Surviving Sarin

Chapter 13

Soon, they're replaced with familiar walls. Our house on the base. I start down the hall. My hands run over the wallpaper, tracing the cracks in it as I walk. The hallway seems to stretch on forever, until suddenly, I spot a lonely figure sitting on the old couch.

"Dylan," the figure calls. As I get closer, I recognize Rob He pats the cushion next to him. "Sit down. There's something I have to tell you.",

I remain standing.

In the distance, I hear a shrill cry. I glance toward Cynthia's room. Rob stares intently at me, the announcement waiting on his lips. Again, I look in the direction of my sister's room, where the crying is growing louder. "Mom!" I call, but she doesn't come out of her bedroom. What's going on?

"Mom, Cynthia needs you!" I yell.

Rob's voice is insistent. "Stop shouting. Listen to me..."

But I can't. The crying is growing louder, and I can't stand it. I run into the room and pick up the toddler, sweeping her up in a bundle of blankets and returning to the living room.

"Your mother is gone." The Rob in my dream is cold and offers no sympathy, unlike the stepfather I'm used to. "Dylan, did you hear me? She left us. She's not coming back."

My mother left?

The child in my arms stops crying. She feels lighter. When I look down, I see a small girl—not Cynthia, but somehow, I feel it is Cynthia. There's a white circle of light where her face should be. Without thinking, I drop the tiny body. As soon as the toddler hits the floor, it dissolves in a puddle of blood. I look up at Rob, and he, too, has no face, just a circle of light sinking into darkness.

My heart pounds against my chest and I can't get enough air into my lungs. My eyes are so heavy, I struggle to open them. Nothing but blackness surrounds me. Are my fucking eyelids even open? Bile creeps up my throat as hot tears run down my cheeks. I can't hear any noise from the others, and I pray they're all asleep.

What if my mother had never left? Would she have protected Cynthia? Could she have? Hell, most likely she would've sacrificed me. Let me die. Maybe Rob would've stepped in. Maybe. Did he try to help me that day? I know he was there. Why can't I remember?

After a while, the sky begins to lighten. Rustling noises reveal the rest of the group is waking up. I roll over and slowly join the others in the circle of rock-chairs. Valentina tells the group every detail about our encounter with the men—how we watched them take blood samples, how they mentioned looking for a living sample. Tim fidgets with sticks, listening intently.

Katie alone doesn't seem surprised by Valentina's report. "I heard them say that too.".

Tim looks up at her. "You didn't say that before."

"Well, after Kyle told everyone about the men's' appearance, it kind of dominated the conversation."

"From now on, and this goes for everyone, no matter how tense a conversation seems, don't withhold important information," Tim says.

Kyle drags himself out to our circle., Surprisingly, he looks way better. Like he slept it off. Way off. He still has a few bruises and several long scrapes that are beginning to fade. As he walks over to us, we can't help but stare.

"What?" Kyle shoots us an irritated look. Even Tim can't find anything to say. "Stop staring at me. You're creeping me out."

Valentina's eyebrows knit together. "Do you think he remembers what happened?"

"How does he think he got back here?" I ask.

"Kyle," Tim calls out.

Kyle pauses then turns towards us. "What?"