The Island

Paranoia

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"Oh, fuck!"

I cursed as I realized my mistake. I'd stepped into my opponent's square for just a moment, aiming for an uppercut to the softest part of his torso. He dodged me and in the millisecond it took me to catch my balance, his fist swung out. I saw knuckles just before he made contact with my jaw.

Blood sprayed from my mouth and I nearly spit my mouthpiece right out. I groaned and put my hand to my cheek just as a fist slammed into my abdomen.

Death. Death was upon me.

I lied on the floor, feeling like an anvil rested on my chest.

"Ets?"

"Aghhh."

I heard laughter, and then a hard, muscled arm was pulling me up.

"Got the wind knocked out of you, huh?"

I was still wheezing as the kickboxing instructor appraised me, looking chagrined.

"Sorry. I should've gone easier."

I shook my head, wiping blood from the corner of my mouth. I'd have to put makeup on the bruise that was forming.

"I don't come here for you to go easy on me." I put my fists up. "Again."

Hours later, I was sporting more than a few more wounds but had actually won a couple of rounds. I was getting better. I slung my bag over my shoulder and exited the club, waving goodbye to the desk receptionist on my way.

"Night, Nikki," I said.

"See you tomorrow morning. Put some ice on that."

I tossed my bag into my trunk and checked my backseat diligently before sliding into the driver's side. I considered driving straight home, but my adrenaline was high. A quick glance at the dash told me it was 10:38 PM.

I cranked up my radio and sped around town a few times before pulling into Penny's driveway. I knocked on her window and then went back to the front door to be let in.

"I'm rewatching Lucifer," she greeted. "Shower's free."

I tossed and turned all night, and not because I was sleeping on soaking wet hair and a shared bed. I had the dream again, the same one I'd been having for weeks now. 

We were in a plane, Penny and our families together. And then I'd turn to ask my mother a question, and she'd be gone from her chair, along with my father and the rest of our group. Before I could alert Penny, I would feel the plane start to shake and rock before plummeting straight down towards the earth. 

Each time I had the dream, I'd bolt upright in my sleep just as the plane was about to make contact with the ground, sweating worse than I did at the gym. 

That's about where I was now, with my palm pressed to my chest and strands of my hair sticking to my face. As the world fell back into place around me, I glanced down at Penny. She was still asleep with her nose pushed into her pillow, just like always. Not in a plane careening towards the ground. Not screaming. Sleeping.

I sighed and pushed my hair back from my forehead. Noticing the spot on my lip was still tender from practice, I slipped out of bed and padded into the bathroom. A bluish shadow kissed the corner of my mouth. That would take a few weeks to heal, minimum. 

I knew sleep would not find me again anytime soon, and a glance at my watch told me it was already 4 AM anyway. I gathered my things from Penny's room as silently as possible and jogged right back to the gym. I was going to need a seriously large coffee later.