The characters do not belong to us.
Chapter Eleven
As the days wore by without anyone being able to locate Maura, Sasha grew more despondent.
It alarmed Cailin to be unable to get her sister to talk about what she was feeling. Instead, Sasha stared off into space, her thoughts obviously elsewhere.
"I get it," Cailin said. "You know she exists now and you don't know what to do without her."
Sasha nodded weakly, but said nothing. Only at night did she find her voice, but it was in the shrieks of nightmare plagued sleep. It scared Hope because it felt much more intense than it had been before. Unfortunately, she could only help it with a needle and a mask and not much else.
Hope had spent many agonizing hours listening for Sasha's breathing to remain steady, despite the sedatives that she had been given to make it calmly through the night. Still, each morning Sasha awoke in a groggy haze of tears. She missed her sister so badly that it seemed as though the crying would never stop.
One day, it got to be too much. In a split-second moment of consciousness before everything ground to a halt, Sasha realized exactly what was happening to her. She felt her breathing stop and not resume. Looking at Hope with horror, she used the remnant of breath remaining in her lungs to push out a few choked words. "Tell - Barry - I'm - sorry."
Then she fell forward into Hope's arms, but the older woman's screams never reached her consciousness. She sensed a curtain of nothing brush over get until she opened her eyes to find herself in the forest by the lodge.
In the bedroom, Cailin ran in as soon as she heard the screams and joined her mother in administering CPR to her sister, who lay in the floor without a detectable heartbeat.
"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice was the first thing Sasha heard.
"I don't know, maybe you can help me with that, Gina." Sasha sat up and brushed the leaves from her back and limbs before proceeding to the footbridge. An image of Maura was in the clouds and this made more sense than anything.
"I need to watch her," Sasha reflected.
"And you had to die to do that?" Gina was perplexed.
Sasha seemed too passive about the whole thing. "Maybe."
In the ER, it wasn't clear to either Hope or Cailin if Sasha was alive or dead until the doctor came out to speak with them. He explained that she was able to be revived, and was being transferred to the ICU in critical condition.
"Give me Maura's phone," her mother said to Cailin. "This cannot go on any longer." She tapped out a text message to Sasha's phone, in order that Maura might read it wherever she was hiding.
Maura's heart nearly stopped as she read the news. It was from Dr. Martin, whom she knew was in charge of her sister's care.
She sighed but did not reply back. She needed to get Sasha away from these people, somewhere where she could recover in peace. Somewhere where people weren't after them. Having houses in all these places around the world meant her family was well-known. It did not take Maura long to arrange a med flight to transfer Sasha here to England. Some of the best doctors were here and Sasha would get the best care. They'd be together.
She needed to get Sasha out without anyone interfering. And she knew just how to do it. The advantage to having a lot of money was she could do anything she wanted with it, and people would go to great lengths for money. Tackling this next hurtle took some doing, but talking the doctor into lying about Sasha's death was not hard given she was offering fifty thousand dollars in research money. Maura closed her phone with a smile. Sasha would be here tomorrow.
In the hospital, Hope and Barry were numb with grief after the doctor had regretfully informed them of Sasha's death. She had come close to this point many times, but everyone had believed that the situation was under control once she'd been revived in the ER and tragedy had been averted. Now that the actual moment had arrived, they were in a state of disbelief.
Only Elise had her suspicions, which she told no one. Perhaps it was because she had thought her own daughter dead for seven years only to find out that it had been a lie. After this, Elise Martin asked herself if there was more to the story. Especially after her niece's body went missing hours after her death. Even Hope never got to view the body.
But Elise said nothing. It was better to watch and wait. And study things like exactly what had surrounded the chips in Maura's brain. Literally surrounding. While her family grieved, Elise turned to what she had always understood best. Science. Everyone thought it strange when she retreated to her lab immediately after the word of Sasha's death. However, those who knew her best understood that Dr. Martin was on the trail of a mystery. And she always got her answers. Without fail, she reminded herself as she finally found what she sought on the microscope slide. It was serum that could warp the mind in small amounts. It had surrounded the chips that Liza had removed from Maura the year before. Perhaps there was still more lodged in her brain.
Sasha was at the airport when the jet arrived and immediately rushed to her sister's side. Getting Sasha settled was a blur, but Maura did not leave her side.
"No one is going to hurt us ever again. You're safe now. I'm here and I'm never leaving you again. Never." Tears ran down Maura's face. "I got scared. I wanted to take you with me. I want us to be together, free and happy. Now we can be." She kissed her sister's forehead. "I want to see those beautiful eyes..."
Jane wasn't sure how long she cried for. Sasha was gone and Maura was missing. She'd lost two best friends today.
"She can't be dead. She just can't," Anna cried.
"I don't think it's true," Elise blurted. "We never saw a body and that's not normal. I'm sorry, Hope, but I think Maura has a hand in this. She was bizarrely protective of Sasha and thinks the world is after them. And I think I know why."
"What?" Jane demanded, an arm around Anna's shoulders.
"There was a serum in the chip I removed and I think some of it is still in Maura's brain, making her severely paranoid."
"But that doesn't explain her memory loss. She only remembers Sasha," Hope said.
"I believe it's from the serum as well. I know where she is. She has Sasha at a hospital in England. We must approach this carefully. We go in and ambush her she's going to run again."
"What is she so scared of?" Cailin asked.
"I don't know, honey," Hope said. "But whatever it is, it has driven her to extremes that are very unlike who Maura is."
Cailin nodded. "I suppose that makes sense," she said.
"Well, what are we going to do about it? "Jane demanded to know because she was growing very impatient.
All eyes turned to Elise.
In England, Maura watched as her sister's eyes slowly opened.
"Thank God." She cupped Sasha's cheek. "You're okay. We're okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I left. But we're together now and no one is going to hurt us again."
Sasha blinked in confusion. The last thing she knew, Maura had been on the run. So, why had she come back, and where was everyone else?
Maura continued her rant. "We are safe. No one will find us. At home, they think you're dead. "
Sasha's eyes widened with disbelief. She could not speak, but so badly wished it were possible. What had Maura done?
Then she felt the same pain return and once again stood on the footbridge with her dead clone.
She was looking at the cloud again, astonished by what she saw. This wasn't Maura.
Sasha turned to her clone Gina. "I want to stay here until Maura comes to her senses. I'm not opening my eyes or breathing on my own or doing anything else she wants. I feel safer here because my sister is like a stranger to me."
Gina enveloped her in the biggest hug Sasha could remember. "You are the one who decides."
"Staying here is what I want. I'm not getting involved in this anymore," Sasha declared. "I want to go home to Boston, not be somewhere in England and have my family think I'm dead." She folded her arms across her chest in defiance like a child. "No way."
Gina nodded. "I think help is on the way," she said, pointing at another cloud. The image was one of Elise heartening her family with her theory. Sasha felt an immense wave of relief. Surely they had to believe her. They couldn't think Sasha was actually dead. "Thank you, Aunt Elise," Sasha murmured.
In England, Maura was getting frantic that the doctors she'd hired couldn't completely revive Sasha. Her heart was beating, but that was about it. Oddly enough, it seemed almost as if she didn't want to come back. Well, she didn't know what was good for her after all Maura had done to secure her sister's transfer. It was as if she didn't realize the danger they were in had they remained in Boston.
At home, Jane had a fabulous plan.
"It's not Maura's fault she's like this," Gina said. "She has something wrong with her. Some serum in her brain. She needs you."
Sasha looked at the image of Maura sobbing by her bedside. "The chip," she murmured. "I have acted selfishly. Thank you, Gina. Thank you so much." She closed her eyes. Maura needed her.
Maura wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up to find Sasha staring at her. "Thank God. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I did it to keep you safe. I love you so much." She held her close.
Sasha squeezed Maura's hand, glad to be in Maura's embrace, even if she wasn't all here. At least her family no longer thought her dead. She'd have to go along with Maura's plan until they could get help. If that meant staying in England for a while, she'd do it. To keep Maura calm.
The days passed in a blur. Maura stayed by her sister's side except to shower, sleep and eat. Sasha improved with each passing day. Two weeks later, she was transferred to Maura's family estate, with a private nurse to see to her needs. Sasha couldn't believe the view and the house. It was like something out of a Dickens novel.
"If we have to hide from bad people, this is the place to do it," she said and could not keep a grin from forming.
Now that her family did not think her dead, she felt free to enjoy her days here. She'd asked the nurse to dictate and mail a letter to her family, telling them she was fine and to hold off on coming home until she was better able to determine what this serum was doing to Maura.
Jane told Hope of her idea to get through to Maura and was in the middle of explaining it but was interrupted by shouts of joy from Elise and Cailin.
Elise ran into the room, waving a letter in an air mail envelope. "She's alive! Sasha's alive! Somehow she found out about the chip and is staying in England to calm Maura until we can intervene."
Hope was pleasantly surprised. "She's well enough to dictate a letter? Oh, I'm so relieved!"
"Me too!" Cailin chimed in.
"My plan is this. Maura still thinks of you as her idol," Jane said to Hope. "So if you go there, you'll probably be able to talk her into anything. Even the shot of antidote." `
Sasha collapsed back onto the pillows, drenched in sweat. "Five minutes of leg exercises and I feel like I ran a marathon."
Maura ran a cool rag over her sister's face. "You're still recovering, Sasha. It's going to take time. Rest and time." She put the rag down, dismissed the nurse and lay down next to her sister. "You're doing so well."
"Because of you," Sasha whispered. "You're not leaving again, are you?"
"No. Not ever." Maura took her sister's hand. "We're both safe now."
"When can we go home?" Sasha asked. "I miss Boston." She hoped her words wouldn't set off Maura's paranoia, but she had to try broaching the subject.
Maura sighed, putting a hand behind her head. "Not for a while, I'm afraid. Probably months. But we will go back one day. We just need to disappear, so to speak-for a while. I know you miss Boston. I do too. But we can't take any chances." She kissed Sasha's cheek. "Try not to worry, okay? I've taken care of everything." She got off the bed. "I need to tend to some things in the house. Will you be all right?"
Sasha nodded. "Yes. I'm just sad, that's all."
"I know. I wish we could return to Boston, but it's simply too dangerous right now."
After her twin left, Sasha looked out the window with tears sliding down her face. It was lovely here, but she knew that she was Maura's captive. Even though it wasn't Maura's fault, it was still true. She was not free, and now it might be months! It felt as constraining as the experiment house.
She attempted to turn her thoughts in a different direction, but the images and corresponding emotions of being trapped triggered something in Sasha that she didn't expect. With Maura around, there would never normally be a reason to panic. But this version of Maura was far from the sister she knew and Sasha found herself actually frightened of her. Every embrace felt like a step toward further captivity. Every time Maura lay close reminded Sasha that she could not leave. Even if Sasha had been fit enough to run a mile, she knew that Maura would find a way to get her back. Sasha's mind turned over the absurdity of Maura letting her family and friends believe her to be dead. Dead! It played on all their fears and was one of the most manipulative acts Sasha could imagine. This certainly was coming from a person entirely unlike Maura. It was a stranger who gave way to a fresh bout of nightmares.
Sasha's nightly screams unnerved Maura, who was even more sure to do whatever she could to keep the two of them isolated from the world. The serum had worked itself deep into Maura's brain, preventing the compassion that would have been present at such agonized cries. Sasha cried for Barry, Hope and Maura herself. Even the audible longing for Gina and her peaceful woods ought to have concerned Maura for her sister's level of misery, but it brought the paranoia further to the surface.
After a night of this and sobbing through the hours of the day, it became obvious that Maura had no choice but to sedate her twin and monitor the signs of once again worsening condition. Maura did not leave Sasha's side at night due to listening for her breathing and making sure she was not declining further.
But after a few nights of tense vigil, it was evident that Sasha was in a rapid decline and there was nothing that Maura could do about it. Except abide by her wishes and return her to Boston. When respiratory arrest set in for the third time in a night, Maura actually considered capitulating. She loved her sister and didn't want her to die. It was wrong to hold her against her will to the point that it was about to kill her. But she would certainly face death in the hands of those people. If she was going to succumb to the blood disease, wasn't it better to do it in the arms of the one person who could keep her safe? Maura cradled Sasha's nearly lifeless form and whispered reassurances into her ears.
"They can't have you because they'll hurt you. Here with me, you're not in any pain. If it happens, it will be peaceful."
Maura was startled by the vibration of her cell phone. It was another text from Hope Martin, her heroine. Maura read each word as if it were a golden treasure. Her idol was offering to come and help with her sister. How could she refuse? Not only would Sasha benefit from her presence, but the great doctor deemed Maura worthy of this attention. Without hesitation, she texted her acceptance of the visit.
By the next day, Sasha had worsened to the point of Maura forcing oxygen into her lungs via a bag valve mask when the illustrious doctor rang the bell. Maura motioned to the nurse to answer the door and see Dr. Martin in.
Hope stifled her horror at seeing her daughter in such a state. The fact that she was being prevented from receiving proper care because of the serum-induced paranoia made it even bleaker.
"Can you have the nurse take over the bagging?" Hope tried to keep her voice steady.
Maura nodded as if in a trance.
Hope smiled encouragingly at her oldest daughter. "You must be under a crippling amount of stress caring for someone in such a critical condition." At Maura's mute nod, she continued. "I want to help. You can't afford to become ill, and I want to give you a shot to enhance your immune system."
Maura consented and found Elise's antidote flowing through her veins a moment later, courtesy of Hope's syringe. Her vision swam and consciousness faded from her five seconds later.