M.I.A. by Lizzie Swale

Author:Lizzie Swale [Swale, Lizzie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lizzie Swale
Published: 2017-04-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Jane found herself in the clutches of a great bird, but not like the fish she'd watched this morning. Instead, the larger than possible eagle cradled her gently in his enormous claws. The flesh on the claw felt smooth, like a turkey's foot. They were cruising over the city, and below them, civilization appeared to be on fire.

Even though they were so high up in the sky, Jane didn't feel any anxiety. And even though she didn't know where they were headed, it didn't stop her from enjoying the ride.

Her mind rushed back to her, waking her up; her consciousness aware, but still trapped in the cocoon of an unresponsive body.

When her brain and body finally caught up to each other, she hoped that there was enough time to grab a cup of coffee with Brian and figure out their next steps.

“Something isn't right,” Brian said.

They were in his hotel room, and he'd made coffee in the tiny little coffee maker that had been part of the room's furnishings. He looked terrible, and Jane knew there was no way that he'd gotten any sleep. She realized that she'd never seen him worn thin before, and had no idea how all the stress would affect him.

There was his PTSD to take into account, as well. Even though he never talked about it, she knew that Brian suffered from mild PTSD ever since the war. He always seemed in control, but now that things were going sideways, he seemed to be losing it.

“No shit. Dammit, I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. That’s probably the most honest response that I could’ve asked for right now,” Brian said, taking a long sip of his coffee. “I mean, it would be nice to be able to get to sleep. You know what I mean?” Brian said.

Often, people who had been overseas to fight in the war would turn to caffeine as a kind of security blanket, and then just keep drinking and drinking it. It helped them overcome symptoms of PTSD, like lack of motivation and the general lethargy that's associated with depressive states.

“Do you think it's possible that Kyle is acting out some kind of PTSD, or something like that?” Jane said. “I don't mean to assume more than I know, or insult you by any means. I'm just trying to figure out what could be going on.”

Brian stared down into his coffee cup as if trying to decipher the future from its creamy depths.

“Jane, I really have no idea what's going on with my brother,” Brian said. “As far as I'm concerned, Kyle has been dead for over a year now. Even if something bad happened to him, I can’t imagine him coming after us the way someone did. No, I don’t think it was him…”

Jane found it strange to hear Brian’s voice trail off so much in a single day. In the past, he had been so confident, but now he seemed shaken—and badly so.

Brian slumped down in his chair and looked around the cheap hotel room's wallpaper.

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