Mental Fiction Follows Me

Syd’s POV:

The darkness closed in, suffocating me. Then again, the piece of cloth stuffed in my mouth could have been suffocating me. My wrists were on fire because of the ropes, and my ankles were in the same condition. The darkness was everywhere. Above me, surrounding me, slipping inside...

”Sydney, honey, please wake up. It’s just a dream...it’s just a dream,” Lillian whispered in my ear.

”What’s if it’s not real and wake up in that damn closet?” I thought.

”Only one way to find out...” Sage said. I fought against my heavy lids, and my eyes slowly flicked open. I could see a little light, which meant I couldn’t be...back there. It was all just a dream, but it felt so real.

“Syd?” I felt a hand cover one of mine, and a face hovered above me. Piercing blue eyes met mine, and I felt my breath come out in a whoosh, since I was no longer gagged.

“Are you okay?” Jimmy asked. Hmm...I just realized his labret piercing. Well, I know he has it, but I just really saw it. Maybe because it’s so close to my own face?

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I whispered. I was still trying to get air into my lungs.

“Are you sure?” Jimmy asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. Can’t a girl get some sleep without waking up to see someone freaking out?” I asked and pushed him back slightly. I sat up and leaned my back against the wall, and then I finally realized the look in Jimmy’s eyes. I sighed and ran a hand over my face.

“I had a nightmare, didn’t I?” I asked. Well, I already knew that. I just wanted to see if he knew that.

“Yeah,” Jimmy said quietly.

“How bad?” I asked, afraid of the answer. Jimmy eye’s turned away from me, and he started picking at the blanket. He’d look up at me, and then he’d look away again. After a few minutes, I started getting impatient. It couldn’t have been that bad. I woke up before...the really bad stuff.

“It was pretty bad. Scary as hell, that’s for sure.” I just nodded my head. So I had probably screamed and thrashed about, which meant that everyone knew. After being able to hide it, it was now back in the open. Why couldn’t I just be normal for once?

”Normal is so boring. Why would you want to be like that?”

”So that I wouldn’t freak out constantly?”

”Yeah, but then we wouldn’t be here...”

”Stop it, Sage. We can’t get mad at her for wanting to be normal,” Lillian said.

”It’s not that I don’t like you guys, you know that, Sage. I wouldn’t trade you two for anything in the world,” I thought.

”See? You were worrying for nothing,” Lillian said.

”Who said anything about being worried?”

“Syd?” I looked up and smiled over at Jimmy. The poor guy probably thinks I’m insane, but he really has no idea.

“Sorry, I guess I spaced out,” I said.

“It’s okay. You just had me a little worried,” Jimmy said.

“I’m fine now, really. I guess the changing atmosphere messed with my head a little,” I said.

“Sydney Haner!” I heard Aiden yell.

“Why doesn’t she use your middle name?” Jimmy asked in a whisper.

“Because I don’t have one,” I whispered back before slipping out of the bunk. It sounded as if Aiden was in the kitchen area, so that’s where I went. I was vaguely aware of heads peeking out behind bunk curtains and eyes slyly opening in the lounge area as I walked by.

Aiden, Deandra, Nikkita, and Johnny were all sitting in the kitchen. When I walked in, all eyes centered on me. And they weren’t trying to hide it like everyone else. Aiden looked angry, Nikkita looked worried, Deandra looked curious, and Johnny looked confused.

“I think I’m gonna go,” Johnny said and walked past me. I watched him walk away, and then I turned my attention to the three girls staring at me.

“Why didn’t you tell us that you were still having nightmares?” Nikkita asked. Her green eyes were ablaze with worry, and I almost felt guilty. Almost.

“I didn’t want you to worry about me,” I said honestly.

“That’s bullshit, Syd! That’s what friends are for! You’re not supposed to lie to us!” Aiden yelled.

“I didn’t lie! I just didn’t tell the whole truth,” I said quietly.

“I don’t get it, Syd. I just don’t,” Aiden said.

“I was tired of everyone looking at me like I was gonna flip out at any second, okay? I hate being looked at like I’m crazy, and it was starting to get on my damn nerves. And my nightmares aren’t bad,” I said quickly.

“The old lady has a very good point,” Deandra said.

“Thanks, youngin,” I said without looking over at her.

“Okay, I get what you’re saying since the guys tend to be a little overprotective, but why didn’t you tell us?” Nikkita asked and pointed to her and Aiden.

“I just wanted to be normal,” I said and hung my head down. I felt an arm go around my waist, and then another one was wrapped around my shoulders.

“Oh, what the hell,” I heard Deandra mumble, and then I felt a pair of arms wrap around my middle.

“Hey, Syd?”

“Yeah, Aiden?”

“You’re never going to be normal.”

“I know.”

“And that’s why we love you.”

“Thanks, Aiden.”

“Anytime,” Aiden said.

“Well, what do we have here?” I looked around Deandra’s head and saw a smiling Brian.

“I think it’s called a group hug, but I’m not really sure,” I said and smiled back.

“Yeah, sure. Girls, can I talk to Syd for a minute?” Brian asked. Here it comes...

“Of course,” Nikkita said. They all let go of me and drifted towards the other end of the bus. Brian’s dark brown eyes stared into my pale brown ones, and I knew what was coming. He was going to be mad, very mad. I watched with wary eyes as he walked towards me, and then I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath to prepare myself.

“Dammit, Syd,” Brian whispered right before I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I dropped my head to Brian’s shoulder and let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Bri. I should have told you that I was still having nightmares, but I didn’t want you to have to worry about me all the time,” I said quickly.

“It’s okay, Syd. You’re forgiven. I heard you talking to the girls, and Nikkita’s right. We can be a little overprotective, especially me,” Brian said.

“It just means you care,” I said.

“Yeah,” Brian said and started rubbing my back.

“Did I scare the shit out of everybody?” I asked. Brian laughed and then pulled away from me.

“You could say that. The Escape The Fate guys are confused as hell since no one will tell them anything,” Brian said.

“Well, that just doesn’t seem fair,” I said and let go of him. I started towards the lounge area, and I knew that Brian was hot on my heels. Everyone was stuffed into the lounge area, so I stepped up onto the table.

“Syd, what are you doing?” Aiden whispered behind me. I started to answer, but then I changed my mind. I focused my gaze on the Escape The Fate guys, and then I began talking.

“I’ve been in the army since I was eighteen, so for about ten years now. I did go to Iraq, and I lost a lot of friends, including my best friends. I also became a POW, or prisoner of war. I escaped, it doesn’t matter how I escaped-I just did. So, now sometimes I have really bad dreams that make me randomly scream and scare everyone to death.

“The dreams slacked off for a little while, but I think that the changing atmosphere triggered a bad one. I’m not going to promise it won’t happen again, because it’s not like I can control it. So, there’s a small warning and now you’ll know what’s happening the next time,” I said and hopped off the table. I stumbled a bit since the bus was moving, and a pair of arms wrapped around to steady me.

“Thanks, Jimmy,” I said and smiled up at him.

“Anytime, Syd,” Jimmy said and smiled back.

“Well, that was...unexpected,” Craig said.

“That’s Syd,” Brian said and winked over at me. I stuck my tongue out at him, and things went back to normal.