Mind Games.

chapter 37: P.O.V.'s.

Have you ever been tranquilized? It isn't a great feeling when you wake up. You feel groggy and somewhat sleepy.
Which is exactly what I felt when I woke up. But unfortunately for me, I couldn't look out a window to confirm that I was asleep. Because there were no windows to look out. I was laying flat on my back against a hard surface. But I found myself in a small dark space. Now, I only have three fears in this world, 1; small spaces. 2; the dark, and 3; being buried alive. So far, two of them were present.
Ok, deep breaths, Alice. Deep breaths... But all I could hear was my heart beating in my ear. My body was coated in sweat.
Where am I...
But then I heard a noise. Shuck, shuck, shuck...
Like someone was shoveling dirt on top of my space. Oh hell no!
"Help!" I screamed. But all I heard in response were more shoveling. Oh no, yell louder!
"Help, please!" Shuck, shuck, shuck. This is bad. This is very very bad. Then, the walls around me got smaller.
"HELP ME!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Shuck, shuck, shuck.
I don't know if it was the darkness of the space. Or if it was the thought of being buried alive. Or if it was the stress of Pedro wanting money, my unsure opinion of my relationship with Simon, the ground murals, or my life up to this point in general. But whatever the situation, my heart couldn't take it any longer.
At first, it felt like I couldn't breathe. Then, my chest felt like a bomb inside it was going to explode, and then, everything in my body simply shut off. And that's when I lost consciousness.

(Connor's P.O.V. about an hour earlier.:)

It was time. Time for sweet, glorious revenge on Alice. My friends Joe and Tyler were ready to help me, dressed head to toe in white so we would blend into the snow. Play seductress with me, huh? This should teach you who's boss.
She's going to regret what happened at the hotel soon. We all started out to the building where most of the veterinary students went for their studies. Joe set a ladder up against the building just underneath the window that led to their practice lab. It's where they practiced taking blood samples and the correct amount of tranquilizer to use. How did I know this? Because I have friends in different places, which is the way I like it.
Joe gave us the thumbs up, signaling that the coast was clear. Tyler stayed on the ground while I climbed up to the lab. It was all white tile with clean equipment and counters. Very healthy looking. It should be healthy looking, stupid. Whatever.
Joe inserted a needle into a jar of horse tranquilizer.
"A full dose would kill her, so you're only going to need about 1 fourth of it full."
"Why are you telling me this? You're already extracting it." I asked him, slightly annoyed. He turned to me and shrugged.
"I don't know. This all seems like some kingsman type stuff."
"Ok, eggsey, but we need to focus. C'mon!" I ushered him out onto the ladder. After we were all on the ground, we started towards the psychology building, where we saw her go in about ten minutes ago. We all came to the little window that looked inside of Mr. Marsh's office and crouched down. I peeked over the top to see if she was in there.
Sure enough, there she was, looking down at her hands. Her face looked worried, like she had been contemplating something for a while...
What's wrong? Is she ok-
Why should you care!? She embarrassed you in front of everybody....
But then I saw Mr. Marsh make a move to stand up. But instead, he reached over and took her hands in his.
It should be me comforting her...
Shut up! Wait a minute....
Then it clicked in my head, and I felt my face turning red with my anger inside.
She kissed him!? This pompous asshole!? And she liked it? How? Why, I can treat her so much better than him...
Stop. Why do I care all of a sudden? Keep your eyes on the prize. She embarrassed you, and now she has to face the consequences....
"Connor?" Joe shook me by the shoulder. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to him.
"Huh?"
"She's leaving. Let's go." Tyler and him got up. Time for some payback.
We all stood at the corner of the building, just out of view and waited for her to come out. She appeared after about 5 minutes, wearing a black coat. We followed her as she neared her dorm room. Then, she stopped all of a sudden.
"She's spotted us!" Tyler whispered, and he tackled Joe and I to the ground. The snow cushioned our fall, but it got in my face. Then, I saw Alice walking in the opposite direction of us. This is your chance...
"Give me the needle, Joe." I instructed him. He reached into his back pocket and set it in my hand. I scrambled to my feet and speed walked up behind her. Just as I started to come up behind her, she started bending over. This is weird.
But I had to move quick. So I quickly stuck the needle in her neck and whispered the only thing that seemed right,
"Sweet dreams, Alice." Then, she fell over to the side. After she was on the ground, Joe and Tyler made their way over.
"C'mon, we have to get her outta here," Tyler said. I nodded, but then saw an impression in the snow. Black paint.
It was a picture of a girl who seemed vaguely familiar...but I couldn't pin point her name. Oh well.
We quickly hoisted her up and ran back to the frat house with her. After we snuck inside past the usual crowd of drunken people, we took her to the basement and set her laying on her back on a foldable table.
"Ok, where's the box?"
"Right here," Joe handed me the big refrigerator box we had got from Tyler's parents. I smiled to myself and thought, boy, is she in for a surprise. Joe and Tyler held her up while I opened the box from the bottom and set it on the table. They slipped her inside. After we poked a few holes in the bottom, we taped it shut and waited for her to wake up.
It took about twenty minutes until we heard her make a noise.
"Ugh..." Tyler handed me a flower pot filled with soil and a small garden shovel for my hand. Then, Joe and Tyler stood on either side of the box, Joe holding a video camera that we would use later. When he signaled me that it was recording, I took a scoop from the pot and let the soil fall onto the top of the box. Then, we heard her yell,
"Help!" Ha, hope you enjoyed your little prank. I tried not to snicker as I let a few more shovels full land onto the box. Then she yelled louder,
"Help, please!" But I just put more on the top. Then, Joe and Tyler started slightly pushing on the sides, making her space smaller.
"HELP ME!!!" She screamed. Joe let out a small chuckle and I smirked at our plan. This is going to be an awesome video...but then she didn't scream anymore. I shoveled some more dirt on the top and waited; nothing.
Tyler and Joe frowned and mouthed to me,
"Why isn't she yelling?" I shrugged.
"She's probably faking it, let's give it a few minutes." I shoveled more on top. Five minutes went by. She didn't make a sound. Tyler stepped back from the box.
"Maybe we should let her out, dude." He looked at me for permission while Joe was still recording. I knitted my eyebrows together in thought.
Something isn't quite right here...
"Ok, let's get her out." I said. Tyler nodded and used his box cutter to open the tape at the bottom. I smirked and said,
"There you go, Alice. How was that for you-" but when he opened the box, she didn't make a move to get out. Instead, she just laid there, unmoving. I looked up at Joe and Tyler, who only stared back at me, waiting for the next move. I licked my top lip and laughed nervously.
"Ha, very funny, Alice. C'mon!" I went to the left side of the box and waited for Joe to help me. He took the hint and got on the right side, and we tipped the box so she slid out. But when she did, she wasn't standing. Her body hit the ground like wet sand. That's when we all started to panic.
"Holy shit, is she dead!?!" Tyler exclaimed. Joe's eyes widened as he bent down next to her and stuck two fingers behind her ears to check her pulse. Then, he shook is head from side to side.
"S-she doesn't have a pulse." He looked back up at me. I felt my heart plummeting at a rapid rate. No, she can't die...
"Call an ambulance!" I instructed him, pushing him to the side. He got up, almost in a dazed state, and dialed 911. I bent down on my knees beside her and started CPR. I had learned it during primary school in Ireland, so I set my hands in the middle of her chest and started pressing down.
"1...2...3...4...5," I put my lips to her soft, heavenly ones that I had kissed before and blew air into her throat as I tilted her head back and plugged her nose. Then I checked her pulse. Still nothing. 1...2...3...4...5! I did it again, nothing.
By now I could hear the ambulance siren coming closer to the building. But I didn't quit the CPR. I was desperate for any signs of life from her. Any hint of a pulse. 1..2...3...4...5! Again. This time, I felt a tiny beat when I checked the pulse but she was still unconscious.
Just then, two paramedics arrived with a stretcher. After they secured her onto it, the short one with a scruffy black beard turned to me and asked,
"What happened?"
"I-I don't know. We were just pulling a prank and she-"
"Get in the ambulance and explain everything on the way there." He ordered me. I numbly followed next to Alice, lying almost dead in the stretcher. After we hoisted her into the ambulance, they slipped an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth and shut the doors. I sat on the benches of the ambulance, listening to the questions.
"What's her name?"
"Alice Chain. She's from New Jersey."
"Uh huh, parents?"
"I don't know," I shrugged and looked back at him. He held out her arm and slipped an IV into it.
"What's your relationship with her?" He asked. I stared at her for a few minutes. Her hair was slightly mussed, like she just laid down, but then had to get up for something. Her eyes were peaceful. Oh god, what have I done?
"Friends." The man nodded and coughed into his fist.
"Has she taken any drugs in the past 24 hours?"
"We tranquilized her for the prank." I said. The guy looked at me as if to say, 'really?'
"What's the specific tranquilizer?"
"I don't know, but they use it for horses." Was my response. He nodded and then asked,
"What happened then?"
"We tried scaring her by pretending to bury her, but the next thing we new, she didn't have a pulse." I explained. I don't know if I did this consciously, or just out of impulse...but I couldn't help but reach over and hold her hand. It was light. The weight of it felt good to me.
As I stared at her, I closed my eyes and thought,
'God, do what you want with me. Send me to jail, hell, or even into an endless nothingness. Just....please, help her. Don't let her die...
The ambulance came to an abrupt stop at the ER doors. The two paramedics opened the door and slipped Alice out. Once we came inside, they transferred her to a gourney and wheeled her off. I tried to follow, but they pushed me away and told me to go to the waiting room. I sighed and ran my left hand through my hair.
It's amazing how culturally diverse this country is, and yet, you'll see everyone in the waiting room. Despite their color, or the names they call god by. I chose to sit in a corner by myself. I set my face into my hands. What's wrong with me?
"Connor Stone?" I heard a deep, menacing voice ask. Is this the devil? But when I looked up, I saw two men in black uniforms.
"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" The one on the right smiled behind his sunglasses and said to me,
"My name is Oliver Perez. This is my partner, Terence. Our boss would like to have a word with you, if you don't mind." He took a step closer, not smiling now. I frowned, looked in between them and asked,
"What's this about?" They looked at each other and said,
"You'll just have to see." The big man, Terence, helped me to my feet. Then, we got into a black car that was waiting outside, and we took off.

_______________________________________

Hope you liked it, enjoy the next one, bye! (: