"A memory?"
"Not just any memory: it was my actual father's death."
Katie looked at me with pure shock. Apparently, the guys and I got to go back to the Palm Woods since the FBI got called into the investigation. This could get worse than we thought. So now all of our tour dates are pushed back to until the investigation is closed. So now, I am sitting in the kitchen with Katie, talking to her about the memory. I'm not calling it a dream because I know it wasn't a dream. No child dreams about their parent's death in the woods when they were babies and didn't remember anything. I wasn't going crazy.
That dream was real.
Katie took a deep breath before saying, "What makes you think it's a memory instead of a dream?"
"In a way," I replied matter-of-factly, "it was the same exact dream as all the rest. And—" I trailed off after that. If I told her the whole dream, she would think I was crazy for sure.
"And...?" Katie begged for me to egg on. I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration. What was I supposed to do? Tell her the truth?
That would be the best option. At least you would have someone who would know.
Grr. That stupid voice! I've had it stuck in my head since the day our tour got cancelled! Why won't it go away?
Admit it: you love having me around.
Shut up before I stick my headphones in my ears really hard!
Oh please. That won't do anything to me. It'll hurt you, though.
How's about I blast my eardrums with the loudest Metallica song possible?
Voice got quiet after that. Hehe. But Voice was right: I had to tell someone.
And it seemed the best option was Katie.
I sighed.
"And," I hesitated, "I was holding a baby. But not just any baby. That baby was me."
"It could've been another baby!" Katie argued.
"But it wasn't!" I protested, raising my voice a little. "I know it was me because that baby had my eyes, smile, nose, ears, and hair color! There is not another person in this world that has my nose or smile! It was me!"
"How could you look at yourself as a baby?"
"I was looking through Dad's eyes."
"How did you know that was you as Dad?"
"It wasn't my voice that was talking. It was Dad's."
"How did you know it was Dad's voice?"
"It was the same voice that sang me to sleep when I was a baby." Katie thought for a moment. Hmm... I wonder if I could push into her mind and see what she's thinking...?
That wouldn't be such a good idea.
Sigh. Voice. Stay out of my head.
I could if I wanted to, but I'm supposed to be making sure you don't cause too much trouble.
Well, you haven't done a good job at it.
And it was true. Voice hadn't done a good job at trying to keep me out of trouble. The guys and I all pulled the ultimate prank on Bitters.
The Spaghetti Prank.
See, we served Bitters spaghetti as an "apology" for destroying the lobby with our annual prank war (again), but what he didn't know was the fact that there were laxatives in the spaghetti sauce. He was in the bathroom the whole night, which led to James and Carlitos throwing a huge party.
And that was just yesterday.
Today, the guys were all laying out by the pool, and Mom was out shopping and getting dinner. And Katie and I, as you've already noticed, in 2J.
Don't read her mind, Kendall. Trust me. That would be one of the worst mistakes of your life.
How?
Voice didn't answer. Great. Thanks. Just so that I won't have a lecture about reading people's minds again, I just didn't. I waited patiently for Katie to ask me another question.
"What were his supposed last words?" she finally asked. I thought back for a moment. What were his last words? Then they came back to me.
"Since I'm one who won't be killing you, then my son sure as hell will be."
His last words.
In all honesty, they scared me. What did he mean I was supposed to kill the guy? Of course, a part of me wanted to because I grew up without a father, and that man took him from me and my family. I never thought Dad was murdered. Mom told me it was a car crash. Now that I know the truth, if that man that killed my father is still out there, he's going to pay.
But I'm not a killer.
"He said, 'Since I'm the one that's not killing you, then my son sure as hell will be.'"
Katie's eyes widened. She blinked. I was waiting for her to tell me that I needed to see a shrink and just to shut up. But the question she asked me shocked me the most.
"Do you think your birth dad was murdered?"
I didn't really know how to answer that one. But in the memory, I knew it was real. He died because a man shot him in the heart with a gun. How could that not be murder? But then again, Mom told me he up and left after I was born. It's pretty obvious now she was lying. But I just let it go and decided not to talk about it for eleven years.
Of course, now I'm seventeen, about to make it to the big leagues in the music industry, and living in LA, practically an adult now. It was time for me to get the actual truth from her now, just for good measure. I could've been wrong, and Katie would have been right—that it was all a dream.
"I don't know," I sighed. I ran my fingers through my blond hair. This was so frustrating! Voice! Help me out here!
No comment.
Voice, I'm not in the mood. Help me out here. Is this dream real? Or is my brain playing tricks on me?
Why should I answer to you? You said you would blast your eardrums with the loudest Metallica song possible. Am I right, or am I right?
Voice, I'm sorry. I'm just not taking this news well. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Forgive me?
Hmm... I'll think about it...
Voice!
Ok ok! Jeez... you need to chill.
Voice, just tell me if that dream really happened or not.
I wish I could, but you need to figure it out on your own.
Why?
For reasons even I cannot even begin to explain. You will never understand until you figure it out for yourself.
But I want to know!
I know you do. But this… I cannot explain it to you. It is too difficult for even me to understand. You have to do this on your own. I am sorry, Kendall, but that's the way it is.
Just tell me! I can handle it! Please?
No answer.
I really hate you, Voice.
"Kendall?" I looked down at Katie, who was looking at me like I'd lost my mind. "Did you not just hear me?"
"What" was all I said in response. I didn't even know what she was talking about. Katie rolled her eyes.
"I said you need to ask Mom." What?
"No way! That's definitely out of the question!"
"Why? I'm sure she wants to know if her oldest child is having some type of memory-dream-thingy of his birth father's death."
"She'll think I've gone completely insane! I practically am insane!"
"No you're not."
"Yes I am! I can smell, hear, and see things I shouldn't! I can hear the thoughts of everyone around me! Even when they're talking in a whisper, I can hear everything they're saying! I can smell blood! A normal human being can't smell blood! But I can! I'm turning into a freak! I don't know what's going on with me! All I know is that ever since Jo left, I've been having the same nightmare every night, but now it's shifted into a possible memory of my father's death; and I'm growing more impatient, angry, anxious, frustrated, and depressed than I've ever been! I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm going completely insane!" I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath. I really needed to calm down before my explosion towards Katie got even worse. I hated yelling at her. I hated yelling at anyone, but especially Katie. I sat down on the edge of the orange couch, taking deep breaths. I really needed to control my new anger problems.
Why was all of a sudden so angry and upset all the time? I hate this more than anything, but what am I supposed to do? I can't just go to Mom, Kelly, Gustavo, or even the guys about this. They might think I've gone insane. Suddenly, I felt someone gently rubbing my back. I jumped a little but looked to see it was Katie. She came over and sat down next to me. I pulled her on for a tight hug. She instantly hugged me back.
"It's going to be ok, Kendall," she assured me. I knew she meant well, but I really didn't know if I could believe her or not. But I just let her keep trying to comfort me. It was working some, but not as well as I wished it would. The dream kept lingering in my mind. I had to figure out what was going on and why I was having these dreams. And Voice wasn't helping me any.
I've helped some.
Not that much. You won't even tell me where these dreams are coming from! That, and you won't tell me what the dream really means! But I know it's real. I know it happened. I can feel it in my bones.
What makes you so sure? Hmm?
Because when I follow my gut, I'm always right. And my gut is telling me that Dad was murdered, and he died protecting me.
Voice was quiet after that. It knew I was right. I was right. I knew I was. There were so many questions running through my head, though. But one question kept nagging me over and over again.
What did he die protecting me from?
/
I decided to go down by the pool with the guys a little while later. Katie was hanging out with Kyle somewhere. I brought a recent sports magazine with me to occupy my time. James and Carlos were playing catch in the pool while Logan was reading some book. I was in the middle of reading an article about Mike Fisher and his stats with the Senators when I suddenly heard Logan say:
"When did you get down here?" I looked over at Logie, who was eyeing me curiously. I shrugged and looked at my phone that was in my pocket.
"About ten minutes ago," I replied to Logan's question. "Why?"
"I just didn't notice you there." He shrugged and went back to his book. I looked at the cover of his book. The title of it said The Wolfman. Was he reading… a comic book?
"Why are you reading that?" I asked. Logan hardly ever read books about mythical creatures or anything that didn't have to do with science. Logan tilted his head a little until he noticed I was talking about the book.
"What's so wrong with this?" he said pointing at the cover.
"Nothing. It's just that—you hardly ever read comic books." Logan just smiled and kept reading. "What's it about?"
"It's about this guy who turns into a werewolf whenever the full moon comes about," Logan explains. "And he tries to find a cure to get rid of the werewolf curse, but he keeps killing the people he cares about."
"How does he turn into a werewolf?"
"He had been bitten by another werewolf while trying to hunt it. And he was given the curse." That was really weird. He was just given the curse of being a werewolf.
"What kind of stuff happens with the curse?" Logan tilted his head a little.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"How do people know if someone is a werewolf?" Logan had to think for a moment. Then he came up with several symptoms.
"Increasing anger, violent intentions, vicious behavior, insomnia, anxiety, sudden increased strength like the strength of someone on steroids—basically everything that has to do with anger and strength."
Increasing anger? Insomnia? Anxiety? Weird…
"But werewolves aren't even real," Logan added.
Werewolves aren't even real, my butt!
Voice! Shut up!
What? What did I say?
We'll talk about this—err, think—no… ah, forget it.
It's hard when you have a voice talking to you in your head. Don't worry. I hate being in people's heads, especially yours. Yours is just strange. Just saying.
Thanks, Voice. You're of real help.
Anytime, young one.
I shook my head a little before focusing on Logan talking to me again. We talked for a little while longer before he went back to his werewolf comic book and I to my hockey magazine. But I just couldn't focus on the magazine. I decided to get up and go take a walk around the Palm Woods Park. Besides, I needed to stay as far away from Bitters as possible. And maybe I could ask Voice some questions?
Once I arrived at the park, I saw a lot of couples being all mushy-gushy, looking like they would last forever. That's how Jo and I looked when we were together. People would tell us to get a room all the time. It was annoying, but it was funny too. Now, I just miss those moments where Jo and I were together. I miss her more than anything. I just wished for her to come back.
I sat down under the big oak tree in the middle of the park. As I sat there, I felt completely relaxed. For the first time since Jo left, I felt perfectly fine. I decided to lie down and take a little cat nap. I put my hands under my head and closed my eyes, falling asleep.
/
Thump thump… thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…
Where was I going? There was literally nothing around me—nothing but black. This was weird. I felt like I was going to trip over my own foot or run into something. This wasn't like the other dreams; nothing like them. I wasn't in the woods.
So, if I wasn't there… then where am I?
"Hurry and get him before he gets away!"
"Stop him now!"
"Get him! I want him!"
Suddenly, a bright flash appeared. It almost blinded me, but I kept running. Once the flash died down, I saw…
You're kidding me, right?
I was looking at a village. Not some poor village, but an old-time village, like the ones from the 1700s. It was absolutely weird. I slowed down a little to take a look around.
"How did I end up in a village like this?" I mumbled to myself. Once I heard the screaming of the village people, I sped back up and sprinted with my life. I was not going to be burned at the stake. I ran as hard and as fast as I could. I couldn't stop; I wasn't going to stop. I ran for what seemed like forever until I ran by a house with a shadow. It looked isolated from the rest of the town. I stopped and looked behind me. Those crazy villagers were still after me. I had to hide. Now.
I ran over to the house and opened the door, flying inside. I turned around and leaned against the door, taking a few deep breaths.
"Who are you?"
I jumped and turned around to face a girl around my age with long, curly brown hair and big brown eyes. She was absolutely beautiful.
"Who are you?" she demanded again. Her voice sounded so familiar. For a second there, I thought she was—no. It can't be. There's no way.
"Jo?"
/
This isn't right. Why did I even come back? I knew I shouldn't have come back. Then again, maybe this isn't so bad—no. This is bad. I need to leave. Soon.
My eyes shot open. I sat up under the tree, only to realize it was dark out. Wow, I was asleep for awhile. I rubbed my eyes and looked around to see whose thought I heard. (Yes, I have been fully convinced I can read people's minds now. What else can I think, that I'm losing my mind? You know what, forget I even asked that question.) I couldn't see anyone around. I stood up to walk around and look. A small breeze came by, and I could smell the sweetest perfume I had ever smelt. I followed the scent, looking around as to where it could be coming from. I looked straight ahead and noticed a beautiful blonde girl pacing on the sidewalk in front of the entrance to the Palm Woods. I tilted my head a little to the side. I could sense that the girl was stressed, worried even. I was about to walk over to her when she pulled out her phone and began dialing a number. I jumped behind a bush and kept myself hidden.
I lifted my head a little above the bush at eye level. She kept dialing number after number. I wonder who she was calling?
You really shouldn't be worried about that. I rolled my eyes.
Really, Voice? Really?
Dude, I'm just saying. You shouldn't be worried about that. You have better things to worry about.
Oh really? And what should I be worried about?
That van that is about to pull up and kidnap that girl.
"Hey! Let me go! Let me go! Help! Somebody help me!"
I suddenly focused back on the girl, but a black van was blocking the way.
Well, what are you waiting for? Go save the girl! There was no stopping me. I hopped up on my feet, jumped over the bush, and sprinted over to save the girl as fast as I could. Once I came over to the side of the van, I could see two men dressed fully in black dragging the girl into the van. The girl was bound and gagged in the men's arms. I saw red and felt anger boiling in my blood.
"Hey!" I screamed—well, more like growled. "Get away from her!" I grabbed one guy and dragged him off the girl. I ran him headfirst into the van, making him fall to the ground. The other guy came up behind me and grabbed my neck. I grabbed his hands and threw him over my back. Once I saw that both of them were down, I ran over to the girl, who was crying in fear. I pulled the gag off of her and began untying her wrists.
"Are you okay?" I asked her quickly. I could see her nod once. Once I was done untying her wrists, I helped untie her ankles. I helped her up to her feet. I was about to ask her who she was when she pointed at something behind me and said:
"Look out!" I turned around to see one of the guys I had thrown down to the ground coming up behind me. My hand flew out in front of me and grabbed his neck. My grip kept tightening on him. I was strangling him.
I was killing him.
I let go of him and let him fall to the ground. The man got up and tried to come towards me again, but I put myself in a protective stance over the frightened girl. The man suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around and helped up his partner.
"Let's get outta here!" one of them shouted. They jumped into their van, started in the ignition, and sped off, the ear-splitting sound of screeching tires lingering in the atmosphere.
Once the van turned the corner off the street, I began feeling woozy. My vision was blurring up, and I was seeing black spots around me. The feeling in my legs was giving out. I immediately found myself falling into something, completely drained of all my energy. I floated to the concrete of the sidewalk right in front of the Palm Woods.
"Are you okay?" I heard a faint female voice say. I looked up and tried to focus on her, but I couldn't make out her face. "Kendall?" I could sense my vision getting a little clearer. And the girl's face was one I didn't think I would see ever again.
"Jo?" I managed to choke out. Then, I blacked out.
A/N: I know this took me FOREVER, but I was grounded. But now I'm not, so, I managed to get it finished!(: I hope y'all liked it! Review please!
Much love,
Jenna Lee3