A scream locked in my throat and tears streamed down my face. Steadily, the screen dimmed and went black.
I wanted to throw up. I stared incredulously at Austin’s shirt.
“Bre…Bre, can you hear me?”
My eyes shifted to Austin’s face, and he knew it was over.
“What is it? What did you see?” There was fear in his eyes. I tried to tell him but couldn’t. “Please, what is it?” he pleaded.
I shook my head, closing my eyes. I was in shock and I couldn’t think.
Austin took one of my hands. “Please tell me. I can’t take this.”
And then it hit me. “When is the Duck’s game?” I frantically asked.
“Today,” Austin replied cautiously.
“No!” I gasped. “What time is it?”
“Almost three.”
I shot up. It would take at least three hours to get to Eugene, maybe more. I started running.
“Bre!” Austin yelled. “Wait!”
“I gotta go,” I yelled back, starting to cry again.
I had no time. As I was nearing my car another thought crossed my mind - the journal. I threw myself in and closed the door. Grabbing the journal from underneath my seat, I threw it open to the last page and began to read.
So there is another one coming. Another incident that Lapsus wants me to “take care of.” He’s growing more hostile as the time nears, and I hate the way it makes me feel. He told me that Collin was the one to watch out for. He says it’s because of “the light.” I still don’t know what that means. Usually he’s right, but deep down, I just wish one of these times he was wrong.
It was risky, but I approached Lapsus about not wanting to follow Collin. He was irate and yelled violently at me. It was then that I truly feared for myself. The last time I didn’t listen to him was at the party; the night I caught Breanna in my room and didn’t take care of her right then. He punished me, throwing the bookcase in my grandparents’ living room down on top of me. I blacked out for hours. So, I do what he says.
That was it. There was nothing left. I ripped through the pages to see if I’d missed something, but no. I peeled out of the parking spot and drove away. There was no time to waste. All I could think about was getting to the college as fast as I could.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Collin’s number. It rang a couple of times but went to voice mail.
“No!” I said with defeat. I hung up and tried again. Still the same. I hung the phone up and called Becka.
“Did you find him?” Beck answered.
“Beck, not now,” I said desperately.
“Bre, what’s wrong?” she could hear the panic in my voice.
“I don’t have time to explain. I just need you to listen, and I’ll tell you everything later. I need you to call Collin as much as you can. Do you hear me? Don’t stop! Tell him I’m coming and to not get into the cab!”
“What?”
“Beck, it’s so important that you listen to me! He cannot get into that cab today! Do you understand? Also, call Stephanie and tell her to call Katie’s cell phone and tell her the same thing.”
“Where are you?” she asked, frantically catching my drift.
“Just say you’ll do it. Please! It’s a matter of life and death!” I pleaded.
“Yes, of course,” Becka agreed.
“I gotta go.” I replied. I hung up the phone and dialed Collin’s number again. Nothing. “Ahhh!” I yelled, throwing my phone down on the seat next to me. I applied pressure to the accelerator, pushing my car to its limit and forcing it to go faster. I was flying past car after car, weaving in and out of the traffic. I didn’t care if it was extremely dangerous, or that there could be ice on the road. All I could think about was Collin.
My phone suddenly rang. I grabbed it, praying it was Collin. “Hello?”
“Bre?”
“Austin!” I yelled. “Listen, you have to do something. Call Collin…”
“Bre…you…me?”
“Austin?”
“B…can…hear me?” he was breaking up.
“Austin, you’re breaking up, but if you can hear me…”
“Bre, can you hear me?” he said.
I finally heard him clearly. “Yes!”
“What happened?”
“Austin, Collin’s in danger!”
“What?”
“Listen, I don’t know how much time I have until my phone cuts out, but you need to c….” the phone started breaking up again.
“Br…can’t h…hear you.” And then the phone died.
“Dammit!” I threw it down again.
Driving through the winding turns and in and out of huge big rigs normally scared me, but I didn’t fear anything right now. Nothing was going to stop me. It had been a few hours and the clock was ticking. Before I knew it, the clock on the dashboard hit six PM. I was twenty miles away and the traffic into Eugene was getting thicker and thicker. I did, however, know exactly where I was going. About a year ago, my Father took me to see the Ducks play Florida, so the way was still fresh in my mind.
I was nearing the turn off and it looked like I was going to make it when I noticed something in my rearview mirror. No! Panic shot through me as I realized Eve’s car was right behind me. I couldn’t believe it! With every turn I took, the black car followed, staying steadily behind me. I was about two miles away from the college when the traffic came to a complete stop. There wasn’t even a side road to take. All I had to do was go up Thirteenth Street and turn onto Agate, and I would be there. Cars filled both lanes of the road, bumper to bumper, and the time was six-fifteen. They had to be walking out to the taxi right now. If I sat there in traffic, there was no way I’d make it in time. I made my decision. I had to get there now. I pulled off the road, and quickly parked the car at an antique shop that looked like it was closed up for the night. I grabbed my cell phone and jumped out of the car. I started bolting toward the college.
Dozens of fans were yelling out of the open windows of their cars screaming, “Go Ducks!” And I could hear the chaos from the stadium perfectly. I checked behind me again, but I didn’t see anyone. Maybe it wasn’t Eve. Relieved, I jaunted through the street, forcing two cars to squeal to a stop. There was no time to be cautious.
“What are you doing, trying to get yourself killed?” someone yelled, but I ignored them and kept running.
I was coming up fast on Agate Street when I saw her. Eve was at the stoplight. She squared her body in my direction when she saw me. I slowed down taking in the eerie way she was staring at me.
“What’re you doing here?” I screamed.
“You’re not passing!” she hissed, her expression so evil that it rooted me to the ground. I glanced quickly at the time, six-eighteen.
“Eve, I need to get to that school and you’re not going to stop me!” I demanded, trying to hide my fear. “Now, get out of my way!”
She crouched down on all fours like a vicious cat ready to thrust herself at me. I backed away. “What’re you doing?”
She made a hissing sound, every movement cat-like. She moved and swayed back and forth like a fierce panther sizing up her prey, ready to attack. She had changed her hair color again. Her jet-black hair dangled heavily in front of her face and her eyes sizzled with venom.
As I searched for ways around her, I began to walk toward her involuntarily. I didn’t know how I was doing it, but it was as if someone was pulling me by the arm.
I started panicking as the distance between us shrank. Her hissing was getting louder. Her face was deformed, distorted, making hard lines with every twitch of her body and head. Still on all fours like a cat, she moved out of the way like something was shielding her from me. We circled each other until I was past her.
Then my jaw dropped as she straightened. Her body jolted and something separated from her, some kind of entity, and then she immediately fell to her knees. She snapped her head up to me and yelled, “Bre, run! You have to get to Collin, you have to sav
e him!” She looked normal again. “You have to get to him before he does!”
I had no time to digest what had just happened to Eve. I had no time to be afraid. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I let it go.
I rounded the corner and tripped over something on the ground. I looked down and saw an old, homeless man holding out a stick.
“You’re never going to make it, Breanna!” he hissed, the same way Eve just did. I jumped up, scrambling to my feet, and took off even faster. I didn’t look back, but I could feel his presence, his hot breath right behind me.
“I will stop you!” his raspy voice shrieked from behind me.
I ran across the street and up on the sidewalk. I was almost there. I could see the college buildings up ahead. I sprinted as fast as I could.
Then, I realized something. That dark figure that I saw the night of Eve’s party was what just came out of Eve. I stopped a whimper in my throat. I didn’t have time. I focused my thoughts on Collin, seeing his face again. That was the only thing pushing me forward right now.
I jerked my head to the right as I saw the black figure disappear into the bushes up ahead. Then I heard the most frightening, un-human voice. It sent shivers down my spine.
“You will never win!” the voice slithered and hissed. “You think you’re more powerful than I?” it bellowed.
I just kept on running, looking straight ahead, watching for any glimpse of Collin. My body trembled with exhaustion and fear.
“Leave me alone!” I wailed at the top of my lungs.
I looked down at my phone, six twenty-four. I rounded the last stretch and came up to the edge of the school. About a half a football field away I saw Katie and Collin at the cab, starting to get in.
“Collin!” I screamed, rushing for him, “Collin!” My voice was giving out. I was out of breath. I couldn’t scream any louder. “Collin!” I tried again.
I hit the re-dial on my phone. “Collin, don’t!” I screamed again and burst into tears, falling to my knees as my body gave out and he disappeared in the cab.
I had lost him forever. I had failed. Before I could process it, a cab drove up in front of me. I sprang up to my feet and jumped in. I was out of breath, but managed to say, “See that cab, follow it!”
I could barely see Collin’s cab in front of us. At least the yellow stood out amongst the other vehicles.
“Can’t you go any faster?”
The driver whipped a hand at the windshield. “Do you see the cars in front of me?” he said, getting irritated at me.
“Please, you don’t understand. Something bad is going to happen if you don’t get to that cab now,” I pleaded with him with every ounce of desperation in me.
“Listen, I’m doing everything I can,” he answered.
I tried to see their cab, but it disappeared around the corner.
“How far is it to the bridge?” I quickly asked.
“It’s just around the corner. Once we make that turn up ahead, you’ll be able to see it.”
I didn’t know if I should get out and run. The traffic began to move again. As we turned the corner, I saw the bridge.
“Do you see the cab?” I asked, scanning every car in front of us.
“Yes, it’s right over there.” He pointed.
“Where? I don’t see it!” I panicked.
“It’s right there, ten cars up.”
As I counted the cars, the tenth cab rolled onto the bridge.
I hurled myself out of the cab and tossed the cabbie some money. I ignored the cramp in my side and my tired lungs, and darted for the bridge. “Collin! Collin!” I screamed.
All of a sudden, I was knocked to the ground as the undulating earth beneath me rumbled. The wires suspending the bridge were snapping off in different directions. Cars on the bridge were sliding, and a few toppled over the side. The sound of scraping, grinding metal pierced my ears and the thunderous sound of crumbling earth began to erupt. Then to my complete and utter horror, the bridge began to collapse. Collin’s cab was in my sight one second, but was gone the next as it disappeared into the canyon far below.
My knees gave out, my hands were limp at my sides, and all I could do was sob, “Collin!”
I stared at my hands stretched out in front of me, parallel with the double yellow line dividing the two lanes. I was paralyzed. The commotion around me echoed. My mind teased me, taunted me, making me question what was reality and what was fantasy. The only thing I was aware of was my breathing. It was heavy and laborious. Each breath was harder than the last.
I looked up and saw the mass of people. Panic and chaos was everywhere. The emotional climate overpowered me, sucking me into a dark place. I wondered briefly if I’d ever return.
My sight extended out in front of me to the edge, where most of the people crowded around, looking over the side of a now huge ravine. The scene was different from the one a few seconds ago. The massive bridge, with two towering steel beams holding the structure together, was gone. Only fragments of broken pieces of the road held onto the earth. The rest was a gaping hole, separating the two sides. Wires and massive pieces of metal stuck out everywhere. A few heavy cords wrapped around several cars, cutting into some and demolishing the others.
The other side of the bridge was a mirror of us. People stood with the same hysteria. I looked around and saw many holding onto their loved ones, weeping. Some were filthy, covered with plastered dirt and mud after having dragged individuals up from the edge. Some people were bloody. Some lie motionless as others hovered over their bodies, doing everything they could to revive them. Men and woman were screaming out names of strangers. Cars were scattered everywhere, all pointing in different directions. I took notice of many who were already videotaping the scene and cameras snapping every few seconds. People had their cell phones out, taking pictures to capture the mass destruction. Dozens stood by their cars, just staring with disbelief.
One man ran past me smiling. He shouted to one of his friends, “James, can you believe this!” he chuckled. “Man, that was close!”
After watching this young man’s amazement and unfathomable lack of concern for the people down below, it all really hit me. My emotions started to build until it was impossible for me to hold it together any longer. Collin’s name beat against my head, knocking me further into the darkness where I stood alone without him. Every time his name pounded in my head, my lungs tightened up, blocking the air so I couldn’t breathe, and for a moment, I welcomed it. If I stopped breathing, I wouldn’t feel anything. I wouldn’t feel this unbearable pain. I wouldn’t feel the emptiness that was devouring me slowly. I couldn’t bear living on this earth knowing he would never come back.
My heart was stinging, wrinkling up like a raisin in the hot, scalding sun. It felt like it was shriveling and changing from crimson red to midnight-black until it was so brittle that I was certain it would simply disintegrate.
I looked down. Feeling the heaviness of my head, two tears dripped down my face and fell on my pants. I had never felt pain like this. Even the pain of hearing my mother say, ‘I wish you had never been born,’ couldn’t compare. That wasn’t even on the same level as the emptiness I felt in that moment.
There was movement to my right. Someone came and knelt down beside me, placing a hand on my back. I looked up. It was Eve. I reached up and shoved her hand off my shoulder and realized that just that amount of energy was too much. I thought she would leave, but she didn’t. She stayed next to me. It was as if her touch burned me, sizzling my skin. She didn’t look like herself. Something was different, but I didn’t care to dwell on it. I didn’t care if she was near me anymore, I didn’t care about anything.
“Bre, are you alright?” Eve asked.
I didn’t say anything. Just hearing her voice tied a knot in the pit of my stomach and I felt nauseous.
She looked up at the crowd. We both sat in silence for a long time. My phone rang and I stared at Austin’s picture on the screen. I reluctantly pressed t
he talk button, but didn’t bring it up to my ear. Austin’s faint voice was frantically yelling into the receiver, “Bre, are you there? Bre, can you hear me? Bre?”
I didn’t know what to say. How could I tell him that he had just lost someone else in his life? I looked up and saw a man grab someone’s hand from the side of the cliff and my heart began to race. Collin? I prayed, but as he hauled the person up I saw red hair. Another tear fell from my face.
“Bre,” Austin said once more, and Eve took the phone carefully from my hands.
I didn’t protest, although I wanted to. I wasn’t myself, oblivious to everything.
“Austin?” Eve began. “Bre is here with me.” She paused, and I barely heard him speaking.
“No, this is Eve.”
I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but the muffled voice on the other end got louder and talked a little faster. I could only guess what was going through his mind.
“No, don’t worry. She’s here and…” She glanced at me before continuing, “You’ll hear everything soon.”
She nodded a few times then tried to hand me the phone, but I shook my head and closed my eyes. I turned my head away, refusing. A few more tears slipped down my cheeks.
“I don’t think she wants to talk right now.”
There was another pause and I heard in the faint distance sirens approaching. Help was coming, but not the help I needed.
“I’ll tell her,” she said, and then hung the phone up, placing it next to me.
“Bre,” she started again, her voice cautious, “I know that now isn’t the time to tell you what happened back there with me, but I need to talk to you soon.”
I looked into her eyes. I felt sick. I felt weak and empty. I didn’t want her here. I didn’t want to hear what she had to say. She was sent to destroy me for some reason, and that was what she did. She won. She claimed her victory and now she was trying to disguise herself. I was on to her, but it didn’t matter now. Collin was gone. Let her say what she wanted. Let her ruin my life. My life wasn’t worth living now.
Awaken (Awaken Series Book 1) Page 40