Waves

Hospital

Things are changing, and not for the better. I don't know how to stop it this time. Jemma's become closed off, and hardly ever smiles anymore. John always seems to be distracted. James looks confused and angry all of the time. Michael looks like he's trying to keep going, and only half succeeding. Another week has passed after the night, the night when I couldn't breathe. I haven't told anyone, and I don't think they'd believe me even if I did.

Even sucked into my thoughts like I am it isn't hard to notice the lights flickering. Right now I'm home alone, and I think I sort of prefer it that way. It's been getting too hard trying to hold all of us together like normal. Glancing up at my bedroom light I watch it go off completely, and looking out into the hallway I see there's no other lights on. A sense that something isn't right starts to crawl it's way through my body leaving icy cold trails of uncertainty.

Slowly standing up from my window seat I slowly walk out into the hallway and head for the stairs. Hearing someone running behind me I quickly turn around, only to find no one. Hearing something move downstairs I slowly turn back around my blood tingling, but again there's no one. A laugh echoes throughout the entire house, and I finally get it. Whoever this is, they think it's a game. Cat and mouse. Predator and prey. Right now they're hunting me, enjoying seeing me squirm. My blood boils and adrenaline courses through me. I won't let anyone no matter who it is scare me out of my own home. This is one of the last constant things we have left. I'm not going to let anyone or anything take it away from us.

Breathing in deep through my nose, squaring my shoulders, and straightening my spine I say in a crisp, determined voice,

"Whoever you are get out of my house right now. You aren't welcome here. And I'm not leaving anytime soon."

Again laughter encases everything, and it's then that I finally realize that I know that laugh. The person attached to it has been stalking me. All the adrenaline that was coursing through me is sucked out in an instant, leaving me breathless and terrified. Now what do I do? I don't know how to fight this guy, I don't know how to make him leave, how to get him to leave me alone. Faking confidence I say,

"Get out, and get out now! I don't care who you are, I am not and never will play this stupid game with you! You aren't welcome here, so like I said before GET OUT!"

Feeling cold arms like a cage encircle me I stop breathing.

"Poor, poor Lilly. You should know by now it's not that easy. For now though I will leave you. I hope you'll think of me later."

With those last words breathed into my ear, the arms are gone and the lights come back on. Letting out a shaky breath I try to compose myself, but it's harder than you'd think. Thinking of those last cryptic words a sense of dread fills me, and I try to remember how to breathe.

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I'm not sure what to think anymore. It used to be so easy. Get Michael to smile here, slip in a laugh from everyone there, a few comforting words and constant support. Everything would go back to normal, or as normal as we could ever get back to. Now everything has changed, and all the things I thought I knew are being thrown out the window. The only reason I'm thinking these things right now is because I'm having that feeling. You know the one. The one where you know that something is wrong, that someone you love is in danger or something. That feeling that something just isn't right and you could fix it if you only knew what it was, except that you don't know.

Yep, that's exactly the feeling I have right now. In fact I've had it all day and I can't seem to shake it. I don't know whether to throw it away, or give in to it and worry my mind off until I find out what went wrong. To be fair this whole day has just seemed off to me. Almost like the world itself is waiting for the climax of some big secret, and the rest of us don't even have a clue. I haven't seen James all day, but it's almost as if I could feel him. Like somehow I knew that he was okay. It sounds weird even to my own ears.