Adrift

Lost
I ran down the streets, my heart pounding in my chest.

Just a few more blocks, they won't get us.

I was alone with only my thoughts, the sound of my boots pounding against the cement, and the feeling that something, someone, was chasing us.

The streets became darker, the streetlamps shone dimly against the windows of abandoned shops and apartment buildings as I ran into a part of the city that I've never been in.

I stopped to take in my surroundings.

Run down shacks and shops were to the left and right of me. The streetlamps no longer shone light, and I was left with only the moonlight to guide me, or whatever light there was.

I looked behind me, waiting for my friend Javier.

There were no sounds of boots running on cold cement to announce his coming.

The streets were silent, and I was paranoid of something, someone, coming to get me. Coming from behind and stealing me away into the dark shadows of the abandoned part of town.

I kept walking, the sound of my footsteps echoing. I flinched, it would be a dead giveaway that someone was here, but at the moment I really didn't care, I just wanted to leave.

I passed by more shops and apartments, the streets getting darker by the second. I huffed and took out my trusty matchbox to light a match.

Suddenly the streets were illuminated and the matchlight turned into daylight.

Not Javier
People appeared out of the shadows, laughing and bounding past me as I kept walking.

The shops were now lit up, and the apartments seemed to hold life.

I looked up ahead. A diner, an old-timey one, with lit up neon letters glowing.

I shrugged it off, maybe I was hallucinating. I would walk out of here in no time. Was it a trick of the matchlight? No, everything seemed so vivid.

This was some sort of dream. A nightmare. Both.

Time seemed to stretch out into a reality that didn't seem real; like I had gone back in time to a place that was once real.

I shrugged it off and kept walking. Nobody seemed to pay attention to me, so I guess I fit in with them.

"Yo, wait up!"

I heard a familiar voice behind me, and I turned. My friend Javier was sprinting down the street, a smile on his face.

I grinned. "Hey, you finally caught up to me!"

My grin slowly faded as I realized this guy who had run up to me looked exactly like Javier, but at the same time he looked different.

Same eyes. Same voice. Same smile. Same hair.

There were different features about him. I shrugged it off. It had to be Javier.

"Yeah, I was wondering where you went?" Javier said, eyebrow raised. He seemed a bit off. This wasn't Javier.

Then it finally hit me. This wasn't Javier.

I stepped back in horror. Where was I? This was a dream, I was dreaming. Right? I had to be. There was no way a little match could bring all of this to life.

"Ross! You okay there? Ya look like you just seen a ghost!"

I stared back at Not Javier. His eyes were deep with concern.

"Sorry I just...blanked out completely."

He nodded. "Right...c'mon, walk with me? We'll get some ice cream. Sound fine?"

"Yeah," I said. "Sounds good."

I finally had the chance to clearly see what Not Javier was wearing. A black leather jacket, white shirt, jeans, and the same spotted bandanna around his neck. Shiny boots and slick hair, a bit messy.

We walked down the street, passing by groups of teenagers. All laughing. Laughing at us?

I started to feel myself getting a headache. This was too much to take in.

"So," Not Javier said. "Where had you been? You remember? We had been hanging out with our friends, then you ran off. Little said you were having one of your moments, those where you blank out completely and forget where you were, our names...Ross, listen, do you still remember my name?"

He had stopped walking by then, and so had I.

I looked up into his eyes, warm and brown but full of concern.

My headache started to fade as I remembered one name, clear as a bell.

"S...Sebastian. Your name is Sebastian. We've been buddies since the third grade."

I could feel my voice crack and out of nowhere I whispered, "I'm sorry."

Sebastian put his hand on my back and said, "I thought you'd forgotten forever. Listen, do you remember what year we're in, at least?"

I shook my head.

He just nodded. "Little said you've been having these moments more and more, we're all worried about you. Me, Little, Marco, Joe...heck, even ol' Castor who doesn't really care much 'bout everyone. We're all worried."

I shook my head again. "I don't belong here. I'm serious, I don't belong."

"Yes you do. You belong here as much as I do. C'mon, we'll go meet up with them and then get ice cream. Sound fine?"

"Sounds good."