Jayden was happy that he was finally home. After eating dinner, they had talked for a while in the living room. Finally when Braylan had fallen asleep on the armchair, Jane rushed them to the beds. His head was perfectly fine and he was more than comfortable in his bed. Even though it was a bit cold and it smelled like clogged toilet, he ignored it and sprayed some air freshener. Air freshener helped a bit and he wrapped himself in soft, warm blanket like a cocoon. The sky was gorgeous. It was filled with black clouds. They lived in southern California (San Diego) and it was about time for the rainy season to start. He loved this place. There was a beautiful beach a few miles away from their home. But for a long time, they were unable to visit. He wished they would go to the beach sometime soon. He smiled to himself thinking about how he didn't want to leave Arizona (Glendale). He smiled to himself thinking about how be felt the day his dad has announced their departure. It was pretty cool here and he wouldn't change it even if he had an option. He was thinking about the good times, the times when they did barbeque. With a jolt, he realised that they haven't done BBQ since about three months. He made a mental note to tell his parents about it and to plan it soon. He was lost in pleasant thoughts and was about to fall asleep when someone grabbed his ankle and pulled him downwards. He sat up. His heart was pounding.
"Who's there? " He asked, switching on the bed lamp. No one was there but he knew he hadn't imagined someone pulling his ankle. His ankle was still twinging. He examined it in the faint, blue light of the lamp. He rubbed it slowly and groaned in pain. Now that he was wide awake, he could hear the strong blow of the wind. Was it wind though? It seemed like someone was blowing in his ears. He covered his ears with his pillow and closed his eyes.
After about 5 minutes, ge removed his pillow to gulp fresh air and he realises that it was raining heavily. The heavy water drops were hitting his window and made loud clattering sounds. 'It is going to be a rainy night. ' He thought as he heard the great bolt of lightning boom in the cloud, illuminating his room, then after a second, leaving it dark. Jayden felt like he was being suffocated in dark. He hopped out of his bed and tip-toed his way to the switches. He switched on a bulb. The room lit up immediately. He sat on his bed and took in his surroundings. He saw a shadow moving somewhere near the door but when he turned to confirm it, there was nothing moving. Intending to see the time, he turned towards his clock. He realised that it was not working at all. It was stuck on 17:00. He sighed and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. It was almost midnight. He felt bewildered at the thought that he was up till midnight and someone had grabbed his ankle. He sat up and examined his ankle in better light. To his horror, there were marks of fingers in his ankle. Which meant only one thing- he hadn't imagined that part. He laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. He had read about the military method to fall asleep within 10 seconds. He started practicing it, hoping it would work.
First he relaxed his face muscles, then he let the tension between his shoulders go, placing his arms at his sides, making sure the muscles were relaxed, he exhaled and relaxed his chest, thighs, shin and foot. 'I have to sleep! ' He thought again and again. He didn't fall asleep in 10 seconds, but it worked as he was fast asleep within a minute.
But his sweet sleep was disturbed by the dream which, strangely, didn't even allow him to wake-up until the horror had sunk in.
He was walking in a passage he had never seen in his life. He was desperate to find a way out. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him and he started walking faster. He wanted to get out of the passage before the footsteps reached him. But with increase in his speed, he heard running footsteps behind him. He started sprinting and the person behind him was maintaining the pace. Suddenly there was a wall in front of him and he stumbled and fell. It was a dead end. The footsteps had stopped. He slowly turned and saw no one so he simply rested his back on the wall and closed his eyes. He was about to sleep when he heard a tentative step. He opened his eyes quickly and saw Braylan, his face half covered in shadows. He relaxed himself after seeing his brother and closed his eyes once again. He heard footsteps and opened his eyes expecting to see Braylan near him. But Braylan hadn't moved since the last time he saw and the echo of footsteps was still coming. It was coming from behind Braylan. Braylan took another step and his face was now visible. He was pale and didn't say anything. He didn't even acknowledge Jayden sitting in front of him. Then the tall man appeared behind Braylan holding a dagger.
"BRAYLAN LOOK OUT! " He shouted, getting on his feet and trying to walk towards him. But something was pulling him back to the wall. He turned to see what it was. There were chains coming out of the wall, and they had wrapped themselves around him firmly, making him immobile.
"Stop struggling. " The tall man said in his same hoarse and raspy voice. "Take this! " He handed the dagger and pushed Braylan towards him. "Kill him! " He ordered.
"No I won't. " He replied, not even trying to obey his order.
"Kill him! " The tall man repeated, clearly not hearing what he had just said. Jayden didn't mice a muscle. "If you won't then I will! " The man added.
"No you can't. I have the dagger! " Jayden replied, fear bubbling inside him. "BRAYLAN RUN! " He shouted.
"HA HA HA HA HA! " The passage walls echoed the laughter that escaped the tall man's mouth.
"He can't run and I don't need your dagger. " With that, he pulled another dagger, this one looked deadlier. It had sharp blade and it resembles a short sword more than a dagger.
"This is how we stab in the back. " The tall man said, laughing once again, he stabbed Braylan in the back and to his horror, the tip of blade was visible from Braylan's stomach. Braylan didn't even scream but fell face forward on the floor right in front of him.
"NO, NOOOO! YOU ANIMAL!"He shouted, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! YOU ARE A KILLER! "He continued screaming while tears poured out of his eyes. He tried to sit down but the chain made it impossible to move.
"Next time, you will kill him. "The tall man said and the walls echoed the words.
With a jolt, Jayden woke up and saw a dark outline hurrying out of sight. He felt too
weak to ask or chase the figure. He was drenched in his sweat and the sleep was trying to overpower him. But he was too scared to sleep. The hoarse, raspy voice was still ringing in his ears.
" Next time, you will kill him. "