Chapter Ten
The sounds around me were getting heavy and I tried to block it out because I was too scared to see where I was. I quickly opened both eyes and lifted myself off the cold gymnasium floor. I stood up and looked around the dark gym of my high school to see if I was alone. When my eyes made the trip to the bleachers, I saw a guy sitting at the top who stood up and began to descend to the center of the gym. I stood there wondering if I should have run or attacked, but he didn't even notice I was there as he swung around the bleachers to the exit doors. I slowly chased after him to see where he was going as we were moving through the dark halls of the building. When I made a turn down the entrance hallway, he vanished into one of the classrooms. I tried to listen for sounds as I passed many of the doors which glancing through the windows, seemed to be nothing but darkness.
I was about to give up searching when I heard a loud scream coming from up a set of stairs that seemed to go endlessly. I hiked up them till I reached the top where there was a door wide open with darkness. I cautiously entered the room as my hand followed the walls to feel my way for the screams and my hand retreated in front of me as a girl came collapsing into my arms. She and I fell to the floor and a small bit of light was seaping through a crack in the wall. She pushed herself off my chest to look me in the eye and all the light came pouring in and the guy was gone.
When the light dimmed and everything around me was visible, she stood up and I did too to see who she was. I was with Hannah.
"Evan?" she questioned with confusion, "How did you get here? This is my dream."
"You tell me," I answered as if I had no clue how I arrived in her mind, "This is your dream. Who was that guy you were running from?"
She paused and walked past me as we headed downstairs. I stopped her and she looked at me with anger and fright in her eyes.
"It was Joey," she responded back with hesitation. I stood there shocked at the dream's form. She made Joey seem as though he was trying to hurt her.
"I don't understand...you're afraid of Joey? He's your boyfriend," I stated moving my head in a manner of making sense.
She turned towards the school exit and continued to proceed to the parking lot. I followed her out to her car and she turned back to me to stop me. Her hand landed on my chest and she lingered there for a minute and puckered her lips while removing her hand.
"I don't know how you got in my dream Evan, but what's happening here is none of your business," she said opening her car door. I slammed it shut and stepped in front of her grabbing her keys from her hand.
"Hannah," I began staring into her eyes, "This is my business. What did Joey do?"
Hannah burst into tears and I grabbed her quickly and forced her into a tight trap in my arms. She continued to cry in my arms and I pulled her away to look at her as she composed herself to explain what Joey had already done.
She wiped her eyes with one hand moving from the left to the right, then took a deep breath, "Joey...he hurt me. I mean...really hurt me."
I paused for a moment to realize Joey physically hurt Hannah. He tried to rape her. She explained that ever since Joey tried to force himself on her she was having nightmares every night that he would come back for her and try it again.
I boiled with fury and pulled Hannah in for another hug and then grabbed her hand to explain what she had to do, "Hannah, I know this is hard, but the only way to make it out of this nightmare alive is to conquer your fear. That's why I'm here. I'm here to help you."
She hurriedly ran her eyes over mine and nodded rapidly gulping back a set of tears. I grabbed her hand and we began to run into the school growing pitch black again on the way up the stairs. I stood in the entrance hallway and looked both ways and then stood in front of Hannah.
"This darkness is all you Hannah," I explained shaking her a bit, "We need light and your fear is creating darkness. What he did to you put you in a dark place and I imagine it's painful. But you also don't deserve to live a life in fear and a life in darkness. Come out into the light Hannah."
She looked into my eyes and then closed hers with a deep breath and dead silence came over the school. I slowly circled in station to see light pouring in from every direction. The school turned into day and I returned to Hannah as she opened her eyes and smiled at me. Suddenly, the school bell rang and an influx of students came running out of rooms. I grabbed Hannah's hand and pulled her upstairs to the history room. She locked the door behind us and I scurried around the desks.
"Why did you do that?" I asked her holding my hands up.
She walked over to me and glared at me and shouted, "Hey, you were the one who told me to come out of the darkness. I brought light in and assumed it would be easier to start school."
I shook my head and walked back over to the door. I noticed the clearing and stepped into the hallway closing the door behind me. I motioned for Hannah to wait in the room as she nodded in approval. I began to walk back downstairs as I saw a darkness start to pour its way back into the school. I widened my eyes and ran back to the history room where the door was locked and Hannah wasn't in there. I started to fly through the halls checking rooms that continued to grow dark and when I reached the end of the hallway, a loud boom made the ground rumble and I fell to the ground. Rubble started to fall from the school as I ran for the exits. I was tripping over pieces of debris and gunfire soon followed the loud boom. I was confused about Hannah's nightmare and why there was gunfire and explosions, but I wasn't in Hannah's nightmare anymore.
"Evan!!!" Car continued to yell as he was shaking my body. I opened my eyes and saw the cabin falling a part. I looked over into the lab where Mark and Asha were tucked behind a corner with the data collected in a bag. Asha kept motioning me and Car to head out the back door with them. I rolled off the couch as Car and I crouched below the windows moving to the back door. The gunfire and the explosions were happening while I was in the dream.
The agents found where we were located and now the Cedar Retreat was being destroyed. All three of us ran towards the helicopter, but were stopped by the agents guarding the area. We started scattering through the woods in the back as agents pursued all four of us. Mark and Asha separated to the west of the woods as Car and I headed east. The gunfire continued as we tried to lose the agents, but Car and I were pinned down behind a fallen tree. We leaned up against it and stared at each other hoping one or the other would have a solution.
Out of nowhere, a chopper lowered itself in an open area in front of us that Mark and Asha were sitting in. Asha jumped out and came running for us as we stood up and took off towards her. We all dove into the chopper that quickly rose off the ground and flew away. The agents below us came out from the woods continuously firing bullets at the chopper. As soon as we were in the clear, I moved up to the front of the chopper to talk to the stranger piloting the flight.
"Who are you?" I questioned looking at an old gray haired man built like a twenty year old.
"Evan...just relax we will be in a safe place soon," he assured me. I was still not convinced he could be trusted so once again I interrogated.
"You didn't answer me. I asked you a question," I furiously stated.
"You better watch your tone young man I just saved you and your friends lives. I think I deserve a little appreciation," he requested talking through a toothpick. I shook my head and looked back at Mark who was bleeding. I rushed back there pulling out an emergency kit sitting on a shelf in the chopper. Asha pulled his shirt a part and he yelped in pain as I poured the bottle of alcohol on the wound.
"We're good it's just a graze. I don't see a bullet, " Asha pointed out as I nodded in confirmation.
I continued to tend to his graze and handed a gauze to Asha for her to apply pressure with. I looked up at Car who was leaning Mark up with his arms. I turned back to the pilot and sat in the passenger seat.
"Where are you taking us? My friend was shot and he needs help," I explained as he continued to fly with ignorance.
"I can help your friend when we get there. In case you haven't noticed, you kids are fugitives now and taking you to a medical facility seems like a really contradicting idea," he pointed out.
"You're really not going to tell me who you are? Or why you helped us? How do I know I can trust you?" I asked.
"Because Evan...," he stopped and looked over at me, "I'm your grandfather."
