Mental Fiction Follows Me

“Oh! You’re awake!” a woman yelled and knelt by my side. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, and her blue eyes were warm. Her blond hair was put up off her neck. I pulled myself up onto my elbows, and then I managed to sit all the way up. The man, Chase, stared down at me in amazement. His eyes were a dark green, and his black hair was streaked with gray.

“I guess you were right, Julie,” Chase said. The woman, Julie, looked over her shoulder at him. I noticed that her hair had been braided.

“I always am.” She turned back to me, and she now had a small smile on her face.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“Do you know what country you’re in?” Julie asked.

“Of course I do. I mean, specifically, where am I?” I asked.

“In a small town. It doesn’t even have a name. It’s just a couple of huts,” Julie said.

“What day is it?”

“February third.”

“I was out for two days?”

“I guess so. What are you doing out here?” Chase looked on with interest, but he didn’t say anything.

“Well…”

Brian’s POV

“Brian! There’s some guy in a funny suit at the door for you!” Johnny yelled as he and Aiden walked in. All of the guys and girls were over for a small barbecue. None of us had talked for a couple of days, and now we were all meeting up again.

“It’s a delivery suit,” Aiden said as they got closer to me. Zacky gave me a look that asked if I needed him to come with me, but I shook my head. I turned and walked through the whole house, and then I stopped at the open front door. The guy standing in front of it was wearing a pair of dark blue shorts and a white shirt. His hat was a dark blue too, and he had a smile on his face and some papers in his hand.

“Hi, my name is Dave. I’m here to deliver information on your getaway cruise. Here we have your tickets for two, where you will be flying in first class. Then here are the cruise tickets. There will be someone waiting at the airport to pick you up and take you to the cruise ship. You can choose to stay on the ship after arrival, or you can stay at this hotel on the mainland. Even if you choose to stay on the ship, you can still go on the mainland. Here’s the number just in case you need anything during your one week stay,” the man said. He was constantly showing me papers and then placing them in an envelope. Now they were all in the envelope, which he handed me.

“Excuse me, but where am I going for one week?” I asked him. He blinked and his smile faltered for a second. It quickly returned.

“The Bahamas, sir,” he said.

“The Bahamas? I didn’t pay for a cruise to the Bahamas,” I said. This time the man’s smile stayed intact, and he pulled something out of his back pocket. He looked over at the papers and then back up at me.

“A Sydney Haner arranged everything for a Brian Haner. That’s you, right?” Dave asked and looked up at me.

“Yeah, that’s me,” I said. I could literally feel the blood leaving my face.

“Okay, then. If you have any questions, our number is in there,” Dave said.

“Thank you.” Dave gave me one more blinding smile, and then turned and walked down the driveway.

I could feel the envelope in my hand, and I took the papers out to look at them. Zacky and I would be leaving on the tenth, which was Tuesday. I saw something that Dave hadn’t mentioned. There was a number of a man to call, a driver and tour guide. He would show us to a restaurant, where Syd had reserved us a place for Valentine’s Day, which would be the following Saturday. I stuffed all the papers back into the envelope and walked back outside. Everyone turned to look at me, and I stared back.

“What is it?” Zacky asked and walked over to me.

“Yeah, Brian. You look kinda pale,” Nikki said. I had stopped right beside her. I gave her a faint smile, and then I moved to look over at Zacky. His green eyes were filled with worry.

“Syd’s sending us on a cruise,” I said quietly. I could already feel the tears burning my eyes as I thought back to that conversation. It was the morning that Syd told us she was leaving again, but I didn’t know it then.

“You’re dead,” I mumbled into the receiver.

“That’s a serious possibility in the future,” Syd said.

“What do you want? And why now?” I asked.

“Did I ruin yours and Zacky’s sexy time? I’m sorry. I’ll pay for you guys to have a week long vacation when this is all over,” Syd said.

“A cruise?” Zacky asked.

“For Valentine’s Day,” I said. I knew I was crying, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t think Syd had actually meant it, we were always joking around with each other. She had done it though. She must have done it way in advance, maybe even right after she got over there. I barely felt it when Zacky pulled me closer to him, but I did bury my face in his neck and let my tears continue to fall.

Syd’s POV

“So, how does a girl get out of this place?” I asked.

“Out?” Julie asked and looked over at me. I was sitting up with my legs crossed Indian-style, and Julie was cooking me something for a late supper.

“Yeah, like home. I gotta let someone know I’m alive,” I said. I had told them about me being in the army and the explosion. Chase and Julie, who I learned were married, gave each other a look.

“You know how we told you that we do mission work?” Julie asked.

“Yeah, which I think is amazing, by the way. There should be more people like you two,” I said. They both smiled at the compliment, and then Julie continued.

“We’re supposed to be here for a year. No one is coming back for us for another nine months.”

“Nine months?” I asked.

“Nine more months. We’re due to leave in the middle of November,” Chase said.

“Does anyone come check on you?” I asked.

“Nope. We’re completely cut off from the rest of the world,” Julie said.

“You don’t even have a way of getting in touch with anyone?” I asked.

“Afraid not. We’re completely cut off,” Chase said.

“For nine months?” I asked and looked at both of them.

“It’s not so bad, Sydney. The time will fly by. You’ll stay with us, won’t you?” Julie asked. I could venture back out into the desert, and maybe the sandman would be more successful and actually kill me this time. It seemed like the smartest thing to do would be to stay here and wait. Nine months wouldn’t be so bad. I was originally supposed to go back home in October, so an extra month wouldn’t literally kill me. I just hoped nobody forgot about me while I was gone.

“Yes, I’ll stay,” I said and looked up at her. Julie gave me one of her blinding smiles, and I saw a small smile on Chase’s face. Nine months. I could make it.