Not the Same

Suspects?

Kian's POV

(Kian's mind)

          I'm standing in a circle of light with darkness surrounding me. All I can hear is the sound of people talking and cars driving by. Suddenly, pain shoots up my arm. I look down to a hand mad of darkness grab my arm. I try to fight back, but they're grip was too strong. My back started to hurt afterwards. As I laid there on the ground, some light appeared over my attacker. However, it was too dim to make out who it was. The dim light grew showing more people around him and the next I know my body was hurting all over while they stood and watched. All I could see was the first person's piercing eyes through my squinted eyes, trying to take the pain. In one final kick to my stomach....

(Real world)

          I jump up in a cold sweat to see Ricky, Shelby, and Andrea around me with concerned looks on their faces. "Are you okay," Ricky asks.

          "Y-Yeah," I say.

          "Nightmare," Andrea says.

         

"Yeah," I say. "It was of when I got attacked."

          "Do you know who they are now," Shelby asks.

          "The only thing I could make out was my first attacker's eyes," I say.

          "That's good," Andrea says happily.

          "Not really," I say.

          "Hey, it's better than nothing," Ricky says.

          "True," I say with a sigh.

          "How you feeling," Shelby asks.

         "My body is still sore, but other than that, I'm good," I say.

         "That's really good," Ricky says with a smile.

         After he says that, two people appear from the entrance. I look to see it was Jack and Julia. They walk over to me with sympathetic looks. "Hey Kian," Jack says.

        "Hey," I say skeptically.

        "How are you feeling," Julia says.

        "Good," I say with skepticism still in my voice.

        "What's wrong," Jack asks.

        "Well, I'm possibly putting your dad in jail," I say.

       "Hey, you thought something was wrong at work with Cam," Julia says. "We can't fault you for that. You was just trying to be a good friend."

        "Do you know how he got that black eye," I ask.

Julia and Jack both go silent.

        "Cam was sleeping in his bed. He rolled over and hit his face on something," Jack says.

        "Did you see this happen or is that what Earl said," Ricky asks.

        "Well..." Jack says.

        "Okay," I say.

I could see the doubt in their faces.

       "D-Do you know who attacked you," Julia asks.

       "I only know what my first attacker's eyes look like," I say.

       My doctor walks in shortly after, "Hello Kian."

       "Hello Dr. Daphne," I say.

       "Well, according to my results, you should be able to go home," she says.

       "That's great," Ricky declares. "Except I don't have a vehicle to take him home in. We took a taxi up here."

       "We could take him home," Julia states. "My vehicle is big enough for everyone."

       "That's very nice of you," Shelby says.

       "No problem," Julia says.

       "However, while you're home, you need to try and not exert too much or you might reopen your stitches," Dr. Daphne says. She hands over a bag. "Here are your belongings. I'll give you a few minutes and then I'll bring out your wheelchair."

        "Ricky, can you help me," I ask.

        "Okay," Ricky says.

Dr. Daphne and everyone then exit the room so I can change clothes. I look inside the bag to see there was a clean shirt and pants inside. Slightly confused, I put them on with the help of Ricky. I sit back down on my bed and call to tell them I was ready. They come back in with Dr. Daphne with a wheelchair.

        "You ready," she asks.

I rise from my bed and sit down in the wheelchair.

        "Yep, I'm ready," I say.

        "Can I push him," Ricky asks.

        "Sure," Dr. Daphne says with a sweet smile. "By the way Kian, I hope you like the clothes, they're old clothes of my son's."

         "Oh, thank you," I say.

         "No problem," she says. "You can have them. My son won't be needing them." A sad expression appears on her face.

         "Are you okay," I ask.

        "Yeah, I'm fine," she says. "Let's get you to your friends' car."

        We get to Julia's car and Ricky helps me inside the passenger seat. "Thank you," I say to Dr. Daphne.

        "You're welcome," she says and walks away with my wheelchair. Everyone piles into Julia's car and we head home. I look in the rearview mirror to see Ricky texting someone.

        "Who you texting," I ask.

        "Connor, to tell him you're coming home," Ricky says.

We get to our apartment complex and Ricky helps me to our apartment. After getting comfortable on the couch, we sit around and talk about random stuff. Hours passed until we heard someone knock. Ricky goes to answer and we see it was a police officer.

        "I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we might have your attackers," he says. He then begins to show me a photo of a group of black men. "Are these the people that attacked you?"

         I take the photo and look at their eyes. "No, these are not them," I say. "None of them have the eyes of the first attacker. The first attacker had green eyes."

         "Are you sure," the policeman asks.

        "Well, I saw it in a dream and this was all I could see," I say.

        "Dreams aren't always the most helpful source," the policeman says. "These were the only people around the time you was attacked. Call it circumstantial evidence, but I'm going to bet these are our guys."

        "But," I say.

        "Kian, he is kind of right," Ricky says. "Dreams aren't always the most clear. Plus, he's trained in this. He knows what he's doing."

        "I...guess," I say.

        "Thank you for your cooperation," the officer says and exits our apartment. There was an awkward silence in the room after he left.

        "Soooo," Jack says with a peculiar look on his face. "Julia and I better get home."

        "Yeah, we should get home," Julia says. "We'll see you later."

        "Okay, see ya," I say with a smile as they exit the apartment.