It all begins here...
I laid flat in a hard, stony road. My body felt so heavy. I felt so weak. I'm awake, but I can't get up and I can barely open my eyes. My head is pounding, like someone's hitting it with a sledgehammer. Where am I?
I can feel the raindrops falling gently, soaking me wet. I can't hear any splashing footsteps walking by. It was all too silent, only broken by the continuous falling of the rain. I just can't stay lying here until I catch the flu. Come to think of it, I think I already do. My body feels so hot. Nevertheless, I must get up...
No, I can't. My arms seemed too weak to lift me up. Where's Hallie and the others? Are they here too? Suddenly, I heard splashy footsteps running. I also heard a man's voice. He was speaking to himself.
"Oh darn it! Stupid rain! I'm soakin' wet!"
I wanted to call out to him, but I couldn't. I opened my eyes but I can barely see anything. My vision was hazy. I felt a little strength flowing through my body so I used it to stand up. But it was not enough. My vision became blurry again. Then, everything faded into darkness. Again.
"He...lp....unh..."
I fell flat on my back there again. But I felt strong arms lift me up.
"Hey, are ya alright? Hey!"
I opened my eyes, but my vision was blurred again. But I can see the outline of this person's face. The shape of the face was just like-
"Frank?"
"What?"
I extended my hand to touch his face. It felt warm, even though he was drenched with rainwater. I felt his hand on my forehead.
"Oh no, yer burnin' up! I gotta bring ya back to da Lodging House! I'm sure Kloppman'll understand."
He held me tight in his arms. I was pushed back on his chest.
"Warm..."
Then, I fell asleep.
"Is she going to be alright?"
"I think so. Her temperature isn't that high anymore."
"Oh, thank goodness."
I heard voices speaking. Those voices are very familiar. I opened my eyes and saw my sister and my friends standing there, looks of worry drawn on their faces. I was relieved to see them.
"Hallie..."
She turned her head at my direction, almost too fast for her to crick her neck.
"Haylie, thank goodness you're okay!"
She looked ready to fling her arms around me, but I'm glad she held herself in as my head is still very sore. Instead, she just sat beside me.
"Where...am I?" I asked, looking around the room. I noticed that it's a bunkroom, with maybe a few dozen double deck beds with messy sheets and clothes hanging on each posts. This room looks vaguely familiar to me...
"Well, neither of us will be able to answer that." Dawn said quietly, wearing a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose. I think that she doesn't want to be in this place, judging her extremely vain personality. Even a small speck of dust would make her scream at the top of her lungs.
"Yeah, but we met these guys who helped us. And ya know what? One of them looks exactly like-"
"Shh! Gail! Could we not?!?" Hallie interrupted. One of them looks exactly like who?
"Who is she talking about?" I asked, curiosity overcoming me.
"She is talking about no one." Said Taylor in her usual drawl.
"Is she alright?" a hoarse voice asked from behind.
"Oh yes, Mr. Kloppman, dude. She's fine. The fever's completely gone." Gail said.
Mr. Kloppman is an old man, maybe between the ages 70 or 80 years old. He looks very kind, although I know he could be very strict.
"Glad to hear it. Now you girls could stay here for a while, if you'd like." He said and smiled at us.
"Thanks, sir!" Gail said, beaming. Me and Hallie bowed at him. It is a Japanese custom we've learned from our mother to bow when you're being introduced to someone. It is a sign of courtesy and respect.
"It was very kind of him to let us stay here for while." Hallie said. I just smiled at her. But then, my mind wandered on the subject about who found me and brought me back here.
"Guys, I just wanna know," I said, "does the guy who found me live around here?"
They looked stunned after I said that.
"Umm, we're not sure if he's really the one who found you..." Gail said, looking anxious.
"...but he says that he is." Hallie continued.
Suddenly, a bunch of boys walked into the room.
"So, she's alright now, eh?" one of them said.
"Yeah." Taylor replied abruptly.
I noticed that Dawn's eyes were glued onto a blond boy with glasses. I just remembered that she has a thing for blond guys. She looked very interested in him.
"Are ya feelin' okay now?" the bespectacled blond guy asked.
"Yes, thank you for asking." I replied, bowing my head. He looked at me with a somehow vague expression of weirdness beneath his glasses.
"We're glad dat yer okay!" a black boy said.
"Thank you." I said.
"I'm Boots, by da way. And dat one with da glasses is Dutchy." He said, pointing at the blond bespectacled boy.
Pretty soon enough, every single one of them introduced themselves to us. I tried to find someone who looks like the guy who found me, but...neither of them does. It's time for me to introduce myself to them.
"I'm Haylie. And I'm pretty sure that you already know my sister and my friends." I said. They all nodded to each other. But I'm disappointed that I didn't get to know who was that one who found me lying somewhere.
"What's the matter, Haylie?" my sister asked.
"Nothing, Hallie. Nothing." I said quietly.
"Comin' t'ru! Comin' t'ru!"
"Hey Jack! Where've ya bin?"
"Uh, I tink he was sellin' papes, Mush!"
"Yeah, yeah. So, is da goil alright?"
"Oh yeah, she's fine Jack. I can't believe you found her lyin' in some alleyway!"
Someone made his way through. For some unknown reason, Hallie and the others were looking as if they were dreading something. And there he was, standing right in front of me.
The moment I saw who you really are...made me shiver. That same question haunts me again. Is that...really you? Because the one I'm seeing right now, standing in front of me is you. The one that haunted my dreams. The one I saw in that field in the trance. And the one who bears the eerie resemblance to Frank.
Jack Kelly.
