More Than an Echo (Echo Branson Series) (2 page)

I had to keep him down or he would hurt me. I didn’t know how long I was smashing his bloody face, but it was long enough for his blood to end up on my clothes, arms and backpack. I probably would have kept hitting him until I crushed his head into a pancake, but Danica had returned with Mr. Morgan, who had to pull me off Todd.

“Jane!” Danica cried, coming to assist Mr. Morgan.

 Something had happened to me; something big and weird and scary and bad. I was like some feral girl completely out of control, lashing out blindly at an enemy only I could see. When Mr. Morgan finally calmed me down, he kept his arms around me, which was wise. I glanced at the unmoving Todd and wondered if I’d killed him. The scariest part was that I didn’t think it was such a bad thing if I had.

“Jane?” Danica knelt in front of me and took my hands. They were covered with Todd’s blood, but she didn’t care. “Are you okay? What…what happened?”

“He…he was going to hurt you, Dani. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. He…he…” I saw Todd twitch, and started for him again, when I realized that the only emotion I was feeling from him now was pain. “I’m…I’m sorry if I scared you.”

Danica glanced over her shoulder at Todd. “Don’t be sorry for protecting yourself, Jane. Don’t
ever
be sorry.”

When the paramedics arrived for Todd, the police came for me. I was nearly incoherent, not because of what I’d done to Todd, but because my brain was frying from all the images and emotions I was getting from Danica, Mr. Morgan, the police, the paramedics and even a few of the bystanders. I was losing my mind feeling all those erratic feelings at once. It was like a dozen different voices in my head at the same time, only I wasn’t hearing voices…I was feeling emotions. The strength of those feelings were practically driving me mad.

Apparently, the police thought so as well because the next ambulance that came was for me, and the last thing I remember was being strapped down and given a shot of something I welcomed because it finally calmed the whirlpool of emotions sucking me under.

“Be cool, Jane. Everything’s gonna be okay.”

As my eyes got heavy, the emotional noises of the crowd began to dissipate, leaving me with the only question going through my mind: What the hell was happening to me?

When I came to after beating Todd’s questionable brains in with my math book, I was strapped to a white bed in a white room, under white sheets, with a dark cloud sitting somewhere inside my skull. Whatever drug they had shot in me had given me a horrible headache and a metallic taste in my mouth.

If you’ve never woken up after being drugged, and found yourself strapped to a bed in a nuthouse, count your blessings. You can’t even imagine how incredibly frightening it is to a fourteen-year-old-girl who had just experienced her first psychic moment, her first violent outburst and her first run-in with the cops only to find herself in the looney bin. It was the worst thing in the world; a nightmare of gigantic proportions, and when the fuzz finally drifted from my head, I realized that I was strapped to the bed with these thick leather restraints. My legs were no freer. I was pretty well tied up and trying my hardest not to panic.

One minute, I was walking home with my best friend and talking about homecoming, and the next minute...here I was in this living hell, strapped to a bed in a nuthouse. Alone. Well, alone with only the memory of trying to kill Todd.

Kill Todd?

Oh my God, had I succeeded?

No one wants to be immobile. To wake up and know you cannot move, cannot itch your nose, cannot do a thing for yourself. I did the only thing anyone would have done in my position.

I screamed.

Yep. I started thrashing about like some wild woman; yelling, kicking, fighting against the restraints that weren’t going to budge. I don’t know how long I flailed around before an enormous black orderly entered the room. With him came this weird calming effect that I felt to the marrow of my bones.

“You gotta calm down, sweetpea,” he said, reaching over to touch my arm. I stopped fighting, mostly because I was just so glad that I wasn’t alone anymore. I think that was the scariest part.

“Where am I?” I asked, my tongue feeling thick and heavy in my mouth. My  heart  pounded in my head, but that wasn’t the only thing I felt. There was a still strength from the big black man peering down at me with what looked like yellow eyes. It washed over me like a warm blanket, and helped me relax. “Who are you? Where am I? What’s going on? Why am I tied up?”

“One question at a time, sweetpea. First off, I’m Big George. We’re in the psych ward of Alta Bates Hospital. Do you remember anything that happened before they brought you in here?”

It took a second for me to remember all of it; not because of the actual memory of it, but because of the lingering emotions from my first empathic episode and the drugs still in my system. My throat was killing me and I had that horrible taste in my mouth. “Can I...please...have some water?”

Big George poured some in a plastic cup and bent the straw to my lips. “You ain’t gonna spit it at me, are you?”

I frowned. “Uh...no. I think I’d rather just swallow it.” As I sipped the water, I calmed down, but I knew the emotions calming me were not mine. I wasn’t sure how I could tell the difference between my own emotions and someone else’s, but this quiet feeling was
definitely
not mine. I was tied to a bed in the loony bin, for God’s sake. What was there to be calm about?

“Thatta girl.” Big George put the water at the side of the bed. “How you doin’ now?”

“Can you unlock me?”

He shook his head. “Only when a doctor gives the okay. You gotta stay calm, like you are now, and they’ll cut you loose quicker. Okay? No more thrashing about.”

“How’s Todd?”

“Would that be the boy whose head you bashed in?”

Sighing, I nodded. “Is he...is he dead?”

“Don’t know ‘bout that. You want me to go find out?” Big George had an accent I could not place.

“Would you? I’d really appreciate it. I...I didn’t mean to...”

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

“Thank you for the water.”

Big George smiled kindly. “You got manners. I’ll give you that much. If I go get the doctor, will you promise to stay calm and not do anything stupid?”

“I promise. I don’t want any more of whatever it was they shot into me.”

“Okay, then. I’ll check on that boy and let the doctor know you’re awake. Stay calm, sweetpea. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Big George leaned over and peered hard into my eyes as if he was searching for something. “Be cooperative and you’ll be outta those in no time. Trust me. No one wants to see a young gal like you tied down, okay?”

I nodded as two tears rolled down my temples. “Where are my foster parents? Do they know I’m here?”

“The doctors can tell you all that, sweetpea.”

“I...I don’t know what happened.”

“Shh. That’s okay. We’re gonna get you the help you need.” Big George pulled a small packet of tissues out of his pocket and wiped the sides of my face.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be back in a jiff. I know it’s hard, but just take deep breaths and stay calm. Don’t panic. I promise I’ll be right back.”

“You swear?”

“I give you my word. You do some deep breathing exercises, okay?”

I nodded and watched him leave the room, taking his calm with him and leaving me with a slight panic rising in my throat. There’s a sound a door makes when it’s locked from the outside and it’s far louder than when you lock it yourself. Big. Scary. Click.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled slowly and deeply as Big George had recommended. It really helped. I was finally calming down when Big George returned with the doctor.

“Hi, Jane. I’m Dr. Knowles. How are you doing?” Dr. Knowles was a petite woman around forty-five. She was wearing black pants with a light pink blazer that reminded me of a lollipop. Her salt-and-pepper hair was cut in a short bob. She had these intense hazel eyes that were examining me as she spoke. Big George stood at the foot of the bed and winked at me as the doctor finished her examination.

“Well, I’m in a nuthouse tied to a bed for bashing a guy’s head in with my math book. I’ve had better days.”

Dr. Knowles grinned. “I’m sure you have.” She took out a penlight and shined it in my eyes. “Headache?”

“Pounding. I’ll bet Todd’s is far worse than mine. I didn’t kill him, did I? Please tell me that I didn’t kill him.” This last was directed to Big George.

“I got a call in. We’ll let you know as soon as they call back.”

I licked my parched lips. “Thank you.” I could feel Dr. Knowles studying me; assessing my stability. I felt like a lab rat caught in a maze.

“Big George seems to think if we unlock you, you’ll be cooperative. What do you think?”

I nodded and licked my lips again. “Believe it or not, doctor, I’m not really a violent person.”

She smiled and motioned for Big George to leave. He did. “Then what happened, Jane? It says here,” she opened up a file with my name on it. “You were repeatedly striking a young man in the head with your math book. Is that true?”

I nodded.

“Can you tell me why?”

Blinking several times, I exhaled. “He was following us home and I thought... I thought...” What
had
I thought when I hit him with my bag? It wasn’t a thought, really; that much I knew. It had been more; so much more, but I had no name for it. I just knew what I knew, and didn’t know
how
to explain it without sounding like a nutcase.

“You thought what?”

“I thought he was going to hurt us.”

“Did he do something or say something that led you to believe this?  Was your reaction provoked?”

Before I could answer, Big George reentered with two other orderlies who were just as big as he was.

“Jane?” Dr. Knowles prodded.

“Honestly? I don’t know. It was just a feeling I had. It was a really, really bad feeling, and scared me.”

Dr. Knowles never took her eyes from mine. “I see. Well, here’s what’s going to happen. George is going to take your restraints off. You and I will chat for a few more minutes and then he’ll take you to your room where we will be observing you for the next  forty-eight hours. We’ll need to prepare a report for the police should Todd’s family press charges. Do you understand what I’ve said?”

I nodded. “Do my foster parents know where I am?”

“Yes. They will be able to see you at the end of our observation.” Dr. Knowles stepped back while the orderlies started unlocking me. My heart was pounding. A flood of emotions that were not mine started pouring over me; boredom, concern, care, even hunger. Yes, someone in this room was hungry, and I knew it…but how?

“Just relax, sweetpea,” Big George said from the foot of the bed. “Let the guys get you out and then we’ll show you where you are and go over what’s going to happen in the next twenty-four hours.”

I nodded and laid there trying to block out the confusing mixture of emotions. When they were through unlocking me, the other two orderlies left, shackles in hand, but Big George stayed at the foot of my bed. “There. Better?”

Rubbing my wrists, I sat up and reached for the water, downing it all into one pull on the straw. “Much better. So, you’re going to see if I’m nuts.”

Dr. Knowles grinned and pulled up the chair. “Something like that. I’m going to ask you some questions just to see what you were thinking and feeling and to try to get a better idea of your general state of mind. Your foster parents are sending us your medical records so we can put all of the pieces of the puzzle together to find out what happened today.”

Looking up at Big George, I nodded. “Is my friend, Danica, okay?”

Dr. Knowles glanced over at Big George in question. Big George nodded. “She wanted to go with you in the ambulance, but couldn’t.”

“She’s my best friend.”

Dr. Knowles  smiled slightly. “Those are always good to have. Are you ready?”

I nodded. About a half an hour later, when the doctor was finished asking me a battery of questions, Big George escorted me to my room. I had never been in a psych ward before, but I had seen plenty on television. Let’s just say that Hollywood usually got it right. There were all sorts of hideous noises coming from people I couldn’t see, but could definitely feel. It was like being on a soundstage with all of these horrendous sounds coming from every nook and cranny of the ward. I swear to God, human beings aren’t supposed to be capable of making such inhuman sounds. It was awful.

“This place is pretty scary your first night here, sweetpea. There are all sorts of screams and noises and sounds that you ain’t never heard before. Don’t let it get to you. Just breathe through it and try to stay relaxed. That’s key here. Stay relaxed. Stay calm. And remember that all of this is temporary.” Big George opened a door to a room not unlike the one I’d come from. There was a bed, a bare toilet and a camera high up in the corner of the room. That was it. At least there weren’t any shackles.

“Thank you for being so kind to me, Big George.”

He stood at the doorway as I sat on the bed. “I get off at eleven, sweetpea, so if you need anything after that, Tony will be on. He ain’t as nice as me or as good-looking, but he can help you get something if you can’t sleep.” Big George winked.