I am Number Twelve

6

Zeda's Point Of Veiw

6

I glance at the clock, 1 am. Joy. I slowly pull out a chair at the table, and sit down, folding through all the papers cluttering the top. Underlined, written on a post-it note, are the three words, Grove Hill, ALABAMA scrawled neatly in Lola's perfectly cynical, flawless handwriting. I don't bother look through the other pages. I'm far too tired. The events of today have been taxing on my health. The only time I feel good is when I'm playing with fire.

I find myself leaning on my hands, my eye lids drooping. Just a second, I tell myself. And I'm off, into the strange oblivion that is my very own sub-conscious.

Images flash before my eyes. Echoing for several seconds more. Flames, the fire place in my bed room. The furnace in the basement. The boy I saw today.

The most prominent, Aquillia, with its soft purple sky, its two suns. Its unique animals. These aren't my memories though, not my pictures. 

A weird vision of a black spiral, with a line.

I see the fire place in my room again. My chest. The furnace. The furnace. The furnace.

The furnace! It makes perfect sense! The heart of the house is the furnace, where the flames are! I glance at the clock. 4 am. 

My heart beats, Pounding in my ears. I stand up, and tip-toe to the basement stairs, wanting to run, but not taking the risk. Over the years, I've learnt exactly how to be careful and today, right now, is no exception

I open the creaky basement door. I'm all clear until the last half a meter or so, when a loud screech erupts from the hinges. I cringe.

And there is the most important noise. Rustling bed sheets. Crap.

Lola is getting out of bed. I stay still. I stay very, very still. The rustling stops, and I expect to hear the padding of pedicured feet down the hallway, but all I hear is snoring, my heart, and my unsettled breathing.

I carry on past the door, and down the steps. I flick on the light and close the door. The furnace never worked. Jack never tried to fix it, and when Lola did, All she did was come up empty, and extremely frustrated. Served the bitch right.

As I sneak down the steps and across the floor,  my heat races, my hands shake in anticipation. I finally make it to the furnace, the pieces of the puzzle finally in place. I open the latched door and stick my hand up into the flu. I feel around and when I find a hard metal surface blocking my hand from going further into the flu, I know I've found it.

I feel around some more, and find a padlock, a similar one, well it feels like it, to my chest's, I place my palm on it and I feel it snap open. The metal folds away and I feel a wooden surface, My chest. I then shove both hands in the furnace and pull it out. I hear something soft fall on the ground. It's probably just some paper, protecting the chest, so I don't bother looking at what it is.

Finally, covered in ash, I have obtained my chest, thanks to a stupid dream.  Three great feats today, a Legacy, an Aquillian chest and we're finally moving away from this shit hole.

I find myself in my next conscious moment, in my bedroom, closing the door. I don't remember walking back up here. I glance at the alarm clock 4:20 am. I wipe the dust and ash off the chest and take in the intricate carvings. Aquillian carvings.

Then to my utter dismay, I realize that I have to hide it, it's not safe to open, with it nearly being 5:00, Lola will be up soon and it is not worth the risk. I stash it in the secret mirror hole, and flop down on my bed, fatigue taking over.