Chapter 8: The Phone Floor

Stephanie cried for quite a long time after she had talked to Sarah. It wasn't like her to cry so much in one go, but she did. There was a cocktail of emotions rolling around inside of her. Stephanie was sure that Sarah was awake in her bed, monitoring her emotions, but she wasn't about to get out of bed to check.

Eventually, she just curled up in a tight ball and stared, unblinkingly, into the darkness of the room. She did not know exactly how long she stayed like this, but after what seemed like hours Stephanie spotted the first rays of sunlight peeking out from between the shutters of the one window in the room. She stared at the light until her eyes began to water, wondering if there was anything else that her parents had forgotten to mention.

Her fist curled angrily at this thought. Obviously, they hadn't thought it important enough to mention that she was some sort of freak able to see the future and move things with her mind. The more she thought about the subject, the angrier she got.

' What else did they forget to mention, hmm?' Stephanie thought savagely, furious tears spilling from her eyes.' What could I possibly find out next? Maybe I'll sprout wings or something, or maybe I'll find that I have laser eyes...'

Stephanie laughed, though the laugh sounded slightly hysterical, at this thought, before clapping her hand over her mouth quickly. She rolled over to see if her laughter had woken Sarah up, but thankfully it hadn't. Then, Stephanie suddenly had an idea. In a sudden burst of rebelliousness, she threw the covers off her and jumped out of the bed, careful not to wake Sarah. She was sure that she would try and stop her, anyway.

She was going to call her mother. The more she thought about this idea, the more appealing it sounded. Soon, as she stepped out into the semi-bright corridor, she was dead set on the idea. She knew that Sarah had told her not to worry, but Stephanie had to know for sure whether her mother was alright or not. Stephanie didn't even want to think about what she would do if her mother was hurt, or captured.

' Or dead,' commented a small, pessimistic voice in her head. Stephanie shook her head at this thought.

" No," she said softly, trying to dull the panic that was once again growing inside her. Stephanie walked as fast as she could without making lots of noise. She came to one of the lifts, and pressed the call button. There had to be some sort of phone somewhere in the building, it was big enough, after all. Stephanie stepped inside the elevator, and looked at the panel showing the floor numbers.

However, it did not show numbers. Engraved on the little silver buttons were pictures. Stephanie spotted a tiny cross on one of them, and assumed that it lead to the medical floor. She scanned the others, trying to find one that might somehow be connected to communication. Then, she spotted it. It was a tiny engraving of a phone. Stephanie quickly pressed her finger against it, and the lift began to slide upwards. She waited for the journey to end impatiently, tapping her foot as she sometimes did when she felt anxious.

After a short amount of time, the lift doors opened, and Stephanie stepped out into yet another corridor, except that this one was a little strange. It was silver, and lining the walls were phones. Endless numbers of phones, built into the wall. And above them all, even more strangely, were names. Engraved on metal plaques were peoples names, all showing first name, middle name (or in some cases, middle names and surname. Stephanie studied the nearest one, that read:

Frederick Kyle James Lulworth

Stephanie did not stop to wonder who this person was, but moved up the corridor swiftly. She was without a doubt that her name would be engraved somewhere, above a small, black phone. As she moved on, she noticed that some of the name plaques seemed to be different colors. Some of them were bronze, some silver and Stephanie spotted some gold ones, though these seemed to be a rarity, and she only spotted two. Again, she did not stop to ponder on the meaning of this, she just carried on walking and checking the name plaques.

After a while, Stephanie was beginning to think that her idea wasn't such a good one after all. She was beginning to become tired walking down the endless corridors full of phones, when she spotted a gold plaque that peaked her interest.

Kale Gregory Thompson

' So, Kale's important enough to have a gold plaque, hmm?' Stephanie thought, her eyes narrowing. Making a mental note to question him about this whenever she saw him next, Stephanie walked on. After just a few more minutes of extensive searching, Stephanie found what she was looking for.

Stephanie Fiona Ferguson

Her plaque was...she wasn't exactly sure what it was. It seemed to be a gray metal, much different to the silver plaques that she had seen during her search. And, now that she looked even more closely, there was a tiny question mark underneath her name. She frowned, thinking about what this could mean. Could it be that they thought they might have gotten her name wrong? It didn't seem likely that the explanation would be so normal.

' Your mother! Remember!' her mind shrieked at her, jerking Stephanie unceremoniously out of her reverie. She reached forward to clasp the glossy black phone in her hand, when the back of her neck seemed to prickle. She began to feel the exact feeling that someone gets when a stranger is watching them.

" No, you're just being paranoid because it's dark up here," Stephanie whispered to herself. There weren't any lights in the corridors, and very few windows, which gave the entire floor a gloomy, foreboding air to it. Stephanie realized that in her fit of unease she had let her hand fall, and quickly reached for the phone again.

She heard a tiny noise behind her. It was so small, in fact, that she was surprised and slightly disturbed that she could hear it with such ease. Then, following the noise, a small intake of breath. Stephanie froze, her hand hovering over the phone. Her first instinct, after all that she had been through the past few days, was to run as fast as she could down the corridor, try and find an elevator, and alert the others that there was someone on the 'phone' floor, as she now thought of it. Perhaps Sarah, or Kale, or maybe even George and Amelia (though she was a little apprehensive about talking to the last two of her own accord).

But, when she heard another small breath, her plan became instantly muddled in her head. In a surge of bravery (or idiocy, she wasn't sure), Stephanie spun on her heel and grabbed the person behind her by the neck, tackling them to the ground. The figure grunted in pain.

" Jesus christ, no wonder George told us too be careful around you," Stephanie heard the figure complain. Her hold in his neck loosened instantly.

" Kale?" she asked worriedly." Oh, god, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

" No," Kale said, though his tone was thoroughly annoyed anyway.

" Sorry, sorry!" Stephanie said, her face burning with the embarrassment of attacking him.

" Yeah, whatever," Kale grumbled, then he grinned at her, flashing brilliantly white teeth." Not that I'm complaining or anything, but if anyone happens to walk by now it's gonna be kinda hard to explain why your on top of me."

Stephanie's sympathy vanished instantly. Throwing him a dirty look, she jumped off of him, stumbling slightly as her bare feet slipped on the polished floor. Kale saw her stumble and grabbed her arm, yanking her upright. Stephanie jerked out of his grip in disgust.

" Pervert," she snapped, shoving him away. Her temper was up again. Apparently, it didn't take much to set her off anymore. Even Kale's small jibe had made her furious. Stephanie wasn't sure if she was trying to defend herself or just eager for a fight. Probably both, know that she thought about it properly.

" What happened to 'sorry I hurt you'?" Kale asked. The words sounded angry, but his tone was not provocative in any way. Stephanie felt a stab of annoyance. She wanted to argue with someone, and Kale was actually being reasonable and pleasant for once. She turned away, frowning. There was silence from behind her. Stephanie wondered whether he had left. Her eyes alighted on the phone in front of her, the thing that she had been looking for the past hour or so. Stephanie wanted badly to pick the phone up, but didn't want to do it whilst Kale might be watching. She was sure that his being here just as she was about to contact her mother wasn't a coincidence.

" Aren't you going to call her?" Kale questioned her, confirming her suspicions that he already knew what she was doing. Stephanie turned around to face him, annoyance blazing in her eyes once more.

" Yes, I am," she said, her tone full of defiance." And don't try and stop me-or-or I'll-"

" Stutter at me?"

Stephanie threw him a look of pure venom. She saw, with surprise, that his amused expression seemed too falter for a fraction of a second, almost undetectable (and yet, once again, she saw it with perfect clarity), before he smiled again and folded his arms, leaning casually against the opposite wall.

" Fine, it's not as if I particularly care, it's just Sarah that was freaked out when she saw you were gone," he commented. Stephanie blinked, Kale's apparent lack of interest catching her off guard. She quickly pulled herself together, trying to act like he was, uncaring and casual. She turned to face the phone once again, grabbing it and putting it too her ear before there were anymore interruptions. Stephanie then remembered that she needed to dial the number before she could hear her mother's voice.

' Idiot,' her inner thoughts sneered.

' Shut up,' she mentally snapped back at them. Sensing Kale's eyes on her back, Stephanie lifted the phone away from her ear, her cheeks burning slightly in embarrassment again. She studied the phone, frowning as she detected no sign of dials or buttons anywhere on its smooth, black surface. She looked up at the holder, wondering if the buttons might be situated on it instead of the actual phone. When she detected none, Stephanie gave a sigh of aggravation. She was sick of being constantly confused.

' Ha, I knew she wouldn't be able to figure it out,' came Kale's sarcastic voice from behind her. Stephanie whirled around angrily. That was the last straw.

" WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME!" Stephanie demanded. Kale's expression was dumbfounded.

" I didn't say anything!" He said hastily, his expression genuinely shocked at her outburst. This only made Stephanie angrier.

' Is he seriously trying to play innocent? What an idiot! she thought. Stephanie took a deep breath. She didn't want anything weird to happen to Kale and be blamed for it, as much as he was angering her.

" I heard you!" She told him, though her voice was quieter now. Her calming breath seemed to have done exactly that." You snide son of a b-"

" But I didn't say anything, honestly!" Kale insisted, his hands in the air. His voice was innocent. In fact, it was so innocent and shocked that Stephanie began to doubt the credibility of her accusation. Maybe she had been hearing things? Was it possible that weariness, coupled with her need for a fight had caused her to invent the entire thing in her head?

" But-" Stephanie said, yet more confusion in her voice, with just a hint of fear at the possibility of beginning to hear things." I heard you. You said ' Ha, I knew she wouldn't be able to figure it out', and then I yelled at you and-" the fear became more pronounced." Oh god, am I really hearing things now?"

Kale's expression would have been entertaining to watch if Stephanie had not been so confused and frightened at the time. It changed from shock, to confusion, then slowly to a kind of realization. His eyes widened slightly, and his mouth turned into a little 'o' shape, before he quickly composed himself and shrugged.

" What?" Stephanie asked him eagerly. She guessed from his expression that he knew what had happened. Disappointment flooded through her body when he just shook his head and leaned back up against the wall.

" I'll tell you later, I'm sure that George will want to be told first, anyway," Kale said offhandedly." You've gotta call your Mum now, right?"

" Err, yeah, I suppose," Stephanie said reluctantly. If she had to be honest with herself, Stephanie was suddenly finding Kale's ideas more interesting than calling her mother. She debated about whether to call her later and talk to Kale now, regardless of whether she found out before George (she made a mental note to question Kale about George's apparent need to know information about her), but her thoughts interrupted, reminding her of why she wanted to call her mother in the first place.

" Oh!" Stephanie exclaimed. Of course, she had to find out if her mother was O.K. Why on earth had she wanted to delay the call? What was wrong with her? Her mother's welfare was more important than a thousand of Kale's ideas.

' Is it?' the snide voice in her head was back. Stephanie pushed it out of her mind, studying the phone again. As she studied it, she noticed that there was a small square of a hard, shiny black substance on the back of the phone. It look a little like black glass. Stephanie wondered what it was. She turned to Kale, who had a small smile on his face. Trying to ignore it, Stephanie held the phone out to him.

" What do I do?" she asked him.

" You scan your thumb," Kale replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Stephanie turned around again, nodding. She placed her thumb onto the black square. A little beep sounded, and Stephanie put the phone to her ear quickly.

It was ringing.

" Yes!" Stephanie breathed. Her triumph quickly dissolved, and was replaced by apprehension. Would her mother be alive? Would she?

It seemed like an age before the phone was picked up. Stephanie's throat tightened uncomfortably as she wondered who was at the end of the line.

" Hello?"

Her heart jumped. Stephanie felt a huge grin slide onto her face as she heard her mother's voice at the other and of the line.

" Mum! Oh Mum, your O.K!" She cried in relief.

" Stephy? Is that you?"

" Yes! Oh, Mum-"

" Your O.K!" Her mother squealed. She sounded like she was crying." Oh, Stephy, what happened? Where are you?"

" I'm at-" Stephanie paused. She didn't know quite what to tell her." I'm at the Sanctuary, I think it's called."

" You're at the Sanctuary?" Her mother asked, her tone suddenly uncertain. Stephanie detected a new sense of unease.

" Is that O.K? Mum, what-" Stephanie began, but her mother cut her off quickly.

" No, it's-that's great, at least your safe," her mother said, her tone suddenly offhand, too offhand, in fact, as if she was trying to avoid something. Stephanie realized very quickly exactly what subject she was attempting to avoid.

" Mum, I know."

Her mother was silent for a few moments. Stephanie thought that she had gone, and was about to slam the phone down in a rage, when her mother spoke.

" Stephy, I-" she said, her voice breaking. There was an undercurrent of shame.

' Good, Stephanie thought savagely. Now that she knew that her mother was alive, her anger at the lies that she had been told was back.

" Look, I couldn't tell you, I just couldn't! Oh, Stephy, you were just a kid, I couldn't!" Her mother pleaded. Normally, Stephanie would melt in the face of her mother's pleading, but this time she did not. Her fury was to strong to ignore.

" Contact me when you have a better answer," Stephanie told her coldly." That's assuming, of course, that I ever want to talk to you again."

She slammed the phone back into it's holder. Turning around, she began to walk back down the corridor, towards the lift. Kale ran to keep up with her, drawing level and matching her pace after a minute or so.

" What was that all about?" He asked." I thought that you wanted to talk to her?"

" I don't talk to liars," was Stephanie's short reply.