The Lost Boys

With my outfit, hair, and make-up a mess, I marched into school ignoring the stares. I sipped on a Mountain Dew for a bit, but ended up tossing it: lime apparently didn't go very well with mint flavored tooth paste. Once in the cafeteria, where my “group” would normally meet in the mornings, I noticed that Rebecca and Josh were absent. I found this odd, but after seeing the way they acted last night, I could probably guess where they were.

It was nearly impossible to keep my eyes open until 9th period lunch when I could get my sugar fix, but I somehow pulled off this small miracle. Even though I felt absolutely starved, I somehow managed to stick to my strict, healthy diet of one basket of french-fries. I took my normal seat across from one of my closest friends, Andy. We started to make conversation about our days, and I ate the first fry.

“Blehh…” I made a face, swallowing even though I really didn't want to. It tasted really bad causing Andy to give me a weird look.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. “Poisoned?” I snorted.

“Nah, although it wouldn't really surprise me. Just a bad fry, I guess.”

“There is NO such thing.” She replied, both of us laughing. It was true; the school’s french-fries were the most amazing things I’d ever tried…Next to that teriyaki chicken, anyway. But that was a dream, of course it tasted amazing. Ignoring this thought, I ate another expecting the great fries they always had, but found that it tasted just as bad.

“Shit…I didn't think it was possible, but the fries suck.” I pushed them towards her.

“Oh, I get it, so you try and poison me.” She sent a glare at me, but I knew it wasn't serious.

“It’s not poisoned. I haven’t dropped dead, have I?”

“Not YET. It’s all in their master plan! It’s a conspiracy!” I shook my head at her.

“Just shut up and try one. It SHOULDN'T kill you.” She laughed and tried one.

“Hmm…I can’t tell…I’m going to have to try another…”

“You’re just trying to steal my fries!”

“ OK, OK! You caught me! But seriously, I didn't taste anything wrong with them. And quit being a fry monger!”

“Then maybe it’s just me? One way to find out…” I broke a fry in half and handed one half to her and kept the other.

“Yours is bigger…” She complained, but we both tried our separate halves. Again I made a face, and again she seemed fine. “I guess it IS you.” She shrugged.

“You've gotta be kidding me. You’re faking!”

“I swear to you, I’m not!” She paused. “…Can I keep the fries since you seem to find them repulsive?”

“Yeah, sure…” I muttered. This was just a bit scary. I wasn't sick, so what could be tampering with my sense of taste that badly? “Can we try the test again with some of your food, just in case?” She nodded and broke an Oreo in half for me.

“ OK, I have NEVER known you to dislike chocolate. If you say you can’t even stand the taste of these…I’m taking you to the hospital.” We both tried the halves. It tasted a little better, but still really bad. “Are you feeling OK?” She looked at me really concerned.

“Yeah…” I replied. We sat in silence for a bit, but eventually got to talking again.

“So…Where do you think Rebecca and Josh are today?” I asked, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

“You didn't hear?” She asked like I had lived under a rock for the past five years.

“No…?”

“They've been missing all weekend. Their parents turned them in Friday.”

“You know…I think I better go use the restroom.” I said after a very long pause, picking up my things and standing.

“You need any help getting there?” She asked. She must have noticed my sudden, severe paleness.

“No…I should be good. I’ll see you later.” And at that, I walked out of the cafeteria and into the restroom.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I seemed near death I was so pale, and the dark circles under my eyes didn't help my look any. I reached down and turned on the water so I could splash some on my face, but winced when my left hand touched the knob. I turned it over to inspect what might have caused the pain. Apparently I had some minor blisters on my palm; the remaining soap on the hot water knob must have gotten into one of them causing it to sting for a few seconds. Wait a minute…When did I get those? I raised my hand and, out of curiosity, curled it a bit. I froze: it was in the exact shape of Josh’s oh-shit-bar which meant I had been in the car with him last night. I looked down at the brand new converses I was currently wearing. I had worn them for the first time in what I thought was the dream. My blood ran cold when I checked the bottoms. Mud was caked into the tread which couldn't have gotten there any other way: I had been at the water fall. I immediately started for the nurse’s office, cursing loudly. I would feign sickness and hopefully get sent home. Maybe I was just delusional due to lack of sleep…

Operation School Escape was a complete success and I ended up driving myself home. Once there, I grabbed the first drink I could find from the fridge, took a few sips of it on the way to my bed, set it down on my bedside table, then face-planted the bed and passed out. This was somewhere around 1:00 PM. When I finally woke up and rolled over to look at the clock, it was 5:00 PM. I yawned and stretched feeling much better, then glanced over at the window. It got dark so early this time of year...

I reached over blindly and took my drink off the table then took a swig. I stopped before swallowing- That was NOT green tea. I immediately ran to the bathroom and spit it out in the sink. It was red, whatever it was. It didn't taste that bad, really, but still had caught me off guard. Tomato juice, maybe? Most likely; I’d never tried it before. That’s where the first pang of nausea hit me. It was very sudden, and I felt like I wouldn't be able to hold it back. I wouldn't have to worry, though as it was soon replaced by a sharp, unceasing pain in my abdomen. It was so severe I had to grip the counter to keep from crumpling, and just that took all my strength. I couldn't cry; I couldn't even yell. The pain overtook all my senses and all I could do was grit my teeth and slowly begin to slip…

The headache came next in addition to the feeling of being impaled on my abdomen. I’d say it was the equivalent to someone driving a nine inch railroad spike through my temple. My eyes began to water…Why did the room get so bright all of a sudden? Or maybe my sight was just sensitive due to the headache…God, it hurt to think…The small clock in the corner of the counter that I normally never noticed seemed incredibly loud, each tick rattling my skull painfully. I attributed this to my migraine as well seeing as there was no way possible for the clock to make that much noise. I squeezed my eyes tight shut and allowed myself to fall the short distance to the floor, then curled into the fetal position and clasped my hands over my ears. That seemed to shut out everything enough to make the majority of the pain go away, but why WAS I in so much pain?

Wait…What was that sound? It must be my heartbeat…No, it couldn't be. It was out of time with my breathing; it was too calm. I slowly uncovered to try and find the source, wincing in preparation for the bombardment of my senses…But there wasn't any. The clock was ticking away quietly in its corner. I slowly opened my eyes as well to find the lights off. ‘That’s funny’ I thought. ‘I don’t remember turning those off…’ I didn't really pay any mind to it. My main concern was that heartbeat…Where on earth was it coming from and what was causing it? I began to stand, but I did a bit too fast causing a wave of dizziness to wash over me. The stars began to disappear and I started for the door. I was really thirsty too…I’d grab a drink while searching for the source of that damn noise. It was so annoying…And yet I was hopelessly drawn in…

My hand touched the handle, but another hand grabbed my wrist, preventing me from opening it. I gasped and turned quickly to find the source, but nothing was there. I searched the room cautiously, but there wasn't a trace of anyone. This felt eerily familiar… I turned to the door, ready to exit, and listened carefully only to realize that the sound had vanished completely. Maybe I needed a little more sleep…

I managed to turn the door knob this time and exited. All the lights appeared to be out in the house…Perhaps the power had gone out? That happened quite frequently in these winter months.

“Dawn…” That damn whisper reached me again, causing me to stop dead in my tracks. Right…Bed…Now… “Daaawwwnnn…”

“Outside, Dawn…”

“One of us…”

“Trust us…”

“Come join us, Dawn…”

“Outside…” I cautiously moved to the sliding glass door leading to our back porch. Maybe I wasn't going completely crazy. There appeared to be foot prints outside it. I picked up the nearest thing to a weapon I could find and opened the door. The object I had found was our wooden door stop: a three foot high solid piece of oak. If used properly, I’d imagine it could deal a nice bit of damage…Not that it would do me much good. You see, once I got outside and shut the door, another stomach pain hit me and I fell to my knees, dropping my only defense. Curled into a ball, shivering in the cold, the whispers continued unceasingly and the pain was almost too much to handle.

“What do you want…?” I moaned softly to whoever may have been out there. There was no answer, but what did I expect? “What do you want!?” I cried out, holding back tears. This hurt worse than any pain I had ever known. The whispering quieted down abruptly, and I felt something wrap around my shoulders as someone helped me up.

“Come to the car, sweetheart.” I knew that voice…It was David, and he must have draped his coat around me. With most of my weight being supported by him, we made our way down the steps and around the house to our driveway where a black SUV waited. I was picked up and set inside, too weak to move any longer. David shut the door and got in on the other side, then sat next to me and laid my head in his lap.

“Shhh…” He soothed. “It will all be over soon…” The pain seemed to dull…But then again, I was loosing consciousness…