to save you. You're coming with me."
"I don't think so," a voice behind them said.
As Lyle turned towards the voice, Leigh took the opportunity and lunged at him. His gun fell from his grasp as she slammed into him. He shouted in surprise and fell to the floor. He reached up to grab at the gun, but a foot kicked it out of the way. It was Mrs. Haley. She picked it up at pointed it at Lyle as Leigh scrambled to her feet.
"Don't move," Mrs. Haley said, "Leigh, call the cops."
Lyle sighed in disgust, "Listen, if I could just talk to someone in charge here. I was sent by my company to retrieve our property…"
"You don't know who I am, do you Mr. Lyle. Leigh is not your property, and neither is my son," she said.
"You are Jarod's mother?" he said in disbelief.
Leigh laughed in amazement, "You mean we actually found you?"
"Yes."
Leigh ran down the hall to the payphone. She called Jarod at the police station.
"I'll be right there," he said.
Mrs. Haley did not recognize Jarod when he came for Lyle, but he knew her. The reunion was emotional, especially for Leigh. She only wished the same could happen for her, but her parents were dead.
Leigh took the bus back to the apartment. She decided that they should be able to have time alone. The bus took almost an hour to reach her house. It was crowded and slow-going most of the way. She did not mind, though. It would make the wait for Jarod shorter. She hopped off when it stopped in front of her building.
The run-down old building was a blessed relief after the past month's events. Today it was more like a home than a shelter. She walked up to the apartment where they stayed. It was rather nice inside compared to how the outside looked. There were two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room where Jarod kept the computer running because it monitored the microphone. She leaned over the computer thoughtfully and sat down. She opened a drawer in the table that the computer sat on. She picked up a pile of DSA's from the drawer and put the top one in. It was empty. She tried another, which was empty to. All of them were. Why would Jarod keep these if they were blank? She stiffened in her chair. That feeling of someone watching her had returned. She turned around barely in time to see someone run into the kitchen. She followed.
"Jarod?" she whispered uncertainly.
A noise behind her startled her. She turned around. Jarod was sitting at the computer. A message was typed on the screen. "Leigh wake up, Leigh wake up, Leigh wake up, Leigh…" was all it said. She stared at the screen.
Wake up? What? she wondered.
"Jarod, what do you mean?" she asked, "Hey, Jarod, wake up."
He was slumped over the keyboard.
She shook him, but he did not move. "Jarod!" she shouted and shook him harder.
She glanced back at the desk. There was an empty syringe near his arm.
"How?" she wondered aloud.
A crash came from the kitchen. She turned around and saw Lyle standing in the doorway connecting the two rooms. His blue eyes burned. She shuddered at the sight. He moved towards her, his arms outstretched, beckoning. She backed up to where Jarod lay. Lyle pulled a syringe out of his pocket and held it towards her, threateningly.
"Leigh, I won't hurt you, just give me your arm."
She picked up the empty syringe and brandished it like a weapon.
"No."
He dove at her, trying to avoid being raked with the needle. He squeezed her wrist so hard that she dropped the needle. He pinned her down and held her arm tightly.
"No!" she screamed, "Get off me!"
"Leigh, please, quiet down," he said calmly.
He stabbed the needle into her arm. She grimaced as he injected its contents.
"Come on, Leigh, wake up."
Wake up?
Lyle shook her, "Come on, wake up Leigh."
He undid some of the bindings around her head. She shook her head and coughed.
"That's right, come on now, wake up," he murmured to her.
"No," she muttered, "No, no, get off me, let me go."
"Shh," he whispered, "Its okay, Leigh, you're awake now. It's over."
She opened her eyes slowly, "Mrs. Haley?"
Mr. Cox said in a steady tone; "There is no Mrs. Haley."
She moaned. Leigh looked around the room. She saw a desk in the corner covered with papers. It was the same place where Jarod's program was. She looked at Lyle and Cox wildly.
"No," she shouted, "I won't let you!"
"You already have," said Cox in his aristocratic tone.
"Leigh, for the past few days, you were in a link with Jarod," explained Lyle.
She shook her head in horror, "No, we escaped…"
"You only made it to the road, Leigh, both of you were out when we found you."
"No, you are lying, a man saved us, he brought us to the hospital…"
"Leigh, you imagined it."
"NO!" she screamed.
Lyle shouted at her to stop. Casually, Mr. Cox picked up one of the needles off a nearby tray. He withdrew some liquid from a bottle with a red label on it. He then stabbed it into her arm.
"Shut up, Leigh."
Lyle interrupted, "No, don't, Mr. Cox, you can't mix those drugs…"
He ignored Lyle and injected the drug into her arm. When she still would not stop, he dragged the tip through her arm several inches. She screamed louder.
"Mr. Cox, what are you doing?" Lyle demanded in frustration. His project was getting out of hand.
Cox ignored him and said calmly to Leigh, "Shut up or I'll do this all the way to your hand."
She shuttered, but did not scream.
"You have to be tough to show them who's in command."
Leigh shivered and fell forward against the bindings in a faint.
"I told you not to mix them," Lyle said indignantly and walked out of the room in disgust.