Wide Awake - Academy of the Fallen Series

by Daniele Lanzarotta

  I did have to keep taking the sleeping pills… Kelly insisted on that.

  It had been days since I had any contact with Benjamin. I also hadn’t had any contact with Carolyn and after a while I just thought that was for the best. With Carolyn gone, if Benjamin didn’t show up again and I hoped he didn’t, I figured my life would go back to normal in no time… Looking back, I wonder if denial was a side effect of those pills…

  TWELVE

  One week had passed and I went from being awake all day and night, to sleepy all the time. That was how I spent the day on Sunday, sleeping.

  Monday came around and I could barely get out of bed. Kelly had taken the day off and she made me breakfast. When I mentioned stopping by the coffee shop to get something to wake up and keep me awake, she literally flipped out.

  She put me on a caffeine-free diet until my sleeping conditions were back to normal with no assistance from sleeping pills.

  “I’ve always said that you are too young to drink that much coffee, Kayla.”

  I rolled my eyes and agreed to everything she was saying.

  I went to school and again, avoided everything and everyone. Two things I noticed though and they both bothered me. One, Emily and Jess were back to talking to Ashley, and second, every time I saw Hunter hanging around, he was staring at me and I felt an urge to go and talk to him, try to make sense of it all. Only I didn’t want to take the risk of Benjamin showing up again.

  When the day was finally over I rushed to my car to find there was a note on my window. The note was from Hunter.

  Kayla,

  Carolyn contacted me again. We need to talk. Meet me at my house this afternoon.

  I didn’t go. Carolyn was talking to him now and that made her his problem.

  I went home, did my homework, and fell asleep.

  Unfortunately me not showing up at Hunter’s didn’t stop him from coming to look for me.

  Kelly came to my room and woke me up.

  “Kay, your friend Hunter is here. You must have forgotten to tell me he was coming over to work on your project.”

  I was still disoriented from having just woken up.

  I got up and followed Kelly downstairs to find Hunter sitting in the living room.

  “Hey. What are you doing here?”

  “Kayla!” Kelly looked embarrassed. “I apologize for her, Hunter. She just woke up…”

  Hunter looked at me.

  “Group project, remember?”

  I didn’t exactly respond in any way.

  Kelly excused herself by saying that she was going to be outside, working on the flowerbed if we needed her.

  As soon as she left, I asked, “What are you really doing here?”

  “You got my note. We need to talk.”

  “Umm, no we don’t.”

  He acted as if he was annoyed. “Look… whether you want to or not, I’m going to talk and you are going to listen.”

  “Whatever.” We went to the kitchen where I could keep an eye on Kelly to make sure she was still outside while he talked.

  “Fine. You want to talk, talk.” I snapped.

  “Carolyn is not trapped anymore. But she needs to talk to you, I just get bits and pieces of what she is saying.”

  “Okay, well. I haven’t seen her around, so apparently she can’t talk to me anymore. Problem solved.”

  Hunter shook his head and laughed. “What are you on?” He asked.

  “Huh?” I asked, confused.

  “You know… drugs? Medication? What are you on?”

  “Nothing… I mean, sleeping pills. What does that have to do with it?”

  He shook his head as if I had just asked something dumb. “Medications or drugs sometimes intervene with the part of your brain that allows you to communicate with … you know… them.”

  I clasped my hands over my mouth. That is what he wanted; keep me from helping Carolyn, keep her away. Apparently that also kept me from seeing him and that was a plus.

  “Why are you taking those pills anyway?” he asked.

  “None of your business.”

  “It has something to do with him doesn’t it?” he said as he looked into the living room.

  I looked around. “Who?”

  “You know… the same one that was at school the other day.”

  I shivered.

  “That answers my question,” Hunter said.

  “I – I ca--can’t talk to you about it.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  I was so afraid… knowing that Benjamin was there, but I wasn’t able to see him… Before I knew it, I ended up spilling out the truth… reverse psychology, I guessed.

  “Because he will hurt you if I talk to you about it.”

  Hunter looked at me, puzzled that I was concerned about his safety.

  “He can’t hurt me, Kayla.”

  “Yes, he can. He can touch things…people.”

  Hunter walked toward me, putting his hands on my shoulders and meeting my gaze. “I know he can. Listen Kayla, he cannot hurt me.”

  I don’t know if I felt vulnerable, afraid, safe, or what, but I did something that I had never done in my entire life. Sobbing, I said, “I need your help.”

  “I know.”

  I thought Hunter was about to pull me into a hug, but what he did was pull me behind him. For a split second, I was confused by what happened, but as soon as I remembered him looking into the living room where Benjamin seemed to be, it all made sense. Watching Hunter, it looked as if he was grabbing Benjamin, who I could not see and throwing him across the room. The only reason why I knew that he went across the room was because a chair on that side of the room was flipped over.

  Hunter faced me again. “He is gone.”

  “How did you do--?

  Kelly came in.

  What was that noise?” she asked.

  “Sorry about that Mrs. Gallagher, I can be a klutz sometimes. I tripped over the chair.”

  “Oh. All right kids, I’m going to go pick up dinner. Hunter, will you stay and eat with us?”

  “No, thank you, Mrs. Gallagher. I wouldn’t want to impose.”

  “Oh please, it is no problem at all. I insist.” Kelly smiled and I knew that because Hunter was so polite, she really liked him. If that had been Justin, she would have never left me alone with him.

  As soon as she left I asked him how he had done that. “It doesn’t matter. We need to figure out how to keep you safe. He will come back. And you need to stop taking your meds or you won’t even see him coming at you.”

  “I shouldn’t have told you. That only provoked him.”

  “Trust me. You did the right thing. Whatever it is that he wants, it can’t be good.”

  I met Hunter’s gaze. “What is he?”

  “What do you think he is?”

  “Well, I thought he was a ghost, but he is strong and he can touch things… he is just different than Carolyn.”

  “Lets just say that you are on the right track. That is all you need to know for now.”

  “He is more than just a ghost, isn’t he?”

  Hunter hesitated. “I will take care of him.”

  “Why are you helping me?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Many reasons. One is because I didn’t have anyone to help me…. Well, not at first anyway.”

  I felt so awful for him going through whatever he did alone. It just made sense why he distanced himself from everyone. I just felt really bad for him.

  I nodded, not sure what to say. I actually felt relieved to talk to him, but I was now even more afraid of what Benjamin would do. And I also had no idea how I would get away with not taking those pills and still be able to sleep.

  We heard the front door opening.

  “Kayla, can you go grab the food from the my car?” Kelly asked, as she bolted for the bathroom.

  “Sure.”

  “Is your mom okay?” Hunter asked.

  “Yeah, just pregnancy stuff, I guess. She doesn’t really get mornin
g sickness. It is more like before dinner sickness.”

  Hunter looked pale.

  “What is wrong?” I asked him.

  He didn’t say anything.

  “I will just go get you some water,” I said.

  He grabbed my wrist pulling me closer and whispered “I think I know what he may want.”

  THIRTEEN

  I looked up from his hand softly holding my wrist, to his concerned gaze and wondered again why he was so willing to help me.

  Hunter quickly let go of my wrist when he heard the front door open.

  It was Andrew. He came in the kitchen.

  “Hey, Kayla. Is your mom home?”

  “Yeah. She is feeling sick… again.”

  He looked at Hunter.

  Hunter said, “Hi Mr. Gallagher, I’m Hunter.”

  “Hi Hunter.” He replied and apologized for my lack of manners in not introducing them.

  Andrew was a few-words kind of guy. He went to check on Kelly while Hunter and I finally went to get the dinner out of the car.

  While outside, we were able to talk.

  “Hunter, whatever it is that Benjamin wants, must be something to do with Carolyn. I think he basically kept me from sleeping so that I would need those sleeping pills… knowing that I would no longer be able to help Carolyn.”

  Hunter just looked puzzled, as if he was considering all possibilities, but he seemed as if he was in his own little world. He didn’t even say anything on the way back in.

  By the time dinner was over, Kelly and Andrew were nothing less than impressed with Hunter, which rarely happened with any of my guy friends.

  Hunter was actually a few months older than me, he was already 17 and from what Kelly had told me as I helped her put the food away, he seemed more mature than all of my other friends combined.

  “He is so much nicer than Justin, Kayla.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Uh-huh… We are not dating if that is what you are implying.”

  Andrew walked into the kitchen. “About time you got a nice friend, Kayla.”

  I rolled my eyes at him too. “Gotta go finish the school project…”

  I got out of the kitchen as fast as I could.

  We setup a couple of papers and books in the living room to make it look like we were getting stuff done.

  Luckily, Kelly and Andrew decided to go out shopping so we didn’t have to worry about making sure they didn’t hear what we were talking about.

  I was playing around with the pencil… “So, you said you think you know what he wants… I don’t think I’m wrong about Carolyn, but one of the times that he showed up, he said something-- I think it has something to do with my biological dad. Before, he kept mentioning how alike we were and a couple of other things, like he knows him.”

  “Oh,” Hunter said, looking uncomfortable. “Do you know anything about your…umm… biological father?”

  “Nope.”

  “We have to either find out what he really wants or get rid of him before that baby comes along.”

  “Huh?” I asked him puzzled.

  He sighed. “I don’t want to scare you, but those trapped souls, regardless of what they are, ghosts, or… other things… they can use new life in order to be released from what and where they are… Others, like Benjamin, can use the energy from that new life to become more powerful.”

  “You mean like reincarnation?” I asked, terrified.

  “Sort of…. on the first scenario anyway. I’m afraid things may be quite different with Benjamin involved.”

  “How do you know so much?”

  He sighed. “You know how I told you that in the beginning I really didn’t have anyone to help me, like I’m helping you?”

  I nodded.

  “Much like you, it was because I didn’t let anyone help me. After a while I started trusting someone. He was kinda like a mentor.”

  “Was?”

  “Yes. There is this place… well, a place where we learn about those things. That is where I was when I was gone. My mentor was the one who allowed me to leave and come back.”

  “Oh.”

  Hunter looked almost as if he regretted telling me so much. “So, anyway, I have to get going.”

  I was really afraid then. I didn’t know whether the meds were still in my system and if they were, I might not be able to see Benjamin. I couldn’t exactly ask Hunter to stay…

  “What if he comes back?” I asked Hunter.

  “He won’t. Not tonight.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Trust me. He won’t bother you tonight.”

  FOURTEEN

  As much as I wished I could trust Hunter, I just had a horrible feeling that Benjamin would still be around.

  I didn’t sleep again.

  I got away with not taking my meds and being that Hunter left before Kelly and Andrew got back, I went to the store and got a couple cans of Red Bull.

  I hoped that just because I couldn’t see Benjamin didn’t mean that I couldn’t feel him.

  I was sitting on my bed watching TV, when at around three in the morning, my suspicions that he was there were confirmed when I felt something brush against my arm.

  I quickly got up, closed my eyes and started trying to send him away. I couldn’t see him and I couldn’t hear him, but I could feel his tight grip around my neck. Even if I could have screamed, I wouldn’t have been able to.

  Then I felt him letting go of me. I stood there, gasping for air.

  The noise and movements were coming from my bed. I could see the movement of a body on top of my bed, and then, all of the sudden, I could see them both. Benjamin was on the bed with Hunter holding him down with one hand while punching him with another, warning him that things would get worse if Benjamin ever came near me again.

  Benjamin laughed at Hunter, glanced in my direction, and vanished. Hunter got up, fixed his clothes and then looked right at me. My terrified gaze locked on his eyes made him realize that I could actually see him.

  He took a step closer to me.

  “Don’t come any closer!” I warned him.

  He put both hands up as if surrendering.

  I knew he couldn’t be a ghost; there was just no way. I mean… people at school saw him, talked about him…

  “Why couldn’t I see you?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. You are probably just tired. I knew he was back and followed him in.”

  “Sorry to break it to you, but we have an alarm. True, he didn’t set it off, but you would have, so how did you do that? And for the record, I’m not that delusional so don’t you even try to blame this on my lack of sleep.”

  He took a step forward.

  “Please, just stay away from me.”

  “Look, Kayla… I can help you, but there are things that I cannot tell you.”

  “Fine, then thank you for helping, but I want you to leave.”

  “Suit yourself!” he said in an annoyed tone.

  He walked out of my room and whatever way he left the house, the alarm never went off.

  I ran to the window. There were no cars outside. I checked the alarm and it was on.

  I should never have talked to him in the first place.

  I figured that Benjamin would stay away if I stopped talking to Hunter, and if sleeping pills were what was supposedly keeping me from seeing or hearing them… well, that was my solution.

  FIFTEEN

  This time, the sleeping pill had no effect on me, at least not as far as going to sleep. I guess I just had too much caffeine. Who knows…?

  I did however not see anything or anyone else that night.