Vanish (Book One)
By Sonny Daise
Copyright 2012 Sonny Daise
Smashwords Edition
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Chapter 1: Leaving Hell
I stood outside the hell I’d been forced to call home. Nurse Debby stood at my side with all my bags and one unfamiliar one. I held my breath as I waited for my mother’s blue SUV to round the corner. The gates would open, and I would be free… in one sense. I dreaded the glares, the awkward phone calls that would define every relationship. I needed a friend my best friend was gone. I was accused of killing her. Not even I know the truth but deep down in my heart, bits of memories remain, just enough to haunt me forever. The pieces that hold the key dissolved as if they were never there. I dreamt of that night as I dreamt of other things that in time came true. I never dreamt that I would be the one to kill her. My mind was a complex thing, ever since I was little, letting me foresee the future, and hiding away the memories that mattered most.
I never felt insane until I was brought to this place; I guess they design them that way. After all this wasn’t Meadowbrook hospital for the mentally sane. Staring into a white oblivion I had plenty of time to see that there was something wrong with me. I thought I was normal until I came here, but according to them no one can see the future. Not to mention the whole memory loss thing which the nurses deemed convenient given the circumstances. For if I hadn’t done it, I would remember what happened that night, and that was enough to convict me, at least to this place. There was no evidence, not even her body was found. How these people thought a 115-pound girl could carry off a girl at least her size was beyond me. Nevertheless, other people believed as well. I didn’t hear from one single person during my six-month stay, not even my own mother. I began to wonder if she would show up at all, then she pulled up to the gate.
The nurse typed in the code to open the gate, paying no attention to me watching over her shoulder. 5961. I made a mental note, who knows I could end up back here. The gates opened, and I noticed she wasn’t alone. Sitting next to my mother, who’d cut her long black hair during my stay, was a tall dark featured man who had to be two feet taller than her. Who was he, why was he with her? Was she too frightened of me to come alone? She felt she needed protection? Noticing my reluctance, the nurse opened the back door for me. Once I sat, she handed me my bags, and gave the unfamiliar one to my mother.
“Instructions are inside,” The nurse said.
“I don’t know how to thank you Deb—” Nurse Debby shot my mom a warning glare. I didn’t understand what my mom had to thank her for; it was her job wasn’t it? “Nurse...” my mother said intimidated.
“No problem,” She grumbled. “If you have any problems call this number.” She handed her a folded piece of paper.
“Thanks again,” My mother said under her breath. Nurse Debby shut the door, and my mother took off. I waited for her to say something, after a few moments I couldn’t help myself.
“So…” I said as casual as I could manage. “Who’s this?”
“Joe, I’m sorry I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“What, during all the phone calls, or the visits? He’s sitting right there.” Sarcasm was the only way to deal with her.
“We met when—” she started.
“What, you don’t recognize me?” He turned around. I didn’t, not until I heard his voice. I recognized it from one fragment of memory that remained from that night. After all I wasn’t expecting the officer who questioned me that night.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“I can’t help who I love Scarlett, even if it’s inconvenient for you.” No, I was past inconvenience try traumatizing. It was just another reminder of that night, if I could remember, the case would be solved. While I was certain I wasn’t a criminal, it still reminded me that my best friend was no longer here.
“Okay, mom you’re a grown woman you can date whoever you want, but in this case I would prefer to be kept out of it as much as possible.”
“The three of us will give you as much space as you need, in fact, your new room—”
“What?” I looked out the window. “We moved? And who’s the three of you? Did you get a dog or something?”
“Yes, we moved and yes Joe is living with us… and so is his son, Skylar.”
Chapter 2: One Big Happy Family
There was nothing I could do, if it were my house, I could have protested. This house was theirs, the intruder was me. We drove down a long winding road covered on both sides with forest, another traumatizing factor. They were all the same to me now; I might as well live at the crime scene. How did she think I would be okay with this? Everything about my new life, everything around me haunted me. My mother was always bringing different men around me. I was certain he would last just as long as the others. Sometimes I thought the length of her relationships was to prove to me that my father was nothing. Only someone she fooled around with for a few weeks and forgot soon after. I asked about him all the time, I needed to know about the man who had a part in my existence. That was too much to ask of her, as were a lot of things.
I started my own search, a few weeks before Grace's disappearance—I couldn’t call it anything else, they never found her body, and I couldn’t give up hope. Hope that I would find her someday, and she would absolve my conscience. The search turned up nothing, I needed a name. I thought maybe on my birth certificate, which was nowhere to be found.
It was the only house around. The white siding was stained and covered in vines, the red shutters made the house almost presentable. Before all of this I could have been happy with the change aside from none of my friends being around. Now that fact didn’t matter, and I was still miserable. I’d always wanted a family; as far back as I can remember I wished for my mother to be happy. So why now did it all mean nothing?
Trees hung over the dirt driveway like a trellis, and someone quite different from what I expected stood on the porch. I was imagining a kid, Ten or eleven what I saw was a boy no younger than seventeen. More than that what I saw before my eyes, widened, was an almost exact replica of the love I’d left in Sunny Bay. If it wasn’t for his light-brown hair that was a little longer than Dante’s, I would swear it was him.
“Scarlett, ignore Skylar. He can be kind of rude,” he warned as I got out of the car.
“Yeah okay,” I answered never taking my eyes off him. I grabbed my bags and headed toward the door.
“So,” Skylar said. “I thought for sure you’d be in there for a while. They must have you all drugged up huh?” I moved a little closer ignoring his comment. I realized his eyes were different too. The piercing deep brown eyes that I fell into so many times with no escape, were nothing but a dark, unflattering green on Skylar.
“Skylar cut it out!” Joe yelled. “He’s been a little better since we moved, but—”
“Scarlett, what would you like for dinner?” My mother interrupted.
“I don’t care I’m not that hungry,” I replied. I didn’t know what to do, I felt less at home here than I did in the hospital. I could tell I was going to have some serious problems with Skylar, and Joe’s friendliness seemed to be nothing but an act.
“Oh, alright, would you like to see your room?” she asked.
“I’ve been waiting to see my room since I was brought to that place,” I gave her a dirty look. “Unfortunately I don’t think that’s going to happen,” I added with a harsh tone to my voice that couldn’t be ignored.
“Look, you don’t know what it was like for me after this happened. Everyone stared, all the dirty looks and that was just for me honey. What do you think would be waiting for you there?” she said in her fake loving voice, she was good at faking it, Joe would soon learn all about that.
“I know what it must have been like, but I didn’t do it, I couldn’t have.”
“Well that hasn’t been proven,” she lost her nice tone.
“It hasn’t been proven that I did it either. It hasn’t even been proven that she’s dead. Maybe if the cops—”
“Alright that’s enough out of you; your room is through the kitchen and down the hall.”
“I’m going to find out what happened to her,” I swore. “and when that day comes whether it’s tomorrow, or in ten years, I’m going to make you feel the same way you’ve made me feel, oh loving mother of mine,” I snapped.
“I wouldn’t search for answers to questions you don’t want to know,” she hurled one of my bags at me.
“You want to add physical abuse to emotional?” I picked up my bags. “Be my guest.”
I stomped into the tiny kitchen. I was going to give in and go to my room, but instead I went out the door to the garage. I dropped my bags on the floor, then I searched for a tent, there wasn’t one to be found. I collapsed on the floor, tears streamed down my pale cheeks. My red curls were in knots, I wasn’t sure I could ever brush them out. My hair was bright, beautiful it had an orange shimmer in the sunlight. Now it was dull and lifeless. How hadn’t I noticed this before?
I saw a mirror across the garage. I jumped up to look into it; I hadn’t seen a mirror in months. They were dangerous. I stared at myself, seeing now what I had become. The red seemed to have been sucked out of my hair from the bottom up. It must have been all the dust in that awful room, showers were a privilege. My eyes, still a vivid green had purple circles under them. One hand to the wall I put my forehead to the mirror and cried. Months and months of horrible things came bursting out; I thought it would never stop.
“Hey,” Skylar whispered as he shut the door to the kitchen.
“What are you doing out here? Just leave me alone,” I sniffled.
“I’m not as bad as my dad says, I just have to act that way… it’s hard to explain,” he stared at me. I went back to my previous position. “I didn’t make you cry did I?”
“No,” I said, still staring at myself. I hit my hand against the mirror a few times, it cracked. This is why mirrors weren’t allowed, I thought to myself, stop acting insane. “It’s everything. I couldn’t have done it. Not unless I was possessed. I can’t stay here, but I can’t leave either unless I go back.” I forgot and put my forehead to the glass once again. “Ah,” I gasped, taking my face away from the glass.
“You’re bleeding.” He ran across the room, grabbing paper towels from a shelf. He came over and wiped the blood away. He was so gentle; he couldn't have been the same person who greeted me on the porch.
“Thanks,” I said embarrassed. He just insulted me not even five minutes ago, why was I so quick to forgive him?
“No problem,” he smiled. God what an astonishing resemblance, his smile was so much like Dante’s it took my breath away. “Are you alright?” he asked laughing.
“You look a lot like… someone I knew.” I sighed welcoming the air back into my lungs.
“Someone you knew, huh?”
“Just some guy,” I said looking in the other direction, I could see him frown out of the corner of my eye. “What‘s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he smiled again. His dimples weren’t pronounced, but they were charming nonetheless. “So what are you doing out here anyway?”
“I was looking for a tent. I was going to sleep in the backyard.”
“That’s not a good idea,” He persuaded. “You never know what’s in those woods,” his expression turned grim, “especially at night.”
“What do you mean?” I laughed, not because it was funny, but because I was nervous.
“Bears, stuff like that,” He said.
“I think I’ll take my chances,” I replied, ready to welcome my death if it meant escaping this.
“You shouldn’t, really. Your mom’s room is all the way across the house, she won’t be bothering you,” He walked toward the door. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah,” I answered as I tried to make my legs move, he had the same effect on me as Dante did. He walked through the kitchen grabbing something out of the fridge and returning to his path faster than he had left it.
“Here we are,” he said as he nudged the door open with his elbow. I walked in with vigilance. It looked just like my old room.
“Wow she put quite a lot of effort into this,” I observed as I spun around. “She’s never done anything like this for me,” I almost felt a tear, until I realized. She must have an ulterior motive. I threw myself onto the bed; at least I could pretend I was home. Skylar shut the door and held out a Coke as he sat down next to me.
“Thanks,” I said as I took the can.
“No problem.”
“So what did they tell you? About what happened, I mean.” I didn’t know what their view of the story was, but I was very eager to find out.
“Look, I don’t believe that you did it, and I think she’s alive.”
“So what did they say to lead you to that conclusion?” I asked with skepticism. If their side—and by side, I mean opinion—of the story could lead him to believe that, my mother couldn’t see me as a total monster.
“What’s wrong, I’m saying I don’t think you did it,” he put his hand on my shoulder.
“What did they tell you?” I asked enunciating each word.
“Not much, I’ve heard them say things here and there; I don’t think I was supposed to hear it though.” He looked around making sure no one heard he was nervous there was no doubt about it.
“Just don’t then, you don’t know any more than I do, if you even know that much.” I was being rude and I felt awful, but I wasn't one of those people who wanted to hear lies to feel better.
“Alright, I don’t want to upset you, what you need right now is a friend. Mind if I stay in here for a while?”
“I—” I thought for a moment. Before I never minded being alone, but the hospital had given me a complex, I had to demand a night light, but that did little. I still saw things, monsters coming in the night. “Yeah, I would like that.” I said, trying not to sound like a frightened little girl.
“I’ll stay as long as you want,” he smiled. I got up and looked around the room, there were pictures of Grace and I hidden in drawers, Dante was in some of them.
“Those were the days,” I muttered to myself.
“What is it?” He asked.
“Oh, do you want to see?” I asked as I walked over to him. “This is Grace, and that’s Dante.”
I missed them so much I couldn't bear it. I closed my eyes all the monsters that have haunted me appeared behind my eyelids. They were distorted, as my dreams sometimes were. White-faced men with blue lips, just stared as the blood ran down the corners of their lips to their chins.
Parts of them would disappear, coming back to only have other pieces vanish, like a TV with bad reception. There were women with long flowing hair and bloodshot eyes, as if the vessels burst. Crimson lips and blood scattered in various places. I opened my eyes, I couldn’t take it anymore, but everyone gathered around us. I gasped, staring wide eyed across the room, looking right then left.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“It’s just some old demons coming back to haunt me.” I said sounding calmer than I was, though my voice, my breath, and my hands all trembled. He couldn’t see them that was for sure. I grabbed my bag; inside I had a box full of pills I’d pretended to take. My dreams were a connection to Grace; they made them stop so I hid them. Until I noticed they made the monsters go away as well. I searched for the box tossing my clothes in the bag aside. I found the box popped it open letting the top fall to the floor. I shook two out into my hand—a double dose—and threw them into the back of my throat. I took a deep breath and waited for them to disappear.
“What was that?” he asked.
“My meds,” I answered with shame.
“What happened? Why were you so desperate to find them?” he questioned while watching me.
“I see things, okay, is that what you wanted to hear? You can go if you want,” I said as I reached for the lid.
“No, I was just making sure you were okay. You’re not used to someone caring about you, are you?” He asked, never taking his eyes off me.
“No, not anymore, my best friend cared; she’s missing. My other best friend cared; he believes I had something to do with it.”
“Careful what you assume,” he warned.
“Okay, fine,” I snapped. “I just want to forget all of this; better yet I wish it never happened.”
“I know,” he sighed. “Tomorrow, we’re going to find out what happened.”
“I might not remember anything, but I know that would be nearly impossible.”
“Sleep on it, tomorrow when your mom and my dad go to work, if you say yes we’ll make it look like a robbery/ kidnapping.”
“They’ll have the police looking for us,” I gasped.
“No, I have a strong feeling they won’t.” A bolt of lightning lit up the room, and then it was dark. “The power must have gone out,” he said as he got up.
“Wait, where are you going?” I asked, sounding just as distraught as I was.
“I’m going to look for some candles and a flashlight. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll help,” I said jumping up.
I started to wonder if I could function in the real world at all. I couldn’t even sit alone during a power outage; I had to cling to the nearest person.
“Okay,” he laughed.
We headed out into the hallway. I was no more than a foot away from him at all times. There was another lightning strike, the window along the front door was illuminated and so were the large boots and black pants of somebody standing outside.
Chapter 3: Intrusion
I stood frozen with fear. They walked across the porch; I saw them standing in the window. It seemed as if they were looking for a key, without success.
“Skylar?” I grabbed his shoulder.
“What?” He said louder than I expected.
“Shh, shh,” I took a deep breath. “There’s someone out there.”
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“Yes,” I whispered in a high-pitched voice.
He crept over to the door, I stumbled behind him. The fog covered moon lit the front yard enough for him to see that I was right, someone was out there, and they weren’t alone. They went around the side of the house.
“Okay, you find candles, and I’ll look for a flashlight.”
“What about—”
“Just do it, hurry.” He ran into the kitchen.
There was a set of three candles in a glass cabinet next to the T.V. I ran into the kitchen and lobbed them onto the counter. I ran to the garage door, it was obvious that Skylar had forgotten it wasn’t locked. Just as I was about to reach the lock I heard footsteps coming up to the door, they were in the garage. I turned the lock as fast as I could and backed away from the door. The basement door was open.
“Skylar are you down there?” I screeched.
“Did you find candles?” he yelled up.
“Yeah—”
“Okay go in your room and lock the door, if the power comes back on turn the light out. Don’t let anyone in but me, okay.”
“But—”
“Go, I’ll be there in a minute,” he barked.
I grabbed the candles off the counter and rushed into my room dropping them on the floor. There was no lock, I needed the key. There was a wooden chair on the other side of the room, I propped it up under the door knob. I had a lighter in my nightstand before, but was it here? That was the question. I felt around and found the nightstand. It was the same one that was in my old room, where I kept my lighter. I had it taped to the top of the drawer; it was still there. I grabbed it and lit a candle. I rummaged around for the key, there was an empty shelf next to the door I couldn’t see what was on it and so I reached up. I felt the key; it clanked as it hit the ground. I picked it up and locked the door, and then I took the chair away and waited.
I sat on my bed looking out the window. The rain drops sliding down the glass were electrified with each bolt of lightning. As I stared out the window, something rose up; a man was peering in the window. I rolled off and ducked on the side of the bed, pretty sure I hadn’t been seen. I waited for the knock on the door that wouldn’t save me, but would make me feel a little safer. His presence comforted me, I didn’t know if it was the eerie resemblance or the fact that he was the only person around that I could take any amount of comfort in. I heard a light tap on the door, I glanced over the bed at the window, and whoever was there was gone now. I jumped up and ran to the door.
“Skylar, Is that you?” I whispered as I reached for the key.
“Yes, open up, hurry.” I searched for the keyhole, but I couldn’t see, I left the candle by the bed and there was no time to waste retrieving it.
When I got the door open, he busted in and hugged me. He pulled away looking at my face in the dim light.
“What was that about?” I wondered.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he turned around to lock the door. “They’re not going to give up until they get in here.”
“We should call the police,” I panicked.
“It won’t do any good,” he sighed. “We’ll have to deal with this on our own.”
“What about my mom, your dad? Shouldn’t we tell them?”
“They’ll be fine, he’s a cop, remember?” He sneered.
“Okay. What do we do now?” I questioned.
“We wait.”
We sat there for what seemed like forever, waiting for whoever was out there to come barging in. Skylar lay next to me; every now and then I glanced over. The candles flickered next to him outlining his face as he stared at the ceiling.
I had all the insecurities in the world, more anxiety than I could measure, but when he was around, it seemed to melt away. Even as someone was trying to break into the house, looking through my window, it didn’t matter. Just having someone there, was a comfort I hadn’t known in quite some time.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
I thought for a moment, trying to put it into words.
“It’s strange. I don’t know you… at all, but—”
“You feel like you do,” he interjected.
“No, I just, I’ve been thinking and it’s odd—”
“No, it’s not. I know why you’re feeling the way you are,” he turned toward me and put his hand on my cheek. “What I’m about to tell you, you don’t repeat to anyone.” I nodded. “It’s—” something shattered not too far away from the door.
“Isn’t there an alarm?” I asked. Before he could answer someone pounded on the door. Once it stopped, I realized I was on his lap, I got off, and he started looking around the room.
“Here,” he whispered, the banging started again. He handed me an old glass vase, it was pretty big, but I still wasn’t sure it could do a whole lot of damage.
“Are we going out there?” I asked terrified.
“No, that’s in case they get in here before I can… well you’ll see. Put your shoes on,” he sat down on the bed and closed his eyes. I watched him bewildered; this was no time for meditation, or whatever the hell he was doing. It almost seemed as if he was starting to glow. The knocking subsided then I knew for sure he was glowing. I saw a blade come through the door, turning the wood to splinters.
“Skylar?” I cried. “They have an axe.” He put his finger to his lips to silence me. A moment later he held his hand out.
“I hope I can do this. We need to make a pit stop first; you’ve got your vase right?”
“Yeah I have it, what are you talking about, have you gone crazy too?”
“Yeah, if that’s what you want to call it.” He squeezed my hand, and we were traveling through a tunnel of blue and neon green light. When it stopped we were standing in the living room.
I looked around in amazement, what just happened? It must be the pills, I convinced myself. I had seen some weird things after I had taken them, but not the same horrible things I saw without them. My mother was nowhere to be seen, she had to of heard the ruckus. Skylar went over to the coffee table and grabbed a set of keys. Before he got back to me someone came up from behind and grabbed me.
“Skyl—” was all I could scream before they put their hand over my mouth, and a knife to my throat. Skylar heard me, I knew he did, but he vanished. I closed my eyes. This is all in your mind, I told myself. Someone grabbed the vase from my hand, and hit the man holding onto me. Shards of glass showered over me, the man fell to the ground taking me with him.
Skylar grabbed my hand, I was still on the ground, and again, we were roaming through a bright colorful passageway. The colors darkened, and soon disappeared altogether. We were in the backseat of a car, and Skylar looked like he was going to pass out.
“What just happened? Is this real?” I begged for answers tugging on his shirt. He lifted his head up the most he could.
“We need to get out of here,” He handed me the keys.
“Wait, the nurse at the hospital, she handed my mom a note—”
“This isn’t the time for that, Scarlett.”
“No, I think she left it in her car, do you have a key?” I asked.
“Yes, but—”
“I’ll be right back,” I interrupted, but before I could open the door, a different man beat me to it. I screamed at the top of my lungs and turned to kick the man in the chest. It held him off for a minute, giving me time to put the keys in the ignition.
The man that grabbed me came running out of the house. I could see shards of glass sticking out of his face; they shined in the head lights. He reached the car as I put it in reverse, the door was still open, and he ripped my pants while slashing my leg with his knife. I sped off knocking him over with the door and hitting a few garbage cans on the way. My leg was bleeding, but it wasn’t too bad. I hated blood, not because it made me sick or anything like that. The night Grace disappeared, I was found wandering covered in blood; some of it was my own. Their logic was I attacked her, she fought back, and I killed her. For a while, I believed as well.
“What the hell was that about?” I asked as I snapped out of it. “If they were just trying to rob us, they wouldn’t have come after us.”
I heard him sigh. “I know.”
Chapter 4: On the Run
I didn’t know where we were going, but I couldn’t ask, not yet. I needed to get my head straight, though none of the thoughts running through it seemed to help. Who were those men? It seemed like they were after me, though I couldn’t know for sure. I turned corners without thinking; right or left wasn’t a question, I let my hands do the deliberating on that matter. The most important question, the only one I needed to know this moment, I couldn’t quite put into words. What happened with Skylar was past my comprehension, you don’t see things like that every day.
“What was that?” I blurted out, hoping he would understand what I was asking.
“I—” he stalled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You moved us, from my bedroom to the living room and then outside. I saw lights—”
“Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked in a condescending manner. I slammed on the brakes and looked back at him.
“I know what happened. Don’t even try to make me feel like I’m crazy, that was real.”
“Then why do you have to ask,” he retorted.
“Whatever Skylar, where are we going?”
“Home,” he replied. “I mean to your home town, you’re going a little out of the way, but you’re headed in the right direction.”
“Why are we heading all the way down there?” I asked confused. “What about my mom?”
“We can’t go back there. I’m sure your mom is fine.”
“So why are we going to Sunny Bay?”
“I’m going to help you find the truth,” he answered.
“What if… what if not knowing for sure is better than what I find out. I mean even if I didn’t do it, what if she is dead?”
“If she’s dead, then we avenge her. If she’s not, then we’re her only hope.”
“Avenge her? What do you think we are superheroes? How are we going to find her if the police couldn’t even—”
“The police weren’t as involved as your mom has led you to believe.” He paused holding back something he didn’t want to say. “I believe very few people know anything at all.”
“No, that can’t be right,” in a small town like that, a disappearance and possible murder was all the town could think about. Posting pictures, making search parties, I’d seen it before. I was twelve, a girl, sixteen, had disappeared in the middle of the night. They searched for a whole year, but she was never found. “Even if everything about that night wasn’t well known, don’t you think everyone would still wonder where Grace was?”
“Do you want to hear something sick, something absolutely horrifying?”
“Not really,” I mumbled.
“Her parents don’t even remember her.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.” I kept my eyes on the road even though I wanted to hit him.
“It’s true. You saw what I did.”
“So now you want to talk about it?”
“Forget about it for now,” he insisted.
“How do you know—” I paused. “No, how do you think you know so much about this?”
“It’s complicated.”
I drove for a while longer, I wasn’t going to get anything out of him right now, and that was obvious.
“Maybe we should pull over and get some sleep, or you should let me drive for a while.” He hopped up into the front seat. I drove a little further, I knew where we were, we were about to go by the hospital. As I pulled up to the gate, I realized something wasn’t right. None of the nurse’s cars were there. It looked abandoned, the sign no longer stood in front of the building. I got out of the car.
“What are you doing?” Skylar called after me.
“This is the hospital, I—I don’t understand,” I stuttered. “It’s empty, the sign is gone it was here this morning, I know it was.”
“That’s weird, but we should go,” he said, I ignored him.
I walked over to the gate; it creaked as I pulled it open.
“Scarlett, we need to leave,” he urged.
I walked slower and slower with each step, trying to steady my breath. I went up to the door and cleaned the glass with my sleeve. It looked the same as when I left, but no one was inside. I grabbed the handle, the door opened. Skylar ran after me, he grabbed me before I could step inside.
“Let go of me,” I snapped.
“What do you hope to accomplish by going in there?” He demanded.
“Something isn’t right.”
“Obviously, but that doesn’t answer my question,” he nagged.
“I’m going in. You can wait outside if you want.” He was reluctant, but he followed. Behind the main desk was a filing cabinet, it groaned as I opened it. Only one file was inside, I picked it up it read Scarlett Summers. I dropped it on the floor and opened the other drawers with urgency, nothing. “What—” I gulped.
“Let’s go.”
“What does this mean?” I whispered to myself. I ran to the hallway my room was down, busting open every door on the way, but they were all empty. When I reached my room, everything remained. I didn’t know what to think, my hands were shaking, and my lips went numb.
“Okay, are you done?”
“You don’t think something is wrong here?” I choked.
“Something is definitely wrong here, but there is nothing we can do about it right now. We’ll come back, I promise, but first we need to find Grace.”
We returned to the car. I was shaking so bad I couldn’t possibly drive. Skylar turned right on a dirt road he kept going for a few minutes, and then he turned into a cornfield.
“What are we doing?”
“We’re going to stop here for the night and get some sleep.”
“I’ll take the backseat,” I said after he parked.
“Okay,” he agreed as he climbed all the way into the back.
“Do you think my mom and your dad were meant to be together? I mean, if they weren’t, I would have never met you, and you wouldn’t be helping me,” I blurted out of nowhere.
“They were sneaking around long before... what happened.”
“What?” I sat up shocked. “How long?”
“I don’t know for sure,” he sat up. “I need to tell you something… What I was trying to say before,” he put his hand on his forehead. “This isn’t going to be easy, but I hope you realize—” his words faded away. I was thrown into a parallel universe or a dream of the past—something that had never happened before.
I was at a party, alone. I felt as if I was waiting for someone. I saw Grace walk into a room behind some guy; I saw only his hand holding hers. She was wearing the dress she wore the night she disappeared. I felt as if I was half conscious in one world and half in another.
“I was at a party.” I mumbled, it sounded like I was miles away from myself. “Did I drink, is that why I don’t remember?” I whispered to myself.
I walked over to the door, leaning my head up against it.
“We shouldn’t do this,” the guy said.
“What? Are you worried about Scarlett?” she hissed. “She doesn’t even know I told you,”
“Told me what?” He slurred.
“Oh come on, you know, but it doesn’t matter. You want to, I want to, what are we waiting for?”
I turned away. I went and sat in a chair across the crowded room.
“Dante,” I mumbled.
“What?” I heard Skylar ask. He sounded so far away.
The room began spinning; my head was in my hands. No wonder Dante didn’t try to contact me, aside from thinking I was a killer, I was the killer of his girlfriend, or whatever she was to him. I hated her for this, how could she do this to me? Was this reason enough to murder someone? No, I couldn’t have done it. The door remained closed I wasn’t sure how much time had gone by. I jumped up and headed over to the room and busted in.
Dante sat on the edge of the bed putting his shoes on. Grace still lay on the bed wrapped in a sheet.
“Scarlett,” she gasped, but I didn’t buy it. She was happy that he was now off limits. I walked out and leaned up against the door frame. I started walking away, when she grabbed my shoulder.
“I hate you,” I snapped, and knocked her arm off me.
“I—”
“You knew how I felt about him,” I enunciated.
“You don’t understand—”
“Oh I understand, just leave me alone.”
She went back into the room. “Dante, where did you go?” I heard her ask, then the sound of a door sliding open.
I ran out into the front yard and sat on the porch. From somewhere deep in the woods I heard a scream.
Chapter 5: Cold Fall Night
I came back to reality; I thought I would never catch my breath. It was such an odd sensation, but it felt so real.
“That was crazy,” I said out of breath, almost crying. “I knew he hated me now. I knew he never cared about me like that then, but I never thought…” I fought of the tears. “Him and Grace.” I whispered.
“What about him and Grace?” He asked with genuine concern.
“I— I was at a party. Dante and Grace went into one of the bedrooms together,” I couldn’t stop the tears. “I walked in on them. She was naked and he was getting dressed.”
“So you saw him with Grace?” He asked, as if there was something he couldn’t believe.
“Yes, I’ll just have to get over him like I should have a long time ago.”
“What if all of a sudden he called you… and said he was in love with you, or something. What then?”
“It wouldn’t matter. He was with Grace. That’s like against some kind of unspoken rule.” He sighed and laid his head back down. “So what were you going to tell me anyways?” I asked.
“Oh, it was nothing,” he sat up. “I’m going to get some fresh air,” he smiled and climbed out the back. I stayed in the car for a while, pondering the revelations that came to me earlier. As I sat there balling my eyes out, I wondered if anyone ever cared about me. My mother had always left me; she had better things to do. She never cared either way what was going on in my life, not even now, not really.
Grace, she was there for me, though I never shared my deep personal feelings with her. Nevertheless, she was there when I needed a place to crash. She was there when I needed a shoulder to cry on, even if it was rare that she knew what I was crying about, and I would never know if she could even be bothered to listen. I had other friends, none close, except for Dante, but in my mind, he was always something more. I did share some things with him, more than with Grace, but never what I needed to say. Sometimes I thought—for moments at a time—that he might have felt the same. We were close I’d known him since I was ten, but it never meant more to him than what it was, friendship.
I opened the door trying to be quiet I didn't shut it all the way behind me. I stood on the side of the car for a few minutes staring at the moon; it was beautiful, bigger than I’d ever seen it before. I took a deep breath and walked to the back of the car swatting corn stalks out of my face the whole way. Skylar was leaning up against the back of the car staring at the sky. He didn’t seem to notice me staring at him. I walked up beside him and rested my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me without a word; we just stared at the sky. I started thinking about running away, changing my name and never looking back. I would forget everything; become my new persona so entirely that my life would begin then. I couldn’t do that quite yet, Grace could still be alive and if what Skylar said was true, we might be the only ones looking for her. No matter how I felt about her now, I couldn’t give up on her.
“Let’s go back in the car, it’s getting kind of cold,” I said, my teeth chattering. When we got back in I laid there for a while, it was just as cold in the car, and I couldn’t sleep. “Are there any blankets back there?” I asked.
“No, sorry I didn’t have time to think this through,” he mumbled.
“Is that what this is about? Did you change your mind? Do you not think this is a good idea?” I questioned.
“No,” he sighed. “But we’re not very well prepared.”
“So we don’t have blankets—”
“It’s not only that, we don't have much money, just enough for gas and food. We’re going to need weapons, or—” he stopped. “You didn’t bring anything with you… did you?”
“No, I didn’t have time, I didn’t know you were going to, well, do what you did.”
“No, meds?” he asked.
“No,” I whispered.
“Good.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked, I felt a little insulted.
“It has a lot to do with everything,” he said in such a quiet voice, I wasn’t sure if it was meant for me. I closed my eyes, a quick vision of a red plastic cup, and three pills being dropped inside took over; I couldn’t think. When I came back to reality, everything was hazy like I was looking through a thick fog.
“What the hell is going on?” I said horrified.
“Are you alright?” He panicked taking off his sweatshirt. “Your lips are a little blue.”
My vision returned, and before he could hand me his hoodie, I climbed in the back. Unzipped it was big enough to use as a blanket for both of us. I could see the moon out of the back window; I hadn’t seen it in quite some time, before tonight. The windows of the hospital were far too dirty to look out if a considerable amount of sunshine wasn’t shining through. My eye lids got heavy, and before I knew it, I was out.
Chapter 6: Nightmare
I was standing in the middle of the woods, with a patch of long grass in front of me, no trees for about twenty feet. It was early, around dawn. A heavy fog touched the ground and made the dim light eerie. The thick air filled my lungs and made me dizzy, I fell to my knees. I heard a branch crack on the other side of the trees, and bushes rustling around. I ducked down, just under the grass. I heard someone, or something drawing closer.
“I know you’re there,” they said in a deep mean voice, a threat no doubt. I looked down and saw a rock, not very heavy, but it had a slight point to it. I stashed it in the pocket of my sweatshirt and stood up. I couldn't see much through the fog. I could see, however, the soft light bouncing off a knife in their hand. “You thought you could escape?” they laughed.
“Who’s there?” I asked trembling. My rock was no match for a knife, even if I wasn't shaking.
“An old friend, you probably don’t remember me. You were young; your life was much different.” She had a deep voice, but I could now tell without a doubt it was a woman.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Nothing is the same for you now, though I’m sure you don’t remember enough to know that either.”
“Is this about Grace?” I yelled with a ferocity that sent a chill down my own spine.
“Silly girl, this is about you, about your mom.”
“What about my mom?” My fingers ran across the rock in my pocket.
“You’ll find out someday.” She came closer. Her face was horrific, her skin wasn’t just pale; it was almost transparent. Her eyes were black holes, her red lips spread across her face in a twisted smile. Her teeth were comparable to a shark’s.
“What the hell are you?” I asked horrified, disgusted.
“I am the creation of a gifted, evil young mind,” her voice chimed, it sounded more girlish now.
“So you’re not real,” I said relieved.
“I’m as real as you are, and I’m not the only one of my kind,” she smiled. Biting her bottom lip, a single stream of blood ran to her chin. She gnashed her teeth. “And I’m not the worst either.”
My hand gripped the rock with the sharp end facing outwards. I stepped closer pulling the rock from my pocket. In one quick movement, I smashed it into her face and ran without looking back. Her screams were unbearable; when I stopped I realized my ears had bled. I was hiding behind a tree, waiting to die, it was inevitable. Once I caught my breath, I got ready to run again. I wasn’t sure she was real, but I knew now without a doubt that she wasn’t alone.
They stood in front of me, bloody and beaten. There was a man, head facing downwards. He looked up at me with a wicked grin, blood oozing from his mouth. Then, there was a woman, who had a handheld mirror; she had cuts all over her face she cried as she stared. She threw the mirror down and put the shards in her mouth. The rest, for the most part, looked like the woman from the field, give or take a few bloody gashes.
I thought about running, but my feet wouldn’t move. The woman who had the mirror looked up at me and smiled. Blood covered bits of glass fell to the ground.
“Before you think about running…” the woman from the field said in a nasally voice because of her bashed in nose. She popped up right next to me; wide eyed I looked back over to where she was. She was still there waving. “Take into account you don’t know what we are or what we can do.”
A ledge appeared out of nowhere; she grabbed my throat and hurled me over the edge. It was quite a ways down, there was a small lake I didn’t know whether the fall would kill me or not. I closed my eyes and was submerged in the water. When I opened them, I was laying on the floor of the car. I choked; water came rushing out of my lungs. I was soaked. I shook Skylar awake, still having difficulty breathing.
“What happened to you?” He said jolting awake.
“I was having a dream,” I began, “there were all these…” I coughed, more water came out. “…monsters I guess, and one grabbed me by the throat and threw me off a cliff.”
“That’s impossible. You’re messing with me right?”
“No, you have to believe me. I didn’t leave the car, how else would I have gotten all wet?”
“I believe you, I just don’t understand,” he climbed up to the front seat and started the car. “Buckle up.” I climbed into the passenger seat, anticipating the long day in these wet clothes.
“So, do you have any idea of how long this is going to take? I mean I don’t even know what your plan is.”
“I don’t know… I—I guess it really depends on the circumstances,” he stuttered.
“Just how long are you thinking?” I demanded. I could tell with him, just as I could with Dante, what his body language meant.
“Worst case scenario? It could be a few months.” He looked at me; he got nervous when he saw my expression. “But that’s not even really the worst case, I mean that’s if we find out she’s alive, we’ll have to find her then, right?”
“A few months, Skylar?” I slouched down and crossed my arms. “Why don’t we, oh, I don’t know, tell the police? If I can prove that I’m innocent—”
“There’s a lot that you don’t know Scarlett.”
“There‘s a lot that I don’t know?” I said in disbelief. “I don’t even know why I’m in the car with you. This isn’t going to work, and do you know why? I don’t have the first clue of what happened to her, or where to even start looking for answers, and you? You don’t know a thing.”
“I know more than you think.”
I ignored him for a while, he babbled on, and I blocked him out. All I could think about was my dream. If I woke up drenched, and choking up water, if it was real, were they real? Could they be out there somewhere lurking, waiting… for me? I knew I’d seen some disturbing things, but they never touched me, never even said a word, I couldn’t say the same for them. That was another thing that bothered me, what were they? I didn’t even know what to call the monsters from my dreams. Monsters didn't even begin to describe it; I wasn’t a five-year-old looking for them in my closet. Monsters weren’t real, these things were.
It was only six o’clock in the morning, I didn’t get enough sleep. I knew that for sure, because I was back in the fog covered field. Wake me up Skylar, come on. If I could wake up in the condition I was in now, what else could happen in my dreams that I would wake up to find a reality? Another twig snapped, only this time it came from behind, fast footsteps pounded towards me, by the time I realized it was too late. Thump.
I woke up to a mouth full of dirt, except, I wasn’t awake. How could I have passed out in a dream? I spit it out, though some lingered. I turned over facing the sky she was standing over me, knife in hand. She put her hand in the air, and before she could bring the knife down into my chest, I screamed.
“Wait,” My heart was beating so fast, I thought it would explode. “Why are you doing this?”
“I used to be like you. You made me this way!” She screamed.
“What?”
“We came to you for help, you warped us into this.” She uttered not lowering her voice.
“I don’t remember you. What did you need help with? Listen to yourself, you don’t make any sense.”
“Ask your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have—”
“Skylar, ask Skylar,” she was beginning to lose her patience, the black empty pits she had for eyes turned into a rage-full crimson.
“Ask him what?” I said in a small voice that reflected just how I felt, helpless.
“Ask him, why your dreaming things like this, or like what you’ve always dreamt. Ask him about the transportation he was so eager to use, but refused to explain.”
“Okay,” I said cowering. When would I wake up? What would she do to me in the meantime? I closed my eyes. I felt a sharp pain run down my arm. I opened my eyes; blood soaked the green blouse I was wearing.
“So you’ll remember, because next time I won’t be so nice.”
When I woke up in the front seat, the radio was pretty loud, Skylar had his eyes on the road, not paying attention to the fact that I was awake, and bleeding. I wasn’t wearing a green blouse now, but that didn’t stop my black t-shirt from being drenched. The seat was stained, and the blood kept running down my arm. I felt almost high; I watched it flow, quite a contrast between the crimson and my fair skin. I stared forward at the road in a daze my hair blew in my face; I wiped it away with the hand I forgot was covered in blood. I blinked, and refocused my attention to the road. Breathing became a comfort, just sitting there breathing. At one point, I thought I was going to die, but I felt too weak to say much of anything. Skylar looked over and slammed on the brakes. My head bobbed forward, and everything went black. I couldn’t see what was going on around me, but I felt Skylar pick me up and lay me back down. I felt him clean the wound, and tie something around it. I could tell how careful he was trying to be, though I couldn't feel much pain anyways. I thought I heard him cry, and say he never got a chance to tell me something. His voice tuned in and out like a radio that was being messed with. Once he had me bandaged up his arms were never taken off me as he rocked, for his benefit or mine I didn’t know.
Chapter 7: Abilities
I felt weak, but I opened my eyes, the sun was blinding. Skylar kept rocking us back and forth. I felt like I was going to be sick. I moved my arm and made a slight whining noise without intention.
“Scarlett, what happened?” He asked.
“You need to tell me,” I stopped to breathe, I was getting dizzier. “About my dreams and what you did.”
“I don’t know if—”
“You have to,” I pleaded. “She said I needed to find out.” He just went on rocking us back and forth. “You see what they can do to me; they’ll kill me next time.”
“They almost killed you this time.”
“My point exactly,” I persuaded.
“It’s not a good idea,” he pleaded.
“What are you talking about, why wouldn’t it be a good idea? I have to sleep. I’ve never had a dream like this before, but it's obvious that it picks up where it left off and that’s what will happen next time. I won’t wake up, so is that better than whatever reason you’re trying to keep this from me?”
“I don’t know everything about you, but once you find out…” He sighed. “…at least in my case, a lot of pieces come together. You might find out a horrible truth, or you might put two and two together and come up with—”
“Just tell me, please, I need to know. I lost a lot of blood, I’m feeling sleepy already,” I begged.
“What did she say you needed to find out?” he asked.
“First she said she was normal once, she came to me for help, and I changed her into what she was.” I began.
“I don’t even understand that,” he admitted.
“She said to find out about my dreams, how you moved us from my room to the living room, then to the car,” I continued, ignoring him.
“Right now, the world is simple, innocent, what you’ve known your entire life. When I tell you, it will never be that way again.”
“It won’t be anything to me; I’ll be dead if you don’t tell me.”
“We have powers.” He stopped. “Gifts, abilities, god it feels so stupid to say, but it’s true.”
“So, why couldn’t you tell me that?” I asked, he stared at me in disbelief and I knew why, he didn't expect me to be this calm.
“You’re supposed to find out on your own,” he whispered. “You would have realized it, but whoever set you up ruined that for you, you just thought you were going crazy.”
“Okay, I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet, but I don’t understand. What does that have to do with the people in my dreams?”
“I don’t know either, you’re different…” He must have seen the sad look on my face. “I mean your dreams alone, what’s happening with them now. I’ve never heard of or seen anything like it.”
“Well that doesn’t matter, does it? If I can’t help her, or do something, she’s going to kill me.”
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