Krystal Chapter 07 – Dreams By Harrod200 Copyright © 2006 by Harrod200 of Orbital One. All rights reserved.				Email Codey’s World
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“It’s unwise to annoy the one that feeds you y’know boys.” Cynthia said without looking up from her cooking when we walked in.

“Aww, you know you’re too nice to ever do anything that would deprive us poor, malnourished little cherubs of our gruel.” Sam replied, his tone dripping in playful sarcasm.

“Don’t count on it!” Cynthia said and turned to face us with an evil grin which changed to shock and then mock defeat when she saw me with the twins, “Oh, these two trying to corrupt you are they Krystal? Well, I thought we might have had a nice boy in you, now you’re going to be tormenting me too.” At the end she threw up her hands dramatically and let out a sigh.

Greg was quick to continue, “Well we know your life’s too easy Cynthia, we thought you might like a bit more of a challenge, I bet you can’t carry all three of us out of here!” With that both Sam and Greg darted from the stools and through the gate into the kitchen. As Cynthia chased one away the other would sneak up and pinch a little of whatever she was cooking. Despite looking large and immobile Cynthia was actually quite successful at catching the red-haired flashes streaking around the kitchen and after a few tries she had both by the collar and dropped them out into the dining area.

“Well, seems there’s hope for you yet Krystal.” She said with a smile as she dropped them both onto the lino, “I suppose I could put a little more on your plate later, I take care of the good boys.” turning her attention towards the twins she continued “And whose plates do you suppose will have to take the hit hmm?”

“Aww, you know you’re too…” Sam and Greg both started to reply in their stereo voices but were cut off.

“No, I don’t.” Cynthia stated, “Anyway, dinner’s not for another hour yet, so out all three of you.” She shooed us from the dining room and back into the common room and vanished back into the kitchen but not before dropping a lollypop into my hand, making sure the twins saw it.

“Hey no fair!” Sam called behind her.

“That was fun.” Greg said, licking the sauce from his fingers. “What now?”

“Wanna see if they’ve fixed the rope swing? Adam said he was gonna do it yesterday.”

“Nah, I saw it earlier and it was still tied up. Is there anything you wanna do Kris?”

I thought for a few moments and all I could think of was the weights bench. It was only an hour before dinner though and I could tell that the twins wouldn’t really be interested so I just shrugged my shoulders and replied; “You want to just veg in front of the TV?”

“If GG and Adi have finally shifted, otherwise we’ll be watching them die over and over again, they’ve been stuck one that one level for the past week.” Sam said, rolling his eyes.

Aside from Ty snoozing in one of the sofas, the TV room was empty so we jumped into a chair and flicked on the TV. After surfing through a few channels we settled on one playing an old episode of the Simpsons. Another followed it so for an hour we just sat there. Part way through a few boys filtered in from outside and collapsed onto the other chairs.

About five minutes before the end of the second episode Sam and Greg both nudged me and motioned for me to follow them.

“If we wait ‘til Cynthia calls us we’ll be crushed. Let’s go wait in the dining room for a bit.” Greg said once we had left the room. Sure enough we got our food without problems and giggled as everyone else crowded around the counter trying to get a plate. I don’t know how Cynthia managed to keep her hands attached.

After dinner we did the same veg routine, watching various mind numbing programs until at around 9 o’clock Maggie strolled in, flicked off the TV without warning and ordered everyone to bed. She just stood in front of the TV as the hoard of moaning boys grumbled past and up the stairs. After brushing my teeth I sat in my bed thinking over everything.

This place seemed good, the twins got themselves in mischief and trouble but nobody really seemed to mind. When I was on the football pitch the kids’ stares weren’t judging or bad, just curious. Now I was thinking about it I could kind of understand it-not many people have a scar that covers half of their body. I started to feel bad about how I’d stormed off and left everyone just because they were interested in what had happened to me. After a while of contemplating what I’d done over and over again I fell asleep.

***

“Male, approximately 12 years of age,” I heard an unfamiliar voice shouting over the noise of a metal trolley.

“Major laceration covering the chest, major bleeding,” I opened my eyes but I could only see a slit-white lights flashed over me.

“B.P. is  over , we need to get him in theatre NOW.” A second voice added.

I was cold. I couldn’t move, it was as if something was holding me down. I tried to speak but nothing came out. My chest felt odd, like it had been opened. I was jolted and the light changed, it was much brighter now, a somehow ‘cleaner’ white.

“On my mark, 3, 2, 1.” I felt myself being picked up and put onto something else. Whatever I was on was very cold, I tried to lift myself up again but nothing happened, my arms remained limp beside me. Suddenly the numbness in my body was overshadowed by an incredible pain in my chest. Again I tried to call out but my mouth remained still.

“He’s arresting! Charge the paddles!” The pain was immense; my whole world was filled with agony.

“Paddles charged! 3! 2! 1! Clear!”

***

I jerked up into a sitting position. I was wet, dripping in sweat.

“Krystal?” A feint echoed voice called,

I was cold and shaking, the pain was still there in my chest, fading but still there.

“Greg, go get Maggie!” the feint voice called again,

I could feel every breath; each time I inhaled I had a pang of pain. I could see nothing but darkness, but there was something, something moving in the black.

“Krystal, what’s wrong?” another echo in the darkness.

A prick in my arm was added to the pain emanating from my chest. The echos and movement went away.

***

“Heey K.L.!” A very slurred voice greeted me as I stepped through a heavy metal door. “You get the shit?”

“You got the money?” I heard myself ask.

“Hey man, you know I’m good.”

“Money now or you get nothin’”

“Hey come on, I’ll get you the cash by Monday, I swear man.”

“No deal Dwayne, you know how it works. Cash on delivery or no shit.”

“Hey kid! I need that stuff! Give it to me!” The other voice was getting agitated.

“Fuck you Dwayne, you can have this when you got the cash.”

I turned to walk out of the door and felt a sharp pain in my back. I sank to my knees and felt a second stabbing pain. Blackness.

***

The same sounds as before drifted on the light breeze. The temperature was still perfect, the sun still perfect and the notes added to the peace and tranquillity I felt as I stood in the meadow.

I took a deep, fulfilling breath of the sweet air and slowly walked towards the source of the music. Once again I found myself at the gently running stream but this time instead of a blurred figure on the rock laid a guitar that seemed to be playing itself.

As I approached it, the guitar stopped playing and I felt an urge to pick it up. I closed my eyes and felt my hands move over the strings on their own. Within a few moments the same tune was emanating from the instrument and I was even more relaxed than I had been the previous times I’d been here. When I opened my eyes the light had changed to a warm sunset, the temperature was cooler but still very comfortable and there was the sound of grasshoppers in the grass. I set the guitar back onto the rock and walked towards one of the few trees scattered around. As I sat against the tree I was met with the most perfect and beautiful sunset I could imagine.

***

I woke to one of the twins’ alarm clocks signalling 6:45am with quite possibly the most infuriating beeping sound ever devised. Shortly a groan emanated from the bed next to the infernal machine, followed by the thud of a snooze button being hit.

At 6:47 the other alarm clock began its assault in an identical tone. A groan from the other bed followed by a slightly larger thud and continuing beeping made my sit up. Seeing Sam on the floor struggling to escape his twisted duvet and turn off the alarm was almost too much and I couldn’t help letting out a bit of a chuckle.

“Good to see someone is happy at this time of day.” Sam said in a half-accusing half-asleep tone. “It’s the only damn time we can get up to get the shower before Davey gets in there. We gotta go before he beats us.” Both Sam and Greg grabbed their towels and clean underwear and left the room, yawning in the same unison they seemed to do everything else.

I lay on the bed for a little while then decided it would probably be a good idea to get in the shower before Davey too, I could imagine that it would take him quite a while to wash his long hair. I grabbed my shower gear and headed out of the door.

Just as I reached the bathroom door Davey poked his head out of his room door, grumbled and disappeared back inside. The usual sound of the twins’ non-stop conversations echoed through the door, not even stopping when one or the other was brushing his teeth. ‘What do they say to each other?’ I thought to myself, ‘They’re always together, nothing happens without the other knowing, so what can they possibly talk about?’

After a few minutes more the door opened and both wet-haired twins strolled out, much more alert than when they went in. I quickly jumped into the steamy room, stripped off and jumped into the shower. As I cleaned off my body my fingers lingered for a while on the scar running the length of my chest.

“Male, approximately 12 years of age”

‘Who was that?’

“Major laceration…get him into theatre!” I saw fluorescent lights passing in front of me,

‘What? What is that?’ I thought to myself

“He’s arresting!”

Suddenly my chest was filled with pain, an agonisingly intense stabbing pain. My heart felt like it was going to explode inside me.

“3! 2! 1! Clear!”

I felt slightly detached, as if I was watching from a distance as my legs gave way beneath me and my body collapsed. As my head hit the wall, everything fell silent and dark.