Awakening

Chapter 4 - Edited

Premonitions?

There was a crashing sound and everything around Caliope was shaking. She crouched down on the sidewalk and felt how some hard fabric and pieces of wood landed on her back. Kneeling down she curled into a fetal position. Everywhere, Caliope heard loud screams and cries.

She felt someone pulling her by her arm but couldn't move. Only a few seconds ago she was returning to the restaurant to look back for her friend when, just a few meters before the entrance, the building trembled and flames burst from inside.

The sirens from the police and fire department woke her from her trance. She opened her eyes and looked up, there was fire still coming out from the windows and doors. "A bomb! It was a bomb!" she heard someone scream to the cops.

"Lady, are you ok? Are you hurt?" another person was asking to someone; no, not someone, her. She turned her head and a policeman was holding her by her shoulders and was asking if she was hurt. Was she hurt? She started to look down at herself.

"No. I am ok. I don't feel any pain; I wasn't in there." She paused as she brushed some dust off. "But my friend! She was there! I need to find her!"

"No Lady! Please! Let us do our job! There are some firemen inside as we speak, please come this way; we need to put you in a safer place."

Caliope kept staring into the building as the Policeman moved her behind the safety tape. She heard an ambulance pulling behind another one stationed close to her. Vanessa was all she could think of. "Caliope! You are safe!" she heard a familiar voice scream, turned her head to look around and saw Miss Clark stepping out of her car and running towards her, panic in her eyes as she observed the devastation of the restaurant. As soon as she got to her, Miss Clark held Caliope in her arms tightly as if she was a lost child. Caliope started crying.

"We heard a really loud explosion and we had to turn back, when I saw the fire I got so scared! Are you ok?"

There it was, that question again 'are you ok?' Her friend was the one caught inside and she needed to look for her.

"I..." she hesitated at first. "I am ok. I wasn't there yet when it happened. But my friend." She turned towards the flaming building. "I don't know where she is!"

"Let me talk to the police, what is your friend's name? How does she look like?"

Miss Clark was leading Caliope gently to her car, opening the door and inviting her in.

"She is tall and brunette, brown eyes, she had a green suit on. Her name is Vanessa Crysser."

"Stay here, I will talk to the police."

She sat on the car and hugged herself tightly, closing her eyes. A few seconds passed when she realized she was not alone. Opening her eyes she watched Amra on the opposite side. He wasn't looking at her, but he was quiet and tense. His presence was so strong, so intense; even in shock she could still feel him.

"Amra." She whispered almost to herself.

"You are ok now."

Caliope's eyes widened and she felt how those words struck her. He said something similar before; or perhaps something close to a warning. Did he said he hoped she was ok? Did he knew this was going to happen? Was he trying to warn her?

"Did you know what was going to happen there?"

Silence. Amra did not move or speak. Caliope felt nervous and upset, if he knew, why didn't he warn her? Miss Clark told her he was mentally ill, and perhaps that is why he couldn't warn her, he didn't know how to. She suddenly realized she didn't know much about Amra's real mental state. Did he knew this was going to happen? How he could possibly know? She was becoming delusional; the shock was making her see things unclearly. She shook her head to remove that idea or at least set it aside for now. Miss Clark opened the door and came inside. She was a little tense but not worried. Pushing a little button the driver's window opened.

"To the Epperson Memorial Hospital please."

"Yes Madam."

"Your friend was not badly injured but she was unconscious and they took her there. We are going to look for her now, ok?"

"Thank you Miss Clark."

"It is ok, please calm down, have a glass of water, we will be there soon and you can check on your friend."

They drove to the hospital and once there Caliope, now much more relaxed, asked for her friend. The nurse took her to a private room, where her friend was getting some stitches. With relief she hugged her tightly and felt as if she could finally breathe again.