by S Breaker
Kevin was standing by the doorway with an amused grin on his face. “Time?” he prompted her.
She grimaced back at him, squinting in the bright light pouring in from the windows, before turning to the digital clock on her desk to check, and her eyes popped open.
8:45 a.m.
“Oh my god!” Laney jumped out of bed. “I overslept again!”
She hopped around the room in a frantic attempt to get ready, stubbing her toe on the corner of the desk leg, and yelping even more loudly as her heel landed hard on top of an electric cable under a sweater on the floor, before she made it to the little sink to brush her teeth, somehow managing to get dressed and ready.
She found Kevin back out in the hallway, leaning against the wall by the door. He whistled in amusement. “I think you just set a new record. It took you over five minutes yesterday.”
Laney gave him a suffering look. “You know what, I think Janet likes you a little bit too much for an R.A. if she keeps letting you sneak into the girls’ dorm like this.”
“What can I say? You’re a lucky girl.” Kevin kissed her forehead lightly before he gave her a once-over look, his forehead creasing in concern at the bags under her eyes. “Still having those weird dreams?”
Laney shifted uncomfortably as the two of them began walking down the hall.
To call her dreams in the last few months “weird” was a complete understatement. Obviously, dreaming was a normal thing for a person to do, despite how really vivid or how really strange they were. The only difference was that starting a few months ago, each of Laney’s dreams would always devolve into the exact same one.
The dream that had only started out in fragments of images, buried by other dreams and memories, until it had started to surface more and more, getting even more disturbing as each replay invaded her subconscious every night.
The dream.
More like ‘nightmare’.
The people in the dream have no faces, but what she always remembered clearly was—the pain. It would be everywhere, all at once—down her throat, through her chest, in her stomach, down her legs to her toes, all through her arms to her fingertips, inside her head, stinging her teeth, burning behind her eyeballs…
It always happened in the middle of the night and she would wake up in a cold sweat.
Confused. Bewildered. Panicked.
Suffice it to say, Laney hadn’t been getting much sleep of late—again.
“What about meditation before going to sleep? Did you try those earplugs again? To block out the ambient noise? What else can we try?” Kevin asked, for what seemed like the millionth time.
She rolled her eyes, having heard all this before. Then she shook her head. “I can’t believe this. Darla is probably going to have to drag me to the nurse’s office again. And here I thought I might actually manage to finish the year without having yet another health scare.”
“We did figure it was just stress-related last time, right? Maybe you should take a break and go home again,” Kevin suggested as he opened the door leading outside for her.
“I was just there for Thanksgiving,” Laney told him, wrinkling her nose. “Besides, it’s been…a bit weird at home. Well,” she amended. “Really, it’s been weird ever since the divorce. And now that Dad is seeing Gina, and Mom and Hank are still on the fourth trimester—let’s just say I feel like there’s just suddenly way too many people in my house.”
“Oh what, that new baby not so much the bundle of joy they thought he would be?” he prompted as they hurried down the path heading toward the classrooms.
Laney chuckled. “So much fun! The house has been turned upside-down. I mean, I love the little guy—but man, can he crap!”
Kevin laughed. “Well, what did your parents say, about you not getting much sleep lately?”
“Nah, I didn’t want to worry them,” she said. “It probably is just stress. I mean, everything is coming down to the wire now with the last few weeks of school, not to mention college applications…” she trailed off, sounding overwhelmed.
Kevin grinned as he slung his arm around her shoulders. “You know what Dean Rosenthal says, high school graduation is a rite of passage, the end of easy, the end of life as we know it.”
At those words, a shadow crossed Laney’s face, but she shook off the unsettled feeling as Kevin went on.
“I mean, imagine it,” he added cheerfully. “Next year, we’ll be in college! It’s an exciting time!”
Laney’s expression was still somber. “Well, I know one thing’s for sure.” She stopped as they arrived at the door to her class. “I’ll never make it through hell week and Professor Tanner’s final without a decent night’s sleep, so whatever is wrong with me, I better snap out of it, and fast,” she told him.
Kevin gave her an encouraging soldier-on smile. “I’ll pack you some Gatorade.”
“Thanks, Kev. You’re the best.” She was leaning up to kiss him when the bell rang, and they both looked up. “Oh. Great.” She frowned.
“Well, so much for your first class,” Kevin smirked and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before scooting backward. “Now I have to get to class, too. See you later?” he prompted her, amidst the throng of students streaming past, coming out of the door.
“Yeah.” Laney nodded, giving him a small wave as she watched him walk down the hall and disappear around the corner.
Fortunately, Laney had a free period next, and she only had to meet up with her best friend, Darla, so she didn’t need to rush anywhere.
It only took about a minute before every student had relocated to their next classrooms, with doors shutting loudly, and then the hallway was empty again.
Laney looked around. The silence in the hallway seemed ominous, even with the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling bouncing off the green linoleum floors.
Then again, everything to her lately felt ominous. No doubt caused by her freaky weird dreams. So much so that no matter how hard she tried to shake it, the feeling of unease stayed with her all day. And these dreams, they weighed on her. As though they were a warning. Of something impending. Something not good.
She sighed, turning on her heel to head toward the library to meet Darla. They were supposed to do some last-minute cramming for their French finals together.
Laney froze as the hallway before her blurred and everything turned gray. And when she looked up again, she was in the middle of a busy city intersection, surrounded by tall skyscrapers with mirrored windows, the images of cars and other vehicles zooming past her so vivid—so close, she could smell the exhaust fumes.
She coughed, stepping back.
And she was back in the school hallway, with the green floor and bright fluorescent light.
Laney looked around, disoriented.
“Laney!” Darla called out.
Laney jumped, startled, before turning to look.
Darla was waiting for her at the end of the hall, her hands on her hips. She waved her over.
Laney blinked to get her bearings before she walked up to Darla.
Darla noticed her stunned expression and looked at her strangely. “What’s going on?” she asked.
She cleared her throat. “Uh, nothing. I was just…” She shook her head slowly. The truth was that Laney would have been more bewildered if that was the first time that it had happened. But it wasn’t. It had actually been happening on and off for weeks. Except previously, she had dismissed the “hallucinations” as daydreams, as being simply her imagination going on overdrive.
But that day, it felt different. The hairs on the back of her neck were still standing up with an unidentified dread of something. The crosswalk had been so intensely real that she could still smell the fossil fuels burning her nose.
Laney met Darla’s gaze.
Darla was still peering up at her with curious pale green eyes. “Let me guess, rough night? Again?” she prompted.
She gave her a look and a short nod, as she was willing to admit to at least tha
t, and she wasn’t going to give her friend any more cause for concern if she could help it.
Darla patted her back in sympathy, but her tone was playful. “Why can’t you be normal and dream about Hollywood hunks like the rest of us?”
Laney chuckled, her mood lightening.
“Well, come on then,” Darla coaxed, leading the way to the library. “Those verbs aren’t going to conjugate themselves, and some of us need at least a B to make up for last semester.”
Laney made a face. “You mean a B+,” she corrected. “I’m never forgiving you for making me take this class. Languages are so not my thing.”
Darla turned back slightly to give her a meaningful shrug. “Who cares about languages when the teacher is so hot?”
Laney laughed to herself. “Fine, I’ll admit Monsieur Martin’s accent is super hot, but he’s like twenty-eight or something,” she pointed out. “Besides,” she dismissed with a wave. “Even my career counselor, Mrs. Pat, says I’m not likely to pursue French studies in college.”
Darla raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like you’ve finally made a decision.”
“Well, no,” Laney replied. “It’s just…” She pursed her lips. “You’re lucky you already know what you want to be when you grow up.”
“Hey, it’s not me.” Darla shook her head. “It’s genetics. My dad’s a composer. My grandfather was that guy that waves a stick at chamber orchestras—”
“A conductor?” Laney supplied with a smirk.
“Yeah, that, whatever,” she said, waving her hand again. “My point is I’ve been bitten by the music bug.” She paused. “You really not feeling the ‘law’ thing like your folks?”
Laney bit her lip in mockery. “Yeah, somehow I’m not super excited at the thought of all the mountains of paperwork, or arguing loopholes around legal precedents—”
“Sure, ‘cause you just hate to argue,” Darla remarked, a wry look on her face. “Don’t you, Miss Moral Compass?”
Laney shot her a look. “Whatever.” She shrugged. “I’m still in limbo. I feel like I’ll forever be in limbo. And I have a sneaking suspicion that my actual expertise lies in absolutely nothing.”
“Oh, cheer up, Laney,” Darla chided as they arrived at the library. “Think about it, if we both manage to fail the French final, don’t go to college, and get no job, then maybe that’s exactly what the two of us will end up doing. Nothing.”
Laney laughed. “Well, here goes ‘nothing’ then.”
***
Applause.
The bell rang.
Laney blinked, snapping to alert.
“Au revoir, Mademoiselle Carter.” Monsieur Martin gave her a little wave as the rest of the class began to file out the door.
Darla was grinning from ear to ear as she escorted Laney out the door, her arms around her shoulders pompously. “That’s right, people! My best friend,” she announced as they exited the room.
Kevin met the two of them outside the classroom door. “Hey, guys. Ready for lunch?” He tilted his head, creasing his forehead, as he noticed several people passing by patting Laney’s back in congratulations. “What’s going on?”
“Miss Thing here, suddenly the fluent French speaker,” Darla said, pulling away to thump on Laney’s back. “She totally aced the oral final!”
“What? That’s great!” Kevin remarked, sounding surprised, but he also looked proud as he put his arm around her as they all walked toward the cafeteria. “You were so nervous about it. I’m so happy for you.”
Darla turned to her, beaming. “Did you actually buy those language CDs like Monsieur Martin suggested? That was just absolutely amazing! And here I thought we both needed that cramming session this morning. Turns out I’m the only perdante here.”
“Hey, guys,” Laney started. “I think I need to take a nap.” She broke away from Kevin’s grasp to step backward, looking uncomfortable.
“What’s the matter, Laney?” Kevin gave her a concerned look.
“Nothing. I’m—I’m just really tired right now,” Laney replied and turned to Darla again. “Hey, can you also tell Mr. O’Connor and Mrs. Hatchet that I’m not feeling well?”
Darla looked her over. “Sure, but are you not feeling well?”
“I’m fine,” Laney insisted. “I think I just need to rest. I don’t think I’m going to make the rest of my classes today.”
“Maybe I should take you to the nurse’s office—”
Laney blew out a breath, exasperated. “Jeez, Darla! Would you just—I’ll be fine, I promise. Look, I just…need to get some shut-eye right now. Seriously.” She gave them both reassuring nods.
Kevin and Darla exchanged worried glances, but then Kevin just met Laney’s gaze again. “Okay,” he conceded. “But I’m checking up on you right after lunch.”
“Me too,” Darla said with a nod.
“Fine. Great.” Laney nodded quickly, walking backward away from them. But as she started to turn to leave, she stopped short and looked back at her friends. “Hey, thanks…guys.”
Kevin gave her a good-natured grin. “See you later, Laney.”
Darla mocked a salute at her. “Au revoir.”
Laney walked into the dorm and headed straight up the stairs. All she wanted was to lie down in her bed.
Things were starting to get out of hand. First, her getting up late again because of those hellish nightmares, then the intersection in the middle of the school hallway, then the French class…
Today, she thought. There’s something wrong with today. Something majorly wrong.
She turned the corner and walked past a few doors to arrive at her room. But when she turned the knob on the door and swung it open, she gasped startled, as there was no longer a room there.
It wasn’t that the room was darkened, even though in the middle of the afternoon, the yellow sun should have been streaming through her windows and onto her bed. No. The doorway just gaped upon a pitch-black emptiness. No light. No sound. A void. A nothingness.
“What the—?” She took a half-step back so she wouldn’t lose her balance and fall into the nothing.
Laney shut the door quickly, her hand still on the knob. What is going on? She looked around suspiciously, but it was the middle of a class day so the dorm hallways were empty.
She took a deep breath to collect herself, and after a moment, she gingerly turned the knob to open the door again and was absolutely relieved to see the inside of her room—as she’d expected.
The room was still a mess, much like it usually was during finals. But her roommate Stephanie was sitting on her bed. She looked up when Laney opened the door. “Hey Laney,” she greeted. “How did your French final go?”
Laney stared at her, still a bit mystified. “Uh…fine, it was fine. Hey,” she started. “Did you…? Did I just open the door just now? I mean, before I did just now. Did I open the door twice? Did you see me?”
Stephanie shot her a weird look. “What?”
“You were in the room though, right? You’ve been in the room the whole time?”
“Yeah, since third period,” she said. “I’m working on my History paper. I told you about that yesterday, remember?”
“Right,” Laney mumbled. She blinked a few times again as though to clear her head. She could have sworn there was definitely no room there when she had opened the door before, but if Stephanie had been in there since third period, exactly what door had she opened the first time?
Another shiver of dread ran up Laney’s spine and she whirled around to rush off.
“Hey Laney, are you okay?” Stephanie called out after her.
“I’m fine!” Laney replied out loud, even as she clattered down the stairs, heading back out the dorm. Her pulse had begun to race in anxiety. She definitely had to find Kevin and Darla again. Whatever the hell was happening to her, it was getting worse, and there was no point hiding it anymore. She needed to tell someone. She needed help.
Laney crossed the quad lawn headed for the cafete
ria. There were a few students picnicking on the garden as it was a nice, sunny day—one of the last ones probably this side of winter. She passed two girls from her French class and when they both waved at her, with expressions of awe in their faces, Laney just managed a tight smile back as she walked faster.
Then she happened to glance up to see Jake Donovan from across the way.
Jake was a popular campus figure, captain of the hockey team, quite a guy with the females from what she had heard, but they’d hardly ever crossed paths. They’d never had to. She didn’t even think he knew her name.
He was standing near the pathway where the trees that lined the garden merged with the bushes. But he looked different today somehow. She thought she caught him staring at her, but when she blinked to look again, he was gone.
Go Again
He appeared right before her, blocking her path.
Laney’s eyes widened in fright, and she instinctively tried to run away, but he grabbed her from behind, his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream.
“Sshhh,” he shushed, even as she struggled against him as he pulled her back behind an empty pop-up booth for selling prom tickets. “Relax, Laney. It’s me, it’s me.”
She tried to struggle more forcibly.
“Come on, you know me. Remember,” he urged. “Please remember.”
And Laney bit his hand.
He yelped out loud and sprang back, letting her go. “Why do you always do that?” he demanded, annoyed.
She whirled around. “Jake! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, yelling right to his face. “You can’t just go sneaking up on people when they’re alone like that!” She threw up her hands. “Why are you even talking to me anyway? Was that you I saw staring at me earlier? What is going on with you? What on earth are you wearing?” She made a face down at his strange clothes before looking back up at him. “And—what is up with your hair?”
Noah narrowed his eyes in frustration, impatience. Then without warning, he braced his hands on her shoulders. “Shut up, Laney,” he ordered, his voice strained.