CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jet drifted into the parking lot and even before he could turn the engine off, Alec was out of the car. He was pretty sure if they weren't in a hurry, the older man would have killed him for reckless driving. He quickly followed after Alec who he found looking around the shore.
But—it was empty.
There was no more sign of Alice or even her crows.
"Damn," Alec growled as he kicked the sands. "Where are you, Alice?"
Jet with no idea how to comfort his partner, slumped down on the sand on his back; using his arms as a pillow. He stared at the setting sun and the tricolored sky it had created. It was so quiet. With just the sound of the sea filling his ears and then the cold, salty wind; it was enough to relax his senses and he slowly found himself closing his eyes.
-"It's coming. It's coming. Run. Hide. It's coming,"-
The voice which sounded so familiar and strange slowly vanished in the back of his mind. And as soon as it was gone, a bloodcurdling scream of a boy replaced it as another voice begged him to save them.
Jet's eyes flew open and he bolted upright, beads of cold sweat rolled down the side of his face. His breathing ragged as the scream echoed in his ears. It was an unearthly wail of utter terror. And it was something he'd never forget.
And he found himself inside a dining room with a long table that could seat 20 persons. Plates had been doled out. There was a variety of food and a square cake in the middle of the wooden table. 5 birthday candles were lit and the fire danced softly as the wind blew from the open little window by the corner.
Suddenly, there were children around him and they were singing a birthday song. But—he couldn't see anyone. All he could see was a black mist shaped like people. In the middle of the one, two of the taller mist suddenly transformed into monsters as the rest of the people ran out of the room.
His breathing deepened as the voices and screams replayed like a broken record and he couldn't see what was in front of him anymore. All he could see was the crimson color of blood covering everything and anything. He raised his shaking hands only to see it covered in the same sticky liquid as everything else.
His chest tightened as his sight slowly darkened. He couldn't breathe. Something was constricting his throat. He was burning; his lungs, his mind—everything was hurting. Desperately gasping for breath, he fell on his knees and clawed at his throat to remove whatever was blocking his windpipe.
He kept on clawing, desperate for air but he found no comfort. The voices crying for help became louder as the bloodcurdling scream echoed in the far-off distance. Despite not moving, he found himself shaking; aggressively his head bobbing up and down.
Suddenly, there was a sting in his left cheek and the darkness that was slowly overtaking him vanished as he found himself back at the beach. Wide-eyed and confused, he looked in front of him and saw a very concerned Alec observing him.
He could see Alec open his mouth and was saying something but he couldn't hear a word. Dazed, disoriented; all Jet could do was look around him. He was definitely at the shore. The sun had completely set behind Alec and the street lamps by the road had already been turned on.
Softly, he could hear the roar of the waves. But it all sounded so far away. He found it hard to focus his eyes as he felt so . . . groggy.
His head moved up and down, side to side, and refused to listen to his commands. There was another stinging pain on his cheek as Alec slapped him. His eyes rolling around, he tried to focus on Alec who was holding him in the shoulder, he realized.
Alec was saying something. His mouth was moving. Jet squinted his eyes in an attempt to clear the fog in his head.
"What?" he asked; though he couldn't hear even his own voice so he wasn't sure if anything came out of his own mouth.
Shakily, Jet raised his hands to grasp the man in front of him as he felt himself falling down. But as he moved, he felt his stomach churned and bile rose in his throat. He pushed Alec away as he fell on all fours and threw up.
His stomach felt like there were dozens of moths flying inside and his throat on fire as he continued to vomit everything he had for lunch. When it stopped, Jet found his remaining strength left him and he rolled to the sand. Everything was spinning once more.
Tired, weak, and disoriented, Jet closed his eyes and allowed the darkness to swallow him.
~oOo~
"What happened?" Clinton asked as he entered Jet's hospital room.
The young man was on the bed; still unconscious. While Alec was sitting on the plastic chair beside the bed, his head hung low. Clinton couldn't help but sigh. With everything that was happening, he knew Alec must be worried out of his mind.
"I don't know, sir," he answered without looking back. "We were at the shore. He took a nap. And suddenly, he just--,"
His voice trailed off as he remembered what had happened. Jet just suddenly bolted upright. But—one look at his eyes told Alec that he really wasn't seeing what was in front of him. It was a look of complete and utter horror. And before Alec could even think of what was happening, Jet started clawing at his own throat as he wheezed, choking on nothing.
"He clawed. And clawed until he peeled the skin of his throat. Out of desperation, I slapped him. But—I. . . I don't think. I don't think it did anything," his voice broke as he clenched his head between his hands, his fingers gripping at his hair. "I... I don't know what happened. It was like. . . It was like. . . A waking nightmare,"
Clinton put his hand on top of Alec's hunched back to support the man. But even he had no idea what to say.
The crow sitting outside the window cawed as it spread its wings. And into the night, it flew away.