Waking Up

        

Charlotte Preston

 

        I jolted awake, my breath coming in short, quick gasps. My lungs were about to burst. This really needed to stop happening. These dreams really needed to stop happening. They were going to drive me crazy.

        I sat up, my shaking, clammy hands sticking to the sheets. I looked around the room, and everything was how it should be, right where I had left it. It was reassuring that everything stayed in one place and stayed the same. Even if I couldn't.

        I did a quick scan over everything- pants hanging off the desk, the fan still going- the picture of Jenny in the same spot. My heart gave another quick sprint. Of course she'd be in the same spot. She always was, just like everything else. I must've been overly paranoid for expecting her not to be. It wasn't like anyone could've moved her.

        I stood up, my wobbly legs pushing hard onto the floor, and I wiggled my toes through the carpet. Taking a deep breath, I walked up and over to my desk chair and planted myself in it. I glanced back at my alarm clock. Two fifty-three a.m. Same time I always woke up.

        I closed my eyes. Why did this have to keep happening? What were these dreams trying to do? All they did was bring me back down to that pit of despair that I was always so closed to getting out of. Whenever I'd finally be able to forget about Jenny, these dreams just kept coming. It was like they were telling me that I was next. The thought made me shiver.

        I let out a sigh. It was way too late to be thinking. I blew a few long brown strands of hair out of my face. I wasn't going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

        I stood up, the chair groaning as I left, and made my way towards the window. Tonight had to be one of the nicest nights this month so far. You could see for miles. The sky was black with brilliant stars twinkling throughout it. Everything was so still, like everything was stunned into silence, too. It was crazy, how absolutely perfect everything looked. 

       With a grunt, I lifted the window open, and stuck my head out, making sure the coast was clear. The neighbors would be pissed if they saw me on the roof again. I slipped one leg out the window as carefully as I could, knocking over a book leaning on my dresser in the process.

       Awesome. Standing up, the shingles felt unfamiliar on my feet. It had been way too long since I had been up here. I sat myself, looking up at the sky again. The wind created a rustle in the trees, and it was just so relaxing. If only Jenny was here, she'd just love this.

       Bang, bang, bang. What the hell was that? I leaned over and looked towards the street. A group of people were standing around the street light on the corner. What the hell were people doing out at three in the freaking morning?

       Suddenly, a guy was on the ground. His head was in the grass, his feet extending over the sidewalk and into the street. The others circled around him, and they were all silent as they watched him.

        My heart sped up. Don't panic, Charlie. Everything is just fine, I told myself. But I knew it wouldn't be fine. All I could think about was how when they found Jenny, she was laying on the ground in the exact same way.

        I reached back into my room and scrambled for my cell phone. The wind picked up again and my hair flew around my face, getting in my mouth as I kept grabbing my phone. Oh my God, why couldn't I find it? I always kept it on my dresser.

       I leaned back out. "What the hell are you guys doing to him?" I shouted. All of their heads immediately whipped towards me, and the guy on the ground continued to shake, not even noticing that his friends -or whatever the hell they were- were no longer paying attention to him. They all looked at each other once, and then back at me.

        "Who the hell are you?" One guy yelled. 

        "Get away from him!" I screamed back. My heart was racing. The butterflies of panic began to stir in my stomach. He needed to be okay, something inside of me just knew that he had to be.

        Why weren't the neighbors coming outside after hearing all this yelling? The urge to jump down and run into the street was killing me. What was the worst that could happen? I bit my lip. I began to climb down the tree near my window, knowing that this was probably the stupidest thing that I had ever done.

        "What are you guys doing to him? Call the cops or something! Get a paramedic!" I screeched, and the wind began to blow. I yanked the hair out of my face to look at them.

        They were all pretty big guys, all of them bigger than me. They were all in tee shirts and jeans, which was completely insane, considering it was the middle of November and it was freezing outside.

        They were all staring at me, eyes wide and disbelieving. I looked back down at the guy on the sidewalk, and began to walk towards him. What first aid did I know? If he was having a seizure, I needed to put him on his side and call 9-1-1, and wait for him to stop convul-

        "What do you think you're doing? How are you even alive?" One of the guys said. He was taller than the rest, and had light blonde hair that reached his ears. What the hell did he mean? I into his eyes, trying to see if they were blood-shot. Maybe he was on something.

        "What are you talking about? Why aren't you guys helping him? Call 9-1-1!" I repeated, and tried to bend down, but the guy grabbed my arm. His grip was like iron vises, his fingers squeezing so hard it made me yelp.

        "Don't touch me," I said, teeth clenched. He yanked on my arm and turned me towards him. He looked frantically all over my face, and reached a hand out to stroke my hair, and I flinched away.

        "Impossible," he muttered, eyes wide as he stared at me. "You look so much like her." My blood turned to ice. There was something so very, very wrong going on here. I began trying to pull my arm out of his grasp. I held back a sob when he wouldn't let go, and tried to stop my trembling. He looked so familiar. I just couldn't remember his name. Why couldn't I remember his name?

        "You need to help your friend." I choked out, and a small smile appeared on his lips. I tried to look around him, but he only held on tighter. I was bound to have an awful bruise. I looked up at him, and for the first time I felt very, very afraid. What had I been thinking, coming down here? I was such an idiot. I had no idea what this guy was capable of. I felt by bottom lip starting to quiver. I was a nervous wreck.

        He looked over his shoulder and nodded once. It must've been a sign to his friends, because as soon as he did it I could here people moving behind him... and the sound of... someone gagging?

        His eyes had a wicked shine. "You're Jenny's sister. My God. Jeremy is going to be so pissed." He said incredulously, and began laughing. Like there was anything funny about this. I felt sick. How had they known Jenny? How did he know she was my sister? Who was Jeremy? How had Jenny known these people?

        There was complete silence now. "Jenny never mentioned a sister." Someone behind them said. The man's smile grew even larger.

        "Who the hell are you people?" I whispered. An awkward silence fell over the group.

        "Just go back inside, sweetheart. Really. Everything's fine, and it is way past your bedtime."

        "You can let go of me, now. Since I need to go back to bed, you know." I nodded towards my arm, and he let go and slowly backed away. His face turned somber.

        "I see that there's a lot that you don't know about your sister." He said quietly. He brought his hand to face and took a deep breath.

        "I see that," I said slowly. "She's dead. Not a whole lot I can do about that now." 

        He winced. "What's your name?" Someone behind him asked. I moved back a step and to the side, stumbling over the curb. I wouldn't want Mr. Touchy-Feely over here trying to grab me again. Everything was silent, again. Only nothing was awkward about it. It was like we all came to some kind of truce for the moment.

        "Is your friend okay?" I asked pointedly, motioning to the guy was now unconscious and in one of his friend's arm. He was smaller than the rest- up close, he just looked like a little kid.

        The blonde guy nodded. "He's just fine. You never ansered Billy's question. What's your name? You're Jenny's sister?" He questioned.

        "I'm Charlie, and yeah, Jenny was my sister. How did you know her?" I countered. This was frustrating, and I was scared. There was bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Whatever was going on here, something wasn't right. Something was off about these people, and it seemed impossibled that they could've known Jenny. I knew everyone that she did.

        He ignored me. "I feel obligated to give you a bit of a warning, Charlie. There's obviously a lot you didn't know about Jenny. She was involved in a lot of things. I feel like I should give you a bit of a heads up. Whoever killed Jenny, is going to come and kill you, too. I guarantee it. Those dreams you've been having? They're warnings, too. So keep your family close. The games are just beginning. And they aren't over until you and you're family are dead."

        My eyes were blurred, and it was hard to focus. This was insane. Purely coincidental. Jenny would never do anything to hurt any of us. Ever.

        I looked up again, and they were all gone. Vanished. It was like they had never been there. There was nothing left, no evidence of them having ever been there.

        Jenny, what have you done?

 

. . . . .

 

 

Author's Note

Any potential here?

Reviews

[TLK]

Could we start in the dream instead?