243 The Receiving End
‘No…! Please… Caleb! Don’t go!!’ Ashleigh cried out.
Caleb woke in his room two hours later, his head ached and the taste in his mouth was bitter. He tried to sit up but the room was spinning around him. He teetered to the side.
“Whoa..” a familiar voice called out.
Caleb looked up to see Galen reaching a hand out to steady him.
“Galen?” Caleb said.
“Yea, Brother, it’s me.”
“What happened?” Caleb asked.
“What do you remember?” Another familiar voice asked.
Caleb turned to see his mother leaning against the wall beside his sliding glass door. Her arms crossed over her chest with an irritated look on her face.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I feel a little fuzzy right now… but I think…”
He turned to Galen, only now noticing the sling on his arm.
“I think… do I owe you an apology?” Caleb asked.
Galen laughed.
“Yes,” Fiona said, “yes, you do. Me too.”
“Sorry, to both of you… I sort of remember what happened… but I don’t really understand why.”
“I can answer that,” another voice called out.
Caleb looked around the room but saw no one else.
Galen cleared his throat and nodded toward the bed.
Caleb looked down to see a laptop sitting at the end of the bed. On the screen, he saw Bell smiling back at him.
“Hi,” she said.
“Bell?” he replied.
“Yep, still me,” she replied.
“What’s going on?” Caleb asked, turning to Galen.
“The way you were acting, it reminded me of how Bell had said Renee was acting,” Galen replied. “After Fiona knocked you out, I gave Bell a call to see if she knew how we could help you.”
“So… I was poisoned?” Caleb asked.
“That’s what we thought,” Bell replied. “Galen told me about Eclipsed, it sounds like they might have been targeted with the same stuff.”
Caleb sat up, this time a bit more balanced.
“So, did it was a cross-contamination sort of thing?” Caleb asked.
“Not exactly,” Bell began. “I had–”
“We need to let Jonas and Axel know; they were everywhere I was,” Caleb interrupted. “Axel is still there!”
“Caleb,” Galen tried to get his attention.
“And Jonas’ pack… if they were poisoned… Broken Crag is in danger!” Caleb shouted.
“Hey!” Fiona shouted, throwing a pillow from the couch at Caleb.
Caleb looked up in surprise.
“Listen to your sister-in-law!” she growled. “She’s smarter than either of you.”
Fiona crossed her arms again.
“What did I do?” Galen asked with a pout.
“Who told you to take that hit dead on? You should have dropped the shield and moved out of the way,” Fiona scolded.
“Hey, guys…” Bell called out from the laptop.
“If I had dropped the shield, he would have gone for you,” Galen replied in his defense.
“So?” Fiona said.
“I wasn’t going to put my safety above yours!” Galen scoffed.
“Guys!” Bell shouted loudly, getting everyone’s attention. “Thank you… Can we please get back to Caleb and what happened to him?”
“Sorry, dear,” Fiona said.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Galen said quietly.
Fiona smiled at the affectionate term.
“So, what I was saying, is that I had your medical team run tests, and you don’t show any signs of these chemicals in your body,” Bell said.
“Then what is it?” Caleb asked.
“Oh, no, don’t misunderstand… you were definitely feeling the effects of the poison. But it’s not you that was poisoned,” Bell said. “You were feeling it through your bond with Ashleigh.”
“What?!” Caleb shouted as he jumped up from the bed. “That’s not possible… I’ve been disconnected from her this whole time!”
“No, your bond was open, it definitely came from her.”
“No, Bell, it couldn’t have!” Caleb shouted. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Hey,” Galen growled. “I know you’re upset. But you need to calm down. We are all just trying to help you.”
Caleb clenched his jaw.
“I understand that, but I am telling you, I haven’t been able to reach Ashleigh this entire time! I have tried!” Caleb shouted. “Over and over! I have tried!”
“Caleb…” Fiona called to him gently.
“She’s not there…” Caleb said, his voice breaking. “I reach out to her, try to feel her on the other end, and it’s nothing… emptiness.”
Galen put his hand on Caleb shoulder, squeezing gently.
“So it can’t be from her… she’s been on the suppressant. She can’t reach me,” Caleb sighed, sitting back down on the bed.
“I’m sorry, Caleb…” Bell said. “I don’t know what tell you.”
“I must have been exposed in some way that left no trace,” Caleb said.
“No,” Bell stated firmly. “I’m sorry, but you’re wrong.”
Caleb looked back at the screen.
“Bell, I told you… our bond isn’t–”
“I know what you said, and I understand that there is something that is blocking or hiding, or I don’t know, diverting your bond. But, I know that what you experienced is coming from her.”
“How?” he asked. “How could you possibly know, for sure, that that’s the case?”
“Because, until half an hour ago, you were still showing the exact same signs as Renee, the same brain waves, the same heart rates.”
“What happened half an hour ago?” Caleb asked.
“The suppressant that we gave you went into effect,” Fiona replied.
Caleb looked at Fiona.
“What?”
She nodded.
“Bell told us her theory, the only way to test it was to give you the suppressant, to cut off the bond.”
Caleb stood back up, looking at each of them.
“Our bond… was still open?” he whispered.
‘No…! Please… Caleb! Don’t go!!’
Ashleigh’s voice, moments before he woke suddenly came to mind.
His eyes widened, his heart beat wildly.
“We need to flush it…” he said, looking at Galen. “We need to flush my system!”
“No!” Fiona and Bell both shouted at the same time.
Caleb and Galen looked between the two women.
Bell sighed.
“I understand that you think this is the magic answer, that knowing your bond is open means you can suddenly find her,” Bell said. “But, you already said that you couldn’t feel her. That you thought your bond was already being suppressed.”
“Yes, but that was bef–”
“No, Caleb,” Bell interrupted. “Whatever is causing the disruption in your connection, it is still there.”
“But–”
“Caleb!” Bell shouted.
Caleb looked at the screen, he could see it now, the look of concern in her eyes, the fear.
“Listen to me,” she began. “I want you to find Ashleigh, I want her to come home safe. But, I have already watched as one friend died from the madness that this poison caused. I do not want to see it happen to you. And I don’t want you, to hurt anyone else.”
Bell glanced at Galen.
Caleb looked back at his best friend, the sling on his arm.
“It looks worse than it is,” Galen said quietly.
Caleb stared at the ground.
“I understand…” Caleb said. “But, Bell… if I was feeling that from her… that means she is the one that is being poisoned, right now.”
Bell sniffled, and swallowed.
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“The last thing I heard, before the suppressant took hold,” Caleb began, his eyes glistening. “Was her voice, begging me not to go.”
Bell let out a sob. Galen wanted to be able to hold her, to comfort her. But instead, he glanced at Caleb. He couldn’t imagine that kind of pain.
“Caleb,” Fiona called to him gently.
Caleb lifted his eyes to his mother, tears already falling down his cheeks.
“Do you think, that if Ashleigh knew what happened today. If she could see this room, and know that Galen and I were on the receiving end of it. Do you really think she would keep your bond open?”
Caleb looked away with a heavy sob.
They were quiet for only a moment before the sound of Caleb’s phone broke the silence.
Galen was the one to grab it and see who it was that was calling.
He looked at Caleb.
“It’s Axel.”