Chapter 9: Energy Never Dies
2345 Words
Energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. That is what the first law of energy states. That is what the professor had repeated over and over in class. He had repeated it so many times that Alexa knew she would hear it in her dreams.
She was still thinking about that statement as she reached the last street she had to cross before she reached her dorm. Alexa pushed the button for the crosswalk and waited patiently. When the lights changed, and she saw the signal show it was safe to cross, she began.
Alexa was halfway across when she heard the screech of tires. Before she could even register what was happening, she felt the excruciating pain in her legs as they both snapped. Pain shot through her side as her body wrapped around the front of the vehicle and onto the hood. The last thing she saw was a bright flash of light as her head hit the hood of the car.
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Alexa was standing on the street. She was dazed and disoriented. People were everywhere, and the air was filled with sirens around her. Alexa tried to understand what was happening. That is when she saw a foot, twisted and at an odd angle, and a group of people surrounding the person on the ground.
She made her way to where a group had gathered. As she peeked around the people, she was finally able to see the woman lying on the ground. She let out a gasp. Alexa was the woman on the ground.
She stood, staring in disbelief as she watched someone begin to perform CPR on her. Blood was slowly forming a pool beside her head and soaking her hair, and a small spurt came from her mangled leg with each chest compression.
Alexa held her hands out and looked at them. She turned her palms up and wiggled her fingers. She looked back at her body on the pavement. That is when it hit her. Energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system.
A wave of panic swept through her at that realization. She whispered in her head, “Humans are made up of energy. If energy cannot be destroyed, this is what happens when you die. I’m dead. But I can’t be dead. I can’t be! No! This isn’t happening!”
Alexa tried to scream, but nothing came out, not even the slightest sound. She wanted to cry, but there were no tears. Alexa lurched forward, landing hard on her knees beside her body. She reached to take her own hand. Her fingers passed through the hand, the same as they would water.
“No! No! No!” Alexa screamed in her head. She sat down on the pavement beside her body. As she did, she discovered that she was not breathing while she sat there. “Of course, you’re not breathing. You’re dead, you dingbat. Dead. What does that even mean? I’m here. I know what is happening. I just can’t do anything.”
Alexa had so many emotions flowing through her at once; she didn’t know how she should feel or react. Even if she did want to respond, what could she do?
“NO!” Alexa silently screamed in her head at the man doing CPR on her body as he stopped briefly. “You can’t stop! You have to keep going! I’m right here! There are so many things I still need to do!”
Out of impulse, she stood and walked to the man kneeling beside her body. She was angry with him. She had more anger towards him than she had ever felt. “KEEP GOING!” She screamed in her head at him. As she cried, she slapped him with all of her might. Her hand passed through the man’s face, the same as it had her own hand.
The man visibly flinched as her hand exited his face. He looked startled and looked toward where her energy was standing beside him. He looked down at the girl in front of him and let out a resigned sigh. He went back to doing chest compressions on Alexa’s body as she stood watching.
“Thank you. Thank you,” Alexa thought as she watched the stranger desperately trying to save her. She wanted to hug him and shout, “When I’m back, I’m going to find you, and you are getting a Christmas present every year for the rest of your life.”
A commotion to her left caught her attention. There was a man beside a vehicle. He was trying to leave, and as he did, she understood why the arguing. The car he was trying to get into had a dent and blood on the hood and bumper. He had been the one to hit her.
“You! You did this to me!” Alexa screamed at him in her head. “I will not let you leave. You are not going to get away with this. What is wrong with you? You ran the light. You ran the light and killed me, and now you want to leave! That is not going to happen. I won’t let you.”
Alexa glanced at her body and then bolted at the man who had killed her. She slammed into him, passing through his side and arm. The man let out a yelp of pain as he grabbed his arm. She looked at him and felt joy at seeing him in pain. She would never have thought that causing someone pain would make her happy, but this did. She felt justified as she said in her head, “You killed me; I cause you pain. That is fair, right?”
Slowly, with measured steps, Alexa walked to the man to face him. She stretched out a hand and carefully placed it on his shoulder. Alexa effortlessly pushed it into his body. She saw the look of anguish on his face. That brought a smile to her face. “Oh, you have no idea what is about to come,” she thought as she pulled her hand back.
She circled the man as he stood gasping in pain in front of her. Others who had tried to keep him from leaving the scene had now backed away from him. All had fear in their expressions. If they had known what was happening, they would have been terrified.
“Are you ready for this? I am. I am going to make you suffer. I wish I could make you suffer the way my family will be, but I can’t.” With that, Alexa stepped behind the man and pushed herself into his body. The man screamed and dropped to his knees. She could feel him begin to sob. She had no remorse about what she was doing. Not only had he hit her, but he was also going to leave her there on the road dead like some kind of animal.
“I will not let you get away with this!” She screamed at him in her head.
The man jerked his head up. He had heard her. His head was darting from side to side, trying to understand what he had heard. He tried to struggle to his feet but could not. He landed back onto his knees with a thud. There was a sharp crack as one of his knees hit the pavement, causing him to shriek in pain.
Alexa knew the man would hear everything she said in her head. "Aww, I bet that hurt, didn’t it? That is nothing compared to what I felt when my legs snapped as you ran over me." She felt the man jerk again and smiled, "Oh yes, you killed me, and you are never getting rid of me. I will make your life a living hell."
“Get her away from me! It was an accident! I didn’t mean to do it,” the man half screamed, and half cried. “Please, I’m sorry.”
Alexa paused. She thought about what the man said. She began to laugh, “Sorry? You are sorry? Sorry is not going to help me now! Sorry, it is not going to bring me back! Sorry is not going to take away the pain my parents are going to feel when they are told what you did to me. Sorry, is not going to let me be there for my little sister when she gets ready for prom. Sorry, is not going to let me be there for my brother’s wedding this summer.”
Alexa was going to say more, but something happened. She felt a lurch that was not from her own movement or the man she was inhabiting. She felt it again; this time, there was an almost instantaneous shift.
She made a sharp gasp as she felt a wave of pain. Her body was on fire as she gasped. She left out a low guttural scream as the pain intensified. She was lying on the pavement. She could feel every cut, every bruise, every broken bone in excruciating detail. Tears streamed from her eyes as the pain overwhelmed her.
“Don’t move,” the man who had been doing chest compressions on her told her. “I can hear the ambulance. They should be here at any moment to take over.”
Alexa tried to speak but could not. The effort caused her even more pain. She lay as still as possible, taking shallow, halting breaths.
She wanted it to go back to the way she had been. She had been dead, but she had not felt any pain. That was what she wanted, the pain to stop.
The man who had saved her life was right. The ambulance arrived only moments later. As soon as Alexa saw the expressions on the faces of the paramedics, she knew how grave the situation was. The paramedics worked quickly to stabilize her as much as possible and get her loaded into the ambulance. They gave her medications to calm her and lessen the pain until she could get to the hospital, causing her to lose consciousness on the way there.
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Alexa woke up days later in the intensive care unit. She was groggy and in pain. There was a tube down her throat that helped her breathe but also prevented her from speaking. She felt pain throughout her body. Every breath that was forced into her chest was painful. She could not move her head, but she was able to roll her eyes to look at her legs. Both legs had metal framework around them to hold the broken bones in place. She closed her eyes and began to remember what had happened.
She closed her eyes, letting her mind drift to the accident and what happened afterward. What she remembered could not be the truth. She could not have taken over someone else's body to cause them pain. Not only was it impossible, but she would never intentionally cause someone pain. All of those memories had to be false.
A sound next to her hospital bed made her mind snap back to where she was. Alexa opened her eyes to see a nurse checking her monitors and medications. The nurse saw her move and smiled when she saw her eyes open.
“Well, it is nice to see you awake,” she said to Alexa. “I just sent your parents down to the cafeteria a few minutes ago to get something to eat and some coffee. They should be back any time now. I will let the doctor know you are awake.”
The nurse turned and left the room. Alexa was relieved to know her parents were near. She was an adult, but almost anyone would want their parents close to them in this situation. She felt a wave of calm wash over her as she closed her eyes again while she waited for her parents and doctor.
Within a few minutes, Alexa’s parents and doctor made it to her room. Her parents were both near tears when they saw her awake. They had been told that it was possible she would never wake up. Her doctor seemed almost surprised at her being awake.
“Alexa, I’m Dr. Wells,” her doctor introduced himself. “You are very lucky. You have multiple fractures to both legs, a lacerated liver and spleen, multiple broken ribs, a fracture to your neck, a skull fracture, and a severe concussion. You died at the scene of the accident. If it weren’t for a man who witnessed the whole thing performing CPR on you, you would not be here right now.”
Alexa remembered everything as the doctor spoke. She remembered beginning to cross the road and being hit. She remembered the pain as each bone broke. She remembered standing on the street, looking at her own body. She remembered taking out her anger on the man who had killed her. She wondered if that man was genuinely feeling remorse for what he had done or, for that matter, if he had been taken into custody for what he had done.
Dr. Wells explained to Alexa and her parents, “I want to start weaning you off the ventilator. You are awake, and I think you are strong enough to get started. I also know the police are rather anxious to speak with you about what happened.” Dr. Wells paused, looking confused, before he continued. “The police took a man into custody at the scene. He not only confessed to hitting you, but he also claims that you possessed him, Alexa.”
Alexa had her answer. What she remembered was real. Alexa had been aware of everything that had happened while she was clinically dead. She had forced herself into the body of the man who had hit her. She also knew that the statement her professor had made was true. Energy cannot be destroyed. It only changes forms.
- Writer
