Tethered Bonds

Chapter 6

I begin to fill out the paperwork and freeze when I got to the emergency contact info. My dad is in Australia, no point in putting him down as a contact. Chris is the only person I can think of to put down. Hoping this is acceptable, I write him in and give a smirk when I wrote boyfriend as our status. I move on to family medical history. I am almost done with that section when I hear a gasp from Ileana.

Did I do something wrong?

I look up to see what has happened. Ileana is staring at her smartwatch. I guess she must be reading a text.

Within five minutes, I had the paperwork completed. I hand it carefully back to the blue scrubbed nurse that has Marybell on her name tag.

"What floor are we on?" I ask realizing my next challenge of getting out of this hospital. The fact that I can see the top of the trees through the window gave me a clue that I'm not on the ground level.

"Fourth floor." Says Ileana nonchalantly.

Ok, can't go out the window.

"Do you have a map of the floor plan?" Ileana scrunched her nose in confusion but points to a map that was next to the door.

The map had my room circled and pointed to all the fire routes. I’m not able to use those escape routes since the emergency doors would trigger an alarm. I have to exit through the main doors.

It looks like I lucked out and see that I am only four rooms away from the elevator. The main floor will be tough. I have to walk through both the west and south wings to get out. I took in a deep breath, mentally preparing my body for a few tether hits. I was focused on my thoughts when Ileana broke my concentration.

"Um, Mam? Are you ready to leave?"

I open my eyes to see Ileana is standing next to me with my belongings. She was taller than I thought, just an inch taller than me. I envy her body. Her dark skin tone radiated the room. Even though she was thin, it was muscular. I bet Chris would have a hard time keeping his hands off me if I had a similar body. I shake my insecure thoughts away as I nod my head to her.

We step out of my patient room to the glossy floor hallway. It looked a lot nicer than any of the hospitals I had been to as a kid. Everything seems so modern, and the color theme was a delightful pallet choice. The medal color choice was copper with ivory marbles on the walls. A deep purple, so deep you had to focus and squint to identify the pigment, was the accent color.

One thing that seemed off was the lack of people. The hallway was empty. I could see a section that looked like a staff area with desks and chairs that had drinks and half-eaten food still on the desks. About thirty glowing tether ropes were piercing through the walls. My heart was relieved to see none were in my route.

I was still absorbed in my surroundings when I hear Ileana clear her throat. I snapped in the direction of her voice. She was waiting next to the massive embroidered copper elevator. I started to make my way to her when I stopped at the door next to my room.

The zaps kept coming through the wall between this room and mine. I was curious if the person in there was making those zaps or if this room was just an innocent bypass.

I was ready to keep moving to catch up with Ileana, but my body remained in place. Something beyond that copper door has awakened an emotion I never felt. The more I look at the door, the more I feel the urge to open it. My left leg starts to move on its own free will.

Why am I scared yet transfix on this room? What is causing this feeling?

My fingers touched the cool copper doorknob to twist it open.

I felt a warm hand grab my arm and pull it off the handle. I hold back my whimper as an aura engulfed me with stings. Their fingernails had dug into the underside area of my arm where It hurts the most. The pain snapped me out of my hypnosis on the door.

I follow the hand to its owner. It was Ileana, with panic in her eyes. Her aura was overwhelming me as her lavender glow changed my vision purple. Her element, one-inch silver liquid balls that morphed into different shapes based on her mood, turned into shards like a broken mirror. The fragments were moving around her like a tornado. Her other two auras were out of my sight of vision.

I keep my poker face up as thousands of shards penetrated through my body, then circled back around to do it again. The pain seems to not hurt like a cut; it feels more like a needle prick. Though each is a small prick, thousands of them piercing me makes it difficult to stay quiet. A tiny sound escapes my mouth. Ileana’s expression softens as her hand loosened its firm grip. The shards slowed down, making the prickly pain more tolerable. My hand had gone numb from her gripping my arm. I know her hold was not that tight to cause any issues; my intense scratches are to blame.

“Miss, I am terribly sorry. You are not allowed into other patience rooms!”

Her voice was strict, forceful, and laced with fear. There must be some medical policy with heavy fines to act that panicked. I want to look back at the door, but Ileana uses her free hand to grab my shoulder and guides me to the elevator. I feel conflicted about walking away.

What was behind that door? What emotion was I feeling? Why are all the auras here so different and affect me more than others?

My thoughts raced as I step into the lift. Ileana clears her throat as she pushes the button to head to the main floor. I look at her with an expression of a scared, lost child. She turns to look at me. I can tell she is trying to find the right words before she speaks. Unfortunately, I had to snap my eyes to the floor as the elevator began to descend.

A tether, the shade of the deep ocean with tiny white daisies, appears through the elevator floor. It is inches to the right of my foot and heading upward. I barely have time to react before it would touch my upper leg. Trying to act calm, I quickly shifted my weight to turn and land my back against the elevator wall. I was able to dodge it as the glowing rope heads up to the ceiling.

“Um...hope I didn't hurt or scared you earlier,” Ileana says with a drained look. I was too busy starring at the floor to reply. The second floor would be next. I lucked out as an ivory tether with gold dust is on the other side of our little descending box.

“No worries, I figured you had your reasons.” I finally replied with a small smile while I had a moment to spare. I keep my eyes down, ready for the main floor. A pastel pink tether with bronze wires twine around it appears straight in the middle of the ground. The glowing rope stops moving upwards as I feel us stop. The light pink cord is waist-high, piercing straight between the seems of the two elevator doors. A soft ding resonates out as the lift opens. Ileana begins to walk out. I wait a bit before I follow. There is enough room for me to exit the opening, but I lean up against the cold copper metal doorframe and suck in my gut as I inch by it. Once I was safely out of the elevator, I let out a sigh.

I can do this.

I look around to see what my new challenges are. There are only four glowing strings in my way for this hall. My happiness quickly shifted as I noticed no one else was in the hallway still. Without Ileana with me, I would be living in my worst nightmare.

I shook my head to refocus. The ropes were all floating around my torso area.

It will be easy. Take one task at a time. Nobody is watching you.

I make my way to the first obstacle and check that Ileana’s not looking. I turn sideways and dip low as I scootch under the cord safely to the other side.

'On to the next one,' I say mentally to myself.

I repeat what I did before; no point in breaking a system that works.

After safely making it under, I began to stand and felt my leg muscles are starting to get soar already. I regret the loaded carbs I had for breakfast and the trot through the woods today.

If I make it out of this death trap, I better get some killer-toned legs from it.

Fortunately, I get a moment to relax as the third rope is halfway down the hall. Using the opportunity, I up my pace to lessen the gap between Ileana and myself. She seemed to have relaxed a bit, but she appeared overly focus on walking while staring at the floor.

Before I was mentally ready, the glowing strand was before me. I again repeat my actions. Ileana must have noticed my pace slowing down as I see her turn towards me. I quickly shift into a position so I can mess with my boot laces. She stops and waits for me to finish retying my boot. I stand back up, making sure I cleared the thread before rising.

We continue our walk. I'm already on the correct side of the pink tether in the middle of the hall, don't need to worry about that one. I have one more before we turn to the south wing. The tether seems to be moving around a bit; this one will be tricky. I begin to stretch my neck to help loosen any knots. I released my grip on my purse in front of me and naturally kicked it while I walked. It scooted across the smooth floor and stopped way past the threat.

“Oh, butterfingers,” I say light heartily as I start to bend down and go under the glowing cable. I take a few steps under it and grab my purse. I raise my head back up to see where Ileana was. As I finished standing, I feel tingling in my scalp. I turn and see the sparkling cord ended up grazing a few of my hair strands. I continue walking forward to add distance from it.

We turn to the southern corridor where the check-in area and the waiting room are located. I freeze in mid-step as I look around. Not a single person is within my vision.

The sun is setting, creating an overcasting orange glow throughout the area. It would have appeared beautiful had it not strike a nerve. Shivers run down my spine straight to my toes. Seeing all the dangerous strings webbed about made me feel like a bug about to be caught by a spider. On top of that, seeing the place deserted but knowing they are behind the doors has been a disturbing feeling.

Looking for the best path to take was pretty easy. The right side of the reception area had more radiant ropes. Several were going out of the nearby exterior wall made of glass. The left side was the favorable choice with fewer cords. I was fortunate that most were group into clusters around the doors. I would have to duck under six batches; then I would be free.

Ileana started to head towards the right side of the reception; I freeze. If I go left around the reception area it will look bizarre now. I decided to walk over to the left wall and stare at a painting as though it mesmerized me. I hear her sneakers squeak as she comes to a halt. I keep my eyes on the art piece for a bit longer before I turn around. After I made eye contact with Ileana, I put my arms behind my back before I spoke.

“Is there any additional paperwork or sign-out sheets I need to do here?”

Ileana’s eyes shift expressions. Before she speaks, an electric bolt strikes her head from behind. She takes another moment to collect her thoughts before speaking.

“No, your good to go. Someone drove your car and parked it out front. They put your keys in your purse.” She says with a worried smile. “Please call us if you start having issues.” Her tone felt heavier than a concerned student nurse. It bothered me, but I smile at her and nod.

“Thank you, Ileana. You better catch back up to the nurse your shadowing. I was going to use the restroom before I go. I can see myself out.” I point to the bathroom that is a few feet away. She hesitates for a moment before nodding and heads back the way we came. I head towards the restroom, slowly walking while starring at anything that is on the wall. After she turns to the west passageway, I count to ten before I turn back to the exit. I duck under all the strings and push the glass door open.

So cold! But, I am free!

I see my car rental parked not too far away. I ended up having to go under the threads that had projected through the glass wall on the right side of the reception to get to my car.

My hands were already shaking from the combination of adrenaline and the freezing wind. I managed to unlock my car door and hop in. After turning the car on and fired up the hot air, I rested my head against the seat. Now that I'm safe, I can reflect on my situation.

The people in this town are not normal; that was obvious the moment I arrived. They have no clue they are harming me. I wonder if they realize they are different? Although the tethers are a pain, the electric zaps from their heads intrigue me.

It seems like it might be a form of communication. Telepathic? Maybe the northern part of the States has psychics lineage? That would explain a lot. But I thought I would have seen more of them until now. People travel. Why have I only seen one of their kind since I was a child?

I stare at the hospital while I'm in my thoughts. None of the auras in there were moving much; it was creepy. I start to drive off. About halfway down from getting on the main road, I look back at the building. I feel my eyes widen as the auras are moving around so much more inside the hospital. I feel my stomach sour as I see the building buzzing with more life.

I look back to the road and start to drive off when an ambulance arrives and drives by me. A glowing cord projecting out of the back section makes contact on my forehead.

"AAAGGHHH!"

Waves of pain pulsate in my head as I feel the emotions of two other people. I can't focus on them as the throbbing pressure sends my ears to ring.

“PLEEEASE! PLEASE STOP!” I regretted my yelling as it added more pain to my ears.

Many tears are falling down my cheeks. That hurt way more than the first one I received today,

meaning I need more recovery time.

Before anything else happens, I turn the car around and park on the far back corner of the hospital parking lot.

Driving again is not an option.

Going over my alternatives, I looked to see how far away I am from the B&B. Just a fifteen-minute walk. I mocking laugh at myself; it felt like saying just a fifteen-minute walk through a landmine.