RAPTURE ! ( it )

seven.

RAPTURE !

007. ' you'll float too '

THAT NIGHT

THE RED GLOW OF HER ALARM CLOCK reflected back on her face as she stared at the digital numbers: 10:34 PM. It was another night where sleep was the farthest from her reach. But, a difference from all the other nights she had been troubled, was that the foreboding feeling of being scrutinized resided over her.

The boys had departed her home at five-thirty, only mere minutes before her parents' station wagons pulled into their driveway. And that evening during dinner, Amelia had rummaged around at her steaming food as her parents poked and prodded at her about questions regarding her day.

"What did you do all day?" Oh, nothing too much, I only ventured to the barrens to search for Bill's missing younger brother.

"Did you go into town at all, honey?" Of course, I snatched some medical supplies from the pharmacy to tend to a boy who had an 'H' carved in his stomach.

"Did you go to any of your friends' house?" No, actually, all of them were in this house all at once without your knowledge.

And once they had realized they were getting concise responses from their outlandish daughter, they halted with their countless inquiries and Amelia hastily pardoned herself. Now, for the previous two hours, the girl had been laying on her back and staring at the creme colored ceiling, the dim light of her reading lamp providing companionship.

The light patter of rain resounded against her windows and swirled in the deafening silence that consumed her bedroom.

"Lia...oh....Lia...."

The abrupt voice caused her eyes to spiral in size and glance away from the alarm clock. It reminded her one of an animated character that would be featured on television when she was a young girl. Yet, the comforting memory of watching those childish shows, didn't soothe her spiked nerves as she gradually drew herself up from the mattress.

"Lia..." the voice sounded ever closer and she hurriedly squinted her eyes to examine every corner of her dim bedroom. In the corner by her closet doors, stiffly stood a young boy in a familiar yellow rain jacket. He stared at her from beneath hooded eyes.

"Georgie," she could feel the throbbing of her eyes as she mirrored his curious gaze. The ringing screams of his last words vibrate through her ears for the second time that day.

"Why didn't you run sooner?" he disturbingly inquired with a slight tilt of his head, rustling his rain jacket. "Why didn't you?"

"I...I don't know," Amelia admitted, the fear in her stomach churning with tense cramps, "I could have saved you b-but I didn't run s-s-sooner."

"It's okay now, you can come with me," Georgie beamed his toothy smile and extended a hand out towards the girl, who had curled her knees into her chest and was quivering on the bed, "We can float together because everyone floats down there. You'll float, Lia. You'll float, too."

He started to laugh mechanically with his shoulders shaking as he clamored repeatedly, "You'll float, Lia! You'll float, too! You'll float too! You'll float too!"

Amelia's legs tightened ever closer to her heaving chest as she wondered why her parents weren't hearing any of this chaotic mess.

"I watched you die!" she eventually screeched in response and above his own shrieking, her voice cracking mid-sentence, "Y-Y-You died, Georgie. And I'm sorry that you did - I'm sorry for not running to you s..sooner. But, this -" she gestured to him with a trembling hand, "-this isn't real. Y-You're not real. It's s-some twisted n-nightmare."