"Save her!"

Driven awake many nights by the same recurring nightmare. Allent awakens on another night, to find her night terror has changed. Ever so slightly.

1

“Saver her!”

Out of sleep once again.

I threw off my blankets. Looking to my alarm clock that sat on the desk over looking my small twin bed I glanced at the time, 3:30am. Again, up on another storming night in Zone 3. My apartment was always cold, pressing my feet to the floor I could feel the last weakening bursts of heat through the cracks in my floor, from the apartment below. Crossing my room in the dark I placed my hand on the doorknob and walked out into the rest of my small hole in the wall.

Lighting flashed in the distance however, the rain still fell freely outside in a steady waterfall. I made it though my living room into the sectioned off part that was my kitchen. My ritual continued with the pouring of water from my sink and standing at my living room windows watching the tears of heaven shower down on this sinful city. This was more rain than usual. I remember hearing Max, the hotdog vendor outside of the Exchange st. Nightclub complain about it the other night.

As much as I was beginning to think like him and the hundreds of other people in this city. Something inside told me to keep remembering, this water is giving life to some one, somewhere. Just then before I turned to toss my cup in the sink, and crawl under my blankets. A tremor tore through me. Just like in my dream. Pressing my hand to my stomach I walked over to the sink and placed the cup in the sink. Although in the silence, I felt a presence in the shadows of my apartment. I could see no one, but I could feel some one was watching me.

Looking down to my hands, they trembled furiously. Slowly I reached into the drawer below my sink, and pulled out the first knife handle I could feel. Keeping it to my side I turned to face the shadows. Suddenly, it was as if a shower was being slowly shut off as the rain began to subside. But really it was the breath before the drop. Crackling through the sky, a lightening bolt lit up my apartment. In seconds I saw more than I wanted to.

The silhouette of a child, standing behind me. Gathering my strength I gripped the knife and turned my back on the darkness to the window of my kitchen. There she was, different from what I would dream. She stood in the rain dry as a bone on the fire escape. A white dress neatly pressed and matching shoes. Tight curls shaped her heart shaped face. Her eyes, wide open with innocence tore into me. A black ribbon tied around her neck, in the center, a pendant.

I felt my grip loosen on my knife, as her tiny hands pressed onto the glass of the window. I could hear nothing, but the rain still fell behind her. I saw a crack in the glass of the window appear, then another. I knew her face, and I knew it well. Only I didn't remember. Clear as day I could see her small lips part, and hear her tiny voice as if she were whispering my name.

“Save her.”

Speechless and shaken, I still managed to set the knife in the sink. Then her hands began to pound on the glass. Her little voice grew more urgent, “Save her!”

I could feel the pounding in my head. Placing my hands to me ears I dropped to my knees. My kitchen window was riddled with cracks and chips. Until finally, her fists struck the glass one last time and it shattered. Firing into the dark like tiny bullets. I fell back, out of the kitchen a sharp pain came instantly after my head whipped against the floor. The image of my broken window and the rain glowing in the street lights were all that remained before the darkness consumed me.

“Allent? Allent!”

My eyes sprang open, I looked up to see a pair of concerned brown eyes hovering above me. Before I could answer, I placed my hand under my head, and felt a welt. It stung a little. My brown-eyed caretaker gently took my wrist and pulled my arm down. “I found you on your bedroom floor like this. Trust me, you don't want to see it.”

Sammy, the only one in this city I could confidently call a friend. I watched him try to relax me by forcing a smile. His bottom lip wrapped perfectly in it's piercing on the left side of his mouth. He sat back and fixed his hood. I sat up slowly looking at him. “How long was I out?”

“You were in and out. It's been a week Al.”

My stomach turned. He knew my inner reaction, as his eyes slanted further into confusion. “A week?” I asked.

“Yes, you missed your assignment, last night. That's when I came by to see your window broken and you laying on your floor.”

I held my hand up to him, he immediately silenced. I narrowed my eyes and looked away in thought. It wasn't a dream, as much as I was hoping for it to be.

”My kitchen window was broken?”

“Yes, when I pulled up I noticed. I assumed a break in. When I came up here I found you with some cuts on your legs, and arms laying by your bed. I figured you crawled.”

After he mentioned that 'little' detail, I looked down to my legs and pushed the blankets off of them to see some bandages and small cuts. My eyes moved up to my arms, there were more. Looking back over to my only friend I moved my legs to the edge of my bed and stood up. My legs shook a little under my weight. They were quick to become stable as I walked over to my closet to get dressed.

“I think I had that dream again Sammy.”

He glanced over to me as I finished pulling my shirt over my head. As I made the move to step into a pair of jeans, he came over and assisted by taking the pants up my legs. My hands rested on his shoulders for support. Physically, I was fine on the outside. Only some minor cuts and scrapes, something I was quite used to thanks to my line of work.

Inside I felt stranded. I knew this wasn't an unfamiliar feeling. It was certainly one I hadn't felt in a very long time. I had witnessed the same recurring dream in person, however the girl looked different. Sammy buttoning my pants, brought me out of my trance.

“Sammy we have to see Ernie.”

“Of course, Allent when are you going to tell me what happened?”

I looked around my room quickly for my jacket. It wasn't on the desk next to my bed. Nor was it in my closet. Sammy motioned to the living room. There it was resting over the arm of my second hand couch. “I don't like the idea of repeating the story over, and over again Sam. So you'll know, when Ernie knows.”

I turned away from him and made for the door to my apartment. In my head I could sense a change in his mood. Our connection was strong. Sometimes, I hated how he could make me feel from a mile away. At the same time it was good knowing that when ever I was alone, and in trouble he would be there for me.

Stepping outside, the sun shone handsomely over Freedom City. It always did this after a storm. Even it's rays managed to shine through the crowded buildings of Zone 3. The people went about their business, hanging laundry on to their lines. Music of all kinds blared from windows and people of all walks of life conversed and debated on the street. Some how Sammy made it in front of me, on the walk to his car. Reaching into his pocket, he stopped next to the homeless man who slept in boxes next to my building.

I tapped on the make shift home. It moved slightly, a flap then opened. There he was, Henry. The old man smiled behind a face full of hair. “Oh nice seein' you Sammy.” He greeted kindly.

“Yeah Henry it's good seeing you too. Tell me buddy, about a week ago did you see anything strange going on around here?”

The old man looked up to Sammy, with a blank stare at first. Then his forehead wrinkled in thought under the brim of his fishing hat. “Come to think of it, I did see something stalkin' the Alley 'bout a week ago, yeah.”

Before Sammy could open his mouth I leaned forward.“What did he look like?”

“Well Al, wasn't sure what it was. I couldn't really see the face. But it was tall, and dressed in all black.”

Pressing my lips together I quickly debated on weather or not I should ask him about the girl. It seemed like Henry could have just been speaking crazy, but I supposed it wasn't too much to ask. “What about a child?”

I could feel Sammy's eyes look to me. I didn't bother looking at him, my eyes were focused on Henry's many faces of thought. Suddenly his eyes widened. “I didn't see a little girl, but I thought I heard a kids laugh. But that's when I poked my head out, and saw that figure walkin' around.”

Sammy smiled and handed Max his four dollars. It was something Sammy always did whenever Henry's was home. I quickly made it to Sammy's black car and got inside. Sinking back into the seat, Sammy opened his door and followed suit. Placing the key in the ignition he didn't turn it, instead he turned to me.

“Care to explain now?”

“Sammy, let's just get to Ernie's and you'll know everything.”

With a sigh, he started the car and pulled into traffic. I looked up to my window and noticed the ply wood that replaced the glass. I looked over to Sammy, who must have been the one to repair my window. My eyes began to fight the comforting feeling of the car ride. Thankfully it wasn't long before we arrived at Ernie's.

“So, black figures stalking alley's and mysterious little girls.” Sammy concluded with a smile.

We walked side by side up to Ernie's apartment building in Zone 2. Holding the door open, Sammy stood aside and let me enter before him. I was always amazed by the architecture in Ernie's building. It was very turn of the century, with polished wood covering every thing but the walls.

The front desk where the doorman Pete would always be watching his small T.V was empty. The holes in the wall behind him that housed the mail, were spotted with envelopes. Uneven footsteps came down one of the hallways, the steps were followed by the sound of an old wheel on a janitors cart.

Sammy turned to me, pleading quietly at first with his eyes.“Quick lets get upstairs before he talks our ears off again.”

Quickly, we left into an adjacent door up the stairs to Ernie's apartment on the Fith floor. Walking down the narrow carpeted hallway, Sammy twirled his keys around his finger. Just then a door opened further down the hallway. An older man peered around the corner. My face relaxed into a smile, as did the old man's face.

Walking into Ernie's home, it was nearly spotless. He had is couch and chairs positioned close to the windows that had a precious view of Zone 1 and the down town district. Books lined most of the walls here. A spiral stair case led up to his loft, where he slept and did his work. I looked over to him as he hobbled into the kitchen, and turned off his stove. Sammy, left me to make himself comfortable in a chair. I stood next to the old man as he lifted off the top of a frying pan. “Are you hungry Al?” he asked.

Ernie's voice was one of a kind to me, deep and husky. But when he spoke out of love, it had it's way of sounding so gentle. I turned away from him, and went to the cabinet that housed the plates and bowls. Sitting the Bowl on the counter, I kissed him on the cheek thankfully and left to the living room.

I sat in a chair staring out of the window, putting to much thought still into the current events in my life. I could feel Sammy's eyes, soon they were joined by Ernie as he set a bowl of fried chicken and rice in front of me. I looked down at the food, and in that moment it didn't look so appetizing. Ernie folded his hands and waited for me to speak. Sammy leaned forward waiting as well. I looked to the both of them and began to talk about my night.

“...When I saw the girl, it was strange. She didn't look like the girl I saw in my recurring dream. But everything else was the same. Except for the girl.”

Ernie finished cleaning the sides of his bowl with his spoon. Sitting down the empty bowl, he forced his food down.

“What did this girl look like?”

I noticed as I described her, his eye went from a intense curious expression, to that of worry. Silence followed my description. Ernie looked up to me, and began to speak with a quiver in the back of his throat. “And you say you've seen this girl before. But you can't remember?”

“Yes I feel like I have. Or I wouldn't have reacted the way I did.”

Rubbing his fingers through his beard he looked up to me again. “Allent, your memories and dreams are starting to collide. It's only expected.”

We watched him get up and walk towards his wall of books. He rested the palms of his hands behind his back as her scanned the spines.

“You living so long, and the line of work you do is taking a toll on the human inside of you.”

Curiously I looked up to him.“Human inside of me?”

Ernie turned to me, “Yes, despite your immortality. You are still human. Even the immortal die at some point. In this case it seems like your memory is going first. You're a young one still Allent. The gift of endless life has reached the insanity period.”

Sammy looked to me.“So your saying, I'll get to that point too then?”

“I'm not sure Sammy. But Ernie, who is the little girl?”

He stopped at a section in the wall, and pulled out black leather bound book. Coming back to Sammy and I he took a seat and opened it. “Well, before we get into that. I think it's high time you remember exactly who you are Allent Bell.”

Reviews

[Raymond]

SB...very interesting story. There is enough unknown to keep me reading and enough understanding for me to stay interested in finding out. In terms of constuctive crit, my suggestion is to remove some of the more "directional" text which gives us a step by step recount of every small action. You do a great job at building the character and intrigue but I skimmed over some paragraphs to keep the natural pace...does that make sense? Here's an example:
I looked around my room quickly for my jacket. It wasn't on the desk next to my bed. Nor was it in my closet. Sammy motioned to the living room. There it was resting over the arm of my second hand couch- could easily be Sammy watched me for a moment as I searched for my jacket and then he motioned to the second hand couch in the living room. I grabbed it and..great start though