Human

25.

            After school I entertained myself by binge watching some Netflix, and then doodling some more. By 8:30 the lack of sleep from last night finally caught up to me. I turned out my light and fell into a deep sleep.

"CADENCE!!" I heard a voice yell. I felt that I was laying in my bed, but I couldn't see anything. "Cadence!" The woman called again. "She can't hear me." The voice said to someone else. I weirdly could sense that she wasn't talking to me, there was someone else here. "She doesn't know you." The second person said. I took an involuntary gasp. I knew that voice by heart. "Stephen?" I asked. I heard muffled voices in response, then he broke back through the noise. "Cade, get up!" He yelled. I recognized the tense edge to his voice, something was wrong. "Why?" I asked him, I felt chills run across my body. "Cadence my darling, please. You're in trouble. They're coming, you must leave now!" I could feel that this was my mother speaking to me. "Who is coming? Please, what are you talking about?" I begged the darkness. "Cade, no time. Go! NOW!" Stephen shouted.

I shot upright in my bed. My body was wet with sweat and I was on high alert. I looked at my clock on my table and saw that it was only 9:15. I got out of bed and dressed quickly. I didn't know what I was going to do, but that dream had weirded me out bad. I couldn't just sit here. The weirdest thing was that I still felt like I could sense them here.

Once I was dressed I grabbed a bag, shoving a few things in it and walked out into the hallway. My hands were still shaking, and my heart was pounding in my chest. Footsteps coming from the stairs made me halt in my spot. "Mom? Dad?" I called, but there was no response. The footsteps just kept stomping closer and closer. The foot fall was too bulky and loud to be my mom, and it didn't sound like my father either.

"Here Cady, Cady" A menacing voice whispered.

My fear almost paralyzed me, but I fought it, turning back to my room and locking the door behind me. I threw my bag to the floor and pulled my blinds, jerking the old window open. I stuck my head out and tried to gage how far the jump would be. As I was surveying the area I could hear the person outside my door now. I could hear multiple voices, at least three different ones. "Come out to play." Someone said as they scratched my door. I looked across the street and saw a ladder leaning up against the side of the house. I hadn't ever tried to move something from so far away before, but it was either this or deal with the people at my door. I took one deep breath and then focused as hard as I could.

To my surprise it came much faster and easier than I had anticipated. I flung my leg over the window and carefully lowered myself to the ground. The second my feet touched I started running. Everything was a blur, but I was trying to regulate my thoughts.

I noticed as I passed by the front of my house that both my parent's cars were sitting in the driveway.

I kept running up the street towards town. I needed to be in a crowd, somewhere nobody could mess with me. I don't know what those people were planning, but it didn't seem good. I got to the bus station out of breath and with no money.

I told the man working that it was an emergency, but he wouldn't sell me a ticket. Thankfully the girl behind me, who I vaguely recognized as a lowerclassmen from school, tapped me on the shoulder and passed me the money. "You can pay me back at school." She said with a sweet smile. I thanked her profusely and hopped on the bus.

Not soon enough I arrived at Wes's front door.

I hadn't been certain where to go. I thought about Garrett's house, but I decided against it. I had even considered going to Carrianne, but I was afraid that she was too close for me to hide from the people after me.

I banged on Wes's door impatiently as I kept looking behind me and all around. I'm probably just being paranoid, but I'm not taking any chances after what happened at my house.

Wes came to the door with a confused look and his blue robe with white fluffy slippers. "Cadence?"

I pushed passed him and shut the door behind me. "Someone was after me!" I shouted.

Wes looked out the peephole and turned back to me. "Did they follow you here?"

"No, I ditched them at my house." I told him. "I need to see your phone, I left mine." He walked into the living room, where the TV was on some sitcom I haven't ever seen, and grabbed his phone off of the coffee table. He handed it to me and I dialed 9-1-1. I told the operator to send the police to my house. When they asked what was wrong, I just said it was a domestic disturbance. I don't know if those people who were after me would do anything to my parents, but their cars being there freaks me out. There is no way they didn't hear or see those people. I gave the police my number to call me back after they'd left my residence.

"What's going on, Cadence? Did you see someone?" Wes asked me urgently.

I ran my hands through my hair and tried to steady my erratic breathing. "I didn't see them, I heard them. There were a few of them, men I think. They were in my house, Wes." I told him in a rush.

"How do you know they were after you?"

"They were calling my name and followed me to my room. They were toying with me, it was so scary."

Wes pulled me into an uncomfortable hug. "You're alright now." He said with a pat on my back then released me. "How did they get into your home? What about your parents?"

I sat down on the couch. "Well, I was sleeping and I had this dream of my mom and brother telling me someone was coming and that I needed to wake up and leave. When I got up I tried to leave the house but I heard them downstairs and coming for me. I had to go out my bedroom window and run to the bus stop." I explained. "My parent's cars were there, but I don't know where they were."

Wes focused his eyes and I could tell he was reading me, trying to see it and hear it the way I had. "That's incredible." He mused.

I gave him a look. "Incredible is not the word I would use to describe what just happened. Batballs crazy would be more like it."

"I don't mean the men after you, I mean..." He paused. "You weren't dreaming Cadence." He said dramatically. "Well, you were, but hearing your mom and Stephen was not fake or your imagination. You have the gift."

I looked at him with my eyes wide. "The gift?" I prompted him.

"You can hear them. The people who have passed over to the next world. You can hear them."

"I've never done that before." I said dismissing what he was saying. "I seriously think I was just dreaming."

"No, Cadence." He said. "They broke into your subconscious and warned you. That was really your mother and brother. They probably saved your life, dear."

I burst into tears at the thought.