The Day

(18) Dawn of My Night

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Chapter Eighteen

The first thing I want to do is run to my room and cry. And as there is no one to stop me, I do just that. I barrel into a pillow and let out a scream of sorrow and eventually just let myself cry myself out. It takes a while, as I have a lot to cry about. Losing Brent. Losing my whole normal life. Losing my life.

Losing Alex…

I let my mind wander into the taboo memories of that night. I open the drawer deep in the back of my mind, and it is as if all hell broke loose. The pain unleashes on my brain, gnawing on my mind. But I refuse to let go. Instead, I force myself to hold onto them longer. The pain gets worse before it gets better. I was in a dark night before dawn broke. In the light of the relief, I feel almost giddy. It is a sweet bliss of mental morphine and I dwell on it for a little while, relishing in the beauty of peace. A sudden tiredness overcomes me and I yawn. But I can’t give in just yet…

***

“We find out who killed us,” I say.

“What?” Brent asks.

“You heard me. The best way to find out why we died is to find out who killed us,” I reply, sending him a sideways glance.

“That’s insanity!” Alex exclaims from the backseat.

“No it’s not,” I say bitterly, glaring at him through the rearview mirror.

“She’s right, guys,” Meg admits.

“How?” Brent asks and I see that he turns to Meg with wild eyes.

“The way you guys can get out of there is to find out why you got killed. Maybe it was for revenge. Maybe it was just a random killing. Either way, it’s definitely worth a shot,” she explains.

“But won’t it be dangerous?” Alex asks.

“As dangerous as it will ever be here,” I reply.

“I get what you’re saying Hailee,” Brent says and smiles a little.

“I knew you guys would,” I say to my three companions. “Hey, I just realized, we are like the Three Musketeers!”

“But there is four of us,” Meg says flatly.

“Exactly, so one of us needs to go away,” he clears his throat, “Hailee.”

My mouth drops and I reach my elbow back, hoping for a landing. I smile when I hear a crunch and I hear Alex cry in pain. “What was that for?”

“For being a jerk!” I exclaim.

“You’re a jerk,” Meg says.

“I know,” Alex admits proudly, seeming to forget about his face.

Brent and I chuckle at the reference to the song. “It seems forever ago that the song came out,” I reminisce.

“It was just three years ago,” Brent says.

“So? We were freshmen,” I reply.

“What song are you talking about?” Meg asks, her brows knit in confusion.

“Oh, that’s right. You guys could have never heard it…” I trail off, not knowing how to phrase the last part of my sentence.

“Because we were dead in the ground, go ahead and say it Hailee,” Alex jeers at the discomfort that is clear on my face.