Skye Dive
Chapter One:
I sat in my classroom staring blankly at my notebook as my teacher lectured
in front of the blackboard. He was going on and on about the cubist movement.
His voice was booming throughout the tiny Lake City community college classroom
of 22 students. About halfway into his art lecture I tuned him out and entered
my own world. I started daydreaming about dinner. Not about eating it but
instead wondering what I was going to make for Abigail and myself. I was
craving chicken but I knew Abigail would say we eat too much chicken and beg
for something like salmon.
Abigail is my seventeen year old sister and my whole world. We've been
taking care of one another for pretty much our entire lives but more so over
the last three years since our parents disappeared. Before our parents bailed I
was a typical senior in high school and Abigail was just entering her freshmen
year. To all of our friends and classmates we were just normal high school students.
Then one day we were orphans and anything but normal. I guess we weren’t normal
to begin with but no one else knew that until our parents left.
Maryanne and Jacob Griffin were two of the most unfit parents God ever
graced with children. Our father was never home unless he was picking up our
mother for another one of their escapades that would involve thievery, drugs,
and who knows what else. Our beloved parents were always under the influence of
one drug or another and money was always tight. However, our lives got even
less than perfect three years ago when our parents left and never came back. A
day I remember clearly. I was riding my bike home from work and immediately
sensed something was wrong. When I walked through the door Abigail was alone on
the couch enveloped in one of her books. She was always reading. The house
seemed emptier though nothing was actually missing.
"There's a letter for you on the table." Abbie said as I walked
through the living room.
Our house was small and we only had one breakfast style table in the corner
of the kitchen. Nothing else lay on the oak chipped table except a folded sheet
of paper with my name on it. "Skyler" was written in my mother's
beautiful cursive handwriting. I knew immediately something was up because she
never had the courtesy to leave us a note before. So why now I thought. I took
the letter to the back room where Abbie and I slept. On the left side of the
room was a motel-style roll away bed where Abbie slept and on the right a
broken metal futon that I called a bed. In the corner by our closet was a red
and black four drawer dresser. Nothing else furnished the room except an old
mahogany rocking chair our grandmother had given us. I thought about how when
Abbie was a baby I used to rock her to sleep in that chair. I walked over sat
down and began reading the letter. Something about the memories of that chair
comforted me as I read the last words my mother had to say to me.
"Dear
Skyler,
Your
father and I are leaving town but this time we won’t be coming back. Don’t try
looking for us please. You already do a good job taking care of Abigail on your
own, much better than I ever could have. I’d apologize for not being a better
mother to you and Abigail but apologies won’t help you now. Don't ask yourself
why we left because it doesn't matter. Don't worry yourself either. Your father
and I will be just fine. I know both of you girls are going to be fine too.
Just try and remember that no matter what happens however strange or horrible
it may seem you can get through it. And Please Skye watch over your sister she’s
all you really have now.
Always,
Maryanne"
I sat in class thinking about that day three years ago wondering why she
left but not caring that she had. She was right Abbie and I did just fine
without them. We had a little help of course but all in all we did fine on our
own. At first child services tried to take us away to some foster program but
with the help of my grandfather who was an attorney, the local judge allowed me
parental control when I turned eighteen. Until that time came Abbie and I had
stayed with my boyfriend and his parents. After three months we were able to
move out and back into our old home. My grandparents sent us $800 dollars a
month to help pay the bills and I worked at the local pizzeria to pay for food
and the extras. Money was still tight but we were used to it by now. A lot of
people had wondered why we didn't go stay with our grandparents but we wanted
it this way. I felt like Abbie was my responsibility and Lake City was our
home. It was just the way things needed to be.
"Skyler, Skyler! Earth to Miss Griffin." I heard Mr. Garrison trying
to get my attention.
"Yes sir?" I answered embarrassed that I'd not been paying
attention.
"I asked you a question but you failed to answer it. Tell me is what
you are daydreaming about interesting? Would you like to share it with the rest
of the class?" he asked obviously trying to embarrass me in front of my
classmates. I refused to play his game.
"What was the question?" I asked coolly. He turned to the board
and huffed.
"Well, now that I have your attention can you tell me what you see in
this picture?" he asked as he pointed to the overhead board which had one
of Picassos more famous pieces projected onto it. To this day I don't remember
which piece.
"Fire, a burning fire and a horrible smell like rotted hot garbage and
a man! A man with dark clothing he's staring right at me." I finished
"What?" I heard a kid laugh out behind me then Mr. Garrison
yelled something and then it all went black.
*******************************
I awoke to the beeping sound of an EEG and a blinding overhead light that
assured me I was alive. I also awoke with a raging migraine that made me wish I
wasn't.
"I snuck you in some coffee." I heard Abigail’s soft voice from
the doorway.
She looked so beautiful standing there. She had long black hair that flowed
to the middle of her back and striking green eyes. Her skin was pale unlike
mine and she had the body of a full grown woman. If she weren't so headstrong
I'd worry about her all the time. Oh who was I kidding I worried about her
nonstop.
"Thanks" I finally managed taking the coffee from her and trying
to gather my thoughts. "Why'd they bring me to the hospital?" I asked
sitting up and taking a sip of the forbidden coffee.
"Well they could have taken you some place worse but when you blacked
out and hit your head Mr. Garrison thought the hospital would be the best
option." her tiny voice rang with concern.
For a moment we sat in silence and I studied her sullen face. Abigail and I
had a bond so tight it was like I could read her mind and in that moment I did.
"No I'm not telling anyone the truth. I don't even know what the truth
is anymore. Things will blow over and everything will go back to normal."
I said too harshly
"Normal? Really Skye because to most people having visions of people
dying that come true is not NORMAL! Neither is blacking out. We've been keeping
it to ourselves for far too long. This started two years ago how long are we supposed
to wait for it to stop? At least tell Alice or David." she softly but
sternly pleaded.
Alice had been my best friend since middle school and David was my
boyfriend of four years. If I was going to tell anyone it would probably be one
of those two but I was set on keeping this between me and Abbie.
"I'm not telling anyone and neither are you. I'll sign the papers
chalk it up to an episode of bad dreaming and I'll be out of here in a couple
of days. Okay?" I asked hating the sour look on her face.
"I don't like it or agree with it but okay." she groaned.
It hurt me to see her upset with me but I knew she would do whatever I
wanted. Sometimes that made it worse because I wasn't always sure what I
wanted.
"I promise something will work out. I'll come up with something."
I said trying to convince myself more than her.
"What something?" David's gruff voice filled the small room.
"Nothing, what are you doing here?" I asked with a weak smile.
"Well when you didn't pick up Abigail from school she called me and I
came and got her then the hospital called my parents. They're still your
emergency contact. Oh yeah and the fact that I was worried to death." he
said as he leaned in and kissed my forehead.
"And I just came along for the ride." Alice said coming up behind
David.
"Well thank you both for worrying about me but I'm fine really. Thank
you for picking up Abbie, David." I said feeling very uncomfortable.
"I'm just glad you're okay we didn't know what happened until we got
here." I could almost count the worry lines on his face.
"What exactly did happen?" I asked. I had not been able to
remember it all yet.
David started first "You were in class and Mr. Garrison asked you a
question and out of nowhere you started talking about a fire and a bad smell
and how some man was there staring at you." he paused for a moment concern
and tears filling his eyes. Abigail finished for him "Mr. Garrison said
you wouldn't respond and then you just kept saying those poor women and that
the flames were burning your eyes. Then you fell over and hit your head. They
called the ambulance in case of a concussion or worse." she said her
emerald eyes pleading with me.
"Well it sure gave me a bad headache." I said trying to play it
off and turning away from their gazes.
"Are you really okay Skye? I mean truthfully." David asked. His
big brown eyes were staring into me hard. He was trying to search me for some
clue that might show him how I really felt. In four years of our relationship
he still did not know how to read me and within three months I had learned to
read him. To be fair I wasn't as simple. The only person who really knew me was
Abbie.
"I'm fine. I've had day mares before I'm sure that is all it was. No
worries." I said patting his hand like a mother consoling her son.
"Day mares...now that's a new one. I believe we could make a
television show based off day mares." Alice piped in with one of her
sarcastic remarks.
"I bet I could be the star." I answered back playing along. We
both were trying to ease the tension floating to me from both David and Abbie.
"No way you're too flaky; you wouldn't show up half the time and there’d
be complaints about you blacking out on set." Alice said and we all
laughed.
After the tension settled we sat around and talked for a good thirty
minutes before I pretended to nod off. It wasn't that I didn't want them there
but I didn't like them seeing me this way. No one wants to be seen hooked up to
machines while wearing a half open nightgown. Pretty soon after I "dozed
off" David and Alice took off. I knew David had skipped his night class he
took each Friday to come see me but I also knew he'd want to have dinner with
his parents soon and Alice would need to get back to work. The club she partially
owned in Orlando would be opening up soon. She took over running the bottom
half of the club after her mom passed away last year. I knew she would not have
stayed long even if I hadn't pulled my little trick. She was a busy girl.
After Alice and David left I kept my eyes closed a little while longer. I
wanted to try and think about everything that had happened and what I was going
to do about it all.
"You can stop pretending." Abbie piped up in her soft voice.
"Excuse me?" I asked feigning dramatic surprise as if shocked at
any inclination I was lying.
"Oh please. So tell me is it time we try some more research on this
matter? This is the first time it happened during the day." she said
Abbie was right I never had my visions unless it was early morning or late
at night and usually I was already sleeping. They had never been this strong
either. This time I was worried. I couldn't let this keep happening.
"We've done so much research already and come up with zilch. I just
don't see what more research will do." I said honestly.
"Well we need to do something they're getting stronger and they are
happening more often." she replied.
"Yeah and I'm starting to feel more. Like this time I could actually
feel the fire burning my skin." I replied. I was always honest with Abbie
even if I knew what I was saying would scare her.
"We need to find out more about this Skye. I don't like not knowing
what's happening to you. It's like we have no control."
I didn't respond because I didn't want to lie and say it would all be okay.
I wasn't sure it would be and I was leaning toward the idea that it wouldn’t. I
knew how she felt when she said we had no control. It was like we were diving
blindly into something that could swallow us whole. I was worried about us more
than I showed but I had to remain strong for Abbie. However I knew I would have
to figure something out soon because I felt like things were going to get even
worse.
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