You're crazy, Jennifer.
Wh-What do you mean I'm crazy? Because I'm hearing voices!? No, no way. I-I mean, who even says that?
Take them. You'll feel much better.
…..maybe I am crazy, Duke.
I thought the voices stopped. Why are they back? I'm not from here? I don't belong in this world? If I wasn't born here, where in the world am I from!?
Why can't we just go back to the way things were?
Boston. 3AM. What other reason would a person be awake if it weren't for a lack of sleep and a pounding headache? Jennifer lazily placed her hands over her alarm, positioning it see the time. She already knew how early it was but her brain wouldn't register it until she's seen the proof. "Ugh, I'm so sleepy…" she mumbled as she glided the covers away from her body and walked towards the refrigerator. For the past six months, her brain was on auto and she have yet to find a way to snap off the power.
Lack of sleep. Well, nothing a bit of food can't fix. "So," she stated, taking out a can of apple juice before plopping down on the couch, remote in hand, "…let's brainstorm."
The voices were a bit different today. She's heard so many before that mentioned names she's never heard; Audrey, Nathan, Duke, Claire, Howard–she knew no one with these names. So where could they all originate from? This time, strangely, Jennifer heard her own voice. Has she spoken to these people?
"Nah, that can't be true." Static flicked through her mind while the TV was colorful as ever. Nothing interesting ever came on so early in the morning but with her body clock being messed up on occasion due to these episodes, she's been up and down. Working on assignments was a stress reliever but she found herself having to start all over again due to her trembling fingers.
Her stomach had a strange craving for cookies. When was the last time she's gone shopping?Click. Click.
'Who are these people? What are they talking about?'
Click.
'Why did I call out their names? Are these characters I made up in my mind?' She was known to be bit of an outcast…right?
ClickClickClick.
When did she ever have imaginary friends? Never.
Clicking.
Jennifer dropped the remote down onto the couch, standing to her feet and wasted no time heading towards her pantry to fish out any sort of snacks she could find to ease the pounding.
"There are some leftover peanuts in here." What else could go with it? Her mouth would be a desert once she's through. Ice cream usually worked as some sort of comfort food and she didn't really need too much of that?
"Who is Audrey Parker?"
Jennifer poked a few packs of chips.
"Is that really my name?"
Her fingers scratched the back of her neck.
"Audrey!"
No, no, not this again. It came back. They screamed her name–it echoed on walls. What was this? Two men searching for one woman only to end up silent. Maybe their pleas fell to those empty walls that no one could hear. Words bounced back and forth like a ball on a tennis court but Jennifer could hear everthing.
"…wrong? J—–! ….up. Jennifer!"
"No no no no no," she whispered, "…don't call my name. Don't call my name. Don't call my name!"
So much agony in that voice—-why were they in pain?
Nathan. Duke. Audrey. Audrey. Audrey. Duke. Howard. JENNIFER. William. Claire. Arla. Jennifer. James. Jen…
Everything became a melting pot of words, screams, crying and anything else in between. She couldn't breath. Trembling fingers reached for the cabinet, yanking it open for only her pills to spill out, bouncing against the floor in slow painful steps.
"We should have never opened the door."
Black out.
More silence. Until, finally, her lungs filled with air and she sat up. Jennifer felt her fingers pinching the arm of the couch. Did she have a nightmare? There were no voices and when she turned to face the floor, there was no mess. As much as it freaked her out, she smiled, looking down at the steaming cup of tea she made for herself as the TV flashed on. She heard a man talking, usually in a monotone voices with occasional highs and lows depending on what he was speaking about, that went along with the news just about every day.
"Children at the Boston Aquarium were stunned when an unidentified man suddenly appeared in the seal tank."
Wow, does that person sound like a nut job. Jennifer sipped her tea, letting the warmth comfort her body and mind, wiping away any form of sweat she felt from her forehead. The man continued, "A spokesman was unable to explain how the man was able to get into the tank in the first place." Jennifer had to catch up on a few more assignments before she head out for the day so she only caught a few snippets of what the man was going on about…until she heard another voice that stood out.
"Look—listen to me! Audrey Parker! You understand me?! Audrey—"
What?! Not even remembering where her remote was, Jennifer snatched it off the table and spammed the volume button. He was still yelling after all that.
"Listen to me! Audrey! Parker!" It was a man…a voice she's heard before. Did her imagination bring him to life? No…that's not possible. But he spoke the name of the person she's been hearing for so long. The woman shot to her feet, not even bothering to check for anything else, grabbed her bag and keys and headed out the door.
This was her chance to figure out what was going on. It couldn't be a coincidence; her luck wasn't that good. Not going to let this pass under her.
Everything felt a bit more organized now.