I woke up groggy and disoriented. I was back in Cate's guest bedroom. Was I only dreaming or did this afternoon's events really happen? I got up and walked out to the kitchen where Cate and Peter were talking. "Nine must have had a really full day today." I heard Cate's voice before I saw her. "Oh hey Nine, I hope our talking didn't wake you up." Cate put down her mug and walked over to where I was standing. "Peter showed me all the cute outfits you picked out today. I hope you had fun." I didn't know what to say because if we had gone shopping I hadn't remembered. So I just nodded and gave her a small reassuring smile.
"I put a fresh towel and a change of clothes in the bathroom for you. I'm sure you're going to want to clean up after today's adventure. When you're done I'll have dinner ready for you." Cate said cheerfully as she turned and pointed me to the bathroom then gave me a little shove to get me walking.
I closed the bathroom door behind me and turned the water on in the tub. As I was getting undressed I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. This was the first time I had really seen my reflection since I was young. I was thin and my skin was very pale like a creamy colour. My hair was very long and messy from my afternoon sleep but the colour was one I had never seen on anyone I had met so far. It started out as a dark crimson at my roots and turned to an orange red all the way down until it got to a golden yellow at the tips almost like the colour of a sunrise. My eyes were a bright sky blue and the reflection that looked back at me seemed very startled at what it saw. Even though it was hard to remember what I had looked like before I was taken away I knew that my hair and eye colour were wrong. I sighed and turned back to the shower, there wasn't really anything I could do about it now and I really did want to get cleaned up. I checked the temperature of the water and when I was satisfied I turned on the shower and climbed into the tub. The water felt wonderful on my cool skin and when I was thoroughly washed and shampooed I felt better than I had in a long time.
Once I was dried and dressed I walked back to my room to brush and braid my hair. As I was brushing my hair in the mirror I could hear the murmuring of voices around me. When I turned around to see if anyone had entered the room there was no one there. The voices started getting louder and louder and I could not shut them out. There were so many conversations going on at once that it was nothing but a loud roaring in my head. I grabbed my head and covered my ears in an attempt to try to block out all the noise. My brush clattered to the floor and it sounded like a boulder smashing into the bottom of a chasm. I don't remember doing it but I must have cried out because I heard Cate and Peter come running up the hallway to my room. In my head it felt like a herd of elephants stomping up to my room. I curled up on the floor with my hands still over my ears and no matter how much I tried to block out the sounds they came even louder. I thought my ears would bleed and my head would explode but even that did not happen. The noise just continued to grow.
"Peter, what's wrong with her?!" Cate was shouting as she bent over and laid a hand on my forehead. Peter might have replied to Cate's hysterical question but his voice got buried along with all the other noises. He must have been hovering around the door still because I could not see him.
Concentrate little one...you can block out all those other noises. Just relax and concentrate.
I heard that now all too familiar voice whisper through my head around all the other noises that were still pounding in my ears. I fought to shut out all the sounds other than the ones in the room. I concentrated with everything I had and when the roar of sounds finally stopped I collapsed against the floor and tried to catch my breath. When I was calm enough I opened my eyes to see Cate staring down at me, a worried look on her face. I tried to smile for her but it was too much of an effort. "I'm...ok...now." I managed to squeak out as Cate helped me into a sitting position. The world swam for a couple of seconds and then settled back to normal around me, or at least as normal as it was.
"What happened?" Cate asked as we both got up off the floor.
"I'm not too sure...but I want to try something." I slowly walked over to the window and looked out at the other building around me. There were people out on the street as usual and some of those hovering cars zoomed down the road. "If something happens I may need you to catch me." I said to Cate as she followed me over to the window.
"Are you sure about this?" Cate asked as she watched me nervously.
"No worries, it's not like I'm going to be hanging myself out the window or anything." I replied.
"Well that's a relief." Cate mumbled.
I took a deep breath and concentrated on the people standing on the street corner. The sound of their conversation hit my eardrums with so much volume that it made me stagger backwards right into Cate's waiting arms.
"Are you ok?" Cate asked me as I regained my balance.
"I'm fine." I replied a little breathless. "I think I can hear the conversation that is going on in the street below us." I moved my head a little bit listening to the man and woman on the street talk about mundane things like what they did today and how things were going at work.
"That's impossible. We are ten stories up from the ground." Cate pointed out. "The only thing I can hear is Peter's annoying breathing behind us." Cate turned around to look at Peter whose eyes were wide with shock and was breathing very hard. I had a feeling he knew what was going on.
"What is the matter with you Peter?" Cate asked in an unfriendly tone. Peter did not answer; he just kept on staring at me. He knew what was going on. I wondered if I asked if he would give me a straight answer.
"What is going on Peter?" I asked him as I took a step back into the middle of the room.
"N-n-nothing." He stammered as he tried to pull himself together.
"For some reason I don't believe you." I took another step closer to him as I listened to his heart beat faster in his chest.
"Peter, you know what's going on don't you?" Cate also walked closer to her brother.
"I um..." Peter looked down at the floor and fidgeted like a small child. "I gotta go..." He bolted from the room and I listened as he grabbed his coat, shoes, and keys then slammed the door behind him. I was slightly amazed as I could hear him walk down the hall and into the elevator.
"What was that all about?" Cate mused to herself as she walked back into the kitchen. I was still focused on Peter as I listened to him walk out to his vehicle and drive away in silence. I was hoping he was the type to mumble to himself while nervous but no such luck. I joined Cate in the kitchen and we sat down at the table and ate dinner together.