Behind The Walls

Chapter 8

I woke up with a start in my bed. I couldn't believe it, I was back in the girl's room. Had this all been a dream? Had this never happened?

I sat up and looked to my left where Kai's bed was supposed to be. Except it wasn't there. None of her stuff was. There was no bunk bed next to mine. Only a single bed for Silver. I woke Silver up, "where's her stuff?" I asked.

Silver yawned and rubbed her eyes. "What do you mean? Who?" My heart sank.

"Kai!"

"Who's Kai?"

"What do you mean 'who's Kai?'?! Kai our best friend, who we've known for years now. I met her in kindergarten before I met you, Luke or Zac. She was the first person to say hi to you when you were still "the new kid". She was the one who shut everyone up after they kept calling you a freak because you're so hyper and extra all the time. Kai's always been there for us, how can you not remember the existence of such a wonderful being?" I paused. "Please tell me this is all a dream. Please tell me that soon I'll wake up to find her sleeping in the weirdest position next to me."

"Charlie, I am seriously worried about you." Her tone was serious. I had never seen her be this serious before. "Did you hit your head? Because whoever Kai is, she's not real." How could she deny the existence of one of her best friends? I couldn't believe it. This couldn't be real. It had to be a prank. But everyone knows Silver is a terrible liar and therefore a terrible prankster. She would've laughed by now, or even shown the slightest hint of a smile--but nothing. She was deadass serious.

"Silver, you really have no clue who she is?" She shook her head slowly.

My heart sank. I was extremely confused. Although I still had hope, perhaps Zac and Luke remembered her, or perhaps Silver was a much better actress than I gave her credit for.

I started packing some of my things, it was our last day in this strange place. While I was packing I noticed my wrist was naked. I frantically searched everywhere but couldn't find it anywhere. "Woah, slow down Charlie, what did you lose?" Silver asked.

"My bracelet. My gold bracelet. Have you seen it anywhere?"

"What do you mean? What bracelet?"

"The one I always wear! It's a gold-plated with 'Charles' engraved on it!"

Kai laughed, "why would you engrave 'Charles'? Also, you never wear bracelets. You always complain that they never fit and just fall off." It had just disappeared, disappeared with her. I had worn it ever since she had given it to me on my tenth birthday as a symbol of our friendship, she had the exact same one but with 'Kai' engraved. It was gone--she was really gone.

"Never mind," I said. "We should probably head to breakfast.

At the table, I confronted them about what happened last night. However, no one seemed to understand what I was referring to. Silver mentioned my weird behavior to them that morning. How I became concerned about a mysterious character called "Kai", how I was sure of her existence.

"Charlie, are you sure you're okay?" Zac asked.

"I--to be honest, I don't know." It was the only answer I could think of because it was true. I didn't know. Was I going mad? Or was this just part of another dream? None of them had any memory of Kai. It had apparently always been the four of us. Panic started growing within me. I looked over to Luke who stared at me with concern. They all kept trying to figure this out. Telling me she wasn't real. Unwillingly I even mentioned the Tom Reinn's legend and how we had found it to be true. But of course, they didn't believe. They showered me with concerned are-you-okay's and are-you-sure-you-didn't-hit-your-head's.

"I'm not crazy!" I cried as I hit the table with my fist, surprising everyone at the table including myself. "I know that it happened. We went behind the walls. Met Tom Reinn. He killed you all in the most horrendous way. Now Kai has disappeared, and you all don't remember her!" I paused to catch my breath. "Please tell me you remember." My eyes started to get watery.

"Charlie," Luke started. He sounded concerned. "Tom Reinn and this house's legend... It's just a story. Just a rumor to make this place a tad more interesting. To attract tourists like us to a boring place like this."

"Okay... so, tell me, if we didn't spend our days here looking for Tom Reinn, what did we do?" I was desperate. I felt as if I was going crazy. Why was I the only one who was able to remember the existence of our friend--my best friend--my sister, Kai. "What could we have possibly done in this boring town?!"

"Wow, you're serious. You really don't remember the boring hikes and the even more boring tours of the town?" Zac said. Was I really going crazy? It couldn't have possibly all been a dream. Kai couldn't have possibly been a figure of my imagination these past 10 years! I looked back at every moment I spent with her. How could it possibly not be real? I blinked my tears away. I couldn't make a scene.

Had the moment I shared with Luke also been a figment of my imagination? I didn't want to ask about it, I had embarrassed myself enough already. Then again, if everything that I thought happened did not, then this must not have happened either.

I stayed in silence until breakfast was over and everyone was gone. I was the last one to leave the table. I slowed down when I passed the "door". The table wasn't there. I hadn't noticed it was gone when I had gone down. There was no cutout, there was nothing. But then, all of a sudden, the door opened on its own.

In the shadows, I saw the old man's fiery orange eyes. It wasn't a dream, I knew it. Next to him, I saw the girl behind the walls. I sensed she felt sorry for me. I didn't understand why. Why would she care about me? Something wet streamed down her face--a tear. Why? I don't know. At least, I didn't.