I woke up with a scream. The bedsheets were hot and stuck to me. Wildly, I fought off the duvet and clutched my cushion to my chest, curling up into a cocoon. It was just a dream. Come on Jacklyn, calm down. It was just a dream... My rapid breathing calmed down again. It was three am on the clock.
I swallowed and stood up to go get a glass of water for my burning throat. Suddenly very self-conscience of how loud I had been, I lay down my pillow and stepped as quietly as possible onto the wooden floor. Why we still had a wooden floor was a mystery to me. Everyone else had tile or carpet, but my mom insisted that we keep this incredibly loud and squeaky floor because of all the 'memories' that were hidden in it. Just as I had successfully made my way to the door without making a sound, I saw it again. That faintly blue glowing light. That wretched piece of stone that had killed Kat. And I remembered how real everything was. That it hadn't been just a dream. Kat was gone and nobody knew what had happened, except for me.
One month has passed since the incident.
I had told no one about what had happened in the forest. Who would have believed me anyway? It's not like I could just waltz up to a police officer and tell them that a blue arrow had appeared out of nowhere, killing my friend. Or, it had not really killed her, since she had still talked to me afterward and seemed completely fine, and then disappeared into thin air. No, nobody would believe me.
And since nobody had seen us walking off into the forest together, she was presumed to have run away or been kidnapped. Her parents were throwing a fit. Her dad even retired from work for a while and Mrs. and Mr. Chastel decided to hire a private detective to find Kat. The newspapers were also informed. She was their only sunshine, with no brothers and sisters. And they were going to get her back at any costs.
Even the School had addressed the issue. The director had held a speech about how from now on school trips, every single student had to have their phone, iWatch or any other electronic device with them at all times and curfew was set at 11pm. If someone wasn't in their rooms at that time, they would be sent home immediately.
Our teacher was surely going to get fired for letting this happen. But when she was asked what she had been doing that evening, we as a class stuck up for her and told the police that she had told us to go to bed and we had left the bunker on our own initiative.
You see - Mrs. Dougal was one of the sweetest teachers we knew. She didn't deserve this. All she did was let us be us. Staying up late is just part of being on a class trip. It's just unfortunate that this had to happen to her of all people, one of the few teachers who actually gets the fact that teenagers are old enough to do their own thing.
Carefully I picked up the three arrow feathers and the arrow tip that remained. The shaft had disintegrated almost immediately after Kat had handed the arrow to me. The night was as bright as day and made the blue feathers shine even more and the arrow tip was even sparkling ever so slightly. My bloodshot eyes filled with tears when I thought about Kat again. She had been like a sister to me. I still had a bag full of her things downstairs ready to be sent back to her grieving parents. What pained me the most is that I couldn't tell them what had really happened. Not that it had been more comforting but it would have been the truth.
I sat down at my desk and shoved away all the papers and pencils and other things that shouldn't be on my desk in the first place, to make some space for the four objects I was holding. At first, I had wanted to throw them all away so I would never have to see them ever again. But, alas, I kept them as a sort of last memory of Kat. I also couldn't deny the fact that they were incredibly beautiful feathers, unlike any I've ever seen before. The stone of the arrow tip was also breathtakingly stunning, sparkling in the moonlight and cloudy by daylight. It had this otherworldly aura to it I couldn't quite place.
Maybe I could sell it. I'm sure it's worth a hefty sum. No, no way. I had to keep it. I wasn't sure why, but for some reason, I felt like I had to keep it at all costs. Weird. Why would I? It's only bad memories. And yet, despite my rational thinking, I kept it. And that night I found a matching blue thread from my little sister's jewelry kit and made a necklace from the stone and feathers. As I was holding up the necklace to bathe in the last rays of the moon, that sharp edge had such an enticing allure to it I couldn't tear my eyes off of it. I wonder what that cool stone felt like... No way. I shook my head. What was I even thinking?
I needed sleep. Yeah, that will help. Cautiously I placed the necklace onto the desk. I tipped my window slightly to get some fresh air in, then snuggled myself back into bed.
As the lights go out I slowly get lulled to sleep by the mild wind rustling the trees outside.
A few hours later I was violently woken up again by my alarm clock. I hadn't slept well at all last night and, when I looked into the mirror, I looked just as terrible as I felt. My eyes were lined with dark eye bags, my hair was an absolute mess and I felt sticky all over.
I needed a shower. Desperately.
It was Saturday and it was Felix' birthday, so he had invited the whole class to go go-carting since his parents owned the go-carting course. Unfortunately, the only time available was in the morning so up I was at nine a.m. on a Saturday.
A sin really.