The Descent

Chapter 40 - The Visitor

Denton emerged from his unconsciousness with a groan. His hands went to his pulsating temples, and he squinted and blinked a few times at the bright light above him as he allowed his eyes to adjust. A tickle in his throat forced him to cough and desperately look around for something to drink. He saw a cup of water on the nightstand next to his bed and gratefully drank the whole cup.

The room was simple yet well equipped. On his right, a set of empty chairs and a small, circular table provided a place for visitors to rest their feet. The wall across from the bed was covered with three separate frames that together made up a painting depicting a sunset over a mountain range. Denton assumed there was a therapeutic reason for the imagery. Serenity, maybe?

A variety of medical equipment was positioned within an arm's length to his left. He couldn't help but wonder how many of those had been hooked up to him since he passed out.

How long had he been passed out anyway? Days? Weeks? Longer? He searched his memories for the last fragment of information. A gasp escaped his mouth as he remembered. Mars, the Forsythe facility. They had been on the hunt for Carter when he saw it. Tranquility Haven, the resort he desperately wanted to forget but at the same time was determined not to. It was an unexpected link to the past and the one that explained his uneasiness about Jonythan. 

Jonythan Forsythe had been the owner of the ill-fated resort. He was the one ultimately responsible for it and had been the one Denton, and the families of the victims had been fighting in court throughout the years following the accident. Was the man who seemed so caring and concerned just another wealthy guy who cut corners to make a buck? 

His past experience from Tranquility Haven felt so opposite of the Jonythan he had come to know, however briefly. He didn't at all seem like the guy that would hide behind high-flying lawyers and bribes to get his way. Yet, there was no denying it. That's precisely what he had done. Jonythan was responsible for the death of his family.

Denton suddenly realized he had clenched his fists and he was squeezing them as tightly as he could, his nails digging into his palms. His whole body was tense, and sweat was trickling down his forehead and down his back while his heart tried to beat a hole in his chest. He ripped out IV's taped to his forearms and swung his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up. He swayed back and forth on the cool floor and took an unsteady step forward. Alarms started beeping on the machines next to the bed. A dirty glance and a shove did nothing to silence them.

With a hand on the wall for support, he limped over to the large window on the left side of the room, his mind in turmoil. For days, weeks, maybe even months at this point, he had been working under the assumption that the Forsythe's were both perpetrator and victim. Now he found that they were also directly involved in the pain he had tried to suppress for so long. His mind screamed that they deserved everything they got after what they did to him. The Forsythe empire could break apart for all he cared, but his heart fought back. Could he judge the Forsythe family based on his past experiences, especially when he knew that even today, no-one truly understood why the Tranquility Haven disaster had happened?

Denton put his hands on the window, his eyes closed, his head bowed.  He slammed his hands against the window and screamed before he collapsed on the floor, sobbing, his arms wrapped around his legs, his face buried in his knees. It had been so many years, yet it felt like yesterday. All those years fighting for justice had led to nothing, and here he was, helping the very person he had been fighting against all those years. 

The doors crashed open as a couple of nurses ran inside, their eyes wide in surprise when they saw him on the floor. They gently picked him up and returned him to his bed. He took a few deep breaths as they tucked him back in and wiped his face with the sleeve of his arm. The nurses reattached the IV's and brought him a plate of food with a big jug of water. Commanded to eat, he nodded as the nurses, satisfied he was back in bed, left him alone.