CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Jet woke up in the middle of the night. He slowly sat up to look around the room. The only light was the glow of the moon from the open window they've left open for Ao to go in and out. Ronnie was gone but Alec was asleep by the couch.

He rubbed the back of his head as he yawned. According to Alec, he'd been asleep for a whole month but he felt so tired; as if he hadn't rested for a while. He felt like the back of his head became flatter though. He picked up the pitcher from the side table and poured himself a glass. His throat was parched, dryer than the desert.

Ao flew silently in the room and landed perched on top of the side table. She nibbled at Jet's fingers. He petted her once before he stood up from the bed and walked slowly towards the window. His legs were like jelly. And he could feel the lack of exercise. He even fell down when he first stood up the night before.

He gazed out the window. The night was peaceful. The lights of the on-going traffic created a line of flickering lights over the distance. Despite the busy streets, the night was peaceful. The full moon shone as brightly as the night Alice first appeared in front of them. And it was just as majestic.

Jet could see the shadows of the crows flying around the hospital like it was some haunted house from a movie. And he couldn't help but worry.

"Why are you all here and not with her?" he muttered under his breathe.

A sharp and abrupt cawing came from under him made Jet jumped away from the window as a crow flew upwards directly in front of him. Flashes of his memories surged him all at once. Jet's hands flew to his head, clutching it between his fingers as pain assailed him with the images.

Alec bolted up from the sofa as he heard Jet groaning in pain. He looked around the room and saw the younger man kneeling in front of the window with his head gripped between his hands. He quickly ran towards Jet and knelt to his level.

"What's wrong? Jet!" he asked frantically.

Ao cawed as she flew towards them and he settled herself on top of Alec's shoulder. With Jet not responding, Alec ran towards the bed and clicked the call button. As he spun around to return to the younger man's side, he was startled to find him directly in front of him.

Jet grasped Alec by the collar and pulled him near. "Alice! Alice is in danger!"

Alec's heart jumped out of his chest at the statement. "What do you mean?"

"Something took her," Jet answered as he remembered the mysterious shadow that appeared behind Alice in his dream. Despite that they were both made of the same mist, that other one made the hair in the back of his neck rose in alarm.

"Wait, Jet. Calm down," Alec interrupted seeing the younger man's eyes darting in places as he started dripping cold sweat.

"But—Alice! Alice is!" Jet screamed.

"I know," Alec replied softly to soothe the younger man. "Trust me. If anyone wants to find her soon, it's me. But calm down first,"

Jet nodded and slowly let go of Alec and allowed him to sit him down on the bed. And as the doctors came in to check on Jet's condition, Alec took that time to contact Ronnie and Clinton. He told them that Jet finally remembered something and to be back at the hospital as soon as possible.

"You'll experience migraine or fatigue as these memories of yours work their way back to the front of your mind," the doctor explained. "I highly suggest to not force yourself to remember. And with your condition, I do not recommend you taking off your earphone for a while,"

"But I have to!" Jet answered.

The doctor firmly shook his head at him. "No. Your mental state is fragile right now. You'll be more prone to the effects of the Freakquency and not to mention to your own abilities,"

Jet rolled his eyes at the doctor but Alec gave him a slap at the back of his head. "I'm sorry, doctor. I'll make sure he stays out of trouble,"

The doctor gave them both a doubtful stare before he sighed and nodded. He left the room just as when Ronnie and Clinton entered. Their boss was dressed in a suit like usual but Ronnie was wearing a pair of worn-out T-shirts and pants; his hair full of cowlicks.

"So, did you really remember, mate?" Ronnie asked he walked towards the couch with a yawn.

Jet nodded as Ao nuzzled in his neck. "This whole time I've been unconscious I was reliving the month before the Freakquency started,"

"What?" three, surprise voices asked simultaneously.

Jet fidgeting and his eyes kept darting back to the open window. "I was at the orphanage... Exactly a month before my little siblings' birthday. But during the entire time, I had no memory of the present,"

"You were living at the moment," Clinton supplied and Jet nodded.

"I was. . . Myself. That four years ago," Jet continued. "But once in a while, I'd hear this voice in my head telling me to wake up. I now realized that it was Alice's. Her voice had always sounded so clear but at my dream, it was so distant, as if just a whisper,"

"When you said you relived that time of your life," Alec interrupted softly. "Did you?"

Jet nodded darkly, his eyes dead. "It was during the twins' birthday that it all happened. After the attack, the time rewound and I found myself back at the start of that day,"

"Shit," Ronnie cursed under his breathe.

"That was when Alice appeared. She was just a shadow; something like a black mist but her eyes still has that blue hue you two seemed to have. At her arrival, it was like time had stopped. She told me that I should wake up, that I wasn't supposed to be there," Jet turned to Alec. "That it wasn't my fight,"

Alec's eyes widened in fear at what Jet was telling them and his whole body was shaking as dread consumed him. "Then, whose fight is it?"

Jet shook his head. "I don't know. Before she could even tell me anything more, another shadow appeared behind her. This one, this one I had no idea who but I know he's trouble. He wrapped a rope around Alice and pulled her away with him. And that was when I woke up,"

Silence enveloped the room as none of them knew what to say. Alec stood up from where he was sitting and kicked the foot of the side table in irritation as he let out an angry scream.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he cursed as he repeatedly kicked the table. "Just what the hell is happening?"

"Back at the shore," Jet started once more and Alec turned to him. "Before I, uh, lost my mind. I heard Alice,"

Alec rushed to his side. "What did she said?"

Ao spread her wings as she cawed and took off from Jet's shoulder and circled the room. "She told me to run. To hide,"

"Why?" Clinton asked as uneasiness ran through his spine.

"Because it's coming,"

As soon as the words left Jet's mouth, the crows that were outside the hospital started making noises as a deafening thunder shook the sky.