Joshua
I didn’t come out of my room for days. I kept it locked for hours. My parents tried to get me out, but I told them to just leave me alone. The school called and said that if I wasn’t back in two days, I’d have to go to summer school. But I didn’t care.
Nights would end with my mom or dad trying to calmly get me out, but I would just reply with the same “I just wanted time alone”. They knew that wasn’t it, but they let it pass. They’d leave food for me at the window every morning, evening, and night.
One night, I was sitting on my bed, staring at the wall. It was silent all throughout the house. I only heard my house as it creaked every once in awhile. Then, I heard a knock on the door.
“Joshua?” came a small voice behind the door. It was Loren. I sat up and walked over to the door.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Why are you locking yourself in your room?” She sounded kind of sad. It almost broke my heart.
“I just... I need time alone for a while.” She didn’t reply for a moment. I could hear her breathing on the other side.
“Can I at least come in a see you? Just for a second?”
“Loren... I don’t know if-”
“Please? I miss seeing you. You’ve been in there for days.” Just hearing her sad made me give in. I hesitantly stood up and unlocked the door and slowly opened it. Loren peeked her head in and looked around the room. She then proceeded to waddle her little body inside.
I shut the door behind her and watched as she sat on my desk chair.
“So,” she said. “What have you been doing in here?” I sat on my bed across from her and kind of smiled. It was nice having her in here.
“This. I’ve just been sitting here. Thinking about stuff. Stuff that’s been happening to me lately.” I figured she knew what I was talking about. I think she remembered the whole “I can see the future” thing.
“Like what? You’re still not freaking out about the whole ‘seeing the future’ thing, are you? Joshua, it’s impossible. Even I know that.” I glared at her. It angered me that she thought she knew what all of this was.
“You don’t know the things I’ve seen, Loren. I’ve seen people die. This isn’t a joke to me. I honestly think this is all real.” Loren giggled a little.
“You’re just freaking out about a few dreams you had. It’s no big deal, Joshua. Everyone has nightmares sometimes.” She got up from the chair and walked over to me, resting her hand on mine. “I may be your little sister, but I’m here for you.”
I glared at her, angrier this time. I threw her hand away from me and shot up, looking down at her with as much anger as possible.
“You just don’t get it,” I snapped. “You don’t see the things I see. You don’t feel what I feel.” She started to back away from me, seeming scared of me. “You just don’t get it!” All of a sudden, my nightstand flew off of the ground and toppled over on the other side of the room. Loren stared at it, then at me.
What the hell was that? Did... did I do that? There’s no way. I looked down at my hands and sat down on the bed. I was right. I was a freak...
“Oh, God...” Loren said. She gave one quick look at me, then at the door. “I... I need to tell Mom and Dad.” She ran for the door. But I couldn’t let her.
“NO!” I exclaimed. She stopped and looked at me, and started to say something. But she didn’t say much. Out of nowhere, she was tossed against the wall and started gasping for air. It was like something was pinning her neck against the wall. But no one was there. Only me.
“You can’t tell them! They’ll see me for what I am!” Anger filled my whole mind, blinding me from what I was doing. Then I came back to Earth, and realized what was happening.
“Loren?” I said, jumping up and running to her. I knelt down and tried to pull her from the wall, but she wouldn’t budge. I was freaking out. Tears ran down my cheeks and sweat dripped down the back of my neck. “Loren?”
I could see the life drifting away from her eyes. Small tears formed and dripped down her face. The only thing I saw in them were sorrow and confusion. I tried to stop, but I was freaking out too much. I was watching my sister die right in front of me. But there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know how to stop.
I grabbed her small, little hand and held it as hard as I could. She was still gasping for air. Her little feet were kicking rapidly, smacking into the wall behind her.
“No… Oh, God, No!” I tried pulling her again, but she didn’t move. That’s when I felt her grip grow weaker. Her legs started to slow. The life in her eyes was almost gone. What was happening? Why couldn’t I stop?
Her face had turned pale and her legs stopped kicking. Her heartbeat slowed to a near death rate. Her eyes were locked onto mine, pleading me to stop. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know how.
“Please! Please don’t let this happen!” I yelled, pulling her as hard as I could. From the looks of it, she was already dead. But some life still rested in her eyes. “STOP!”
I flew back from the wall, taking Loren with me. Her body rolled over beside me, and stayed there. Motionless.
I shot up and knelt down beside her. She seemed dead. She seemed like a goner. I started to shake her and tried to get her to move. It didn’t work.
“No… This can’t happen...” I said. I grabbed her cheeks and started doing mouth to mouth. I lifted my head and started to push down on her chest. I hesitated and watched her. She didn’t move. I did it again and again, hoping to get a response. But she just laid there.
“Come on!” I yelled. I did it one more time, hoping she would move or do something. I pressed down on her chest and waited. I didn’t expect her to move. Then, my heart stopped.
The life in her eyes came back as she took in the longest breath I’ve ever seen. She rolled over to her side and started coughing. She was alive.
“Loren!” I exclaimed as I wrapped my arms around her. “Oh, God! I’m so-” Loren pushed me away from her and backed up against the wall. Her eyes were filled with fear, staring at me like she didn’t know who I was.
“Get away from me!” she yelled, staggering up and opening the door. “You’re a freak! You’re not human!” She sprinted down the hall towards my parent’s room. “Mom! Dad! Help!”
I started freaking out again. What were they going to do? I... I couldn’t stay there.
I looked back at my window, then back at my wide open door. My parents were going to get rid of me. They were going to make sure I never saw them or Loren again. I had to leave. I couldn’t hurt them. I couldn’t take that chance.
I ran up to my window and yanked it open, diving out into the outside and sprinting far away. I didn’t bother to look back. It wasn’t going to help anything. I just needed to be as far away as possible.
“Josh!” came my Dad’s voice from behind. “Joshua! Come back!” They would understand eventually. I was doing this for them. I had no idea what I was. I was a freak. I didn’t belong with them. What if that ever happened again? Could I stop it?
As I ran off into the woods, into the dark... I cried. I cried harder than I have ever cried in my life. I nearly killed my sister. My own sister. I wasn’t stable. I wasn’t stable enough to be with people. I had to vanish. I had to leave everything behind.
I needed help. I needed to find someone like me. Then, they came to mind. The people I’ve seen do things like me. They could help me. Instead of disappearing, I needed to find them.
I needed to find Nick.
Shadows in the Dark Page 14
