Trouble's Always Watching Volume 1: Volume 1 (The Trouble Series)

by Courtney Smith

  “Been a long time, baby-girl! Don’t be shy: you know the routine,” declared a very harsh, deep voice before snapping his fingers and pointing toward his crotch. Tenesha turned around to see a large, dark, and familiar yet unwelcome figure sitting in a chair with only slight outlines of his silhouette revealed by moonlight. She knew what would happen if she tried to run away, but she made a dash for the door, anyway. The figure immediately leapt from the seat in her direction. The young lady tried to dodge, but he grabbed her arm, shoved her into a wall before she fell onto the floor.

  The adolescent’s arms were grasped with an inescapable grip by her attacker before she completely yielded in immense pain. She turned her head away from her assailant as she felt her clothes being ruffled. Sparkles of silver light glistened from the evening sky and revealed a few tears rolling down Tenesha's cheeks. I usually enjoy seeing the moonlight, but I'll never look at it again after tonight.

  A Stranger’s Prophecy

  Flashing red and blue lights pierced the darkness of the night and blanketed the surrounding buildings and streets. High-pitched squeals shattered an otherwise silent atmosphere as they reverberated from cubic vehicles racing in and out of large, multi-faceted buildings with many floors. The automatic, sliding doors moved more than a flag during a storm with gurneys of people passing in blurred ambulances. Numerous, variously-colored uniforms scrambled from one end of the building to the other. Many, brown, monotone floor tiles supported hundreds of running shoes and feet with occasional scuffs and blemishes marring their consistent pattern of color.

  Screams and squeals followed gurneys into emergency centers, while other groups rushed patients into emergency rooms on different beds. Blue-uniformed personnel closed off the active surgical areas, while others vigorously scrubbed down the others with nostril- burning cleansers. People wearing various uniforms constantly filled the halls and rushed throughout the operating rooms with pungent scents. They pushed carts with sponges, sutures, scalpels, and saline nearly falling off at each turn.

  One particular room had bright, square, white tiles supporting uniformed people in solid, sea-spray uniforms encompassing an unconscious, almond adolescent. Numerous, shifting hands slowly placed her legs in casts. A small cast sat upon her head like a crown. Blinding lights from the ceiling illuminated the unconscious adolescent as the medical staff quietly passed metallic instruments to each other. Cold, artificial currents drowned out other noise as staff manipulated their fingers and shifted their eyes to communicate with each other. Still irises, stiff lips, and graven stares could even be seen through the masks of the surgical team working on the working on the unconscious teenager.

  People stood shoulder to shoulder, involuntarily inhaling each other's breaths, and went into the hallway a few feet from the waiting room for more space. Vocal rants, questions, and tirades bombarded two clerks, sitting within a large booth. Tears continuously fell from some, while others had expressions statues would envy. A hefty woman with almond skin had tears upon her cheeks. I should have been there to protect her! What kind of mother am I to allow this to happen to my own child?!

  Several people in black and gray suits with uniformed police officers bombarded her with questions and surrounded her. The doctors whispered around the operating room and discussed the patient’s condition and traumatic symptoms. There was a primary concern worrying everyone in the room, greatly: the trauma to the most private region of the adolescent’s body.

  Blurred vision and disorientation greeted Tenesha with awareness slowly flooding her mind. Sea-spray uniforms moved throughout the room when her sight gradually became clearer. She attempted to raise her arm only to have the sensation of boulders, hanging from them. Her failed attempt suppressed her will to move like a flame being smothered by a blanket. Huh? What am I doing in this room? Thoughts of her mother flashed through her mind, and she suddenly appeared in a waiting room filled with people, cushioned brown chairs, and a crowd.

  Why is this happening?! What did I do?! I don't understand?! How am I doing this?! I know I am not walking?! The transition from one room to the next confused her because she did not remember moving her legs or her feet. Where is my mother, and why are all of these people and police men standing around in here?

  Tenesha slowly walked toward the middle of the crowd being completely oblivious to passing through them without touching them. Her mouth fell open with a gasp upon finally seeing the person at the center of the crowd.

  “What’s going on? What’s wrong? What happened? What are we doing here?” A thought suddenly stunned her: What am I doing here? The bewildered adolescent found no marvel in her mother’s indifferent failure to answer, but she noticed no one else responded to her pleas and her cries. The young woman ran toward one uniformed man with a badge on his chest and a holstered gun on his hip. The frustrated, young woman attempted to swipe at another in a random suit, but her eyes became wide when she saw her hand passing through the person. Tenesha lifted her fingers to her face as though they were foreign objects, stared at her hand, and she screamed before darting aimlessly around the room. Why is my hand clear? My hand is not supposed to be transparent!

  "Help me! Help me! I need somebody! Help! Anyone! Please?"

  Her voice quivered, and tears rolled down her face. She stood in front of the solid, white structure to open it when her hand moved directly through the knob. What is happening to me, and why am I not able to touch anything? The feeling of icy fingertips grazed her inner thigh and waist. Tenesha's head darted in numerous directions; however, no sign of its source could be seen. Why is happening to me and where am I?

  Tenesha thought about the room she awakened in and found herself there, instantly. She marveled at being able to travel so quickly without moving her legs. How is that happening?! A group of people in sea-spray scrubs surrounded an operating table. What is happening over there? The curious patient moved directly through a group surrounding her destination with surprising ease. The bewildered, young woman looked at the lights above the table very briefly because of their brightness. Her glance shifted toward the table, and she nearly lost her balance upon seeing who was upon it before regaining it. The young lady was instantly standing on her feet without struggle or effort. She regained her composure before glancing at the figure, again.

  Tenesha knew she was looking at herself lying on the cold, steel table, immediately. Her almond-skinned body possessed the stillness of a brick. The bewildered patient stared at her physical self in its weakened state with trembling fingers and quivering lips. If that is my body lying there unconscious, then how am I standing right here? Tenesha immediately turned around and tried to run; however, her legs stiffened like stone. She attempted to twist, but no motion propelled her at all.

  Tenesha's head felt detached from her neck. Chills covered her back and arms like a blanket. Her body began throbbing and convulsing, uncontrollably. Something or someone has infinitely strong hold upon me! Tears descended down her face.

  Tenesha shuddered with a burning presence moving from her feet to her neck. Large, black plumes of smoke began to fill the room.

  "Is anybody else seeing this stuff?!" shouted the captive. Tenesha attempted to the people working on her physical body upon the gurney:

  "You need to run! You need to get out of here?! There is something seriously wrong with this smoke!" She noticed shadows slowly forming around her despite the brightness of the room. She tried to swing at people, but no one was even able to perceive her.

  "What is happening to me?!" sobbed the bewildered girl. Black smoke surrounded and swaddled her arms and legs like chains. The restraint was so great; her thoughts felt as though they were being held captive. Tenesha struggled to move, but she was held more tightly than a clenched fist.

  An echoic hiss reverberated throughout the room, but white flames nearly grazed the observer’s face before they interrupted the deeply resonant, utterance. A skeletal hand as large as a door moved through the floor like a shark’s dor
sal fin through water in its attempt to grab the adolescent with lightning speed. However, bright streaks inundated the hand through the bone until it had more holes than an ant's mound. Fiery streaks inundated the hand until the flames burst into a bright, white billow and disintegrated from the intense heat. The remains scattered all over the room like water drops from a sprinkler. Tenesha glanced in the arrows' direction to see a lean, dark-skinned figure with torn, faded, blue, denim overalls, and a straw hat draped over his face, sitting upon a tiger in the same fashion as one sits upon a horse.

  Tenesha became still as though her body endured rigor mortis until seeing the stranger firing arrows at the dark silhouettes accompanying the largest, darkest figure. The shadowy silhouettes flew around the room like hornets and retreated to the shadows. Her mouth hung open before she turned her head toward her rescuer. She could only see smooth, dark skin surrounding pursed lips, but she noticed the slim, toned person perched upon the large beast. I do not know what to make of him, but he could have let those things have me if he wanted to hurt me. The hat produced a shadow over most of his face that was pierced by his glowing, amber irises.

  The glow within his irises seemed nuclear. This glow burned with the fury of lions tasting blood, yet Tenesha felt the warm friendliness of being hugged emanating from him. The eyes quickly toggled over to her once the dark entity disappeared beneath the bed. A voice very much like that of a young man suddenly came from his direction.

  “Do not be afraid: I am here to protect you from some of the wicked forces you have just witnessed. I know you do not fully understand what is going on, but I am not your enemy. I know about the nightmares you have been enduring about a large, serpent that chases you either until you are in your home or until you see a large, lake of flames.” Tenesha's hands began to shake, uncontrollably. Her arteries would have split open from pressure. How does he know this? Why would he be interested in me? What does he really want? Why is this happening to me?

  The figure handed her a clear vial with crimson fluid. Tenesha’s eyes slowly moved from the stranger and focused upon the object. She hesitantly extended her fingers to hold it, but the recipient nearly dropped it before recovering her grasp upon it, thinking it would be impolite to accidentally destroy the object thus rejecting the kind stranger’s gesture. She clutched the vial and the clear object submerged itself beneath her skin, instantly. The patient’s heart would have jumped out of her chest if she were still in her body. Her lungs and chest felt as though they were exchanging blows with one another.

  “What just happened to me? Why did that vial just sink like an anchor into my skin?” queried the confused girl.

  “It will help protect you from some of the dark, spiritual forces coming against you?”

  “Really? What was that? It looked like blood.”

  “Another time. Tenesha, those dreams you

  have are not dreams at all. I know this sounds very difficult to believe—.”

  “You mean as difficult to believe as someone riding a tiger and shooting flaming arrows at shadows to drive them off!” interrupted Tenesha with a trembling voice.

  “Point taken,” snickered the mysterious figure, calmly.

  The young man cut his eyes in her direction in a familiar manner to someone else, but she was at a loss to remember who else did at this moment. The images of the shadows and the flaming arrows flooded her mind as she turned her head to calm down. Then, she returned her glance in its previous direction. An empty space where the tiger and the boy previously stood only held the current from the air conditioner. I allegedly saw boy riding a tiger in the hospital, shooting flaming arrows at shadows? If I am not dead, I think my common sense is!

  Tenesha squinted as bright lights blinded her from above. She tried to shift her arm with many eyes looking down at her like a bug in a Petri dish, but her head felt like it was being crushed by two cars. An authoritative voice commanded, “Don’t move. You have sustained serious injuries to your head and body. You need to relax and be completely still.”

  Tenesha slowly allowed her body to go limp with her eyes slowly moving around the room. Her mind flashed images from the previous occurrences. Now, I have dreams referring to the others?! Do they send each other instant messages and friend requests, now?! This dream seemed more realistic than any of my other dreams or my waking life for that matter. She became completely still upon recognizing the uniforms surrounding her. The patient was surprised to see everything around her was exactly what she saw in her dream occurring only moments ago, including the hospital staff’s clothes.

  The police officers (including the one she tried to speak with moments before waking) and the lights were all identical to what she witnessed in her vision. Her mind flashed with images of her mother crying and different people speaking to her. She wanted to learn more, but her eyelids felt as though they weighed a few tons. The patient’s body languished in its effort to maintain consciousness. Her awareness gradually left in its fading absence, but it did not stop her from enjoying something she did not have for a while: sleep.

  Distorted colors and obscure images overwhelmed Tenesha as she opened her eyes. The darkness of the night clashed with the lights in the hallway and a single, dim, white light on in the center of the room. Strange faces with curious with wide-eyed expressions peered at her through the darkness upon her awakening. The adolescent glanced around to see red structures resembling cups and objects that looked like red boxes attached to the walls. The numerous beds in the room were occupied by those with casts all over their bodies. This was different from the last room, but the unmistakable smell of sterility undeniably revealed her current location.

  Tenesha attempted to sit up, but her back felt like a horse jumped upon it. The determined patient released her body only to clench her jaw and suck in air from the feeling of one-thousand needles piercing every muscle in her back. She almost screamed before the contractions stopped and her body relaxed. The determined juvenile moved her eyes slowly from side to side. She instinctively tried to raise her body only to have the same sensation repeated upon her back and legs. The tormented patient started to yell, but locked her jaw and clenched her teeth to avoid the wrath of her new roommates.

  “You might just want to get use to being injured, incapacitated, immobile, paralyzed, or just plain stuck. In case you don’t know, you’re in the ICU for adolescents with a bunch of other teenagers that are nearly or completely immobile,” informed a teenager with alabaster skin and straw-colored hair whose body was almost entirely covered in casts.

  “I appreciate your encouragement,” responded Tenesha flatly as she rolled her eyes.

  “Anytime. Someone has to keep everyone grounded. I don’t want to be around anyone that is overdosed on bliss, imagination, rainbows, and butterflies. By the way, my name is Jeanette Jones, but people call me Sunshine.”

  “I’m guessing your parents aren’t as ‘grounded’ as you,” suggested Tenesha.

  “I know by ‘grounded’ you mean ‘pessimistic.’ You really need to work on your tact. I am guessing from the appearance of your head brace, neck brace, and casts that your parents are Thanos and Jezebel.”

  “What makes you so sure that my parents were responsible for the stuff that happened to me, whatever it may be?” inquired Tenesha.

  “Come on, I already know you’re not gullible enough to believe in Santa Claus or The Easter Bunny. You don’t think people in suits and formal clothes come from agencies to pay homage to obscure teenagers they hardly know? I guess you weren’t conscious to see the policemen outside talking to the doctors and people from agencies ready to take you away from your parents because of wh—” continued Jeanette, before an interruption.

  “Shut up!” shouted Tenesha with tears in her eyes. Jeanette rolled her eyes and asserted, “I guess some people cannot handle the truth.” The distraught adolescent looked around the room and saw other young patients in casts and restraints looking at her. Some stared sympathetically while other
s appeared as though they wanted to hold a pillow upon her head. The afflicted observers who looked at her before had turned away from her.

  Am I going to be a ward of the state? Am I going to be sent to a family who will treat me worse than my immediate family? Am I going to be placed with a family who will only wants to collect money as a result of getting custody over me? Is that cripple, dysfunctional version of Goldilocks right about my situation? Where am I going to be once I leave the hospital?

  The painful revelation Sunshine so graciously bestowed upon her had as much hope as a lamb in a tiger pit. Despair and hopelessness strained her mind too much to maintain consciousness; she fought exhaustion until yielding to its repressive strain.

  Tenesha was almost completely still, and her breathing was very deep. Small, subtle, and irregular tremors developed near the center of her chest. The movements gradually became larger and more pronounced. Her whole body shook and throbbed until the trembling jarred the adolescent from her sleep. She raised her upper body from the bed and gasped deeply at the same time.

  The young woman’s eyelids flew open, and she turned her head in as many directions her mind could conceive. Complete darkness and silence reflected the calm and serene mood of the room. Tenesha began to lower her upper body until it was touching the bed. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes at the same time. The teenager rested as though peace saturated her whole body.