“Thank you, Officer Donald. Oh, and tell your mother I said hi next time you see her.”
“Will do. Have a good night.” Officer Donald nodded once at us and walked out followed by the two other police officers.
One of Gran’s friends, Mrs. McCreedy, hugged her and stood up to leave. “Let me know if you need anything. I sure do hope you feel better, dear.”
All of the looks of pity were making me sick. There was no way that anyone was going to believe me. This was nonsense. This was infuriating!
Once everyone had left, I turned back to Gran, who still hadn’t let go of my hand. “Gran, you have to believe me. I’m telling you the truth. I’m not making this up. This is all true.”
“I know, dearie, I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” Gran nodded. “You went through a very difficult situation and you do not want to remember it. That is fine. We will try to recall everything once you’ve gotten some rest. If you want to eat something, I’ll fix whatever you want.” Gran stroked my hair.
“Gran!” Tears of fury began to rise in my eyes. If anyone was going to listen to me, if anyone was going to believe me, it had to be my grandmother. “Please, just hear me out. You have to.”
“I will. Just go lie down, and when you decide to get up, we can talk, okay? I need to call your mother and tell her that you are safe.”
My lip quivered slightly. My entire life, Gran was one of the only people who would always believe me. Since Dad died, she was the only person who was always on my side no matter what. She was the one person I could depend on. Now when I needed her the most, she’s wasn’t there for me. I had never been hurt more than now.
I ran into my room and shut the door, all the pent up frustration, all of the fear for my life, for Dylan’s, Samantha’s, Dr. Wilcox, and Max, it all burst out of me like a ruptured dam. Tears flowed down my cheeks like Angel Falls as I slid down to the floor and crumpled into a ball, sobbing on the floor of my bedroom. I felt alone in the world. Alone in this world full of doubtful people. Full of people more prone to say that someone is crazy than to believe in the outrageous. People who didn’t believe in anything unless they saw it right in front of their face.
My entire insides dissolved and came out through my tears; I felt lost. Because of my failure, Dylan and Dr. Wilcox could be facing death or worse. I fell down onto my side, curling up on the floor of my room crying hopelessly.
Crackles of thunder awoke me. I pushed up into a sitting position. My eyes were partly swollen from crying, making it difficult to see. I jolted as another thunderclap sounded and a bolt of lightning illuminated my room. The entire room returned to black, leaving only a sliver of light from under the door. Getting up on my knees, I glanced out my window and noticed the police cruiser was still parked in front of the house.
Voices sounded from behind the door. I stood on wobbly legs to walk over to it, my sore legs making it a chore to cross the few feet to the wall. Pressing my ear to the door, voices could be heard.
“Welcome to Divine Health. We are the premier health company in the world. Our scientists and medical professionals have discovered the cures that make modern everyday life possible. Because of our company, there is no more cancer, no AIDS, ALS, diabetes, unexplained or unsolved pain, and no unknown mental disorders. We have everything covered. We will find out what is ailing your loved one so they can get back on their feet. Please describe your symptoms,” came the robotic voice.
Gran answered and was soon connected to a care provider—also robotic of course.
“Don’t worry, ma’am. We will discover what is wrong with your granddaughter. We will find out what is ailing her so she can return to peace of mind. We’re lucky to live in a day and age where anything about the body—mental or physical—can easily be solved.”
I pulled my head back from the door, disgusted. Opening the door a crack as quietly as I could, I spotted Gran standing in front of a hologram of a VEDP, a Virtual Emergency Doctor Projection. Gran grasped the necklace she always wore around her neck that was a present from Grandfather, twisting it between her fingers as I had seen her do many times when she was worried or distressed.
“I just want my granddaughter to be okay. I am so worried about her and she keeps talking nonsense.”
“That’s okay, ma’am. I need to ask you a few questions before I ask you to get your granddaughter so that we can evaluate her.”
I quietly closed the door and stepped back away from it.
This wasn’t going to work.
I needed help—serious help. No one was going to believe me by myself. I needed to return to Oceania and bring back Dylan and Dr. Wilcox. They would know how to help me convince the adults here of Oceania’s existence.
Grabbing a jacket out of my closet, I sprinted over to the window and slowly opened it. The window creaked as I pulled it up. I snapped my head over my shoulder at the door to see if it opened.
It didn’t.
I waited for another thunderclap to push open the window. Diving forward, I then tumbled out
