Crawl from the Darkness

~Part One~

   A single, transparent bead of moisture fell, forcing a small circle of mist to push apart then rise up to gather itself again. The clouded mist rested above the grass-covered hill, swirling around the procession of people clothed in a deep sadness. Tiny raindrops began to clutter the darkened sky, falling heavier and growing louder with every trickle.

. . .

   Jake woke up, tears threatening to escape as she attempted to compose herself from the nightmare that had invaded her dreams.

   "Hmm?...What?" came a voice from the other side of the room. Samantha groggily opened her left eye trying to focus it on her roommate. "Mpht...You okay?" she asked, staring out from her semi-slitted eyelid. "Jay?"

   Jacqueline ran her hands through her hair slowly, "Yeah...I just had a bad dream. Sorry to wake you."

   "Wake me? Come on, I always get up at..." Samantha grabbed the small alarm clock sitting on the nightstand next to her bed, "...six thirty on Saturdays." She smiled playfully, setting the alarm clock back down and swinging her legs off of the bed, "Orange juice."

   Jake looked up at her, confusion riddled across her face. "Is that suppose to be a cure for nightmares or something?" she asked, slipping her feet into a pair of fluffy pink slippers, peeking out from underneath her bed.

   "No, I'm just thirsty," Samantha replied, standing up and stretching her arms over her shaking head. "...and you owe me one." She did her best to stifle a yawn as Jake chuckled to herself, standing up and strolling towards her closet.

   "Do you think the cafeteria's open this early on a Saturday?" Jake asked, pulling out a white, form-fitting t-shirt and slightly baggy pair of blue Levis.

   "I'm counting on it not being," Samantha said, a mischievous grin appearing on her lips.

   Jake just looked at her, rolling her eyes, "I still don't understand why you insist on eating at Friendly's every weekend."

   "Well, if you haven't noticed, school's almost out for the summer..." Samantha began, pulling on a pair of light brown kakis, "...and if you also haven't noticed, the Edmund High tennis team has been coming into the diner after every practice for the last three weeks. What reason do I have NOT to eat at Friendly's every weekend?!" After pulling a purple, short sleeved turtleneck over her head, Samantha turned back towards Jake raising one eyebrow and leaning back on the dresser with her elbows.

   Grabbing her keys from the dresser, Jake headed for the door, shaking her head and laughing. "Alright, already. You know you're completely hopeless, don't you?"

   "Funny, I thought you were the one dragging that poor guy of yours around on a ball and chain." Samantha replied, pushing off of the dresser and heading out the door.

   "Speaking of Hamilton, let's stop by his house and see if he's up."

   Samantha turned to walk backwards for a moment, a coy smirk appearing on her face, "Great! Someone to buy me breakfast too..."

~Part Two~

   "Tell me again why I'm awake at seven o'clock on the weekend," Hamilton mumbled from a small booth inside of Friendly's.

   "Because the little voices inside my head told me that you wanted to buy Jay and me breakfast," Samantha replied, throwing a crooked smile at Jake.

   "And we all know how important it is to listen to the voices in Mantha's head," Jake stated, rolling her eyes.

   "Isn't there anything on here that isn't going to catch up with me in the near future?" Samantha asked, glaring over the large Friendly's menu for the tenth time that morning.

   "Not unless you'd like me to drudge you up a bowl of carrots from the refrigerator in back." Will replied, trying not to laugh.

   "Well, in that case I'll have your 'Flapjacks Breakfast', eggs over easy, with a nice, tall glass of orange juice," Samantha stated, smiling up at him and handing back the menu.

   "And how about you guys?" he asked, turning to face Jake and Hamilton.

   Jake smiled to herself as she watched Hamilton do his best to keep his eyes open and his head from falling backward. "Just a coffee and some scrambled eggs, thanks," she answered Will, nudging Hamilton from his reverie.

   "What? Oh, umm...french toast...scrambled," he answered, setting his head down onto his arms.

   Will just shook his head and walked back behind the counter to place their orders.

   "So, what are we doing today?" Hamilton asked, turning his head slightly so he could see Jake.

   "Well, Dr. Blake asked me drop by for my weekly checkup today, so I have to run by the hospital this morning."

   "Doesn't he do that on Fridays?" Samantha questioned, taking a sip from the water in front of her.

   Jake covered her mouth as a small yawn escaped, leaving the other two waiting for her answer, "Yeah, he normally does, but he got called into an emergency surgery yesterday, so he didn't get the chance this week."

   Hamilton looked up from the spot on the table he was staring at, "Do you want me to go with you then?"

   "It's up to you."

   Just then, the bell above the door to Friendly's started playing its familiar rhythm.

   "Jay, come `ere," Samantha said, a smile appearing on her face.

   "Why?"

   "Just get over here!" she answered back, in an authorative whisper.

   Jake slid out of her seat and shifted around the table as Samantha moved over for her, then indicated towards the door. "I take it back...your coffee is on me this morning." As soon as the words left her mouth, Jake began coughing in an attempt to hide her laughter. A few boys in the corner turned and smiled at them, then pulled chairs from another table and sat down.

   "Good to know the tennis team comes in before practice too. Number six or number fifty three?" Samantha asked quietly.

   "I like blonde number fourteen myself, actually," Jake replied, winking at Samantha.

   "What?" Hamilton asked, lifting his head up to look at Jake, a confused expression on his face.

   Jake leaned over so that their noses almost touched, "What? I do..." Smirking at Hamilton she sat back up, ignoring the glare that was playing on his eyelashes.

   "You...are pure evil..."

. . .

   "Doctor Foresyth, please report to radiology." Tiny speakers echoed through the silent halls of the New Rawley Hospital, while every few minutes you could see nurses bustling back and forth between a patient's rooms.

   "Jacqueline Pratt here to see Dr. Blake," the front receptionist spoke into the phone as Jake walked up to the desk. She put the phone down and pointed towards a small back room. "He's ready for you."

   "Thanks Connie," Jake said and headed for the office.

   "Jacqueline," Dr. Blake acknowledged her as she walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Writing a few more things onto the paper attached to his clipboard, Dr. Blake placed it down and indicated for her to sit on the end of the patient table. "Thanks for changing your appointment this week, yesterday's surgery was of great importance."

   Pulling up the bottom parts of her pant legs Jake smiled, "That's okay, I had something I wanted to do with Hamilton last night anyway."

   "Where is that boy of yours today? He's usually right next to you at these appointments, isn't he?" Dr. Blake teased, pulling his stool up to sit in front of her.

   Jake rolled her eyes. "He found the latest issue of Reader's Digest and stuck himself in a chair." Watching the mental replay of Hamilton practically colliding with the fern right next to the coffee table in the lounge, Jake laughed.

   "So long as he's doing something productive with that young mind." Placing Jake's left leg up onto his knee Dr. Blake stared at it, poking at the skin while examining it.

   "How's your mother doing lately?" he asked, turning her leg slightly.

   Smiling a little Jake stared down at the doctor, "She's doing really good. She just got a job to go on tour to France, so I'm going to spend a little time with her during summer vacation."

   "I'm glad to hear that."

   "Yeah...me too."

   "Uh huh..." piercing his lips together and scrunching his eyes up Dr. Blake looked at her other leg, giving it just as much torture as the previous one. "Hmm....."

   "Dr. Blake?" Jake asked, waiting for him to answer. "Dr. Blake..." she whined again, leaning over to get a better look, as if the answer would lie in what he was scrutinizing.

   Laughing in spite of himself he caved, sitting back up on his chair. "What in the world are you going to do with all that extra time to yourself?" he asked her, standing up and walking over towards the door. "You should be thinking about picking up a new hobby."

   Staring over at the man she'd been coming to see for treatment over the last few months Jake raised her eyebrows, jumping down off of the table. "You mean..."

   "Yep, I don't want to see you in this office for another injury again...just a plate of cookies from time to time." With a huge smile he opened the door, looking towards the exit. "Better go now, before I change my mind and stick you in a few more therapy sessions."

   Jacqueline walked over and reached up, giving her doctor a warm hug before walking out of the door, a large grin on her face. "Thanks Dr. Blake...for everything." The young doctor simply smiled back, watching her walk down the hall. Just as she'd rounded the corner a small tray cart poked itself out of one of the patient rooms, with a small, older looking nurse attached to the other side.

   "Emma!" Jake walked around the obstacle, pulling the short woman into a tight hug.

   "My, my. I haven't seen you around this hospital since I started working the weekend shift." Pulling back just a bit she looked at the tall, glowing girl. "Well then, this will be a last too I wager."

   "Yep, I'm all set on my last trip down these hallways. At least for a while," Jacqueline stated, moving towards the exit again. "I promise I'll visit though!"

   "You'd better," Emma warned. "Or you'll find a cranky old coot on your doorstep."

   "Bye Emma!" Jake laughed, waving at the kind nurse.

   It was only a matter of seconds before Hamilton was in view, leaning over the small magazine he'd sat down with as they'd entered the hospital. "Just a sec, I'm almost done..." he said, waving for her to sit down next to him, not taking his eyes from the page.

   Chuckling to herself Jake reached down, pulling Hamilton up off of the couch. Not giving him enough time to respond she pressed her lips to his, pulling back after a moment.

   Hamilton stared back down at the magazine still in his hands, tossing it back onto the table, "Meg Ryan can wait."

   "Glad you see it my way." Pulling him towards the door Jake took one last look at the hospital. As happy as she was to leave, she knew that she'd miss it. It represented the last eight months of her life.

   "Everything okay?" Hamilton looked back in the direction of the receptionist, trying to figure out what she had been staring at.

   Jake smiled, glancing at the receptionist desk before turning around. "Yeah...everything's great."

~To Be Continued~