Planet 49

Part 8

"Mom?" Jordan called out into the seemingly empty house. "Dad?" She opened her bedroom door and padded across the carpet to the kitchen. She wasn't yet tall enough to see over the counters so she climbed the metal dining chair to peer over the countertop. Jordan sat cross legged, her hands folded in her lap, the way her mother showed her.

"Mom! It's breakfast time!" Her squeaky voice rang out through the vast house. "Hmph." she crossed her arms, sticking out her bottom lip. "Mommy! Im hungry!" she yelled.

Something caught her eye. Her parent's coats weren't on the coat rack. "maybe they are in that secret room." she whispered to herself, recalling a sparkly bottle her mother wouldn't let her hold.

She climbed down and walked to the big secret door. She stood on her tip toes and types in the password. It was easy for her to remember because it was her name. "J-O-R-D-A-N. Beep!" She said to herself as the metal door slid open.

Jordan stepped inside craning her little neck to see on all the counters. She saw tons of sparkling and shining bottles, but what got her attention was the door in the back. The secret room was chilly, she pulled her jammies tightly around her and walked to the door.

"J-O-R-D-A-N." her pudgy little fingers typed in the code and again the door slid open. Inside, Jordan saw several hospital beds lining the long corridor. "H-hello." said a frail, choked voice. Jordan turned her head to see a girl laying in a bed on her left.

She walked to the girl's side. The girl was thin, boney. Her skin was papery and yellow with thick veins lazily pumping blood through her fragile body. "Hi, there." Jordan said quietly, curiously looking up at this strange looking girl.

"Why do you look so funny?" Jordan's voice squeaked. The girl's breathing was raspy and slow. "I don't quite know. These very nice people give me medicine. They tell me it's for science." She weakly smiled and nodded. "I haven't been getting better though."

"Oh." Jordan looked into her deep blood shot eyes. The girl took a pained breath, grimaced, then tried to speak. "You could help me, little girl." She paused and breathed heavily again. "Find me a syringe. It can take all the pain away." She coughed and blood spattered the crisp white sheets. The girl didn't even have enough energy to lift her arms.

Jordan backed away. This girl was hurt. She wanted Jordan's help. Before she knew it, Jordan had turned and ran out of the door.

Jordan heard the quiet thuds of several feet on soft ground, felt herself sway rhythmically . The motion was comforting, blanketing her in serenity. She sleepily opened one eye, she was met with blurry soft greens and browns shifting and swaying with her. The air was wet and smelled like rain. All of these senses, along with the overwhelming feeling of peace, lulled Jordan back into a deep sleep like soft gentile hands pulling her into subconsciousness.

Several times she awoke to this, and several times she closed her eyes again. It would have continued, had she not heard the familiar groan of another voice. Jordan opened her eyes again. wait a minute, I can see! It was blurry and faded, but she could make out colors and shapes.

She heard the voice groan, as if waking and stretching a sore back. Jordan closed her eyes again, and seconds later they snapped open. Everything from the previous night rushed back like water breaking from a dam. The monsters, getting separated, the cliff, her eyes, Penny, Charlie's leg- "Charlie?" Her voice was groggy and wheezy.

"Charlie!" She said it louder this time. Jordan suddenly became aware of her surroundings: below her was the ground, bobbing and swaying like a wave. She was suspended by her arms and legs a few feet above the ground. She lifted her head, inches away from her nose she saw two pairs of dark, bare feet. The feet were swaying with the ground and herself.