Freak Island

Chapter 23

"Jake, go home. Sleep. Shower. You can take over tomorrow." Nat said as she walked in the hospital room. Becky followed behind her. "I'll watch over her."

I looked at Mindi's unconscious form. She had been in here for three days. She had woken up about four hours after we had brought her here, but it didn't go well.

After waking up, she had seemed alright until she saw the needles in her arm. It was like watching a whole new person. She had tried to rip out the needles. I had to hold her down while Nat ran and got help. Dr. Tandi ran in and sedated Mindi with FS24. Mindi's been sedated ever since, and Nat and I had been switching guard duty since then, as well.

I got up from the window seat and stretched.

"Call if you need anything." I said, Becky followed behind me.

"Is Mindi going to be okay?" Becky asked. I looked down at her concerned face.

I can't believe Mindi has custody of you, as well.

"Of course, she will." I smiled. "Dr. Tandi won't let anything happen to her."

"But when will she wake up?"

"Well, right now she's sedated. So Dr. Tandi will take her off the medicine when they think she's ready."

"Is it because she's like you, Nat and Austin when it comes to needles?"

"Yeah, she's like us."

We walked the rest of the way home in silence. My mind was occupied with what had happened three days ago.

After Mindi left, Nat and Austin showed me what was in the envelopes.

"Mindi is Becky's godmother? And you three own the house, the island, and another island?" I asked.

"Apparently." Austin stated.

"We're telling you all of this so the four of us can work together in figuring this out. We all have a stake in this." Nat explained.

"Alright, I'll ask Mindi tonight what she wants to do." I said, putting the papers back in the envelopes.

"Will you also explain why we all sent her on that mission during your date?" Nat grinned wickedly.

"It's not a date, Nat." I sighed as I checked the security footage from the training floor. I watched in horror.

Mindi had tackled Will, and I saw Will stick something in her leg as she rolled away. I watched as he tossed a syringe across the room. I ran out of the office.

"Jake!" Nat hollered.

"It's Mindi!" I yelled back as I started running down the stairs.

I arrived at the training floor and saw Will sitting on top of Mindi. I grabbed one of the wooden sparring poles as I ran and hit it over his back to distract him.

He turned back to face me and I hit it across his face. He rolled off Mindi, I saw a knife fall from his hand.

The knife I gave Mindi.

The room turned red. I snarled as I grabbed Will by his shirt and threw him at the wall.

You'll wish you had never been born when I'm through with you.

I turned back to Mindi and kneeled by her side.

"Mindi, are you okay?" Her eyes were barely open but I saw them move towards me when I spoke. She stared into my eyes, and that's when I got them. Memories.

She gave me her memories from her conversation with Brenda and what had happened with Will. She left out no detail. Then I saw her body relax, unconscious.

I pulled her into my arms carefully and slowly stood up.

"Jake, what happened?" Nat came running in the room with Austin behind her.

"Austin put Will under arrest, Nat go arrest Brenda. They're spies."

Austin pulled out handcuffs and placed them in Will's wrists. The handcuffs would release a steady flow of FS24 into him.

Nat ran out of the room, taking the stairs. I made sure Mindi was secure in my arms and took the elevator.

As I stepped into the lobby, I saw Brenda on the floor with Nat's spear pressed against her back.

"Contain them. I'm taking Mindi to the hospital. Meet me there when you're done." I said without stopping. Nat nodded once and then started handcuffing Brenda.

I opened the door to the apartment, I had Becky walk in before me.

"Is all your homework done?" I asked, hanging our coats on the wall hooks by the door.

"Yeah, I finished it. Are you sure Mindi's going to be okay?"

I looked into her brown eyes, filled with worry. The picture Mindi showed me came to my mind. The three of us, happy.

How long has Mindi been gone? What kind of relationship has Becky missed out on?

"Everything's going to be fine. There's no need to worry."

"But what about Will? He's in the hospital with Mindi. What if he tries to hurt her again?"

"You were supposed to be asleep when I was talking about that on the phone." I answered.

"I was halfway asleep," she said, looking guilty. "Why is he there anyway, isn't he a criminal now?"

"Yes, he is. But we are still going to treat his wounds."

"Why?"

"Because he has information I need. So to make sure I get it, I have to ensure he stays alive." I answered. "Now, show me your homework and then I'll make dinner."

Several hours later, Becky was in bed and I was on the couch going through the copies of the journals I had made when my phone went off.

"Hello." I answered.

"Jake, it's Dr. Tandi. I wanted to let you know that Mindi's injuries are mostly healed. The rest of the healing process will be bed rest. With that said, I'm taking her off the sedatives tomorrow morning at eleven. I don't know when she'll wake up, considering how much FS24 is in her blood stream, but I suspect that we will start seeing consciousness after at least twelve hours."

"That's great! Thank you for letting me know!"

"Absolutely. Have a good evening."

"You too." I hung up the phone and turned around to see Becky standing there.

"Is Mindi going to be okay?" She asked.

"She's going to be fine. They're taking her off the sedatives tomorrow because her injuries are mostly healed." I answered.

"That's great!" She exclaimed.

"Yes, it is. Now it's time for you to go to bed. You have school." I started ushering her back to her room.

"Can I see Mindi after she wakes up?"

"I'll check with Mindi once she's awake, but I'm pretty sure she'll say yes."

Becky grinned and jumped into bed. I tucked her in and turned on her small lamp that reflected stars onto the ceiling.

"Goodnight, Jake." She whispered, halfway asleep.

"Goodnight, Becky. Son khorosho, moya siyayushchaya zvezda."

I closed the door softly behind me as I made my way back to my research.