Up in Smoke

1.1

It's been 2 months since the boys returned from war. Arthur found his voice again, John still continues to be his warm self, and Tommy is colder and more closed off. It might take him more time to return back to as much normalcy as he could. One thing that hasn't changed is our closeness. I don't think anything could come between that.

I was halfway through my new book when footsteps thudded up the stairs. There was a small knock on my door before it swung open. Tommy peeked his head into my room.

"I'm going to do a ritual tomorrow. Would you like to come with me?"

"You know Arthur is not going to be happy about that. I don't know if it's worth getting yelled at by him."

"It'll bring in more money."

"Or trouble."

"It means you'll get to ride Autumn." Autumn is the horse that I've had since I was 5.

She lives in my Uncle Charlie's metal yard. She has a nice little stall towards the back of the yard. His best friend/employee, Curly, takes care of her for me. He is the best horse person we've ever known. When you first meet Curly, it's hard not to notice his slowness. We think he might have been kicked in the head by a horse when he was younger.

"I'll go," I glanced up at him over my book. He smiled as he closed the door. I read a few more chapters of my book before my eyes grew heavy. I turned off my bedside lamp and set the alarm clock. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I walked down the dirty streets of Birmingham. There was talking and fires booming.

It was as if it was a normal day. Yet something about it wasn't. As I walked further down the street, I stumbled across a giant crowd of people. It was unusual for a swarm to be directly in the street. As I walked through the crowd, the talking became muffled. The faces blurred. I turned on my heels as I looked at everyone around me.

The panic set in. Something wasn't right. "There she is," I clearly heard from behind me. A tall slender man stood pointing at me. Several men came out from behind him. They all started sprinting towards me. I dug my heels into the ground as I took off. I pushed my way through the laughing mingling crowd.

It seemed as if every second I ran more people showed up. It was never-ending. I briefly looked behind me to see the group of men still hot on my heels. There was nowhere for me to hide. It was just me, running for my life from men I didn't even know. My legs were on fire as well as my lungs. I could feel the sweat building up on my forehead.

How long had I been running? I could start to feel my legs numb underneath me. I needed to keep going. I couldn't stop now. "Arthur, Tommy, John!" I screamed hoping my brothers would hear me. I screamed over and over again until my throat burned.

I heard Tommy's voice call back to me. The sea of people parted. Tommy stood there in front of me with a smile on his face. I turned back and sure enough, the men were still there. When I turned back to look at Tommy, he was further away. I would get closer to him only to have him become further. I tripped over my own 2 feet which sent me to the wet hard ground.

I shot up in my bed covered in sweat and tears. The door practically flew off the hinges. Tommy rushed to the side of my bed. I looked into his ocean blue eyes which were full of concern. He pulled me into his warm chest. He cooed as he held me.

"I'm here, Anna. It's ok, it's just a dream. They aren't going to hurt you."

"I-I was running from a pack of men. I couldn't see who they were. I saw you in the crowd but every time I got close, y-you ended up further and further away."

"I'll always be there to save you."

"Promise?"

"I promise. Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?"