Awake » Chapter 1 Pt.4
The room was empty. Not a single person in sight. He could see no sign of anyone having been in there recently.
“This is getting really weird and freaky,” said Kevin. “No buses. No one at school. It’s Monday! Where’d everyone go?”
Andrew said, “Maybe today is a day off. It’s not like it always has to be a real holiday.”
“Then how come no one told us about it?”
“Look,” said Andrew, pointing down the hall. “It’s Katie! She didn’t go to class.”
Kevin caught a fleeting sight of her as she ran past. “Looks like she’s going home.”
“Maybe we should just go home.”
“Not yet.” Kevin reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“I think I’ll call Brad. See what he’s up to. Maybe he’s got some answers.”
Kevin called his friend. It rang three times. No one answered.
He quickly canceled the call and tried again. No one was picking up.
Frustrated, Kevin grunted, “He’s not answering. He always sleeps in when there’s no school.”
“That’s okay,” said Andrew dryly. “I think I’ll just go home.”
Kevin thought of something. “Hey, let’s stop by his place and see if he’s home. He lives really close to school. Just up the road.”
“Is that okay? I don’t know him.”
“Sure. He’s fine with everything. If he’s home, we can hang out. He won’t mind.”
Brad’s house was located in a residential community behind the school.
It was a two-story house with blue siding. Kevin knocked on the door a few times and rang the bell twice.
Andrew glanced around the exterior of the home in great interest.
Though it wasn’t really that amazing of a house, it was definitely a step up from his neighborhood.
Kevin folded his arms. He waited but no one came to the door.
“I wonder where everyone went.” He reached into his pocket for a key.
Andrew looked at him, curious. “You have a key to his house?”
Kevin unlocked the door and entered. “Our families are really
close. I stop by after school pretty often.”
They crossed the hall, stomping dirt over the brown rug.
The furnished living room was on their right and the fancy dining room was on the left.
The wooden stairs ahead curved upward to the second floor.
Kevin ran up the staircase, yelling, “Brad! Are you here?”
Kevin went straight for his friend’s room. The door was closed.
He rapped on the door and said, “I’m coming in.” He slowly opened the door and peered inside.
Brad was in bed, snoring loudly. Resting by the side of his bed was his collie, Max.
The dog raised his head to look up at Kevin as he entered the room.
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it! You were sleeping!” He stood by the bed and gently shook it.
“Wake up. It’s almost nine. I said WAKE UP!”
He screamed into Brad’s ear, smacked his shoulder and finally jostled the bed.
Brad continued sleeping. He didn’t even stir.
Andrew heard the yelling. He stood by the door of the bedroom.
“Is everything all right?”
Kevin startled tickling Brad by the neck and waist. Brad just
rolled over. “Wow, he’s usually pretty ticklish.” With a sly grin,
Kevin told Andrew, “Get me some ice.”
Andrew nodded and left the room.
While waiting for Andrew to return, Kevin took Brad’s pillow and whacked him over the face with it.
He yelled and shouted with all the air in his lungs. He kicked the footboard.
Nothing he did managed to even disturb Brad’s deep sleep. When Andrew came back with a mug full of ice cubes, he handed it to Kevin. Kevin took an ice cube and rubbed it all over Brad’s face.
After feeling the cold moisture on his face, Brad twitched, but that was it.
Max cocked his head and whined, as though he disapproved of what the boys were doing to his owner.
Kevin said hesitantly, “Brad, come on…wake up already. This is getting ridiculous.”
Then, as Kevin stared at Brad, an idea popped in his head—a strange idea…one that was impossible.
It was totally unrealistic, like something out of a bad horror flick. Kevin thought, What if he couldn’t wake up?
As he pondered over this concept, he began recalling simple things. His mom didn’t leave the lunch bag on the table like she usually did. And the whole way they walked to school, they did not see a car, or a single person other than Katie. He wondered about the implications. It was a ludicrous idea to be sure, but could it be true?
What if everyone was asleep…and couldn’t wake up?
Kevin knitted his brow, biting his nail nervously.
“What’s wrong?” asked Andrew.
Kevin barked, “Come on! We’re going home right now!”
Kevin raced down the street, wanting to know if it was possible.
Could his parents still be sleeping in bed? He prayed to God that it was all just his wild imagination.
Andrew struggled to keep up, his heavy book bag bouncing up and down his back as he ran.
When they reached their block, the two boys ran to their homes.
Kevin sprinted to the master bedroom and kicked the door open.
Breathless, he stood at the doorsill, gulping air. After he caught his breath, he straightened up and gaped at the bed. His mother and father were still asleep. Kevin stooped over the side of their bed.
Confused, he pinched their cheeks, hoping they’d be annoyed.
He shook them, hoping they’d be angry. He cried out the most profane things possible, hoping they’d scold him. They did nothing.
His eyes wide open, he gazed at them for several minutes, until he finally broke down.
"A bad dream. This has got to be a bad dream!"
Tears pouring down his cheeks, Kevin squatted by the side of the bed. He wondered if they would ever wake up. Then he wondered if he would wake up from this nightmare. He covered his damp eyes with his hands and screamed his lungs out. He kept screaming and screaming until his voice cracked. Was this the end of
the world? He had no idea. But to him, it sure felt like it.
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