A Familiar Prison

Chapter 17

Gwen opens her eyes, reaches over to AJ, and felt cold sheets. She slowly sat up and looked around. It was still pretty early, so she wasn't sure where he could have gone.

"Babe?" She called out with no answer. She got out of bed and went into the kitchen. "AJ?" No one was there. She looked in the living room and dining room. AJ was nowhere around. "Baby, where are you?" She looked out in the garage then looked out in the back yard. Still no AJ. She walked through the house and headed to the front yard. He wasn't out there either. She came back in and went to ask Katie or Kevin if they'd seen him. She knocked on their door, but getting no answer, she frowned. She opened the door slowly, but saw no one in their room either. Gwen took a breath, trying to calm herself. She grabbed her phone and called AJ's number. She heard his ringtone for her playing back in their room, so she went into their room and saw his phone laying on the nightstand. She then saw something to make her freeze.

Blood.

Not a lot, but enough to be noticed. "No..." Gwen whispered. "No, no, no! This isn't happening! AJ! AJ! Baby, where are you?!?" Of course there was no response. "How did this happen? He was asleep when I got back last night, he was safe! What happened to him? Where is he?" Gwen went to call Katie, and her phone was dead. "Great!" She sighed. She grabbed AJ's phone. Also dead. "What? It was literally on the charger!" She looks around again and thinks. "Okay, what do I know? AJ is gone, Kevin and Katie are gone, I have no way to contact anyone, there is blood here in the bedroom... what else? The cars are gone. If I want to get help, I'll have to go to a neighbors house or walk somewhere." She took another breath. She walked to Katie and Kevin's room and checked again. There was no blood here, so that was a good sign. She headed to the front door. "I'll try to see if I can use a neighbors phone. If not, I'll walk—" She stopped mid-thought. She tried the door handle and couldn't turn it. "What?" She walked to the back door and couldn't turn it either. "I just was outside, now I can't leave? What is going on?" She sat down on the couch.

"Imagery rehearsal..."

She looked up and looked around. Something is off. She wouldn't be locked in the house.

"Imagery rehearsal..."

She stood up. She went back to the bedroom and plugged her phone in. Nothing happened. "Okay, I know my phone isn't that old to where it wouldn't charge. A lot of things are definitely off about this." She closes her eyes and imagines AJ coming into the bedroom. She hears footsteps approaching. The door opens. AJ comes into the room. But it's not really AJ. He seems robotic and distant. Like his movements aren't his own. She tells "AJ" to sit, and he does. She tells "AJ" to stand and hop on one foot, and he does. "Okay, now I know this is a dream." She takes a deep breath, lays back, closes her eyes, and tells herself to wake.

Gwen opens her eyes. She looks around and sees AJ laying beside her, still asleep. She reaches out and touches his arm, just to make sure he's really there. She gets up, walks over to Katie and Kevin's room, and lightly knocks. She doesn't hear anything, so she peeks in. They both are still sound asleep in bed. Wanting to check one more thing, she goes to the front door and turns the knob. It opens with ease. She sighs with relief, closing the door again and heading back to her bedroom.