Free Endurance by T. J. Blake Page B

named Lucy
works here and happens to have the same name as a girl named Lucy
you remember from your school, you’ve managed to work this Lucy’s
face into your quite elaborate fantasy.’
    Tom lay back
on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
    He thought of
the trauma he’d been through. Anna’s death had felt so realistic.
He remembered cutting down her corpse and holding her dead body. He
remembered the destruction, the smell of smoke returned to his
nose. He even felt the pain of the burns on his flesh. He
remembered meeting Graham and Danni on the underground and watching
Graham go crazy. He clearly remembered murdering his own father, in
order to save others. After thinking things through for a bit, he
looked over at Doctor Miller who stood to his left.
    ‘ That’s it.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth.
That’s it. You’re back in the real world now.’
    ‘ What
happened?’
    ‘ You entered
a fugue state. You do it quite often, you ‘zone out’ on us. We’ve
determined you aren’t having seizures, but believe you think you
are having some sort of flashback to perceived events in your
falsified past. What did you think of during this
state?’
    ‘ I
dreamt…’
    ‘ A memory?
Was it what happened in your past before?’
    ‘ No. I dreamt
of a long distant memory of me at Disney World Florida with my
parents.’
    ‘ Oh
brilliant, this is a good start to your recovery, Tom. Keep having
these real, happy memories and we can move on from this mad
obsession you have with this fake memory.’
    ‘ Is London
normal then?’
    ‘ London is as
perfectly normal as it ever has been. We can go there if you want,
I will show you around. I’ll organise a day for us to go, but for
now, you need some rest. Here, take this…’ Miller pulls out a small
white tube from his jacket, pops open the lid and tips two red
tablets into the palm of his hand. ‘This medication will keep you
relaxed so you can get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow and I will
see if we can go into London.’
    Tom paused
and looked at Miller more closely.
    He appeared
to be in his fifties; he was bald, with dark eyes that looked
black. His suit was clean with no flecks of lint, dandruff or other
specks of dirt to mar its appearance. His name badge read ‘Dr.
Michael Miller’. He was almost petite, his bones were so small; he
was only about five foot, seven inches, with narrow
shoulders.
    ‘ Come on Tom,
open your mouth.’
    Tom
hesitated, but eventually opened his mouth. Miller put one tablet
in Tom’s mouth, poured some water into his mouth and allowed him to
swallow the tablet. Then he put the other tablet in Tom’s mouth and
gave him more water.
    ‘ You will
feel drowsy very quickly. Once you fall asleep, I will un-cuff your
wrists. I will see you in the morning, Tom.’
    Miller stood
by the bed until Tom’s eyes closed. Miller sighed as he un-cuffed
Tom’s wrists, then, he left the room, locking the door behind
him.
     
     
     
    12
     
    Tom and
Miller walked along the Jubilee Gardens.
    It was a
sunny day in London; the sun glistened off the river Thames and the
surrounding buildings. The London Eye gleamed from the rays. The
grass looked green and healthy, with no dead spots in sight. The
Thames was dark blue with boats cruising along the river and
seagulls fluttering around the water.
    ‘ See Tom,
London is normal. You are very sick and in need of my help. You
just need me to help you.’
    Tom and
Miller walked to the London Eye, Tom looked up at it
smiling.
    ‘ Last time I
was here, this was scattered all across the gardens there.’ Tom
looked to the green, open field.
    ‘ Well, in
your dreams, hey Tom?’
    A light,
engine sound echoed through Tom’s ears.
    ‘ Can you hear
that, Doctor?’
    ‘ Hear
wh…’
    Miller was
shot before he could answer Tom. Miller collapsed to the ground
covered in bullet holes.
    Tom looked
behind him to see the surrounding buildings exploding into
smithereens. He watched