A Dream by Noon.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Monday afternoon.

Nearly 30 minutes had passed since Ryan first sat down in the passenger seat of his car, watching each minute tick by, and with each one, a combination of worry and disappointment grew. Ryan

thought about walking down to Sam's house and knocking on the door but decided if she were going to stand him up, he would let her, and not make things awkward for them both.

The sun was getting lower in the sky as Ryan hopped out of his car one final time. He walked to

the entryway of the hospital and looked up and down the street. Thought about going to his uncle Mark's house to stall but his truck was gone, and Helen wouldn't want his company. He turned and walked back toward the buildings, scanning the area and the field. The old crumbling structures were kind of beautiful, he thought to himself. The bright red metal roof remained mostly unchanged above the mixture of bright yellow and crumbling brown surrounded by a mass of trees and forest that had changed to beautiful oranges and reds.

He stared at the structure closest to him. The windows as tall as two people, covering an entire

story each and spread out about 10 feet apart throughout the entire building that he knew at one time must have been a sight. Suddenly, his eyes darted to his right, to a basement window and a flash of light so bright it made him close his eyes. He blinked and stared again, wondering what he had just seen. He stepped closer to the window, now completely dark inside, trying to make sense of the flash. The rumble of a truck driving by startled him and Ryan turned in its direction to look at the sun again. He looked back and forth, wondering if it had caused a reflection because of the angle where he stood and told himself that it must have. Just in case, he walked around the perimeter, checking for sounds, pulling the front doors that were either boarded or bolted shut.

Finally, he returned to his car and decided to start up the engine. When it started up on the first

try, he was surprised, but not happy, disappointment taking its toll on him. He sat for a minute longer, just in case, before putting the car into reverse and turning out toward the entrance again.

Ryan looked right then left, and a quick look in his rearview mirror before he started to pull out,

he remembered that she had called and now it all made sense as he realized she was calling to cancel. He told himself that something must have come up, that's why she didn't return his call. Told himself it was no big deal. His eyes peered back one last time when he saw something dark moving through the field.

Throwing the car in reverse, he slowly backed in out of the road and turned around, looking at the spot where the thing had moved and saw it again. A figure, moving to the

edge of the field, just at the edge of the woods.

He jumped out of his car, almost forgetting to put it into park, leaving the door open and ran in

the direction of the figure he could now clearly see was a person, dark hall falling out underneath a black hat, Ryan realizing it was not Sam but kept following anyways.

"Hey!" he shouted at her.

She started to run, and he ran faster to catch up while shouting "Hey! Stop! I'm looking for

someone." He yelled, realizing she was now running in fear of him. He slowed, not wanting to scare her anymore, but yelled one last time, "please." He pleaded, not quite sure why the sound out of his mouth was so desperate, as he came to a stop and hoped, large breaths in and out as he tried to catch his breath and noticed she had slowed and stopped as well. Instinctively, he held his hands out as she turned, the only way he could think of to show he was not a risk.

The sun had set lower, and in the woods, it was even darker than the clearing of the field. The girl turned toward him slightly, her black hair partially covered her face, but Ryan saw the gleam of bright blue eyes behind. They both stared at each other, until finally she turned fully. "What do you want?" she asked, curious, but impatient.

"I was supposed to meet someone out here." He spat out. Half of him feeling stupid and stood up and the other, worry.

"Who?" she asked. He could hear the curiosity growing in her voice.

"Um. Her name is Sam. Sam Mourey. Do you know her?" he asked the girl, speaking too loud in the quiet woods, but the girl didn't move closer. Her eyes flicked with curiosity at the mention of the name. He knew he saw it.

"Why are you looking for her?" she asked.

Ryan took a step closer so she could hear him better, but she backed up quickly and so he did as well, again, holding his hands out by his sides. "We were supposed to meet up. I thought... I thought for a second you were her. Did you see her out here? He asked. "What were you doing out here?" he asked her.

"I know her." She said flatly.

Ryan waited for her to continue, but she didn't, and he could not contain the feeling that this person was lying to him, and he had no idea why. He waited, just staring in her direction.

"She's on my bus." The girl continued. Ryan's silence working. "And no, I didn't see her. Sorry." She said, sounding genuine, relaxing a bit.

"Why..." Ryan started to ask, but was interrupted by the dark haired girl who spoke at the same time.

"Why were you meeting her out here?" she asked, suspicion rising in her voice.

Ryan thought about how he should answer that, but realized he had no reason not to be honest.

"She invited me. To take a walk. Hang out I guess." He answered, growing sad again at this missed opportunity. "What are you doing out here?" he asked her.

"Oh." She responded. Seeming to think that answer over and accept it. "I live nearby. I was just taking a walk." She said. "You don't go to the high school, do you?" she added.

"No. I live in Pemberton. My name is Ryan. If you see her, will you let her know I was out here." He added, and regretted it as soon as he did.

She hesitated. "Hi Ryan, I'm Erika." She said, her voice softening a bit, almost a look of pity on her face, of recognition of what had happened. "And sure, I'll her know." She said, before turning and walking away.