Chapter 2

A glimpse into the nightmare.

 

     Without another word I followed him to our science room and took my usual seat beside him. I didn’t mind science, but it was our teacher Mr. Morrison that made this class the ultimate pain. He loved to lecture, something I had never been good at listening to. That, and he was just so monotone. Two minutes after the bell rang and the moment he started talking I was already catching myself struggling to keep my heavy eyelids open. I wasn’t just fighting the urge for the sake of staying out of trouble, but because I knew what awaited me the very moment I let myself drift off.  It was so hard though! I was so tired and finally - there Ben was.

    He was standing outside in the dark  next to his car that looked as if it had broken down on the side of the road. My stomach knotted with the since of horrified uneasiness that it always did as I watched this scene. I wanted to scream at him, to tell him to get back in his car and lock the doors, but I knew that my efforts would be useless. I had tried that so many times before only to realize that when I would speak no sound would come out of my mouth. All I could do was watch.

    A faceless shadowy figure crept up silently behind him and threw him to the ground. For a moment there was a struggle and the sounds of my best friend’s panicked yells as he tried to fend the figure off. Then something strange happened. It was like I was the one on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. With every bone in my body I tried to release him and let him escape but these hands were not my own and paid no heed to the wishes of my frantic mind. Suddenly a silver blur streaked across my peripheral vision. I knew what it was and fought the pull of my attention knowing the moment that I saw the tool, I would be sick. It didn’t work and now I was starring straight at the six-inch metallic blade that was now speeding toward Ben’s chest. Close your eyes!! Close them now!! My mind was screaming silently, resounding in my head, but I couldn’t. My stomach turned, coiling and knotting in my disturbed midsection as the knife was slammed into Ben’s side and the hand that held it twisted relentlessly. Tears fogged my vision as I silently screamed in horror. All of Ben’s previous struggling stopped as his limbs became limp. His once vibrant blue eyes drifted to a distant unseen place, rolling to the back of his head. Even though I couldn’t hear it I could feel myself sobbing my lungs contorting inside of my aching chest as it heaved. I had known that this was going to happen, but my reaction was the same every time. This was something I knew I would never get used to.

     But it didn’t end here. - God knows I wish it would have- there was still more to come. Once the hand had twisted the blade completely around in the wound that it had inflicted, it then yanked the weapon out only to shove it back in his lifeless chest over- and over- and over again. He was dead!! Was that not good enough?? Five more times this stabbing continued until finally the tool was dropped clanking and clattering as it hit the asphalt.

    I looked down, to the hands that had claimed my best friend’s life, in disgust. They were mine. Dark crimson blood flowed down my arms, warm and sickening. I trembled violently as I cried. Slowly I turned my head to look upon Ben’s face once more, I was still on top of him. He stared up at the sky with unseeing vision, lifeless and cold.

    “Ms. Read!” A screechy nail to chalk board voice split through my mind piercing through the nightmare so suddenly that it caused me to jump to consciousness with a sharp gasp. Once realizing where I was I felt my face deepen to a shade of pink. The entire classrooms of thirty students were all starring at me with confused and intent expressions.  I chewed my tongue carefully avoiding Mr. Morison’s hard stare and glanced at Ben who held a concerned pitiful gaze in his deep ocean eyes. “Perhaps you know the answer Mr. Johnson.” Our teacher said with a wiry sigh turning to him.

    Ben let out a quiet sigh of his own as he turned his attention away from me in a reluctant fashion. “The spinal cord holds the central nervous system and sends the body messages from the brain.” He answered.

    “Thank you.” The instructor said closing his eyes and rubbing his temples with obvious frustration. I didn’t blame him, this was the third time I had fallen asleep in his class this week. “Maybe you should start encouraging your friend here to get sleep some place other than my classroom.”

     Ben just nodded, and Morison continued with his lecture. I put my head in one hand for support hoping that it would help kill the aching pains that had began searing through it. Most of the starring eyes had been averted back to their previous preoccupation of learning but I could almost feel someone still looking at me. I let my gaze shift to the side to discover that I was right.

    Madeline Fox, a strange bright green eyed girl with choppy shoulder length jet black hair was still regarding me with a curious twinkle in her luminous eyes.

    Madeline was new this year to our high school, a senior like the majority of us in this class. No one really talked to her and she didn’t really seem to mind. It wasn’t that she was unfriendly or rude I didn’t think. She seemed nice enough just a to herself kind of person. She was very pretty. I had always thought she looked like what a ballerina slash fairy might look like, very petite and a style all her own. In her hair she had one single channel of neon teal blue that peeked out on one side.

    Her brother, and closet friend, had been going here for two years now, and was the same age. They looked nothing alike but then again adopted siblings usually didn’t. Kevin Fox was quiet as well. He had never had any other friends besides his other adopted sibling, Justin Fox, who had graduated last year. I guessed this was just because of some close family bond or something but whatever the case they were all still strange. Kevin had short gold blonde hair that contrasted well with his deep dark brown eyes and slightly tan completion. He was built like Ben just about a head shorter and not quite as defined. I had always had a little bit of a thing for him but what girl didn’t?

    Ben had caught wind of this particular fact one time and had reacted quite strongly. I giggled silently remembering his hurt, defeated, expression that he had tried and failed to hide.

    Don’t worry,  I had told him taking his big hand in one of mine. In truth I was kind of enjoying the reaction. He is way to quiet. You know that that would drive me insane.

     Instantly he had felt better. It was the truth though; I don’t think I could handle being around someone so silent.

    Suddenly Kevin’s dark eyes shifted up from his paper, which he had been scribbling note on. His gaze met mine and locked. My midsection turned with embarrassment once again realizing that I had been starring this whole time. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if the look in his eye didn’t appear so annoyed and confused. I chewed the inside of my cheek and ripped my gaze away but not to late to see Madeline give me a soft sweet smile. It looked almost like she was forgiving me and found the whole situation slightly amusing. I let my attention fall down to the blank sheet of notebook paper that I had taken out at the beginning of class before I had fallen asleep. I guess there was a lesson to all this: I could never be a spy.