Eyes chapter 2

Chapter 2



Days have passed.

         It’s a Monday morning, the same day that my father supposedly died. No body, only a torn car that looks like someone died in it, but the question hangs in my mind, is he really dead? I never really think about the possibilities because they start to scare me every once in a while. I want to just forget the past of how my father was announced dead, but that would also mean forgetting the past of how I met my best friend. Damn…I can’t believe I forgot his name.

         I was young, nine at the time. About to be ten, his Sister Anna was watching me run, Anna was always the fastest runner at school, I knew that she would grow up to be a track star, but I didn’t know that we would be split apart for so long, but that’s a different story. 

         I was running, working out because of the Presidential Fitness test coming up at the end of the week. I knew I wouldn’t pass I was so out of shape. Her brother saw me running too, their attention was drawn to me when I took a wild turn through the city park dodging children on swings and still keeping up the pace. I loved running, loved everything to do with running because it made me feel free. Like I could escape something that was coming at me from far away.

         “Watch out!” her brother screamed at me as a child slid down the slide right under me. I stepped on the edge of the metal I felt my toes curl around the warm metal then push off sending me into the air.

         I tucked my legs then cleared the child’s brown hair then rolled on the ground taking a deep breath. Her brother approached me.

         “You’re pretty good.” He said.

         I laughed.

         Anna was right behind him, she was nine at the time as well, but he had just turned twelve. He was a natural at Karate. At twelve he was already a black belt. He looked at me once and told me, that he wanted me to become something better than a runner. He wanted me to become a fighter. I remember that time as I’m packing my backpack for school.

         School.

         It wasn’t always easy for me, but it also isn’t hard. I am a “B” student, but I know I can be an “A” student if I put my mind to school work instead of looking back at Anna. She has the same chocolate brown hair, and matching eyes as the girl from my memory. Back then I wanted to talk to her, but I was a nervous little nine year old. I wanted….i want to be with her, but for some reason she hates me.

         Mrs. Roman is my History teacher. She’s old, not just old but ancient. I always make fun of her behind her back, but still that never gets any one’s attention. Sometimes there will be a snicker, or a laugh, but not from Anna. All I will ever want is her to love me. Her to want to hold me, her to want to talk to me.

         Anna sits in front of me in class.

         I don’t mean to eavesdrop but I see something on her clear white binder with metallic rings. I see a picture of my old friend. He has black hair and green eyes. Looking a lot like me, like my twin. I think that is why we started to hang out back then. I think that is why we became so close of friends.

         Anna had a work sheet in her hands one that she was supposed to pass back to me.

         “Anna” I say waiting for her to pass back the papers so I can get all of my homework done before school gets out.

         She doesn’t even look back because I know how much pain she’s in. How much pain I put the girl of my dreams in. I don’t even want to think about it, but something tells me that I need to think about the story of how she began to hate me to get it out of my mind.

         Her brother….

         “Tobi Zane please report to the office you have a visitor. Tobi Zane report to the office you have a visitor.” The receptionist on the other end of the intercom calls. I climb to my feet from the chair, as I pass Anna I look back noticing that this is the very first time I’ve ever looked into her deep brown eyes after the day that I thought would never end.

         I pace out of the classroom.

         Down the long corridor and to the left is the office, the school is shaped like a big square with the cafeteria in the dead center of the square. Hallways line all sides of the cafeteria. I walk towards the cafeteria door which is the last door on the left.

         Mrs. Bray, my Algebra 2 teacher stops me before I enter the cafeteria.

         “Excuse me.” She says in her firm tone of voice.

         “Yes Mrs. Bray?” I ask.

         “Do you have a Hall pass?” She asks.

         I shake my head, “I was called to the office.”

         “I don’t care I want to know where your hall pass is.”

         I ignore the question then continue on towards the office. “Mrs. Bray” a deep voice said. “He’s with me.”

         I look at where the deep voice is coming from. A tall man with no a bushel of brown hair and blue eyes looks at me with a smile. “My name is Chester.” He says. “My last name doesn’t matter to you or anyone else so I don’t ever say it.”

         “Hi Chester, my name is…”

         “I know who you are.” Chester says to me which sends a shock through my spine. “I know what you see, and I also know that you can stop people from dying, if you listen to me closely.”

         I looked up into Chester’s eyes.

         “See that teacher over there?” He asks. “HGer name is Mrs. Bray, correct?”

         I nod.

         “Well, tell me what you see above her head.” Chester said calmly.

         “I see a timer it looks like, counting down from fifteen seconds.”

         “Okay good.” He says. “Then the time is set right. In fifteen seconds if you don’t do something Mrs. Bray will be killed.  I can’t tell you how she’s going to die, or what is going to happen if you don’t save her, but I can tell you this. If you do save her you will be popular.”

         I glance up into his eyes once more.

         I hesitate, “Ten seconds left.” I say to myself.

         Mrs. Bray is walking down the hall, I sprint for Mrs. Bray.

         Nine.

         I hear my own footsteps crashing with the white and black linoleum floors made purposefully to look like the end zone on our football field outside of the high school.

         Eight.

         I reach Mrs. Bray; she turns to ask why I’m running through the halls.

         Seven.

         I spin backwards seeing Chester laugh.

         Six.

         Mrs. Bray’s question still hangs in the air.

         Five.

         I don’t know what to do.

         Four.

         Mrs. Bray is now screaming at me.

         Three.

         I hear a gunshot.

         Two.

         A bullet slams into the side of Mrs. Bray’s skull

         One.

         Mrs. Bray breathes her last breath.

         I turn to see Chester holding up the gun that the bullet launched itself from. Chester is still laughing, the halls are surprisingly silent.

         And then a voice echoes.

         “Students and teachers we have heard a shot fired through the school. We have the police on the phone right now, we need everyone to cooperate, and everything must be locked down.

         I run at Chester who suddenly drops the gun.

         I punch him in the face then look up seeing Anna run out into the hallway.

         “Anna go!” I yell.

         Anna covers her mouth. “You know what you’ve done?” Chester asks.

         I shake my head. I honestly don’t know what I’ve done, nor what just happened. All I know is I didn’t save someone from dying. All I know is…

         I woke up screaming my head off.

         Mrs. Roman was standing in front of the class, Anna was looking back at me as if she saw what I saw.

         “Mr. Zane, are you okay?” Mrs. Roman asks. “It seems like you’ve just had a nightmare.”

         I laugh embarrassed then say, “I’m fine.”

         “Good so you’ll be able to stay in class extra thirty-minutes for sleeping.”

         “Yes ma’am.” I say.

         For the rest of the class I pay attention to the board seeing the small numbers appear over Mrs. Roman’s head. I stare blindly at the lights forcing myself not to go to sleep near the end of the thirty-minutes of extra class while Mrs. Roman is going over World War two.

         Someone knocks on Mrs. Roman’s door.

         Mrs. Roman tells them to come in.

         Mrs. Bray walks into the room with fifteen seconds above her head. She is old, but not as old as Mrs. Roman. Mrs. Bray is African American. She is tall and chubby with long black hair and green eyes.

         “Mrs. Bray” I yell.

         “Excited to see me?” She says.

         “Very, I want you to know that I’m dropping out today and I want to get a picture with you before I leave maybe it will help me come back to school. Do you think that would be possible?”

         She laughs, “No” she says.

         “Why not?”

         “Because I think I’m…”

         A bullet tears through the back of her head. A man looking much like Chester walks into the room with a wicked smile.

         “So you’re Tobi Zane?” he asks.

         I nod.

         “So I want to tell you something that you’ve probably heard a thousand times. You’re not normal, your eyes were not formed because of genetics, but they were because of a mutation. I’m sure you could have seen what I did seconds before, but nobody will believe you.”

         “Who are you?”

         “Just know that I will always be watching you.” He says pointing the gun at Mrs. Roman then firing. “There should be no witnesses around when I kill, but I’m going to keep this thing interesting and let you live.”

         He walks away smiling at his work.

         The classroom is covered in blood. I don’t know what to say, and I don’t know what to do either. The classroom has become something that I wouldn’t expect in life.

         Police officers rush into the room.

         “Did you see who did this?” They screamed in my face.

         I sprinted away from them.

Why am I running?

         Forcing myself to breathe harder and harder as I take steps down the hallway of the school, outside of the school, through the cluttered school parking lot filled with all types of cars with differing makes and models. He knows who I am, he knows what I can see, but I don’t exactly. Of course Mrs. Bray and Mrs. Roman will never know what happened to them. The single bullets in their bodies were fired because of me.

         And now I am breathing heavily outside of the school ducked down behind an old Mustang. I lashed out at the metal work around the mustang cursing at myself. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, my eyes were supposed to be a medical mystery not some stupid superpower that constantly gets people killed.

         I gently climb to my feet and throw myself away from the car, running. Wincing in pain each time my feet clash against the mixture of tar on the ground. I finally reach something that I can hide behind a tree, a tall oak tree that would be easy to climb in if I was ever taught how to climb. My breathing slowed as well as my heart beat. I take a deep breath fearing it would be my last right as I hear sirens start up.

         A patrol car speeds off.

         I reach my right arm up trying to grab a hold of the tree, but then I see Mom’s car speeding towards the school. The stupid police they must have called Mom right after I started running. I throw myself into the middle of the street right in front of her car, she slams the breaks, I back pedal looking back knowing that the police will soon be behind me to get me.

         “Tobi” Mom calls.

         I don’t answer at first. Mom skids to a halt as police officers surround me. I am trapped, seeing all of the numbers above their heads. Trapped, between police officers and my mother. Three men who I have always been told want to help me, and a woman that I know has always cared about me.

                I have a choice to make.

                I have always had this choice pressing against my mind, I am tired of drama, tired of seeing everything that happens to people and not being able to save them. I'm tired, but running away won't be safe...