April, 2006
New York City, New York

It was raining, as it had been for the past 2 weeks in New York City. Great, fat droplets of rain dropped from the sky and splashed into puddles and storm drains, or else landed on the crowds of people as they pushed their way home. Audrey was among that crowd, being shunted in all directions by sopping wet strangers. She was in no hurry, she liked the rain. It was a sign that spring was finally in the city. April showers bring May flowers, and all of that. She took her time, jumping in every puddle, splashing through every river of water that ran along the ditch into the drains. People stared at her as they passed. Audrey payed them no mind. Let them stare, she thought. She was alive, she was living out her dreams in New York, and she was loving life.

Audrey danced and twirled her way through the streets, all the way to the apartment that she shared with her twin brother, Kyle. It was a small, cramped, six story walk-up above a little Italian restaurant. The whole building smelled like tomato sauce. She absolutely adored it. Audrey drew her key out from her coat pocket and twisted it in the door handle. It took a little jimmying, but the door clicked open. She swung on the handle as the door opened with a loud creak. Oil. She needed to oil the hinges. The stairs leading away from the restaurant and up to the apartments were freshly cleaned, smelling strongly of lemons and bleach. The sharp scent burned at Audrey's nose as she climbed. The door to the apartment was open, and she heard music coming from within. Audrey smiled. Kyle had his guitar out.

"Well maybe there's a God above, but all I ever learned from love, was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya..." Kyle sang in his rich baritone voice. He had a voice as smooth as velvet, as rich as caramel. He could be famous, perform on a real stage for adoring fans, if he really wanted to. He was that good. But no, he preferred his small gigs, playing birthday parties, covering Elvis songs at the old folks home, and playing at the pub every Thursday night.

"Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah..." Audrey chimed in, hitting the harmony in a clear soprano voice. She was often told she had a nice voice, too. She used it to her advantage, got herself a job as a singing waitress in a small cafe in the downtown area. She was a crappy waitress, and could barely make a minimum wage in tips, but when she sang... Those were always good nights for her.

"You're home early," Kyle commented, still strumming quietly. His hair was tousled, and Audrey knew that he had only just gotten out of bed. It was nearly 4 in the afternoon. Lucky for him, his income didn't depend on waking up at 5 in the morning.

"Boss sent me home. He said he'd rather pay me for the hours I didn't work than have me chase away any more of his customers," she answered honestly. "I see you just woke up."

"I couldn't sleep," he answered. Now, Audrey noticed the tired rings around his eyes. "I had strange dreams, and my head has just been killing me."

"Dreams?" Now Audrey was interested. "I've been having them too. What happens in yours?"

Kyle stopped his strumming and turned his head to Audrey. His eyes were lined with dark shadows. "There... hard to explain. In them, I'm standing alone, in the dark, but I'm not alone. I can hear people around me, asking me to help them. But I can't. I feel so powerful in this dream, like I have the ability to save them, but there's something holding me back."

Audrey's eyes widened. "That's almost exactly what happened in my dream. Only... did you see a child?"

"A child?"

Audrey nodded. "Yes. In my dream, there's a little boy, standing right in front of me. And he asks me.." Audrey was overwhelmed by a sense of sadness, of disappointment. "He asks me why I didn't do anything. Why I didn't save them... save him." She felt ashamed of herself, and she didn't know why. It was only a dream. And yet, every time she saw that little boy in her dreams, she was ashamed of what she hadn't done. Kyle was shaking his head.

"I've never seen a child. That's weird. We usually have the exact same dreams."

"But what could it possibly mean?" Audrey had never appreciated dreams. She had never liked the whole idea behind 'dreams being the subconscious minds way of sorting through the problems of the conscious mind'. She just wished her mind would tell her what it was thinking. Kyle was a little bit deeper, in the sense that he enjoyed his dreams. He wanted to make sense of them, to interpret them to improve his understanding of himself. He always had the answers. But right now, however, Kyle looked just as lost as she was.

"I have no idea," he admitted. "I don't particularly feel like I have the ability to change the fate of humanity. I'm just some guy with a guitar, singing his way from paycheck to paycheck, with a twin sister who can't even wait a table without sending someone running." Kyle thrust his face into his hands, sending his guitar tumbling onto the floor. Audrey could tell that he was tired, and frustrated, but it still stung a bit. She tried, hard, and he knew that. He must have sensed that she was upset by his comment, because moment later he lifted his head and looked at her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"I know." That was all she needed to say. The two of them sat there in silence. Moments passed, and neither one spoke, They communicated through that silence all of their affection and caring for each other. They had always been more than just siblings. They were best friends. They were the only family they had left. After about an hour, Audrey broke the silence.

'You're tired. We both are. Maybe we ought to just unwind a little. I got tips from singing this afternoon... we could go catch a movie. Just you and me. You in." She could tell that Kyle didn't even need to think about it. A night out is exactly what they both needed. He nodded, and Audrey smiled. "Great," she said. "I'll grab your coat."

Audrey leaped to her feet and skipped over to the coat hanger by the door as Kyle busied himself by picking his guitar up, wiping it down, and placing it lovingly back in its case. To them, it seemed like it would be just another normal night in the city, the two of them together. They had no way of knowing that tonight would be the night that everything changed.

Tami - Thanks for your review. However, the Audrey in my story is not Agent Hanson of the FBI. The fact that their names are the same was purely a coincidence. The name 'Audrey' was given to me by a friend who helped me with the story idea.