A Journey Through Time

In the two hours it took Tommy to drive to Black Hollow from Tamryn, I felt myself getting sick. The heater had mostly dried my clothes and hair but I was still cold, even with the blanket around me. There was a dryness to my throat and my nose was running. Fantastic. What a way to end the wonderful day I’d had. It wasn’t raining in Black Hollow but it was cold. Tommy pulled up outside his house and I didn’t even more.

“You can feel it now, can’t you?” he asked. I turned to look at him and sniffled before nodding my head. Tommy laughed and came around to my side to help me out of the jeep. Matilda, Jonathan, and Sadie all looked up when Tommy ushered me into the house. Matilda slowly climbed to her feet, her eyes on my face, and I sneezed.

“What in the world happened to you?” she asked rushing across the room to me. I sniffled again and just shook my head. Tommy laughed again when Matilda looked up at him.

“We were playing in the rain and I think Ness might have caught a cold. I’m gonna run her a bath, mom do we have any cold medicine?” Tommy asked. Matilda shook her head and Sadie jumped up to wrap her arms around me. I was glad of the extra warmth.

“No, but I have something better. Sadie, will you take Nessa’s hair down, please sweetheart?” she asked before disappearing into the kitchen. Tommy bolted upstairs. I knelt down in front of Sadie and she slowly pulled my hair out of its braid. Then she came back around and climbed into my lap. She was holding the red rose I’d threaded into my hair. I smiled.

“Tommy gave that to me today, you should go ask your mom if she has a vase you can put it in” I said. Sadie scrambled out of my lap and thundered into the kitchen chanting “mom!”. I chuckled lightly and climbed back to my feet. I caught Jonathan watching me and he just chuckled and shook his head before looking back down at the book in his hands. That was the same reaction I would’ve gotten out of my own father so for some reason, it made me feel good. Matilda and Jonathan really were treating me like their own child.

“Come on Ness, your bath is ready” Tommy called from the stairs. After the bath, I got dressed in a set of cozy light flannel pajamas and Tommy wrapped me in a fleece throw blanket. Matilda had me drink a cup full of something that tasted like chicken soup but I wasn’t really sure. And then I was asleep, leaning against Tommy on the couch. At one point I woke up and found my head in Tommy’s lap but Matilda fed me more of the ‘soup’ and I fell right back to sleep. There must have been some kind of medicine in whatever Matilda had been giving me because my dreams were weird. At first it was snow white bunnies hopping through a bright green field of grass, with blue jays and cardinals flying overhead and squirrels in the trees chattering at each other. Then I was watching Tommy and I spin around in the rain, laughing, our arms around each other. He stopped and I slipped slightly when I tried to stop beside him. I couldn’t hear anything but I could see my lips moving and then all of a sudden, Tommy was kissing me. The dream changed again and I watched myself launch at Tommy on the street by the cemetery. I watched Cayla’s jaw drop and then a huge smile take over her face. Then the dream sent me back even further and I saw myself standing in front of the police officer that had told me about my parents and the plane crash. I saw from my facial expression that I didn’t believe him at first but then he brought out a tiny silver ring and I burst into tears. My mom’s wedding ring, that was all they’d been able to recover. It was all I had left of my parents. Then I was standing beside Tommy and his parents at my parents’ funeral. I put a single white rose on each coffin and then fell into Tommy’s arms crying. He gave his mom a heart breaking look and she nodded slowly. The dream changed again and I saw myself slipping into the Slateman Mansion with Tommy right behind me. And then suddenly we were running as fast as we could down the halls, swinging around corners without stopping. Then we were in the Utility room that had led us to the basement where everyone else had been hiding. Then the dream changed so suddenly I almost didn’t follow it, and I wasn’t looking at myself anymore. Sean had gotten free of his cell and teamed up with Cameron and his parents. They were standing at the end of a hall while Dale worked on picking the lock on the door and Sean and Cameron’s eyes were focused behind them. Cameron turned and said something to his dad but I still didn’t hear anything. Then Sean shouted and raised the gun in his hand. I sat bolt upright in Tommy’s bed, my breath coming in gasps. He sat up beside me and wrapped his arms around me.

“It’s okay, I got you. How are you feeling?” he murmured. His voice was gruff with sleep and he yawned and rubbed his eyes. My throat didn’t hurt anymore but my nose was still running and I was still freezing. I took a deep breath and pulled the blankets back up to my chin.

“I’m okay, it was just the dreams, I guess” I muttered before laying back down. Tommy chuckled sleepily and pulled me against him tightly under the blankets. I stopped shivering almost immediately, he was so warm!

“Yeah, mom’s home remedies used to give me weird dreams too. Go back to sleep baby” he mumbled. He was asleep before I was and it had nothing to do with my cold or Tommy calling me baby again. It had everything to do with the look of absolute terror I’d seen on Sean’s face before he raised the gun. Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t seen what he had. I drifted off again and this time I didn’t dream; which was relieving but I would’ve liked to know if Sean and the others were okay.

When I woke up the next morning, I’d forgotten all about the dreams I’d had and I felt awful. My throat and mouth were bone dry and there was a terrible taste on my tongue. My ears were ringing and my nose was clogged. As soon as I grabbed a wad of tissues to blow it, I sneezed half a dozen times. That made my nose run again and woke Tommy up. He sat up and stretched before smiling at me. I had to have looked as bad as I felt, why did he still look at me like that?

“How are you feeling Ness?” he asked. I opened my mouth to ask him for something to drink but I didn’t make a sound. I tried to clear my throat and ended up coughing because it was so dry, but at least I could talk afterwards.

“Can you get me something to drink, please?” I croaked out. Oh god, I’d never heard my voice that deep before. Tommy slid out of bed and headed into the bathroom. He came back out with a full glass of water and I chugged the whole thing. Then I cleared my throat, much better. Tommy smiled at me against when I handed him back the glass.

“Stop smiling at me like that, I’ve got to look terrible” I said slipping of the bed. Tommy stopped me and wrapped the throw blanket back around my shoulders before kissing me on the forehead.

“Nope, you always look beautiful. Come on, I’m sure mom has got some tea made for you” he said. I padded downstairs next to him and threw myself down on the couch. Tommy laughed and continued into the kitchen. Matilda came out a minute later and handed me a steaming cup of tea.

“Do you wanna try some breakfast, Ness?” she asked. I took a small sip of the tea and let it sit in my mouth for a minute. It was a strong herbal tea with a lot of honey in it. It was good and it helped soothe my throat. But the thought of filling my stomach with food made me cringe.

“No thanks Matilda, I think I’ll pass on that” I said. She smiled and ruffled my hair lightly before heading back into the kitchen. Tommy came out a few minutes later, a plate full of food and a mug of tea in his hands. I could deal with the smell but I couldn’t watch him eat it.

“What do you want to do today, honey?” he asked, his mouth full of food. I turned to stare at him until he swallowed and then he gave me an innocent look. I shook my head and took another sip of my tea.

“I’ll let you decide as long as you don’t do that again” I said. Tommy froze with his fork half-way to his mouth and swallowed again. He looked confused for a moment before he grimaced slightly. A guilty look crossed his face and he put his fork back on his plate.

“Sorry” he murmured. I giggled lightly and shook my head. I kept my eyes on my tea while Tommy ate and when he went to take his plate back to the kitchen, I followed him to refill my tea cup. As we were going back into the living room, I spotted the rose Tommy had given me in a tall white standing vase on the mantle above the fireplace. I stopped in front of the fireplace and stared at the rose. Tommy came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

“It looks beautiful up there” I whispered. Tommy buried his face in the side of my neck and kissed me up my neck to my jaw. I squeaked slightly and tried to step sideways away from him but he kept his arms tight around my waist. He leaned back down and put his lips next to my ear.

“It looked better in your hair” he whispered. I smiled and leaned my head back against his chest. For a few minutes we were silent as I looked around at all the pictures. There were pictures of Matilda and Jonathan on their wedding day; Matilda holding Tommy as a baby; Tommy holding Sadie when she was a baby; and then Tommy and Sadie’s school pictures. Then there was one in the center of our junior prom. Tommy and I hadn’t gone together but we’d spent the whole night dancing together. That had been pretty funny because neither of us could dance very well, but it hadn’t mattered to either of us at the time. We were just having fun.

“I still remember the look on your face when you saw me for the first time that night” I said. Tommy chuckled lightly. Junior prom was the first time anyone had ever seen me in a dress so naturally most of the boys lost their minds, but Tommy’s reaction beat all of that. I walked into the ball room where the prom was being held and literally everyone, even the teachers, had fallen completely silent. I’d worn a pale pink floor length gown with a sweetheart neckline and no sleeves. While every other teenage boy in the room had started whistling and catcalling me; Tommy’s jaw had dropped and his eyes had been the size of golf balls. That had been more flattering than anyone else’s reaction. Since that night, Tommy had loved seeing me in the color pink.

“I couldn’t help it; you looked so amazing in that dress. I actually forgot how to talk for a minute after I saw you” he said. I chuckled lightly but I believed him. While all our friends were telling me how pretty I’d looked, Tommy still couldn’t stop staring at me. Senior prom had been about the same. Tommy steered me back towards the couch and I sat leaning back against his chest.

“Do you remember about freshman year, when that little girl fell asleep in the coat closet and her mom had the whole neighborhood looking for her because she couldn’t find her?” I asked. Tommy laughed and nodded his head. That poor little girl had gotten into so much trouble just for falling asleep where she had. But her mom was her only parent at the time so I guess it made sense that she freaked out so badly.

“Do you remember that one Halloween we watched Donny just full out sprinting down the street screaming his head off?” Tommy asked. I laughed into my tea cup and he had to take it away from me so I wouldn’t spill it.

“And it turned out that Nicholas was chasing him dressed as Michael Myers. I’d never seen Donny run so fast” I said. Nicholas and Donny were upperclassmen above us and had been two of the best runners on the track team. Donny was a short scrappy guy but he was quick and Nicholas was over six foot tall and built like a football player. Yeah, that had been insanely hilarious to watch, especially because no one would let Donny forget about it afterwards.

“Or like the time we all decided it was a good idea to slide down the stairs at your parents’ house on cardboard boxes?” Tommy said. We’d all gone down on our stomachs, which had been the first mistake, and then none of us had held onto the boxes so we all ended up with carpet burns on our stomachs. My mom and dad had had a hard time explaining that one because they thought it was funny. Newsflash, carpet burns hurt! But I suppose it had been our stupid idea.

“Or sledding down the hill behind the school on trashcan lids?” I said. Tommy giggled lightly. That had been fun, as long as we didn’t let the metal lids get too cold. There was a lip that functioned as a good handle and once we got to the bottom of the hill, the lids were easier to carry back up than actual sleds. I hadn’t realized I’d started shivering again until Tommy rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

“Are you cold again, Ness?” he asked. I didn’t feel cold but there was definitely something to the power of suggestion. Talking and thinking about snow had made me cold. I jumped off the couch and bounced slightly while I tried to pull Tommy up too. He chuckled lightly.

“Come on, let’s go sit outside in the sun” I said. He finally huffed in mock exasperation and got to his feet. I left the blanket on the couch and pushed Tommy out the door before me. He sat down in a lounging chair that would usually be found at a pool and I sat between his legs again. The sun was warm enough that I was perfectly comfortable with Tommy’s arms around me. We sat in silence for so long that I’d started to drift off again until a chorus of car doors slamming jolted me awake. Cayla, Paul, Leigh-Anne, and Jesse were all heading up the yard toward us. I looked back at Tommy in confusion and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Tommy called. As soon as they got close enough that I could see their faces clearly, I noticed that they all looked rather worried. Seriously? We took one day away from everything and something bad happened. I climbed to my feet and Tommy followed.

“What is it?” I asked. Leigh-Anne and Jesse looked at each other and then looked over at Paul, who turned his eyes on Cayla. She sighed deeply and looked down. Had something so big happened that even Cayla couldn’t talk about it? Cayla wasn’t afraid to say anything. Finally she looked back up at us.

“It’s about Moira, her mom has been calling everywhere she can think of for the last day. Moira never went home Tuesday night and her mom can’t get a hold of her” Cayla said. For some reason, my blood immediately ran cold and I had to swallow a few times before I found my voice. Tommy looked down at me but I kept my eyes on Cayla.

“Where do you think she could’ve gone?” Tommy asked. There was worry and curiosity in his voice but no the horror I could see in all their eyes. They already knew what happened to Moira, they just came to tell us. Leigh-Anne stepped forward, grabbing everyone’s attention, and stood right in front of me. When I looked at her, I found tears welling in her eyes.

“Vanessa, you have a connection to the Hidden the rest of us don’t, would you be able to feel it if Moira was dragged back?” she asked. Tommy’s eyes widened when he finally caught on but he kept quiet. There was an intense fear building in me and I didn’t know why, but I knew that was exactly where Moira was.

“If what I have is a connection Leigh-Anne, it doesn’t work that way. However, as soon as you said that Moira was missing, I got a really bad feeling. I don’t know how I know, but that’s where she is” I said. I crossed my arms over my chest and shuddered lightly. The thought of Moira being back in that place on her own made me cringe. Tommy wrapped his arms around me again.

“Do you think she went willingly or was dragged back?” Paul asked. I put my hands over my face to cover the look of pain I felt on my face and when I pulled them away again, my eyes were blurry with tears. I never would have cried for Sean but Moira was one of my best friends and I didn’t want anything to happen to her.

“She was dead set on rescuing her brother and she felt like we weren’t going to help her, so it could be either” I said. My tears broke and spilled down my cheeks and I saw Paul glance down at Cayla uneasily. I tried not to cry in front of my friends but this was one time I couldn’t keep the tears back. Jesse sighed in utter defeat and raised his arms.

“What do we do, Vanessa?” he asked. It had been Leigh-Anne that asked me the same question when we first realized we weren’t in the Slateman Mansion anymore; except I’d had an idea of what to do then. I was completely out of ideas. I felt a sob build in my throat and my voice was shaky when I spoke.

“I don’t know. But now that they have Moira, they’ll be coming after all of us. We are in so much trouble.”

To Be Continued….