The New World: The Awakening. Leahann Cavanaugh

have to do that on your own,” he said to me, looking me straight in my eyes.

      “I don’t want to forget you,” I said as I started to cry.

      He stopped looking me in my eyes and kissed me on my forehead and said, “You won’t.”

      He put his hands around my head, and the bright light appeared. I woke up back in the same building but different room. I didn’t have on a straitjacket, so that was a good thing. But the door was locked for some reason, and I could hear the doctors talk to a man in the hallway.

      “I’m sorry, she said she doesn’t know you or remember you,” the doctors told him.

      I felt like something was missing—a big chunk of my life. I felt alone, cold, and empty.

      “Lyric, it’s time to eat,” one of the orderlies informed me. She brought me food on a tray—grilled cheese and tomato soup with apple juice and a hard oatmeal cookie.

      “I’m not hungry,” I replied.

      “Sweetheart, you haven’t eaten in two days,” she explained.

      Two days? I thought to myself. How long have I been here? When did I get here? “Why am I here?” I asked the orderly.

      “You don’t remember?” she asked as if I was playing around.

      I looked at her with the most serious face.

      “Well, your grandmother passed away about a month ago.”

      “A month! That was yesterday!” I shouted “Get me out of here!” I screamed.

      “Calm down, calm down,” she said as she touched my arm. There it was, that feeling that was so familiar. I knew it. My soul knew it. But I can’t remember experiencing it before.

      “What happened to me?” I asked calmly.

      “I really can’t say, but you blacked out and hurt a lot of people. That’s why you’re here. We know you’re not suicidal or a danger to yourself…” she said.

      “You think I’m a danger to others?” I asked.

      “I don’t, but they do. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to protect you,” she declared as if it was her sole purpose in life.

      “Right, like I haven’t heard that one before,” I mumbled.

      “What did you say?” she asked, hoping I slipped up.

      “Nothing,” I said. Then I started to cry. “I can’t remember! I can’t remember.”

      “Aww, it’s okay,” the orderly said as she grabbed me into her arms and caressed my head. I held her back tight as if she was my grandma.

      I did not know that the whole time she was consoling me, the doctors were taking notes from cameras they set up in my room since the first day I arrived there. As I cried, I started to get hot.

      “Are you okay?” the orderly asked in the most sincere way she knew how without actually being sincere.

      “I’m fine,” I replied. All of a sudden, my torso got ice cold. She felt the heat from my arms and the chill from my torso. Her whole attitude changed. She slowly stepped away from me with this look of disgust on her face. I could tell she knew something that I didn’t, so I used that against her.

      I slowly took two steps toward her, and she damn near knocked over the food tray.

      “Stay away from me, you holy piece of shit.”

      Hold on, time out, I thought to myself. Did she just call me a holy piece of shit?

      “Do you know who I am?” I asked her as if I already knew the answer. She was too frightened to answer like she knew it was a trick question. So I took three more steps closer to her.

      “Don’t come any closer or—”

      “Or what?” I replied.

      “I’ll scream,” the orderly threatened. I decided I would call her bluff, but how? I didn’t know until I felt this feeling tell me exactly what to do. I thought to myself, Damn, I’m going crazy.

      Hoping that whatever I was about to do would help me get my memory back, I took a deep breath, and this jolt of energy burst through me. I flung at the orderly with my right hand reaching for her. She started to scream but not for long. I clinched her chest that protected her heart. She stopped screaming.

      “Who do you think I am?” I asked with one squeeze.

      She said, “Please don’t.” She pleaded with me.

      “Who do you think I am?” I repeated myself and squeezed her heart a little harder.

      “Please, angel, I don’t deserve to go to your heaven when I die.” She cried.

      I couldn’t control what happened next.

      More orderlies arrived at the door; it slammed shut on its own.

      “What did you call me?” I asked as if a specific word just triggered my memory.

      “Angel, that’s what your name means.” She cried, “Please, don’t save me.”

      Without thinking twice, I put my other hand at the upper part of her torso right below her breast, and I whispered, “Everyone deserves to be saved.”

      With no hesitation, a burst of energy exploded from my hands and went straight into her heart and soul. It lifted her off her feet and threw her up against the window.

      She fell to her knees and started to pray.

      “Thank you, Lord, for your forgiveness,” she prayed to God. She then looked up to me and said, “Angel, it’s not safe for you here.”

      Angel. I thought to myself. Who the hell is Angel? I was confused. And it hit me as the other orderlies entered the room and bum-rushed me to the ground.

      “Angel,” I said out loud to myself. I remembered. They twisted my arms behind my back, pulled my pants down, and shot me with a needle. I hated needles.

      Jason and Mr. Graham were still waiting to speak with the other doctors about my condition. No one had a name for it. They couldn’t even tell my symptoms. And since Mr. Graham wasn’t my legal guardian or even a blood relative, they refused to give him any of my information or the status of my condition.

      It took three orderlies to remove me from my room and place me in a safe room.

      “Let me go!” I screamed. “Please let me go,” I cried. I started to feel it again, that unfamiliar yet familiar feeling. I couldn’t remember what he looked like, but I felt he was there.

      “Help me! You promised! You promised!” I screamed as they carried me past a man and his son. Both had tears in their eyes.

      “Jason!” I screamed out as the heavy double doors closed behind me. I’m never getting out of here. I thought to myself.

      Chapter 4

      All Hope Lost

      The next few weeks were a blur. I was so doped up you couldn’t tell you if I was ten or sixty-five. But every day I saw that man and his son. All I could think about was my best friend. I wondered if that boy was him the way he looked at me. The way he would burst into tears every time I made my soul scream out for Jason. Could he still feel me? I couldn’t feel him anymore. Did I die inside? I felt so empty, alone, and cold. So many thoughts ran through my head, through my heart, and through my soul. I kept thinking that there was no one left on earth to love me. So I gave up.

      The next morning they rolled me into a common area. I hadn’t spoken since the last day I screamed his name. From behind I heard a woman screaming at the top of her lungs, “I want my niece and I want her now!” Her tone startled the other patients.

      “There is no record of Lyric Daniels having