Convergence

Chapter 1 cont.

Amidst the black surroundings was a flash of green followed by its quick retreat. I sprang up off of the floor and contemplated my sanity. They were there; I saw them. I rushed to my front door andwithout a second thought, crossed the threshold and entered into the cold night air. I didn't notice anything at first. Just the rustling of wet leaves in the trees and the neighbor's cat meowing quietly next door. I took a few steps down the concrete stairs that lead to my door before I heard the crunch of a breaking twig. I whirled my head to my right and there, in the street, was the figure with green eyes, only now not so blurry. Under the dim lighting of the streetlamps I could make out that it was indeed a man. Standing at about six feet he had dark black hair and caramel skin. His eyes were all but glowing set deep his serious expression. His eyes bore into mine with an intensity that I'd never felt before. His burgundy lips parted from their hard line as if he were about to speak, but he remained silent.

I suddenly felt on the spot, surprisingly not threatened, just like he was expecting something so I sputtered out a feeble,

"Uh.... Can I help you?"

Slightly embarrassed by my lame greeting I continued to talk.

"Um... I saw you on my balcony, are you looking for someone?"

He didn't respond, or even move. He just continued to stare intently, waiting. I remained silent

"Look I can't help you if you don-"

"Shhh!" he said suddenly looking around as if he was expecting something to pounce on him. I waited, and looked around dumbly. "Did you hear that?" The sound of his voice was not what I had expected. He had a muscular build and a strong jaw. He looked like he would be in his mid twenties, but his voice sounded younger.

After another moment he repeated "Did you hear that?" this time his voice sounded desperate, as if he were trying to hear a very small noise in a crowded room.

"Hear what?" I responded in a whisper, my eyes wide with confusion. Who would be prowling around my house? He relaxed his stance.

 "Nothing, it must have been a car or something." He didn't look convinced.

"Well... is there anything I can... help you with?" I repeated once more in a meek voice.

My lack of understanding seemed to irritate him.

"It's not me who needs help." I contemplated running back into my house and locking the door, but I knocked that idea quickly. For some reason I felt like he would run up the stairs before I could close the door, like he had super speed or something. He softened his expression. "You need to come with me." I looked around for a moment thinking that this was some kind of practical joke and my parents were about to run out and laugh, but no one did.

I looked at him bewildered and said, "N-no." I wasn't very convincing, even to myself. But I was not about to leave my house in the middle of the night without my parents knowledge to run off with some guy.

"Look," he sighed. "This is important, a matter of safety. You need to come with me, you are not protected here."

"I think you're confused... I'm perfectly fine here... and-"

"You are wearing my patience." His stance changed back to stiff and impenetrable. "We must leave now, you are not safe here."

I began to wonder if those were the only phrases he knew and was just set on repeat.

"I-I think you've got the wrong person, I'm not in danger, and I don't know you. My name is-"

"Emily Sandoval, you live here with your parents Scott and Joni Sandoval, you are nineteen years old, you attend the junior college, and you are not safe here. Can we go now?"

I was in a state of shock and confusion. I should have been running, screaming at the top of my lungs from this guy, yet I felt content, safe in his presence.

"Who are you?" I asked realizing that that should have been my first question. At this point I was so perplexed by his knowledge of my life and the situation as a whole that I wanted to go with him out of curiosity.

"You know who I am, as I knew who you were, you came to me in my dreams and you asked for my help, so here I am."

"N-no." I repeated, more to myself than to him. "People do not send out... help messages in their dreams, besides I don't need help I'm fine." I said in a slight shout.

Realizing that I was still standing on my staircase, I cautiously stepped down and began to walk over to him. For some reason I was drawn to him, like a magnet. I got about five feet from him when I stopped dead in my tracks. As I looked up at him, at his eyes, I was struck by a sudden feeling of déjà vu. "Your eyes" I said bewildered. "I-I think I do know you..." I paused for a moment and looked at my bare feet on the sidewalk trying to remember. "Sam - Samuel." I said finally. I looked back up into his green eyes and his hard mouth melted into a smile.

"I told you, you knew me." he said satisfied with his success.

"Come inside," I said trying not to faint from shock. Suddenly, I was filled with a rush of memories. Not memories of events, but of feelings, emotions. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew him. He looked around again. I suspected he was scanning the area for intruders. After a moment of looking he hesitantly agreed with a silent nod. As I slowly walked back up to the door, along the stone pathway that stretched across my front yard, I tried to place the feeling that he gave me. His face, his smile, his eyes, they all seemed so familiar, but how did I know him? I walked back inside, Samuel following close behind me. I wasn't even fazed by the difference in temperature. I just walked over to the dining room table, pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. Samuel mimicked my movements after he'd closed, locked, and chained the door.

We sat at the table in silence for a few minutes. It looked like he had a lot to say but was giving me time to process.