Chapter 26
Heather felt a hand stroking her face, then patting her cheek more forcefully.
“Heather...Heather, wake up,” was the soft whisper in her ear. “Open your eyes, Heather. Please...”
Heather obeyed, but forcing her lids open took supreme effort. She recognized Mike’s voice and knew he was there, insisting she wake up.
She had been asleep, she thought, confused and dazed. Good grief, did we sleep together? Have sex? Damn, why can’t I remember? The bed was awfully hard, in fact it was rigid and uncomfortable, but when she tried to move, her limbs were numb and felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each.
“We were zapped, or something,” Mike whispered.
Then it came back. Omar! His snarling smile. His eyes turning bright yellow, like yellow headlights in the night.
“Sucked me dry,” Heather agreed, shuddering. She was able to move her head and turned it sideways to look at Mike. He was on his back, lying near her, stroking her cheek with one hand.
“We were lucky,” Mike said, turning on his stomach experimentally to see if he could actually get up on his hands and knees. Maybe he could crawl.
“Why? He found us.”
“You saw what he did to that stair rail. He could have killed us.”
Breathing was a chore, but Heather took some deep ones, hoping to gather a little strength. “Too messy to dispose of our bodies.” She watched Mike crawl slowly toward the door, reach up and grab the doorknob, pulling himself to a wobbly standing position.
“I feel like a gladiator,” Mike said.
“Strong? Like fighting?”
“No, like I’m wearing a hundred pounds of heavy metal armor...and just fell off the horse. But I think the spell he slugged us with is wearing off.”
“Maybe for you...” Heather said. Trying to sit up required stomach muscles she couldn’t find. “Check out the window. See if Omar’s still around.”
Mike held one hand on the wall for balance and taking tiny careful steps like an old decrepit person, made it to the viewing window, cautiously peeping out sideways before moving directly in front of it. “Nope. Seems like he’s really left, but I can’t see all the way down the hallway. Not enough angle. Michelle’s still in her room and it looks like she’s awake.”
“She’s moving? Eyes open?”
“Yes and yes,” Mike said, leaning down to grab Heather’s hand to help her stand.
Heather smiled as Mike pulled her up. “That’s what I love about men. You all have these wonderful muscles.”
“Mine aren’t obeying correctly right at the moment,” Mike said.
“Well, mine are like soggy undercooked noodles. I feel like I’ve aged about a hundred years. Old and rickety.”
They stood in silence in front of the window, watching as Michelle removed the IV needle from her arm. Her eyes were wide open and she looked totally awake. She was moving fast.
“Something about her is different,” Heather said. “I can tell.”
“She’s been through a lot,” Mike remarked. “We have to get over there. She’ll probably try to escape.”
They just had to get across the hallway, but timing it was difficult with a vigilant nurse who would notice any strange movement in the hallway, and running was out of the question. They both were overcoming mind-numbing lethargy, as though all the vital oomph was sucked from their bodies.
“Actually, we can just stand in the doorway. When she comes out she’ll see us,” Heather said. She tried to take a step toward the door, but her knees buckled.
Mike grabbed hold of her before she fell, but lost his balance and they both went down.
Heather started laughing. “You okay, Mike?” He was on the bottom.
“Take it easy, Grandma. No fast moves for a while.”
“Yeah, Gramps, I’m all tuckered out,” Heather said, trying to sound shrill and croaky, like an old lady.
They froze when they heard an irritated voice from behind them, “Hey! What’s going on? Why are you two in my room? I’m trying to sleep.”
She speaks English, Heather thought, as she looked at the woman lying on the bed. She was young and pretty and appeared extremely irritated to wake with intruders in her room.
“Ah, we’re just checking things. Go on back to sleep. We’ll be leaving now,” Mike said. He looked at Heather and whispered. “If we don’t go right away she’ll call the nurse. Can you make it?”
Heather nodded.
Mike opened the door and glanced down the hall. The nurse appeared to be talking on her cell phone. “It’s safe. I’ll help you.”
He put his arm around Heather’s waist and they staggered across the hall into Michelle’s room, where they both collapsed just inside the doorway, on the floor for a second time.
Heather looked up and saw Michelle break into an enormous smile as she threw off covers and swiveled her legs off the side of the bed.
“The good vibrations were right!” Michelle said as she ran over to them. She grabbed hold of Heather and pulled her up off the floor with ease. Then she gave her a big hug, so forceful Heather thought her ribs would break.
“I’m so, so lucky. Friends like you.” Michelle was shaking her head, tears in her eyes. “How’d you find me? And Rod’s with you? And Mike. Thank you so much for coming! I was so scared.”
“It’s a long story,” Heather said. “But first, we have to get you out of here. Omar found Mike and me and zapped us with some kind of energy drain. We can hardly move.”
Heather and Mike tottered to the bed and sat down on it, exhausted.
“I might have an antidote,” Michelle said. “It sure worked for me. Maybe it can work through me, and zap your energy back on.”
“I was wondering about that,” Mike said. “We were here not long ago and we couldn’t get you to wake
