《Follow My Voice》 01-The Return Heather laid her head against the shaky window, making her entire body vibrate at the engine''s rythim. Her tired body was sprawled across the sit, her eyes fixated on the cabin''s roof, her luggage resting in the seat in front of her. The train crossed the wide valleys of Arizona under the burning sun, whilst it''s passangers moved across it chuckling and laughing at bad jokes. As soon as the journey reached an end the driver begun to move across the wagons waking the few fast-sleeped passengers that heard not the anoucement, Heather rose slowly from her seat, and abandoned her cabin at a calm pace. Once she got of the train, she took a deep breath with her close eyes, ready to restart her life.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Phoenix, Arizona" The words sounded in her head just like they had years ago, challenging and fearsome, only difference being that she had him back then. With him next to her it didn''t seem so challenging or fearsome, it just sounded beatifully new. Now she was alone and terribly scared of what may come. As she walked into the house it felt like life was retaking its normal course, as if a parenthesis had closed upon the years she spent away, as if, if she called his name he would rush downstairs wearing that stupid smile of his''s. And for a moment all the pain dissapeared... 02-Finnaly Home Mockingbird begun to play in the CD player and she couldn''t avoid the tear that fell down her cheek. "Why did his music have to be there, and that song especially" She went through their CD collection, and after a solid 10 minutes rumaging through the EMINEM CDs a Bill Withers CD emerged. Soon Whithers''s smooth voice filled the room along with the swift sound of his guitar. Outside a thunder screamed anouncing the incoming storm, and soon, the rain begun to pour as Bill Withers sang the verse: and this house ain''t no home anytime she goes away, a shiver creeped down her spine shaking her body, and she felt the urge to chamge the song. After going through their CDs for a second time, she found a old Credence Clearwater Revival record she had forgotten to be the owner off. A swift guitar filled the room with it''s beauty, and a craspy voice soon sang "Have you ever seen the rain" whilst in the outside water poured from the ceilings, rain taping against the window glass.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Heather drop herself upon the couch, and soon fell fast sleep. In years never had her dreams been so vivid or disturbing as they were in that summer afternoon. Suddenly he was before her, in the floor by the couch, his clothes bathed in dry blood, he smile at her, and now he was gone, she tried to get up and look for him but she couldn''t move no matter how hard she tried she was stuck in the sofa. His voice shouted at something, as the shadows covered the room. The CD flied away from the TV and crashed against the wall. She couldn''t wake up, she tried to calm her breath and open her eyes, to wake from that nightmare. A scrawny hand crawled from under the sofa, and soon a deformed man emerged from the shadow, he caressed he face with his bony fingers and then took her wrist. He stopped arguing with the nothing and turned to scream at the deformed man. The strange shadow turned, squealed and runned to him not before slightly cutting her forearm. A new shadow emerged and all three things fought for dominance before dissapearing. She sat upright as the doorbell rang, waking from the dreadful nightmare, rain still poured outside, and the music was now gone, the CDs in their original place. And the sentece save by the bell was never so literal... 03-Welcome Home As soon as Heather opened the door, a sense of warm and peace washed over, leaving her at ease and with a strange sense of happines. A sweet smile saluted her from the other side of the door, as a long forgotten friend came to view. "Jamie?!" Heather''s voice ripped through the silence, a note higher than the piercing sound of the rain taping against the windows with rage. "My, my Heather. Have you taken as a personal mission to make your old friends deaf" The girl brushed past Heather rubbing her ear, as if that would make it better "If your are mad at me ''cause my stay in Europe lasted a bit too long, just say it sweetheart no need to make me deaf. And if that''s the case then I''m sorry darling" The girl raised an eyebrow as Heather watched her. "My, my. What did they did to you in Manchester?" Heather mocked hastily of the girl''s expressions before attempting to hug the girl before her. As she threw her arms around the girl, she was stopped by the girl''s hand in a obvious halt possition. "Hooold!" She claimed ceremonially before swiftly removing her coat, then hughing her with a sweet smile. "My, my Jamie, it''s been so long, too long I would say" The smile of Heather''s face faded as the other girl begun with a confidential tone. "Darling, I heard about... That. I''m really sorry. You deserve better than... I''m sorry. You don''t deserve any of the things that you''ve gone through" The girl finished with a sad smile her arms still surrounding Heather. She pulled back with a smile than reached her eyes and cuontinued "But now you''re home and so am I, and we both suffer from love, so I say we get drunk"This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Wow, Jamie you''re quite a poet" "It''s not my fault I have such a natural talent. So what you say?" The girl beamed with joy as she clasped her hands together. Heather turned around and begun to recolect her bags spread through the room as she spoke. " ''Am really happy to see you Jamie. But ''am afraid it''s not gonna be. I got to unpack, and am really tired besides I got ma-" She spun on her heels as a sob interrupted her. Jamie walked backwards until her back hit the wall, then let herself fall to the ground. She rose her knees to her chest, rounding them with her arms and burrying her head in her legs. Soon rivers of tears were falling down her face, as she tried to quiet the sobbings that abandoned her mouth. "Talk to me girl" Heather pleaded as she collapsed next to Jamie. Soon her friend was crying ininteligible words. "Iii meit aif guuuoy aaaanit Manchesre aaan d it waaaa per fee ct. Heeei waaas teii guehduuy Aiik wantesad to groww olooold with. Anndewhu then I cauuhhhht hiiiennm withbhhhhh aaiuaa girl. Je saodf yhjis annnd thta anaann cab yoooou beloiiive i beeellliedmvedd him. Itgh kept haapaopeening over aabdd ove, annn I forghggaveee hieem everyime. Tyhhen iiit goootqqb bad, annn I HAASFFD tisfffo leave" "It''s okay, baby girl, it''s okay" Heather tried to think what could she say to confort her, then it popped to her head. "What you say about that drink?" Jamie beamed with joy again as she rose to her feet. "Fancy a Jhonnie Walker Blue?" Jamie smiled innocently as she showed Heather a blue box. "Hell yeah" Jamie helped her to her feet before they collapsed together on the couch. The nice blue box soon flied across the room, as the bottle loosed it''s tap. The TV went on, some random show that''s suposse to be a comedy playing. The time passed and so did the bottle soon it was empty and rolling on the floor. Suddenly Jamie screamed at the top of her lungs "Look at that bloke!!!" "Who tha fuck are you and what brithis movie shitted you?!" "Just look at him!" By the time Heather looked the "bloke" was gone and Jamie had fallen asleep. 04-This House Was Made For Two Phoenix, Arizona sleeped peacefully after a stormy night, the wind blowing softly, sweeping the leaves left on the floor. A bird sinning sweetly in the distance. Heather lied on the carpet, on the living room floor. Jamie sprawled across the couch, suddenly her breath hitched and she was awake. "Aaaaaah" Jamie squinted her eyes, rejecting the light, her entire body curled into a ball, or at least attempted to, her toes curling in her shoes, she brought her knees to her chest and later released them. Heather moved in her uneasy dream, before opening her eyes. Slowly she rose to her feet, and motioned for Jamie to follow. The walked to the kitchen, curtains unopened, and sat on the island for a moment. Then, Heather got up, and walked to the cupboard above the sink, pulling two crystal glasses.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Sorry I can''t offer you anything but some water" "It''s okay, honey. Besides I should probably get going. I have a lovely buffet breakfast waiting for me at The World Of Hyatt Hotel" "Are you kidding me? That''s a terribly expensive hotel... Why would you... Got and idea" "What?" "Why don''t you stay here?" "Really you would do that for me" "Honey, this house was made for two. Besides, I could use some company" "Great. I''ll go and check out of my wonderful hotel" "And I''ll go and buy... Everything" "For how long can I stay here" "As long as you wish, little j" "Love you, little H" Jamie hugged Heather before exiting the kitchen, and rushing out of the house. Heather runned up stairs, trying not to throw up before getting to the bathroom... 05-Wheres that stupid record?! A warm brezze blowed, shaking the alamy tree on the backyard, leaves flying across the yard and into other people backyards, covering the grass with petals and green leaves like a autumn carpet. The sun shined bright on the sky, melting away every wish of actually doing something on that hot summer day. A van was being drived down the street, blasting that familiar music, offering icecream to the passerbies. Down the calm avenue, under the summer sun, Heather walked to her house, sun shining bright on her hair. The house showed itself beautiful and tall, an alamy tree offering shadow to the roof of the homestead. A beautiful white fence surrounded the house and it''s yards. Lillies and petunias covered the grass on the front of the house. A small wodeen bench offered visitors a place to sit, Jamie had taken the invitation and awaited for Heather on the porch. A smile formed on their faces as they saw each other. "Morning sweetie, how was groccery shopping?" "Aaah... Boring and expensive... Why are you smiling like that?" "I got us a date!" "JAMIE!" Heather squelead feeling annoyed "You know I''m not ready to date... Not after..." "Don''t worry, honey... Date isn''t in like three weeks" "JAMIE!!!" "What, couldn''t get us anything further than that ''cause come on. Besides they already think we''re weird" "You didn''t had to do that" Heather''s voice sounded warm and sad. She opened the door and headed directly to the kitchen. "Help me out, little J" "What do you need?" "Wash those vegetables and put them on the fridge. Oh, and when you''re done take these to the bathrooms. They are two, well they are actually three, but we won''t be using the third, the first is on the second floor, first door to the left, the other one is in my room, well you acces to it through my room... And then put those in that cupboard..." Heather countinued to give orders for a long while, before saying "And now, breakfast" She filled two bowls with cereals and then poured milk into them. She headed to the fridge and took out two bottles, offering one to Jamie, before taking a seat on the kitchen island and drinking of the second bottle.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Wow, this house really needs some cleaning" "Well since you are gonna be living here, why don''t you help me?" "Kay" Jamie got up and taked the empty bowls to the sink, tossing the bottles into the bin on her way. Once she was done, she turned to find Heather had changed into a pair of shorts and a crop top with words: "f you" written on it. "Get change, then we start" "Kay" "SHIT!" "What happened?" "I hadn''t showed you your room!" "I was bout to ask" "Come, follow my lead" "Kay" "Can you stop doing that?!" "Kay" "Argh" Both friends laughed and headed upstairs. Once she was setled, Jamie slipped into a pair a old gym shorts and an old blouse. She runned down stairs, and smiled at Heather who was sitted on the couch. She smiled back and motioned to the mopp and bucket on the corner. "Music?" She asked "Kay" Heather bit her tongue, hating Jamie for a moment. During kindergarten there was a child who said that all the time, and both her and Jamie hated it with ferocity, but she made the terrible mistake of trying to annoy Jamie by saying that, and now she was suffering the consecuences. She walked up to the shelf and started rumaging through the CD collection, searching for the CCR record she had heard the day before. But no matter how much she seeked she couldn''t find it. She hated when dreams and reality started to melt like that. "God. Where''s that stupid record?!" She finnaly gave up, and placed a newly found Bob Seger CD, on the record player. It was strange, but things of this like happened to her all the time, things had never simply dissapeared. They had moved, falled off from inside a closed cupboar somewhere where the wind don''t blow, but merely dissapear?, never. Often she had done something and gone to bed, and when she woke, the thing was undone. Doctors blame it to her sleepwalking, they would say she had fallen asleep without noticing it and dreamed about doing something. The fact that she sometimes woke in couches, or in the floor of a different room, one time even she woke in a pool in the other side of town, it was midnight and while she sleeped, she felt cold embrace her, when she woke she was at the comunitary pool of Downtown, didn''t help with this at all. At this point it was normal. Her dreams would often melt into reality in a strange way. Never had something dissapeared, but things had appeard in strange places and positions, she though it would just appear later. The problem is later never came. 06-Can You Drown In A Bathtub? The sun was setting on the orizon, by the time they finished cleaning. Jamie was to the kitchen, a smelly kentucky fried arizonian chiken on the frying pan, spreading it''s scent all through the house. The white lamps shone with yellow light. Up on the second floor, the water dripped from the faucet, filling the bathtub, threathening to flood the bathroom. Heather barged in holding close a bathrobe, and close the faucet before it created a small disaster. She locked the door, for no reason but her creative paranoia. Heather released her hairs from her braids. She, then dropped the bathrobe that covered her slim shape to her feets. She tiptoed into the tub, and laid her back against the cold porcelain, allowing it to cool her body. Heather closed her eyes, relaxing onto the water, sinking deeper and deeper every second that passed. Her muscles streching through her. Her body expanding in the water, and onto the porcelain, cooling in. Her limbs floating into the shallow depths of the facility. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Her brown hairs sprayed, surrounding her head like a crown. Her breath slowed into a almost static pace, her heart rate dropped, her being more relaxed than ever... An eerie silence sorrounded her, as she floated into her subcounsciosness, further away from everything that she had ever been. As she felt she was bout to fall asleep, a strange sensation woke her from her daydream. She opened her eyes wide, she wanted to scream, but no noise left her mouth. She strugled as the pale scrawny hand pushed her head into the water. Splattering water all throughough the bathroom she fought against it, emerging from the water she took a deep breath before it sumerged her into the depths again. Her hands gripped the bathtub so thightly her nails begun cracking, blood coming from beneath them. Her lungs were compressing, air missing out on them, her throath ached, burning. She could feel the weight of the figure, on top of her, it''s hand gripping her hairs fiercely. Her eyes wide open burned in pain. The blood from her fingers started dripping into the water, staining the polished porcelain. She fought as strong as she could, all will to live abandoning her; "let go" a voice sounded in her head. It seemed so easy, she lost hold of the bathtub as she sinked her head in the water, her arms falling to her sides. She breathed into the water before closing her eyes.... "I''m coming my love" 07-The Darkness Of The Blinding Lights I woke in a strange room, though I had never been here before it seems so familiar, the empty walls overwhelmed me with their whiteness. The light blinded me, I blinked a few times the world spun around me, great drowsiness overtook me. To my side I saw some sort of brown thing laying next to me, it scared the shit out of me, I jumped and fell into the ground. My right arm stinged in the inside elbow, and blood sprouted from that area. My eyesight was still blurry, but I could distinguish the thing moving towards me, I squealed and everything turned black, my blood was druming inside my ears, just then before I lost conscience, I noticed an unbearable beeping that blocked sound out of my ears. I heard footsteps coming towards me, noises overwhelmed my senses. And then above all the noise and confusion I heard his voice calling my name; "Heather. Heather" He called in gosthly whispers; "Heather. Heather" He called again, and again, and again. Always in a spectral tone. When I opened my eyes again I sought him. His head so proud looming above my eyes, his gray eyes never seemed more life-less than today, his voice never seemed more hollow, he spoke like his throath had been set on fire. Then everything turned black. Then lights. Pain. Shock. Yells. Blood druming in my ears. Voice whispering around me. Pain. Shock. Yells. Blood drumming in my ears. Something warm. Pain. Sting. Someone crying. Muffled voices. My body twitching. Something being tied around me. Pain. Adrenaline cursing through my veins. Lights. Pain. Repeat. Whispers. Cries. Darkness. Pain. Silence. Overwhelming lights. Pain. A clock ticking. Someone crying. Drops. Steps. Beeping Noise. Silence again. Then, pain releaving darkness. Shock. Lights. Pain. Voices. Releaved whispers. A gasp. Cry of victory. Silence. Then again. My body twitching and shaking. Something wraping around my arms. The lights were too bright. Sleep taking over me. Lights again. The silence was just too loud. Ugh. God take me already...Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. 08-Monotome Life Birds were heard singing from afar. The morning was young, the sun had risen with blood, red upon the horizon. Inside the hospital, the beeping of the machines reassured the day was to be as boring and monotome as all the beforing days. Jamie woke in the visit chair. She could''ve sworn she was sleeping in the couch, but who cares?, the days had become awfully equal since the last time Heather woke up. They had become so lifeless that she could hardly tell them apart, nightmares were more frecuent every time, she had even grown fond on the thought of her being a sleepwalker, it was the only explanation right? Muffled whispers said through parted lips brought her back to reality, like prayers sweet soft words abandoned Heather lips.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. -Nurse! -She ran into the hallway, bumping into one of the just-arrived girl who was doing her morning rounds- She saying something! -Calm down, miss. Return to the room, I''ll go get a doctor to take a look. What''s the room number? -138. Her name is Heather Jones. -Okay, thanks miss. -The nurse scribbled it all down on a piece of paper. Before turning to Jamie and saying.- Why don''t you go have some breakfast?, and take a walk down the square, it looks like you could use fresh air. The nurse smiled as she nodded. She took to walk down the hall, halfway down the corridor Jamie decided to look back and saw the nurse running somewhere. "Poor thing. I must''ve stalled her". Her tired mind wasn''t even processing the dessperated beeping of the machine. She sighed before pressing the elevator button. The nurse was right, she could use some fresh air... 09-Abnormal Day The stink of alcohol flooded the hospital, entering through her nostrills it was starting to dizzy her. She walked down the hall, through the crystal doors light filled the E.R. Jamie pushed the doors and exited the hospital for the first time in two weeks. On the outside, Phoenix showed it''s very best weather, sun bright on the blue sky, birds singed in every tree branch. Couples walked down the park enjoying the morning, some teens were having a picnic, sat on the grass. Suddenly a chill wind blew burning to the bones, the sky clouded and a thunder struck. Fear was drawn on the faces of everyone on the streets. For Jamie the hospital life had brought a numbness that nothing seemed capable to disturb. Her body became sore, and an awful feeling took over her.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Then, as sudden as it came, it left. Birds sang once again, the clouds upon the saphire blue sky dissipated. The sun shone as bright as ever. The people crowding the streets were left terrorised. Jamie shook it off, she wasn''t in mood for weather madness. She walked down the street to a decent-looking cafeteria. When she opened the door, a thousand different smells invaded her, leaving her mouth watering. Jamie walked up to the bar, and sat on a stool, pancakes sounded like a great choice. The waiter suddenly turned around. A wicked grin tarnishing his god-like expressions. In his honey eyes a dark glow burned, one that took over his eyeballs, that seemed to be popping out of his skull. He stepped forward limping and leaned over the bar, gripping her shirt''s collar. The lights flickered, before going off, the smell of burned flour came dancing with the smoke, out of the kitchen and into the empty dinner, as the terrifying man stared right into my eyes...