Chasing Chaos

Chapter 7

7.

     Light forced me awake. I stretched my arms above my head and yawned. I forced my body into the sitting position as I looked around my room.

     But there was one problem. This wasn't my room.

     I looked around, trying to take everything in. I had a massive pounding in my head. Then everything rushed back, hitting me like a train and pushing me back into reality. 

     The burning heat. The freezing cold. The eyes. The silence. The colors glowing from my right arm. The hallway. Austin carrying me. Then black. 

     The door opened slowly, creaking and revealing Austin. 

     He smiled, the light made his face seem to glow. "Hey, I'm glad you're awake."

     I smiled back at him. I felt a little dizzy but at least the heat and cold were gone. "Where am I?" 

     "In the guest bedroom at my house. I took you here after you fell into my arms at school."

     "How long have I been sleeping?"

     "About a day and a half." 

     "WHAT?!?!!" My mind raced. My dad was probably scared sick. That meant that today was Sunday. 

     "Shh it's alright. Your dad knows. You just need to rest. Your life is gonna get a little crazy soon." 

     "What are you talking about?" 

     "If you feel better later I'll answer all your questions. Right now you need to focus on getting rested. You might not get sleep for awhile after I answer your questions. You need to be strong. Sleep will help you control everything more." With that he shut the blinds and closed the door as he walked out. 

     I didn't want to sleep anymore but I really wanted my questions answered. I had to know what was going on. 

     I lowered myself slowly back onto the bed. I didn't feel tired but as soon as I closed my eyes sleep took me back into its strong grasp.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

     Reality crawled back to me again as I slowly woke up from my sleep. On the wall the clock read 3:01. Excitement rushed through me. Austin was going to answer my questions! But another feeling was there too. Fear.

     I rolled off the bed and examined the room closer.

     Across the room to the left there was a small window, letting in rays of light that touched everything in the room with delicate fingers. Straight across from the bed was a closet and dresser. I thought about my clothes at home. I was wearing simple jeans and a plaid shirt right now. My dirty blonde hair was hanging loose down to just below my shoulders. 

     I walked over to the door but before I could open it something caught my eye. The sun was reflecting off of a square shaped object on the dresser in the room. I moved away from the door and towards the object. When I got closer I realized what it was: a picture frame. When I got to it I reached my hands out to it. Gently taking the frame in my hands I brought it closer to my face. The picture was of a family. Four of them all together. They were having a picnic, all smiling and laughing at the camera. There was lots of food spread out on the table; watermelon, sandwiches, doughnuts, strawberries and a couple other food items that I couldn't make out. 

     I looked closer at the family. A lady that was sitting on one side of the picnic table had blonde hair and rosy cheeks. I couldn't make out her eye color but it seemed green. A man opposite her looked familiar to me. He had dark brown hair and tan skin. I knew him from somewhere. I don't know from where though. I studied his face but I still couldn't figure out why he looked so familiar. I moved on to a boy sitting next to him. Austin. Even though this picture looked a couple years old I could tell right away it was Austin. His cheeky smile and dark brown hair were still the same. His eyes were a mixture of green-blue. For as long as I knew Austin his eyes always caught my attention. They were so different from any other eyes I had seen. I drew my attention away from Austin's eyes. So if he was in this picture then that meant the lady and man in this picture were his mother and father. An older boy sat on the other side of the table, Austin's brother. Austin was a splitting image of his older brother. Same smile, same hair. I wondered if he had the same eyes as Austin. 

     I placed the picture carefully back on the dresser. My hands started to shake. My questions were finally going to be answered. 

     I placed my hand on the door handle, the cold crawled through my fingertips and reminded me of the feeling of being frozen. I shivered and turned the knob. 

     A figure was standing outside the door, staring straight into me. I screamed and jumped backwards, hitting my shoulder against the wall. 

     "Whoa I didn't mean to scare you! Sorry." Austin's voice cut through the air.

     I breathed a sigh of relief, "Sorry, I've been really jumpy lately."

     "Well you have a reason to. I was just coming to see if you were awake. Are you ready?" His eyes met mine steadily, was I ready? His eyes held the same question as his mouth. His eyes searched my face, waiting for my lips to move. 

     Was I ready to know what was going on? Yes. Was I ready to do whatever he told me to do? Yes. Was I ready for all that he was about to load off on me? Only time would tell that one.

     I nodded, "ye- yes" I whispered, "yes." This one was more steady, unwavering. 

     He turned and I followed. Down a long hallway, then to the left and down a staircase. The the left of the staircase was a wall. To the right was an unlighted room that looked like it was a kitchen. I followed him down the staircase. My feet stopped on the second stair. Where was he taking me? To a basement? Why there and not just tell me up here? I shook me head and kept following him. When we reached the bottom he flicked on a light. 

     The basement was small, cold and unwelcoming. The walls were gray. In some parts were water had dripped the walls had been stained a darker gray, almost black. There was a couch against the right wall and a file cabinet straight ahead. That was all. 

     Austin walked towards the couch. I felt my legs moving, following him. 

     When I sat down I sank, the couch was actually more comfortable than it looked. Austin took a seat next to me and turned towards me. 

     "Alright, I might not have the answer to every questions you have but I'll try my best to answer them all. If I don't have the answer then my dad will." He waited for my mouth to move and the first question to come out.

     Did I really want to do this?