The Fall
He sighed as he relaxed on the bright, sunny day. The warm summer sun bathed his body and a gentle breeze cooled his hot skin. He sat up on a high cliff that over looked the ocean; from his spot a safe distance away from the cliff; he stared in wonder at the clear blue water.
"Come on!" A little girl called; he stood and followed the child's voice over the cliff's edge. Peering down, he watched the ocean change from blue to blood red. The foam on top of the water was now pink and began to stain the rocks and beach below him.
"You promised you'd catch me! You let me die!" she wailed, just as he opened his mouth to protest two small hands pushed him, sending him over the cliff. The sharp rocks below him rose to meet him.
"NO!" he screamed as he crashed onto the rocks…
Dustin Brooks woke screaming his body covered in a cold sweat, his limbs were entangled in his yellow flannel sheets, causing him to hit the floor with a thud. Panting for air where he landed, straining to remember the dream that filled him with terror. The images were fleeting from him and all he could recall was the blood red ocean and the little girl's voice accusing him.
"Dustin? Honey? Are you alright?" his mother, Cathleen Brooks, called from downstairs upon hearing her son scream and fall out of bed.
"Uh, yeah mom, I'm fine," he called down to her; his voice wavered and convinced no one that it was true.
"Well get dressed and come down for breakfast! You're going to be late for work again if you don't hurry up," She warned. Dustin sighed and crawled on his hands and knees to his dresser where he pulled out blue jeans, a white tank top and a lightweight yellow flannel shirt to cover it. He reached up for the top of his dresser and pulled himself up until he was standing. He began to dress then looked at his reflection in his mirror; the quick glance relieved a tall 17-year-old boy with unruly brown hair and deep dark eyes that were rimmed with dark circles. Usually everyone's first reaction was to his soulful eyes, and as he looked he didn't even see a resemblance to the teen he usually saw in the looking glass. He stopped staring and hurried downstairs, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand as he entered the kitchen. His mother had her back to him; her attention was completely focused on making breakfast for her son and husband who was already seated at the table. Donald Brooks looked up as Dustin took a seat and he furrowed his brow at his son's vacant expression.
"Dustin? Are you ok?" he asked, his son's scream of terror had echoed from his room on the second story down to the first floor and probably across the street. The scream seemed inhuman; Don had never heard anything filled with so much pain and horror in all his life.
"I don't know," Dustin stated staring at the mahogany tabletop; Don rolled his eyes at the typical male response.
"What were you dreaming about? I hope the neighbors don't call the cops accusing us of murdering you or something," Cathleen said from the stove as she moved the eggs around in the pan with a spatula. Dustin gave a weak smile and closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand.
"I can't…I can't remember," Dustin said, unable to remember what had caused him to have such a violent reaction. "But…I remember only two things, the ocean was blood red and a little girl telling me that I didn't catch her and I let her fall." Dustin recalled and knew something was wrong as his father jolted up and his mother nearly dropped the plates of food she was carrying. "What? What is it?" he asked, his mother didn't answer as she set a plate down in front of him and Don, then returned to her seat with a plate for herself.
"It's nothing…nothing at all, just a weird nightmare," Don said as he took a bite of food that his wife had spent a majority of the morning making. Dustin glanced at the clock and realized that he had 10 minutes to get to work. Shoving 3 huge bites into his mouth, he yelled a muffled good-bye to his parents as he grabbed his car keys and rushed out of the house. Climbing into his car, he drove off to work; he had gotten a job a few months back at an extreme sports store and he loved it. He pulled into the parking lot with two minutes to spare and hurried inside where the usual crowds of people were milling around, lazily looking at things to buy. He walked into the backroom where he found his boss Kelly Johansen and clocked in.
"Morning boss," he said, putting on a happy face that fooled no one. Kelly took one glance and knew something was wrong; his normally cheery expression was dead and listless.
"Dustin, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned for him; he shook his head and sighed.
"Nothing, I had a bad night's sleep. I had a nightmare, I can't remember most of it, but it's bothering me," he said. Kelly gave a comforting smile, knowing how that usually went.
"Well, on the bright side, you have work to do. It'll help keep your mind off things," Kelly said, Dustin laughed and nodded to two large boxes of motor oil, antifreeze and other engine supplies.
"Let me guess, shelf them?" he asked; Kelly didn't glance up from her clipboard as she took inventory.
"You got it," she replied, Dustin placed one box on top of the other and carried them into the store. As he set his two boxes down, he saw his two best friends, Victoria Hanson and Shane Clark, drifting around from various displays.
"Hey guys," he said as he opened a box and began to unpack the boxes.
"Hey Dustin," Shane called from across the store.
"You ok Dustin? You look like crap," Tori said, causing customers in the store to glance in his direction.
"Thanks Tor, I appreciate that," he said and rolled his eyes, as a bright and obnoxiously "You're welcome" drifted from three aisles away.
Dustin continued to unload the boxes as time wore on when a child's blood curdling scream ripped through the air. Dustin jumped and dropped a gallon of oil he was holding, causing it to split open. The oil splashed everywhere covering his pants, shoes, and the aisle around him. He let out a groan as pain ripped through his head. Clutching his head with both hands, it was as if the floodgates opened. Memories rushed back that had been repressed for years.
10 year old Dustin smiled as his family took him to the beach. He walked in between his parents, and at his side he held his little sisters hand.
"Don't go far, you two," Cathleen warned her children.
"We won't! Come on Lucy!" Dustin told his 6-year-old sister as they ran off with joyous laughter.
"If you go up to the ledge watch your sister closely!" Donald called; he knew his children loved going up to the ledge of the cliffs above so they could look down at the ocean below them.
"I will!" Dustin promised and ran off. Lucy ran faster than he did; she loved to out run her big brother, it made her proud. "Lucy! Slow down!" Dustin called; Lucy laughed and looked over her shoulder at her brother and not where she was going. As he got up to the hill he saw no sign of his sister. Then her screams cut through the air…
"Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! What's wrong?" Kelly demanded trying to snap Dustin out of the trance he had slipped into. His face was contorted in terror and a scream was ripping from his throat. Dustin finally blinked and stopped, and glanced around and saw everyone staring at him. Tori and Shane were beside Kelly, fear in their faces.
"I-I have to go," he stuttered and ran from the store and into the parking lot, frantically trying to get his car keys out of his pocket. Tori and Shane followed him closely.
"Dustin? What's wrong? What happened?" Tori asked, her blonde hair flying into her face as the wind picked up.
"I don't know, I have to go home…Lucy…" he murmured as he climbed into his car and drove away. They ran back inside to Kelly and Shane looked at her.
"Kelly, he remembered Lucy," He stated. The woman's eyes grew wide and she hurried over to the phone and dialed Dustin's home number. On the third ring Cathleen answered and the news she dreaded the most came true.
"Thank you Kelly, I have to talk with Don now. Thanks again." She told her hung up; she looked to her husband, and pulled him towards their room.
Dustin drove into the driveway and climbed out of his car shaking, his body was covered in a cold sweat. He headed into the house and heard his parents talking upstairs. He climbed the stairs and walked towards their room. As soon as he got close enough, he stopped dead in his tracks at what he heard.
"-We knew this was going to happen, Don. The Doctor told us this wouldn't be repressed forever. He would remember eventually, we should have been prepared for this," Cathleen said, and Dustin heard his father sigh heavily.
"How can we prepare to tell our son that his little sister is dead and it was his fault?" Donald asked.