Making sense of the senseless part 3

Ava looked at Kalah with a smile. “Well, I was at home snuggling with my cat Shadow. He misses me terribly after a day of classes. Why do you ask?”

Kalah thought to herself if she should tell her the truth. For as long as she knew her, Ava was never her enemy. She helped Kalah fight against Nightmares ever since they were ten years old. All those years they had each other’s backs and Kalah never doubted her until now.

“I was thinking maybe we could hang out and do something together. Sorry if that sounded weird…”

“No, it’s alright Kalah. I would be happy to hang out sometime in the future.” Ava took a book out of the bookshelf and said, “Anyways, as much as I would like to stay and chat, I have to go for now.”

The fast drum beat of Kalah’s heart returned to a steady pace as Ava walked away. She took some books with her and read for a while. Still couldn’t find any more details about that door. She looked around the library until she spotted a familiar face in front of her. Noah was apparently sleeping at a table with a stack of manga books next to him. It Looked like he was reading one until he dozed off. Maybe he could help, Kalah thought. She patted Noah on his shoulder.

“hm? Oh, hi Kalah. What’s up? Is study period over yet?”, said Noah groggily.

“No, there is still some time left. Sorry for waking you, but I would like to ask you a question.”

Noah looked at his manga noting where he left off before closing it. “Sure. What do you want to know?”

“I was looking into subjects about the Dream World, and I found out there’s some kind of door that can be used to travel there. But I can’t find much else than that. So, do you know anything about it?”

He sat up straight in his chair and placed a hand on his chin, head tilted down slightly. After a minute or two, he looked up at her. “I remember reading that if you turn a weapon like a key, the door will appear and open before you. It can be opened anywhere. The thing is, you have to pass dream energy through the weapon first before you turn it.”

Kalah looked at Noah with a beaming smile. “Thank you, thank you so much! I knew I could rely on you.”

Noah rubbed the back of his head while he looked away from Kalah. “Ah, it’s nothing really. I’m glad to be of help is all. But wait a minute, why did you want to find out about the door to the Dream World? Did Anna ask you to find out?”

“Yeah, she asked me to help her. I have been searching for answers all period but thankfully you were here to help.” They got up from the table and left for their next class.

***

After the last class of the day, Kalah caught up with Rebecca who was packing up some of her things from her locker into her backpack.

“Hey, could I talk to you for a bit?”

Rebecca smiled. “Sure. But let’s walk and talk. My dad’s picking me up today, so I can’t keep him waiting.”

“I was just wondering but…how do you feel about Joseph?”

Rebecca’s eyes gave a wide-eyed response. “W-Where did this come from!?”

Kalah smiled and looked down at her feet while they were walking.

“Your comment about snatching his heart had me thinking maybe you have feelings for him.”

Rebecca stopped walking for a moment and began to cry. “I do…have feelings for him. But I can’t! I can’t snatch him, it wouldn’t be fair to you. You deserve to be happy. I..I just –”

Kalah hugged Rebecca and wiped away her tears.

“You deserve to be happy too.”

She patted Rebecca’s head. After that, they walked down the stairs and went outside. Her dad waved at them from his car. Before Rebecca left, she gave Kalah a quick hug.

The next thing on Kalah’s mind was to see Anna and update her. She left Littlewood and took the bus.

***

Kalah knocked. There was no answer. Frowning, Kalah used the key hidden under a stone. Kalah stepped inside the house. Her eyes were met by a wall of darkness with a speck of bright light coming from Anna. Anna held a freshly lit candle as the only source of light.

“Why are the lights out?” Kalah asked. She shut the door behind her.

“Power outage.” Anna explained.

Kalah sighed, “That’s annoying. Could we please talk in the living room?”

“Of course. Just stay close to me.”

When they reached the living room, Anna turned to face Kalah. She stared at Kalah as if she wanted to say something. Her mouth opened briefly, but shut again.

Kalah looked up curiously, “Anna? Is everything o-”

Something sharp pierced her back. Kalah felt her breath leave her, her head spun, and her legs went numb. She crumbled to the floor. The light of the candle dimmed and the shadows faded into complete darkness.