An Open Sky

Chapter Four ~Alexa~

In no time we had come to another embankment. The dark, ominous clouds that had brought on a storm earlier were now off in the distance, blending in with the rolling hills and dark pine trees. The black and white scene before me was just beginning to contain a splash of color from the rising sun, like someone was painting it in my presence.

                “A sunrise?” I questioned.

                “Yeah, I bet you’ve never really seen one like this. You know, out in the open and not just photos or on TV, have you?”

                “No, I guess not.” As much as I wanted to deny it, there was truth in his words.

                “Then just wait,” he said as he flopped down on his back and tucked his hands under his head. I went over and sat down next to him, wrapping my arms around my legs. The longer we sat there, the more my sleepless night caught up with me. My eye lids started getting heavy. I struggled with each blink. I laid down on my stomach and rested my head on my arms that were folded underneath my cheek. After that, all I focused on was sleep. I prayed that I wouldn’t start snoring and totally embarrass myself. With that thought lingering in my head, I fell captive into a deep, inexorable sleep.

                “Alexa,” came a whisper beside me, “Alexa,” it repeated. As I came to, I realized I wasn’t in the grass on the embankment as I first thought, I was in the air. The sudden realization sent a shot of adrenaline through me and I twisted and struggled to get back on the ground.

“Hey! Calm down, you’re okay!” I looked up and found Jay looking down at me with a concerned expression changing the appearance of his face. It was then that I realized I was being carried in his arms. I stopped struggling, my eyes meeting his. I smiled, finding comfort in my own reflection.

“Sorry,” I muttered; then I remembered the sunrise, “Jay! I’m sorry! I missed it!”

“Missed what?”

“The sunrise!” I exclaimed.

“Oh that, no big deal, it wasn’t that impressive today anyways,” I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off, “Don’t worry, there’ll be more, I promise.” He smiled, pulling a smile out of my own lips. I looked around, the recognition of my own house flashed across my eyes. Jay, reading my mind, gently set me down.

As my feet hit the cold cement I realized my shoes were still sitting on the beach. Crap! I’ll just go get them later. I mean, he just carried me home, there’s no way I’m going to bring it up because then he might want to go back…

“Well, I hope you liked your tour, I accept tips,” he taunted, bowing, and grinned at me.

“Too bad I’m broke, huh?” I shrugged. He laughed and leaned in closer to me.

“I’m only a call away,” he murmured into my ear, “preferably not three in the morning next time, okay?”

I laughed, “Okay.”

“See you soon.” He bent in and kissed my cheek. Before I could even take another breath, he was half-way down the street.

I turned and walked through the door, not even attempting to sneak in again; I was too tired for that. Luckily, he wasn’t there waiting for me on the stairs again. I trudged up the stairs, finding my dad’s door still closed, and walked to my room dragging my feet against the carpeting. I collapsed onto my bed, not bothering to pull up the covers or even change back into my pajamas. My mind drifted.

I should probably change, because if dad comes in, I’m dead. I forced myself up against the strain of my exhausted muscles, and pulled off my clothes to replace them with some shorts and a tank-top. I flopped back on my bed, leaving my old clothes in a heap on my floor, and closed my eyes. In a flash, the dreams relit the backs of my eyelids.

She was running. It was a girl, and she was running. She had long, wavy blonde hair that went out like a flag behind her as she ran, and now and then it’d wrap around her face. She’d desperately try to keep it away from her face as if her hair was the very thing she was trying so hard to escape from. But I could tell it wasn’t. There was a man. She ran through roads, scattered yards, and stumbled through fields. And he followed her the whole way, not trying too hard to keep up as if he knew where she was going. It was like he had control, and he knew it. I could make out his smirk even from the angle that I was observing the scene from.

Suddenly, he broke off from her path, and went on his own. I could tell he was going to cut her off. My view flashed to her. She was completely unaware of her fate. She stumbled as she glanced behind her. I could see her bright blue eyes, but they weren’t alone. Fear, dread, and horror kept them company. I suddenly longed for her. I longed to scream out to her; to warn her of the man, but something told me she was plenty aware that he was following.

A new sense came to me. It was raining. My vision flashed back to him. He was tall and very muscular. He wasn’t dressed in all black, just his sweatshirt was. Other than that he had blue jeans and neon green Nike’s. The sweatshirt looked vaguely familiar; almost like the one Jay had been wearing when I met him…I was suddenly filled with eagerness. Eagerness to kill. I was feeling exactly what he was, and he was eager to drive the knife that was clenched tightly in his hand into the girl. He was eager to watch her cry out. Eager to watch her bleed. Eager to watch her die. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he flipped it open, revealing a text that read behind the rain drops: Are you finished yet?

“Almost,” he whispered and continued forward.

My vision shot back to her. I felt her fear, her horror. She ran even though her lungs burned. She kept pushing herself. She was gasping for air, crying out for God to save her. Along with her cries came tears. She was crying. Terrified. She knew what was about to come. I longed to make her turn around. I longed for someone to come and save her. Anyone! But that wasn’t the case. The shadow of the man slowly appeared through the rain. He must have been able to see her too, for he took off running to her. She desperately tried to run from him, but she was too weak, too tired to escape his grasp.

She cried. She begged him not to hurt her. His nails dug into her skin as he drew back his knife. She desperately fought him, slamming her hands against his chest, but the knife still came crashing down into her. As she fell to the ground in agony, there was another man. He cried out for her and came running down the street. He was desperately trying to erase the distance between them. She lifted her head towards him and cried out for him. Her hand reached out for his…it met the cement. He cried, begging along with her. But it was too late. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach her before the knife tore through her flesh one last time.