Awaken (Awaken Series Book 1) Page 7

  What was that? I saw something. Maybe it was someone I recognized. Something was familiar to me. But what was it? I felt beads of sweat begin to form on my brow, my throat dry.

  The vision played over and over in fast succession. Paul held onto Kim’s hand.

  Kim stopped Paul. Then Paul and Kim walked into the tunnel. The entire vision happened in less than a minute and as the translucent screen shrank, I began to hear the commotion around me.

  “Should we get someone?” I heard one of the girls say. “Should we drag her out of the mall and get her home? Maybe I should call Andy?”

  “No! Don’t call my dad,” I spit out as fast as I could so Becka wouldn't dial the last number.

  All three girls sighed.

  Stephanie choked out, “Bre, you had us all worried! What happened? It was like you couldn’t hear us at all.”

  I didn’t know what to say to them. They would think I was completely out of my mind.

  “Bre?” Becka said, but I was dazed and didn’t respond immediately.

  My insides itched with a need. I needed to find something, I just didn’t know what. I instinctively looked for it, as I spun in a circle. Somehow I knew whatever I was looking for I would know the moment I saw it. Catching a glimpse of the grumpy man holding the large camera, I dashed back to where he was.

  I jumped right in front of him and caught him off guard. “Sir, are you with the news station?”

  “You again.” He scowled.

  “I’m sorry to bother you again, but I see you’re with KTVL action news.”

  “Yeah, what of it?” He seemed disinterested, fussing with some wires on the back of the camera.

  “I was just wondering what the headlining stories are today? Well, what I really want to know is did anything happen in Texas?”

  He stopped what he was doing and looked to me. He had to see the strain written across my face. In a subdued voice, he replied, “Yes, there was an airplane that crashed around six o’clock last night.”

  My knees went weak and I blankly stared at him for a moment. I couldn’t believe it. These visions, these hallucinations, could they really be real? Could they actually be premonitions? And if so, why was I the one receiving them? Complete terror struck me and I could barely breathe. The noise of the crowd started echoing and the people weaving around me were making my head spin. What do I do now? Is there anything I can do?

  “Miss, are you all right?” the man asked.

  “Bre, what’s wrong?” Becka ran up to me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

  Before I could respond, I felt the presence envelope me again. Strangely, it felt like a warning, reminding me that every second counted. The warmth was intense and pulsating through my veins. With every minute ticking away, a new sense of power and strength illuminated my being. I also had an innate sense that this power came from something other than me.

  Whirling around to face the other direction, I spotted a small bookstore, two shops away. That’s it! That’s what I needed to find! I sprung away from the group. The little red newspaper stand was at the foot of the doorframe, which was a relief because of all hordes of shoppers in the store at the moment. I grabbed the top paper facing upside down. I needed proof that this was the same newspaper that Paul had been reading in my vision. Turning it around to the front page it was right there in bold lettering, “Plane mysteriously falls from the sky in Austin, Texas.”

  I dropped the paper and rotated around so fast that I almost lost my balance. “Beck, what time is it?” I pressed sharply.

  She looked at her phone, “Five-ten, why?”

  “I need your keys.”

  “Why do you need my keys? What’s wrong?” her eyes burned with questions.

  “Um…I just forgot something in the car and I need to go get it," I spoke as evenly as I could.

  “Well, then let’s go with you,” she started for the exit.

  “No! Really! You guys go and get that smoothie and I’ll meet you there.”

  Her forehead creased and she asked hesitantly, "Are you sure? We don't mind."

  "No, really! It’ll be better if I just go by myself. I don't want to hold you guys up. Plus, it’s probably pouring right now and we don’t all need to get soaked."

  I knew that would do it, Becka’s appearance less than perfect? It didn’t matter what the circumstance were, her vanity always trumped any situation.

  "Well…Um…All right I guess. We’ll see you over there." She hesitated, but handed the keys over. As they hit my right hand, I sprinted down the stretch of tiled flooring. Why did we have to be here of all places? This congestion could make anyone anxious.

  I fought the crowd, dashing through them in frustrating slow motion. People from every angle were eyeing me and shoving my body around like I was a pinball. A group of about five men, casually walking into a store, yelled something vulgar as I smashed into one of them. I ignored their cursing and pushed on. Every second, every moment meant lives could be lost.

  I couldn’t help but notice that everywhere I looked there were people wearing red, white and blue. There was an enormous amount of people from all walks of life dressed in the colors of our country, holding signs and flags as they hovered around, blocking the walkways heading in both directions.

  Great, now what? I slowed my pace to a walk until I was blocked completely. The people in front of me couldn’t move an inch because of the line that had formed. Jumping up and down impatiently, I could see in the center of the mall was a wide opening that had a predominant circle that everyone had to go around. That would explain the sudden congestion in the mob of spectators. Why wasn’t anyone moving through that opening? I looked closer and saw a yellow rope sectioning off the entire middle of the mall. This must’ve been where the governor was going to speak. I tried to push past a forty-something male, but he stuck his elbow out and pushed me back.

  “Wait your turn, young lady. What’s the hurry? You late for an appointment or something?” he said to me.

  No hurry, I thought, just trying to save a couple of lives. I felt like sand paper was grating on my heart with every second that passed. I was never going to make it if I had to wait here like this.

  Then, without thinking it entirely through, I jumped up onto a bench positioned down the center of the building. I had to push the discomfort of being the center of everyone’s attention out of my mind. I wasn’t like Rebecca relishing all the attention. It made me uncomfortable.

  Everyone glared at me warily, but I ignored them, springing from one bench to another down the center, trying not to plummet to the floor. I flew over and around the multitudes of bodies. Finally reaching the end, I hesitated for a second. The thought occurred to me that there would be an increased number of security personnel on a day like today. When I didn’t spot any, I ducked under the rope and sprinted through the opening as fast as my legs would go.

  I was almost to the other side when I heard a man yelling behind me, “HEY YOU! GIRL! STOP! STOP HER!”

  Behind me, a security guard sputtered something into a walkie-talkie and started running in my direction. Jumping over the rope, I rammed into a lady in a green dress holding a little girl in her arms. Everyone around gasped as I fired off, “I’m sorry,” and ducked into the crowd.

  How was I going to make it out of this mall if I have security after me? I peeked behind me to see that two were headed in my direction, knocking people over like dominos as they pursued me. I was thankful that I was only five foot four, which gave me somewhat of an advantage as I barreled through the crowd.

  Spotting a side exit to my right, I decided to take it. Hopefully, the guards would think I was still in the building. Almost to the doors, I glanced over my shoulder once more. The men were just passing the opening to the corridor where I was, still heading to the back end of the mall. But as I turned to see where I was going, I rammed right into a couple coming in through the doors, knocking me to the floor. As the red-haired woman screamed with shock I looked back an
d noticed one of the security guards spot me. I struggled to my feet and darted out the door into the freezing rain. Puddles of water splashed everywhere, soaking my pants as I sprinted to the car. Even though sheets of water saturated every inch of my body, I was thankful I was out of the mall and in an open space. I was at the end of the building, passing the last corner, when I heard the doors to my left swing open. A guard burst through it, looking in the other direction. Gasping for breath, I threw myself out onto the pavement and headed into the parking lot. I had forgotten how huge it was.

  Every inch was covered in a sea of colors. Panic shot through me. Where had we parked? Before the heavier-set guard with a mustache took notice of me, I fleeted to the back end of the parking lot and ducked behind an old blue truck just in time. I slowly peered around the back tire. He was only two lanes away from me, creeping up on me with every step. I probably had two minutes max to decide what my next move was before he found me. I slumped against the cold, wet truck.

  “Jane, we’re right over here,” someone said from behind me. A group of women were heading toward the flashing lights of a Toyota. That gave me an idea. Maybe I should push the button on the key ring to see if I could hear the car. Pressing it, I heard the car somewhere over by where the guard was. I pressed it again and looked up over the bed of the truck for the flashing lights. There it was, right between a black Tahoe and a maroon mini-van. The guard was about ten cars away from Becka's car, in the same lane. Ducking back behind the truck, I started to sneak around to the front side of the cab when I spotted the other security guard, a thin male with light brown hair and glasses, searching for me one lane away and closing in on me fast. My heart started to thud so loudly I was afraid it would give away my position. If I went right, the skinny guard would spot me and if I went left, the other guard would catch me. I was cornered.

  “Tim, you see her?” one of them yelled, just steps away from me.

  “No, not yet!”

  Looking back toward the direction where the heavier guard was, I instantaneously became paralyzed with fear from the tip of my head to the soles of my feet. I was staring at the guard’s back. His wet hair soaked from the rain. My stomach was laying somewhere at my feet, and my heavy breathing became short gasps of air trying to keep up with the racing of my heart. The guard slowly turned his head. A half-second and he’d be looking at me dead on. I sucked in air, held my breath, and prepared myself to sprint to the car. At that moment, a little old lady got out of her car right behind me and distracted the guard with a question.

  Now’s my chance! I hurled myself out from behind the vehicle and dashed as fast as I could toward Becka's car.

  "HEY, THERE SHE IS!" I heard a deep man's voice sputter out from behind me. I didn't look back to see if he was running after me, because I was already at the car.

  I dropped into the front seat, slammed the door shut, and locked it. I shoved the key into the ignition and right as I threw the car into reverse, a tremendous thud hit the back end of the car. I watched the tall, thin guard stalk toward the driver’s side window. Hitting the gas pedal, I spun the tires before they caught the pavement and shot the car out from the parking spot, almost clipping the cars behind me. I slammed the gears into drive, leaving the guard standing in the empty spot. He shrank in size as I sped away.

  I came to a stop sign and glanced at the clock. Five thirty-seven. Tick Tock. Five thirty-eight. Every passing second was choking me. Paul and his beautiful wife were all I could think about.

  Seeing a small gap, I cut between two cars. Tires screeched and car horns blared as my car swayed into the lane. I could imagine the obscenities being thrown my way. I listened for a moment to make sure there wasn't any sound of smashing metal before I threw the car into high speed and sailed through the afternoon rush hour traffic.

  Approaching the freeway, I was dismayed to see it was extremely congested, slowing everyone down to a steady pace of thirty miles an hour. I took that moment to strategize what my plans would be once I got to the airport. Then it hit me. Security wouldn’t allow me to pass through the checkpoints without a boarding pass. I ripped my purse wide open, and the contents spilled out over the seat and onto the floor. I grabbed my wallet, not caring to pick any of it up. Snapping it open, I took out the credit card my mother had given me last year for “emergencies only.”

  I dialed four-one-one into my cell phone and waited for the operator to answer. "City and state please?"

  "Medford, Oregon," I said sharply.

  "What listing?"

  "I need Pacific Airlines."

  "One moment please." Her stolid voice was like a drone.

  The bold white numbers on the clock ticked away like an ice sculptor would a piece of ice. It turned five forty-six.

  "Here is your number," the operator said and with two clicks the phone started dialing.

  Music started with a recording message, "Thank you for calling Pacific Airlines. Your call is very important to us so please stay on the line and an agent will be with you momentarily."

  I was only able to go thirty miles per hour. I tried to remember what time Paul's flight was scheduled to depart.

  Talking out loud, I said, "Okay, if they left the house at four-thirty and were coming from Grants Pass or Rogue River, it would take about a half hour to get to the airport. Assuming they had to be at the airport about an hour ahead of time to check their baggage and go through security, that would put them boarding around six-ish."

  The music silenced and a man's voice spoke with an all too friendly rehearsed script. I simply wasn’t in the mood for his gush. "Hello and thank you for calling Pacific Airlines! This is Steve, how may I assist you today?"

  I blurted out, “I need a one way ticket today to..." Stopping myself, I couldn't remember if they were going to San Diego or LAX airport. But it didn’t matter where I was going. So I just picked, "To Los Angeles."

  "Okay, one moment please," he said as he clicked away at the computer.

  I wasn’t quite to the exit, but I knew that I had to get off of the freeway if I was going to make it to the airport before six. Cutting a car off and moving into the right lane, I was almost to the off-ramp when the traffic slowed to a slow crawl. I couldn’t just sit here like this when the exit was right in front of me. I glanced over both shoulders to see if there were any police cars around. When I didn't see any, I pulled the car onto the dirt and sped forward.

  I heard two clicks come from my phone alerting me that another call was coming through. I took a quick look at my cell phone to see who was calling me. It was Rebecca.

  Putting the phone back to my ear, Steve said in a professional voice, "Thank you for waiting. I have a non-refundable fare, flight number six one four, leaving Medford at six-thirty and arriving at LAX at eight-twenty."

  "That's fine.” I flew through a red light, almost hitting a car moving through the intersection.

  "All right. Your total is one hundred, ninety-nine dollars and forty-three cents."

  "Fine," I said, thinking of my Dad's face when he found out I spent two hundred dollars on a plane ticket.

  "Great. Can I please have your name and credit card information?"

  I slowed a little to give him the information and waited while he entered it into the computer.

  "Okay, Miss Davis, you’re all set. When you get to the airport, you need to go to the check-in counter and get your boarding pass before you can enter into the boarding area. You are only allowed to bring one forty-pound or less carry-on with you. Your other bags will have to be checked in at the front counter or at the baggage check-in area at the front of the building. Is there anything else that I can help you with today?"

  "No."

  "Well, you have a great day and thank you for―"

  I ended the call, not letting him finish, and immediately the phone started ringing again. I didn’t look at it this time. I tossed it on the passenger’s seat and sped up. I knew who it was anyway. Rebecca wasn’t the type to stop at one or two
calls.

  I was almost to the turn that would take me right into the airport. My heart was racing. When I looked at the time, it flashed five fifty-one. If my estimation earlier was accurate, I only had nine minutes to park and get through security. I tried not to think about how impossible it was that I could accomplish all of this in nine minutes. There was a reason why they told everyone to be at the airport at least one hour early. I had to try.

  Turning left into the airport, I glanced at the big green sign hovering above the road. I spotted the parking sign and cut across all three lanes, cutting a blue car off in the process. Circling around, I came to the entrance. I barreled through, snatching the ticket out of the machine and searched frantically for a parking spot. Seeing one, I threw the car in the spot and bolted out the door heading for the front of the building. The rain was coming down in buckets, impairing my vision as I tried to see which entrance to go through. The freezing, wet air caught my face, torturing my skin with tiny stabs of pain.

  I came up to the four lane unloading area, relieved to see only a few cars passing, which gave me the advantage of running straight across without pausing.

  I leapt into the first lane, hearing a woman yell, “Look out!”

  A black car was coming at me at high speeds. No time to do anything. As my adrenaline spiked, I gasped for air waiting for the impacted. The screeching vehicle stopped right in front of me, missing me by inches. The black car idled for a moment as I composed myself. Then, as the tinted window started to roll down, sheer horror flew through my body with one swoosh of the cold air. There she was, Eve, piercing me with her sinister eyes, swallowing up the path in which I was so focused on. Again, I felt paralyzed. My mind was scrambling. My route to Paul and Kim was slipping away as I stood face to face with this person who seemed to have some kind of control over my ability to function properly.

  Was I nuts or was I really seeing her again? What was she doing here? How did she find me? Was she following me? It simply wasn’t possible.