anything besides what the hospital had given him.
As they wheeled him around to the respective departments, he kept looking for Gordon. But the guy was nowhere in sight. Had they deliberately put the two of them on a different exam schedule? Or was Gordon too sick to leave his bed?
He couldn’t ask, because he wasn’t going to act like he was obsessed with the guy. Not after the conversation he’d had with the shrink.
By the end of the day Frank was exhausted, but he had one thing to be thankful for. After the results of the tests, they removed the monitoring equipment for a few hours, and they even gave him permission to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, put his prosthesis back on, and eat in the dining room—where he sat by himself at a table in the corner, enduring glances from the rest of the patients. Everybody knew he’d almost died early in the morning—which was why he was going back on telemetry for the night. And as the hospital finally quieted down, he fought to hide the raw edge of his nerves.
Night was the first time he’d gone into that other place. Night was the time he’d fought his way back in because he wanted to find Ariel.
Now he lay in bed with his heart pounding and his hands clenched around the sheets.
Did he think that holding onto a security blanket would anchor him to this reality?
He didn’t know.
One of the night nurses came in to offer him something to help him sleep. He declined and lay rigid in bed, feeling something tug at him.
When he slid his eyes to the side, he thought he saw the jungle where he’d stepped into that other plane. Not just the jungle. He imagined he saw Ariel at the edge of his vision, reaching toward him.
He felt the tug of her will. She was trying to pull him in there again, but he resisted with all of his own will because whatever she had been to him was just an illusion.
Chapter Seven
They let him go back to his normal routine the next day, and when he walked into the mess hall, he saw Gordon across the room. They stared at each other, and Frank wondered if the other man was finally willing to talk about what had happened. But when Frank started across the tile floor, he saw the other man stiffen. Making a quick decision, Frank changed course and headed for an opposite corner, where Derby and Callahan were already sitting.
“How are you feeling?” Callahan asked.
“Pretty good.”
“They know what happened to you?”
Frank shook his head. “I wish they did,” he lied. He was pretty sure what had happened to him, but he couldn’t tell these guys. He couldn’t tell anyone, because that would only make sure everyone knew he had lost his marbles as well as his leg.
He went through his usual day, but as the night closed in, he felt edgy. He’d felt the pull of the alternate reality the night before. He didn’t want to feel it again, but he was pretty sure he would.
Did going there mean death? Or was that an overreaction? And did his defiance mean his will to live was getting stronger.
There was no way to answer any of those questions as he went through the steps of getting ready for bed, laying his artificial leg within easy reach for the morning.
But after taking the leg off, he kept glancing at it, feeling vulnerable without it. Finally, he got up and eased it on again, wondering why he was doing it.
Did he think the leg was extra insurance that Ariel couldn’t pull him back into the other plane of existence? It was a half-assed theory because she could get rid of the leg with a lightning strike. Or just a wave of her hand.
He tried to stay awake, watching subtle images flicker at the edge of his vision. Maybe he was going crazy, and he should go back to Dr. Leonard and lay it all out. He dismissed that thought as soon as it surfaced. The doctor wasn’t going to help him. He’d just take the opportunity to write a report on Frank Decorah’s deteriorated mental condition.
He tried to stay awake, but finally he dozed off—only
As they wheeled him around to the respective departments, he kept looking for Gordon. But the guy was nowhere in sight. Had they deliberately put the two of them on a different exam schedule? Or was Gordon too sick to leave his bed?
He couldn’t ask, because he wasn’t going to act like he was obsessed with the guy. Not after the conversation he’d had with the shrink.
By the end of the day Frank was exhausted, but he had one thing to be thankful for. After the results of the tests, they removed the monitoring equipment for a few hours, and they even gave him permission to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, put his prosthesis back on, and eat in the dining room—where he sat by himself at a table in the corner, enduring glances from the rest of the patients. Everybody knew he’d almost died early in the morning—which was why he was going back on telemetry for the night. And as the hospital finally quieted down, he fought to hide the raw edge of his nerves.
Night was the first time he’d gone into that other place. Night was the time he’d fought his way back in because he wanted to find Ariel.
Now he lay in bed with his heart pounding and his hands clenched around the sheets.
Did he think that holding onto a security blanket would anchor him to this reality?
He didn’t know.
One of the night nurses came in to offer him something to help him sleep. He declined and lay rigid in bed, feeling something tug at him.
When he slid his eyes to the side, he thought he saw the jungle where he’d stepped into that other plane. Not just the jungle. He imagined he saw Ariel at the edge of his vision, reaching toward him.
He felt the tug of her will. She was trying to pull him in there again, but he resisted with all of his own will because whatever she had been to him was just an illusion.
Chapter Seven
They let him go back to his normal routine the next day, and when he walked into the mess hall, he saw Gordon across the room. They stared at each other, and Frank wondered if the other man was finally willing to talk about what had happened. But when Frank started across the tile floor, he saw the other man stiffen. Making a quick decision, Frank changed course and headed for an opposite corner, where Derby and Callahan were already sitting.
“How are you feeling?” Callahan asked.
“Pretty good.”
“They know what happened to you?”
Frank shook his head. “I wish they did,” he lied. He was pretty sure what had happened to him, but he couldn’t tell these guys. He couldn’t tell anyone, because that would only make sure everyone knew he had lost his marbles as well as his leg.
He went through his usual day, but as the night closed in, he felt edgy. He’d felt the pull of the alternate reality the night before. He didn’t want to feel it again, but he was pretty sure he would.
Did going there mean death? Or was that an overreaction? And did his defiance mean his will to live was getting stronger.
There was no way to answer any of those questions as he went through the steps of getting ready for bed, laying his artificial leg within easy reach for the morning.
But after taking the leg off, he kept glancing at it, feeling vulnerable without it. Finally, he got up and eased it on again, wondering why he was doing it.
Did he think the leg was extra insurance that Ariel couldn’t pull him back into the other plane of existence? It was a half-assed theory because she could get rid of the leg with a lightning strike. Or just a wave of her hand.
He tried to stay awake, watching subtle images flicker at the edge of his vision. Maybe he was going crazy, and he should go back to Dr. Leonard and lay it all out. He dismissed that thought as soon as it surfaced. The doctor wasn’t going to help him. He’d just take the opportunity to write a report on Frank Decorah’s deteriorated mental condition.
He tried to stay awake, but finally he dozed off—only
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