The Traitor

Chapter Thirteen: Déjà vu

"Teya. Teya, wake up." Lauren's voice echoed through my head as I lay there, half-asleep. "Teya?"

"What?" I grumbled as I sat up, trying to remember where I was. Lauren was in front of me, holding a plate of food. I glanced around at my surroundings, still drowsy from sleep. I was lying on my bed, still fully clothed; even my shoes were still on.

I sat up and rubbed my head. "Where am I?" I asked.

Lauren looked confused. "What do you mean? You're in your room, silly."

"What? Wait, what happened? What time is it?" I asked, still confused. How could I be in my room? Did Thomas finally agree to let me go?

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Get up, it's almost 11:30. You need to go meet Jasper, remember?" she replied, setting the plate of food down on my bedside table and pulling me up from the bed.

I looked at her utterly dumbfounded. "Jasper?"

"Yes. You guys are sneaking out right? Honestly, Teya, you fall asleep for ten minutes before you're suppose to leave and you suddenly forget everything." She quickly grabbed my jacket from where it hung on a hook next to my desk and handed it to me, pushing me out the door. "Teya!" she snapped.

I snapped out of my daze. "What?" I asked.

She sighed. "Teya, remember? You told me you were meeting Jasper at the bench by the pond. You said he's showing you around, remember?" She elbowed me and winked, a huge teasing smile spreading across her face.

Suddenly, it hit me. It was all a dream. Everything, sneaking out, breaking into the prison, finding Brandon- Wait, if it was all a dream, then that means Brandon's okay! I thought. I almost jumped for joy.

"Oh yeah, of course!" I replied, giving Lauren a quick hug before racing down the hall. I felt like I was flying, weightless as I realized all my problems were gone. Thank goodness! I couldn't believe everything was a dream! And now I was about to meet Jasper! My heart skipped a beat as I thought about him, waiting by the bench next to the pond for me!

I quickly rode the elevator down to the Lobby and exited the doors that lead to the courtyard. I practically danced over to the bench, where I sat down and waited, barely able to contain my excitement and relief. I stared down at the pond as small frogs and bugs created ripples on the surface, which spread like wildfire to the outer edges, bouncing off lily pads that sat in the way. My mind began to wander and I started to think about Jasper, and I sighed in utter relief.

"Teya?"

I recognized Jasper's low voice and turned to see him standing a few feet away from the bench, his eyes like crystals, sparkling in the moonlight.

"Jasper," I greeted as I stood to meet him. I noticed he had a strange look on his face, almost distant, as if his mind were on a completely different planet.

"Jasper? Are you okay?" I asked, walking over and taking his hand. But he ripped his hand from mine and took a step back, deeper into the darkness. "Jasper, what's wrong?"

"Teya, I'm sorry," his voice was almost robotic, trance-like.

I took another step toward him. "What do you mean? Why are you sorry?" I asked.

Suddenly, from the darkness, Thomas and two Prison guards emerged, and Jasper stepped out from between them and where I was standing.

"Jasper, what's going on?" I asked as the men and Mr. Thomas move closer to me.

"Teya's the one who bombed the train. She told me so herself. Lock her up!" Jasper yelled at the guards. I stumbled back, tripping over a rock and falling onto the ground.