woke. | II

hady

"HADY!" A voice hollered in my ear. 

I could feel the vibrations threatening to burst my eardrums, leaving me partially deaf in one ear, but my eyes popped open and I saw beautiful blue ones I have hated since I realized they could have been mine. It is a constant reminder that I inherited my great-aunt's coloring while my brother got the entire Stephens package. Sun kissed skin whereas all I do is burn and turn as red as cooked crab. Dimples girls go positively crazy for, which, he uses without shame. A mop of dirty blonde hair that sometimes curled into tight ringlets - but he can keep those. It would be great if my hair showed personality like his but I do love my brown locks and my great-aunt, Monica. What I don't love is being rudely awakened. By screaming, no doubt. 

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" I yelled back in his face, pushing him away from me and punching him wherever I can reach. "HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I DID THE SAME THING TO YOU?!" My words ripped from my throat in fury only a non-morning person could understand. Fire rose in my chest like an angry dragon and I felt a guilty satisfaction when he backed away, hands in the air. 

"Chill, lil girl. You looked like you were having a nightmare." He said in that annoyingly patronizing voice he saves especially for me. If only Alex could hear him now, she probably wouldn't think he's all that cool anymore.

"GET OUT!" I tried to put as much force into those two words as I could muster. 

"I shook you for like a good 5 minutes, Hady, but you're such a pig." He explained and pulled on my blankets in an attempt to diffuse the situation. 

"DON'T DO THAT, YOU KNOW I HATE IT!" What is it about older brothers and their uncanny talent for being able to royally piss off their younger siblings? 

"You were crying," He said softly, sounding sincere. "In your sleep." Confusion seeped through my rage and I touched my face. My fingers came away dry.

"Gotcha!" He laughed. How does he manage to be so impossibly irritating? 

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM OR-"

"Or? Or else what? You'll snore at me?" I glared daggers at him, allowing my full wrath to show. Unfazed, he added, "You owe me a favour for waking you." Before blowing a kiss in my direction and zipping out of my room. 

I groaned and pressed my fingers to my head, recognizing the fact that he probably wouldn't enter my room unless it was for good reason. My heart clenched at the thought that he was actually worried and came in to check up on me. But he didn't need to yell in my ear! I could have gotten a heart attack. And what nightmare? His screeching and my blind fury chased all remnants of it away. I closed my eyes and fell back onto my pillows, trying to dredge up a memory of last night, any at all. 

"AAAARGHHH!" I growled from the back of my throat. It's useless! But I grabbed the notebook I placed from my bedside and flipped it open anyway. 

CAMERON IS A DOUCHEBAG. 

I scrawled the words at the top of the page and continued to stare angrily at it until... I recognized familiarity in the annoyance I felt. I was peeved recently. Why? What could cause my anger? Two things popped into my head at once, Alexis and accusation. I wrote it down quickly, afraid it would fade away. 

forest. fog. escape plan? 

I wrote another four words in quick succession. The strange thing is, the images and emotions that I captured in ink seemed to etch themselves on my mind. But just in case, I snapped a photo of the page and went to get changed for school. 

That's when I felt it - something foreign on my skin. I patted the chest pocket on my jammies and heard the distinctive crunch of paper. I pulled it out and goosebumps pimpled my skin as a chill ran down my spine. 

the dreams are real - a

The penmanship was unmistakably Alex's, but how did it get into my pocket? I wanted to believe it was an elaborate joke she planned with my brother and yet I knew I would be disappointed to find out it's not. I changed clumsily with the note in a death grip, as though it might vanish into smoke and air. Like the dreams. 

I was one of the firsts to arrive at school because guess who hustled a ride from their older brother? I texted Alex while on the way, telling her that I would be early. I wasn't expecting to see her for at least another 15 minutes but there she was leaning against the railings, waiting for me at our usual spot in the carpark. There is a bench nearby, under a tree but she claims she doesn't want to get bird-doo on her so she avoids it like the plague. Secretly, I think something about it scares her. 

"Yo! Careful with her today - might bite your head off!" Cam rolled down the window on his side and yelled to her while gesturing furiously with his head in my direction. 

"Yeah? I bet you have everything to do with it!" She laughed. 

"Please stop flirting, you two." I grumbled loud enough for the both of them to hear and slammed the door to my brother's precious car. Sure enough, I heard a muffled cry of indignant protest. 

"Uh-oh." She mocked as I marched towards her. 

"You'd be in a bad mood too..." I started before grabbing her and yelling in her ear the way Cam yelled in mine, "IF SOMEONE WOKE YOU LIKE THIS!" 

"Wow, okay." She looked at me with blame in her eyes as she rubbed her ear. "So! Last night was pretty cool, huh? Did you bring it?" 

That stole the words from my lips, "Yeah..." I said hesitantly, pulling the note out of the pocket of my jeans and passing it to her. 

"Way cool!" She enthused. But wait, why does she seem to remember more than me? Suddenly, I was able to recall how lost I felt in my dream and she found me as though it was a matter of fact that we would meet. 

"Alex?" I began, "Why did you know it was real?" 

"Huh?" She shrugged, still too ecstatic by our success to hear consternation in my voice. "How are you still in doubt when we have proof?!" Bless her, she almost giggled but she raised her eyes to meet mine and she paled at the sight of my expression. I must have looked like a kicked puppy. Dejected and in need of comfort. "What's wrong, Hady?"

"The thing is... I can't, I don't think I remember as clearly as you do." Cold fingers of fear spread from the center of my chest, "I can't help but feel it's a bad sign. To remember." It took great effort to say the last two words. Saying it out loud felt a lot like resigning it as a fact, and I hated feeling powerless. 

She punched me in the shoulder, "Don't you see? We can fight this." 

"Fight this? How?" 

Her brows furrowed in exasperation and confidence, "How can you not remember meeting Daniel and Dana?" 

"W-we met Dana?! H-how? What?!" Confusion, disbelief. And a crushing disappointment for not remembering! 

"We did," She said patiently and carefully as though she was choosing the right words so as not to upset me for forgetting. But at the same time, bringing me up to speed. It was a kind and touching gesture because she wasn't one to sugarcoat. "She's awfully pretty, even through all that distortion. Too bad we couldn't hear what she was saying. But Daniel says that's normal. Creepy how he sometimes just sits there and watches her." 

I don't even have an inkling of what she was talking about, but I tried for a lighter tone nonetheless. "Did I gawk at her like a complete idiot?" 

"Yeahahah!" She laughed, "Pretty much." A silence descended on the both of us and she swung herself up onto the railings. She straddled them and at that height, we were almost at eye level. Usually, she's almost a head shorter. "Hady," There was such fierce determination in her voice and posture, "Don't you understand? If we could find Daniel and Dana, we'll find others and maybe one day we'll find someone with the answers." 

 It was hard to argue with that.