Page 113 of Doesn't Count

I stomp over to the coat closet, stuffing my feet in my Converse and ripping my jacket from the hanger.

“Where are you going?” She questions, eyes wide with confusion.

“To get ice cream.” I grumble, using any excuse to just get out of this stuffy apartment.

“We can Door Dash it. It’s almost ten at night. You know you shouldn’t be walking around the city this late, especially with everything going on. James said that-”

“James?”

“Hypnos.” Sam blushes and it infuriates me that she’s on a real name basis with him when I’m in this situation from hell. “He said there are news anchors up their ass and that we should probably watch out for them as well.”

I inhale a deep breath, the air thick with pandemonium.

A strangled cry bursts from my mouth in answer. I slam the door behind me, refusing to let her say another word.

Guilt tickled the back of my brain for treating my friend so poorly when all she’s trying to do is make sure I’m okay, but the truth is that I’m far from it and there are so many other emotions clawing their way to the top, competing against one another.

I’m in such a daze that it doesn’t occur to me that Sam was right. Before the polluted city air can even reach my lungs, there’s a tap on my shoulder from behind.

Reluctantly, I spin, ready to tear this person a new one...

Instead, everything goes black.

Khaos

“What if they don’t find it?” I whisper in the dark, Hypnos teetering on the edge of sleep.

He groans, rolling over in his makeshift bed. “Find what?”

“The church? What if they never find it and think I’m full of shit?”

“They’re going to find it, bro. Just trust the process.”

“Yeah.” I whisper.

His light snores fill the silence in the room as I stare up at my bedroom ceiling. It’s well past midnight now and once again I find sleep less than I find the trust Hypnos is talking about.

A flash of light illuminates the room for a brief moment, and I turn to find a notification on my phone.

Ash:

Let’s talk. Crest Creek Forest Preserve?

Be right there!

My heart skips a beat, the moment her name flashes across my screen. My thumbs take the lead and respond before I havethe chance to even think about it. Pushing quietly out of bed, I shove my phone into the pocket of my joggers and slip into one of my dad’s old sweatshirts he lent me.

Holding my breath, I tiptoe down the stairs and to the front door, peaking behind the curtains. Just as I suspect, news vans still litter the entire street, some folks are even sitting in lawn chairs, waiting for any sign of movement. There is no way I can leave out the front door, but I am not passing up the chance to speak to Ash. I need her like I need oxygen to breathe – cliche, but so fucking true.

Instead, I shuffle through the kitchen, careful not to let my sneakers scuff against the tile and unlock the sliding glass doors that lead to our backyard. I slip into the frigid night, closing the door behind me and jog to our fence, hopping over it with ease. It’s a straight shot from here if I follow behind the next block of houses.

The forest looms ahead creating a canopy of broken dreams and vile things. Dark memories smack into me like a steady stream of punches, one right after the other, and a strange feeling niggles at the back of my brain. I pull my phone out of my pocket to text Ash that I’ve made it because by the looks of it, she hasn’t. While I’m at it, I have a gut instinct to share my location with Hypnos.

I look up over the field before the forest and find it bare, not a shadow in sight. Forcing myself to creep forward, I plant my feet at the mouth of the woods.

“Ash?” I call out.

There’s no way she’s in there. Not after everything, she isn’t that cruel.

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