Awaken (Awaken Series Book 1) Page 8

  Eve broke the silence in a motherly tone, “Bre, you should be more careful. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

  “Excuse me Miss, but are you all right?” a stubby man in a bright yellow raincoat asked, as he run up to me.

  “Um…yeah, I’m okay, I think,” I murmured eyeing the people hovering around me.

  “She’ll be fine,” Eve pronounced with authority.

  The man argued, “I was talking to her, thank you very much. How fast were you going anyway? You are truly lucky that you didn’t hit her.”

  “No, it’s all right. I’m fine. No one got hurt.” But just as I said this, the horrifying realization of why I was here in the first place swallowed me up and I felt like I was drowning. “Wait! What time is it?”

  The man checked his watch. “Five fifty-six.”

  Without another word, I darted for the entrance doors.

  “Bre, wait!” Eve shouted behind me as I pushed through the doors and into the airport.

  The scene was chaotic. There was so much going on around me that I felt trapped, and searched my brain for the next step. The airport was packed. I couldn’t decide which direction I needed to go. It was exactly as my vision had shown me: people speeding down the strip of the open flooring heading toward their destinations, families hovering together waiting for their luggage to make its way down the round baggage claim area, business men and women talking into their cell phones. It was a regular day for them. Not for me.

  When I spotted the Pacific Airlines counter I squeezed through the crowd, thankful that only two people were in line before me. After a minute of standing in line, it was my turn. Rapidly walking up to the counter I spoke before the woman could get a word out, “I need to pick up my ticket. I called about ten minutes ago.”

  I threw my license at her, impatiently bobbing up and down with every stroke of the keyboard. As I focused on the woman her lips twisted to the side, her face wrinkling as she scanned the screen. She picked up the phone and dialed.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked. What now?

  “No, I just can’t find you in our system. It’s probably because you just called in and they haven’t entered it into the main system yet. It will just take a minute.”

  But I don’t have a minute, I wanted to yell at her! I looked around desperately looking for a clock. Time was running out. There, above a large flight of stairs that looked exactly like the ones from my vision, was a huge clock, the size of a dining table. Five fifty-nine.

  That’s it. I wasn’t going to make it. I was sure that Paul and Kim were boarding now and I’d be too late. Gliding my eyes back down the stairway, I noticed the little coffee shop that Kim had pointed out in my vision.

  “Okay, here we go Miss Davis, flight going from Medford to LAX.”

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “All right, here’s your ticket. Can I help you―” she said, but I was already sprinting to the flight of stairs, leading up to the security and boarding areas. I pushed passed people, taking the stairs three at a time.

  Racing down the long strip of shops lining the corridor to where the security checkpoints were, the surge of defeat hit me like an invisible wall. The lines were extremely long and had at least two-dozen people standing in it. From my place at the back of the line, I spotted a young boy standing five steps from the front of the line. He had sandy blonde hair with a face that looked like a piece of Swiss cheese, pimples and pot marks covered it. He was probably a freshman in high school. Normally, I’d never take advantage of anyone, but this was not a normal situation. I was going to pull a Rebecca, and flirt my way to the front of the line.

  Smiling in his direction, I mouthed, “Can I come and talk to you?” When he saw what I was asking him, he immediately shook his head “yes” so hard that I thought his head was going to fly right off of his neck. I took a deep breath and approached, keeping up the façade. “Well, hi there. What’s your name?” Vomit rose in my throat.

  “I’m Scott,” he squeaked, clearing his throat.

  “Scott.” I smiled. “So, where are you headed?”

  “San Francisco, and you?”

  “Oh, I’m not really going anywhere today.”

  Confused with my statement, he paused for a brief moment. “Do you live around here?” he asked with obvious interest.

  “Yes, I live,” pausing a second, I didn’t want him to know exactly where I lived because I didn’t want him finding me in the future. It wasn’t hard to find anyone in the small town of Rogue River. “I live here.”

  We reached the conveyer-belt, and I put my shoes and purse in the plastic container.

  He kept going, “So what’s your name?”

  I wasn’t paying attention anymore. I walked swiftly through the detector, grabbing my purse and shoes in one quick motion. In socked feet, I left Scott in my wake. I felt a little ashamed, but I stuffed it to the back of my mind. There were lives at stake right now.

  As I reached the back of the airport, I stared at a wall of windows overlooking the runway. There were several planes on either side of me. Some were loading and unloading people, some were backing away heading out to the airstrip for takeoff.

  Where do I go from here, left or right? I was beginning to panic. Scanning for anything that looked familiar, I spotted Austin James. That’s what was familiar to me the last time I saw the vision. It was him! Paul and Kim talked to Austin right before they boarded their plane. Running straight up to him, I caught him off guard.

  “Austin!” I threw my arms around his neck.

  “Breanna?” He gasped.

  I pulled away, realizing the boy standing in front of me wasn’t the same boy I had grown up with. His once round face had thinned over the last couple of years, and he was a lot taller now.

  Looking into his baby blue eyes, I said in a shaky voice, “Austin where are they?”

  “Where’s who, Bre?”

  “You were just talking to them. I saw you.”

  “Bre, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t talked to anyone since I got here.”

  “No…I saw you talking to them right here…” I pointed at the dirty industrial carpet. “I heard you. You asked where they were heading and if they were going to be gone long.”

  He shook his head helplessly, muttering, “You heard me? Maybe we should sit and take a second to settle you down.” He reached for me.

  “No!” I yelled at him, jerking my arm out of his grip. “I don’t have a second.”

  “Bre, who did you see me talking to?”

  “Paul and Kim.”

  “Paul and Kim?” I heard him say their names, but I wasn’t paying any attention to him or anything else he was saying.

  The clock above our heads read 6:06 pm. I checked my plane ticket. I needed to be at gate A-15.

  “Which boarding area are we in?”

  “A-11.”

  “Which way to A-15?”

  “I think it’s down that way.” He pointed to the right artery. “Are you late for a flight?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “It’s either LA or San Diego, I don’t know which one it is,” I exhaled, feeling defeated.

  “Well, I think the San Diego flight is B-13 or 14, if I remember correctly. If you’re going to San Diego then you want the B concourse, which is down that way to your left. Wait a second, what do you mean, you don’t know where you’re going?”

  Pulling my thoughts together, I made a quick decision to go to gate A-15, where my ticket instructed.

  “Thanks!” I shot away from him.

  A-12, A-13, A-14 all flashed by me quickly. I tried to pick out anything that would indicate I was on the right track, but nothing looked familiar to me. Coming up on A-15, I scanned the crowd for the Andersons. I knew that Kim was wearing a red top. With every red thing I spotted my heart stopped just for a second, hoping it would be her. None of them were. Running up to random people, I asked anyone if they knew a
Paul or Kim Anderson, but no one did and I feared I had taken the wrong turn and should’ve gone the other way.

  Coming out of Terminal-A, I caught sight of Eve again. I truly didn’t want to cross paths with her, especially right now. All the same questions came to mind, but what I mostly wondered was how she got past security.

  “Hello, Bre.” Eve smiled sheepishly.

  “Who are you and what do you want? Why are you following me?” I hissed, walking away from her.

  “I wanted to find you and apologize for almost hitting you with my car,” her words breathed deception.

  “Whatever.” I tried to get around her but she stepped in my way. “I’m kinda busy, so if you don’t mind...”

  “Bre, you have time. Just let me make it up to you. Let me buy you a cup of coffee or something.”

  “I don’t understand what you’re doing here and why you’re following me, but you need to leave me alone,” I snapped, breaking into a run.

  She matched my pace, not affected by my rudeness. Throwing herself in front of me, I was forced to stop. “Bre, why are you being so mean? You don’t even know me.”

  “That’s right, I don’t know you,” I barked, trying to step around her again and failing.

  “Bre!” I turned my back to Eve to see Austin running toward me.

  “Austin?”

  With Austin out of breath and trying to compose himself, I looked behind to find Eve had disappeared.

  Finally catching his breath he fired off, “I found them! I talked to them!”

  “You talked to the Andersons!”

  “Yes, just now. They came up to me just as you said, and the conversation was exactly the way you described it!” his eyes widened and he looked a little pale.

  “Did you stop them?” I exclaimed.

  His face fell. He had no idea he should’ve stopped them. “No, I didn’t. Why? Bre, what’s going on? Paul didn’t have any idea who you were or why you’d be looking for him. And how did you know what our conversation would be?”

  “I’m really sorry Austin, but I don’t have time. Which way did they go?”

  “That way.” He pointed behind him. “Terminal B-20. They said that they were heading to San Diego for a wedding. Their flight had been delayed and it was scheduled to leave at six-thirty.”

  Taking a quick glance at the clock again, I was taken aback when I read 6:21 pm.

  “Austin, I have to go!”

  “Bre!” I heard Austin say, concerned, but I was gone, weaving through the crowd and leaving him behind, wondering what this was all about.

  Thoughts of Paul and Kim pounded in my mind. If I didn’t make it to stop them from boarding that plane, they would no longer be living breathing souls. I felt frantic. Paul’s illuminating smile and Kim’s stunning beauty cut into my heart and the heaviness was almost more than I could bear.

  Turning the corner, I passed a souvenir shop and came up on B-20. The seats were empty and there was a line of people waiting to board the plane. I ran up to the line and scanned every face. They weren’t there. Then, as I peered into the gray tunnel, I saw a glimpse of red, but it quickly disappeared. Darting toward the tunnel, I was stopped by one of the airport workers who were collecting the tickets.

  “I’m sorry Miss, but you’ll have to wait your turn before you can enter.”

  “No, I’m not on this flight. You don’t understand, I just need to talk to someone for just a minute!” I was bordering on hysterical.

  “I’m sorry, but if you don’t have a ticket, then I am afraid that you can’t board.”

  I tossed my ticket in his hand, and he told me, “I’m sorry Miss, but this isn’t your flight.”

  I knew then, I wasn’t getting through and they weren’t going to let me pass. “Paul! Kim! Paul and Kim Anderson! Paul! Don’t get on the plane!” I screamed.

  Suddenly, a man in uniform approached me and pushed me back, announcing sternly, “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave now.”

  “Paul! Paul!” The last “Paul” melted into a sob.

  It was over. They were gone. How could I have let this happen? This was all my fault, they were going to die, and it all was because of me.

  “Next in line, please.” The man motioned to the couple behind me.

  I watched them step up to the worker. Oh my god, what about everyone else on the plane. They’re all going to die. What if I say the plane is going to crash? That would stop it. But then my eyes rested upon the big security guard and the thought of being thrown into jail stopped the words from exiting my mouth.

  I sat down on a chair, gazing out the window at the plane, and pictured Paul and Kim settling down into their seats waiting for their flight to take off.

  “Bre, there you are. Are you alright?”

  Austin’s form was distorted by the tears streaming down my face. I shook my head. There was nothing I could say. This pain was more devastating than I ever imagined.

  Sitting down beside me, Austin put his arm gently around my shoulder and I melted into his embrace as I sobbed harder.

  “Paul?” Austin rose to his feet.

  Could it be true?

  I jumped from my seat. It was them, standing right in front of me. I suddenly became uneasy because I had no idea what to say. I had to convince them not to get back on the plane, but how?

  Walking up to where we were, Paul asked with a slight awkwardness in his voice. “Austin, is this the girl that you were talking about?”

  “Yes, this is Breanna.”

  I cut off whatever he was going to say, and pleaded with him, “You cannot get on that plane!”

  “What are you talking about? Why? Austin, who is this girl?” Paul demanded.

  “She’s a friend of mine and I really think you should hear her out,” Austin insisted.

  “Okay, young lady, why shouldn’t we get on this plane?” Paul’s voice held considerable skepticism.

  Should I tell him that I thought the plane was going to crash, or that I just had a bad feeling? I didn’t know what to do. For a second, all six eyes were fixed on me. As I glanced over to Kim’s face, she looked terrified, and the words came to me. It was almost as if she knew, and she was begging for me to say it out loud.

  I was trembling, speaking in a low voice, “Because, I think something’s wrong with the plane, and you shouldn’t get on it…” I paused. It was almost unbearable to even speak the next words. “If…if you want to live.” There. There it was. I had said it.

  “Final call for boarding flight three six nine zero, going to San Diego,” the agent announced specifically eyeing us.

  Paul stood there, dumfounded. There was fear behind his eyes, then somehow it lifted and he spit out, “This is ridiculous, Kim! You’re unbelievable. I can’t believe you contrived this scheme to get out of flying! You used this young girl to conjure up this story so you wouldn’t have to get on this plane! Like I told you before, everything is going to be fine, now let’s go.” He was enraged.

  “No, Paul I didn’t do this. I have no idea who this girl is, but I believe her,” her hurried voice shook.

  “Well, Miss, um, Breanna is it? I am truly sorry you came all the way down here just to waste your time. Now let’s go, Kim!”

  “No, she didn’t call me! You can’t get on that plane!”

  I stepped forward as Paul grabbed Kim’s hand and jerked her toward the plane.

  “Paul, I’m not going!” Kim said with a stern and furious voice, over-toned in fear. She released her hand from his grip and stopped.

  Forcing myself to calm down, I suggested, “Why don’t you drive down to San Diego?”

  “That’s a great idea because I am not getting on that plane,” Kim commanded.

  “Fine Kim, you go ahead and drive. I’ll see you there.” Paul said frostily, as he headed for the terminal.

  “No, Paul, No!” Kim shouted, but Paul had disappeared again through the tunnel.

  “Kim, we have to stop him!” I persisted, “You have
to stop him! He has to believe me!”

  Kim was sobbing, “Breanna, are you sure something is wrong with the plane?”

  “Yes. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” I stated so strongly that I surprised even myself.

  She looked deep into my eyes and knew I was telling the truth. With that, Kim ran up to the entrance leading into the jet-way, but the agent was already closing the doors.

  “I am sorry Ma’am, but I can’t let you through.”

  “Paul! Paul!” Kim started screaming so loud that people in the other waiting areas left their seats to see what all the commotion was about. “Paul! Paul! Come back!” Her words were mangled with tears. She wept as she clung to the guard blocking the entrance.

  “You really need to step away. The plane will be taking off soon and these doors need to be closed.”

  “No, you don’t understand I have to get my husband. He can’t get on that plane. You need to let me through, please. Please,” She was hysterical, grabbing the guard shirt trying to make him understand.

  My heart was breaking. I had to fix it, but what could I do?

  “I’m very sorry, but I can’t,” the impeding gatekeeper sadly announced.

  Austin came up behind her and took her hand to lead her back to the waiting area so the agent could pull the last door shut. She sat down, and I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know if I could speak. I watched as this beautiful woman lost herself in a dark hole. No one should ever have to endure the terror of what I believed was about to happen. She loved this man, deeply. It ran so deep that it was truly excruciating to watch her go through the pain of not knowing if she would ever see the man she loved again.

  I looked up just as the plane started to pull away from the jet-way. My heart seemed to disengage from my body, almost as if I had an invisible string attaching it to the plane.

  As the engines fired, Kim looked up to take in the sight of her husband slipping away with every tire rotation. She threw her body against the window, hitting the glass with her fist over and over. He was lost to her now. There was nothing she could do.

  “Paul, Paul, please, please…” she sobbed, sinking to her knees. She was lost, having no power or control to intervene. She became a mere puddle on the floor.