Page 35 of Kylie

I managed to choke back the gasp but just barely.

Chapter Thirteen

Monday, January 13, 2022

Kylie

“Today would’ve been your thirty-eighth birthday,” Speaker Man said, his voice startling me awake.

He was no longer on a speaker, but since I didn’t know his name, it was easier to think of him that way.

I’d been dozing on and off because I had nothing else to do. They refused to remove the blindfold that kept me in the dark, but I knew I had been moved to a different place. Nothing specifically gave it away; it was just the way the sound echoed off the walls. It was different somehow.

I turned my head in the direction his voice had come from. “Would’ve been?”

“If you were alive.”

Okay, someone should probably get this guy some medication. Or perhaps he was helping himself to the painkillers because he was clearly delusional. I was most definitely alive. The beeping of the machine was proof.

“You were declared dead last year,” he said, his voice closer and on the opposite side.

Was it me, or did he sound proud of that?

“I’ve got a copy of your death certificate. Thought about framing it and hanging it on the wall.”

Well, that answered that. He was most definitely proud.

I moved my head in the direction of his voice, wishing I could rip off the blindfold. In order to do that, I would have to have use of my hands, and since they were strapped to the bed, that was a no-go.

“It’s my understanding you’re having problems walking,” he said.

“Probably has something to do with me bein’ dead and all,” I muttered.

He laughed. It surprised me, and not in a good way.

“You’ve got sass. That’ll serve you well, Kylie.”

I didn’t like that he talked to me as if he knew me. I had no idea who he was. Didn’t even know his name. And yes, I’d attempted to get them to fill in the blanks, but no one was forthcoming with details. Not when it came to details about him.

“Why was I declared dead?” I asked, ignoring his comment.

“Because I deemed it so.”

That didn’t help. And it sounded ominous. I wasn’t even sure how to react to it.

I was hesitant to push this guy too hard based on what I’d heard other people mention. They didn’t use hushed tones around here, and either they thought I couldn’t hear them or they just didn’t care. I had a feeling it was the latter. Either way, no one seemed to like this guy, and based on his attitude, I didn’t have to guess why.

“Because I’m a terrorist?” I asked.

He laughed again, this time even louder, the sound echoing in the room.

“You’re no more a terrorist than you are a virgin.”

I kept my expression neutral because I suspected he was watching my reactions. According to what I’d overheard, they didn’t believe that I had no memory of what happened. It was true, though. Unfortunate, but true. A few memories had dropped into their appropriate slots in recent days, but nothing that told me anything about my life after high school—if I was thirty-eight, I definitely had one—or what I did to end up here.

“How do you know me?”

“You’ve been on my daughter’s radar for quite some time.”