Chapter Five
Anniversary
Night had fallen once more and Altessa had finally fallen with it; she had fallen asleep at her desk, pen still in hand where it was poised over her homework assignment. Her eyes moved behind her closed lids, dreaming, immersed in an uneasy sleep, filled with a dark dream, similar yet oddly different to the ones she had suffered before.
In her dream she was once again alone in a place she didn't know, hardly able to see through the thick curtain of darkness that hung before her face. But as she peered through the darkness, taking a few steps forward, she saw that she wasn't alone after all, that there was another faceless figure in the dark with her. As Altessa stared at the immobile figure she realized that she was comforted by its presence, wanting nothing more then to go to it, feeling as though it took away from the darkness in the place.
"Who are you?" Altessa called into the din, unaware that she had spoken at first and not expecting an answer. She wasn't disappointed.
Suddenly, the teenager was alone in the dark again, the familiar, smothering nightmare returning. Altessa found herself unable to fight the gas, as usual, and all but let the dream vapor shove itself down her throat, letting the foggy fingers of Death close around her once more.
As she drifted out of consciousness, she heard a soothing female voice whispering in her ear but she couldn't make out the words. But the comforting sensation had returned and the voice was the last thing she heard before everything was completely dark.
* * *
Altessa woke, breathing heavily, a cold sweat dripping down her cheeks and forehead; she was once again the victim of the only nightmare she could ever remember, once again awaking during the middle of the night with no hope of drifting back to sleep.
Pushing the raven locks away from her face, Altessa glanced around her room, watching the shadows cautiously, feeling that everything seemed strange. For a second, she had the sensation of awaking in an unfamiliar place, only to feel foolish when she recognized the familiar landscape in her room.
Sighing once more, she stood up, pushing the wooden chair behind her as she walked away from her desk, heading to her unused bed. As she laid down atop the covers, Altessa picked up the worn teddy bear that her boyfriend had given her on their first date and crushed it against her chest, gazing up at the ceiling.
Sleep was impossible and so she lay, surrounded in darkness and discomfort, the inaudible words of the comforting woman ringing in her ears.
* * *
Kimberly yawned and rubbed her eyes, stretching her arms above her head; she paused, frowning slightly and glancing around her. She had apparently fallen asleep on the couch, though she hadn't even remembered laying down; for a brief second she panicked, wondering if Thomas had come back that night and had simply decided not to wake her, or if she was still alone in the apartment. The worry paused when she realized that she had been gently covered with a ragged blanket, undoubtedly by Thomas. And, as she became more aware, she could hear the sound of the shower running, drifting down from the hallway.
She yawned again, tossed the blanket aside, standing up, heading toward the kitchen. As she rummaged around for the coffee pot, Kimberly gazed out the window, noting how the sun was just beginning to rise, sending its rays through the light fog that had gathered. She paused to look at the early morning sunrise, trying to remember the last time she had seen one; before long, the sun disappeared behind the clump of trees that had grown almost directly in front of the window.
Kimberly busied herself making coffee, barely remembering the details of a dream that seemed to linger on the edges of her mind. As she thought about it at the moment, she couldn't remember if the dream was a nightmare or something else entirely, finding herself unable to remember too many details. What she did remember, however, was that she was in a dark, unfamiliar place, but she wasn't alone, but the person with her was not someone that she knew. Everything was dark and hazy and she brushed the thoughts quickly from her mind, finding it nearly easy to do so.
As Kimberly watched the coffee pot drip, she heard the shower shut off and Thomas begin to softly hum to himself, causing her to smile slightly. The morning seemed so peaceful, blissfully normal and she forget all about Death and it's Design for the moment.
'This,' Kimberly thought to herself, 'is exactly why you have to keep fighting the Design, for mornings like these.'
* * *
As Altessa crept downstairs, she could hear that the other three members of her family were already awake, gathered in the kitchen. Having spent the entire night awake, the teenager hurried into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and get the caffeine flowing through her body.
Altessa ignored her mother's false greetings and remain deaf to her father's explanation of something he read in the paper, concentrating only on the coffee and the dream from the night before. Despite the haze in the dream she had the strong feeling that it meant something good, for once, and she could feel it, deep in her scarred body that something was about to change. The life that had been jarred on that not so "Fateful" day a year ago was about to get set back on track and today would be a different day, a day that would end unlike any other. Today, things might straighten themselves out.
And that thought made Altessa smile.
* * *
"Today is going to be a very strange day." Kimberly mulled, more to herself then to Thomas, who was sitting beside her. "I can feel it."
Thomas glanced over at her, pausing as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips, studying the brunette beauty beside him. He knew she was bound to say something to that extent sooner or later, since Kimberly was always thinking about death and its tangled Design. But today, even he was thinking about it, for it was the one-year anniversary of the pileup on Highway 23. He couldn't help but think that if anything was going to happen, it was going to happen today.
"Strange?" He repeated, setting his cup down without taking a sip. "Kimberly, strange can mean so many things."
Kimberly smiled slightly, glancing over at him, her blue eyes taking him in. "I think today is a good strange." She wasn't sure if she believed in what she was saying but at the moment, it seemed like the only thing to say. Thomas mumbled something about that being much-needed but she wasn't paying attention to him any longer, standing up and walking over to the window.
She hadn't told him everything she felt, how could she tell him about the foreboding feelings that were mixed with the good ones? How could she tell him about the feeling that something was coming, the same feeling she had gotten when she had started out for Daytona a year ago? Thomas would surely only tell her that she had nothing to worry about, her feelings were simply misplaced and that they were off Death's list. "For good." He would always add after that statement and she could always tell that he was convincing himself.
Every time he said those two words, Kimberly always worried if he was truly right, if they truly had beaten the Design, or if Death was only tricking them into being safe, into letting their guard down. But as she turned around to face him again, she said none of these things, couldn't bare to confess her worries when she glanced at his soft face and half-smile as he looked at her.
"We should do something today, get out of this place and go to a movie or something." She suggested instead, feeling the need to do something normal on such a painful, abnormal day
Thomas appeared to be slightly surprised by her words at first, even more so by the drastic change in topic. He stood up, walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, kissing the crown of her head before ruffling her hair. "All right, sounds like fun." He agreed when she pulled away from him, a fake frown on her face.
Kimberly couldn't help but smile, turning her gaze past his face and out the window again, seeing that the sun had fully risen and the powder blue sky was beginning to take on the navy blue hue of the afternoon. The day seemed nearly perfect, like she hadn't seen since the day of the Daytona trip.
But in the distance, a mass of dark cloud had begun to mar the horizon.
Anniversary
Night had fallen once more and Altessa had finally fallen with it; she had fallen asleep at her desk, pen still in hand where it was poised over her homework assignment. Her eyes moved behind her closed lids, dreaming, immersed in an uneasy sleep, filled with a dark dream, similar yet oddly different to the ones she had suffered before.
In her dream she was once again alone in a place she didn't know, hardly able to see through the thick curtain of darkness that hung before her face. But as she peered through the darkness, taking a few steps forward, she saw that she wasn't alone after all, that there was another faceless figure in the dark with her. As Altessa stared at the immobile figure she realized that she was comforted by its presence, wanting nothing more then to go to it, feeling as though it took away from the darkness in the place.
"Who are you?" Altessa called into the din, unaware that she had spoken at first and not expecting an answer. She wasn't disappointed.
Suddenly, the teenager was alone in the dark again, the familiar, smothering nightmare returning. Altessa found herself unable to fight the gas, as usual, and all but let the dream vapor shove itself down her throat, letting the foggy fingers of Death close around her once more.
As she drifted out of consciousness, she heard a soothing female voice whispering in her ear but she couldn't make out the words. But the comforting sensation had returned and the voice was the last thing she heard before everything was completely dark.
* * *
Altessa woke, breathing heavily, a cold sweat dripping down her cheeks and forehead; she was once again the victim of the only nightmare she could ever remember, once again awaking during the middle of the night with no hope of drifting back to sleep.
Pushing the raven locks away from her face, Altessa glanced around her room, watching the shadows cautiously, feeling that everything seemed strange. For a second, she had the sensation of awaking in an unfamiliar place, only to feel foolish when she recognized the familiar landscape in her room.
Sighing once more, she stood up, pushing the wooden chair behind her as she walked away from her desk, heading to her unused bed. As she laid down atop the covers, Altessa picked up the worn teddy bear that her boyfriend had given her on their first date and crushed it against her chest, gazing up at the ceiling.
Sleep was impossible and so she lay, surrounded in darkness and discomfort, the inaudible words of the comforting woman ringing in her ears.
* * *
Kimberly yawned and rubbed her eyes, stretching her arms above her head; she paused, frowning slightly and glancing around her. She had apparently fallen asleep on the couch, though she hadn't even remembered laying down; for a brief second she panicked, wondering if Thomas had come back that night and had simply decided not to wake her, or if she was still alone in the apartment. The worry paused when she realized that she had been gently covered with a ragged blanket, undoubtedly by Thomas. And, as she became more aware, she could hear the sound of the shower running, drifting down from the hallway.
She yawned again, tossed the blanket aside, standing up, heading toward the kitchen. As she rummaged around for the coffee pot, Kimberly gazed out the window, noting how the sun was just beginning to rise, sending its rays through the light fog that had gathered. She paused to look at the early morning sunrise, trying to remember the last time she had seen one; before long, the sun disappeared behind the clump of trees that had grown almost directly in front of the window.
Kimberly busied herself making coffee, barely remembering the details of a dream that seemed to linger on the edges of her mind. As she thought about it at the moment, she couldn't remember if the dream was a nightmare or something else entirely, finding herself unable to remember too many details. What she did remember, however, was that she was in a dark, unfamiliar place, but she wasn't alone, but the person with her was not someone that she knew. Everything was dark and hazy and she brushed the thoughts quickly from her mind, finding it nearly easy to do so.
As Kimberly watched the coffee pot drip, she heard the shower shut off and Thomas begin to softly hum to himself, causing her to smile slightly. The morning seemed so peaceful, blissfully normal and she forget all about Death and it's Design for the moment.
'This,' Kimberly thought to herself, 'is exactly why you have to keep fighting the Design, for mornings like these.'
* * *
As Altessa crept downstairs, she could hear that the other three members of her family were already awake, gathered in the kitchen. Having spent the entire night awake, the teenager hurried into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and get the caffeine flowing through her body.
Altessa ignored her mother's false greetings and remain deaf to her father's explanation of something he read in the paper, concentrating only on the coffee and the dream from the night before. Despite the haze in the dream she had the strong feeling that it meant something good, for once, and she could feel it, deep in her scarred body that something was about to change. The life that had been jarred on that not so "Fateful" day a year ago was about to get set back on track and today would be a different day, a day that would end unlike any other. Today, things might straighten themselves out.
And that thought made Altessa smile.
* * *
"Today is going to be a very strange day." Kimberly mulled, more to herself then to Thomas, who was sitting beside her. "I can feel it."
Thomas glanced over at her, pausing as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips, studying the brunette beauty beside him. He knew she was bound to say something to that extent sooner or later, since Kimberly was always thinking about death and its tangled Design. But today, even he was thinking about it, for it was the one-year anniversary of the pileup on Highway 23. He couldn't help but think that if anything was going to happen, it was going to happen today.
"Strange?" He repeated, setting his cup down without taking a sip. "Kimberly, strange can mean so many things."
Kimberly smiled slightly, glancing over at him, her blue eyes taking him in. "I think today is a good strange." She wasn't sure if she believed in what she was saying but at the moment, it seemed like the only thing to say. Thomas mumbled something about that being much-needed but she wasn't paying attention to him any longer, standing up and walking over to the window.
She hadn't told him everything she felt, how could she tell him about the foreboding feelings that were mixed with the good ones? How could she tell him about the feeling that something was coming, the same feeling she had gotten when she had started out for Daytona a year ago? Thomas would surely only tell her that she had nothing to worry about, her feelings were simply misplaced and that they were off Death's list. "For good." He would always add after that statement and she could always tell that he was convincing himself.
Every time he said those two words, Kimberly always worried if he was truly right, if they truly had beaten the Design, or if Death was only tricking them into being safe, into letting their guard down. But as she turned around to face him again, she said none of these things, couldn't bare to confess her worries when she glanced at his soft face and half-smile as he looked at her.
"We should do something today, get out of this place and go to a movie or something." She suggested instead, feeling the need to do something normal on such a painful, abnormal day
Thomas appeared to be slightly surprised by her words at first, even more so by the drastic change in topic. He stood up, walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, kissing the crown of her head before ruffling her hair. "All right, sounds like fun." He agreed when she pulled away from him, a fake frown on her face.
Kimberly couldn't help but smile, turning her gaze past his face and out the window again, seeing that the sun had fully risen and the powder blue sky was beginning to take on the navy blue hue of the afternoon. The day seemed nearly perfect, like she hadn't seen since the day of the Daytona trip.
But in the distance, a mass of dark cloud had begun to mar the horizon.