A “Dead” End

Chapter 9

Mom…. Sarah….what happened mom? Is Sarah alright? Please tell me, I have getting scared….what is going on mom….Hope asked Abby. Calm down sweetheart, it’s good news….Sarah came out of the coma…that is great mom…..but if she came out of the coma, then why is she unconscious?. Hope, baby…her body has gone through major trauma and there’s still a lot of swelling in her brain so it’s her body’s natural response as it needs rest, even if it is enforced, to recover. Her coming out of coma is a good sign and you can see her vitals are much better, I will just do a fresh imaging of her brain to check if the swelling has gone down a bit. Why do not you stay with Sarah and talk to her while I make preparations in the radiology room. Hope sank down on the chair by Sarah’s bedside, she was so relieved that her friend was getting better. She did not understand it completely but she really cared about and felt protective of Sarah…..

Abby was very happy with the results of Sarah’s latest brain scan. The swelling was down significantly and she was healing quite well overall. The researcher in her was equal parts confused and excited. There were some anomalies in Sarah’s blood that she was trying to understand. Could these be the reason for her faster than normal healing? Abby was sure she had seen similar blood cells before too but she she could not recall the details….Hope was back to check up on her friend before Abby could give it some more thought. Abby was very happy with Hope’s progress in regaining her previous strength and flexibility. It will take time but her baby was coming back bit by bit. Abby spent the next few minutes giving Hope a detailed update regarding Sarah and checking Hope’s vitals and reflexes too. It was 2 days later when Sarah opened her eyes again……

Sarah was looking at her surroundings quietly and carefully, without alerting anyone about her being conscious. She did not know where she was…..had she been captured again?...Is she even alive? She tried to look at her surroundings, that little effort brought so much pain….at least this means I have alive, there is no way I would experience so much pain in that limbo….let alone dead. Then she remembered that she had been awake once before and she’d seen that girl….. Hope before losing herself into darkness again. Old Sarah may have been satisfied seeing a familiar face but then it was old Sarah who has been betrayed one too many times, this Sarah was cautious and suspicious of anyone and everyone. 

She will not be fooled again, not if she has to survive this war and yes, it was a war against a nameless and faceless giant of an enemy group that had been operating secretly for who knows how long. Her hand immediately went towards the pockets of her uniform where she had kept the device in which she had stored all the information she was able to download before her escape plan went into motion. Something was wrong, she was not wearing her uniform…..where was it?....she needed those clothes to ensure the device was safe in its waterproof covering. It has to be safe, there was no other alternative….it was her only chance to start a trace on the extent of their network…..the only way to destroy it down to it’s very roots. 

She was so frantic in her search that she gave away her current state of consciousness due to her movements. Abby and Hope came, rushing over to her side. Hope was ecstatic that Sarah was finally awake and moving. She bombarded her with endless questions about her health and well being while Abby decided to find them herself by checking Sarah’s vitals, reflexes and alertness. Sarah was in total panic…she has to find her clothes, why would they take her clothes away…what did they want with her? Did they know about the “USB like device”. Should she bring it up….what if she alerts them to it’s presence. Sarah was not sure what to do….how to react….she did not even know where was she? Who were these people and why were they “helping” a stranger….what did they have to gain? Are they part of “his” network?  She could not afford to make another mistake…..no….she definitely could not trust these people….. 

They looked harmless but then so did “he”….. he even saved her back when she used to feel uncomfortable around those teachers and guards and he turned out to be the biggest threat to her safety. She was still mulling over the events of her recent past and trying to decide her next steps when Hope leaned down and hugged her tightly…..I have so glad you are finally awake. I was so scared for you…when mom and I got to Duncan to look for you….(she shuddered before continuing) only to find you so…..so bruised and broken. You were in a coma….like I was before….I….I did not want you to stay in that dark place up there for as long as I did….I was desperately hoping for you to come back….I needed you to come back….I could not face losing another friend….Hope sobbed. Oh, so this Hope wanted her to trust her, hug her back…..gain comfort of her embrace but she will have to be disappointed because there is no way..….no damn way she will ever fall in the same trap again….she needed to be careful though….she could not alert them about her suspicions, she was in no condition to defend herself just yet so she had to play along till she gets an opportunity to escape from this hospital like place.

I have fine Hope, she said….a bit stiff and unsure, trying really hard to hide her intent. Abby had been watching the play of emotions on Sarah’s face, her heart cried out for the poor girl….she was trying so hard to hide her emotions but Abby, who had gone through enough traumatic events of her own, could understand her struggle…..she could see that the poor girl was desperate for some comfort…..a safe harbour but she did not dare trust anyone…. How could she….when it was pretty clear from her condition that someone  tried to kill her…noticing her deep shock and suspicion, it has to  be someone close to her….someone she must have trusted a lot. 

She did not blame Sarah but she could not let her Hope get hurt either due to Sarah’s distrust so she decided to step in….. Hope, sweetheart….let Sarah rest baby. Her body still needs lots and lots of rest in order to recover……maybe you can talk to her a bit later….after she is rested a bit. Hope finally let go of Sarah and nodded, yes mom…you are right…..sorry Sarah I got very excited….did not even think….I will see you later, you rest up…. As soon as Hope left the room, Abby turned to Sarah and said I know you do not know us and may even be wondering about our motives…..I just wanted to assure you that we do not mean to harm or hurt you. I have been where you are today. I can assure you that my only interest in you is because of my baby girl, my Hope who was almost lost to me until you brought her back, somehow…..that is something I can never forget and will do everything I can to repay for your kindness…..with these words, Abby left Sarah to think and rest.

It has been 5 days and there was no sign….no clue….big whole zero….nada…..nothing. “He” was mad as hell….frustrated beyond imagination, how can he be surrounded by a bunch of idiots….these were supposed to be geniuses but not only were they all outsmarted by a teenager but they could not find any trace of her…… it’s not like she could have disappeared into thin air. It is imperative that they find her…..dead or alive, it does not matter at this point. He just needed her body to verify her whereabouts….he would rather write this “asset” off as a loss but he could not afford for her to be alive somewhere outside….. 

He maybe powerful but there were “others” with greater power, if anyone were to find out about this incident….his life would not be worth living….that is what happens when you make a deal with the devil…..you may ride high for sometime but when the fall comes it’s horrific. Thankfully they were able to get the systems up and running in time to manipulate the surveillance videos of this compound, before they were loaded on to the mainframe of the organization…..that would have been a catastrophe. So far he’d managed to contain this incident within their facility so it is vital he fixes everything before the higher ups find out.

He was in deep thought when his security head came over to inform him about the latest results of their search. We did not find any trace of her sir…..we were very thorough and checked all the shores and possible diversions all the way into Duncan, Arizona but there’s no sign of her. It’s very likely that she may have been eaten by fishes or wildlife otherwise we would have found something…..keep looking, do not give up the search but in the meantime arrange for her “unfortunate” death for official records. There should be no form of identification remaining, even DNA testing should not be possible…..that is how horrific this “accidental” death should be, understand…..this should remain strictly between the two of us. Everyone, even your trusted people in this facility should believe what I have said……

Sarah had been debating with herself ever since they left her alone. She even felt a little guilty about the way she acted, despite having very good reason for her suspicions. Hope was so open with her, even when she met her in that place….that limbo. She thought that she had imagined the whole incident with Hope and limbo….maybe hallucinating due to pain but Hope had promised she will find me and save me and apparently she had….why else would she be here and Hope’s mother had thanked her for saving her daughter, why would she say that if it was not true. There was no reason to not trust her but she still could not bring herself to be open…at least not yet…not till she finds out more details about her whereabouts. She needed to know where she was and what kind of place this was?. 

It may look like a hospital but she got the same lab type feeling she used to back at the compound and there’s no way she will spend any part of her life in that kind of prison again. How will she find out about her location….its not like she is even seen anyone else here except for Hope and her mother so who would she ask…..even if she managed to find someone, what is to say they would answer her questions honestly. God, this was so confusing but she can not just stay like this, she had to know….tonight, yes…..she decided….she will start looking for answers tonight after everyone goes to sleep. 

Sarah got as much rest as she could for the rest of the day…this helped her not only conserve her energy for tonight but also avoid more questions….specially Hope….she needed to avoid that girl and her excited demeanour, her hopeful eyes and that bubbly smile….once she had trusted in these things but not now…..not anymore…. It was about 1:00 AM, there was total silence, so this was the perfect time to look into anything and everything that will give her clues about where she was. Sarah pulled her foot down from the elevation it was set on and then proceeded to remove her IV drip. She was in immense pain…..her ribs, her head, ankle, arm, shoulder…. Everything was hurting but she did not stop….it was vital for her to know if she’d been captured again…..to know if these people were part of that evil group. She managed to get down from the bed and dragged herself over to the desk in the corner of the room….she could not put any weight on the broken ankle so it was a very painful and uncomfortable venture but her desperation for freedom was too strong and kept her going. 

As soon as she got to the desk, she slumped back into the chair besides it and heaved a sigh of relief to be off her feet. She tried the first draw, thankfully it was not locked…..this gave her a bit of pause, won’t they have locked the drawers if they wanted to hide things from her?...she immediately discarded that thought and got to work…..nope can not afford to soften up, can not afford to trust….just keep looking Sarah, she told her inner self….look for any clues that tells you anything about where you are or maybe who these people are and what are their motives. She combed through each and every drawer, every corner of the desk…so far all she’d managed to find was some useless junk like letter pads, pens, pencils, wipes…..nothing that would give her any clue about her whereabouts. It seems like she will have to bide her time. It had sapped her entire energy just to get till this desk so how could she escape yet?. Whatever this place is, whoever these people are…..she will deal with them when she needs to….till then she will play the part of a model patient and heal so she can get her strength back……..