Fever Dream Red

29

"FINNY!" Alfie cut me off before I could finish my sentence.
"What? It's true!" I exclaimed, whilst Doug cackled next to me.
"Don't say it!" Alfie exclaimed back in a similiar tone.

I sighed, tired of protesting.

"What are we gonna do about it, then?"
"About what?" Doug asked.
"About getting out of here."
"Finny you know-"
"We can't, can we?" I asked with a dose of sarcasm. "What's the worst he's going to do? Kill us?"

Doug and Alfie winced at the mention of death.

"Yes!" They both practically shouted at me.
"I'd rather die then stay in this dump all my life."
"It isn't that bad, Finny."
"Is it not? We have a uniform-"
"One you're not following currently." Alfie remarked.
"Nick's seems to have let me off given my circumstances."
"Some have all the luck." Doug muttered. It was only then I realised he was still polished in a neat suit.
"Anyway." I started again."We can't leave the place, and when we do we get a gun stuck to the back of our heads."
"Danny and Zach seemed to get out alright." Doug remarked with a subtle cynicism of envy.

"I don't think he has." I said regrettably. "I got sent a note the other night. It said to meet at the end of the beach at eight the next night."

I sighed sadly.

"It was signed by Danny."

Doug gasped horrendously as if this was some dramatic drama he was watching on TV.

Alfie stared him down.

I continued.

"So I went down, and who turns up but Nick and his men?"

Doug's jaw practically fell to the floor. I couldn't tell whether he was having a laugh or wether he was genuinely shocked. I pretended not to care.

"I spent the night in an interview room. But don't you think it's weird?"
"Where did the note come from?" Alfie asked, trying to disprove my theory.
"My window."

I stopped in my tracks.

"Oh, and something else happened. When I got up out of bed to read the note, Nick burst in a few minutes afterward. Said he saw my light on or something? That wouldn't be that strange, but he was still in his suit. At what must have been the middle of the night."

Doug started chuckling softly.
"Is it that strange?"

Alfie stared at him incredulously.

"It's just, I could totally imagine Nick doing that. In fact, I think it would be weirder to see Nick in PJs!"
"You still call it PJs? How old are you, eleven?"

Doug shrugged, and I cleared my throat to let them know I was still there.

"I think that Nick figured out, somehow, that Danny was escaping and caught him. Then he asked Danny to write the note and he slipped it to me in order to catch me in the act."
"But why would he do that?" Alfie asked me.
"I don't know- to test my loyalty, perhaps?"
"What has he done to Danny, then? Where is he if he's still here?"
"I don't know." I admitted. "But he could be anywhere. This place is massive, and there's plenty locked doors."

Alfie thought for a while, then nodded.

"Could be."
"It has to be! How else would he have got his hands on that note with Danny's handwriting on it?"
"So what do we do now?" Doug asked, to Alfie mainly. It was clear he was the brains to the whole operation.

Alfie shrugged.
"I don't know!"
"We have to do something!"
"And what would that something be?"
"Well we need to get Danny-"
"If he's even here." Doug interrupted. I gave him a little glare before continuing.
"Then we can escape out of here."
"I don't even mind it here!" Doug protested.
"It's a nice retirement home. You can stay here and rot for all I care, Doug. But I'm only young, and I don't want to live all of my life looking out into dystopia."
"How poetic."

A pause ensued.

"Fine! I'm in."
"Don't be stupid."
"I'll try."
"And you?" I turned to Alfie. "Are you helping too?"
"Yeah, but don't tell anyone else about this. We don't want anyone blabbing."
"Agreed." Me and Doug chorused.

"How are we gonna pull this off then?" I started.
"Well, first we need to find where Danny is, if he is even here."

Alfie eyed me with suspicion.

"How will we do that?" Doug asked.
"I was getting to that bit."

Alfie glared at Doug.

"You'll probably just have to try locked doors."
"That's it?"
"We can't go about it at night, since Nick doesn't wear PJs."
"I think we should go about it at night just to see if Nick wears PJs." Doug remarked.
"Do it tonight then."
"Maybe I will."

Doug sashayed off.

"Report back tomorrow." I called after him. Doug turned back and gave me a thumbs up.

Alfie turned to me.
"Be careful. You're officially under suspicion from Nick. I don't think you should get involved much. Stay back, okay?"

I nodded reluctantly, and was just walking away when Alfie called after me.

"And whatever you do, Finny, don't draw attention to yourself. Please."
"I won't!"

Alfie gave me another warning glare, and with that I went away.

I found Inez sat on a bench in the gardens, looking out onto the sea beyond.
"I'm sorry." I said to her sweetly.
"It's okay sweetie." She smiled at me sadly.
"No news?"
Inez shook her melancholic head.
"We'll find him. He has to be somewhere. He wouldn't just up and leave." Inez grabbed onto my hand as if it was an anchor.

I then realised how strong Inez must have been. She had to act like nothing was wrong, even though inside she probably felt stranded in a hopeless ocean. I had her to cling onto, with her hopeful speech. She had no one, just herself and her dark imagination.

I couldn't help wondering if Danny was out there. I wondered if he felt guilty. He should have done.