Chapter 1: Bed Rest?

“What do you mean, she’s in a coma? I was told she’d be okay!” Jessie asked the doctor in a hushed voice. It was a hospital, after all. Even if Linda was in a coma, she looked like she was only sleeping; if you didn’t look at the cast on her arm from shoulder to wrist, the bandages wrapped around her head, and all the IVs and sensors connected to her body. Thankfully the wraps around her ribs and whatever they did to her clavicle was still covered by the bed sheets. You couldn’t see all the yellow and blue colored bruises where she got hit by something. Some of them were visible though and they made Jessie cringe when she looked at them. Linda had gone through hell somewhere. She hoped the other guy looked worse.

“She’ll be okay,” Dr. Adams told her. “We put her in a coma for two days so her body has some time to heal. We’ll gradually wean her off the medication. She’ll return to consciousness sometime tomorrow afternoon. Linda is going to be in pain for some time yet. I’ll have her on pain meds to ease her suffering.”

“Don’t count on her taking those pain pills. Linda has a personal aversion to taking opiates. What about her career?”

“You mean golf?”

“Yes, she’s a professional golfer.”

“Linda will be able to play golf in the future, with a lot of physical therapy, but she’ll never play professional golf again. Her left arm is held together with steel pins. Her ribs will heal properly but the clavicle was badly damaged. She also suffered five hairline fractures: her right wrist, both legs, her skull, and her left hip. She could play a nine-hole course, but I’m afraid her days of playing eighteen holes of golf are gone. She would be in too much pain to finish.”

Another man entered the room behind Jessie and cleared his throat causing her to turn around. It was the hospital administrator, Dr. Sheppard.

“Jessica, Ms. Strong, we have quite a large crowd gathered in the parking lot outside. I’m going to address them about Linda’s physical injuries and prognosis. Since you have her Medical Power of Attorney, and are a close personal friend, would you mind saying a few words, please?”

Jessie had managed to get access to Linda’s room by producing her POA from Dave Jennings, Juan’s lawyer friend. No one had questioned the POA. It was legitimate. Juan was also allowed into the room. He had a General Power of Attorney for her. The rest of Linda’s friends had to be content with peering into the room through windows in the ICU.

“Yes, I guess I can, but I’m not much of a public speaker. And please, call me Jessie. Only Mom called me Jessica, and that usually meant I was in serious trouble,” Jessie answered.

As the three of them walked out the door to Linda’s room, a parade of delivery men and women started bringing in flowers. The three stood to the side to be out of the way. Five women and three men began delivering all shapes and sizes of flower arrangements. Jessie hoped Linda didn’t have allergies. Sneezing would be very painful.

As they started on the third round of deliveries Dr. Sheppard said, “We’d best move on. The crowd of people desiring news about Linda Spencer is growing. It became too large for the hospital’s lobby several hours ago. We have a podium and microphone arranged. Dr. Thomas as her attending physician will speak first, followed by a few words from me, then it will be your turn. We’ll all take questions, if you don’t mind.”

Outside in the warm Caribbean sunshine a crowd of several thousand people were standing around, waiting on word of Linda’s condition. Jessie was surprised to see so many local island people worried about her friend. It looked like quite a few tourists had also gathered, curious about such a large crowd. Dr. Thomas informed the people of Linda’s current situation, and told everyone about her broken bones and extensive bruises. Dr. Sheppard told them no one knew how the injuries had occurred, but the police were investigating. Then it was time for Jessica Strong to speak.

“As Linda’s close personal friend, I can assure you that everything is being done to ensure she recovers. I don’t know what happened to her. Until she awakens from the medically induced coma no one will have that answer. I do know that Linda will be touched when she finds out how many people came here today for news about her health. That and the flowers she’s receiving will help a lot. We have Linda in our thoughts and prayers. It’s all a matter of time now. Time and healing. The doctors have assured me she’ll have a full and complete recovery,” Jessie told the gathered crowd of well-wishers.

“We have time now for a few questions, then Dr. Thomas and I need to get back to work,” Dr. Sheppard said.

Several people, mostly from the news services, had questions for the group. Most of the questions were routine and touched on Linda’s career as a professional golfer. The reporters were curious if and when Linda could return to the LPGA tour. One question though surprised Jessie. A lot.

“Jeff Dillard from CNN here. Is it true that Linda is in contact with the Angels? I’ve heard rumors here on the island that she is either an Angel herself, or she is a close friend of theirs?”

Dr. Sheppard answered, “She has shown no signs of being an Angel.”

Dr. Thomas added, “After performing extensive surgery on Linda, I can state without fear of contradiction that Linda has a completely human body. No evidence exists anywhere of wings or anything else that would suggest an Angel.”

“What about you, Ms. Strong? You’re her friend,” the reporter persisted.

“I’m afraid rumors are just that, rumors. Linda may have the heart and soul of an angel, but she is completely human. Linda and I have spent a lot of time together. Trust me, if she was an angel I would know,” Jessie responded. Jessie didn’t exactly lie. Impersonating Angels wasn’t the same thing as actually being an angel.

After that Dr. Sheppard ended the news briefing. The question about her being the friend of the Angels was left unanswered.

Back at Linda’s mansion, everyone involved in her career was gathered to hear Jessie tell them how Linda was doing. They had all been waiting at the hospital until Dr. Sheppard told them Linda was going to be alright. They had returned to Linda’s home to rest and await more news about her condition.

They’d already heard about Linda’s golf future. The briefing in front of the hospital had been carried live on the local television channel. Her career as a professional was over. There were some very sad faces in the mansion’s lounge.

“Well that’s it then,” Fred said. “Looks like some of us will be looking for new jobs.”

“Fred! How could you bring up jobs at a time like this?” Diane exclaimed.

“Easy for you to say, Diane. You still have your job at Ping. Mike, Cindy, Joyce, and I are unemployed as soon as Linda gets out of the hospital,” Fred explained.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions here,” Jessie told them. “Wait for Linda to come home, and she can decide what’s going to happen. She may not be able to play professional golf, and maybe she can. Doctors don’t always know everything. Meanwhile, we’re in a tropical paradise, officially working with nothing to do but enjoy ourselves. There’s a beautiful beach outside and a professionally designed swimming pool made to look like a natural kidney shaped pond complete with a ten foot waterfall.”

“Tennis court, too.” Fret, the guy from WaD, said. “I play, does anyone else?”

Joyce admitted she played tennis. So did the two lawyers, Phil and Daryl, and both of their wives. The surprise for the group was that Sabrina played tennis, too.

“I love to play tennis,” Sabrina told them. “I learned how to play in school. When I’m in the zone, it’s almost like the tennis ball slows down. Everything else sort of grays out and all I can see is the ball. It’s almost like time itself slows down for me. The tennis ball even seems to be slower. I do that with lots of things. I focus too hard sometimes, I guess. I’m no good at doubles though. I start concentrating and keep running into my partner.”

“She’s right about that,” Juan told them. “When she starts to read, you have to touch her to get her attention off the book. Otherwise, you might as well be talking to the walls.”

“Tennis could be a useful skill, honey. I think it’s a good idea for you to work on it. Linda could probably help you with it,” Jerry Sanders suggested. “It would certainly give her something to think about while she rehabs from this accident.”

“Was it an accident?” Mike asked. “How do you accidentally get hurt quite that badly? I think she must have fallen someplace. That would qualify as an accident. However, she looks like she got the snot beat out of her by an entire baseball team. Using big-ass bats.”

“I guess we won’t know until Linda wakes up and tells us,” Jessie said. “Juan, the doctor told me that you and I can be there tomorrow when she wakes up, if you’re interested?”

“Of course I’ll be there,” Juan replied. “If there was any chance of her waking up today, we would all be there right now.” There were several murmurs of agreement from the group.

After that, the meeting broke up and everyone went off to take care of personal business, go swimming, or sunbathe. The tennis players made plans to get together for some matches the next day.

Juan and Jessie were sitting in the hospital’s cafeteria nursing cups of coffee and speculating about Linda and the future.

“I wonder what Linda’s plans will be if she can’t play golf any longer. I can’t imagine her retiring at the age of eighteen,” Juan said.

“If I know Linda, she’ll come up with something that’ll surprise everyone. She’s good at that! I bet she takes this lemon life gave her and makes lemon scented soap out of it,” Jessie replied.

At that moment a nurse’s aide rushed up to let them know Linda was showing signs of returning from her induced coma. The two friends followed her back up to Linda’s room.

Linda was becoming more and more aware of the world around her. It felt like trying to walk through walls made of flimsy unprocessed cotton. The Posse was waking up, too. Unfortunately, Linda was restrained. Also unfortunately, the last memory she had was being pummeled by rocks and attacked by illusionary kids. Ret screamed. Linda’s mental anguish reached out to everyone within Ret’s range, which had become considerable. After the primal scream Linda lapsed back into unconsciousness.

Everyone within several miles heard Linda / Ret. Many of those who heard the scream speculated that it was Linda. She did have a reputation on the island as having some kind of involvement with the Angels.

Jessie and Juan were right outside the door to Linda’s room when she screamed. Both of them were shaken to the core. They rushed into the room in time to see Linda sigh and close her eyes. She appeared to be unresponsive, again.

Two nurses and a doctor rushed into the room to check on Linda. After his examination the doctor told them Linda was out of the coma and sleeping peacefully now. The pain meds she was taking intravenously would keep her in and out of consciousness for several more hours. After marking her chart, the doctor and nurses left them alone with Linda.

Jessie sat on a chair next to Linda’s bed and stroked the fingers of her friends left hand. The rest of her arm was covered in a cast. Only her fingers were visible. Jessie had tears in her eyes as her memories returned to the day her brother died.

Jessie was barely holding herself together. ‘I can’t do a damned thing!. Damnitall! she thought, in intense mental pain.

But you can do something, Jessie heard in her head. The only person who ever contacted her this way was Linda!

It’s going to be okay, Jessie. We’ll help you.

Who? Whaaa? Who is this? Jessie thought. What do you mean ‘we?‘

Linda calls me Mouse. Linda’s Posse is here. She’s still out but we’re wide awake now and we can help you help Linda, Mouse whispered.

Maybe you should explain. What’s a Posse? I have to admit, I’m really confused, Jessie responded.

Hello, Jessie. You can call me Ret. I’ll try to explain what we have discovered about Linda and her talents. Firstly, we, the Posse, are her talents. Linda has the talents in her mind, but she decided to name each one. She created us, gave us names, and our personalities grew and developed. There are five of us inside Linda’s mind now. We think Linda is unique in that aspect. Many, many people have psionic talents at varying levels. Most are very minor. Linda is a major psi talent. She never would have realized her potential either, except for the traumatic experience of her attempted rape.

People only use a small amount of their minds. We’ve read estimates as high as ninety percent of the human brain isn’t used. That is where latent psionic talents reside. There is some kind of barrier that stops people from accessing those talents. Think of it as a virgin’s hymen. It has to be broken to reach our full potential. That usually takes some kind of traumatic personal event.