Mine (23 page)

Behind him, the Beast stirred.

The Translator jerked around and slapped a hand over his own mouth.
Stay asleep. Stay asleep.

The Beast’s lips moved as if it were talking to someone.

Stay asleep.

Finally the Beast settled down again, and the Translator was able to return his attention to the outside world.

All was still. All was the sa—

Not the same.

Something had changed.

One, two, three, four, five, six…seven.

Before he counted eight cars. It was eight, wasn’t it? He remembered eight.

He counted again.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

He counted a third time. And a fourth. And a fifth.

But the missing car never reappeared.

F
IFTY-SIX

Joel

T
HE GENESEE MENTAL
Care Facility looked only a bit less dreary in the daylight than it had the night before, when Leah and Joel stopped by for a look around after they’d arrived in town. It was a four-story off-white block of concrete, punctured by metal-framed, barred windows and a double-wide glass entrance. Even if Joel hadn’t known what it was, he would have guessed hospital.

During their night excursion, they had taken a walk around to get a sense of the place. The only area they hadn’t been able to scope out was a fenced-in section on the north side. Leah was the one who had detected Mike’s presence at the third-floor window, right before she and Joel drove off. The only person Joel had ever been able to detect until that point was her, but as they pulled out of the parking area, he sensed a voice repeating “stay asleep,” and knew it was his old cabin mate.

Leah was right. The connection between the three of them was growing stronger.

Joel and Leah took adjoining rooms at an old roadside motel not far away, but neither slept very well, and they were up and ready to go by seven a.m. Unfortunately, the facility didn’t open to visitors until nine. They extended breakfast for as long as they could, and then drove around for a while before finally entering Genesee’s lobby at 9:05.

A male attendant sat behind a sliding glass window. “May I help you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Leah said. “We’re here to see one of your patients. Michael Hurst.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Appointment? No, no appointment.”

“Then I’m sorry. Visits require a twenty-four-hour notification. If you’re not already on the calendar, then you’re not getting in today.”

“We have his guardians’ permission,” she said.

“Doesn’t matter. Our procedures are in place for a reason.”

“Of course, but this is an unusual—”

“Is there someone else we can talk to?” Joel cut in.

The receptionist stared at him, blank faced, and then rolled his eyes. “Who was it you were trying to see again?”

“Mike Hurst,” Leah said.

“Have a seat.”

Ten minutes later, a pale, thin-lipped woman entered the lobby.

“Good morning,” she said. “I understand you want to see Michael?”

“Yes,” Leah said. “That’s correct.”

“May I ask your relationship to him?”

“We’re friends,” Joel replied.

A raised eyebrow. “Friends?”

“When we were younger,” Leah said quickly.

“Who are
you
?” Joel asked.

“I’m Dr. Renner, Michael’s psychiatrist.”

“I saw his parents two days ago,” Leah said. “They told me it would be okay to visit him. You can call them. They’ll tell you the same.”

The woman said, “And your name?”

“Leah Bautista. And this is Joel Madsen.”

“I did receive a call from Mrs. Hurst yesterday. They mentioned you would be coming by, Ms. Bautista, but they never mentioned your friend here.”

“We…didn’t think he would be able to make it.”

The main entrance opened and a tired-looking woman walked up to the reception counter.

“Perhaps there’s someplace more private we can talk about this,” Joel suggested.

“There is,” the doctor replied, “but it won’t be necessary. Unfortunately, I can’t get you in right now. The only visitors Michael has ever had are his parents. I’m concerned about what his reaction to you might be, so I need a little time to prepare him. Tomorrow is the best I can do. In the afternoon, say, four o’clock.”

“He’s not going to hurt us, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Leah said.

“And how would you know that?” the doctor asked.

“He’ll want to see us.”

The doctor frowned. “I’m not sure how much his parents told you, but Michael is not well. Most of the time he is barely aware of the world around him. There’s a good chance he won’t even know you’re here.”

“He will,” Joel said.

Dr. Renner looked at him, her expression unchanged.

“Please,” Leah said. “Seeing us will be good for him. I’m sure of it.”

The doctor considered them for a moment, and then sighed. “Call me this afternoon around two. I’ll let you know if he’s in any condition to have visitors.”

F
IFTY-SEVEN

Leah

L
EAH GUIDED THE
rental car into the half-empty parking area of a shopping plaza and took a spot far from the other vehicles.

“You need me to do anything?” Joel asked.

“Just make sure no one bothers us.”

While Leah moved to the back and lay down, Joel climbed out and leaned against the car, pretending to use his phone.

Closing her eyes, Leah concentrated on slowing her breathing and calming her body. Soon she felt her mind start to numb with coming sleep. As she’d done many times now, she focused on Mike’s Secret Place—the shelves, the picture of him with his parents, the stacks of comic books, all the mementos that tied him to his past. She felt the slit in the blackness separate before she actually saw it. As soon as it was wide enough, she hurried inside.

Mike wasn’t there, but she hadn’t expected him to be. What she hoped was that he would come soon.

I’m here
, she said.
I’m waiting for you.

A stillness greater than any possible in the real world.

I need to talk to you. Just for a moment.

Was that a ripple in the air, or her imagination?

Mike, please, come.

F
IFTY-EIGHT

The Translator/Mike

T
HE TRANSLATOR SAT
quietly in the corner of the busy room, ignoring the others as he rocked back and forth while the information packets processed in his head.

I’m here. I’m waiting for you. I need to talk to you. Just for a moment.

He stopped mid-rock.

Without thinking, he started to reach out for his [
secret place
] and then pulled back. What was he doing? He couldn’t talk to the Satellite. No, no. The Reclaimer might find out.

Mike, please, come.

Mike.

Her use of his [
before name
] soothed him and beckoned him to come, as if it had a power all its own. He wanted to hear it again. He wanted her to say it one more time.

I’m your friend. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m waiting, Mike. I’m waiting for you.

There it was. He breathed in the beauty of it. A word like no other. His word.

Mike.

He checked his pathways to make sure the packets were still flowing, and that the Reclaimer was not connected to him.

A moment or two won’t hurt
, he thought.
Just a moment or two.

Carefully and quietly, he slipped sideways into his [
secret place
].

There she was, near the shelf where he kept [
the most important picture ever taken
], her back to him. Maybe he could just watch her and she would never know he was there. Maybe he could—

“Hello, Mike,” she said, turning to him.

He lurched backward, very nearly leaving the room altogether, but he held on.

“H-h-h-hello, L-L-Leah.”

She smiled. “Thank you for coming.”

“What-what-what do you want?”

“You remember Joel, don’t you?”

The missing Satellite. “I-I-I remember Joel. Yes. I remember.”

“Mike, Joel is with me now.”

The Translator spun around, thinking Joel was somewhere in his [
secret place
].

“Not here,” she said. “In the real world.”

“Real world,” he whispered.

“We’ve come to help you.”

He took another step backward.

“Don’t be afraid, Mike.”

Hearing his [
before name
] calmed him again.

“You and Joel and I are special,” she said. “There is no one else like us. We only have each other. Do you want us to help you?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine, fine, fine. Don’t need help.”

She picked up [
the most important picture ever taken
] and turned it so the Translator could see it. “Your parents said it was okay if we came to see you. If they say it’s okay, don’t you think you should see us?”

“My parents?” he whispered. The word felt foreign and yet so meaningful.

“They told me where you are, and now Joel and I are nearby.”

“You-you are close?”

“We are, and we’re going to help you. You do want our help. I know you do.”

“Help…me?”

“Yes.”

That small voice that lived in the back of his mind grasped this and said, “Help me.” Only the words didn’t stay in his head, but passed across the Translator’s lips. “Help me.” And again, more urgently. “Help me. Help me!”

She stepped toward him but he backed away again, so she stopped. “We will. We’ll help you. But it’s up to you how soon that can happen. Listen carefully. This is very important. Dr. Renner is going to tell you someone is here to visit you. She’s talking about Joel and me. You need to say it’s okay. You need to make her believe you want to see us. Do you understand?”

It was as if his mind had split in two, the small voice in the back suddenly grabbing territory in leaps and bounds. “I understand,” he heard himself say. “I understand.”

F
IFTY-NINE

Leah

C
ONTRARY TO DR.
Renner’s instructions, Leah and Joel showed up in the lobby at two p.m. instead of calling.

A new person sat behind the reception window, a woman approaching retirement age with the disinterested expression to prove it.

“We’re here to see Dr. Renner,” Leah said. “She’s expecting us.”

“Names?”

“Leah Bautista and Joel Madsen.”

The woman grunted and picked up her phone.

Leah and Joel moved near the interior door to wait. Not a minute later, it swung open and Dr. Renner strode out.

“I believe you were supposed to
call
, not show up,” she admonished them.

“We were feeling optimistic,” Joel said.

The doctor looked annoyed but said nothing.

“So? Can we see him?” Leah asked.

Dr. Renner took a deep breath and turned back toward the door. “Follow me.”

They walked down sanitized corridors of off-white walls and off-white tiled floors, the only splash of color the red metal box containing a fire extinguisher. Even the doors of the elevator the doctor led them to were the same neutral tone.

When the car started moving up, she said, “You’re lucky. You’ve caught him on a good day. He, um, even says he remembers you.”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Joel asked.

“Let’s just say it’s unusual.”

A ding signaled their arrival on the third floor.

The only difference between the corridor they entered and the one at ground level was this one had windows along the outside wall. They were large, with safety wire running through them and bars on the outside.

“You don’t have criminals living here, do you?” Leah asked.

The doctor frowned. “I’m sorry?” Then she noticed Leah looking at the bars. “Those are there for our patients’ protection. The last thing we want is for someone to hurt themselves jumping out the window.”

A few moments later, they passed a long interior window that looked in on a large room filled with chairs, most facing a wall-mounted TV. There were at least two dozen patients inside, and several uniformed orderlies.

After they rounded another corner, the doctor stopped in front of a door marked with a plaque reading:
FR 03
. She opened it and ushered them inside.

To Leah’s surprise, the space looked very much like a living room—a couch and chairs and even a TV. Framed paintings hung on the walls that were not off-white but a soothing light blue.

“This is our family visitation room,” the doctor explained. “Please have a seat and I’ll go get Michael.”

When she was gone, Joel whispered, “This is kind of creepy. I mean, who is this fooling?”

Leah sat on the couch. “I think it’s more to make everyone feel comfortable.”

“Well, it’s not working for me.” He walked over to the windows and looked out. “What I’m feeling is claustrophobic.”

She couldn’t deny she was feeling a bit of the same, but she knew it was the hospital and not the room itself that was causing it.

Soon, the door opened again, and Dr. Renner ushered Mike into the room. He stopped just inside, his eyes dancing around, taking in the walls and the furniture and the windows and everything except Leah and Joel.

He was skinnier than Leah had expected, but otherwise looked like an early twenties  version of the ever-changing man she’d seen in his Secret Place. She rose from the couch and started toward him, Joel right behind her.

“These are the people who have come to see you,” Dr. Renner said. “They’re friends of yours from when you were all younger.”