Part Nine

Rain.

Rain poured as Olivia made her way through the streets; her shoes slapping against the wet pavement. She wasn’t sure what she was running from…only that she was running towards something.

Her eyes were wild as it surveyed her surroundings, heart beating fast as the rain poured harder; drenching her clothes and shrouding her eyes with water. She huffed as she wiped the water from her eyes, her feet trudging through wet concrete without any plans of stopping.

Turning the corner of a street, she stopped as she arrived at an intersection. Her eyes squinted as she looked over to the other side and stopped when she saw him. He was looking around wildly just like she was, and Olivia wanted to scream and call out to him as the reality of the situation dawned on her.

Ian was wearing the same black jacket and backpack. She had never seen him use before and yet there it was, hanging by his right shoulder. Just like in her dreams.

He took one step forward and time seemed to stop. Olivia's head snapped to her left and she saw headlights glowing brighter and brighter, signifying the approach of an incoming vehicle.

“Ian!”

Without thinking, she was already moving forward and running towards him.

The dream. It's happening.

Headlights flashed. Their eyes met in a split second and she saw panic in his eyes just as they were drenched in a blinding light.

“Liv, NO!!!"

Beep!!!

~~~

Olivia woke up in sweat, breathing shallow and eyes looking around wildly for something—someone—whom she knew wouldn’t be there. She felt like crying and didn’t even wait for her breathing to go back to normal before reaching out for her phone with shaking hands and dialing the number of the only person who could make it all okay.

~~~

Ian groaned as his ringtone pierced through the quietness of his room. He peered over his bedside table and saw his alarm clock blinking 3:05 AM. He groaned again and cursed under his breath as his phone continued to ring, practically shaking him awake. He reached for it and pressed the answer button without checking to see who it was.

"H-hello?" He said groggily.

"Ian?"

In an instant, he was wide awake the moment he recognized the voice. He sat up and switched on his night lamp, bathing the room in a golden glow. He felt dizzy as he did but it was overwhelmed by the worry filling his bones at the way Olivia sounded over the phone: like she had been crying.

"Liv? Hey, you okay? What’s wrong?”

"I'm sorry." She sniffed. "Did I wake you?"

"No…no, it's fine. Are you crying?" He asked worriedly as he rubbed his eyes. "What's going on?"

"I... I had a bad dream." She said. "And I just wanted to hear your voice."

Ian sighed in relief, glad to know it wasn’t anything serious. "It's okay. You're okay. I'm here now." He said as he tried to calm her down.

"I'm going to come see you, okay?" She suddenly said and Ian heard shuffling from the other end followed by a door closing. He snapped up at her words, echoing in his stilly groggy system. His heart raced once again when the words finally made sense.

"What? Now?"

"Yes, now. I'll see you in a few."

"Wait, Liv—"

"Love you.” And the line went dead.

Ian's heart skipped a beat at her words, leaving him immobile and a little breathless for a second. Olivia had hung up before he could reply and he was left with dead air and panic creeping into his system.

Yes now. I'll see you in a few.

In a second, Ian was looking down at his phone and opening his calendar. He had marked "the day", and as he looked down at the date, he couldn't quite believe the horror the stared right back at him.

"Shit." He threw off his covers hastily, grabbed articles of clothing on the floor and got dressed quickly. In a matter of minutes, he was already shrugging his jacket on in a rush, grabbing his backpack, and bolting out the door.

~~~

Olivia ran.

She felt her feet moving as if it had a mind of its own. The streets were empty apart from a few cars passing through the roads. She had caught the bus that brought her to the area where Ian lived, but it would take her a few minutes’ walk to get to his building.

It was a good thing that her dad was a heavy sleeper. He wouldn’t have let her out at this hour. She knew she was being reckless to be going out to see Ian but she had to. She needed to see with her own eyes that he was okay... That it was just a silly nightmare. She could deal with her dad later.

She was halfway through her destination when something cold touched her skin, halting her in place. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion before looking up and seeing dark, starless skies. She gulped as she let her right arm out slowly, palm facing upward.

One…

Two…

Three…

Raindrops fell against her palm, wetting her skin, and Olivia stared down at it in horror as her dream resurfaced in her thoughts.

Rain. It started with rain.

Olivia ran as the rain poured, her shoes slapping against the wet pavement. Her eyes were wild as it surveyed her surroundings, trying to make sense of where she was at the moment. Her heart was beating wildly against her chest as the water drenched her clothes and hair.

She huffed as she wiped the water from her eyes, her feet trudging through wet concrete without any plans of stopping.

Turning the corner of a street, she stopped as she arrived at an intersection and Olivia has never been so terrified in her life… For right in front of her was a too familiar scene; one she had seen in her sleep too many times she had lost count.

No, she thought just as a familiar face came barreling onto the edge of the pedestrian crossing on the opposite side of the street.

~~~

Ian ran.

He couldn't believe he allowed this to happen. He wasn't sure how it had slipped from his mind…. how he had forgotten.

It’s today. The day was today!

It was almost like magic the way time slipped from his consciousness, escaping his thoughts. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he ran towards the station, not caring that he was getting soaked. He needed to see Olivia right away and hoped he’d meet her halfway.

Hoped that she was okay.

He reached the intersection and stopped, seeing the green traffic light was on. A few cars passed and Ian was getting impatient. He couldn't wait. He needed to get to her now. Waiting for the road to clear and seeing that there were no more incoming cars, Ian took a step forward and began to cross.

"Ian!"

He looked up at the familiar voice and felt his heart stop the moment his gaze settled upon the source, which was standing on the opposite side of the street. He was relieved to see her but the numbers—the number, rather, hovering over her head twisted his heart painfully and he couldn't quite breathe at the sight.

1

Out of nowhere, headlights beamed at his side and Ian squinted his eyes towards it, panic crawling against his body like electricity on wire.

"Ian!" He looked back at Olivia saw her already running towards him.

"Liv, NO!!!"

Beep!!!

Time seemed to be suspended as Ian moved his legs, sprinting towards her. Headlights shone brighter as the vehicle approached and Ian saw her falter for a split second when she suddenly looked to her left—struck by the speeding truck coming towards them.

But Ian kept going; kept his eyes on Olivia, not stopping till he reached her.

Gasp.

Ian barreled into her hard as he pushed her off the road, sending the both of them skidding across the hard concrete like rag dolls. He felt a sharp pain on his back and Olivia winced at the impact of their fall.

The truck passed in a blur and they were left in the empty street, scratched and bleeding on the ground. Olivia opened her eyes and found herself on top of Ian, unmoving with his eyes closed.

"Ian?" She asked shakily, eyes widening when she saw the blood dripping from the side of his head. "Ian!” She cried, wincing as she lifted herself up from him and cupped his cheek. "Oh god… Hey, can you hear me? Wake up, please…"

Ian's eyes were closed but he was breathing. After a few more seconds of Olivia’s incessant calling, he finally opened his eyes.

"Liv?"

"It's me." She sobbed, relieved that he had opened his eyes. The rain has stopped but the both of them were soaking wet. "We’ve got to get help! Your head’s bleeding! I need to call—"

"You're…okay?" He managed to say when he caught a glimpse of the number zero over her head before it faded and disappeared. Ian held her arm, making sure she was real. He wondered if he was already gone…and this wasn’t real. “Am I dead?”

“What? No! Don’t even say that! We’re going to get help and you’re going to be fine or so help me god!”

Ian chuckled slightly at her words. That was definitely Olivia. Something has definitely happened but he was too weak to make sense of it all. She had no numbers on her head…but she’s alive. That’s all that mattered for now.

“You’re okay.” He repeated those words like a mantra until the dizziness worsened and he eventually passed out in her arms.