Forty-One After Midnight (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-One

Back in the library, I set the box down on the table and opened it. Inside was a picture. It looked like something someone drew themselves. I looked at Jane, more than a little confused, and pointed at the picture. She gestured for me to flip it over. I did.

There was a date on the back. It was February 10th, 1841. I looked at the photo again. There were people standing around in a giant circle around what appeared to be a bunch of kids lying on the ground. The room was dimly lit and it looked dark outside. That made sense, because the ritual, which is what I assumed this picture was depicting, had taken place shortly after mid-night. I looked back at Jane.

"Do you know who's who if you look at this picture?" I asked her.

She nodded. I walked over and showed her the picture. She looked at the picture, and then at everyone in the room. She repeated this for the next few minutes, and then walked over and stood in an empty space. She pointed at one of our group members, motioned for them to come toward her, and pointed down at her feet. The girl she pointed at walked over and stood in her place.

One by one she directed people to their spots. Every once in a while she would have to come glance at the picture, but she eventually got us all. When we were all where we needed to be, minus John Williams, she gave me a thumbs up. I looked around at everyone.

I told everyone to stay where they were and walked over to get a pen and paper out of my bag. I drew up a little diagram of where people were supposed to be and when I was done, we all sat down and relaxed a little.

"Okay, is there anything else we need to do?" Kyle asked.

"I think the only thing that needs to be taken care of is John, and that's up to Mrs. Reeves," I said.

Mrs. Reeves sighed.

"I have to go to him by myself?" she asked.

"Well, you are the reincarnation of his dad. I think it would be best that way. He doesn't want to hear anything from the rest of us," Laney told her.

"And who says he wants to hear anything from his father either? Who says he'll even recognize or care that that's who I am?"

"It's worth a shot. You're really our only hope now."

"Great. So this whole thing rests on my shoulders."

"Don't worry," I said. "I'm sure you'll do just fine, and either way, we'll have your back. I promise."

I was actually more than a little scared, and I hoped that nothing bad happened to her, but when you were trying to encourage someone, that would not be a good thing to tell them. So I kept my mouth shut.

-

It was getting to be pretty late so we decided to head back to our rooms before it got too close to class time. I was actually very relieved. The lack of sleep we had been getting by staying out so late was started to catch up with me. I fell into a deep sleep the minute I laid down on my bed and my head hit the pillow. My dream that night was intense. It was so realistic, I had a feeling it was more of a memory than a dream, especially because in this dream I was not Jane. For the first time, I was Helena.

There I sat, in bed, writing. I was writing in the journal I left behind, the one that Jane led us to in the basement. When I heard people walking in the direction of my room I wrote my last line and set the book down. I could feel the excitement, the hope that I was going to be free.

When they came in the room they each grabbed me by an arm. They were two younger looking men, but they were tall and they were very strong. If they weren't going to set me free, there would be no way of getting out of their grip. I sighed and let them bring me to Mr. Williams.

He wasn't in his office. He was actually in the basement. It was lighter down there at the time. He had lamps and things set up, but it didn't really make it any less eerie of a place.

They brought me into the room that Mrs. Reeves had been locked in. Immediately I screamed and tried to break free. I kicked and scratched and swung my arms around trying to hurt one of them bad enough for them to let me go, but there was no use. There was no use in anything. Being down so far, I knew that no one above could even hear me.

When I looked around the room I saw the kids that had gone missing before me. They weren't dead, but they didn't look good. They were barely alive and I could tell that they were all unconscious. This would be how I was going to end up, now I understood that I was never going to be free.

There was something I didn't expect though. Before they closed me in I saw a man come down and start talking to John. He was an older man. He was tall and had grey hair. His facial structure was much like John's. Immediately I recognized him instantly as Stanley Williams.

They appeared to be arguing. I couldn't hear what they were saying though. All I knew was that John wasn't going to listen, because right before they closed the door and locked me in, John stormed off and left his father standing there watching him leave.

It seemed like a rather short dream and I woke up feeling extremely exhausted. I looked over at Laney who didn't seem to hear the bird alarm that morning. I got up, shut it off, and went over to wake her up.

I didn't feel like going to any classes that day, but I really didn't have a choice. I decided to suck it up and go through with it anyway. We were allowed to take sick days off, but I didn't want to have to deal with the make-up work, and I had already taken a sick day recently.