~ I decided that the book could be kept the same and still have a happy end... the type of suspenseful theme I'm trying to use is inspired by two of my favorite authors - Dean Koontz and Lisa Gardner. Hopefully this story is far from over! :) ~
Chapter One: The Tape
I rubbed my forehead in a hollow attempt at soothing the headache that had planted itself in my brain. How could I live like this? How could I have let her go so easily? Why was I such a scared little bitch that I couldn't even find the words to talk to the girl I thought I was falling in love with? Why was it so easy to sit here and contemplate all of this, when an angel had eaten her death, and fallen to silence?
I didn't know. Honestly, I couldn't figure it out. I'd been this way all my life, always second-guessing so much so that I never did anything because I was afraid of the consequences.
But no, I couldn't blame myself completely. There were others at fault here. Others.
But then why did I feel so stupid? I knew all too well that I could've prevented this, I could've helped her. But I didn't know what was going to happen! I thought I had time, I was going to... I didn't know, I didn't...
Ah well, it was all in the past now. The past.
I stepped across my room and turned out the light, then walked back and fell onto my bed. I closed my eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep, the most rest I've had since...
"Please, Clay. I need you," she looked at me with such need in her eyes, her beautiful eyes; it was hard to listen to what she was saying when I was busy looking at those eyes. "I need you, please come to me."
"I promise, I am. I'm coming for you, Hannah," a thought flashed across my mind, and I knew I had to tell her. "I love you."
"I know, I know. We can hear things here, we know..." she trailed off, smiling softly, and I didn't need her to explain what she meant. I knew she was dead still, I knew she hadn't come back. But I couldn't figure out why I could see her so clearly, why she looked like she was actually sitting with me in my room, on my bed. Sure, it seemed like a dream, in all its outrageousness, but I felt wide awake. "I love you, too, Clay. You were my romeo... are my romeo."
She cupped my cheek in her hand, sorrow and regret filling her eyes.
"I have to tell you, Clay. I have to tell you all of it," a tear silently fell down her cheek. "Oh, God, Clay. You have no idea. It went wrong, I messed up. I can't believe, he said... he told me...." She was crying now, and I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms, to comfort her. I held her tight, stroking her back and hair. And then her words hit me.
"Who, who told you? Told you what, babe?" I whispered, not breaking my rhythm, keeping her calm, the tears at bay.
"I can't, not now. He's coming, Clay. He's coming for you next, but if you hurry, you can fix this. We can fix this."
I didn't understand, and she was slipping out of my grasp, backing away. "What...?"
"He is not what he seems, Clay, remember that." She paused, kissing him lightly. "I am still here, Clay. You must find me... Lies...." Her voice held a strange echoing effect in that last word, and suddenly she was gone.
I woke up in a cold sweat, realizing it was a dream. It was. Only a dream.
I got up, and in the default mode that had become my mask, I began getting reading for the day.
And then I stopped dead in my tracks when I found a single, small, black tape lying on my desk. "Help," was all it said.
Well, did you like it? Please review, and I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I get the time!