She gave him a scathing look before turning on her heel and leaving the room. A few minutes later she returned with the supplies he had asked her to gather. She handed them to him before she left the room in a huff. Jake frowned but said nothing. He knew he did not have time to deal with her right now and set the items on the bedside table. He opened the vinegar and poured a quarter of a cup into the bowl of water. It was an old home remedy he knew would help pull some of the heat from her body.
Once he mixed the vinegar and water with his hand, he placed the rags in and let them soak before he rung them out and placed one on Sara’s forehead and the back of her neck. He took the third and started wetting the skin that was not covered by her shorts and t-shirt. When he reached her left ankle, he paused and shook his head. It was very swollen and bruised. After placing the rag back in the bowl, he left the room. When he came back, he had a bag of ice and another towel. He folded one of her blankets and elevated her ankle before placing the towel and ice on it.
Jake repeated this process for several hours before he left her room to go refill the water bowl. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck as waited for it to fill. Glancing out the window to the balcony he noticed it was already evening.
“Jake?” He turned and looked down at Paige but did not say anything. He was already tired, and it looked to be another long night.
“Um… how is she?” She asked without looking at him.
“Not that great,” he replied. “She still hasn’t woken up and the fever is not responding like I’d like it to.”
An apprehensive look crossed her face as she listened to him talk, “You worked last night, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Jake said, his voice filling with suspicion when he glanced down at her again. He was not sure where she was going with this.
“Then should I help for a while, so you can get some sleep? You’ve already been up for more than a day,” she said, her concern evident in her voice.
“I’ve been up for forty-eight hours,” he said, his tone sharper than he intended. “But it’s fine. I’ve been awake longer stretches than that. I’ll probably nap later tonight.”
Paige gave him a dirty look, “So you don’t want my help then?”
“Normally yes, I would take your help,” he said before hesitating. “I… I just need to handle it myself this time, okay?”
Paige nodded when she realized it was not her. It was because it was Sara. Jake picked up the water bowl and headed back to Sara’s room.
He had no idea how many hours he was tending to Sara when he checked his watch at two a.m. She was finally starting to make some progress. Her breathing was deeper and much slower, and her heart rate had slowed. She was still 102*F, but Jake thought as long as she did not go back up she should be out of the woods. He only meant to lay his head down on the bed for a minute, but he was so exhausted he was asleep almost immediately.
Sara felt like she was floating. She tried to look around but all she could see was endless black in every direction. After staring into the nothingness, she picked a direction and started walking. She had no idea if she was getting anywhere until she caught sight of a small spec of light a distance away. When she reached the edge of the light she hesitated before stepping into it. She shielded her eyes from the bright light and had to let her eyes adjust before she could look around. It appeared she was in a small white room where the young woman she kept seeing was sitting on the floor. The young woman looked up when she approached, and Sara stopped. She just stared at her with piercing green eyes.
“Where are we?” Sara asked, her voice timid.
The young woman turned her attention back to a small black box she was holding.
“Your mind I would assume,” she said without looking up.
“But that doesn’t make sense,” Sara said in confusion. “How am I talking to you?
The young woman stopped and looked up at her with an amused smile. “Since I only appear to exist in your mind at the moment this should make perfect sense. You are apparently trapped in your mind right now. I would make the assumption that you are at this moment unconscious.”
“How can you be so calm?” Sara asked, her eyes widening in panic. “How do you know all of this?
“As I told you before, nothing can be accomplished if you are not calm, and as to how I know all of this, I do not know.”
Sara sat down hard and put her head in her hands, “This is so messed up.”
“Yes, it is,” the woman said as she started fiddling with the box again. After a little while, Sara looked up and watched her.
“What is that box?”
“I am not sure,” the young woman said with a frown. “I just get the feeling I am supposed to open it, perhaps my memories are in here.” She paused. “Would you like to look at it?” She held the box out for Sara to take. Sara stared at it before she reached out to take it. The moment she touched it, she gasped when she saw another image of the young woman. She yanked her hand back.
“Interesting, it would seem that my inference about this box was correct, but it seems only you can unlock it. Perhaps because I am trapped here,” the young woman mused as she glanced around the room.
“If you are trapped here, how did you take control of me?” Sara asked.
“Again, I am not sure. I just felt I had to protect that man and I did it. I feel like I should know him.” A look of longing crossed her face.
Sara grimaced now that she understood why she felt like she should know Kaedin. It was not her, it was this woman.
“How do we fix this?” Sara asked, her voice laced with frustration.
“I do not know. I can do nothing to help until my memories are restored. Perhaps something will trigger them to return,” she said with a sigh. “I am sorry. I wish that I could be more useful for both our sakes. All I know is for now I am dependent on you.”
Sara sighed and started to say something when she felt a strange pulling sensation.
“It would appear you are waking up,” the woman said as she watched Sara float off the floor toward the ceiling.
“But I have more questions,” Sara called. She could see that the woman was getting farther away.
“Ask them. I will answer if I am able.”
Sara tried to fight what was pulling her away. She had to find out what was going on and how to fix it. The unseen force continued to pull her farther away from the light and within seconds she was once again swallowed by pure blackness.
The faint light of early morning was streaming in the window when Sara opened her eyes. She glanced around, and her brows furrowed when she realized she was back in her room. She remembered nothing after the demon attack by the river. A heavy sigh caused her to look down and she saw Jake was asleep with his head laying on his arms on the edge of the bed. She wondered how long he had been there.
“Jake,” she said, her voice hoarse. He was so sound asleep that he could not hear her. She slid her hand across the sheet and laid it on his arm. Instead of waking up right away he pulled her hand closer and rested his cheek on it, “Sara.” He mumbled still mostly asleep. She flushed bright red when he stayed that way for about thirty seconds before he snapped awake.
“Sara,” he gasped in surprise. The relief was evident on his face when he saw that she was awake. She gave him a weak, shy half smile as he reached up to remove the rag from her forehead. Once he moved the rag, he rested the backs of his fingers on her cheek.
“You still feel warm,” he said. “Let’s recheck your temperature.” He handed her the thermometer and she put it into her mouth. A few minutes later it beeped, and she handed it back to him. “101, I can live with that. Hopefully, it will come down the rest of the way today.” He paused and glanced at her. “I’m going to get you something to drink. I’ll be right back.” He did not wait for her to answer before leaving the room.
Sara tilted her head. She heard a strange nervous quality to his voice and wondered what was wrong. It was not long before he r
eturned and handed her a glass of water. She took it and drank all of it. Her throat was painfully dry.
“Thank you,” she said as she set the glass down on the end table and finally looked back over at him. Confusion clouded her face when she noticed he was pacing at the end of the bed. He glanced at her a couple of times before he forced his nerves down enough that he could say anything.
“Uh well, I’m sure this is probably the worst timing in the world. Uh, and, and I’m not really sure how all this works. But, uh, I mean I know there is usually dating involved first. Uh, but, I want you to be my girlfriend. I, mean, totally slow. But with, uh, everything that’s been happening, uh it doesn’t seem to make sense to wait. And, uh, after finding out that you are older than my sister. I, I, uh, would really like that.” His face was red while he continued to pace without looking at her.
Sara smiled and lifted her hand to stifle a giggle. She had never seen Jake not calm and collected, and here he was actually babbling. When he risked a glance at her she gave him a shy smile and nodded yes. He froze in place.
“You will?” He asked in surprise, his face still red.
Sara bit her lip before she nodded again, “Yeah.”
“Oh hallelujah! It’s about time!” Paige yelled as she bounded into the room. Jake and Sara both turned brilliant shades of red.
“Paige? How long?” He stammered.
“Oh, I saw the whole painful thing,” she said with a wide grin. She laughed when she noticed that Jake seemed at a loss for words. That never happened.
“I will be right back,” he mumbled before he retreated from the room. Paige giggled as she watched him before she skipped over to the bed and sat down with Sara. They sat in silence before Paige spoke up.
“I’m really sorry about what happened at the river,” she said with a frown. “I should have been paying more attention. I knew you didn’t know how to kayak, and I was too occupied with Raven.”
“It’s okay,” Sara said with a heavy sigh. “But I’m never going kayaking with you again unless Jake is with us.”
Paige laughed and hugged her friend. “I don’t blame you a bit. I promise if we do anything else, I will do my best not to be totally occupied with the boys.”
“Oh yeah sure,” Sara said with a laugh.
“I did say try.” Both girls laughed before Paige started talking. Sara listened to her for a while before she decided that she wanted to take a shower. She felt all sticky and uncomfortable in the clothes that were soaked by the river and the fever. Once she got Paige to quit talking, she hopped to the bathroom. It did not take her long to get cleaned up and back in her room. She tried to put clean sheets on the bed but was having a difficult time due to her ankle, and the fact she was spent from the fever. After struggling for a few minutes, she sat down in the chair next to the bed with a sigh.
“Let me help you,” Jake said, his voice quiet when he stepped back into her room. He made quick work of the sheets without glancing at her. Sara bit her lip and fought with her own indecision.
“Are you okay?” She asked, her nerves evident in her voice. Jake never talked about himself and she was not sure if she could ask him personal questions.
He looked over at her and tilted his head before he seemed to realize what was wrong.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said with a half-smile as he put the pillow back on the bed. “I just wasn’t expecting Paige to see all that.” He paused when he finished putting the blankets on the bed. “You can ask me anything you want.”
Sara’s eyes widened when he knew what she was thinking without her telling him. She bit her lip before she nodded with a tentative smile. He returned her smile before he laid the last of the bedding back on the bed. When he turned to face her again, he was back to his normal self.
“The last thing on the list for today is getting that ankle checked out,” he said as he held his hand out to her. She could not help but flush when she took hold of it and got out of the chair. They started across her room, but Jake only let her take a couple hopping steps before he just picked her up.
“This way will be easier,” he said without looking down at her as he headed out of the apartment and to the jeep.
It was evening by the time Jake and Sara returned to the apartment. She only sprained the ankle but would have to be on crutches for a week. Hobbling over to the couch, she sat down next to Paige, who was watching TV. Jake followed and sat down on the only other chair in the room. He stared out the window for a few minutes before he looked back at them.
“It looks like everything is under control now,” he said. “I think I am going to head back to the base. I have early duty tomorrow and I could use a full night’s sleep.”
“Yup we have it under control,” Paige said as she nudged Sara with her elbow. She nodded in agreement before they got up to hug Jake before he left.
“Thank you again,” Sara said when she hugged Jake.
“Any time,” he replied with a half-smile. He let go of her and walked toward the door. Both girls waved at him when he closed the door.
“I sure hope there is no more craziness for a while,” Sara said with a sigh.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Paige laughed before they both turned their attention to the movie.
Much to Sara’s delight the rest of the summer semester went by without incident and the girls were now several weeks into their fall semester. It was early evening and Sara was sitting in her room practicing her violin solo for her first graded performance of the semester. She was practicing every spare chance she got.
“Sara,” Paige whined when she walked into her room. “Can you, please, practice in one of the practice rooms? I can’t stand that song anymore.”
Sara frowned as she lowered her violin, “You know I have a test coming up.”
“I know but I really need to get an hour or two of sleep,” Paige said with a yawn. “I’m going out with Raven again tonight.”
“Again?”
“Heck yeah,” Paige said with a grin. “I can’t believe you’ve hardly seen Jake this whole time.”
“I’ve talked to him but he’s doing his residency,” Sara said with a frown. “You know he’s very busy.”
Paige rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah he’s always busy. So, since my brother is a stick in the mud, I’m going to have a blast.” She gave Sara a mischievous grin.
“Shouldn’t you be studying?” Sara countered. “Especially after your first semester grades. If you don’t do well, you’ll be on probation.”
“It will be fine. So, how about it? The practice rooms?”
“Do you really want me to go all the way across campus to practice?” Sara asked with a sigh. She was unable to hide her irritation and Paige gave her a dirty look.
“Yeah, I really do.”
Sara snatched her backpack and violin case off the floor, “Fine.” She stomped around Paige and headed out of the apartment. It took her almost twenty minutes to reach the music building. She looked around to find an empty practice room but since it was so close to testing time for all the music students, they were full. After searching for a while, she managed to find one open, but it was tucked all the way in the back corner of the building. She paused and looked over her shoulder before going in. Something was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. With a sigh, she shook her head and walked into the room, it was just because it was quiet so far from everyone else. After closing the door and setting her things on the floor, she picked up her violin and started to practice.
Several hours passed before she stopped and rubbed her sore fingers. She raised her arm to check her watch when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The sudden feeling that someone was watching her was almost overwhelming. She peeked over her shoulder and gasped when she thought she saw someone duck away from the small window in the door. Jumping to her feet she hurried to the door and peered through the window. When she did not see anyone, she backed away from the door, but the feeling of unease did
not leave her. Not feeling comfortable staying alone in the practice room anymore she put her violin away, grabbed her things, and left. She hurried out of the music building and grimaced once she was outside. It was much later than she thought, and it was already dark. After checking to make sure no one was around, she walked toward the apartment. When she was halfway back, she stopped and just stared at the path ahead. It disappeared around a bend into a poorly lit forested area. She looked back over her shoulder again when the feeling she was being watched returned. After weighing her options, she almost ran as she forced herself to continue along the path. It would take twice as long if she tried to go around the forested portion.
Her breathing spiked when the uneasy feeling in her continued to strengthen. She came around a blind curve in the path and almost ran into someone standing in the way. Letting out a quiet yelp, she jumped back.
“Hello young lady,” a deep voice said as the stranger turned around. He stood in the glow from the one light post that was near. Sara swallowed hard, but she could not look away from his piercing brown eyes that matched his hair. She backed away without answering.
“You do not need to be afraid,” he said.
Something about the way he said those words made Sara shiver. She continued backing away from him as he stalked toward her. As he got closer to her, she gulped when she noticed he towered over her.
“The music you play is beautiful,” he continued with a sly smile.
Sara’s eyes opened wide with fear when she realized someone had been watching her. She tried to move faster causing him to chuckle.
“I am looking for someone, perhaps you could help me.” Sara shook her head and the man chuckled again, “I believe that you already have.” He quickened his pace and Sara scrambled backwards to keep distance between them. She shoved her hand into her pocket and a look of terror flashed across her face when she realized she left her phone in the apartment. Dropping her things, she turned to run but paused when she heard voices on the path behind her.
Whispers of Time Page 15
