So is this heaven or hell?

Either one, why is Lay here?

“Raine, wake up, we need to get out of here, right now!”

“What?” I asked, my word slurring, my head was hurting and I was also feeling a little nausea, “What’s happening?”

“Quickly, we need to get out before they wake up!”

He quickly went over the right side and unlocked the padlocks. I flexed my wrist gently and a little more blood dripped down. After Lay has freed my other wrist, I tore a stripe of my t-shirt around the hem and roughly wrapped it around my bleeding wrist and tucked the loose end into the material. I fell limply onto the floor when both my feet were free but Lay managed to catch me before my face hit the ground.

“Lay!” I said, holding onto both his arms and turning him towards me so he was facing me, “Are you okay?” I asked, worriedly, “Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Hurt?” he asked, questioning my questions.

I looked at him carefully and noticed that his plain white t-shirt was still white and dirt free. Not a single slit or bloodstain. His trouser was still fully intact and his hair was pretty dry, apart from a few strands which were wet from the sweat.

“But I just saw you on the screen and you were…”

He interrupted me so I couldn’t finish my sentence, so it was just all a dream?

“Hurry!” He urged and pulled me up onto my feet and out of the iron gates.

I turned and looked back to see the officer lying on the floor with his bat on the ground. It was coated with blood and a small puddle was forming around his head. Then I looked forward and tried to keep in pace with Lay as we ran down a dim corridor.

“Where are we?” I asked, passing many other doors with little shutters at the top.

“I’ll explain when we get out!” he panted, dragging my hand and suddenly yanking me in another direction around a sharp bend.

Soon, we were outside, it was night time because the stars could be seen clearly on this cloudless night. Lay was still holding onto my hand and we ran into a forest nearby. Our feet crunched along the leaves and thin branches. The moonlight casted shadows in all directions and the leaves on the trees billowed, creating an eerie atmosphere. As it was very dark and only with Lay ahead of me as guidance, I accidently ran into a tree.

“Umph!” I managed to say as my body collided with the trunk.

I fell back and my hand detached itself from Lay’s.  

“Raine!” he shouted and took a few steps back to help me get up, “Are you okay?”

“Still alive!” I said and carried on going, but before long, I could feel a small trickle of liquid running down my nose and into my mouth.

Using my other hand, I lifted it up my face and wiped it. Because it was so dark, I couldn’t see but I  knew my nose was bleeding, I just hope it wasn’t broken because my whole body hurts to just feel the pain from my nose.

“We’re nearly there!” Lay said and ran a little faster.

I ran as fast as my little feet could carry me but by every second, I was getting more and more tired and more and more slow.

“Get in!”

He opened the back door of a car for me and I scrambled inside. He came in after me and before the door had even shut properly, the driver zoomed away into the night. There were no streetlights and the headlights weren’t even on. I sat properly and pulled the seatbelt across my body. As soon as I have buckled it in, a little light flicked on above my head.

“Tilt your head back,” Lay instructed.

I did as I was told because I forgot the blood was still running down my nose furiously. He passed me some tissue and I attempted to wipe the blood from my nose but I think I’ve smudged it all over my cheeks instead. It only felt like a few minutes and we have stopped. We climbed out of the car and the driver’s door opened as well. But no one stepped out. I stood by the kerb and watch the door closed itself again and the lights blink as it is being locked.

“Let’s go inside,” Lay said and led me in to the café where I met him.

The bell above the door jingled. The light was on and flickering away like it would burst any second. The smell of cakes and pastries hovered in the air making my stomach rumble. Everything was still dusty though.

“I’ll get you some food,” Lay said, instead of sitting at a table, he led me through a door beside the kitchen.

As I walked pasted the kitchen door, I could hear the sound of whisking, eggs being cracked open and little timers going off. Up a flight of carpeted stairs, I was in a living room. A black sofa was around a coffee table and there were pictures hung up around the room. A tall standing lamp was on and it lit up the room. It wasn’t too bright but enough to see where I was going.

“Lay down,” Lay said and gently pushed my shoulders down so my head was resting on a fluffy pink cushion, “If anything weird starts happening, please don’t freak out.”

Then he left the room and walked upstairs. I turned my head to see a fire place lit up automatically. The warmth instantly spread around the room, giving me goose bumps along my bare arms. Slowly, I felt a towel land on my face.

Don’t freak out, I thought to myself and closed my eyes, imaging that there was someone there holding the towel. The warm cloth moved across my facial features, the smooth material bathing my blood crusted face. Then, I felt something lift my arm up. The piece of shirt around my wrist was untied and something cool dabbed on the wound. Little by little, I opened one of my eyes to take a peek at what is happening. There was no one around me yet the towel was rising itself in the bowl of now bloody water and a bandage was slowly wrapped itself around my wrist. I quickly shut my eyes again and said that I was imagining things, I have gone crazy.

Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, “Thanks guys, I’ll do it now,” Lay said to someone and then my wrist slowly came back down to my side.

“Raine?”

I opened my eyes and was greeted with a refreshed looking Lay. He was wearing a black vest top with grey jogging bottoms which showed off his toned arms and broad shoulders.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting down on a small stool beside me.

“Fine,” I said quietly, “Where am I?”

“Upstairs of the café,” he replied, “Don’t worry, they wouldn’t find us here and my friends are here to look out for us.”

“Friends?” I asked, “I don’t see them.”

“Neither can I to be honest, but I know they are here,” he said causally, “I’ve got you some clothes, maybe a little big but they will have to do, take a shower and then get some rest, you can stay in my room.”

I got up from the sofa and sat back down again because the room started to spin around like a merry-go-round.

“Slowly,” he said, placing his hand on my shoulders, “I’ll get some food for you as well.”

He guided me up another flight of stairs and showed me the bathroom. Three doors away on the left of the bathroom was his room and where he insisted I must rest. After locking the bathroom door, I looked at myself in the mirror. At least I didn’t get a fright from looking at my face because the blood stains were wiped away. Both my hands crossed over and grabbed what was remaining of my blouse and I tugged it over my head. I was about to my jean when an eyeliner pen moved from the windowsill and crossed over towards the mirror. The lid came off and words were scribbled onto the mirror over my fear-stricken face…

…Sorry, but I’m still in the bathroom, could you come back in a minute, please?