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Chapter 6 - A New Nightmare
She nodded her head, sniffling, and forced a small smile. His eyes were amazingly compassionate, and she immediately was lost in them. She couldn't help but trust his simple, yet promising words, and she surprisingly felt a little better knowing he was there with her. She stood up with her back to him, trying to wipe away her tears. His arms wrapped around her waist, and she jumped from the unexpected contact.
" Sorry," he said, stepping back as her brain momentarily was frozen for words. She felt her stomach growling and sighed.
" Hungry? " he laughed, straightening up, and she turned to face him again.
" Yeah, well... this sure is one hell of a diet..."
" Hey, thought this was a G rated camp site, missy..." he said laughing, and she gave him a sarcastic smile.
" Haha.. Funny. I'm just lookin on the bright side.. At least since there's no food around here, I won't break my dam- darn diet..."
" What's with chicks and diets anyway? " he asked, and she saw his obnoxious side again. " I just mean, why are girls always dieting, that's all.." he quickly corrected himself.
" Don't ask me..I'm usually anti-diets, but some people just like things a certain way..." she trailed off while twirling her bright red locks,letting him know there was more to what she was saying, but making it obvious she wasn't about to elaborate.
" You look perfect to me..." came his quiet reply, and she lowered her eyes, feeling the color rise in her cheeks.
" Tell that to my management.." she mumbled, keeping her eyes on her foot, which was now digging holes in the sand.
" Management..?"
" Yeah, that's where I was headed to.. I sorta don't wanna talk about it.." she answered quietly, making it rather clear that it was a touchy subject.
He just nodded his head, and once again wrapped her in his arms. " Okay, but you're management is making a huge mistake if they're telling you to change...take it from someone who knows."
She didn't answer, just held onto h im tighter, wanting more than ever to believe his previous words, " Everything will be fine..."
He slowly made his way through the dark aisles of the wrecked plane, feeling as though something was holding him back; it almost felt as something was warning him not to move further in, but he had to. He had to check. Most of all he needed closure.
He continued to pull himself along, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, but watering from the putrid smell of burnt metal mixed with mold and rotting bodies. The floor was covered with about an inch of water, with a color resembling dark blood combined with dirt. He kept his eyes forward, not as prepared to deal with death as he thought he was. He continued on, but stopped when he met his destination. Empty seats. They were gone. From out of nowhere came a loud creaking noise, and he turned, spotting nothing but more darkness. He looked down only to find mutilated body parts surfacing through the water. He could feel himself struggling to breath, but he felt almost out-of-body. Again he heard the noise, and opened his burning eyes to see them, standing zombie like at him. They stepped closer to him, revealing shredded clothing and straggly hair; their entire bodies were ash-covered. Their skin had taken on a pale, deadly color, and dried blood ran down their faces. Both sets of eyes let him see a cold, hollow soul deep with in each of them, and for a moment he was truly scared, frozen in place by their intense and deathly stares.
" I'm sorry..." came Tommy's strained voice, and he felt the tears pour out of his eyes. Tears of regret, hurt, sadness, pain but most of all guilt.
Their faces showed no signs of hearing him, and they continued their robot-like walk towards him, now with evil grins drawn on their chapped lips. Tommy managed to take a step backwards, but they were now advancing on him, slowly repeating his name.
" What... what are you guys doing... come on... No! Stop guys, wake up! NO! I'm sorry... I'm sorrry... God, I'm sorry..." he struggled as they placed their icy cold hands on his shoulders, and continued to shake him. But their hands slowly turned warm, and the voices they were chanting in turned soft and almost concerned.
" Tommy, Tommy... TOMMY!"
She screamed his name as she shook him harder, growing more worried as he continued to repeat how sorry he was, as tears spilled down his cheeks.
" Tommy, wake up! Wake up.. It's only a dream!" she continued to shout as his eyes slowly opened, and he stared into her own tearful eyes. He looked around, and had never been so thankful to know that he was only dreaming.
" What happened ? Are you okay, you were screaming your head off in there.." her worry was apparent, and he couldn't help but be glad she seemed to care.
" Oh God... I let them die.. It was all my fault, all me.. They switched planes, I made them.. I told them to fly out with me... they - they weren't gonna, but they work for me.. I told them they could help with my newest client.. I - God Damn it, what did I do! It should have been me! " the tears were falling at a steady rate now, running down his cheeks; wiping them away did nothing to dry his face. She crawled closer to him, the tight space in their cave making it difficult, and put her finger under his chin, silently asking him to look at her.
" It's not your fault Tommy.. You didn't know.. No one knew! Don't feel bad... there's a reason you're still alive..." both her eyes and words were honest, and there was nothing he needed more at the moment. He tried to thank her, but words wouldn't come out, so he held her in a tight embrace, thanking her without words.
She was surprised at his sudden naivety, but couldn't help but be amazed at the many layers he consisted of. She held onto him just as tight before laying down. She could still hear his low sniffles, but was glad she could help him, even if it was only with a hug. She felt his warm hand slip into hers, and she turned around to see him facing her. He opened his arms, mutely inviting her into them, and she smiled as she moved over, quickly kissed him gently on the lips, and left the 'cave'.
She picked up the guitar case she had abandoned when she heard his screams. She paused, not sure if she should open it, but she couldn't go another minute without playing. She unsnapped the case and stared longingly at the Les Paul in front of her. She couldn't believe it. She had wanted one of these since she was five years old.
She picked it up, grabbing the pick she had in her pocket, and quietly strummed the beginning chords to her winning song, singing quietly.
"I've been sitting in the dirt (for 24 hours)
I've forgotten my own worth, (for 24 hours)
Said that you'd be here last night"
She noticed her voice was shaky, but she was trying desperately not to wake Tommy. She just wanted to play, and her voice got stronger with the next few lines.
"I'm trying to shake you from my skin (for 48 hours)
Clean up this mess I've been put in (for 48 hours)
I'm guessing you can't always win
I'm guessing you can't always win.."
She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked at Tommy guiltily.
"I'm... I'm so sorry," she started.
" For waking me, or borrowing my guitar?" he asked, but she noticed he was smirking.
"Both," she replied honestly, putting his guitar sadly back in its case.
"Might as well finish the song now, girl," he smiled, sitting down next to her in front of the dim fire, and she couldn't suppress the grin on her face.
Jude woke to an empty space beside her, and shivered from the cool breeze. She yawned and stretched, noticing the now empty space next to her. She looked around, noticing the new scent entering her cave.
This is awful. I've never been so hungry in my life... She thought to herself, placing a hand on her grumbling stomach. There's no way we're getting by for much longer without food... She crawled out of the cave, making a mental note to herself. She stood up and stretched again, her eyes slowly adjusting to the bright sun.
" Mornin' sunshine," she heard Tommy's cheerful voice, and turned to find him leaning against the rock wall, holding something that resembled a bowl. She eyed him suspiciously before walking over, very curious as to what he had.
" Whatcha' got there?" she asked, leaning over to see, but he held it further away, ignoring her question and asking his own.
" Do you always sleep so long?"
" Maybe... whatcha got there? Come on, let me see..." she said tiptoeing, but he held it out of reach. She frowned and looked up at his smiling face.
" Sleep okay?"
" Yes..." she grumbled, giving up.
" Good. Are ya still hungry?"
" Yep.." she said walking away from him.
" Good."
He smiled when she stopped walking, and shot him a quizzical look. " How's that good?"
" Cause I found something..."
