Staggering my eyes blink filling with tears as I yawn. My eyes are heavy...they sting. Yawning again I rub my eyes blinking heavily to try and keep my eyes open. My head is pounding as I stagger through the halls toward the commons. The constant chatter from the students and the harsh LED lights are overwhelming.

Falling into a seat beside my friends I pull my hood up holding it over my head as I lay it down on the table, praying for the chattering and pounding to stop.

A finger begins to lightly poke the tip of my head. Ignoring it I squeeze my eyes shut holding my hands over my ears. The poking continues as the chattering subsides to small murmurs as people finish going to their next class.

Grumbling under my breath my hands slam onto the table "Cut it out, Claudius?"

He raises his hands "Sorry, sorry."

Growling at him he closes his mouth dropping his eyes to the table as I glare at him. Falling back into my seat I pull my hood back up crossing my arms.

Kathy clicks her tongue lightly tugging at Cloud's hair. "When someone pulls their hood over their head and lays on the table it means they are tired and don't want to be bothered."

Cloud screeches rubbing his head "You didn't have to pull that hard."

Kathy sighs "I didn't pull that hard you big baby." She sighs turning her chair towards my brooding self "How much sleep have you been getting?"

Yawning I blink more tears away from my droopy eyes "Maybe two hours I don't know."

"WHAT?"

I flinch rubbing my head.

Kathy snaps at Clouds "Shut it Clouds."

"Hey," Clouds says, rubbing his head again from Kathy's slap.

Kathy sighs mumbling something about how stupid boys are before returning to me. "Do you need to go home should we call your mom or dad for you?"

I shake my head "I'll be fine it's just a little tiredness from a couple of bad nights, nothing to be worried about."

"Really?" Kathy asks.

I nod "I'll be better in a few days after some sleep."

Kathy nods "Alright."

"If you need anything just call us well come in a flash," Clouds says softly.

"I know, thank you Clouds, you too Kathy."

Kathy smiles "Anytime Jara just say the word."

A couple of bad nights of sleep my ass, I haven't been sleeping for a week. All I can see every time I close my eyes is that fucking bloodied room and the sound of a whip hitting skin. It makes me sick.

Flinching I shake my head blinking the fuzziness away. "So...anime night again? Two weeks?" What is Clouds talking about now?'

Kathy grins "My house this time."

Right, we had anime night planned. Did I go? I seemed to. What did we watch?

Clouds grins leaning back in his chair "Man last time was soooo goooood, I can't believe we never watched that anime before!"

Kathy sighs "It was good but a little gory don't you think, the first episode gave me chills."

"Really Kathy it did have a warning on it."

"I know, but how could they show that it's anime."

Clouds sighs "Kathy Kathy Kathy listen here," he rests his hand on her shoulder leaning closer towards her. "Not all anime are for children, very few, actually most are for teens and older."

Kathy swats his hand away dusting off where his hand was "I know that but it was a fantasy anime about goblins, the title was Goblin Slayer I thought all they did was hunt goblins."

Goblin Slayer I have heard of that one. A gory dark story about slaying goblins as the title says, from the clips I have seen and things I have heard it is not a show for the soft of heart. So that is what they watched, I'll have to watch that soon.

"Isn't that what they did hunt down goblins and kill them?" Clouds asks.

Kathy bites her thumb before sighing "Huuh you are right that is what they did, it was just so gory."

Clouds laughs "Yeah but it was good, the story and the lore you have to admit that."

Kathy smiles "Yeah it was good."

Clouds slaps his leg "See sometimes a little gore is okay every now and then." Doors start to open and people begin to funnel into the hallways. Glancing down at his watch Clouds grabs his bag waving "I'm off to class you two have a good day, see you later." We wave grabbing our bags to go to class "Jara," Clouds calls.

I turn to him "Yeah?"

"Make sure to get some sleep tonight okay, if you can't sleep call me and Kathy will stay up with you."

I nod my mouth twitching up "I will, thank you Clouds."

He grins waving one last time before disappearing into the crowd. Kathy and I say our goodbye before going into our separate classrooms.

_____

"You seem to be doing well?"

Jolting I blink turning my head away from the window towards the person that spoke. "Oh, it's you," I mumble resting my head back against the window attempting to catch some shut-eye before I get home.

"Ouch, just you, I thought we were closer than that," my look-alike whines. "Like I thought we began sewing our relationship back together but you are so mean Jara always pouting at me and ignoring me." Groaning I tilt my head enough to see her sitting beside me her legs crossed with her head resting on her hand staring at me "Now you look at me."

Sighing I close my eyes again "Can you please shut up and let me have some peace and quiet for two seconds."

She stops talking and I relax as the bus rocks back and forth. "And two so what are you thinking about, is it about what was talked about in your classes today, or is it what you and your friends talked about? Come on tell me tell me what are you thinking about?"

Clenching my teeth I glare at her "I am thinking about how nice it would be if someone shut up."

She 'ooh's' standing up and staring at the person sitting in front of me "Can you shut up my friend and I are trying to talk."

I groan as the person does nothing not knowing they are being talked to by someone. "You, you are the one I want to shut up."

She sits back down crossing her arms with a pout on her face "Meanie I just wanted to talk."

"But I don't so please just shut up," the bus slows down before stopping, glancing out the window I grab my bag walking towards the front of the bus to get off.

"So now that you are home can we talk," she says over my shoulder as she follows me.

"No, we cannot today is my only day off of skating all I want to do is sleep."

"Awww but there are so many fun things we can talk about, like our other friends and how pretty they are, how annoying they could be, oh even Uncle John maybe we could go looking for him he is still missing after all."

My skin goes cold the hairs all over my body stand on end at the mention of Uncle John. "No, no we will not, stop talking to me," clenching my fists I continue my slow trek down the bus ignoring all the weird looks from the others thinking I am talking to myself like a psycho. I mean I could be the person who does look so much like me for all I know I might be schizophrenic or something.

Shaking off that thought I march down my driveway ignoring the calls and blubbering of my look-alike.

Collapsing against my bedroom door I get ready for bed. It's only four o'clock but it feels more like ten to me. Climbing into bed I pray to sleep without disturbance knocking on the wooden shelf beside me to rid myself of my unlucky sleep for the past week.

Cold hard ground and dense dusty air surround me, the clicking of chains and my harsh breathing fills my ears. A warm liquid slowly begins to cover my hands and feet, inching its way up my arms and legs. I try to flick it off but it sticks to me replacing the cold, the liquid begins to pool around my hands and feet taking over the ground and turning it into a warm and sticky mess. For a second it feels comfortable the cold is gone, and slowly the warmth begins to burn my back becomes hot, the skin searing causing more and more of the warm liquid to pool around me.

I scream and scream and scream, but there is no sound except for slow footsteps coming toward me I see nothing but blackness, darker than that of a lightless room so endless it feels suffocating. My throat burns from the soundless screams begging to be heard, but a soft almost comforting voice fills the silence instead "Good girl."

Gasping I sit up holding my blankets tightly in my sweating hands. My room is dark the sun now taken by the horizon. Rubbing my face my chest begins to slow, glancing at my clock I sigh, at least I got five hours of sleep this time.

The house is quiet everyone must have gone to bed early. Getting out of bed I unplug my laptop quickly returning under the warm covers my skin already bumpy from the few seconds I was out. Sighing I open Zoro clicking on Goblin Slayer, I have plenty of time to finish this, I won't be able to fall asleep anytime soon so may as well.

As I watch, scenes from the memories begin to flash in my mind, normally I can handle gory things without much issue when it's on-screen and blood doesn't scare me especially when it's animated. But seeing this is making me feel sick.

Holding it in for four episodes I slam my laptop shut covering my mouth as scene upon scene flashes in my mind, a concrete room covered in blood, people hunched over their backs and arms littered with whip wounds.

My back is burning.

"I see you still can't sleep."

"Go away."

My look-alike sits criss-cross on my bed in front of me her head in her hand once again "Why do you still try so hard to block it out, it won't change anything if you do, it still happened."

"Fuck off."

"Oh, harsh language coming from such a pretty girl."

I glare at her "Says the one that looks like me."

She grins "And you still don't know who I am."

"And who are you?" I ask no longer feeling sick.

"Oh, what a fabulous question indeed know who someone is," she says hands shooting into the air.

Grumbling I pull my blanket up to my chin leaning my back against my pillow "If you don't want to tell me then don't and shut up."

Her grin widens "Don't be soo grumpy I'll tell you, I go by K."

My eyebrows raise "K as in K-A-Y or K as in the letter K."

"The letter K."

"Huh ha so K then."

She nods "Yes K and you are Jara."

I nod "As you seemed to have known this whole time."

She laughs "Yes I have so has everybody else."

"Everyone else?"

She nods "Yep you meet some of them already."

"I...have?"

She nods "Yes many times."

"You mean like the headless people?"

She shakes her head "No not the headless people and not the other people you see randomly, they look similar to us."

"Really?"

She nods making an X over her heart "Yes, I swear they do, they all look a little similar to us with some differences."

I nod "Sure sure."

"I'm not joking have you ever wondered who it was that told you that story."

I look at her like she's insane "You did."

She shakes her head "I did not, I told her to show up looking like me to make you more comfortable but that was not me."

"Then who was it?"

"Do you want to see?"

~

Rule #4 don't lo

Comment, vote, and share