Train Wreck

thirty two

"I'm at Baker's Pond. I needed some air... not sure why, but I felt like I was going to explode..." my voice spoke before I even realized it.

There was rustling on the phone and I heard Benji speaking, "Remi? Why..." he yawned, which made me chuckle and then yawn as well before he continued, "Why are you there?"

I stared at the pond while the moon was reflected over ripples of water, stars shimmering innocently.

This entire scene looked magical, like fairy dust sprinkled across a sea of sapphires.

Not a devastating trap where my first friend lost his life.

"Remi? What's going on?" Benji's voice was higher now, anxiously pressing me for an answer but I shook my head.

"I just... I felt suffocated... like..."

Like I was drowning...

"Like you were drowning?" he completed instantly.

I gasped, the words in my brain coming out of Benji's mouth before I even realized what happened.

"I had a nightmare that I drowned... I woke up and Lissy wasn't right there and flipped out. She had fallen asleep but was there and woke up, too, but wow. It was so scary..." Benji's voice shook as he spoke, the fear still evident in every single syllable.

Shit.

Something connects us, that has become clear. It's more than Alice and the train wreck.

I heard more noise and shushed speaking before Alice got back on the phone. "Remington, are you safe?"

"Yes. I'm safe.  I promise you I'm safe and won't do anything to myself.   I just needed some air." I answered her honestly and her sigh of relief helped me relax further.

Lissy feels better, which helped me feel better.

"Do you want to come over?" she asked, "We both napped for a couple hours and just had a really good talk but I'd love for you two boys to talk about your nightmares. Sounds like you had the same one. Maybe you can help each other through this."

My eyes flicked to the phone screen where I saw a call coming in from my dad. "Liss, can I call you back?"

"Yeah, of course..." she trailed off.

I switched to my dad's call, the panic rising as I answered. "Hello?"

"Where are you, son?" his voice was tired and confused.

"I just went to get some air, dad. Sorry to scare you." I kept my voice calm and quiet, pacing the shoreline of the lake while looking for stones to skip.

It was a relief to know Alice and Benji are okay and even with his nightmare. 

"Are you okay?"

The question made me pause but I answered, "I think so. Had a nightmare so I needed some air, but I promise I'm okay. Lissy called so I might go over there also. Benji had a nightmare also..."

"Ahhh okay... I was wondering..." Dad mused. I chuckled at the way he spoke but he kept going, "Remi, you may not remember this, but you and Reese used to have the same nightmares. It happened all the time when you were children, especially after bad days.  You two had such a connection... even during storms you would struggle and your mom would be the one to soothe you."

The words sank in and memories flashed.

Thunderstorm... it cracked louder than ever, right outside the window... I screamed and Reese ran into my room, "REMI!!" His eyes were wide and face streaked with tears.  I opened my arms wide and he ran into them, my embrace offering some shelter and comfort. We huddled under my blanket in the corner while I tried to protect him until mom came in, cooing that everything would be okay. She whispered, "There, there, boys.. It's okay... it's okay..." but it wasn't...