Jane screamed. Screamed so hard her throat hurt.

“NO!” She felt hands on her. “LEAVE ME ALONE! NO- NO- NO. PLEASE!”

“Janey! It’s me, it’s me. Mahashi. It’s me – calm down!” she opened her eyes and saw Mahashi and aunt May standing over her. She was lying on her bedroom floor, drenched in sweat.

It had happened again. She had just had another vision.

“Wha – what?” she gasped. She struggled to breath.

Lerumo and his younger sister, Toko, came in the room with a glass of water.

“Oh thank you, Lerumo!” aunt May cried.

Jane took the water without hesitation and drank it all in one gulp. The ice felt cool on her hot throat.

“The girl! She’s in trouble! It was real, I…” she looked around properly and realised that more people were there. Lerumo’s parents and their other neighbours, Mr and Mrs Sims stood in the corner of the room.

“It’s okay, Janey.” Mahashi said. His voice shook, like he had been crying but no traces of it were showing on his face. Aunt May grabbed Jane into a big hug.
Jane felt a familiar feeling. She just had an awful glimpse into the future again and someone was in very big trouble.

“You screamed and we were worried so we came over to check what was wrong,” said Lerumo.
She felt her face get hot with embarrassment. Her neighbours must’ve been thinking that she was insane.

Jane wanted everyone to leave. Because now she knew that there was a girl who needed help and, even though she couldn’t help Maria, she wasn’t going to let this girl die too.

“Lerumo had his headphones on and he still heard. He came running as soon as he could.” Toko said.

Lerumo flushed. Toko was only six so she didn’t know that this situation was awfully uncomfortable for Jane – feeling like a freak in the middle of the room surrounded by her neighbours who happened to think that she was a normal teenager up until five minutes ago. Everybody shuffled around in their night clothes, wondering what to do next.

“Maybe we should go. I’m sure Jane will be okay now, right?”

She felt huge appreciation for the person who had said that. It was Lerumo. Reluctantly they all left a little while later, leaving their consent to ask them if she ever needed anything. Soon it was just aunt May, Mahashi and Jane.
“How long was I out for?” Jane asked Mahashi, she felt like crying. It was Maria all over again.

“Couple minutes, maybe more. I rushed to call Ma as soon as you fell. She tried waking you and you said some strange stuff.”

“Like what?”

“You were telling her to let go of you. And that you’ve got to get out of here… Jane?”

She was dreading this.

“Yes?”

“Was that another…vision?”

“Yes,” said Jane painfully.

“What did you see?” he asked nervously.

She told them everything. Although she felt hurt with every word she uttered, she got through the scene with a tear falling after each sentence.

“Did you see who the girl was? We’ve got to – to warn her or something,” said aunt May.
They didn’t think she was crazy. They believed her. Without question. And for that she felt even more affection for them.

“So? Do you know who she is, Jane?” asked aunt May holding back fear.

“No,” said Jane in a small voice. “I – I don’t remember seeing her face. I didn’t get a name or place or day or even a year.” She felt hopeless. “It’s like what happened with-with M…Maria”

“Oh, no. Don’t blame yourself, Jane. It will all be okay,” said aunt May. Jane thought that they were handling it very well. Perhaps they were waiting for something like this to happen and were prepared. She cried in Mahashi’s arms until there were no tears left. That poor girl in that alley. She couldn’t help her. Just like she couldn’t help Maria.

The darkness crept into Jane’s dreams that night and she woke up screaming again. It seemed like her aunt and Mahashi were sleeping outside her door because they came in so quick. She could only imagine how tough it must’ve been for them.

She didn’t go to school the next day. She kept seeing the alley and the darkness that engulfed it, but the girl’s face was unknown. She wished she could just get a look at the girl. Then she’d know who it was. Maybe she could even save her. That afternoon Lerumo came over and gave her their homework.

“So when I asked Rick where his parents worked, “big nose Emily” butted in. Told me I should mind my own business. Look who’s talking! If anyone should mind their own business it’s her!” Lerumo complained.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it. Maybe she was angry or something…” Jane said.

“No, no, no. She’s always picking an excuse to argue with me. It’s like she’s anti-Lerumo. And I don’t even know what I did to her!”

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing. Emily is just taking whatever she… E-Emily!”

Emily’s image formed in her mind. The auburn hair. The same face.

“Jane? What’s wrong?” he asked

“Oh, no! Emily!” Jane cried.

“I know she can be a little-”

“Lerumo! Emily’s the girl. She’s the one in the alley!” said Jane. She held her forehead trying to strain her mind for details. What was Emily running away from? And when was this going to happen?

“What are you talking about?”

“Umm Mo, do you know if Emily has any …err, any problems or something?”

“Well, just the one with me but otherwise…”

“No I mean, with family? Friends? Or maybe even boy problems? Anything.”

“Not really, she’s just an arrogant little-“

“Lerumo!”

“No, no. I’m sorry. I don’t think she has any…hold on… I don’t know if this counts but in grade three when the teacher asked us who was our role model she said that it was her – her social worker but the teacher didn’t ask any more questions in front of the class. After that lesson they spent about an hour in the class together discussing ‘work’. When she came out it looked like she had been crying. If you ask me, she was talking about something else because come in grade three work isn’t that tough…if she thought that was bad I wonder how she’s managing now.”

“We have to get to Emily, right now.” Jane told him.

***

Tell us: What do you think will happen next?