by Frankie Rose
Agatha forgot about the whole ‘accident.’ She went about her work and cooked when the mood took her. She hummed as usual when she moved from room to room. Sometimes she even came to sit on the sofa with me when I watched a movie. She laughed loudly and told me more stories about her childhood growing up in the First Quarter.
Daniel, on the other hand, had not forgotten. He was giving me the silent treatment. It was kind of peaceful, really. I almost relaxed in his presence, enjoying the way he stalked from room to room without even acknowledging my existence. It was far better than being pinned under his fierce glare. The silence that penetrated the room whenever we were alone was almost tangible, though. My skin blistered every time he walked past.
I was so accustomed to his disregard that I almost had a heart attack when he finally did talk to me, breaking my concentration as I surveyed some of the terrible pictures of me they still had tacked up on the wall.
“He wants to see you.”
“P… Pardon?” I spun around. He stood two feet away, smelling of the engine grease that oiled his hands. He was wearing my favorite color—a bright green t-shirt that matched his eyes exactly. The effect was overwhelming. The whole world fell away; there was nothing but Daniel. Nothing but the way he was staring at me, like he could see right inside me. Could read me like an open book.
“Who? Who wants to see me?”
He sighed, apparently impatient that I was lagging behind in the conversation. “Aldan wants to see you.” He scrubbed his hands on his filthy jeans. Up this close, his wavy mess of hair looked unbearably soft. I had a perverse desire to run my fingers through the thickness of it.
Freak. Who goes around touching people’s hair? I pulled him into focus, ignoring the strange urge. “What? He’s awake?”
“No.”
I stared at him. He stared back. Why did he never make sense? I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean, then, he wants to see me?”
“Just come with me. And don’t touch him until I tell you to,” he replied, apparently losing patience with me altogether. He turned to walk out of the hangar but paused when he realized I wasn’t following him.
“What?”
“There’s no way I’m going back in there,” I said. The mere thought of going back into that room set my heart thumping in my chest. Daniel rolled his eyes.
“There’s no point getting angry with me, either,” I told him, surprised I sounded so firm considering how terrified I was. “You told me he was different, that he didn’t want to hurt me, but look how that turned out.” I waved my arm in the air, bound up in a fresh sling.
“That’s because you don’t listen!” The exasperation in his voice cut a little, and I bristled. He took a few steps back toward me. “You’re right. I’m not going to get mad at you. I know that won’t help, because you’re incredibly hard-headed. If you do what I say, then you’ll be fine. Now please…will you just come with me?”
Hard-headed? Did he just call me hard-headed? I crossed my good arm across my chest, ready to dig my heels in. He gritted his teeth.
“Please!” His raised voice echoed around the hangar and bounced off the walls, repeating his exasperated plea.
I hardened my jaw and looked him square in the eye.
“No.”
******
Daniel entered Aldan’s room and dumped me unceremoniously onto the floor. My cheeks were a hot red, the color of humiliation. A sack of potatoes would have been treated with more care. Probably would have landed with more grace, too. I’d given up trying to struggle out of his grip after the first few seconds of our journey down the corridor; he was far too strong, and it just seemed to entertain him, anyway.
Agatha offered me her hand, staring at him in disbelief.
“I thought I said to ask her to come?!”
“I did,” he said. “She declined.”
I refused her offer of help, my pride still mortally wounded. I staggered to my feet with what little dignity I could muster. “You’re really something, you know that?” I hissed.
Agatha placed her hand on the small of my back and led me away from Daniel, who was smirking remorselessly. “It’s okay, Farley,” she said. “I should have known better than to think he could act like a civilized human being.”
Daniel shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the bed where Aldan lay. He looked exactly as he had done before, except this time he was sporting a vintage Motorhead t-shirt. I froze as Agatha attempted to pull me up to the bedside.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. Nothing’s gonna happen.”
Yeah, right, I thought. Sure, he looked harmless enough, but I knew better.
“Just don’t touch him,” Daniel said, as if warning a naughty toddler that kept trying to stick its finger in an electrical outlet. I pulled a face and made a show of shoving my good hand deep into my pocket.
“This is your opportunity to find out everything you wanted to know.” Agatha said. “Aldan thought it was time and Daniel agreed to let him talk to you.”
I looked at Daniel but he was staring at his hands as they gripped the metal frame of the bed. I kept quiet and observed as he reached out and touched the old man on the heel of his palm, just below his thumb.
It wasn’t as though I really wanted him to get thrown across the room, but it was slightly disappointing when all Daniel did was clear his throat. Maybe just a little shock would have been nice. A glazed look washed over his face, and his eyes took on a foggy, distant appearance, as though he were no longer focusing on the room. I looked to Agatha for an explanation.
“It’s normal, don’t worry,” she said.
Daniel’s eyelids fluttered and a gentle frown flashed across his face. Agatha took my hand and led me around the bed next to him. I watched the whole time, waiting to see if it looked like he was about to drop down dead.
“All you have to do is hold Daniel’s hand. Don’t worry. It’ll feel strange for a few seconds, but that’s perfectly normal. Don’t fight it, and don’t panic. I’m right here, okay?”
“You can’t be serious?” There was no way I was willingly going to turn myself into a space cadet.
“I thought you wanted answers?”
“I do, but I’m sure you could just tell me what the hell’s going on instead!”
“Not part of the deal, unfortunately.” Agatha gave me a tight-lipped grimace, shaking her head. “This is all interlinked with Daniel. He doesn’t want to tell you anything. You should consider yourself lucky that Aldan’s a stand-up guy and Daniel can’t say no to him the way he does to me.” She shrugged her shoulders. It was a take-it-or-leave-it gesture. This wasn’t what I’d had in mind when I’d asked for answers.
“Okay. But you have to swear that if I look like I’m suffering in any way, you’ll stop whatever this is. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Agatha took hold of my hand and dragged me closer to Daniel. My heart pumped a little bit faster as I considered what his hand would feel like in mine. The reactions I kept experiencing whenever he was around were really starting to become a problem.
“Now remember, don’t fight it,” Agatha warned, before guiding my cold, shaking hand into Daniel’s warm, capable one.
It seemed prudent to ask what exactly I wasn’t supposed to be fighting, but before I could draw breath my vision started to blur. A moment later a sickening sensation flooded through my body, like I was being hurtled forwards at Mach ten.
It was happening all over again. I was going to get thrown across the room. My legs started to shake, and then…
…nothing happened. I was still standing next to the bed. Daniel’s hand was still around mine, tightening its grip. Bright, flashing lights danced in my vision, twisting everything around and around like a washing machine. It made me feel unbalanced and motion-sick. Focusing on anything in the room wasn’t an option. The more I tried, the more blurred and distant everything appeared. My stomach heaved. I was going to throw up if this didn’t stop soon. Really s
oon.
After thirty seconds, I’d had enough. Pulling my hand out of Daniel’s was impossible, though. The harder I pulled, the tighter he held on, until it felt like the blood supply to my fingers was being cut off altogether. Somehow, through all the confusion and nausea, I knew he would be enjoying this.
The thought echoed through me until all I could think about was how much pleasure he was probably taking from my discomfort. That was all it took. My mind, free from trying to rationalize what was happening, relaxed, and suddenly there was no more spinning, no more nausea.
“Thank you!” I snapped, imagining Daniel had let go. But when I gathered myself and looked around, I saw that wasn’t the case.
Daniel stood, holding my hand in both of his, watching me intently. I returned his gaze, my eyes wide, slightly out of breath. Once he saw I was with him, he dropped my hand and staggered back. His over-eagerness to put some space between us might have hurt, but before the emotion could form I realized we were outside. And the sun was shining.
