Leuthold Preparatory | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Six

What the Rain Took 

On the ground, Noah waited for Ms. Rae to appear. He felt restrained like he had been on the table, unable to move, to see, to think, to feel anything but pain and fear. As his eyes focused, the pain faded from his body; the lights were far, far above him, only natural skylights and bright, industrial lights on the ceiling. 

With great force, he found the ability to move. His body was slow and he felt sluggish as he dragged his hand along the ground and slowly propped himself up to see what was around him. He could hear people but he could neither make out their words nor see them. A large set of stairs with a landing and another set of stairs was to his left, several doors and some kind of receptionist's desk were to his right, German written across them. 

Noah forced himself to stand, a strange taste in his mouth, and still felt as though he couldn't speak. He felt as though something were in his mouth and kept him from speaking; however, he pushed through the feeling and his anxiety and made his way to the receptionist's desk where there was no receptionist and all the words were in German. Useless to him, Noah sighed at the sight.  

A sharp and short bark brought Noah's attention to the stairwell, the red dog stood at the landing. It was upright and had no sign of being having ever been injured, it stared down at him with its eyes now welcoming and stoic. The dog shook its fur before it turned and began to head up the second set of stairs. He felt it was trying to lead him but Noah didn't move. 

Noah felt his hand, no bite marks existed and not a trace of blood was on him. He had no mud, no water, no pebbles, or dust, it was as if he had never fallen. The situation was too untrustworthy and strange; Hannil had said there were no buildings for miles yet he was suddenly inside of one. There was no explanation, no forest, no tents, no Celeste or Ines, no Hannil. 

Only certain of his uncertainty, Noah did the only thing he could think: run. 

He bolted in the opposite direction of the dog, through a set of doors and along white hallways and that had dozens of strange rooms that looked oddly familiar. He had no more than a second to look into each as he raced by them. He ran until he saw broad daylight and pushed through two more doors before he stepped onto a bright and busy sidewalk. Everything blurred together and Noah became weak in his knees, his head buzzed. He had to grab his head and hold it as he did in front of the tavern--like the tavern, he could make no sense of what he saw or felt. 

"Noah!" The most unwelcome of sounds came, a voice he dreaded hearing once again yet he looked for her. Mi Na was clear as could be only a few feet down the walkway; she wore jeans and a t-shirt, holding a cup of what Noah guessed to be coffee and she looked as surprised to see him as he was to see her. 

Fearing her more than the dog, Noah turned and pushed back through the doors into the building. He could hear Mi Na shout to others before she raced after him, her voice calling his name over and over. The dog remained on the steps and began to run when it saw that Noah was headed toward it. 

Noah chased the dog's tail as if it were a lifeline. It seemed the closer he got to the dog, the further Mi Na got. Yet she was right behind him through every twist and turn. The dog went in and out of rooms, through doors and into an emergency. As he had before, Noah chased it without thought. 

His chest was tight and his legs ached as he climbed the steps, his body felt stranger the further he chased the dog but Mi Na was more relentless in her cause. He couldn't stop moving until he saw the dog push open a door and worm its way through the crack; Noah felt Mi Na's hand brush over his shoulder when he pushed through the door. His body so heavy that he fell to the ground as soon as he reached the blue and white tile.