u/Anddorf

Part 1, Part 2

The Third Dream

“WHAT THE HELL do you think you’re doing!?” Mark yelled at me, then he sat against the dented metal shutter. 

   I couldn’t think: my head was racing, my ribs felt like they'd all shattered and I wasn’t sure where I was or what had just happened.

   “You listen here!  If you can do something to stop this from happening you damn well better or I’ll do a lot worse to ya than throw ya off a building!  Ya hear me!?” Mark hollered with tears running down his face.

   The pain all over my body was too much for me as I felt myself slip into darkness.

   I was back in the crowded red party room, but I was enraged by what had just happened with me and Mark.  I wasted no time going out into the fog and heard shouting as I approached the clearing.

   “What the hell were you doing?!” Carter yelled.

   Entering the clearing I saw Carter and Fran in a shouting match.  Katie sat on the ground crying, noticing me she looked up and then quickly looked away.

   “I was doing what he should have been doing!” Fran yelled, “He obviously wasn’t going to make it anyway!”

   “DON’T-”

   “SHUT UP! What’s done is done,” I yelled.  “Now listen I don’t think I’ve got much time left, so this might be my last night here.”

   “Why do you say that?” Fran asked with a look of concern.  Carter gave up on the shouting match, knelt down and started to console Katie.  

   Fran and I walked a few steps away.  “My waking self isn’t doing so well, but that doesn’t matter.  I need to know everything you guys know about these tests and please make it quick.”

   “I don’t know what else to tell you, really,” Fran said concerned.

   “You guys figured out what to do in the first one,” I said in a rush.  “but have no idea what to do on the next one?”

   "Pretty much,” Katie said standing up having collected herself enough to join the conversation, “I've just been going with whatever happens and I’ve made it this long.”

   “You’ve been here the longest right, so surely you’ve noticed something about the second test,” James said with urgency.

   “Well, like last night that girl and Cody left the room.  I have noticed that when people go out of their way to do something or make a scene they fail the test.  On the other hand though people have done nothing and failed too, but for some reason me and Drake seem to always stay around.”

   “So do something without doing anything,” I said.

   “Yeah I guess,” Fran said.

   I mulled over what to do, “Alright, when the first new person shows up one of us will tell them how to complete the first test and-”

   “That doesn’t work, I've tried and every time they fail almost instantly,” Fran said.

   “I don’t care,” James said sternly, “This might be my last night so we’re doing things my way.  While one of us is talking to them, the other two should walk around the fog line to tell the last person about the first test before they disappear.”

   “Alright I guess, if that’s what you want,” Fran said with a skeptical look.  “What should we tell them exactly then?  What I tell them clearly doesn’t work.”
  I thought for a moment, “Tell them that the voice’s instructions will be a riddle and to repeat what comes naturally to them, don’t overthink it.”

   “You got it," Katie said, "I’ll do my best,” and then she ran off to the far side of the fog.

   “So, what about after they come back?” Fran asked.

   “I’m still figuring that out,” I said and started to walk the fog line.

   After what felt like seconds there was a shout, “I GOT ONE!” Katie yelled.  She appeared to have it under control so I went back to walking.  Making my way along the fog I came around to face everyone else again: Katie and the new person were talking casually while Fran was talking to someone who must have just come out of the fog before I turned around.

   “THE TEST BEGINS NOW,” The disembodied voice said.

   I ran over to Fran just as a ring of light consumed the new person.  “What’d you get to tell them?” I asked.

   “Pretty much everything you wanted me to,” Fran said, “He seemed to be on board.”

   Katie came over to them bringing Carter with her.  “So what now?” She asked me.

   “I was thinking since Fran and Drake have been here the longest, that we’d just have them find the rest of us in the test and then go from there,” I said without much confidence. “It is called the team test so we should be together at least.”

   “Kay!  Sounds like a plan, not a very thorough plan, but a plan,” Fran said then walked over to Drake.

   “Are you going to be okay?” Katie asked Carter who looked like he was about to break down in tears.

   Suddenly I had a strange sense of déjà vu and was very uncomfortable at the sight of such a big man in a vulnerable state, when with a jolt I remembered my dad standing in the doorway that first night. 

   “There was something wrong,” Carter said, turning his head away from them.  “He wasn’t right… Cody… he was still him but he wasn’t,” Carter said wiping his face with his sleeve, just then two rings of light appeared in the ground next to us.  “I won’t let that happen to any of you,” Carter said looking back at me and Katie, his vulnerability completely replaced with a look of confident resolve.

   The two new people appeared from the rings of light looking disoriented.  “Hey!  You two!” I yelled at them, “Wherever we get taken next, stay calm and don’t do anything stupid until we find you.”

   “THE TEAM TEST WILL BEGIN NOW,” The disembodied voice said and the rings of light rose around us all.

   “Got it?” I asked firmly then got matching nods from them both as the rings dropped.

   I was standing in a large crowd of people who were bumping into me as they walked either way past.  I backed out of the crowd against a nearby building which I noticed was a skyscraper, there was another skyscraper across the empty street.  Before I could assess anything more of what was going on I spotted Carter walking by on the crowded sidewalk.  “Hey!” I yelled, waving over the crowd.

   “Hey,” Carter said as he got out of the crowd.  “Have you seen anyone else?”

   “No, I think we just happened to be close.”

   “We probably shouldn’t just stand here for too long.”

   I nodded in agreement, then we reentered the crowd making our way to the street corner where groups of people stood waiting on the walk light to change across the street even though there were no vehicles on the road.

   “Come on!  Why is there a button here if it doesn’t do anything?!” a girl's voice exclaimed.

  I looked around the people in front of me and saw Katie furiously pressing a button on the light post.  “Katie!” I shouted, shoving my way over to her at which I noticed she wasn’t alone.  Fran and one of the new people were with her, a small teenage boy who looked very anxious.

   “Well we’re still two short of a full house,” I said with a quick look around.

   “Let’s hope they’re on this block 'cause these lights are broken and none of these people seem to care, they just stand here looking at the damn light,” Katie said.

   “Not much we can do about it,” Fran said looking back the way Carter and I had come from, “How far down that way did you guys appear?”

   “About the middle of the street,” Carter said.

   “Alright let’s head that way I covered the street behind us.”

   We all made our way down to the street corner, “There!” the new person shouted pointing to a café on the corner, “Isn’t that them?”

   I looked at the tables on the patio of the café, sure enough Drake and the other new person were sitting at one.

   There were just enough seats at the table for all of us.

   “So now what?” Fran asked, looking at me.

   I pondered for a moment not coming to any conclusions.

   “Are there no waiters here?!” Katie asked, looking around at the people at the other tables who were just staring at their empty plates and cups.  “These people are just like those people at the light.”

   I looked at the other people, their faces weren’t blank like manikins but I couldn’t seem to make any definitive facial features on any of them, like their faces were out of focus.  “That’s what we’ll do!” I said abruptly.  “In the last test all of the people were partying and that girl and Cody left the party failing it,” I paused taking a breath, “So now none of these people are leaving this block so that’s what we’re all gonna do, nothing.”

   “If that’s how it works I think I may know what’s going to happen next,” Fran said.  “In the last team test we had, we were all on a beach and there were other people there, none of them were in the water. They were acting just like these people here, just staring at the water.  We all just walked the beach for a while, but then a kid was in the water yelling for help so two of us ran into the water to get him and then the test ended.”

   “Were there any other tests like that?” I asked.

   “Not really… At least that I can remember most of the tests end almost as soon as they start,” Fran said.  “No matter what I told people beforehand,” Fran said with a demeaning tone I assume was directed at me.  “You got real lucky is all I can say.”

   “So we’ll just sit here and stare,” Katie said energetically, attempting to change the mood. 

   “I don’t think we do absolutely nothing, this is a team test, so we should probably be a team of some sort,” I said trying to convince myself I was right as much as the others

   “All right, so you two haven’t said much, tell us about yourselves,” Katie said to the two new people who looked disconcerted.

   “I’m Victor,” the one that had already been sitting with Drake said, he looked to be a man in his mid twenties with long straight jetblack hair.

   “My name is Kyle…" He said nervously, he had short dreadlocks and a very sheepish look to him.  "Is there anything else you would want to know?”

   “Yeah you don’t happen to have a deck of cards on you, because I’m already sick of show and tell,” Carter said.

   “Sorry, no I don’t,” Kyle said deadpan.

   I felt my deck of playing cards in my pocket.

   Carter patted Kyle on the shoulder, “Hey no need to be sorry, it’s alright buddy.  Who just carries around a deck anyways.  I just thought it’d be a good team building thing to play some cards together.”

   “I have a deck of cards,” I said, putting them on the table.

   “No shit!” Carter said in disbelief.

   “I always have a deck on me.  I play poker a lot.”

   “Well I got some cash on me, everyone get out what you got and we’ll divide it up between us all and have a game,” Carter said as he got out his wallet.
  Just then Katie dropped multiple fists full of coins on the table, and everyone looked at her confused for a moment because it was a lot of coins.  “I know I’m a freak!” Katie said in a sarcastic tone and a giggle, “I always just put my change in my jacket pockets and never remember to empty them.”

   “All right now that’s perfect, you guys are great,” Carter said as he started dividing up the coins.
  “I think I’ll just watch," Kyle said, "I don’t gamble.”

   “If it’s not your money it’s not gambling,” Carter said, stacking the coins into seven stacks.  “Come on, I’ll teach you how to play,” Carter said, placing one of the stacks in front of Kyle.

--

   After playing for a while Carter and I were the only two left with any coins.  “Well that was fun, what do you say we do all or nothing on one last hand?” Carter asked.

   Looking over to Carter I noticed that there was now one of the blurry faced people standing behind him seemingly watching us play.  Just as I opened my mouth to say something there was a loud crash from the street.  All of us jumped up to get a better look at two cars that crashed in front of the café: the people on the sidewalk kept walking, not giving the crash a passing glance.

   “Should we do anything?” Kyle asked, looking at the rest of us. 

   I immediately grabbed him by the shoulder, “Don't,” I said firmly.

   Flames burst up from underneath both cars, followed by screams.

   “We have to help them!” Victor yelled.  “We can’t just stand here and watch someone die!”

   Before Victor could do anything a loud siren blared in the distance. The blurry faced firefighter ran out to the cars and started pulling open the car doors and pulled out the drivers from each of the cars.  Just as he got the divers over to the side of the street the cars were completely consumed in flames, I could feel the heat on my face even standing at the table.  A moment later a firetruck and police cars came around the corners. 

   “Were did that guy come from?” Victor asked.

   Before anyone could respond the rings of light appeared in the ground and consumed us all.

--

   We all reappeared at the clearing in the fog.

   "CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED, PROVING YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE FATE," The disembodied voice said.

   "Well what do you know," Carter said, giving me a hard pat on the back.  "You did it, we're done with this place."

   "No we're not done yet," said a weathered voice behind us.

   I turned to see that the voice belonged to Drake.

   "THE FINAL CHALLENGE WILL BEGIN SHORTLY," the disembodied voice said.  "DON'T FRET ABOUT LOSING YOUR SOUL IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE END OF THE FINAL CHALLENGE. WE ONLY REQUIRE TWO SUBJECTS TO COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE TO CHANGE THE FATE OF HUMANITY. WE HAVE FAITH IN YOU."

   "And just how did you know that?" Fran asked Drake.

   Drake sighed then looked Fran in the eye, "I've made it this far before, but I was the only one left at the end."

   "But I've been here longer than you and never made it this far," Fran said patronizingly.

   "The night after my last challenge I was back in that red room with no memory of ever being here before, that dream ended without me leaving the red room," Drake said without breaking eye contact.  "I remembered the other dreams the next night so I did not dare go into the fog again.  However in my waking life I didn't remember the repeating days anymore, but I remembered being in the red room over and over," Drake said, looking away from Fran.  "I stayed in that room every night. That is until I saw someone that I knew leaving that red room... I couldn’t help but go after them."

   "THE FINAL CHALLENGE STARTS NOW," the disembodied voice said.

   A section of the fog cleared away creating a pathway through the fog.  I noticed a sign pop out of the ground in front of the path.

   "So who was it you saw?" Fran asked Drake.

   I went over to the sign, it was a top down depiction of a maze.

   "Wasn't who I thought it was," Drake said, Fran didn’t seem satisfied with that answer.

   "Hey… HEY Guys!" Victor hollered, getting everyone's attention, "What's that!?"

   We all looked back; on the other side of the clearing a wall of dark fog was heading towards us.  As it crept across the ground everywhere it touched turned black and crumbled apart leaving nothing but a dark abyss.

   "RUN!" Drake yelled.

   I took one last look at the map while everyone ran down the path past me.  "Hold on! It's a maze!"
  “Turn left!” Victor yelled as they approached a fork in the road. I hadn’t noticed him standing behind me also examining the map.

   Katie had already turned to go right, she quickly spun around and dropped to the ground, "My ankle!"

   Carter ran over and crouched down with his back to her, "Get on my back," Katie wrapped her arms around Carter's neck then he piggybacked her towards everyone else.

   Victor and I caught up to the others.  Victor led them through the maze then in what seemed like seconds we exited the maze.  Out front of the maze there was a skyscraper with a full glass wall entrance.  The dark fog was gaining us. We ran for the doors and burst through leaving it ajar.

   "Wait!" Kyle yelled as everyone else ran further into the lobby.  He ran back to the door and closed it just as the wall of darkness slammed into the glass leaving a web of cracks in the bowing panes, then he made his way over to us.

   "Quick thinking," Carter said with a laugh.

   It was dark in the lobby, a dim light was coming from emergency lights along the walls.

   "So what do we do now?" Fran asked.

   "We go up," Drake said. He was at the top of one of two curving staircases that lead to balconies on opposite sides of the lobby.  "Look," Drake said pointing at a sign on the wall, "It's a map." 

   Fran and I went up the stairs and saw that the only exit marked on the map was on the top floor.

   "So where do we go?" Carter asked, still holding Katie on his back on the lobby floor.  A thunderous BANG echoed through the lobby and Carter suddenly knelt on one knee.  "What was that?" Carter asked standing back up with a wobble.

   There was another thunderous BANG that was immediately preceded by the glass entrance erupting with darkness beginning to rush into the lobby.

   "RUN!" Victor yelled, shoving Kyle up the stairs with Carter closely behind.

   The darkness flowed into the lobby as if being liquid and leveled off on the bottom floor just under the balconies.  The fog looked simultaneously like a gas and a wet tar substance.

   I watched as Carter and the others ran up the staircase. When they made it to the top I saw the realization hit Carter that they had gone up to the opposite balcony than the three of us.  "Shit!" Carter shouted, suddenly looking woozy.

   "Is there a way for us to regroup?" Fran asked, looking back at the map.

   "From the looks of how fast that's rising we don't have time to look for one," I said pointing at the quickly rising darkness.

   "OH MY GOD! I'm bleeding!" Katie yelled.  "You're bleeding too!" Katie yelled at Carter.  "What happened, did something hit us?"

   "That doesn't matter right now, just bandage yourself up the best you can," Carter said to her.  "How do we get to the top floor!?" Carter yelled across the lobby.

   To the best of my ability I had memorized the layout of the building, "Go through the door behind you then go down the hall and take a left then a right, there you'll find a stairway that leads all the way up!" I shouted.  "We all should get to the exit at the same time!"

   "Okay we'll see you guys up there," Carter said.

   Carter and the others quickly went down their hall leaving the lobby.

   "Let's go," Fran said to me, Drake was already halfway down the hall.

   I looked back as I was closing the door at the end of the hall and saw a giant round shadow on the opposite balcony.

   We had almost made it to the top of the stairway when the door at the bottom gave way letting the darkness rush in with it rising faster in the narrow space.  "Hurry it's the next floor," I said as we ran faster up the stairs.

   Being the last one out I slammed the door shut behind me.

   "Help me push that cabinet in front of the door," I said pointing at a large filing cabinet near the door.

   "Here let me," Fran said. She nudged me aside, then with what looked like no effort at all pushed the cabinet over in front of the door.

   "The exit should be in the middle of this hall," Drake said.
  Half way down the hall we could see a closed elevator.

   "It's an elevator?" Fran said as she pushed the button next to the door.

   "The power's out," Drake said.

   "Maybe I can pry the doors open and we could climb out the top of the elevator," Fran said, trying to wedge her fingers in between the doors.

   I looked around for another way to get the doors open and saw there were wires running from the elevator along the ceiling down the hall.  Following the wires to the corner of the hall I found that they fed into a breaker-box.  "Hey guys I found a breaker-box!"  I flipped the main breaker which was followed by the elevator door opening releasing a bright light that illuminated the hall. Almost at the same time the elevator opened metal bars shot out of the floor trapping me in the corner.

   Fran and Drake ran over to me. "What happened?" Fran asked.

   "I don't know, I just flipped the breaker," James said.

   "Stand back I'll get you out," Fran told me, then she grabbed two of the bars and tried to pull them apart to no avail.

   Suddenly there was a loud crashing noise down at the far end of the hall with Carter stumbling into view covered in blood with Katie limp on his back.  Carter looked up at us and grinned, "Good… he didn’t get you..."  He took a step forward then fell face first onto the floor.

   "CARTER!" Fran yelled, motioning to run to him but Drake grabbed her arm just as the darkness flowed into the hall covering Carter and Katie leaving a lump as it slowly continued down the hall.

   "GOD DAMN IT!" Fran yelled grabbing the bars again only this time as she pulled, her face began to change: her brows bulged out as if her skull was growing horns and her pupils became slants. While pulling on the bars she gritted her teeth exposing them with a snarl: all except for her two front teeth were sharp like canines.

   Blood began to run down the bars from Fran's hands but the bars didn't give at all.  Drake grabbed Fran's arm to pull her away but Fran shoved him.

   "No!  I'll get him out!" Fran shouted.

   The darkness was getting close to the elevator now.

   "Go..." I said, "It's okay, as long as two of us make it right," I said with an obviously fake grin.

   Fran let go of the bars, Drake put his arm around her and guided her into the elevator with it closing behind them.

   I grabbed the bars to hold myself off the ground as the darkness flowed under me. I contemplated what I could do when at the far end of the hall I saw a giant round figure pop out from the doorway.  I was dumbstruck with fear as the giant turned to look at me with a smile.  Deciding to take my chances with the darkness I let go of the bars allowing the darkness to consume me.

All-Nighter

I woke up on my bathroom floor, my head felt like it weighed a ton.  When I stood up the pressure in my head released as the pressure went I was flooded with the memories of all of the dreams in an instant.  I grabbed the sink for balance.  Noticing blood drops in the sink, I glanced into the mirror and saw that I had a nose bleed.  I grabbed some toilet paper to clean up the blood but stopped busy thinking about the dreams and what I should do: now that the dreams appear to be over will the day stop repeating; and what would it mean if Angel dies now...

   "Oh my god what happened!?" Angel yelled from the doorway, "Are you okay?"

   "I'm fine," I said, trying my best to act like nothing was wrong.  "Just a nose bleed."

   "You sure?  I haven’t seen you get a nose bleed before?"

   "Well I have now," I said as I cleaned off the sink.  "Did you want the shower?" I asked, gesturing to the clothes that Angel was hugging to her chest.

   "Oh yeah..." she said, we swapped spots and she closed the door.

   At school I was lying with my head buried in my arms on my desk in a now empty classroom: I'd made it halfway through the school day without incident and was pondering what I should do next; when I was interrupted by something hitting me on the back of the head.

   "Get up," Mark said.  "You sleep too much."

   "I wasn't sleeping," I said, standing up.

   "Riiight..." Mark said as we left the room.

   Basil was about to pass us in the hall, I sidestepped so that Basil walked right into me.

   "I'm sorry," Basil said quickly, not seeing who he'd walked into.

   "You better be," Mark said, grabbing Basil from behind, giving him a lighthearted noogie.

   "Stop bothering me with your homoerotic male bonding!" Basil shouted, shoving Mark away.

   Mark, now in a daze, walked slowly down the hall and whispered, "Homoerotic?..."

   Basil attempted to fix his hair, turning back to James, "Are you sure you don't w-want to play t-tonight?"

   "Y'know, I think I will."

   "Great!" Basil said very excited.  "Everyone's showing up in f-four four, four hours, but I'm heading over aft-ter school.  Anyway, I gotta go," he said and then ran down the hall.

   Angel joined us just then, "Oh!  I just remem-.”

   "Hey Basil!" I hollered cutting off Angel.  "You ready to leave?" James asked as they approached Basil at the front entrance.

   "Yeah, are you?" Basil asked.

   "Yeah let’s go," I said, walking away from the twins.

   "Where are you going?" Angel asked.

   "Gonna play poker with Basil," I said nonchalantly.

   "Then I'm going too," Mark said, leaping down the steps of the entrance.

   "Are you coming too?" Basil asked Angel who was still standing at the top of the steps.

   I had a lump in his throat as Angel thought for a moment.

   "I guess," Angel said and trotted down the steps after us.

--

   "Ha ha HA!  Got you!" Mark shouted at one of the students from the other school that he'd just knocked out of the game.  They'd been playing for a few hours and there were only five people left: the twins who were now tied with the least amount of money.  Basil and a pale girl with red hair named Naomi who was from the other school had around the same amount.  I was the other with almost double that of Basil and Naomi.

   "Fuck this I'm out of here!" The student Mark had just beaten shouted slamming the door on his way out.

   "How rude," Mark said as the next hand was being dealt.

   I dealt, Basil briefly looked at his cards then slid them back to me folding.

   "Hmmm..." Mark murmured after sneaking a peek at his own cards, "All in."

   "Call," Angel said immediately, "All in."

   "Call," Naomi said.

   "Fold," I said, putting mine and Basil's cards to the side.

   The twins and Naomi turned over their cards: Mark had the nine of spades and the jack of diamonds; Angel had the five of diamonds and clubs; Naomi had the ace and queen of hearts.

   For the flop I dealt the ten and seven of hearts and the five of spades.

   A grin appeared on Naomi's face as I dealt the cards, she needed only one more heart for a flush.  Angel however kept a stony gaze fixed on the cards having a three of a kind.  Mark crossed his fingers on both hands while bobbing his head back and forth.

   For the turn I dealt the eight of spades and Naomi's grin quickly disappeared.

   "That's how we do!" Mark shouted slamming his hands on the table and then punched at the air in celebration, now having a straight.

   For the river I dealt the two of hearts and Naomi's grin returned.

   "Damn!" Mark shouted.

   "It was close," Naomi said, "I thought you had-" she was cut off by her phone ringing.  "Hello?" she suddenly had a stern look on her face and turned away from the table talking fast under her breath.  "Okay bye..." Naomi said and put her phone back in her pocket.  Wiping her face with her sleeve Naomi turned back to the table with red bloodshot eyes.

   "Oh my god what's wrong?" Angel asked with concern, having shed her poker face.

   "Nothing," Naomi said, and wiped her eyes again, "Just some bad news."

   "Are you sure you're you’re, sure you are okay?" Basil asked.

   "Yeah I'm fine... deal the cards."

--

   After a few more hands I had a pocket pair, the five of hearts and clubs.  I raised so that if the other two called they’d both be all in.
  “Call, all in,” Basil said quickly.
  Mark, now being the only onlooker after Angel left the room, looked at Naomi anxiously.

   "Call, all in," Naomi said emotionlessly.

   We all turned our cards over: Basil had pocket aces, spades and Hearts; Naomi had the king of diamonds and Hearts; and I had my pocket fives, hearts and clubs.

   For the flop Naomi dealt the king and two of clubs with the four of spades. Naomi now had three of a kind with the kings.

   All of us remained stone faced preparing for the next card.

   For the turn Naomi dealt the five of diamonds.  This gave me a three of a kind also with the fives.

   "Ooh..." Mark said and leaned back in his chair as if someone had pulled him back by his hair.

   For the river Naomi dealt the five of spades, giving me a four of a kind.

   "O-M-G!" Mark yelled then jumped out of his chair and began hopping in a circle.

   "Good good game," Basil said.

   Naomi had tears running down her face, but before I could react my phone rang.  I looked, it was his dad.

   "Basil, take care of the money for me," I said and went to stand on the other side of the door but left it ajar, "Hello?"

   "I finished my book last night," my dad said excitedly.

   "Oh yeah..." I said, then heard loud voices coming from the room behind me and stepped back to hear better.

   "I NEED THAT MON-NEY!" Naomi shouted while sobbing.

   "Calm down!" Mark shouted, "Now, why do you need this money so bad?"

   "For m-my f-fath-ther."

   "Is he in debt or something?"

   "NO!  We need to go on a trip..." Naomi said with a sniffle.

   "Why don't you just postpone until you have enough money?"

   "I have to go now."

   "I thought you were going with your father, why can’t he help with the money?"

   "Because he just died!...  Okay..."

   "James!" my dad yelled.

   "Oh sorry..." I said, having forgotten I was on the phone.

   "I'm leaving and won't be back for a couple days, will you kids be okay?"

   I saw Angel come around the corner down the hall, "I think we'll be fine," James said and hung up.

   "I'm sure I can help you get some money if you need it that badly," Mark said in an uncharacteristically caring tone. Mark yelled in the direction of the cracked door, “James! I’m borrowing your winnings for a while, you don’t mind do you?”

   "Who was that?" Angel asked as I put my phone away.

   "Dad," I said, closing the door with the back of my foot.

   I could hear a muffled Mark through the closed door, “See he doesn’t mind.”

   "What did your father want?" Angel asked.

   "He's done with his book," I said walking past Angel toward the exit, "He's gonna be out for a few days."

   "So I take it you won?"

   "Yeah, let’s get out of here."

   "What about Mark?" Angel asked.

   "He's preoccupied," I said as I went to the exit pulling open the door for Angel.

--

   "Well I'ma head on to bed," Angel said as we entered the deserted house.

   Walking into the living-room I had a thought that I didn't want the day to end, "Hey!  Would you want to watch TV out here on the couch until we fall asleep?"

   Angel looked back with reddining cheeks, "Sure..."

   We both watched TV for a while until Angel leaned over resting her head on my shoulder falling asleep almost instantaneously.  As the dawn light came in through the windows I couldn't hold back my tears any longer.  I turned off the TV and leaned my head against the top of Angel's and closed my eyes.

Penultimate Friday

I found myself standing in a small white room with my head feeling like it weighed a ton, then in an instant the pressure left my head.  I checked my nose and sure enough it was bleeding.  I pushed aside the chair with the unknown man's body in it then pulled an empty chair over in front of the big monitor.  There was a keyboard or at least something that resembled a keyboard under this monitor.  I couldn't make out what any of the keys meant.

   "How the hell do you use this thing?"

   "I can change it for you," said a voice coming from the monitor.

   "Who was that?"

   "I am nobody, and yet everybody.  Even you."

   "Kay... well I'm not looking for riddles right now."

   "I know what you're looking for and you will find it with and without time."

   The keyboard suddenly transformed into one that I knew how to use.

   "So, what all can this thing do?" I asked, looking for a mouse.

   "The machine has run its purpose and has begun to shutdown, leaving only enough power to run the standard operating systems and the two containment holds."

   "What's in the containment holds?"

   "The two subjects that completed all of the tests."

   "So what can I do if there's no power?" I asked, starting to get irritated.

   "You can watch the recordings of the other time's key past and future events that lead to and contested the destruction of our existence."

   "Why should I watch some videos?  Can't I just leave and let this machine shut down?"

   "If you leave now you will not get what you desire."

   "What I desire... I've already gotten what I desire."

   "You are wrong, but I have faith that you will find the right course of action."

   I pondered for a moment, "Alright I'll watch the recordings.  How long are they anyway?"

   "Showing only the important recording would be nine separate recordings totaling over one hundred hours."

   "God!" I said in disbelief.  "Do you think you could edit them down to like movie length?"

   "Movie length?"

   "Yeah, ya know around an hour to two hours."

   "I'll do my best... starting the first recording now."

   I watched the monitor for the next few hours.

 

--

   "So can you reroute that power if that's not there anymore?" I asked. I’m not sure how long I worked with the computer voice but it seemed like days and only a moment all at once.

   "Yes I can but it will be torn apart by doing so."

   "Then do it," I said bluntly.

   "Reverting now... searching... subject found... process activated."

   "So it's done?"

   "We have done all we can do, it is out of our hands now,” the voice said, sounding glad.

   I got up and pressed a button on the wall, then the elevator doors slid open.  "Well… See ya later," I said as I pressed the button in the elevator.  The button was now a green arrow pointing down.  The door slid closed and then light quickly flowed from the floor to the ceiling consuming James.

The Last Friday

I had something hit me hard across the face, I opened my eyes revealing Mark's foot planted on my face.  I slapped away his foot, jumped up and started to hit him, "Bastard!"

   "What the hell!  Stop hitting me!"

   "I'm tired of being kicked in the face!"  

   "Alright, just stop hitting me!"

   Climbing down from the top bunk Angel stood by the door lifelessly gazing at the floor.

   "What's wrong with you?" Mark asked now that I had stopped hitting him, but she was unresponsive.  "HEY, what's wrong?"

   "Oh!" Angel said shocked, "Nothing, just had a weird dream that's all."

   "Oh god!  Not you too, James’ dreams are bad enough," Mark groaned.

   "Anyway, I'm going to take a shower..." Angel said, then walked down the hall biting at her fingernails.

-- 

   "Oh!  I just remembered that I'm out of sugar," I said as the three of us were leaving school after an uneventful school-day.  "Guess I'm going to the store."

   "Then I guess I'm going too," Mark said as he trotted down the steps after James.

   Angel slowly walked down the steps behind us.

   "You going too?" Mark said more like a statement than a question.

   "Na, I think I'll go check in on mom..." Angel said and then walked away from them.

   “Kay,” Mark said as he tried to not fall over, “Send our love.”

   Mark and I went to leave but as we did Sam made an inappropriate remark about Angel to Basil within earshot of Mark.

   Enraged, Mark lunged onto Sam's back, but Mark was so much smaller than Sam he hung around Sam’s neck with his feet not reaching the ground. 

   Sam flailed around, “GET OFF ME!”

   I ran over knowing what to expect as Sam made a sharp spin.

-- 

   BANG!  I sprang up suddenly realizing I was on a bed in the school infirmary.  Mark was at the door trying to pick up a tray that he’d knocked over.

   “Oh…” Mark said when he noticed me glaring at him.  “Got your sugar for ya,” Mark said, holding up a grocery bag.

   "What happened?" I asked.

   "You got knocked the fuck out."

   "Really... well let's get out of here I'm starving."

   "Now you're speakin' my kinda language," Mark said with a gleam in his eye.

--

   Mark and I were watching TV while waiting for Angel to get back when there was a breaking news story saying that two people had stopped a plane hijacking at the local airport without anyone getting hurt.

   “Wasn’t your mom flying home today?” Mark asked me.

   "No, she's not coming until tomorrow."

   "Oh ya."

   My dad's door suddenly opened revealing him standing in the doorway holding something in his right hand.  "I'm done!" shouted my dad, then he walked into the living-room holding a stack of papers.

   "Great! What's it about?" Mark asked.

   "Time travel… Kinda."

   "Like Back to the Future?"

   "No, it's about hooking people up to a machine telepathically and they-"

   KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! The loud noise abruptly cut off my dad.  The sound put a lump in my throat.

   "James get the door!" Mark hollered.

THE END

Part 1
CW- Suicidal themes

If You Have to Leave

I had something hit me on the face so I jumped up grabbing the back of my head, but there was no blood.  Taking in my surroundings took a moment- it couldn’t be…  I was back in his room with Mark sprawled half off the bed.  Suddenly covered in a cold sweat with my heart beating fast I found it hard to breathe.  I sat down against the wall with my knees to my chest.  I began breathing slow deep breaths trying to compose myself.  I slid my hands down my face with a sigh, then leaned my head back against the wall making a soft thud.  One of Mark’s eyes opened, then he motionlessly scanned the room with his eye stopping at me for a moment before closing.

   “You look like hell,” Mark said.

   Glancing back down I saw Mark knelt on one knee in front of me donning a queried expression.  Getting teary-eyed I looked away from Mark only to see Angel in the doorway as she began to run down the hall.
  "I call shower!" Angel shouted and then turned out of sight.

   Mark slid against the wall next to me, plopped his head back and began to stare at the ceiling.  We sat there silently until Mark skewed his head giving an exploratory glance at the empty shell next to him.  “Hmm?” Mark murmured in an attempt to get a reaction.

   Unexpectedly to Mark I started to mumble something unintelligible until the last part, “…she died,” and then I returned to my mile long gaze with tears flowing down my cheeks.

   “Mm,” Mark turned back to the ceiling.

   A few moments later the tears stopped and I leaned forward, “I think I’ve gone mad.”

   “Quite,” Mark commented solemnly.

--

   I gazed into the black abyss in front of my face; for the past hour I'd only taken a couple sips of my now lukewarm coffee. 
  Angel reentered the living-room with a refilled mug of her own, “So are we just gonna sit and stare at each other all day or are you guys gonna tell me what’s wrong with you two?” she asked but I remained  unresponsive and continued to gaze into my coffee.  Then there was Mark who kept caressing the arm of the couch while staring blankly at the ceiling.    With a scornful groan Angel took a gulp of coffee and sat adjacent to Mark on the couch which appeared to cause a seesaw effect because Mark immediately jumped up.  

   “I got it, James was just telling me,” Mark said, slapping me on the shoulder almost spilling my coffee, “he thinks we should go have a day out on the town... so I can get some fresh air to clear my head.”  I put down my mug on the coffee-table and licked off some coffee that had gotten on my hand.  “Ain’t that right!” Mark said with another shoulder slap.

   “Yeah,” I agreed dully.

   Angel seemed to be relieved that we were talking now, but was still looking curiously at us both trying to figure out what was going on between the two of us.  “Well if we’re going out might as well go n’ get that hat I’ve been wanting,” she said and gulped down the rest of her coffee.

--

   “Are you even listening?” Angel asked me while I was looking absentmindedly out the wall sized window alongside our table.  We'd stopped into a restaurant for a late lunch after walking around town all morning.

   Mark kicked my leg, “Huh?” I moaned, pulling my leg back, “what?”

   “Would you wanna go to the amusement park?” Angel asked, irritated.

   “Uh...” my mind was still racing, I couldn’t think straight, "sure..."

   “Well I’ll go pay then we can go,” Angel said and left to the far side of the restaurant.

   “Hmm?” Mark murmured at me when Angel was just out of earshot.

   “I think I’ve really lost it this time,” I said deadpan.

   “Well that’s obvious.”

   “No you don’t understand, this isn't one of those nightmares that used to bother me…” I said with my eyes starting to sting.  “I’ve lived this day two times…” Mark started slowly nodding as I talked, “and at the end of both days… Angel died," my eyes were burning, "I don’t think I can do this again.”

   Glancing over my shoulder Mark began to laugh uncontrollably, “OH that’s hilarious!  Oh, I can’t stop laughing, I’m crying.”

   “What’s so funny?” Angel asked as she came from behind me.

   “Oh James was just telling me about-” Mark started laughing mid sentience, “I don’t even remember what, but it's got both of us in tears.”

   “Well isn’t that great, anyway we should be going,” Angel said and headed for the door.

   “Kay…” Mark said, wiping the tears from his eyes with a wink to James, “We’ll sort this whole thing out, trust.”

--

   “YES! I AM A GOD!” Mark yelled and took a giant stuffed penguin from the game’s operator, adding it to his loot that he'd earned that day: which consisted of a giant foam cowboy hat, a pair of giant blinking sunglasses and an assortment of small stuffed animals.  Seeming to not mind the crowd Mark bumped his giant penguin into everyone he passed as the three of us walked to a deserted corner.  Mark plopped his penguin on the ground and stretched his free arm out to Angel, “Cotton candy!”  

   “You’re not really gonna keep that stuff are you?” Angel asked as she handed Mark one of two spools of cotton candy she had.

   “Ya know, you’re right,” Mark said and handed the cotton candy back to Angel.  Picking up the penguin Mark went through the crowd to a little boy who was having no luck at a ring toss game.  “Congratulations, you're our one millionth customer!” Mark shouted at the kid who looked increasingly terrified as Mark filled his arms with stuffed animals and then put the cowboy hat and sunglasses on him.

   “Quick!” Angel yelled, throwing the cotton candy aside and grabbed my hand, “Follow me!”  With her ironclad grip she pulled me through the crowd with such speed I was sure we’d given and been given a few bruises from passing glances.  Suddenly we emerged into a clearing but Angel didn’t stop, “Hey!  Hold it, let us in this one alone,” she yelled to someone in front of them.

   “Kay, but this means we’re even!” said a voice I didn't recognize.

   Suddenly I realized we'd just skipped an entire line of people for the new giant closed compartment ferris wheel.  Stepping onto the first step behind Angel with my hand still locked to hers I was abruptly jerked forward.    “Ah!” Angel screamed, turned and tumbled backward pulling me along with her onto the floor of the compartment.

   Quickly getting off of her I saw that she was holding the back of her head, “Are you okay?” I asked as the door started to close behind me. 
  “Knock her dead buddy,” said the unfamiliar voice that Angel was now even with and the door sealed behind me.

   With a look of pain Angel sat up and looked at her hand, “Well there’s no blood,” she said, picking up her hat. 

   I helped her up onto one of the benches, “You are sure you’re fine?”

   “Yeah I’m fine, just a little dizzy.”  Angel noticed that my eyes were red as if he were about to cry, “What’s been with you today?  I think you should be more concerned about yourself than with me.”

   “You don’t understand..." I said, turning to face out the window away from her.

   “Oh yeah, try me,” She said, nudging me on the arm, “'cause if I don’t understand now, I definitely will after you explain it to me.”

   “I’ve woken up in the morning and it’s Friday…”

   “Okay, well that doesn’t sound like the part I don’t understand so are you gonna continue?”

   “I’ve done that three times in a row now… and the last two nights you’ve died…”

   I noticed too late that I had tears running down my face and turned away so Angel wouldn’t see. 
  “Hey.  Turn over here,” She said, pulling me around by my shoulder to reveal even redder eyes than this morning.  “Now calm down,” She pulled her scarf off and mopped the tears off my face.  “You’ve had dreams similar to that before, maybe they’ve just gotten worse.”  

  “It’s not the same…" I said, pulling away from her again, "this was real…”

   “Kay so it’s real-”

   “No! Don’t say that,” I shouted, making Angel jump with a look of bashful concern, “What would me and Mark do without you?”

   Angel’s bashful demeanor vanished, “You’re an idiot sometimes you know that...” She said with a scornful tone and turned facing away from me out the window.  “...If today does keep repeating,” Angel said with a sorrowful tone, “do me a favor and bring me here every night…” she said, turning to reveal tears swelling up in her eyes.  Lunging at me Angel embraced me in the tightest hug I’d ever had, “I’ve wanted to tell you something very important for a while now, and I thought this would be the perfect spot.”  I returned the hug with matching strength and Angel buried her face against my shoulder pressing into my jacket.  “Do that and I wouldn't want any other day to last forever,” then her grip loosened, “James… My head hurts...”

--

   Rushing out of the compartment as the door opened I nearly knocked over the wheels’ operator, “Hey buddy what’s the rush!”  I was well into the crowd when I heard yelling, “SOMEONE CALL 911!” 

   I headed to the tallest building in the park and after a short search I found a way onto the roof.  Feeling the cool autumn breeze against my face I perched myself on the edge of the roof facing a back alley.  There were no more tears as I spread my arms and leaped forward.  My top half pulled me forward facing myself down head first and then I spotted in a split-second someone running in my direction underneath me, then the air flipped me over and I was now right-side up again when suddenly I felt something hit me hard along my side sending me diagonally into a shutter garage door that gave way a little.  

   “WHAT THE HELL do you think you’re doing!?” Mark yelled at me, then he sat against the dented metal shutter. 

   I couldn’t think: my head was racing, my ribs felt like they'd all shattered and I wasn’t sure where I was or what had just happened.

   “You listen here!  If you can do something to stop this from happening you damn well better or I’ll do a lot worse to ya than throw ya off a building!  Ya hear me!?” Mark hollered with tears running down his face.

   The pain all over my body was too much for me as I felt myself slip into darkness.

The First Dream

 

I had something hit me on the face and with a huge gasp of air I awoke to see Mark’s foot on my face.  Quietly getting up I made my way to the bathroom: I wanted to be able to do what Mark and Angel told me; if only it were that easy.  Maybe if I died earlier in the day Angel wouldn’t die too, but if I died would the days still continue to repeat.  Entering the bathroom I felt as though I’d just ran head first into a brick wall; lightheaded and dizzy I fell hard on my side blacking-out.

   Then I remembered back to the first Friday.

   “Hello!?” I said, answering my phone.

   “James this is Angelika… Mark’s with me, he told me to call… Angel’s been hit by a drunk driver…”

   “Is she okay?”

   I couldn’t grasp what was said... Now sitting on my bed feeling nauseous and light headed, tears swelled in my eyes as I fell into darkness.

   Suddenly I found myself in a room packed with people partying.  I began to wonder why I was there when I was in no mood for a party; trying to recall why I felt so bad was made difficult by the noise.  In my dismay I noticed that someone was shoving their way through the crowd toward me.  The crowd parted, revealing the most enchanting girl I’ve ever seen: she had long very light brown hair wearing a dark crimson sundress, with a very distinct dark black eyeliner, blood red lips with the whitest teeth behind them.  She had a stern demeanor about her as she shoved her way past.  Following in her wake I came to a pair of glass doors that lead out to a thick fog.  Being positive she didn’t go any other way.  I pushed open the doors with a shiver running down my spine as the doors closed behind me.

   Walking through the fog I got disorientated quickly and was about to turn back when I heard voices ahead of me.  Going toward the voices I suddenly emerged into a clearing: the crimson girl was there along with five others.  The crimson girl was talking to another girl with short dark brown hair and a young boy with moppy blond hair who looked to be in his early teens.  A man with charcoal hair who appears to be in his late thirties was sitting alone in the middle of the clearing.  At the far end of the clearing the last two guys were inspecting the wall of fog: they both had matching ginger hair and looked to be the same age; in fact they could have passed for twins if one of them wasn't a head taller than the other.

   “Hey new kid!” The crimson girl yelled at me with a wave for me to come over.  The closer I got the more anxious the boy standing next to her looked.  “Hi!  I was just introducing everybody to Carl here,” She said and then outstretched her hand to me.  I grabbed her hand instinctively and she shook me hand with an extraordinarily tight grip, “Sorry I forget my strength sometimes.”

   “THE TEST BEGINS NOW,” said a loud disembodied voice.

   “Shoot!  Quick pointers… Name?” She paused and looked at me quizzically.

   “Oh, it's James.”

   “James, just do what comes naturally and you’ll be fine,” She said reassuringly.

   A ring of light appeared in the ground around each of us and started to hover out of the ground.

   “And if you’re not fine..." She paused, pondering, "then you’re not I guess.”  The lights got to the top of everyone’s head and stopped, “Oh yeah I’m Fran by the way,” then the lights dropped into the ground.

   James was now the only one in the clearing.

   “THERE’S A KEY IN EVERY BOX BEFORE YOU AND EVERYONE UNLOCKS EVERY DOOR BEFORE YOU, GET THROUGH THE RIGHT DOORS,” the disembodied voice shouted.

   Suddenly in the middle of the clearing there were nine small tables each with a box on them and in front of a door.  Without hesitation I went to the ninth box in front of me and took off the lid: there was a big old-fashioned key made out of what looked to be solid gold inside.  Taking the key without much thought I went to the door directly behind the box I'd just opened and the key fit perfectly; while turning the key there was a loud clattering noise from within the door and then it swung inward sucking me through it.

   Regaining my footing I noticed that I was back in the clearing with the tables, boxes and closed doors in front of me with no door behind me.  Unfazed, I went over to the ninth box again and opened it, getting another gold key.  Going to the door behind this box the key fit perfectly so I turned it with the door making the same clattering noise and then it swung inwards pulling me through it. 

   Regaining my footing again I realized I was back in the original clearing with Fran, the teen girl, the older man and the two redheads.

   “ONE OF THE SUBJECTS FAILED.”

   “Aw, poor kid he was so scared,” Fran said sorrowfully.

   “THE FIELD WILL BE RESET AND NEW TESTS WILL BE RUN.”
  “See you tomorrow James,” Fran said with a wink, “or rather again today perhaps.”

   The rings of light appeared under them again and arose from the ground to the tops of their heads then fell back into the ground.

The Second Dream

*"*James… I have to tell you the truth before... James…”

   “Yeah?” I asked drowsily.

   “We should ride the ferris wheel after this,” Angel said with a whimsical soft chuckle.

   “What, what do you mean?” I asked with a slight chuckle, but then Angels' arms loosened around me, “Angel?”  I looked up at Angel who was staring vacantly at the floor, I had a distressing sense of déjà vu, I'd felt these emotions before.  Nauseous and light headed I felt the blood leave my head as I fell into darkness.

   Suddenly I was back in the red party room with all the people partying, except this time I could vaguely remember being here before but the details were hazy.  I could remember that what felt like just moments ago Angel had died a second time... “This must be a dream…”  I walked around the room hugging the walls looking for any clues as to what was going on.  I came to some glass doors and a plaque up on the wall beside them.

If you venture outside you and six others will be put through a series of tests to find seven people who all have the ability to help divert mankind from its horrid fate.  Be warned if you fail a test beyond this door your soul will pass on, but if you stay you will wake believing this was nothing but a dream.  Don’t feel guilty for staying, stay, have fun; fore this is the first test.

   The memories of the last time I was here came rushing back into my mind.  I realized that Fran and the others were probably waiting for me in the clearing, so I went out into the fog once more.  Hearing voices coming from the fog again I popped into the clearing next to Fran, the dark brunet and the two redheads.

   “James!” Fran yelled, “James this is Katie, Katie this is James.”

   “Nice to meet you,” Katie said.

   “And these two are Carter and Cody," Fran said pointing at the tall one and then to the other, "they’re cousins.”

   “What’s up,” Cody said.

   “So do you have any questions?” Fran asked me.  I glanced at the man in the middle of the fog, “Oh I forgot about him, he’s… well I think his name’s Drake," Fran said, "He doesn’t talk anymore.  Me and him have been here so many times I've lost-” a woman in her late twenties walked into the clearing then Fran quickly ran over to her mid-sentence.

   “THE TEST BEGINS NOW,” the loud disembodied voice said.

   Rings of light appeared in the ground around each of us and rose to our heads then dropped back into the ground with the new girl having disappeared.

   “Damn, I didn’t get to tell her anything,” Fran said walking back over to the group.

   “What just happened?” I asked.

   “So he can speak,” Carter said with a smirk.

   “Once you do the first test you don’t have to do it again,” Cody said.

   “By the way, what was your guy’s test yesterday?” Fran asked me.

   "Uh..." the question caught me off guard, “I had to unlock some of a wall of doors.”

   “Didn’t you have to do it twice?” Katie asked.

   “Yeah, did you do the same thing?” I asked.

   “No," Katie said, "We all had to do something similar though.”

   “It seems that you have to do something twice," Fran said "so I bet you unlocked a door then do it again a second time.”

   I nodded, “Wait, if you knew that, why didn’t you tell me?”

   “It’s not that simple, everyone I’ve told has failed the team test immediately,” Fran said.

   "What?  Well, is there anything that you can safely tell me about what to do in this place?"

   “The second test that only happens if all seven people get passed the first test,” Fran said with a glance toward Drake, “We’ve never gotten past that one, but most of the time it’s been all of us together as a group.  I’m cautious to say more…”

   “Enough about that,” Cody said, “What happened to you in your waking life when the day repeated?”

   Abruptly it all came back to me in a wave, my eyes starting to burn.

   “Now look at what you’ve done,” Carter said, giving Cody a light slap on the back of the head.

   “Are you alright sweetheart?” Katie asked kindly.

   “My…” I pulled myself together the best I could, “My friend… has died twice…”

   Katie let out a loud gasp, “That’s terrible!”

   Cody and Carter made matching sympathetic groans.

   “There was another person who had someone die in their day too,” Fran said mournfully, “but it was their mother…”

   “You never told us that!  What happened to them?” Cody asked.

   “He said that his waking self couldn’t take it anymore, and was most likely going to kill himself if the day repeated again… he didn’t come back the next night.” 

   “So do you remember these dreams when you are awake?” I asked, confused.
  “No one seems to remember any of this in their waking days,” Cody said.  “It really blows that your waking day is such a terrible one buddy,” he said and gave me a pat on the shoulder before walking off.

   Suddenly a ring of light shot out of the ground and immediately dropped back into the ground revealing the new girl.

   “THE TEAM TEST WILL BEGIN SHORTLY,” The disembodied voice shouted.

   “Hey ya made it!” Fran yelled running over to the girl.  “The name’s Fran, yours?” She asked with an outstretched hand.

   “Elizabeth…” The girl said looking bewildered at Fran’s hand not daring to touch it.  She scanned the clearing looking at the rest of us, “What is this place?”

   “Well um…”

   “THE TEAM TEST WILL BEGIN NOW,” the disembodied voice shouted and then the rings of light arose around us all once more.

   “It’s a dream,” Fran said and all the rings dropped into the ground.

   I found myself back in the crowded red party room without anyone else from the clearing.  I wondered if I should go back to the clearing, but then thought I’d better look around the room for everyone else first.  Going around the room hugging the walls I came across Drake sitting at a small table in the corner of the room drinking some kind of what looked to be hard liquor, at least the bottle looked like one from the back shelves of a bar.  Instinctively I thought it’d be better to find the others instead of approaching Drake alone, so I kept walking.  Not too far away I found Fran and Katie sitting at a table together.

   “James!” Katie yelled as I approached the table at which point I could smell the strong aroma of alcohol.  “SIT!  We’re getting wasted!”  When I sat down Katie and Fran took matching shots then slammed the glasses on the table, “Come on it’s an endless bottle!  Hangover free guarantee,” Katie said while attempting to pour some into a glass that was in front of me, with most of it getting on the table.

   “Sorry, she obviously doesn’t hold her alcohol very well,” Fran said and knocked back another shot of her own.

   “Should we really be getting drunk?” I asked as I examined the liquid in my glass, “I mean aren’t we supposed to be doing some kind of challenge?”

   “You got the wrong idea it’s-” Fran was cut off by Katie. 

   “Na I think he’s onto something,” Katie said, “Obviously the challenge is to see who can drink the most.  Now drink!”

   I was getting very frustrated that neither of them were listening to me, then Fran raised her glass to me with a smirk before knocking it back so I gave in and did the same.  I started to choke uncontrollably feeling like my throat was coated in acid, and then something slapped me hard on the back.

   “Are you gonna make it pal?” Carter asked, taking a seat next to James.  “Have y'all seen Cody?  I can’t find him anywhere.”

   “Nope, but there’s two of you now, so it’s fine,” Katie said then dropped head first onto the table.

   Making sure Katie was okay I spotted Elizabeth across the room at the glass doors but with the state of my throat I could only point.

   Carter turned just soon enough to see her go out the doors, “Damn why didn’t anyone find her!”  Before Carter could scold Fran, Cody ran out the door yelling for Elizabeth, “NO!” Carter yelled, standing up knocking the table over and its contents onto Katie’s lap.

   “Hey!” Katie screamed followed by the rings of light shooting out of the ground around each of them and dropping back into the ground.

   James, Fan, Katie, Carter and Drake were back in the clearing.

   “TWO SUBJECTS FAILED THE TEAM TEST,” The disembodied voice said.

   “God damn it Cody!” Carter screamed.

   “THE FIELD WILL BE RESET AND NEW TESTS WILL BE RUN.”

   The rings of light arose to our heads and fell back into the ground.

(So i wrote this story when I was a kid and have cleaned it up a little bit, grammar wise mostly but didn't want to change too much because it's from when i was a kid and it has some charm i think in that. I used to like creative writing but am terribly antisocial and never really shared my stories but with family. I stopped years ago and this is one of the only things I managed to save from my childhood and thought that this place might be a good spot to share it. I would love to get into story telling again. Also I'm sorry if this isn't horror enough, I thought it felt pretty dreadful so i figured it might be a good fit but if not sorry.)

CW - Not sure what to put but there are knives, guns and blood

I LOST IT

Thursday

I was standing in total darkness, gazing into the darkness as a feeling of isolation enveloped me.  Suddenly I noticed that my lifelong friend Angel was standing hunched over in the distance with her face shrouded behind her long jet-black hair.  Angel raised her arm holding it lifelessly outstretched towards me and began to sob.  I took a step toward Angel, but as I did, Angel without moving any part of her body stiffly gilded backwards away from me.  Without a second thought I darted after her.  As I got close to her I reached for her still outstretched arm, however as I did she began rising into the air.  I lunged forward, seizing her wrist.  With a feeling of relief having now secured Angel from floating away, I looked up to see through the veil of hair obscuring her face to see tears of blood running down her face; involuntarily recoiling at the sight her arm slipped out of my grasp.  Then the ground vanished out from under me, I was now falling backwards still reaching out for Angel when abruptly a pair of giant black wings erupted from her back.  Angel watched sadly with her bloody eyes as I fell, then with one flap of her giant wings she shot out of sight leaving a trail of feathers that showered down engulfing me as I continued to fall.

   With a jolt I woke in a cold sweat, finding myself on my bed in my dark room.  Unsettling dreams were nothing new for me; I'd had them for as long as I could remember.  Some dreams I could remember fully while others hardly at all, but one thing they all had in common were they preceded significant incidents in my life; good and bad.

--

   I relaxed on my bed trying to recall my fleeting dream while watching the ceiling-fan spin, when I thought I heard someone downstairs.  There shouldn’t be anyone in that part of the house.  The only other person in the house was my father: who was writing a new book, which meant he was locked away in his fully stocked bedroom/office; that he was known to hold up in for months.  Grabbing a baseball bat I lurked through the house to the kitchen and found a shadow projecting out from behind the open refrigerator door.

   “SHOW YOURSELF!” I yelled.

   “WHAT!?” Angel popped her head out from behind the door.  She stood up rubbing her hair with the towel draped over her neck and gave me a condescending stare.  “You're going to hit me with a bat 'cause I’m eating your food?” she asked sarcastically.  Angel and her twin brother Mark have been my close friends our whole lives.  All of our parents were childhood friends so the three of us have always been close, but after the twins’ father died when they were six, they started staying at my house more than their own.

   “Why are you here?” I asked, irritated, now leaning on the bat as if it were a cane.

   “Our water heater broke and we wanted to take showers,” Angel said in a matter of fact way.

   I heard the shower upstairs start and let out a sigh, “Now Mark’s gonna use all of my hot water, he’s always in there for like an hour.”

   “Ya snooze ya loose,” Angel said wrinkling her nose at me then plopped back in front of the refrigerator.

--

   After school ended, Basil approached Mark and I out front of the school.  “Hey, a group of out of t-t-towners are playing poker t-tomorrow,” Basil said with his telltale stutter: he never talks about his stutter or the oversized glasses without lenses that he wears.  The three of us had become very protective of Basil over the last year, not tolerating anyone making fun of him if we could help it.  Our friendship with Basil truly started after we found out that he had witnessed the murder of his parents during a home invasion.  He lives at an orphanage now and is popular at school from being twelve and already a junior in High school, but I’m sure the three of us are among the few he considers his real friends.

   “When’s it start?” I asked.

   “Late, s-so it probably won’t end t-till Saturday morning.”

   “I would go if it wasn’t so late,” I said bluntly.

   Basil turned to walk away- “Well aren’t you going to ask me if I want to go?” Mark asked a disappointed looking Basil.

   “Do you want to go?” Basil asked deadpan with no stutter.

   “NO!” Mark barked and started to laugh uncontrollably.

 

--

   I turned down my street on our walk home yelling a farewell to the twins whose home was in the opposite direction.  Not five seconds later I heard footsteps behind me, “Don’t you guys have a home of your own?” I asked as I kept walking.

   An arm slid over my shoulders, “Home’s where the heart is,” Mark said.

   **“**Your house just feels more like a home,” Angel said with a quirky smile from under Mark's other arm.

Penultimate Friday

I was in a sound sleep when something hit me hard across the face so I opened my eyes revealing Mark’s foot on my face.  I have had a bunk bed for as long as I can remember: Angel slept on top while Mark and I shared the bottom; but Mark isn't what you’d call a light sleeper, so I adapted to the floor beside the bed.

   “God damn it!” I yelled, slapping Mark’s foot away then jumped up and began punching him.

   “What the hell! Stop hitting me!”

   Angel got down from the top bunk that she’d turned into a fort with blankets hung from the ceiling around it.  "I call shower!" she shouted running down the hall.

 

--

   Suddenly I found myself in a large bright red room that appeared to have been fixed up in preparations for a party.  I looked around the vacant room wondering if I was early then I noticed a pair of glass doors at the far corner of the room.  Looking out the glass I couldn't see more than a few yards because of a thick fog: the tops of some skyscrapers were the only things visible through the fog being backlit from a bright white light.  I examined the room once more and noticed a plaque on the wall beside the doors.

If you venture outside you and six others will be put through a series of tests to find seven people who all have the ability to help divert mankind from its horrid fate.  Be warned if you fail a test beyond this door your soul will pass on, but if you stay you will wake believing this was nothing but a dream.  Don’t feel guilty for staying, stay, have fun; fore this is the first test.

   I looked out the door again pressing my hand against the cool glass- it sure felt real.  As I pushed the door open a shiver ran down my spine.  The fact that I could no longer see the ground or even my feet was slightly unnerving as I walked into the fog.  Walking a few yards I couldn’t see the skyscrapers or the door anymore so I walked a bit more and emerged into a clearing: which looked as if a giant cookie cutter had cut a circle out of the fog.  “HELLO!” I shouted without even hearing an echo back.  Walking around the clearing I thought I heard quiet laughter coming from within the fog, “WHO’S THERE!?”

   A few silent moments passed and I began to wonder if they’d gone or I’d just imagined the laughter when with a thunderous bang I felt something punch me hard on the back of my arm leaving it soaking wet.  Aggravated, I quickly turned around looking for the culprit only to find undisturbed fog.  Suddenly a sharp sting shot up my arm, I saw blood flowing from a hole in my bicep.  “YOU SHOT ME!  Why’d you shoot me!?  I haven’t done anything!”

   Laughter started, louder than before, “Oh you have, and you failed,” a large voice said, then a giant of a man who was almost perfectly round hopped out of the fog and ran straight into me before I could react.  I managed to stay on my feet as the giant stepped away from me, but suddenly I felt sleepy and fell to my knees: my chest felt tight so I looked down to see the handle of a knife sticking out of my chest; before I lost the last bit of my strength I heard something in the distance.

   “James… JAMES… WAKE UP!”

   I woke up in a classroom sprawled out on my desk as Mark hit me repeatedly on the back of the head with a book.

   “I’M UP!” I shouted, slapping Mark's book across the room.

 

--

   “Oh!  I just remembered you’re out’a sugar,” Angel told me as the three of us were leaving school.

   “Well then I guess I’m going to the store,” I said.

   “Well then, I’m going too,” Mark said.

   “I think I’ll go check in on mom,” Angel said with a tone of melancholy, “She should be home around now.”

   “Kay,” Mark said as he tried to not fall over, “Send our love.”

   Angel waved back to us with her quirky grin as she went around the street corner and out of sight.  Mark and I went to leave but as we did Sam made an inappropriate remark about Angel to Basil within earshot of Mark.  Sam is considered a thug by most at the school because of his large build and that he’s been kicked out of several schools from getting into fights: the only person he ever interacts with is Basil, but everyone just assumes that's because they're both orphans.

   Enraged, Mark lunged onto Sam's back, but Mark was so much smaller than Sam he hung around Sam’s neck with his feet not reaching the ground. 

   Sam flailed around, “GET OFF ME!”

   I ran over to separate them but when I got close Sam made a sharp spin then I felt something hit him hard upside the head and suddenly I was back in that vacant red party room.

   With a quick once-over I noticed the room was the same as before and that there was no other way out but for the glass doors.  Without any other option I went back out the glass doors and made my way back towards the middle of the clearing.

   A few silent moments passed then I heard quiet laughter coming from the fog.  “I wouldn’t be laughing if I was as funny looking as you buddy!” I yelled then the laughter stopped.

   The giant stepped out of the fog, “Pretty big mouth, for a failure!” and without warning the giant bolted at me again.

   Ready this time I sidestepped at the last moment tripping the giant which made him drop the knife and tumble a couple feet away.  I got the knife and held it outstretched at the giant, “Why are you trying to kill me!  I told you earlier I haven’t done anything for you to want me dead!”

   “Oh you have," The giant said as he sat up and chuckled, "and you failed," before I could react the giant pointed a pistol at my chest.

   BANG!  I sprang up suddenly realizing I was on a bed in the school infirmary.  Mark was at the door trying to pick up a tray that he’d knocked over.

   “Oh…” Mark said when he noticed me glaring at him.  “Got your sugar for ya,” Mark said, holding up a grocery bag.

   “How long was I out?”

   “Not long.  A crowd gathered when you got dropped, so I snuck off before anyone noticed.  Thought I’d lay low for a bit, so I went to get your sugar for ya when I heard the best part, apparently a teacher saw him hit you and didn’t see me.  He might finally get expelled,” Mark said with a grin.  “Then I came straight back here.”

   “Just now I had that same dream as earlier,” I said dazedly.

   “Hey!  I don’t wanna hear it, your dreams always creep me out.”

 

--

   Later that night Mark and I were watching TV while we were waiting for Angel to get back when there was a breaking news story saying that two people had died stopping a plane hijacking at the local airport.

   “Wasn’t your mom flying home today?” Mark asked, with no sound of concern in his voice: my mom was constantly flying to all parts of the world on business trips.

   “No, not till tomor-” I was cut off when Mark's phone started to ring.

   Mark put his phone to his ear only to take it away immediately.

   “Who was it?” I asked.

   “It said it was my mom," Mark said looking perplexed, "But she just hung up… for a second I thought she was crying”

   My dad’s landline started ringing in the room behind us: that number was only to be used in emergencies, so as to not unnecessarily interrupt his writing.  Abruptly down the hall my dad's door opened revealing him standing in the doorway with his head hunched down concealing his face in shadow.  In a calm, clear voice he said, “Angel was hit by a car…  I’m so sorry you two,” then he turned around and closed the door behind him.

   A few silent moments passed then Mark jumped up, ran to the door and started to beat on it while hollering incoherently.

   I mindlessly walked over to him, “Dad shuts down when bad things happen.  He won’t open the door... even if we knock it down I doubt he’d say anything.”

   Mark put his back to the door and slid to the floor, “He made it sound like she’s died.”

   “Let’s call your mom,” I said as I helped Mark stand up.  I thought I could hear crying coming from behind my dad’s door; but I’ve never seen him cry.  We tried to call everywhere we could think of to get information but to no avail.  Mark ended up leaving to find his mother and I stayed in case she came here.

   I waited for fifteen minutes and then my phone rang, “Hello!?”

   “James this is Angelika… Mark’s with me, he told me to call… Angel’s been hit by a drunk driver…”

   “Is she okay?”

   I couldn’t grasp what was being said… I had hung up the phone and was now in my room sitting on my bed light headed and nauseous feeling like all the blood had left my head; tears swelled in my eyes as I fell unconscious.

 

--

   I was once again in the vacant red party room.  Without hesitation I went out to the clearing in the fog, “Tell me what this is NOW fat ass!”

   The giant stepped out of the fog looking disconcerted, “I will tell nothing to a failure!”

   The giant bolted at me again, but I once again sidestepped at the last moment tripping him.  Reacting instinctively I quickly picked up the knife and ran at the giant.  The giant pulled out a pistol, but I stabbed his hand before he could shoot and the pistol fell to the ground.  Without hesitation I picked up the pistol, pointed it at the giant and squeezed the trigger repeatedly until the gun clicked several times, then I callously threw the gun against the giant’s lifeless body.  “IS ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE!?” I shouted.  With no response I surveyed the clearing and noticed a large white box protruding out of the edge of the fog.  I cautiously approached the box not knowing what to expect then the front split and slid apart.  Stepping into the box I quickly realized that it was an elevator, but there was only one button, a green arrow pointing up.  Not giving it much thought I pressed the button: the doors closed and immediately reopened, but instead of the clearing, it opened to a small white room that had computer monitors covering the far wall.

   “Finally!” a voice shouted and the chair in front of the largest monitor turned around revealing a man that looked like he'd been awake for weeks.  The man got up and grabbed my hand and shook it enthusiastically.

   “Who are you?” I asked.

   The man stopped shaking my hand and looked at the wall for a moment perplexed, “…I don't know.  It’s been so long since I've heard my name.”

   "Where are we?"

   “I don’t know, but he might’ve,” the man said, pointing to a body covered by a blood stained lab coat in the corner.

   “What happened to him?” I asked with little emotion.

   “That's not important, what is important is that you get your memories back.”

   “What?”

   “According to this bloody machine, you can use it faithfully, and if it’s correct you’ll make it do something to save mankind…" the man said unsurely.  "Or something… but before you can do that you have to get your memories back.”

   “And how am I supposed to do that?”

   “With this,” the man said and held up a pistol.  “All you have to do is shoot me square in the head.”

   “What the hell is killing you gonna do?”

   “Not kill… look, the details don’t matter, doing it will bring your memories back.  At least that’s how it worked for me when he had me shoot him,” he said pointing at the body.

   “And how is that not killing?”

   “I don’t really understand it, that guy had a way with words that I don’t… I think you could look at it like this, I died as soon as I walked out those glass doors.  And you’re my only ticket out of this hell.  Please just take the gun and get it over with, I’ve been here for far too long,” he said, holding the pistol out for me to take.  He put my unsure hand around the handle then my finger on the trigger.  Not having the patience for my dumb dreams I closed my eyes and took a deep breath hoping this would lead to a better dream before slowly constricting my finger against the trigger.

The First Friday

I was in a sound sleep when something hit me hard across the face so I opened my eyes revealing Mark’s foot on my face.

   “God damn it!” I yelled, slapping Mark’s foot away then jumped up and began punching him.

   “What the hell! Stop hitting me!”

   Angel got down from the top bunk, "I call shower!" she shouted running down the hall.

--

   “Oh!  I just remembered you’re out’a sugar,” Angel told me as the three of us were leaving school.

   “Well then I guess I’m going to the store,” I said.

   “Well then, I’m going too,” Mark said.

   “I think I’ll go check in on mom,” Angel said with a tone of melancholy, “She should be home around now.”

   “Kay,” Mark said as he tried to not fall over, “Send our love.”

   Angel waved back to us with her quirky grin as she went around the street corner and out of sight.  Mark and I went to leave but as we did Sam made an inappropriate remark about Angel to Basil within earshot of Mark.

   Enraged, Mark lunged onto Sam's back, but Mark was so much smaller than Sam he hung around Sam’s neck with his feet not reaching the ground. 

   Sam flailed around, “GET OFF ME!”

   I ran over to separate them but when I got close Sam made a sharp spin then I felt something hit him hard upside the head

--

   BANG!  I sprang up suddenly realizing I was on a bed in the school infirmary.  Mark was at the door trying to pick up a tray that he’d knocked over.

   “Oh…” Mark said when he noticed me glaring at him.  “Got your sugar for ya,” Mark said, holding up a grocery bag.

   “How long was I out?”

   “Not long.  A crowd gathered when you got dropped, so I snuck off before anyone noticed.  Thought I’d lay low for a bit, so I went to get your sugar for ya when I heard the best part, apparently a teacher saw him hit you and didn’t see me.  He might finally get expelled,” Mark said with a grin.  “Then I came straight back here.”

   “Well let’s get out of here I’m starving,” I said and jumped out of the bed.

   “Now you're speakin’ my kinda language,” Mark said with a gleam in his eye.

--

   Later that night Mark and I were watching TV while we were waiting for Angel to get back when there was a breaking news story saying that two people had died stopping a plane hijacking at the local airport.

   “Wasn’t your mom flying home today?” Mark asked, with no sound of concern in his voice: my mom was constantly flying to all parts of the world on business trips.

   “No, not till tomor-” I was cut off when Mark's phone started to ring.

   Mark put his phone to his ear only to take it away immediately.

   “Who was it?” I asked.

   “It said it was my mom," Mark said looking perplexed, "But she just hung up… for a second I thought she was crying”

   My dad’s landline started ringing in the room behind us: that number was only to be used in emergencies, so as to not unnecessarily interrupt his writing.  Abruptly down the hall my dad's door opened revealing him standing in the doorway with his head hunched down concealing his face in shadow.  In a calm, clear voice he said, “Angel was hit by a car…  I’m so sorry you two,” then he turned around and closed the door behind him.

   A few silent moments passed then Mark jumped up, ran to the door and started to beat on it while hollering incoherently.

   I mindlessly walked over to him, “Dad shuts down when bad things happen.  He won’t open the door... even if we knock it down I doubt he’d say anything.”

   Mark put his back to the door and slid to the floor, “He made it sound like she’s died.”

   “Let’s call your mom,” I said as I helped Mark stand up.  I thought I could hear crying coming from behind my dad’s door; but I’ve never seen him cry.  We tried to call everywhere we could think of to get information but to no avail.  Mark ended up leaving to find his mother and I stayed in case she came here.

   I waited for fifteen minutes and then my phone rang, “Hello!?”

   “James this is Angelika… Mark’s with me, he told me to call… Angel’s been hit by a drunk driver…”

   “Is she okay?”

   I couldn’t grasp what was being said… I had hung up the phone and was now in my room sitting on my bed light headed and nauseous feeling like all the blood had left my head; tears swelled in my eyes as I fell into darkness.

Déjà vu

I was in a sound sleep when something hit me hard across the face so I opened my eyes revealing Mark’s foot on my face.  When had I gotten on the floor, also why is Mark here?  Wouldn’t he want to spend this time with his mother?  Quietly I walked to the bathroom trying to grasp what had happened last night.  Looking in the mirror I noticed that my black eye had gone; not giving it much thought I splashed cool water on my face trying to regain my composure.  Reentering my room I noticed the blankets around the top bunk quiver slightly.  My stomach sank, it couldn't be…  Certain of what I saw I stepped on the bottom bunk for a better look, but something pulled my legs out from under me then I fell to the floor: my head whipped back taking the brunt of the fall and in a daze I looked up seeing Mark sitting in the middle of the bottom bunk looking down at me.

   “And just what were you doing?” Mark asked more like a statement than a question.

   I sat up rubbing my head, “Something was moving on the top bunk.”

   “Something?  Who’d you think would be up there?”

   “No one!” I said offensively, in no mood for Mark making light of things so soon.

   “Your head okay?” Mark asked and knocked on my head, “didn’t knock something loose did j’ya?”

   I slapped Mark's hand away, “Don’t play dumb!  Not now... Ang-” I couldn’t get the name out of my mouth.  Pulling myself together I got up to leave the room, but then I saw something move on the top bunk again.  Having had enough I jumped on the bed and tore off the front of the fort.  Mixed feelings filled me as I surveyed the books, clothes and knickknacks lining the wall of the unoccupied bunk.  Trying to collect all of my feelings I heard a quiet giggle behind me; turning around I saw what couldn’t be.

   “I call shower!” Angel yelled and ran down the hall.

   I couldn’t think, my head was getting light and my legs turned to jelly; losing my grip on the bunk I once more hit the ground, in a daze I tried to get up but was pulled into darkness.

--

   Something hit the side of my face and then the other, sluggishly I opened my eyes.  Seeing that I opened my eyes Mark started to slap me again as if I were still unconscious.

   “Stop!” I yelled, shoving Mark off me.

   “You feeling okay?” Mark asked as the both of us stood up, “‘cause you look like hell.”

   A sharp pain shot through my head when I stood up, so I sat on the bed and tried to pull myself together, but my head was too heavy and cluttered.

   Mark waved his hand in front of my face, “You there?”

   “I’m fine…” I said as the weight and clutter in my head suddenly vanished.  “At least I think I am…  Was last night a case of mistaken identity?”

   “What?” Mark asked with a tone of concern.

   “Please don’t play dumb, I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” I couldn't believe Mark would be messing with me about something like this.  Seeing the look of bewilderment and concern on Mark's face I realized that Mark wasn’t playing dumb; but how could he have just forgotten.

   “You want to skip school today?” Mark asked more like a statement than a question.

   Considering Mark's proposal I remembered that it was Saturday.  “Why’d you ask that?”

   “Well for one your nose is spouting blood like a faucet,” Mark said in a matter of fact way.

   I hadn’t noticed that blood was running down my chin onto my shirt and pants.

   “MARK!” Angel shouted from the doorway, “Did you break his nose again!?”  She rushed into the room taking the towel from around her neck and pressed it under my nose, “Are you okay?”

   I stared in awe at Angel, then coming to my senses took the towel and held it firm under my nose, “I’m fine.”

   “He was just sayin’ how he wants to skip school,” Mark said.

   “We can’t skip today,” Angel said to Mark with a scowl, but her expression quickly changed to concern when she looked back at me, “that is unless you’re not feeling well.”

   Not knowing what was going on I wondered on top of everything else why they were acting like it was a school day.  In my internal quandary I realized I'd been blankly staring at the wall for a minute with the two of them staring at him with concerned gazes.  “Oh... I’m fine, let’s go," I said as calmly as I could manage.

 

   “I need to get me some new shoes," Mark said then held his shoe up to me as we walked to school, "I mean look, these have holes in them.”

   Not paying attention to Mark I was pondering how it was Friday again- when Angel stepped out in front of me and stopped.

   “Are you sure you’re alright?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

   “Maybe he has,” Mark said while hopping around trying to not fall over as he attempted to put his shoe back on.  “He was babbling incoherently about something happening to you earlier.”

   “Shut up!” Angel shouted and shoved Mark: who with one foot in hand hopped a few feet away.

   “Seriously, are you feeling okay?  Did you have another nightmare or something?”

   “Yeah…” I hadn’t thought of that, it was all just a bad dream; a dream the likes of which I hope to never have again, “It was just a bad dream.”

--

   Throughout the day I continuously encountered similarities with my dream: in class teachers said the same things, other students had the same conversations in the halls and even the same students were out sick.  The day waned on me until I couldn’t take anymore and rushed out of his class heading for the closest restroom.  Slouched over a sink I splashed cool water on my face.  Examining my blood shot eyes in my reflection I spotted Mark standing by the door in the mirror.  Mark sat against the sink next to the one I was at, “You alright?”

   I splashed my face again, “I’m fine.”

   “You don’t look fine.”

   “I was falling asleep,” I said and then dried my face with my shirt, “needed to wake myself up.”

   “Really…” Mark said condescendingly, “you wanna leave?”

   ...I thought for a moment, “ Yeah… let’s find Angel and go.”

“Are you guys leaving?” Basil asked, spotting the three of us headed toward an exit.

   “Yeah we’re ditching early,” Angel said and gave a pat on the back to an extremely pale shell of myself, “James isn’t feeling so good.”

   “Where are ya headed?” Basil asked, “I never seen James like this before and missing one day of school in m-my my my… life in order to help a friend was okay I’d say.”

   “The house probably.” Angel replied.

   “Nah, come with me we’ll hit up the alley, play a few hands,” Basil said with what authority he could muster.  Basil and us three would try to get people together to play poker in a back room at the bowling alley on a regular basis, which would usually end with either Basil or I winning whatever people were willing to stay in for.

--

   “Well that’s all I can take for now,” Mark said, raking in what little money he had left with Angel and James followed suit.

   “You sure you don’t want to stay for the big game?” Basil asked, “I’m glad that you seem much better now in any case.”

   “Thanks but I just want to get to sleep and put this day behind me,” I said, now actually feeling better having convinced myself yesterday, or rather what I thought was yesterday was just a dream.

   The three of us finally made it to the porch of my house- “OH DAMN!” shouted Angel.

   “HOLY HELL!” Mark hollered with a jump of fright into the bushes away from Angel’s sudden wail.

   “What was that for?” I asked.

   Angel lowered her head devastated, “I used the last of the sugar this morning, now I won’t have any for coffee in the morning,” she said in a hushed tone.

   “It’s not that late, we can still go get some if you’d want to,” I said.

   “That sounds like fun…” Mark said entering the house, “tell me how it turns out,” and then he slammed the door behind him.

 

--

   “Sir?” the clerk at the convenience store was waving at me: but I was busy trying to not lose sight of Angel as she walked around looking at the jerky along the far wall.

   “Oh…” I said, having noticed the clerk, “Sorry ‘bout that,” then paid him.

   Reaching for the bag I felt something hard hit me on the back of the head then I was on the ground with damp hair.

   Across the room I saw Angel looking back towards the noise, the loud crack of a metal baseball bat followed by yelling at the counter, so she quickly ducked behind an aisle.  Looking through the aisle she saw two men wearing black ski masks at the counter.  One of the men jumped behind the counter and then Angel looked at me and I noticed I had blood dripping from my hair as I sat on the floor next to the man with the baseball bat.  With the look of fear now being replaced by rage Angel disappeared behind the aisle out of sight.

   Dazed and woozy, I couldn’t fully sit up with all my strength, so I pulled myself up by the pants of the person next to me and then looked up to see a mask staring back.  The masked man lifted the bat toward me when a metal pipe smashed across the masked man's exposed mouth, throwing him against the door.

   “AHHHH!” the man screamed with what was left of his front teeth falling on the floor.

   Using all of her strength Angel hit him against his mouth and when he fell to his knees she hit him across the eyes with the form of a major leaguer hitting a home-run.

   Falling to the ground again I heard a thunderous BANG followed by an unfamiliar voice.    “COME ON!  GET UP!  WE GOT TO GO...”

   Feeling my shoulders being lifted up I opened my eyes to see Angel sitting on the floor with her back against the counter scooping me into her lap.  Angel pulled me up so that I was leaning back with my head against her chest then locked her arms around my chest to hold me up.

   “What happened?” I asked using what little energy I had.

   “Some fuckers…–” Angel covered her mouth and coughed, coating her hand in crimson red.

   “You’re hurt!” I hollered motioning to get up but as I did I felt faint and fell back against Angel.

   “Stop, you’re hurt too,” Angel said and got her grip tight around me again.  “The clerk’s calling an ambulance,” Angel said followed by a couple more blood spewing coughs, “so just sit still, I've got ya till they get here…” After a couple silent moments holding me, “James… I have to tell him the truth before... James…”

   “Yeah?” I asked drowsily.

   “We should ride the ferris wheel after this,” Angel said with a whimsical soft chuckle.

   “What, what do you mean?” I asked with a slight chuckle, but then Angels' arms loosened around me, “Angel?”  I looked up at Angel who was staring vacantly at the floor, I had a distressing sense of déjà vu, I'd felt these emotions before.  Nauseous and light headed I felt the blood leave my head as I fell into darkness.