The Dare

Chapter 18

There are only four of us left. When Travis died I had promised to keep us safe. Since that moment four more have died, I've failed to an extensive amount.

I want to be sad, I want to mourn. I want to have some superpower that will help prevent Conner from breathing his last breath, but I don't. His last exhale hangs heavily in the air, reminding us all of how foolish we were to think it would be easy as leaving here with five of us alive.

Nobody says anything, we just sit in silence together. Avery moans, and sits up; she seems ok. I'm relieved she is, I cannot stand to lose another person today. We've all experienced enough loss for one lifetime, in just a few short hours.

"Sage?" Avery says, her voice hoarse. I tear my eyes away from Conner's limp body and cross the room to her and Grayson, kneeling to their level.

"You ok, Avery?" I ask, brushing her hair off from her glistening forehead. She nods at me and looks around me to Conner, her face drops with instant understanding.

"I killed Conner?" She says softly, her lips trembling with shock. Grayson grabs his sister by her shoulders and pulls her to face him, his eyes stern with persuasion.

"No. You didn't kill Conner, that evil girl did it. She controlled you, you had nothing to do with it ok? So don't blame yourself, got it?" Avery nods but I know guilt is still gnawing away at her gut. I know because I felt it once too, after the accident. Doctors told me that my mom's death was an accident, but I still blamed myself.

"Look!" Hazel yells suddenly, spurring us into motion. Grayson and I pull Avery up fast and tuck her behind us, getting in defense over Hazel's cry.

"What is that?" Grayson asks, his brow furrowed with his confusion. There's a soft white fog that slowly seeps its way into the main room, where it passed Teagan it clouded heavily; like it was attacking her corpse.

"I don't know, but I don't wanna find out," I reply and I look out the windows to the light. Its orange, red-orange light flows through the windows and I know that as long as that mist doesn't touch us then we are ok.

"Hazel let's go!" Grayson demands and Hazel sprints to us, as we make our way closer to the door. We don't turn our backs to the fog like we don't trust it to not lurch at us. The mist is fast, it glides swiftly into the room and slides over Conner's body. Like with Teagan, it bunches up around him until we can no longer see it.

"It's like it's cleaning up the mess," I murmur and Avery shivers next to me in disgust.

"Okay, it's time," Grayson says, pointing to the floor where sunbeams pour out from under the cracks in the door. My heart lifts with an immense release. Us four, we survived. We did it. I grab Avery's left hand and Grayson's right hand, squeezing them both tightly.

Hazel grabs one door handle and Grayson grabs the other, the mist gains at our ankles and I inhale deeply; ready to go.

"Ready Hazel?" Grayson asks, and she nods. "Ok, pull!" They pull the doors and they swing open with ease, only the creaking of the hinges to give us any sign of resisting. The mist disappears from our ankles, smiles break out on all of our faces. We did it.

Together we take the steps onto the porch, bright morning light streams everywhere and warms my face. It's so bright, maybe too bright. I let go of Avery's hand to shield my eyes from the bright sun pouring over the treetops. I've never been so happy to be blinded by the light.

It's too bright, I blink and squint but it's too much. Orange light brightens to a piercing white and I drop Grayson's hand to cover my eyes.

"Grayson?" I call out, my eyes covered. It's all too bright. "Hello?"

"Sage, baby? Are you awake?" Mom? My mom's voice speaks to me. Am I dead? Did the mist get me? I pry open my eyes trying to see Grayson or Avery or Hazel, but when I open my eyes I don't see any of that.

There are no trees, no lake, and my friends are gone. I'm looking to a wall lined with inspirational posters, and get well signs. There's a beeping coming from somewhere, it's annoying and rhythmic. I turn my head and I see my sister, staring at me with excited eyes.

"Sage! You're awake! Dad, go get a nurse!" Salem says excitedly and jumps up to hug me, her touch makes my skin sore. She's alive? My sister is alive? Or am I dead?

"Baby, I love you." I hear my mom sob, and I turn to see her standing at the foot of the hospital bed. My mom, I'm looking at my mom. She looks just as beautiful as I remembered, a bit more tired but still breathtaking.

"Mom?" I say, my voice is raw. Talking brings a pounding to my head, so I close my eyes again. My sister and my mom let out joyous laughter, am I in heaven?

"How ya feelin' Crow?" My sister prods and I peer at her, despite my headache.

"Am I dead?" They laugh at me, even though I'm so confused I can't help but feel a little bit better. I never really thought I'd hear them laugh ever again, a missing part of me feels put back together.

"No, baby. We were in an accident, you've been in a medically induced coma for a few weeks now." My mom says to me, rubbing my leg soothingly. What? A coma? The accident didn't kill my mom?

"I thought you were dead, from the accident.." My voice is weak and it trails off, my mom smiles at me sadly.

"No, everyone in the crash was okay--except for you. You weren't wearing your seat belt, and you went through the windshield..." My sister starts explaining but she trails off, her eyes start tearing up and I realize she's been hurting. I've been in a coma? None of that was real? Grayson, Avery, my friends? Did I make them up?

"You had brain damage, baby. They put you in a coma to give your brain a rest, but you're ok now." My mother smiles at me, and I smile back. It was all a dream, none of it was real. I've been safe in a hospital bed this whole time, these people I made up; I didn't get them killed. All I feel is a relief.

"How long was I out?" I ask, scared suddenly that I'm one of those people who are in a coma for years and don't even notice it.

"Only about two months, but a lot changed when you were out." My sister says, she grabs my hand and squeezes it. If the accident never killed my mom, that means my sister and I never crumbled. I still have my best friend, everything is ok. Weirdly, my brain put me into a dream life like that, but medically I'm sure it makes sense.

"Like?" Talking more hurts, but I'm so thrilled to be able to have a chat with these two women that I'm ok with the pain.

"Well, we moved for starters. Insurance didn't cover everything so we moved to a smaller house in a cheaper town, which sucked ass at first but it's ok now." I forgot how much my sister loves to ramble when we are getting along. I've missed it.

"New town?" I ask, just wanting to hear my sister talk more.

"Yeah, and I hated the new place at first because they don't have some of the classes I need for my application to Harvard but whatever. Plus I got a new boyfriend." She sings the last word, and I laugh, even though it hurts like hell. I notice my dad standing in the doorway with a nurse, they both watch me smiling and say nothing. My dad doesn't look worse for wear, no longer like a mourning alcoholic.

"A new boy toy?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows, the motion gives me a headache but again I brush it off.

"Oh yeah, he's hot with a capital H. He's Quarterback of the football team, and even dad likes him." This sounds oddly familiar, my blood runs cold for a moment. "But I'm sure you know all about him, I came here every day after school and talked to you about my new friends." New friends?

"Oh...what's his name again?" I ask, but I have this gut feeling I could already guess. I mean, my dream had to come from somewhere. My sister grins and pulls up her cell phone, showing me her lock screen. There he is, holding my sister lovingly, icy blue eyes looking into the camera.

"His name is Conner."