Chapter 24: Details

Over the course of the evening I had formulated a few basic plans for proceeding with Allison's plan, as well as some questions for Amy. Everything was contingent of course on my being able to find her again. I lay back on my bed and started building a scene. I used Allison's glade as the basic idea, someplace quiet and safe where we could talk.

A blanket was laid out on a stretch of white sandy beach. The water was crystal blue with light swells rolling onto shore. The sun was warm but not hot and a light breeze tickled the edges of your senses when you weren't paying attention. I 'woke up' on the blanket, rose, and looked around. Everything seemed to be just as I imagined it, right down to the picnic basket. My ring was a comfortable weight on my finger, verifying that it really was my dream. I sat back down on the blanket and thought of Amy. I opened my eyes and there she was, curled up asleep on the blanket next to me. I leaned over to wake her.

"Amy?" I whispered, gently touching her shoulder. Her eyes came open slowly and at first she looked very confused. She sat up and looked around her, at the blanket and her dress, the beach. When she finally looked at me, her eyes got big for just a second.

"Jimmy? How did I get here? Where am I? I mean where are we? It's so beautiful. How did I get here?" She gasped. "It doesn't hurt!" Then she jumped up. "Is that the ocean?" And she ran down to the water's edge. Kids.

I rose and followed her. "Yes, that is the ocean. We're on an island that I saw in a movie once. Only this one doesn't have dinosaurs that are waiting to eat you. As far as how your got here, I guess I brought you. At least I wanted to talk to you some more and thought this would be a nice place to do it. Do you like it?"

"Oh, Jimmy! It's wonderful! I remember playing on the beach when I was a little girl. Mom and Dad brought us sometimes, only it was colder and the water wasn't so sparkling and clear. But how can I be here and it not hurt?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because I brought you here instead of you trying to come on your own?"

"Oh I hope so! Then maybe you could take me other places too!" Then she stopped herself, "No, that wouldn't be right. You have more important things to do than drag me around. Did you talk to Rebecca?"

"No, not yet? I wanted to talk to you some more first."

"What for? I already told you everything I know! Now you have to stop him from hurting the girls and Rebecca! You promised, Jimmy! You promised!" It was obvious she was getting upset. Stomping the foot was big clue.

"Whoa! Calm down, princess! I promised I would try to help and I will. That's why I'm here. Do you want to sit down and talk or would you like to walk and talk at the same time."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy. I think I would like to walk if that's okay."

"Okay, we'll walk. Maybe we can find some nice seashells along the way. But I don't want to get your dress all wet, so... How's this instead?" I switched her to a simple one-piece bathing suit. I had been thinking of red, but it came out as white with pink trim, just like her dress. Odd.

"Oooh! Jimmy, it's so pretty." She took a few steps into the water and let the waves roll past her. She was up to just about her knees. I moved past her and put myself in between her and the waves in case there were any really hard breakers, then I took her hand, and we headed down the beach.

"Allison and I talked about it and we need some more information from you. You see, we don't know anything about the 'bad man.' We don't know what he did? Or if he even did anything yet? So if I just call up Rebecca, I won't have anything to tell her. See what I mean?"

"Oh. Yeah. I guess that's right."

"Good. So, do you know?"

"Know what?"

"If the bad man already did something or if he is going to do it in the future?"

"He already did it. I don't know how I know that, but I'm sure. Maybe I can show you?"

"Show me? Show me how?"

"I can't really explain it, but maybe I can let you see it. Not here though. I can't do it here."

"Okay, fair enough. I'll wait and then you can try to show me. But I really can't call your sister until I have something to tell her. Otherwise she will just think I am some kind of nut."

"Okay. Do you think it would be okay if I swim?"

"Sure. Go right ahead. I'll be right here to keep an eye on you. Are you a good swimmer?"

"Oh yes! I can hold my breath underwater and everything! I even go off the high dive at the pool! Too bad there's not a diving board here."

I remember times with my family at the beach. "Well, maybe not a real diving board but let's try something else. Come here and climb on my shoulders. Okay, now hold on." I walked out until the water was about chest deep. Okay now, give me your hands and get up so your feet are on my shoulders like you are going to stand up but stay squatted down low. Now, I'm going to squat down and then stand up in the water. Like this." I bent my knees a few times, going up and down. "Okay, now when I say ready I want you to start counting. On the third time up I am going to push off really hard and then I want you to push really hard and jump off. Got it?"

"Okay. One, two..." She started to count.

"No! You have to wait until I say ready. Got it? Okay. Now, Ready! One... Two... Three!"

I bobbed down into the water up to my chin twice and on three, I pushed off hard. I was just coming back up when she pushed off. She was way too early. Her push interfered with mine and she couldn't extend her legs for a good shove. She went about 2 feet then went splat, right down in the water!

"No! You went too soon! You have to wait until I get to the top! Let's try again." I squatted so she could get back up. "Okay, here we go. One... two... Where are you going? I didn't say ready yet."

"Jimmy!"

"Okay! Ready... One... Two... Three!" This time she got it right and went arching across the sky and into the water about ten feet away. We had a great time for about 30 minutes. Then my legs felt like they were turning into tree stumps. Through much protesting I dragged her back onto the beach. "I have to go now, squirt. I had fun. Do you think you can stay here without me?"

"I don't know. I want to but I'm not sure if I can."

"Do you want to try? If it hurts you then go, but if not then you can stay for a while. But no swimming! You can't go into the water unless I'm here with you. Promise?"

"Okay. I'll try. And no swimming until you come back."

I dried myself off and made a door not far away. As I got to the door she called me.

"Jimmy!."

I turned back. "Yes, Amy?"

"Thanks for playing with me. It's been a really long time."

"My pleasure, sweetie. Remember you need to try and show me what you can about the bad man. But not right now. You see if you can stay by yourself for a while. I'll come back to check on you later. Okay?"

"Okay! Tell Allison I said hello."

"I will." And with that I turned and went through the door into the glade.

Allison was already there, reading another textbook. She stood and stretched as I approached. "Oh, there you are. I was beginning to wonder. Did you see Amy?"

I bent and kissed her hello then sat down. "As a matter of fact I did. She said to tell you hello. She couldn't tell me anything but said she may be able to show me. I'm not really sure how but... that's about all I have to go on. I left her on the beach I made to see if she could stay there on her own. I made her promise to stay out of the water though."

"Good thinking. After what Bob said about people dying in their dreams it would suck big time for her to drown in a dream. Somehow I don't think Rebecca would be terribly forgiving."

"Tell me about it. I got the impression that she is one woman whose good side I want to stay on. Does this mean your little experiment with studying is working out?"

"So far. I'm trying English tonight. Major boring! How long do you think you should wait before checking on her?"

"I don't know. Are you worried?"

"Yeah, a little, I would just hate for something to happen to her."

"Okay. I'll be right back." I walked to the usual door and back out onto the beach. It was empty. The blanket and picnic basket were still there but there was no sign of Amy. In the sand next to the blanket was the word, "OUCH!" written in big letters. Apparently she couldn't stay here without me. I went back and reported to Allison.

"That's too bad. It would be nice for her to have somewhere nice to go. Maybe you can meet her there again some time."

"Maybe. I guess that's pretty much it for tonight. I'll see you in the morning, sis."

"Yeah. See you later. I'll let you know how English goes, if I can stay asleep long enough to get through this." Now that was a weird sentence.

I stepped through the door into what I expected to be my room. Instead I found myself in a small room. I guess you would call it a theater, or maybe just a screening room. There were not more than a dozen seats. I sat down in one of the seats and the screen lit up.

What followed was a high-speed series of images. Some looked like still shots, others more like video. They were all of a girl. I guessed she was about 17 or 18, maybe 5'10 with long blonde hair. Her clothes changed constantly, as did the scenes she was in. One second walking down the street in jeans and a t-shirt. Then running at a track meet in a tank top, shorts and track shoes; shopping; then in a restaurant with two other girls; eating at a table with a boy; driving a car. There were several other shots that I couldn't tell much about. Then the images changed. A folder with the name on it, but it was gone before I could make it out. A hypodermic needle. A roll of duct tape. Suddenly she was on a bed with her hands and feet bound, a blindfold over her eyes and tape over her mouth. From there the images really got ugly. Brutal, violent, and bloody; finally ending with her in a blue dress lying in the bed as if she were asleep. Her face was clean and make up had been applied. Her hair was fixed in two pony-tails. Somehow I knew she was dead.

As bad as the pictures were, what came with them was worse. The images had been accompanied with wave after wave of emotion. They covered a broad range, cold and calculating through the earlier images; hot and passionate throughout the repeated rapes; loving at one moment; a burning hatred the next. Cold and completely devoid of emotion as he cleaned up her limp and lifeless body, dressed it and arranged it on the bed before leaving.

Throughout the sequence she wept, she cried out in fear and pain, she begged, and she pleaded. Nothing helped. He let her scream until he was through with her, and then put more tape over her mouth. Eventually he killed her. A simple injection and she passed out. Then he put a plastic bag over her head and taped it closed. Two glimpses of a watch showed that he waited 30 minutes before taking the bag off. Then he untied her and began cleaning her up. Then the scene of her dressed and made up lying on the bed.

The screen went blank, the lights came up and I found myself alone in my bed, crying. I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow and wept for a girl I had never met. Eventually I looked at the clock. Five more minutes and the alarm would go off. I got up and turned it off, put on my running clothes, started the coffee and ran... and ran... and ran. I didn't think; I didn't even pay attention to where I was going. I just ran. When I finally stopped, I was panting and gasping for air. I realized I had been running full out. No pacing, no controlled breathing, just trying to run away from the images I had seen. I took a few minutes to catch my breath and walk around a little. I recognized the spot. I was over a mile from home. Once I had my wind I started back at a more controlled pace. My legs felt like spaghetti by the time I got back. My dad met me at the garage door. He was already showered.

"Hey, you okay? We were starting to get worried. And you look like hell. I thought you were going to take it easy..."

There was more but I lost it as I fainted at his feet. The next thing I remember was waking up on the couch under a blanket with my mom pulling a damp cloth off of my face. My mouth was dry and in spite of the blanket I was cold. Allison was leaning over the back of the sofa looking very worried.

"Is he going to be okay, Mom?"

"I think he'll be fine dear. He just pushed himself too hard. How do you feel, James?"

"Cold, what happened?"

"Well, you passed out in your father's arms when you got back from your run. Want to tell me what happened?"

I glanced at Allison for a second then back at my mom, "I guess I just got careless, pushed too hard and lost track of time. I have no idea how far I ran."

"Well, that was a very foolish thing to do. And you were very lucky. What would have happened if you had collapsed before you got home? We wouldn't even have known where you were."

"I'm sorry, Mom. It won't happen again."

My dad's angry voice interrupted from across the room, "You're damn right it won't! I want maps of all your routes by tonight. I want them numbered and I want you to leave a note when you leave in the mornings stating which course you are taking and what time you left. And you will not change your mind while you are out. I am picking up a stopwatch on my way home tonight and you are to start timing your runs so we have some idea of how long it should take you."

His voice softened as he continued, "Don't think I'm picking on you, son. I am going to do the same thing. This has made me think; I'm not as young as you, if something happened to me out there, twist an ankle, trip and fall, no one would know where to look until I limped up to the nearest house. Hell, I could have a heart attack and no one would know where to look. We're going to take a more serious approach to all this starting now." He paused now that he had given vent to his anger, then asked, "Are you okay to go school or do you want to stay home?"

"No. I'll be okay. Did I miss the bus?"

"Not yet, but don't worry if you do, I'll drop you on my way to work. Why don't you grab a shower and something to eat? And not just toast and juice this time. I want some real food in you before you leave. Allison, you better finish getting ready too, honey. You have to leave soon. He'll be okay. Tell her you'll be okay son."

I just nodded to her. I'm sure she could tell something else was going on here but she just nodded and went off to her room. I got up and staggered back to the bathroom. I alternated hot and cold water until I felt more alive then scrubbed off the sweat. Fifteen minutes later I was back in the kitchen sitting down to a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and a really huge glass of orange juice. I made the bus with seconds to spare and stared out the window all the way to school. The images I had seen just kept running through my mind. I really needed to talk to Bob. As soon as I got to school I went to the office and had a note put in his box. The morning classes were a blur. I headed for the teachers area as soon as I got out of history. Bob was leaning on a table waiting for me. Susan was there also. As soon as she saw me she stood up, smiled, and left.

"Jimmy! What's the matter?" Bob asked as he ushered me to a seat. "You wouldn't have left the note if it wasn't important. Did something happen?"

I tried. Really I did. I tried not to cry, but the tears just welled up as I looked at him and said, "He killed her." My throat was so tight and my voice so faint that I wasn't sure he even heard me. But then his face went white.

"Oh my God. Jimmy, I'm sorry. Can you tell me what happened? I'm not going to ask questions, just tell me what you can."

I wiped my eyes on my shirt-sleeves and was about to speak when I saw Mr. Dennis approaching at a fast walk.

"Matthews! You okay, bud? Bob, everything okay?"

I took a deep breath and reached to shake his hand. "Good morning, Mr. Dennis. I'm okay. It's nothing in your department, personal problem. But thanks for asking."

"Yes, thanks, Steve. It's not a school issue. But thanks for checking."

"No problem, Bob, part of our new policy. I thought about what Matthews said the other day. From now on, my people are talking to anyone who even looks like they have a problem. I wanted to talk to you about getting a schedule for all the counselors so if we run into anybody who needs someone to talk to besides us we know who to send them to. But this is obviously not a good time. I'll get with you later."

"No problem, but no, this definitely isn't a good time. Check back with me at lunch. That may not be any better but I promise I will talk with you before the end of the day."

He left and Bob turned back to me. "Damn, we're going to run out of time before class starts. Do you want me to sign you out of next period so we can talk?"

"No. That's okay. I'll be all right. We can talk at lunch. I may have a problem with practice this afternoon though. I'll explain later."

"Don't worry about it. We'll talk at lunch."

Algebra was a breeze; PE was hell. We were still doing football and based on my past exploits they kept wanting me to 'go deep' on every play. After I dropped three passes in a row they just sort of got disgusted and ignored me the rest of the period. I dragged back up to the lunch area to meet Bob. Fortunately, my mom had packed me a bunch of fruit for lunch. Bob was waiting for me at a table that was fairly isolated.

"Hey, Jimmy. Feeling any better?"

"Not really. But I'll live."

"Whenever you're ready. Just start at the beginning and tell me everything you remember. If you get to a painful spot just skip over it. We'll deal with the specifics later. I guess you saw Amy again?"

"Yeah, I met with her last night. She said she couldn't tell me anything. Said she really didn't know anything more but that maybe she could show me. I wasn't sure what she meant. I met her on the beach at an island I conjured up so we played for a while and then I went to see Allison. We were also experimenting to see if she could stay there after I left. So I left her there when I went to see Allison. I remembered what you said about people dying in dreams so I made her promise to stay out of the water. Once I got Allison caught up I went back to check on her. She wasn't there. I guess she couldn't stay once I left. It must have hurt. She just wrote OUCH on the sand in big letters and left. I told Allison she was gone and when I left again I found myself in a small theater. That's when I saw it." I could feel myself start to choke up. I took a few deep breaths before continuing. "It was just a random series of images. Just a girl in different settings; shopping, out with friends, that sort of thing. Then she was tied up, then... other stuff... then he killed her." I shuddered and took a couple more deep breaths to calm myself before continuing, "The worst part was I could feel it as the images changed. The emotions he experienced throughout the whole thing. They were all over the place. I can't even begin to describe it."