Unchained

Chapter Nine

"What is this?" I asked, though I could pretty much tell what it was through the poorly wrapped wrapping paper.

"You'll see..." Tamara grinned, nudging Shayline.

Sighing, I rifled my hands over the box and opened it. "It's... Pretzels!" I cried as happily as I could, looking at the pretzel box my friends had presented me with.

"The outside is," Shayline winked at me. "Don't you wanna see what's inside?"

I realized how stupid I had been. Of COURSE they'd poorly wrap the box so it would look like they got me pretzels. But really, the pretzel box was a coy. The real present was inside of the box.

"Der," I said, shaking my crazy thoughts away. "I knew that."

I stared at the pretzel box inside my hands, trying to think of what it really could be. Maybe it really was pretzels. If they wanted to do that to me, trick me into thinking it was pretzels then it wasn't pretzels but it really was pretzels? What friends I had.

Then something strange happened. I was staring at the box, long and hard, my thoughts racing like they've been doing for the past couple of days... 

And then it felt like someone had slapped my face. My head jerked to the side - and I said, "What the heck, Tamara?!" - and then all of the sudden, I started to see sparks.

They exploded in my vision, like fireworks, only smaller and not making any noise. My vision blurred a bit but I felt normal again, besides from the weird vision.

"Are you OKAY?!" Tamara asked, staring at me. "It looks like you just got hit by a bus!"

Shayline and Tamara stared at me as I blinked and blinked. What was up with my eyes? Was this a migraine or something? The doctors said I'd be having some, probably, since coming back from the dead took a lot out of you...

"I'm... fine..." I muttered then I looked down at the box. 

It looked entirely normal, but I don't know if seeing what was inside the box is called normal.

I'm telling the truth. I could see inside of the box. I saw the outer part - the pretzel pictures and the brand name and nutrition facts and all that - but I could also see the inside.

Because inside was a new phone case and some headphones. I could see them. As if they were actually right in front of me.

But... It's not normal for people to see through things, right?

Panicking, I looked at Shayline. And then I shrieked. Because when I looked at Shayline, I saw her, a normal picture of her, but then I could see inside of her. I saw her insides - all her body parts and bones and blood... And then I looked at Tamara and shrieked again because it was the same with her.

I looked at my dresser. I could see the clothes inside of it. I looked at Tamara's bag. I could see her text books in there - and her left over lunch!

"Avaley, what is wrong with you?!" Shayline cried, grabbing my shoulders. I stared at her and I saw through her head and saw her brain. I screamed again.

I sat up and scrambled over to the window. What was going on? What was happening to me? I stared out the window, out my house and stared at the house in front of us. Could I see through that as well?

I could.

I saw the outer part of the house - the windows and doors and paint - but I could see inside. A piano room, a few bedrooms, bathrooms, the kitchen, furniture, electronics and people!

I could see through things?!

I screamed and blinked furiously, trying to get my strange vision to go away. I didn't know what was happening and I most certainly didn't like it. I screamed and thrashed, blinking and rubbing at my eyes trying to get the colors and swirls and everything away. But most importantly, I was trying to stop seeing through things.

"Avaley! Stop, you're all right!  Avaley!" Shayline tried to calm me down. She turned and looked at Tamara and said, "Go get her mom."

"No!" I said. "She's already coming!" This was true, because I could see her through the closed door, a concerned look on her face, her hand on the doorknob.

"What?" Shayline said blankly but then the door opened and my mom said, "Avaley, are you all right?"

I looked down at the floor and saw my dad running up the stairs, too. I even looked through the wall and saw the dog coming as well. I could see through things. I was seeing through everything.

I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I had to pull myself together.

"What's wrong with her?" my mom asked Tamara.

"She just started screaming when we gave her our present," Tamara explained, pointing at the pretzel box with headphones and a phone case tha I'd dropped. "And then she was staring at us like we... Like we were crazy, and then she looked out the window..." 

"Could it be a migraine?" Shayline asked my mom. My mom walked over to me and embraced me in a hug.

"Avaley, please tell me what's happening," she said softly.

My eyes were still shut. I didn't want to open them. If I did, then I'd still be able to see through everything and then it would all be horrible. How could I see through things, anyway? Was this all of my imagination?

"Avaley, it's all right," Tamara said. "We're all here for you. We'll get you through this."

So I decided to slowly open my eyes. I did so as slow as I could without looking stupid. I did, and I looked at everyone around me.

And they were just fine.