Day 3
Dreams can be cruel sometimes. They show you things that you know you'll never have, and can leave you unsatisfied with your actual existence. That night I had a cruel dream.
I was walking down the school hallway, heading to one of my morning classes. Paul walked to my right, talking about some sci-fi show that was way too complicated for me to pay attention to. As I opened the door, a person jumped at me. Arms and legs wrapped around my off-balance body as I stumbled back. Looking at me through strands of red hair, was the almost angelic face of Kaitlin.
She leaned into me, bringing her lips up next to my ear. I had this dream before. She would normally whisper that she loved me, and I'd wake up. A very cruel dream. But as I prepared to hear the words that I would never hear in my reality, I was instead treated to something else.
"Don't look for me Nathan."
I looked back at her and started to ask a question when I froze. Instead of her usual pretty face, I saw a battered and bruised version. Tears ran down her face and fell to the floor, as she looked at me with pleading eyes.
"What the-?"
"Time to wake up.", came a voice from nowhere. The world began to melt away as my dream ended.
My eyes flew open and were greeted to the sight of the suited man standing at the foot of my bed. His face seemed grim.
"What the Hell was that all about?", I yelled at him. I could barely contain my rage. The man sighed a heavy sigh and paced around the room.
"That was a message from Kaitlin.", he answered. My heart began to speed up. I didn't know if that meant Kaitlin was alive or dead, but I was hopeful.
"Where is she?", I asked. The man looked at me sharply, his blue eyes cutting.
"I can't tell you. If I did you'd go after her and get yourself killed, and I can't have you doing that. She even knows that and is trying to protect you. If she wanted you to save her she would have told you where she was.", the man's voice raised in temper as he went on. As did my temper.
"You can't just expect me to sit around while she's in danger, can you?"
"No. But she's not in danger. There's no way he'll kill her unless he kills you first."
"Who's "He"?", I asked cutting him off. The man paused, began to speak, then paused again.
"Nathan, listen to me. The only reason you're still alive is because of how little you know. If I were to clue you in on everything right now, I'd be effectively writing your death certificate. Kaitlin is safe for now, which is good. However, her kidnapper will now be trying to find a way to lure you into looking for her."
"Good."
"No! Not good! You go up against him and you will die."
"So then what am I supposed to do?"
"If you'd just keep quiet for a second, I'll tell you." I could tell the man was struggling to keep his cool, but so was I. How can someone just ignore someone they care about when they're in trouble? But I knew that if I wanted to see Kaitlin again, I'd have to do it his way.
"I'm sorry. I just want her to be safe.", I said.
"I know. And I'm trying to keep you safe.", he responded. His eyes softened though his face remained hard. I had no idea why he was so concerned for my safety, but it was obvious he really cared.
"Who are you?" The man paused once more, his face frowning at the ground.
"Call me: Mr. Black.", he said. His eyes hung heavy, and I could have sworn I saw tears begin to form within them.
"So what do you want me to do, Mr. Black?", I asked now calm and ready to listen. He tilted his head back up and smiled that same smile.
"I want you to meet a good friend of mine. He's in the school you're attending, and I think you two would not only get on well, but may even be able to help each other."
"Who is he?", I asked curiously. His smile never left his face the whole time.
"Thomas Reading. He'll be in room 334 during your lunch break. It's important that you tell him I sent you, otherwise he won't let you in. How you proceed is up to you." With that, Mr. Black vanished into the morning.
I got dressed in my favorite clothes and headed down stairs. When I arrived in the dining hall, Paul waved me over to his table. Hector and Daniel, a small boy with a buzz cut and a bad acne problem, also sat at the table. Each shot me guilty glances.
"What they're trying to say is that we're sorry for letting Mr. Burt throw you around last night. But you saw him, he was absolutely terrifying. No one was going to risk getting him angrier.", Paul said trying to make light of the situation. I wanted to punch him in the nose, but thought better of it. Paul was a coward, and I couldn't hold that against him. To be fair, I doubt I could have done any different.
"It's fine. I understand.", I replied. All three let out sighs of relief, which I'll admit, amused me. The morning passed by as though nothing was out of the ordinary. It both angered and confused me. I leaned over and asked Paul.
"Oh you didn't hear? Police say she probably just ran away. They said they'll find her in a day or two, and that's only if she doesn't come back on her own.", he said nonchalantly. At first I felt a wave of comfort, soon replaced by a growing dread. Nobody was taking it seriously.
The drive down to the school was mercifully short. Madison and Felicity chatted away behind me. These two girls were my prime example that nice girls who are pretty, never know they are pretty. Both had many male admirers and neither seemed to notice, much to my amusement. Suddenly, Cindy and Lynda both burst out laughing, proving the other half of my theory. Pretty girls who are mean, unfortunately know that they are pretty. I closed my eyes and blocked everything out for the remainder of the trip to school.
The school was surprisingly large, with hundreds of rooms and a large amount of land. The walls were a muted white, and the floors were black tile. The other students flocked to us and tried to make us feel welcome. They all seemed nice, and as the bell rang everyone seemed excited about the school. Classes ticked forward, and as the lunch break drew near, I could feel myself getting nervous. After all, the only thing me and this guy Thomas would have in common would be Mr. Black.
As the lunch bell rang, and everyone headed towards the cafeteria, I broke off and followed the numbered doors to room 334. As I stood in front of the door labeled "334: Music", I could hear the sound of a piano coming from inside and faint laughter.
I knocked on the door, bringing the music to an abrupt end.
"Uh... Thomas? My name's Nathaniel. Mr Black sent me.", as soon as I said that I heard the rapid approach of footsteps, and the door was swung wide. In front of me stood a young blonde boy about my age. His brown eyes were wide with enthusiasm as he pulled me into the music room.
"Mr. Black sent you? Really?", he asked with a slight shakiness in his voice.
"Y-yes.", I struggled to answer. The boy, who I assumed was Thomas laughed a happy laugh in response. I noticed he wore braces.
"So that means you saw him, right? You saw him too. Which means I'm not crazy!", he said doing a little dance. I began to doubt if he really was sane.
"Uh... Thomas? Mr. Black said that you could help me."
"With what?"
"I don't really know myself. He just said that you could help me out with making it through the next eight months."
"Really? I mean, I don't know as much as he does, but I can sure try. Just let me finish up here.", he said making his way tot he Piano that sat in the back. It was then that I noticed how dark the room was, with very little light streaming in through the windows. He sat down in front of the beautiful instrument.
"What are you-?", I never finished my question as he cut me off.
"It's OK everyone, he's a friend.", Thomas said looking into the shadows.
To say I wasn't tempted to leave would be a lie. For at this point I was convinced that Thomas was well and truly mad.
These thoughts were silenced when four small shapes emerged from the shadows followed by two larger ones. I nearly screamed in terror and my heart threatened to jump out of my chest. All six figures were human in shape, and wore tattered old clothes. But it was their faces that truly haunted me. They seemed to almost be melting off of their skulls, with dark black burn marks and bubbles of skin.
I began to back up when Thomas shouted at me.
"Wait! Watch this." Thomas then began to play "Moonlight Sonata". The six creatures headed towards him, practically surrounding him.
But as Thomas played, they began to change. Their clothes seemed to become new again, and their disfigured faces healed. They suddenly began to look more and more human. The four smaller ones were children, both of the taller figures were women; one appeared to be in her twenties while the other seemed middle aged.
As Thomas ended the song, they all applauded politely before turning and smiling at me. Thomas seemed amused at my expression.
"So Nathan, how can I help you?"
