|∆FTER THE STORM|

The halls were filled with teenagers, and with that comes the constant chatter.

I hate the chatter, it's like standing in the middle of a jungle with thousands of hidden monkeys talking in the trees. I can't understand what they're saying, but somehow I know they are talking about me. The jungle is massive, and I'm just a tiny, out of place being without a reason to be there. The monkeys know I don't belong there. They probably wonder when I'll move on.

I took myself to the quiet library, then balled up in the floor between two shelves. I wanted to cry. I wanted to stop thinking about my stupid mystery, and just be done with it all. I replayed Josiah's words through my brain. 'Your time will run out, then you'll be on your own.'

I don't want that. I don't know why I told him I did. The last time I saw him, I told him to leave me alone. Is that the last time he'll show himself to me?

Then my mind flowed on to the beast... Could that have been the last time I saw him, when he was stalking after me and Larson?

This place is scary. Not the library specifically, but all of it. My house, the school, the lake, Josiah... All of it seems familiar, but yet it's not somehow. It's like it's the same town I've always known, but it has a dark cloud hovering over it all the time. Not a physical cloud, no, a mental cloud maybe. One that gives me a bad feeling about everything. A lonely feeling. Even though I have Larson, I'm still alone somehow.

I'm slowly losing the familiarity of everything. Nothing makes me happy anymore, it's hard to smile in this world. It's smothering me; suppressing me. I'm not free here; I'm a ticking time bomb.

Focus on the situation Harley, you don't have time for worrying. I need to find more memories, I need to force them on myself. I have to walk into them though, at least that seems to be the theme. I just happen to be doing something I did when I was alive, then it takes me to that time.

The problem is, I don't know where most of my very limited memories took place.

The ones of my parents are obviously at my house, but at this point, I don't even know if that is my house.

I have the one with my mysterious boyfriend and the jeep, but that could have been on any road...

The prom one was in the gym, maybe, but I don't see how it could help me right now. Although, it's the only lead I have, so I have to give it a try.

I walked over to the gym, only because I might catch a memory on the way. I didn't. The gray double doors stood in front of me now. Black, sparkly letters spelled out the words 'Go Mighty Wolf!'. Below that was a cutout black wolf with red eyes. Though it looked kiddish, it still turned my stomach. That has to be a coincidence... A sick one at that. Why would they even hang a wolf? I'm not sure of much, but I do remember that our school mascot was a knight...

I pushed through the doors and away from my morbid thoughts. The gym was dark, but squares of bright light from the outside doors flooded the floor.

There were no decorations, but I could tell this was the place where prom was. I had no idea what angle I needed to stand in. Without the décor, I had no sense of direction.

I decided to just walk around. I walked and walked, looking at trophies in glass cabinets. A few had Josiah's name on them, and a few came with pictures that I recognized from the sports section of the yearbook.

A sound broke the silence of the gym I thought I was alone in. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was a laugh.

I jerked my head around, scoping out every dark corner. I couldn't see anyone, but I could hear them laughing again. A guy and a girl chuckled low at first, but it soon turned into full blown laughter.

"Who's there?!" I yelled. My eyes still frantically searched the gym.

More people joined in on the laughter. It sounded like hundreds of people laughing in an audience, yet not a single person was visible.

My heart pounded. "Who's there?! Answer me!" I screamed again. My voice was shaky, and my eyes threatened me with tears. "Please! Leave me alone!"

Instead of stopping, more people joined in.

I ran towards the nearest door that led out of the gym. I slammed the door behind me, but I could still hear the cruel laughter.

Tears were pouring out now, and I dug out my cell from my purse.

What purse? I looked down to a purse slung around my shoulder. Where did I get a purse?

My fingers flicked through my contacts on the phone. I could barely see the screen through the tears, but I did recognize the picture that showed up. My boyfriend. The mystery boyfriend.

The phone was to my ear now, and my gaze was set on the packed parking lot. Every space had a car in it. It was night time now, and the street lights were on. It was daylight when I went into the school, no way it's dark already in real time. I'm in the past. A memory.

"Harley? What's wrong, aren't you at prom?" The voice in my ear said. It was a guys voice, but I don't remember it that well. It has to be his though.

"Baylor, come get me." My voice sounded like it was on the verge of breaking; like my tears would soon take away my breath.

"Bay?" I asked.

"What did they do?" He said in a low voice. It sounded like it came out from between clenched teeth.

"I'll tell you later, just come get me. I'm sitting outside."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

"Thanks Bay." I said quietly.
 
He had already hung up.

My body folded over, collapsing to the cement. My bare back was propped against the cold bricks behind me. I began to cry harder, in a full out sob. My whole body shook, and I clutched the silky fabric of the purple dress I was wearing.

I'm not sure how long I had been sitting there when an army green jeep pulled into the parking lot abruptly. It's horn honked as it slowed to a stop.

The drivers door slammed shut, and he came running over to me. It was definitely the guy from my other memory.

He knelt down in front of me, assessing the situation. "Aw Harley. It's okay kiddo, come on, let's leave." His green eyes flickered towards the gym doors.

The laughter behind them had faded away, and been replaced with more music.

He helped me to my feet, and took me into a tight embrace. "One day things will be better for us, I promise."

I hugged him back. Memory Harley really loved him, I could tell. She had a total mood change just at the sight of his Jeep. Her tears had all but dried up.

When he pulled away, he removed the flannel shirt he was wearing, and wrapped it around me.

"Thanks." I said, snuggling into the warm shirt.

I took a moment to look over him. Along with the green eyes, he had chocolate brown hair. It was shorter than Larson's, but no less messy.

His features weren't as beautiful as Larson's, but he was still handsome in his own way. His beard was just a layer of tiny dark hair, like he hadn't shaved in a few days. His t-shirt was old looking; it even had a few holes in it. His Converse and blue-jean pants were in a similar condition.

"Can we just talk here for a minute?" I asked him.

"Sure, kiddo." He tucked a loose strand of hair back behind my ear, and we both dropped to the ground.

What's with the kiddo?

I didn't say anything for a while. We both just looked out into the parking lot. Thousands of moths swarmed around the lamp posts, tapping on the glass to get at the light inside. Stupid moths.

Memory Harley had calmed down tremendously, but I was just extremely curious. What the heck happened in there to have her so upset? What's going on arou-

"Are we gonna talk Harley?" Baylor asked. He wore a sleepy smile. It almost looked forced.

I sighed. "How will things get better for us?"

His lips turned down slightly. "I don't know, but they will."

He blinked a few times, then turned away. "Whatever happened in there, it meant nothing. You have to forget about it."

Harley was having trouble speaking again. "It's hard to just forget things, Bay. With everything that's happened, it seems like too much."

His arm hugged me tightly. "I'm your brother, and I'm going to protect you. We'll get out of this mess we're in, and we'll leave this town as soon as possible. Together."

Brother! What the heck?!

No time for thoughts, Harley interrupted them.

"Where will we go?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Somewhere they'll never find us."

The door beside me swung open, and a boy with a back pack paced out into the sunlit parking lot. I knew the memory had ended. But, just to be sure, I looked over to where Baylor, my brother, was sitting.

He was gone, and I was alone. Again.