The Hanging Tree (Zianourry)

Chapter Fifteen

I was sitting in class, dreaming over us all together.

We were all sitting on a bridge with nooses slung around our necks, the river rushing below us in a hurry as the storm above increased it's speed. We all held hands, the tears cascading down our faces silently before we all jumped over. Five snaps echoed through the air as we all hung their lifelessly. The wind rocking our bodies with it's strong gal force.

"NOO!" I screamed, jumping up from my nightmare. All eyes fell upon me as everyone's faces were mixed with confusion and annoyance, which totally contrasted mines of embarrassment.

"Mr. Tomlinson, detention." My teacher said simply. I could feel my ears turning pink as I sat back down at the piano, quite unsure how I dozed off to begin with.

Harry's green eyes were on me as he studied my face. "Another nightmare?" He asked me. I nodded slowly before gazing at the sheet music before me. "Louis you haven't been sleeping properly since these nightmares started." He hissed."Yet you won't tell anyone what you're dreaming about."

"Don't worry about it." I said, starting to play the music. Harry groaned but he followed my lead and started to play as well.

After all my classes were over I reported back into the music room and sat down, looking at my teacher who was too handsome for his own good. He was looking back at me, watching me intently for some unknown reason.

"What were you dreaming about?" He finally asked.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Your dream that woke you up. The one you interrupted our lesson to have."

"I don't think I have to tell you." I said.

"Do you want more detention?" He asked me.

I groaned, shaking my head in defeat. The teachers always played the more detention card, even in movies. "I was afraid that my mum perished in a fire." I lied.

His face scrunched up as he leaned in closer over his desk, acting as if he was a therapist and not a teacher. "Why would your mum perish in a fire?"

"Because she's quite scatter brained. Poor mum will start cooking and go off to watch the telly before falling asleep."

"Well when's the last time you ringed her up?" He asked. My face fell at the realization that I hadn't phoned my mother in more than three weeks. She probably thought I was dead by now. "By the look on your face, I'm guessing it's been a while. So maybe it's just guilt from not talking to her in a while?" He offered up.

"Yeah that might be it." I answered, though that wasn't even relevant to my dream. It just brought up another issue that I needed to get together.

After sitting there and listening to the clock for two hours I was released with a pass to the phone room. I shook off the weight that gathered on my shoulders from the boredom and started to walk away, heading straight to the phone room. I was alone once I dialed my mum up and worried that it might've been too late.

" 'ello?" My mum's soft voice came, telling me that she was asleep.

"Hi mum."

"Louis! Baby, where have you been?" She asked. I could hear the terror, mixed with relief in her voice.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I've been so busy." I lied, yet told the truth. "You know school, always giving me work and have me doing stuff."

"Are you alright though? Are you safe?" She asked. That was the most loaded question in the world.

"I'm safe." I told her. "Any updates on anything? Is everyone else safe?"

"Your sisters are fine." Her voice started echoing, and we both knew our suspicions were confirmed once we heard a click. This phone call was being monitored. "They took our neighbor, you know Mr. Williams. The girls told me that there's only been ten takings at the school. How about yours?"

"We're hitting close to forty." I heard my mum's gasp of horror and imagined her face freezing over. I answered too quickly, knowing good and hell well that my sisters had most likely lied to keep our mum from having a panic attack.

"Louis-"

"Don't worry mum, this school has more than a thousand boys. They won't be missed." I told her, hoping she caught the hint of it being a slim possibility that I will get caught.

"Yeah, except by their families. This culling is the worst thing to have happened since the second world war."

"It's okay mum, I'm sure it won't last much longer, and then we'll all be home again. You'll have all of your children together once more."

"I pray for that every night Louis."

"I know mum. I have to go now, but I wanted to check in with you."

"I love you Louis."

"I love you mum." I hung up the phone and was surprised to see Liam waiting by the door way. "You know you're awfully quiet for such a big guy." I joked.

"Because I don't make a lot of noise whenever I walk down the hall like you?" He asked with a ghost of a smile on his face. I laughed and punched his arm as we started walking back towards the dorms, making sure to stay on opposite sides of the hall.

"So that was your mum?" I nodded to his question because he was just trying to make small talk. "Is she okay?" Another nod. "Are you okay?" This one was a head shake. "We'll be alright." I looked at him and he nodded, mumbling to himself, "We have to be alright."

"Is that how you keep yourself sane?" I asked him. "By repeating that little mantra of yours?"

"You mean by lying to myself?"

"That too." I whispered. Liam nodded as he ran his hands through his short hair, smiling kindly at me as we made it to the hall with our rooms.

"Night." Liam whispered as he inserted the key into his door and walked in.

"Yeah." I said as I mirrored his action with my own door. I walked inside and smiled at the snoring animal that was Niall. I closed the door and locked it before walking over to his bed. He had his head hanging off the side of the bed with his left leg and arm hanging off as well, the cover nowhere near that half of his body. I straightened up my little Sleeping Beauty and tucked him in, kissing his forehead lightly before getting into my own bed.

I drifted off to sleep that night, dreaming another dreadful dream.

There were five little boys, obviously us from the different hair colors, plus I could see younger me. We were playing that silly little child's game, the lyrics to the song quite eerie if you thought about it.

Ring around the rosies

A pocket full of posies

Ashes, ashes, we all

Fall

Down

I watched in horror as they all fell down. Their skin was covered by lymph nodes which covered majority of their bodies, their eyes swollen and barely open. Their faces were covered in vomit and I couldn't help but shudder from the sight. I screamed at the dead boys, afraid of what to do with these five dead bodies. I stretched my hand out to reach them and then dead little me opened his eyes to look at me, blood pouring from his eyes. I jumped away from his outstretched hand.

"Louis, Louis, wake up." Niall said. I looked completely mad to Niall I figured as I tried to break free from his hold. He looked at me with a worried expression as he tried to figure out what was wrong with me.

"Nialler." I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him.

"Louis you're sweating." He said, holding his arms around me. "What was your dream about?"

"Don't worry about it Niall. It was nothing." I whispered. He pulled me in closer as the tears cascaded down my face and and he rocked me back and forth.

"Ssshh, don't worry Louis, everything is going to be alright." He whispered as he ran his hands through my hair. He held my face up to his neck and I relaxed from his comfortable scent. For just a while I felt at peace.