later.
Chapter Six
Sunday morning brought some really beautiful fall weather—brisk,
fresh air and golden sunlight shining through colored leaves. I wrote a history
paper I was really proud of, did my Algebra homework, completed some posts for
my online class, and then Kasie and I decided to get out of the house and take
a jog through Iverson Park.
I pulled my baby blue Cutlass Ciera Oldsmobile between two
handsome grey, stone pillars standing guard at the entrance of the driveway and
parked a quarter of a mile down the way. We were the only car in the lot.
Kasie and I were the athletic ones of my group and couldn’t talk
anyone else into exercising today. We started out on a slow jog down the wide
dirt pathway. After we warmed up, we picked up the pace and wound around a few playgrounds,
a soccer field, and then a picnic pavilion. We jogged over rustic stone bridges
spanning the swift-flowing Plover River and past the abandoned swimming area. A
nature center and fireplace lodge sat quietly on the land to our right. Running
felt so great, and spending time within nature was just what I needed to relax.
Soon the pathway turned into a forest area with no park
structures. Tall, Wisconsin pines lined each side and I instantly felt at home.
The smell of the crisp fall Wisconsin air was alluring. Wisconsin Dells was one
of my very favorite places on earth, and one of the many reasons was because of
the beauty of the nature there. I could find these exact same trees near one of
my favorite places in the Dells—Make Out Rock.
Suddenly my brain jolted another unfamiliar picture in front of my
eyes. I was on the rock cliff in the darkness, crying and lying in a pool of
blood. It was really disturbing and I stopped running for a second to rub my
forehead as a sharp pain jabbed at my head.
“What’s up? You okay?” Kasie slowed down her run, but kept jogging
in place while she questioned me.
The pain was almost gone, so I stood up and started to jog
again.“I have to be honest with you, Kas.” I couldn’t keep my secret much
longer. “I’ve been having these massive headaches and weird visions lately.”
She looked at me strangely. “Do you mean like nightmares?”
“Well, kind of. But it’s just for a quick second and then they
disappear. And it’s only happened during the day when I’m awake. Sometimes they
really catch me at odd times and they are more confusing than frightening.”
We kept jogging and Kasie said nothing but looked at me with a
concerned stare.
“Kas, I know this sounds weird, but please humor me.” I continued
cautiously. I didn’t want Kasie to think I’d gone insane, although I wasn’t
entirely sure that I hadn’t. “What have I told you about last summer?”
Please know something.
“Um, not too much. You said you made some good money with Jack but
that was about it. Why, don’t you remember?”
“See, that’s the scary part. I can’t remember anything about last
summer.” I shook my head with disbelief. “God, I feel like I was high on some
street drug for three months or something.”
“Ava, I don’t know, involved in drugs? That just doesn’t sound
like you. Plus, if you did, wouldn’t you think you’d still be addicted? I think
we would know.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just can’t find an answer.” We arrived back near
my car and sat on the grass to stretch. “I feel like a whole chunk of my life
is missing.”
“Have you said anything to your parents? I mean, they were there
with you all summer. You think they’d know if something weird was going on.”
Kasie reached for her toes.
“No, I haven’t said anything. Oh wait, it’s October 19th, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, now I can’t ask. They left for their trip to Ireland.
They’ll be gone for fourteen days.” I grabbed my left arm above the elbow and
stretched it across my chest.
“And you can’t get ahold of them at all?” Kasie switched legs and
reached for her other
Chapter Six
Sunday morning brought some really beautiful fall weather—brisk,
fresh air and golden sunlight shining through colored leaves. I wrote a history
paper I was really proud of, did my Algebra homework, completed some posts for
my online class, and then Kasie and I decided to get out of the house and take
a jog through Iverson Park.
I pulled my baby blue Cutlass Ciera Oldsmobile between two
handsome grey, stone pillars standing guard at the entrance of the driveway and
parked a quarter of a mile down the way. We were the only car in the lot.
Kasie and I were the athletic ones of my group and couldn’t talk
anyone else into exercising today. We started out on a slow jog down the wide
dirt pathway. After we warmed up, we picked up the pace and wound around a few playgrounds,
a soccer field, and then a picnic pavilion. We jogged over rustic stone bridges
spanning the swift-flowing Plover River and past the abandoned swimming area. A
nature center and fireplace lodge sat quietly on the land to our right. Running
felt so great, and spending time within nature was just what I needed to relax.
Soon the pathway turned into a forest area with no park
structures. Tall, Wisconsin pines lined each side and I instantly felt at home.
The smell of the crisp fall Wisconsin air was alluring. Wisconsin Dells was one
of my very favorite places on earth, and one of the many reasons was because of
the beauty of the nature there. I could find these exact same trees near one of
my favorite places in the Dells—Make Out Rock.
Suddenly my brain jolted another unfamiliar picture in front of my
eyes. I was on the rock cliff in the darkness, crying and lying in a pool of
blood. It was really disturbing and I stopped running for a second to rub my
forehead as a sharp pain jabbed at my head.
“What’s up? You okay?” Kasie slowed down her run, but kept jogging
in place while she questioned me.
The pain was almost gone, so I stood up and started to jog
again.“I have to be honest with you, Kas.” I couldn’t keep my secret much
longer. “I’ve been having these massive headaches and weird visions lately.”
She looked at me strangely. “Do you mean like nightmares?”
“Well, kind of. But it’s just for a quick second and then they
disappear. And it’s only happened during the day when I’m awake. Sometimes they
really catch me at odd times and they are more confusing than frightening.”
We kept jogging and Kasie said nothing but looked at me with a
concerned stare.
“Kas, I know this sounds weird, but please humor me.” I continued
cautiously. I didn’t want Kasie to think I’d gone insane, although I wasn’t
entirely sure that I hadn’t. “What have I told you about last summer?”
Please know something.
“Um, not too much. You said you made some good money with Jack but
that was about it. Why, don’t you remember?”
“See, that’s the scary part. I can’t remember anything about last
summer.” I shook my head with disbelief. “God, I feel like I was high on some
street drug for three months or something.”
“Ava, I don’t know, involved in drugs? That just doesn’t sound
like you. Plus, if you did, wouldn’t you think you’d still be addicted? I think
we would know.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just can’t find an answer.” We arrived back near
my car and sat on the grass to stretch. “I feel like a whole chunk of my life
is missing.”
“Have you said anything to your parents? I mean, they were there
with you all summer. You think they’d know if something weird was going on.”
Kasie reached for her toes.
“No, I haven’t said anything. Oh wait, it’s October 19th, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, now I can’t ask. They left for their trip to Ireland.
They’ll be gone for fourteen days.” I grabbed my left arm above the elbow and
stretched it across my chest.
“And you can’t get ahold of them at all?” Kasie switched legs and
reached for her other
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