Read Online Identity (Eyes Wide Open) by Ted Dekker - Free Book Online Page B

her leaving the room, which didn’t help. They obviously were confident in whatever security measures they had in place.
    Still didn’t matter. She had to try.
    No cameras in the room that she could see.
    Christy sat up, heart pounding. No sign of anyone outside. If she entered the hall and met any of the staff, she could always tell them that she was headed for the lounge, right?
    She stood and steadied herself. They placed a plastic band on her wrist that identified her as Alice Ringwald. It had her number and few letters—S A D, P D—whatever that meant. Maybe her diagnosis. The blue smock they gave her had no name tag. Said they would get her some clean clothes later.
    It was now or never.
    Christy walked to the door, opened it slowly, and slipped her head out. The hall was clear. Same hall she’d first entered, along the same wall that opened to the stairs to the basement, only two doors down from the administrator’s office.
    She gathered herself for a few seconds, listening to the silence. No sign. She would get to the far end of the hall and take the corner. It was really the only way she could go.
    Just walk easy, Christy. Nothing wrong. Nothing wrong.
    She stepped into the hall and turned to her right. Still no one.
    Breathe. Don’t run.
    She headed down the hall, feet numb, eyes on the end where the hall turned to the left.
    The patient rooms all had small windows, six by twelve inches, allowing a clear view of the interior. She cast a glance into the first room she passed and saw that it was empty.
    Still no sign of traffic. She picked up her pace.
    Passed a third room and glanced in as she passed. Patient asleep on the bed, facing the window. She was glad they hadn’t sedated her. If they had she wouldn’t have—
    Christy pulled up sharply, the image of the sleeping patient she’d just passed large in her mind. She spun back and peered through the narrow window.
    A male. Dark hair. Restrained at the wrists.
    Austin?
    But…
    She blinked away the image, but the face refused to change. How could Austin be a patient in the same ward she was in? And in restraints? Nothing made sense.
    She was losing her mind?
    Christy didn’t think to check the hall again. She twisted the knob, slipped into the room, and stood trembling, facing the apparition before her.
    Only it wasn’t an apparition.
    It really was Austin.

    —

    “WAKE UP! Wake up!”
    A sharp pain set fire to Austin’s cheek. Spread into his jaw.
    His eyes fluttered open. Drifted to his right where Christy’s face hovered over him, eyes puffy and red. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail that struggled to keep her tousled locks in check. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead.
    He blinked. “Christy?”
    She looked at him with fear-fired eyes. “Tell me you’re real. Please, just tell me I’m not imagining this.”
    “Where am I?”
    She hesitated. “The psych ward.”
    He was flat on his back with his arms at his sides. In bed?
    His attention flitted between her and his surroundings. He tried to force the world into focus, but his mind was sluggish. He was in a white room with cinderblock walls. Windowless.
    “How…?” Christy looked frightened. “You’re real, though. Right?”
    “Of course I’m real.”
    “Then how did you get here?” She jerked her head toward the door. “They could be coming soon. We have to hurry!”
    “Hold on.” His chest and his heart surged. “Just hold on.”
    Thoughts raced. He had to stay calm. Think, Austin. His mind cycled through what happened in the basement. With Fisher. With the girl.
    Fisher.
    He scanned the room and tried to sit up, but his attempt to rise to his elbows was stopped by the thick padded restraints that secured his wrists to the steel bedrails. The metal chain links clinked in protest. He tugged at them.
    “Where is he?” he asked.
    “Where is who?”
    “Fisher. Where is he?” He knew the man was nearby. Had to be.
    Christy was confused. “I don’t know who