by JB Dutton
* * * * *
I had weird dreams that night. In the morning I could only remember vague flashes and feelings. I was with Cruz and we were lost somewhere strange. Somewhere totally strange.
“What’s the matter, honey?” enquired Mom as I prodded at my breakfast cereal.
“Nothing.”
I was a teenage girl. This was a normal response.
Mom busied herself with some ironing. She knew me well. She knew I would tell her if I had a real problem. But how could I tell her about what I’d seen since we arrived in New York? The strange women outside the Warrington... the tunnel behind the cupboard... hearing my name? I didn’t want to sound crazy and I didn’t want her to worry about me. She had her new job to concentrate on and didn’t need me to distract her.
I pushed back my chair and tipped the remains of my cereal into the under-sink garbage. Flash meowed and rubbed up against my legs.
“Could you feed him?” asked Mom, setting the iron on its stand and holding up her shirt to check for wrinkles.
“Sure,” I answered, but held back before opening the cat food cupboard. Part of me was intensely curious but part of me didn’t want to know where that tunnel led.
Mom looked at me, frowning. “Honey? We’ve got to go.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” I said, shaking my head. I opened the cupboard and dragged out the oversized bag of cat food. Mom had left the room and I couldn’t resist. I stuck my head inside. Between two hungry meows I was sure I heard the same voices.
I shivered.
Flash meowed again. I withdrew my head from the cupboard, filled the cat bowl and put the bag back inside. Definitely voices.
I slammed the cupboard door.