MORTUUS

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

"We are not blockheads, only Baka is and it is nice to meet you, Raquel. I hope you feel the same." He spoke so politely that all I could do was nod rapidly while I watched him speak. I was half expecting Baka— Blake to smack him again but he didn't.

"Same here," he simply muttered, his soothing smile had returned and I smiled back.

"Where are you from?" Gracie threw out excitedly, her unusual soft voice acquired a high-pitched note and for some reason it made me think of cartoons.

"Nope, not gonna happen." Karen interrupted before I could answer. "Out, all of you!"

"But we just got here," Gracie whined.

"Exactly why you need to get your asses out. She would need all the rest she can get." Karen explained as she walked closer to Gracie.

"Technically, she doesn't need any rest," Gracie mumbled under her breath but it wasn't loud enough for Karen to hear, however, she didn't struggle when Karen began to slowly push her out of the room. "Later Raquel, it was really nice to see you. I'll give you a tour tomorrow."

"Thanks, I'll appreciate that. I called back, hearing the smile in my voice. I was quite relieved she wasn't stuck up and annoying. It would be nice to have a friend, heavens knew I needed that.

I watched all of them slowly leave the room, each person making sure to wave to me as they walked out. Melvin was the last to leave and he glanced at me softly as if appreciating his work before turning around to leave the room and he closed the door.

As soon as I heard the click of the closed door. I fell flat on the bed, feeling mentally drained. I was tired, not physically as I couldn't feel a thing but somehow my shoulders felt very heavy. I sighed and rolled to the side, my legs were still on the ground and I tried to get comfortable. It wasn't like I felt uncomfortable but you get what I mean.

I don't know how long I stayed in that position, just there, not thinking, just lying down staring at an empty space in the room as I tried to ease up my mental tiredness.

Sometime later I rolled to my back and lifted my entire body onto the bed and stared at the ceiling as my thoughts churned. I could see why Karen wanted me to be alone, I wanted to be alone right now.

This really was my life now, I took a look at my arm that has been stitched up and covered. I poked it and saw the fake skin sink in. I quickly stopped, afraid I would leave a dent mark on it.

I ran my finger over it but I couldn't feel a thing. Will I really get used to this? Everybody looked so happy, Gracie didn't seem the least bit sad. Don't they miss home, I had barely spent one day here and I wished I could go home, pretend this never happened.

I took a deep breath and sighed loud enough that it echoed in my ears. I then rolled on my stomach and buried my head in the pillow. My head sank in so much that normally I wouldn't be able to breathe but I held that position for almost thirty minutes...

"Argghh!" I suddenly cried out. I was beginning to think leaving me alone wasn't the best decision Karen had ever made.

I sighed and got out of bed. I wanted to try walking since no matter what I did I wouldn't fall asleep and I didn't like my thoughts one bit, I might as well get busy.

The room was large enough for me to move around and I could walk at least twenty feet from one end of the room before I would get to the other end so I could literally run in here. Well, there was nothing stopping me now.

No sooner did my feet touch the ground that I realized this was going nowhere. I was walking alright but the fact that I had to be mentally conscious of every step I took was mentally draining.

I sighed back into bed after a couple of minutes. Every movement I took was the same, I had to believe my body moved even though I couldn't feel it do so. It was very unusual and I didn't think it was something I wanted to dive into just yet.

Without further ado, I took the remote for the television. I still had hours. Karen said they would come to get me tomorrow morning and it wasn't even evening when I got into the room so at least I still had twelve hours to myself.

I switched on the television and surprisingly there were so many movies to watch, series, cartoons and television stations. It was understandable if one couldn't sleep well, one needed a way to keep busy.

I immediately picked a show and got busy. I watched and watched, barely feeling the time that passed by. It felt a little slow to me at first but as soon as I got into the show spirit things got a little faster and as usual I soon lost track of time.

I subtly heard something trying to get my attention but I wasn't about to get distracted. It was the best scene so far and I wanted to soak in every single detail. The sound persisted and I struggled to pull myself out of the realm I had sunk in.

The knock quickly progressed to a loud bang and like magic I snapped out of it, rushing to the door before I could think. I pulled it open in fright. There was Gracie, standing outside, with a half scowl on her face.

"What the hell?!" She blurted. "I have been knocking forever."

"I'm so sorry," I said in a rush. "I was distracted." Only then did I realize that I had run to the door and I was standing all by myself, immediately my legs failed me and I had to hang onto the doorknob for my dear life.

Her laughter rang out, it was soft like her voice. "It happens to the best of us," she said as she helped me to my feet. "But don't worry with time you'll get used to it and the only way to do so is to walk as often as possible."

I nodded my acknowledgment but I was wondering why she was here alone. "Are you set?" She asked as if reading my thoughts.

"Set for what?" I asked, a little confused as to what this was about.