He awoke to pain. Sharp and strong.
It permeated through his body as he got out of bed and got ready for school. It faded as he rode the bus, and started back up again once he stepped inside those doors.
Zach was good at hiding things, real or emotional.
None of his teachers had noticed anything wrong with him. So he had no trouble attending class. He was worried about one thing though.
The paranoia he felt was immense all throughout the day.
Were they staring at me? Did they know? Has Axel told anyone yet?
Oh god Axel...
Zach had been avoiding him for the past two days.
Luckily it hadn't taken him long to familiarize himself with the school's layout. He could easily hide himself in the sea of bodies, or slip into the janitor's closet, or stop just around the corner when he saw Axel.
Except when he noticed that Axel had started waiting at his locker in between classes. What the hell did he want from him?
The constant paranoia all came to a crashing halt for Zach the next morning. He had woken up 2 hours early from his alarm. Something felt desperately wrong inside. He reluctantly got out of bed.
You're so pathetic. Why do you do this to yourself?
Standing in the fuzzy darkness of his room, the kind of darkness that held no comfort for him to hide in. He looked at the mirror in front of him and it showed a blurry monochrome figure staring back.
You're stuck with this body. You wish this was all some cruel joke, don't you?
Zach remembers Sawyer saying that you should never look in a mirror while you're in a dream. This wasn't a dream though.
In dreams he could grab his skin and pull apart his body like crushing a ball of clay. He could reshape it, reshape it to whatever he wanted to be.
That's never going to happen. You're too weak to make anything happen...
He dug his fingers into his shoulders, tightly.
You wish you were an animal, you wish you could lose your mind cause then you wouldn't have to realize what you really are... meat.
He tightened his grip harder. Feeling the skin break underneath his fingernails. Blood pricked up from his shoulders as Zach let go.
His fingers were stained with it.
There is no comfort for you. You can't lash out, but you want to so badly too. You're pathetic. Why don't you save yourself and end it all?
Zach started to cry. They weren't tears of sorrow, but of anger instead. He grabbed the edges of the mirror and turned it around to face the corner of the room.
—---
Wednesday morning was another groggy sleep deprived haze.
When Zach arrived at school Axel was waiting near his locker again.
Great. Thought Zach. He was getting really tired of avoiding him. It had really only been two days. Eventually Axel would have to give up.
He'd found out that having friends was too problematic, and Zach had made his decision to move on through highschool without making any.
Zach rubbed his sore ribs. The pain was slowly seeping back in.
He took a painkiller this morning and it was starting to wear off.
The clock in the classroom read: 9:50.
Just 10 more minutes before the first break and Zach could run to the washroom and take a few more pills.
He tapped his pencil impatiently on his desk. He'd just have to endure it a bit more, no problem. Zach felt dizzy, their teacher was going over the different kinds of energy that existed, starting with kinetic energy. Zach tried to pay attention but the teacher's voice sounded so far away. He rested his eyes just for a moment before the bell rang pulling him out of his trance.
Quickly Zach grabbed his things and was the first to leave the classroom. He ran into the washroom down the hall as the rest of students streamed out of their classes.
Happy to finally have some peace and quiet Zach locked himself in one of the stalls and went through his backpack.
Just as he found the painkillers he'd stashed in his bag, someone else entered the washroom. Trying to be as quiet as possible Zach opened the bottle and swallowed two pills.
He was still paranoid, worried that if another boy saw him in here they'd try and kick him out of the bathroom.
Zach sighed and stepped out of the stall.
Oh shit.
He met Axel's gaze in the washroom mirror.
The taller boy quickly turned around to face him with a look of surprise and annoyance present on his face.
"Zach? where the hell have you been?"
Zach averted his eyes from him and stared at the tiled floor.
He walked over to the sink to wash his hands.
"Hey don't ignore me!" said Axel.
"What's your problem? You know I was just worried about you after watching you get the shit kicked out of you. Now you're avoiding me?"
He wasn't used to seeing the usually kind boy act so upset.
Maybe Axel had every reason to be upset...
Zach dried his hands and tried to leave the washroom but Axel hastily stood in front of him. There was an ever present worry that this would soon turn physical.
"Why won't you talk to me? Was it something I said?"
Zach finally met Axel's eyes "leave me alone! You already know my biggest secret, why don't you just go ahead and tell everybody. I'm sure you'd get better friends that way!" he snapped.
Axel looked visibly hurt, "wha-what? What are you- oh."
He almost shrunk in size, if it wasn't for his oversized jacket.
"Zach... I-I was just worried about you. You got really hurt or something. I don't really care about your, um, secret."
His voice was gentle.
Axel's face was small and concerned but it quickly twisted into anger. He towered above Zach. "You really think I told people? I-I thought we were friends! Guess I was pretty stupid to think that" he growled.
There it was, that word.
It stung to hear it, at that moment Zach immediately regretted all of what he thought before. He did need friends.
Axel was about to walk out of the washroom but Zach grabbed his forearm "WAIT!"
"Hey let go of me man!" he whined.
"NO!" he struggled to find the proper words.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I know I say that a lot but I really mean it this time. Axel... I'm an idiot. I-I'm not a very good friend I know. I'm a TERRIBLE friend," his voice began to break, but he got a grip on it.
"Maybe I should have told you all this sooner, but, I dunno. I just don't know, I thought you'd hate me. Everyone hates me when they find out, that's why I have no friends" he sighed. His legs were shaking. He slowly tilted his head to the ground.
Zach was fully prepared to have Axel hate him for the rest of highschool, even if a part of him hoped his apology fixed all this.
"You called me your friend," Axel said quietly.
Zach looked up at him, his eyes slowly growing red.
Axel smiled that big dumb grin he always had.
Zach was unsure if he should reciprocate it or just stand there.
"Uh, yeah. I guess you are, if you want to be..." he said.
To Zach's surprise, and shock, Axel pulled him into a bear hug.
This didn't go well for Zachs ribs. "OUCH! Ok maybe lay off the hugs until I feel better."
"Shit sorry! My bad, does it still hurt?"
"You have no idea," he groaned.
The rest of the day Zach was in a strangely content mood. Having only made it a month through the school year Zach had at least made one friend. His ribs still ached, and he still felt like garbage but for a little while he was happy. Another good sign today was that he hadn't seen Rod, or any of his cronies since Sunday. They'd usually pick on him during Lunch every weekday, but when today's lunch break came around Axel wanted Zach to come meet some of his 'other' friends.
They walked past the cafeteria where everyone congregated like it was a church hall, and walked outside.
Zach followed him till they reached the back of the school where the gravel field was. Surprised he wasn't stopping yet, Axel beckoned Zach towards one of the empty mobiles near the field.
Behind it, he was a little startled to find a group of four kids... smoking weed of all things.
The first two faces he saw he recognized as being two grades below him. They both had black hair, the girls dyed with purple streaks.
The boy had a fringe over his eyes and it looked like he was wearing... eyeliner?
"Hey Axel! Where have you been man?" said the boy.
"Finally sneak away from those dipshits?" said the other taller kid behind him. He had bleached white hair. Zach did not recognize him as someone who went to their school. The fourth of the group was a tall girl that Zach remembered as being in the same grade as him. She was even in some of the same classes he was in.
She noticed Zach and smiled kindly "hey I know you, I think we have some of the same classes. Your Axel's friend?"
Axel quickly turned to Zach, "oh right! Guys this is Zach."
The way he said it reminded him way too much of an AA meeting.
"And Zach, this is Rachel, Marr, Randy and Diya," he pointed at each of them going in a row.
They greeted Zach cooly, and even the guy with the bleached hair 'Randy' offered him the joint he was smoking.
Zach politely declined it. Randy seemed to quietly take offense to this. "Anyways, as I was saying..." started Randy.
"They towed the poor sap's car just as he was running out of the house in his underwear! His wife had finally found out he was cheating on her, so she got his car reclaimed!"
He laughed, it was gravely. Marr nodded at him vigorously, Rachel and Diya rolled their eyes.
"Of course I was watching the whole thing, because she was paying me to work in her garden. Paid me extra too, probably thought I was eye candy or something with the way she was always ogling me.
No wonder she left the guy, he was such an asshole."
"You work as a landscaper?" Zach said, hoping to find his way into the conversation.
Randy fixed him with a sharp stare, "no."
"He's unemployed," Diya chimed in.
"Doing odd jobs is not unemployed" he bit back aggressively.
Diya was unphased by this "Yes, yes it is."
The others chuckled before Randy gave them all the same sharp stare as well. "What's your deal anyway kid?" he quickly said to Zach, taking a long drag. "How'd you meet Axel?"
Zach looked from Randy to the others, they were all staring at him now. He wasn't used to being around such a big group of people, even if there were only six of them in total.
Luckily Axel was still with him.
"Oh, we started hanging out last week. I'm helping Zach with an investigation" he said proudly.
Marr eyes grew wide "really? What kind of investigation?"
"Oh, uh, well... Z-Zach's better at explaining it"
Of course he left him out in the open, Zach nudged Axel with his elbow to show his annoyance.
"Yeah, well I'm sure you guys have heard about that kid that died last week" he said. Randy's expression grew panicky compared to the others.
Zach took note of that.
"Yeah, that was heavy," said Marr. "Did you know them?" asked Diya.
Zach felt Axel lean in a little closer to him.
"Yes. I did, and now I'm trying to find out what happened."
"Well good luck with that" she said.
Axel folded his arms "we've already found tons of evidence, and we've narrowed down the suspects."
"Y-You did?" stuttered Randy.
"Actually I wouldn't put it that way," Zach explained.
Zach noticed how Rachel and Marr were practically on the edge of their seats listening to this. If they had seats of course.
"We found some stuff, not a lot. Though, Axel's been really helpful at finding 'tons of evidence' as he puts it."
"Well congratulations" droned Randy, nearly cutting Zach off.
"Axel's like the easiest person to get along with." He jammed his finger into Axel's shoulder.
He smiled at Randy, "so what? I like that about myself."
Diya snickered at this, as Randy got somewhat red in the face.
Zach started to feel more at ease talking with them as their lunch break pressed on.
He found out that Marr and Randy were cousins, and that they and Rachel all lived on the Indian reserve near the river.
Diya had moved here from Coquitlam three years ago, something Zach and her had in common.
The four of them had known each other for a really long time and were always hanging out together. Recently including Axel in their activities. Zach was somewhat happy knowing he could come talk with them any time at lunch. Or come and skip class with them, something Diya immediately proposed.
They were sad to hear the far off sound of the bell, and walked back together continuing their conversation about movies, music and how many boiled eggs Axel could fit in his mouth.
They went back into the school and all was quiet once more outside.
—---
"So, you expected me to find out about this?"
Sawyer folded his arms, grimacing at the guy tinkering with the car next to him. "Find out about what? There's nothing for you to find out about."
Sawyer walked around the car inspecting it.
It was a piece of junk, apart from the newly fitted tires. The thing most likely didn't have a lot of years left, but he was coming to realize people would buy just about anything if it had a new coat of paint on it.
The man working on the car stood up from its hood. He had dark hair and a five o'clock shadow. "Is this about the DUIs?" he said casually. "Cause Sawyer, if it is, I can easily sort that out on my own-"
"Its about the fucking cops showing up at my house!"
He stared angrily at him, "listen Sidney you better get your story straight cause it's pretty obvious they think you did it."
Sawyer leaned on the car and watched him wipe his gloved hands with a dirty cloth. "Oh that's what this is about huh? Thats funny, cause I
Was so sure they were gonna blame the kids murder on you."
He barely looked at him, over absorbed in his task.
Sawyer lurched over and grabbed Sidney by the collar to face him.
He was a lot taller than Sawyer, but when compared to him he was practically a string bean.
"And why would they do that?" he spat.
Sidney regarded him with an unsettling calm.
"Hey I was just joking buddy, jeez. You're not really gonna hurt me are you?"
"I don't know. Give me a reason why I shouldn't." Sidney shrugged him off.
For the moment Sawyers' anger had faded.
"If the cops are gonna show up, then so what? I have an alibi."
Sawyer shook his head, obviously frustrated.
"How'd that work out for you last time? They asked you to come down to the station, Sidney, they're gonna pin it on you whether you did it or not!" He slammed the hood of the car closed and walked over to the little office in the garage.
Sidney owned the auto repair garage they were standing in, it was also the perfect cover for some of his more unsavory business ventures.
Sawyer followed him into the office. His patience was wearing thin.
"I'm worried they're gonna nail you for one thing and then find out about the rest, and that it'll eventually lead back to me and Mallory. I don't want to end up in jail because you couldn't keep your mouth shut!"
Sidney went over a few folders on his desk still hearing his gloves.
"I know a great lawyer, and I gotta a couple of guys on the inside if you know what I mean," he winked at him.
Sawyer glanced at the staple remover on his desk.
Sidney went on "you worry too much man. I've already told you I've got an alibi, and it checks out."
His hand darted out and snatched the staple remover.
Before Sidney could even register what he was doing with it, Sawyer had his hand on his neck pressing Sidney down against the hardwood desk. His eyes were wide like a fish as Sawyer loomed over him. All sense of calm he had before completely drained from his body.
"Wha-What are you doing?" Sidney sputtered.
"You're going to tell me why the police think you killed her."
Sidney tried to kick Sawyer away but he had his body planted up against the desk crushing him into it.
He gasped for breath "I don't know why they think it's me!"
Sawyer brought the staple remover up to Sidney's cheek.
"Yes you do," he said calmly.
A small thread of blood started to grow on his jawline as Sawyer dragged the staple remover gently across his face.
He jolted at the pain from the cold metal, well aware that if left to his own devices Sawyer could do much worse to him.
"P-Please! I-I sorry your right. I was dropping off some burned parts, I was gonna bury them in the woods!" Sidney squealed.
"What happened?"
Another thread of blood formed near his ear.
"GAAH! I saw her on the side of the road! I offered to give her a ride, but she forced me to let her off near the lake. Don't know why..."
He groaned as Sawyer pulled the staple remover from his face and set it down. Sawyer yanked him up by his neck and tossed him aside.
"I had nothing to do with her death. I just gave her a ride, how was I supposed to know some maniac would kill her?" he rubbed his neck, a small bruise evident on it.
Sawyer nodded "alright now I know you didn't do it. That wasn't so hard," he growled.
Sawyer thought about Sidney driving his company van out there.
"You don't have any idea who could have killed her though?"
Sidney frowned at him "no" he breathed. "What? You wanna solve her murder? Be my guest, and while you're at it get the police off my back as well." Sawyer wanted to smack him so hard, but thought that might be going too far.
"How bout after threatening me you help me out with something?"
Sawyer sneered knowing full well what it was.
"You're taking Simon's shift right? Why don't you go do that now, save yourself a lot of time," said Sidney.
"Ok, where is it?" he huffed.
Sidney took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him.
"Here's the address. The guy owes me money, but hasn't paid for the catalytic converter yet. So just bust up his car a bit. You can take whatever you want from him cause he's also got heating bills piling up."
Sawyer nodded and stuffed the paper in his pocket.
Sidney rubbed his cheek "jesus man you really fucked up my face."
He just glared at him as he left the room.
"You better not do that again!" he called after him.
Sawyer wasn't scared of Sidney, he wasn't scared of anybody.
He was scared of whoever killed Aster though.
Because he had a feeling they might do it again.
—---
Zach found himself thinking back to their conversation with Randy and the others today. Sure, they were all very nice and didn't hesitate to let him join their group of friends. He just got a weird feeling from Randy, especially when he mentioned investigated the murder. Not to mention the fact that Randy kept cutting him off during lunch. Did he know something?
"Hey, hey Zach watch this!" Axel was balancing on a fallen log.
They were both taking the shortcut through the trail to get home.
Apparently Axel lived in the same direction, closer to the grocery store.
He slipped on the logs wet surface and clambered down to the stream below hastily landing on both feet with a splash.
"WooAAooh," he grinned at Zach.
Axel got his balance back before he kept walking.
Zach decided to voice his thoughts "hey did you notice anything weird about Randy, when you said that we were investigating Aster's murder?"
"Nope," he answered.
"Really? Cause it seemed like he really wanted us to talk about something else."
"Well maybe it's because most people aren't as interested in death an murder as you are Zach," Axel shrugged.
Zach frowned, and gave him a sideways look.
"Sorry." He added quickly.
"Ok yeah you're probably right. But when we were at the crime scene last weekend I overheard some of the cops saying that where they found the body, sometimes kids would go there to hang out, drink, smoke and stuff..." Zach glanced at Axel to see if he was still paying attention.
"...So I just thought that maybe he might have been up there when it happened. Randy could have seen something!"
"Like what?"
"Like I dunno, the-the murderer! Maybe he saw them bring the body up there!" said Zach.
Axel looked skeptical "don't you think he would have gone to the police already if he saw something like that? I know him, he would have told someone by now."
Zach stared at the ground as they walked. Of course he would have done that first, but the way Randy was acting there still might be a chance he hadn't said anything to the police yet.
Zach thought best to let it go for now.
"You know what? Forget it" he breathed.
They were silent for a moment then Axel started humming.
"Hey! Uh, so..." he said, the humming coming to a stop.
"You don't have to answer this but... you're not a girl, right?"
"What?" muttered Zach. Axel really didn't want to say something stupid and make him angry.
"I just mean. I was kind of curious about it. About uh... you know," his eyes darted to Zachs then back at the ground.
He decided to answer him wanting to get this conversation over with.
"Oh. Yeah. I haven't really talked about it with anyone for a while." His voice was flat, "what do you want to know?"
He studied Axel's expression, waiting for the moment he'd grow uncomfortable about the whole thing and forget about asking.
"Uh, nothing I guess," he twiddled his thumbs.
"I don't think I need to know anything actually, I-I kind of feel like I already know enough... Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound insensitive if it did,"
Zach was surprised. "Heh, I seriously doubt you know anything about it."
Unexpectedly Axel just smiled at him, "well you're still Zach right?"
He nodded. "...And you like it when I call you 'he,' right?"
He nodded again, "yeah."
"And you still like girls, right?"
Zach rolled his eyes at this "yes."
Axel clasped his hands together, "then you're a guy, and we're still friends! I don't think I need to know anything else... unless you want me to," he said.
Zach returned his smile "No, I guess you're right."
"Am I the only one who knows about... you?" Axel tilted his head.
Zach thought for a moment before answering.
"No. My mom knows and my brother Marc does. Aster knew as well...
I think Sawyer knows? I met him when I looked less like this."
He gestured at his face. "He's never brought it up though."
Axel slowed down next to Zach "Sawyer? You mean the scary guy who works at the CD store?" his mouth gaped open.
Zach was quick to defend him "he's not scary! He's just grumpy. He can be a really cool guy once you get to know him."
"Sure..." he said. "...But be careful, okay? I don't want you to end up in a body bag."
Zach laughed, "I'll be alright."
He thought back to the last time he saw Sawyer. It had been more than 3 days since he visited the CD store Sawyer worked at. He was usually there everyday after school. The thought of seeing him again made Zach feel nauseous. He said goodbye to Axel before they split off in opposite directions.
I have to tell him. I need to make things right with Sawyer.
What am I gonna fucking say though?
Zach imagined himself apologizing to Sawyer profusely for invading his privacy. That usually worked on his brother, but he was going to need more than a couple 'sorry's' to fix this.
—---
For the rest of that week Zach watched Randy closely.
Fully convinced he knew something about the murder, Zach's theory kept getting proven right as he learned more about the guy.
He also learned that Axel liked to hug his friends and not everyone tolerated it. A couple times Randy would try to playfully shove Axel away or Marr would duck out of sight cause he was shorter than him.
Being around a group of people who were so seemingly comfortable with each other was something Zach had never experienced before.
He learned that Rachel and Diya also had part time jobs. He made a mental note of this.
He learned that they all loved Deftones, just like Zach and that out of all of them Randy talked the most and Rachel talked the least.
She talked more often to Zach when they were alone. Zach liked this, and he liked her.
Seemingly out of nowhere talk of a party came up for this weekend. Zach was very obviously hesitant about going. He remembered hearing Rod mention they were going to be there, and the last thing he wanted was to run into him again.
The others urged Zach and Axel to join them. Eventually to Zach's dismay Axel agreed. Before Zach had a chance to confirm whether he was going or not, the bell rang and he excused himself to quickly get to class.
He was relieved to be out of that conversation, but also kind of upset that he couldn't enjoy something as simple as a house party.
Everyday of his life something reminded him of the weakness he felt. That afternoon Zach found himself unconsciously walking to the CD store. He peeked inside out of curiosity.
Sawyer wasn't working there today. Somewhat reluctantly Zach went home. He found Marc frantically stomping around the house when he got there.
"You heard about a party this Saturday?" he mentioned to him.
His brother glanced back at him as he lifted up the couch cushions.
"What? Oh I think so. You haven't taken anything from my room have you?"
Zach hung his jacket up and went into the kitchen.
"No," he said. Marc eyed him suspiciously.
"Uh, I gotta go out soon. I got your stuff from the pharmacy today and left it in the bathroom. You better hide it before mom gets back."
Zach perked up "what? When is she coming?"
"Fuck, theres my wallet!" Marc pulled the leather packet from behind a stack of books on the shelf.
"Marc, when is she coming back?" he snapped.
"Easy dude, She's coming back in another week. Relax."
Zach's face felt cold, his fingers tingling with needles.
He slipped away into his bedroom, as Marc said he would have to make dinner for himself tonight.
Zach closed his door gently, and found Sacha sitting in his closet like he left her this morning. He hadn't found the need to call on her during the day now, it had been a while since he had any time where he was alone.
Sacha apparently didn't mind this much, she could actually go wherever she wanted at any time.
"Hello" she greeted him. "What do you have?"
Zach held out a packet of beef jerky he'd found in the cabinet to her.
Sacha swiped it from his hands and ripped the thing open with her teeth. "Wow, I didn't know you could get hungry," he said.
"I Can't," said Sacha through her teeth, "just like the taste."
Zach sat down at his desk, and dropped his backpack down beside him.
"You look sad?" she noticed his pale expression.
"Um, I'm ok," Zach said.
Sacha opened her mouth to say something then closed it.
He sat at his desk for a moment staring at the disheveled notebooks, and cork board covered in newspaper clippings and maps of the area. "No, I'm not ok," he finally said.
He put his head in his hands drawing a heavy sigh.
"I don't want all of this to be for nothing..."
Sacha had cleaned out the bag of beef jerky and carefully put the empty remains to the side. She slowly got up from the closet space and stood next to him.
"Umm, I might be able to help a little more," she said.
Zach looked up at her, "how?"
She shuffled her feet and brought both hands up.
"If you let me show you what I saw that night. You might be able to spot something I haven't yet noticed."
That didn't really sound like it made sense, but Zach was willing to try anything.
"Ok. What do I have to do?"
They sat on either side of Zach's bed. Him near the headrest and Sacha at the end.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked him.
He nodded his eyes hardened with intent, "yes, I'm desperate at this point."
"Take my hands" she commanded.
Zach did so, Sacha's hands felt cold and leathery.
"Now what?"
The small twinkling stars he had come to know as her eyes slowly faded. Now left with two black sockets.
"Sacha?" he felt her grip on his hands tighten.
Then it all went black.
He could still see her sitting in front of him, but all around them was nothing but an endless void of darkness.
Zach felt like talking here would result in some great and dangerous consequence so he kept his mouth shut.
"Look into my eyes" said a soft voice.
He stared into Sacha's dark sockets. For a second he thought he saw himself staring back. Then Zach was outside. He was in the forest standing next to a dirt road. It was dark out but he could just see a white van parked in the distance. Its lights were off.
This is it, I'm here where it happened.
The sound of hurried footsteps caused him to look down the road.
A small figure was running away from the van into the fog.
Zach had his vision pulled towards the woods to his right.
Some unseen force pushed him to walk into it.
He made his way to a clearing of fallen logs, the place looked familiar. It was the crime scene he searched with Axel.
He suddenly turned to the left and saw her.
Aster.
She was standing alone. What looked like a body lay limp before her on the dark ground. Zach could barely make out her face in the darkness, but he knew it was her.
Something was off though, the way she stood there seemed... unnatural. She held something tightly in her hand.
Zach walked forward, he felt like he was moving in slow motion.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he sensed a great panic arising like all his instincts were forcing him to run.
As he crept closer Aster's hand opened up.
A finger? No, wait. How did she get that?
Singing? Someone was singing in the distance.
Zach looked at Aster's face, but it wasn't hers anymore.
A small patch of moonlight broke through the clouds illuminating her features. It was the face of a corpse, glassy eyed open mouthed, blue skinned. It looked gripped with rigor mortis, yet pale and fresh before the moonlight. Zach felt his body instantly recoil at the sight.
The corpse's open mouth twisted into a caramel grin.
Her lips didn't move.
"..She is so kind. She let me have it, no one ever did that for me."
The voice made his skin crawl.
"I hope she's ok. I-I didn't want to hurt her... are you her friend?"
He wanted this all to stop, he wanted to wake up right now.
This isn't real, this is NOT real. Wake up Zach, this is just a DREAM! You're not here, they're not here!
He screamed, and it all snapped away in an instant.
Zach was back in his room sitting on his bed across from Sacha.
"OH GOD, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" He was sweating profusely.
"That was a dream that had to have been a dream! At least that last part had to be... God that was, that was awful!"
He gripped his shoulders to stop from shaking.
"Why did you have to show me that..." Zach muttered.
Sacha hadn't moved an inch, still processing what they both just witnessed. Her eyes finally landed on Zach holding himself and glaring down at his feet. She was just as disturbed as him at the nightmare they saw.
She found herself instinctually reaching out to Zach and pulling him into a hug. Zach didn't push her away like last time, in fact he hugged her back. Her wiry frame felt somewhat odd to latch onto, but he didn't care.