Imager: The Awakening

Chapter Three

CJ-----

It's been two weeks since my encounter with whatever that was at the restaurant. I've been sure to take precaution though. Rob has been walking me to the car whenever I get off late. I also keep a taser under the driver's seat and my keys are always out before I step a foot out the door.

It also helps that I have been continuously editing this mock magazine layout to take my mind off things.

To be honest, that's all I've been doing. I have been a little too shaken up to leave the house to go anywhere besides work.

"Ugh!!" I yell in frustration.

"Uhh, are you okay?" Corey, my roommate of two years, asks.

"Not really. I'm trying to finish this magazine layout for the contest."

I've been rattling on about this all day but it's so much riding on it that I can't help it. This could make or break my future.

"CJ you've been working on that layout for months. I know that you've poured all your heart and soul into it. Those contest judges will be able to tell by your work how bad you want this."

"But if it's not perfect, there goes my future down the drain."

I've spent four and a half years getting a journalism degree and still couldn't land a great gig. I thought I had something working for a big company called Creative Designs but they choose my classmate over me. I broke my back at that internship trying to get my foot in the door but I was still passed over.

It's been two years since then and if I don't get this I don't know what else to do. I know my worth, I just wish others could to see it too.

"You can do this, girl! I have so much faith in you. You can do anything and this is no different. You got this CJ, don't doubt yourself."

"Thanks. I'm just beyond stressed out. You know? I just have so much pent up frustration."

"Well how about a girl's night out?"

I hop up from my desk in protest, almost knocking my computer to the floor. "Oh hell no! The last time we had a girl's night out, you got me so drunk that I couldn't remember my first name."

"C'mon, it's the weekend and you actually have a Saturday night off. You need this as much as I do, if not more." She holds up three fingers like a girl scout ready to make a pledge. "I promise that I won't get you drunk. You don't even have to drink anything if you don't want to."

She gives me her saddest puppy dog look.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" she laughs.

"You always do that to pull on my heart strings. It's not even fair...but..." I say reluctantly. "I guess I'll go."

"Yes!" She cheers. "But you need something to wear and it can't be those sickly green sweatpants that you have on now."

"It's only 6:30 pm. I have plenty of time to find something in my closet."

"Uh uh! The only clothing that you own are jeans and t-shirts and that won't work for tonight. You need to look bomb so we are taking a trip to the mall."

"Well, I suggest we leave now, so that we aren't rushing around to find something." I reply.

We manage to find club worthy outfits within thirty minutes of the mall closing. The fitting strapless black dress is the perfect fit for my body and the club scenery in Charlotte. It comes right above my knees and accentuates the curve in my hips. The black chunky heels make my legs look long and slender. My short black pixie cut is styled to perfection while the dark eye shadow brings out the rich brown in my eyes.

"Ayyyeee!" Corey chants.

She steps into the bathroom dressed in a red dress that isn't much longer than mine. It hugs her curvy body and ample behind much tighter than my own dress. The low v cut down the front shows more cleavage than I expected to see. Her eyes seem even brighter with the bright eye shadow to accompany it and her straight black hair is pulled into a large bun on top of her head.

"Ayeeee!" I reply back in a sing song voice.

She looks at me with all the seriousness of a doctor who just lost a patient. "You know were going to freeze, right?"

"Yes, yes we are."

Laughter fills the small bathroom.

"Let's get going. I don't want to have to pay for parking."

"Okay, but I'm driving if you are drinking."

She throws me the keys. "Deal."

We arrive at a club called The Lounge around 11:00 p.m. Corey hops out of her small compact care before I can put the it in park and runs towards a tall guy coming down the street. I roll my eyes as my excitement about tonight drains away. She failed to mention that I would be the third wheel so I climb out reluctantly.

She pulls him by the arm towards the car. "CJ, this is Darius. He is a friend from high school. He is going to get us into V.I.P with free drinks all night!" She squeals.

As he approaches the car I can see how handsome he is. His black hair is shaved down low with a thick beard to accompany it. His bright brown eyes give me the once over just as I do him. His height is even more staggering up close.

"Hey, how are you?" He greets as his extended hand engulfs mine.

"Hey, nice to meet you." I offer politely.

"Enough with the pleasantries, let's go party!" Corey exclaims.

When we enter the club, we are met with bright colorful strobe lights that illuminate the darkness for small moments in time. A long bar filled with patrons covers the wall to my right. The loud bass vibrates under my feet while we walk across the wooden floor to a set of winding stairs. We head to a round black lounge chair in the back of the room that is sectioned off by red roping. A short oval shaped table holds a bucket filled with ice and a clear bottle of liquor. Corey leans in close to Darius thanking him for getting us into V.I.P and we are left to ourselves.

After a while I can feel someone watching me. It makes me shiver so I turn to find the culprit but there is no one near our table. I look over at Corey to see if she noticed anything but she is too busy letting the music and the liquor guide her steps. I do my best to ignore the nagging feeling of being watched and let the thumping bass move me for the remainder of the night.

After a few hours the lights turn on and the party's over. I'm helping a drunk Corey down the stairs in the club when I feel it again. There is someone watching me again but as the partiers mill out of the club it is hard to pinpoint who. I hurry her towards the car in hopes that the person will lose sight of me. I get this unnerving feeling that whoever is watching me is not the friendly type.

The care cranks and I slam it into reverse. I look back to make sure the lot is clear but Darius is standing a few yards away from the car. My heart is pounding. That eerie nervous feeling returns. Was Darius the one watching me the entire time?

I keep my cool and let the window down a little. The cold night air immediately seeps in.

"Darius, are...are you okay?" I stutter.

He doesn't speak or even blink. He just stands there. Unmoving. Unresponsive.

"Well, were leave now. Thank you for everything."

I put my foot on the gas ready to back out but Darius is now standing behind the car with his hands pressed down on the trunk. His eyes glowing pure white. He speaks with a deep, almost distorted voice. It sounds just like the voice I heard that night in the parking lot at work.

"I am coming for you Thalia. You will soon be mine.

I scream and gun the gas. The car speeds back but I don't feel it connect with anything. Darius is gone vanishing like a cloud of smoke. How he managed to get away that fast in an empty parking lot baffles me. Shifting gears, I speed away from the parking lot.

I race home and pull Corey into the apartment making sure to lock the doors and windows. I get her in the bed as best I can without trying to throw her limp body around. She is going to feel the after effects of the liquor and I don't want to add on to that with sore limbs.

The panicked feeling is starting to recede but the fear that Darius might resurface is gnawing away at me. There is no way that he should have been able to move that fast. It truly impossible.

I lie in bed majority of the night trying to sleep but nightmares make it difficult. All I can see are Darius's glowing white eyes calling me Thalia and snatching me from the car. I'm banging on his back as he carries me over his shoulder across the parking lot then off into the darkness.

I wake the next morning in a tangled mess of sheets and sweat. My body is burning up and I reach for the ceiling fan remote on the night stand. The cool breeze offers immediate relief as I lay there haunted the nightmares of last night.

"CJ, are you awake?" Corey's groggy voice drifts through the door. No doubt a result of the random yelling that only drunk people do.

"Yeah I'm up." I croak in a voice that sounds no better than hers.

She comes in and lays down at the foot of my bed. Her hair is standing on end. The smudged eye makeup on her caramel colored skin makes her look like she belongs to a family of raccoons.

"Man, I have the hangover from hell."

"I bet." I laugh but it's forced. "Hey...um, where did you meet...Darius?"

She looks at me in bewilderment. "Who?"

"Darius...the tall, fine, guy from the club last night?"

"What guy?"

This time my expression is filled with confusion. "You mean to tell me you got so drunk that you don't remember Darius? The guy who escorted us to V.I.P.? You even introduced us and told me that you knew him from high school."

"Are you sure that you weren't drinking?" She eyes me suspiciously. "I did know a Darius from high school but there is no way he could have been at that club last night."

"Why is that?"

"Because Darius died a few years ago in a motorcycle accident."

My mouth went dry. It felt as if I was going to pass out. How could she not remember introducing me to him? I shook his hand so I know that he was real. That panicky feeling is creeping in again. I know what I saw.

"CJ, did you hear me?"

"Huh? What?"

"I said that maybe you had a too many few drinks."

"I'm telling you...I didn't have anything to drink. I was the designated driver, remember?" I state. "Maybe it was another Darius."

"I only know of one Darius. He was my best friend in high school but there is no way that Darius could have been there, let alone me introducing you to him" She explains. "I don't know what to tell you CJ but Darius was not there last night. I remember everything, especially before I started drinking,"

The awkward silence between us stretches longer than I thought possible.

She sighs. "Well I'm going to go back to bed, maybe I can sleep this hangover off. I'm hoping that you at least had a good time, besides the Darius thing."

She drags herself out of my bed and shuts the door behind her, leaving me to my seemingly crazy thoughts.

It's been weeks since I sent in my layout for the contest. I've been on pins and needles waiting for an answer. Too bad that isn't the only thing wracking my brain. I haven't had anything else crazy occur since the Darius thing, but I just can't shake the feeling that something much worse is going to happen.

Corey and I haven't talked much about the Darius situation since it happened. She doesn't believe me but I can't blame her. I wouldn't believe me either if I were in someone else's shoes. The story I told her sounds crazy and no matter how many times I replay it I can't make sense of it.

I'm starting to think that none of it was real. I decide to chalk it up as a freak incident that I want to forget.

My body is still heavy with sleep and I dread the long work day ahead of me. I drag myself to the hallway bathroom that I share with Corey in our small two-bedroom apartment.

My short 5'4 frame stares back at me in the full-length mirror. I give myself the once over, stopping to look at the curve of my hips atop my thick thighs but sigh when I reached my bust. I always felt that I was lacking in that department but I'll take what I can get. Lastly, my gaze shifts to my puffy brown eyes with bags beneath. They give away how drained I truly am.

My reflection starts to rock back and forth but I don't recall when the room started spinning. I find myself grasping onto the sink for support. My head is pounding so bad that it hurts to even blink. Then my vision blurs as the air is filled with a cloudy white substance that engulfs the bathroom.

A man materializes before me. I reach out to grab him to steady myself but my hand swipes at thin air. I have never seen him before as he runs towards me. There is a woman with him but her face remains hidden. He looks directly at me as his chest heaves up and down from the exertion. He is mouthing something inaudible. His words are muffled like someone trying to talk to through a face mask.

Suddenly the voice becomes clear. "Cassaundra?"

I see a faint light ahead of me while the voice is repeating itself. "Cassaundra can you hear me?"

The brighter the light gets the louder the voice gets. "I think she is coming to."

I have so many questions but I can't make my lips move. The pounding in my head is back again. Not as intense as before but enough to make me wish I had taken painkillers.

"Ms. Lyles, can you hear me?"

I want to answer but something is choking me. I try to pull at my throat but someone grabs my hands.

"Remove the tubes before she injures herself." The voice orders.

It feels like someone is sliding my insides out through my throat. I choke back the urge to vomit. My throat feels like I swallowed sandpaper and my lips are as cracked as the desert ground. I try to speak but nothing comes out.

The voice speaks once more. "It's okay Ms. Lyles, take your time."

As soon as my vision adjusts I realize that I am in a hospital bed surrounded by a doctor and two nurses. I answer as fast as my mouth will allow. "What the... what is going on here." I try to sit up quickly but the room starts spinning so I lay back down. Not to mention the neck brace I'm sporting makes everything more difficult.

"Ms. Lyles. My name is Dr. Young. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a car. What happened?" My throat is still scratchy so it takes a lot to talk. "Can I please have some water?"

One of the nurses lifts the bed by pressing the button on the side before handing me a white plastic cup.

"You were brought in by ambulance after your roommate called 911 stating you were lying unresponsive on the bathroom floor. You have been in a coma for three days due to the trauma to your head when you fell."

"Three days!" I yell but immediately regret it because of the soreness in my throat.

"Yes. We have placed the brace on your neck because of the fall. After we run a few more tests to make sure that everything is fine, you'll be free to go." He smiles.

Dr. Young approaches the bed and removes the brace. The door swings open and Corey is peeping into the room from around the corner.

"Oh my God, CJ!" Her words come out in a pitch that makes my ears ring. "Oh, Thank God! Girl, you scared me half to death! I thought you were dead."

"I don't mean to intrude but Mrs. Lyles I just wanted to let you know that the phlebotomist will be in shortly to draw blood and we will be getting you out of here soon." The doctor nods a goodbye as he and the nurses exit the room.

It takes no time for Corey to start up again. "I came in the bathroom to get ready for work that morning and I find you sprawled out on the floor. I tried to get you to wake up but when you didn't move I knew something was wrong. I called 911 as quickly as I could." She whispers. "I thought you were dead."

"Thank God I didn't die today." I joke. "Do you have any lip balm?"

Her face is stern as she holds out the small tube. "You know that's not funny." She scolds. "I called your dad."

The soothing menthol feels amazing on my lips. I'm almost starting to feel a little normal. "You did what? Why would you do that? You know how worried he will be. He already has heart problems and I don't want to make it worse."

"CJ, you never want to tell him anything that you think will make him worry but I think this situation warranted a call."

I sit the bed up even more using the remote. I'm a little sore but it does feel good to stretch. "What did he say?"

"Well...he is here in North Carolina."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"I insisted that he stay in Florida. I told him that everything is under control until I got to the part about the coma. At that point, he made it clear that nothing was going to stop him from getting here."

My face is tight with frustration. "Why would you tell him that?"

"He asked to speak to you CJ. What was I supposed to do? Tell him you were sleeping?"

"Yeah that could have worked."

"I couldn't tell him the same story for 3 days. Plus, the doctors didn't know when you were going to wake up."

"Where is he now?"

"In the gift shop. He figured it would be nice to look at something other than the white walls when you woke up."

As if on cue, the door creaks open. My dad strolls in with a vase full of flowers and a small bear wearing a red sweater that reads get well soon.

"Baby girl! It's good to see you awake! I was so worried." He smiles as he comes over to the bed to hand me the newly purchased gifts. "I wanted to have this setup before you woke up but that doesn't matter now." He sets the gifts down on a table near the mounted television. "What happened? I get a call from Corey and she said you were in a coma from a fall. I hopped on the first plane out of the city."

I smile as my frustration is replaced with happiness. My dad was always there no matter what and this time is no different, sick or not. "Hello to you too daddy." I laugh. "I just slipped on a leak from the sink. I didn't see the puddle."

Corey looks to me with confusion. I never mentioned anything about a leaky sink as we don't have one. I had to make up something because I can't tell him the truth about what's going on with me. If he knew his heart might give out from worry right in this hospital.

"Leaky sink! Corporate will hear about this and they are going to pay!" He runs his fingers through his graying afro and his eyebrows furrowed together like giant caterpillars.

"Dad please calm down. I don't want you to worry."

"CJ, I know you are trying to look out for me but this is about you."

"I understand and I'm not trying to argue. I just want to get out of here and get some real food. I want to enjoy some time with you. We can discuss the other stuff later." I pout.

"You're right baby girl. What do you want to eat once we get you out of here?"

"You know my favorite."

"Chinese." We all answer simultaneously.

We spent another four hours in the hospital before they officially release me. They couldn't find any answers as to why I passed out, no matter how many times I asked. I told them about the headache but they just gave me some pain pills. The hospital advised me to take it easy and I could go back to work in a week.

Even though there was nothing more they could do I was glad to get out of that place. It reminded me so much of death that I could barely stand it. I watched my mother wither away in one. I hurriedly push those thoughts away so that I can enjoy the time I have with my dad.

We go to a Chinese buffet and I stuff my face until I'm miserable. I usually hate that feeling but was grateful for it after 3 days of food through a tube. After lunch, we spend a few hours reminiscing before Corey heads off to work at the university. She had already missed a few classes due to my fall and couldn't be out too much longer or she would fall behind in her lesson plans.

She never brought up the lie I told my dad about the leaky sink and I know she won't grill me about it until he is gone. At least that gives me some time to make up another lie about why I told the first lie.