Hello! This chapter got longer than expected, but oh well.
I was sitting down next to Jordan in the hospital. I had a cast on my leg, and my arms still felt like they were gonna fall off, but other than that I was fine. Jordan wasn't so lucky. She was unconscious and badly hurt. I didn't exactly know what was wrong with her. Not that I really wanted to know.
Jordan's parents were talking to the doctor. They were right in front of me, but I couldn't hear them. I'm not deaf, nor did the accident make me deaf. I was just too caught up in my own head. My thoughts were going a thousand miles per hour, and I couldn't slow them down. I felt so weak, so helpless. I was supposed to help her. Now she was in the hospital.
Someone tugged on my sleeve. I looked down to see Henry. He had bags under his eyes and he just looked so broken.
I wanted to tell him I understood, but that would be a lie, and I couldn't lie to him. I wanted to tell him who I really was and what I was doing here in this World, but I couldn't bring myself to. He had been through enough.
"Dad said you were in the car with Jordan. What happened," Henry asked. I sighed. "I don't know," I lied. "There was a beep and then we crashed into another car." Henry nodded. His mom called him over. He waved at me and went over to her, leaving me alone.
I closed my eyes and went into the dreamscape.
I wanted to try and check on Jordan, but I ended up in someone else's head. Nick's.
I didn't even know it was possible to go into a dead person's head.
Nick was younger in the dream, but I could tell it was him. He was with a young girl who looked a lot like him. I assumed it was his sister, but that seemed impossible. Nick never told me or Lena that he had a sister, and he told us everything.
He was playing guitar for the little girl, who smiled brightly. Nick looked so content. I had never seen him like this. Ever since we met, he was always this strict and uptight kind of person. I never saw him smile. Now he was smiling like there was no tomorrow.
Then the dream changed. Nick was yelling at his sister. "Just leave me alone, Emily!" His sister was younger, but she wasn't backing down. "Nick, stop acting dumb! This is your fault!" Nick gave her the cold shoulder and left the room. He got on a chopper bike and rode away.
He was muttering but I couldn't hear what he was saying. He sped up. That's when a brown blur came out and pounced on the bike, pushing Nick behind some bushes. There was a roar, and then out came a bear, bigger than anyone I had ever seen. He spit out a bike helmet, Nick's helmet, and left.
That's when I realized what he was dreaming of. This was how Nick died.
I was pulled from the dream and I was now in the middle of a field. Nothing but wheat-colored grass for miles. "Sorry, but I had to get you out of there," a voice said. "Zack," I croaked. He nodded.
I had to admit, I was impressed by his abilities. Pulling someone out of a dream was difficult. It had taken me years to master. "Zack, I-" Zack shook his head. "I know what you're doing, and I'm not here to stop you. I just need to tell you something important."
I motioned for him to continue. Zack took a deep breath. "I think the person who is going to kill Jordan has cheated death." I almost laughed. Cheating death was not just a myth, but it was impossible. If someone was supposed to die, they died. Maybe that was stupid of me to say, being I was trying to help Jordan cheat death, but I couldn't imagine anyone else having done so, succeeded, and the tale never being told.
Zack continued. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I went to the museum of killers. I saw a killer who went by the name of Lee Parker. It said he died in the 1970's, but then I saw another man, Sal Reese. He died about a year ago. From the picture, he looked almost exactly like Lee. I did some digging and realized Lee never had kids, so that meant-" "He never died," I finished.
"I haven't found any connection between him and Jordan, but when I do, I'll contact you," Zack said. I nodded. I couldn't believe it. If this man was the same man who was planning on killing Jordan, that meant he was a criminal in the Afterlife. Cheating death was a big no-no. Everyone knows that. And if he went to the Place of the Broken, Jordan would be safe.
"I have to go before the others realize I'm gone," Zack said. I nodded and hugged him. He was shocked but hugged back. "Thank you for helping me. I'm lucky to have a friend like you," I whispered. He hugged back. "Of course. Good luck, friend." Then I was back in the alive world, in the same spot, just with a little more hope.
"Mr. Pensie, is it alright if I talk with your son? I need some information," a policeman asked Jordan's dad. "Well of course, but my son wasn't in the car when it happened." The policeman nodded. "I meant that one," he said, motioning to me.
"Of course, sir," I said. Mr. Pensie looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile. Then I went with the policeman into another room.
The first thing that set me off was the room was empty except for a bowl of water on a desk. The second was the sound of the lock clicking. The third thing was the policeman grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and saying with malice "You have caused us considerable inconvenience, Mr. Quek."
"I have no idea what you're talking about sir," I said, trying to sound tough, though my voice sounded timider than ever. The policeman (who I guess wasn't really a policeman) chuckled. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. And now, time for you to die." I recognized the man's face. He was the man that diva, Ann, was talking to. But he was also someone else. That was why he looked familiar, I had heard of him. He was the Blackout killer.
He dunked my head in the water, trying to drown me. I almost laughed. I breathed fine, thanks to my gills. He took my head out of the water, confused. I laughed, pointing at my neck. He noticed my gills. "What the hell are you," he asked. I shrugged. He dropped me and pointed a gun at my head. My gills wouldn't help with that.
I closed my eyes, ready for the worst when the door was kicked open. I looked over to see a woman I had never seen before. She smiled at me. "Hey, Alex!"
The Blackout Killer pointed his gun at the woman and fired, but the bullets bounced off her like bouncy balls. The woman yawned. "I hate people like you," she said. She pointed her own gun and fired.
The Blackout Killer was no more.
I looked at the woman cautiously. "Who are you," I asked. She put away the gun and smiled at me. "I thought it was obvious," she said. She pointed to her shirt, which had a bear on it. "Wait, Bear as in Honey, your familiar?" She nodded. "Yep, it's me Alex. It's Lena. And we got a lot of work to do."
What does this mean for Alex, Lena, and Jordan? Will Jordan survive? Who is the killer? Who's everyone's favorite and least favorite character? Stay tuned to find out!
