Mental Fiction Follows Me

I stayed curled up in the small, confined space. It was dark where I was. Mercifully dark. It was bright on the outside. I could see shadows through the crack at the bottom of the door. They were plotting again.

Plotting what?! I’m so glad you asked! They were not happy to find that their soldier was a female. No, not at all. How to fix it? How to fix it? How to fix it?

Americans will feel sympathy for a female. Weaker than males. In need of protection. Rough her up. Rough her up good. Make them feel bad.

Get her! Get her! Get her!

Something crashed against a wall. Someone wasn’t happy. Something had gone wrong. They were going to come back. They were going to come back. God, please no. Please no, God. Save me. Save me. Save me.

”Sydney, love, please snap out of it. It isn’t real it isn’t real,” Lillian cooed. They’ve gotten to her. They want me to let my guard down. No, I can’t do that. That’s when they’ll get me. No, Lillian, you can’t fool me.

”Snap out of it, Syd! This isn’t real!” Sage screamed.

”Shh!!!! They’ll hear you! I whispered desperately. Things went silent. In my head. Outside of the small, confined space that was mercifully dark.

They couldn’t fool me though. No, they couldn’t fool me. I’d be ready when they came back. I’d be ready. I was not going to be a prisoner of war anymore. No, not anymore. Dear, sweet, Sydney was going to be free. As soon as they came back and let Sydney out of the small, confined space that was mercifully dark. Free.

Aiden’s POV:

Just like clockwork, my eyes opened at two in the morning. I had heard no screams, which only meant one thing. Part of me hoped that things would be different tonight. The part of me that was Sydney’s friend above everything else. The other part was more accurate though.

I tiptoed across the hall and slowly opened the door to Syd’s room. The room was flooded with light, and her bed had been re-made. There was a small dent in the covers in the center of the bed. A book now lay on the floor, as if it had been thrown. There was no bathroom connected to the room, so there were only two places Syd could be.

I got down on my knees and peaked under the bed. Except for a few dust bunnies, the bed was empty. Syd wasn’t having one of the easier memories. No, the lack of sleep had probably brought on the worst one. She’s only had two of these in the past three months. I always needed help during these. I couldn’t handle her on my own. The memories were too strong.

I sucked in a deep breath and quietly walked down the hallway. I knocked on the door Brian had disappeared into, and then I waited impatiently for him to answer. It took three more knocks to rouse him, and he didn’t look too happy at being woken up.

“Aiden? Everything okay?” Brian asked while rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“I hate to bother you, but it’s Syd,” I said. Brian’s eyes widened and he immediately looked wide awake.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” Brian asked quickly. He gripped my shoulders and stared down into my eyes.

“Syd didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want to worry anyone. She thought she’d be able to hide it, but she can’t,” I said quickly. My two sides were warring with each other. I knew which side would win, but it still hurt.

“Hide what?” Brian asked.

“Syd was a POW. Something happened, and the building where Syd and Danny were was blown to bits. Syd managed to save Danny, but he was too far gone. Then Syd got kidnapped,” I said. That was all I knew. I didn’t know any details. I had seen some scars, but I didn’t know the stories behind them. I wasn’t sure if anyone did, except for Syd (and Lillian and Sage, of course).

“What’s wrong with her now?” Brian asked.

“Sometimes I can handle Syd by myself. I can handle the nightmares and some of the flashbacks. She’s having one of the worst ones tonight. It’s going to take more people than just you and me to get her to calm down,” I said.

“I’ll call everyone and get them over here,” Brian said and disappeared back into his room. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. We were in for a long night.

Syd’s POV:

Things were still silent. Silent as the dead. Dead silent. Shh! They couldn’t fool me though. No, I was no fool. I could hear their muffled words through the walls. More plotting. Always plotting. Stupid Americans. Kill the American. Won’t work. Kill the American female. Kill!

A silent shadow passed in front of my small, confined space. So, he thought he was sneaky, eh? Not sneaky enough. I’ll get them. Oh, yes, I’ll get them. I don’t care if I die trying. Death. So easy to die. Living. So hard to do. Survival. So impossible but must be attempted.

Have to get ready. Escape or die trying. Get ready. They’re coming for you. Be prepared. They’re coming. Get ready. Get ready. Now! Ready to attack. Be prepared. Escape. Die trying. Get ready!

Aiden’s POV:

Everyone sat around the living room with wide eyes. They had been half asleep when they came in, but their eyes came alive as I told them what I had told Brian. I didn’t like telling so many people Syd’s secret, but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t do this alone.

“So, is that why you’re here?” Johnny asked. I felt my whole body freeze as I looked at him.

“What?” I asked.

“Are you here to help Syd?” Johnny asked.

“Something like that,” I said.

“So you work for the hospital?” Zacky asked. I shook my head in the negative.

“I was just a volunteer there when I wasn’t busy at college. I met Syd about a week after she was admitted. She was easy to talk to, and we became friends. About a week later she had one of her really bad flashbacks, like she’s having now.

“When she told me she was leaving and finally going home, she offered to let me come with her. I didn’t have enough money for college anymore, and Syd promised to pay me. She calls me her take-home nurse,” I said with a small smile. If it wasn’t for Syd, I might be living on the streets right now.

“What’s going to happen when we go in there?” Matt asked. Nikki was sitting close to his side, and her fingers were entwined with his.

“Well, the last two times she hid in a janitor’s closet. As soon as the door opens, she’s coming out. I know Syd doesn’t seem like the strong type, but you’d be surprised. I’m not really sure what happened to bring the flashback on, but she’s going to fight. We just have to get her still enough to make her realize it’s not real,” I said.

“About how long does that take?” Nikki asked.

“Last time, about an hour,” I said. She always fought until she was too weak to keep fighting back. Hopefully, she would snap out of it before she got to that point.

“Let’s get going then,” Matt said and stood up. Nikki quickly followed him, and then Johnny and Jimmy got to their feet. Zacky and Brian were already standing.

“Right this way,” I said and started walking down Brian’s hallway. I stepped into Sydney’s room and stood next to the closet. Everyone was silent, and there was no noise coming from the closet.

“Is she in there?” Zacky asked. I nodded my head.

“I think you should open the door, and Mat can stand in front of it,” Brian said, talking directly to me.

“Okay,” I whispered and reached for the knob. Matt stood directly in front of the door, and I slowly twisted the knob. It wouldn’t do any good to slowly open the door, so I threw it open. Syd flew through the air and landed on Matt. Matt was a lot bigger than the doctors we’d had at the hospital, so he didn’t fall backwards. He caught her around the waist, and Syd’s fists flew at his face.

“Put her down!” I yelled. Matt released her, and Syd easily landed on her feet. Without stopping to see who else was in the room, she flew at Matt again. Matt stepped to the side, and Syd went past him and landed on the bed. Brian jumped on her before she could get up, and Syd struggled beneath him. Zacky grabbed her kicking legs, and Jimmy grabbed both of her flailing arms. I quickly walked over to the bed and took Syd’s face in my hands.

“Come back to us, Syd. Do you hear me?” I asked.

“No more. Rough her up. No more. Escape. Or die trying. Save me. No more,” Syd whispered. She strained against the people holding her and bucked under Brian. The only thing that remained still was her eyes, and they were focused on mine.

“You’re safe now, Syd. No one else is going to hurt you. You’re safe,” I said.

“Never safe. Never safe. Never safe. Coming. Coming for me. Never safe,” Syd whispered. She got an arm free and wrapped her fingers around Brian’s throat. Jimmy pried her fingers off, and Syd twisted so she could see him. Her eyes connected on his, and she stopped moving completely. Her legs went limp in Zacky’s grasp, and her back connected with the bed. Brian looked over at me, but I didn’t know what was happening.

Syd’s free hand touched Jimmy’s cheek, and a few tears escaped from her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as she continued to stroke Jimmy’s face.

“I’m so sorry, Danny,” she whispered. She closed her eyes, and then her hand left Jimmy’s cheek and her fist collided with Brian’s face. Syd took the chance to get him off of her, and she tackled Zacky to the floor. She went to hit him, but Matt’s arms wrapped around her.

“No! Let me go!” Syd screamed as Matt lifted her in the air. Nikki grabbed one of her legs, and the other foot caught her collarbone. Nikki didn’t back away though. She caught the second foot, and together her and Matt held a still struggling Syd.

“Kill me!” Syd whispered.

“You’re not going to die, Syd! Snap out of it!” I yelled.

“Rough her up. Kill the American. Kill the American. Escape. Survival. Die,” Syd whispered while she still tried to get free.

“Sydney, please, snap out of it,” I said and moved some of her away from her face. Her pale brown eyes were wild. Her chest heaved, and her breath came out in ragged bursts. Her muscles were taunt, and her mouth continued to move.

“Come back to us, Syd,” I said.

“Coming home to you!” Syd whispered. Her legs went still first, and then her fingers stopped clawing at Matt’s arms. Her eyelids slowly lowered, and her whole body seemed relaxed.

“Coming home to you!” she whispered again. She was asleep.