Deja Vú • Part 2

Cody tossed his backpack onto the table in his classroom and flopped down into his seat. First hour was just starting, and the bags under his eyes were heavy. His eyes were dark with exhaustion. He had slept for a few hours last night; Esteban accompanied him. But nonetheless, he struggled to keep his eyes open.

Eric, who sat in the seat to Cody's left, peered across the table at his friend. Cody's eyes were fixed on nothing, staring into only what he could see. Eric opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

After a couple of heartbeats is when Eric decided to interrogate Cody. "What's wrong?" was Eric's first question.

No reply came.

Eric's eyes narrowed and he tried again. "You didn't sleep well, did you?"

Still no reply.

Eric groaned and hung his head. It was pointless attempting to get an answer from Cody. Sometimes, people just want to be left alone. The bell rang, indicating that class has begun. The teacher walking in stiff legged and took a seat behind the large wooden desk lined with textbooks and papers.

Cody was barely able to pay attention that day. All he could think about was his nightmare. Most people would have forgotten all about what they have dreamt about by now, but Cody didn't fall into the category of "most people". Though his memory was not photographic, he still ed a great deal on most of the events that occurred in his life. He had a nagging feeling in his stomache that something was wrong.

As the school day ended, Cody was heading to the Janitor's Office to get the keys to the house from Esteban. As he crossed the hallway, a sudden pair of hands covered his eyes from behind his back.

"Guess who~" the familiar voice chirped.

Once Cody's shock had ed, he recognized the voice. "If you're not David, I'm going to hurt you."

The voice broke out into laughter. "Yup, it's me." David removed his hands from around Cody's eyes. "Where are you going?"

Cody inhaled and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm heading home. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Cody tried to head off, but David grabbed his arm. "Don't go home yet! I wanna show you something I found."

"What is it and where is it?" Cody was becoming restless. He just wanted to go home.

David buzzed with excitement. "It's a giant crystal I found in the woods yesterday!"

Cody's eyes turned to slits. "You went out into the woods by yourself?!" he growled.

"No, I was with my family. I took a picture and sent it to the others, but since you don't have a phone, I have to show you in person."

Cody held back another groan. "Why can't you just show me the picture on your phone?"

"It looks better if you see it for yourself," David insisted. Not giving Cody another chance to argue, David took his friend by the hand and pelted out the school and down the steps, Cody being dragged along. By the time they got to the woods, Cody was already prepared to leave. It began to rain, the sky's way of watering the thick forest. David led him to the dense undergrowth, glancing back now and then to make sure Cody was still following.

After about 15 minutes, they arrived at the spot David had found the crystal. Cody padded in front of David and glanced down into the ravine. There was no crystal, only a heap of boulders in the ravine.

Cody heaved another exasperated sigh. "There's nothing here, Davi-"

Cody stopped in the middle of his sentence. He had turned around to face David, but David was gone. Cody glanced around the clearing, searching for his friend. Cody ran along the side of the ravine, calling out David's name. No answers were heard.

Then Cody heard the sound of boulders shifting. He peered down into the ravine and started when he noticed the same demonic thing that had chased him in his nightmare emerge from a crevice in between two large boulders. It let out the same, eerie, terrifying, shrill screech it made in his dream. Cody turned tail and fled for the highway on the outside of the forest.

What is happening?! This is exactly what had happened in my dream!!