Chapter 4 - Make a Run for it
When Savage Garden stayed in New York, Darren's unease got even worse. The city seemed to be smothering him, the concrete hurt his feet, the lights were harsh to his eyes. One time the nervousness blossomed into full-fledged panic as Darren found himself feeling trapped amongst the many bustling people and smelly, noisy cars. Daniel, who had been walking along the sidewalk with him, noticed Darren's disappearance from his side after a few moments. He turned around and saw Darren frozen in place, his painfully stiff posture reflecting the overwhelming terror that had him in its thrall. The strength of the panic bewildered Darren, he tried to find a reason behind it.
"Darren, are you alright?" Daniel asked, puzzled.
The words hit Darren like a slap to the face, for they were the exact ones Daniel had used in that awful dream Darren had dreamed not too long ago. They broke the trance Darren had been in and he found he could move again.
"I'm not sure," Darren replied weakly "I just...all the people...cars were so loud......" he trailed off, not able to find a rational explanation behind his behavior. Daniel patted Darren's shoulder sympathetically.
"It's alright. We have been working really hard lately, you probably just need a break from all this madness." Daniel said in a reassuring tone. "We should all take a little vacation. How about we disappear for a little and go visit home?" Darren's eyes lit up, the idea had enormous appeal. New York was still beautiful but in an artificial, almost cold way. Darren longed for the simple beauty of his home.
That must be it. I'm just homesick.
"Yeah, let's escape!" Darren said excitedly. Daniel grinned but shook an admonishing finger at the exuberant singer.
"Remember though, we have to come back in a week to do a show here." he said with mock-sterness. But his words fell on deaf ears as Daniel had to chase after Darren, who had spun around and began pelting down the street, in the direction of their hotel.
Darren reclined in his favourite chair, idly rubbing his ear as he watched Colby bustle about the house, humming happily. He and Daniel had completely surprised her yesterday after jumping on the next plane home.
“Darren? DARREN??” Colby had shrieked in delight, hugging the singer and grinning her thanks to Daniel. Darren held her close, gods he had missed her.
“You smell delicious.” he murmured, burying his face into her hair.
“Liar,” she laughed “I’ve been outside gardening all day. I smell like plants and dirt.”
“Savage Gardening?” Daniel piped in. They all laughed and Colby pretended to wince.
“Oh Dan, that was a horrible pun. Come inside and let me poison you with some lemonade.”
Darren smiled in remembrance, shirting his position and rubbing his other ear. He was glad to be home but, like a leviathan lurking in dark water, Darren felt a twinge of unease again
No, I’m happy here! he told himself fiercely. Darren tried to pinpoint why exactly he was uneasy.
It’s not Colby. he mused, the thought of her just filled him with love. His home wouldn’t be home without her. But when Darren thought of the house, he had to repress a shudder.
It’s the house. The house makes me nervous. Almost...almost like it feels like a ...a cage. Now that Darren had pinpointed his fear, he felt more confused than relieved.
Why do buildings make me nervy? I’ve never been much of a naturalist beyond being a vegetarian...
A cold nose at Darren’s hand startled him out of his reverie. Darren glanced down and saw his dog Obi looking up at him with a leash in his mouth. Darren chuckled at the pleading look in Obi’s puppy eyes.
“Alright boy, we can go for a walk,” the singer said affectionately “hey Colbs! Wanna take a walk with us?”
Colby’s head appeared in the kitchen doorway and she smiled at her husband.
“Yup! Let’s go!”
Darren and Colby strolled quietly through the darkened park, letting Obi wander and investigate the interesting smells that must be around.
Darren unobtrusively took hold of Colby’s hand, she smiled at him again and momentarily lay her head on his shoulder. Obi came bounding up to them, his tongue lolling and his tail wagging. Colby giggled for a moment, then Darren heard her sigh.
“It’s a shame your visit home has to be so short. Obi has really missed you.” a pause “And so have I.” Darren did say anything, he just put his arms around Colby and pulled her close. They savored the privacy that the twilight gave them, then reluctantly let go and continued walking.
Obi cam running towards them again, full-throttle, with a stick in his mouth. Darren grinned and grabbed one end of the stick, starting a little tug of war. Their dog play-growled and shook his head before letting go.
“Wanna play ‘fetch’, boy? Hmm?” Darren asked, shaking the stick. Obi pranced on the spot and barked excitedly.
“OK Obi, fetch!” The singer shouted, tossing the stick a good ways away. Then, while Obi tore after the stick, Darren pretended to hide behind a nearby tree, pulling a giggling Colby long with him. When Darren saw that Obi had found the stick and was coming back their way, he ducked and crept to a freshly trimmed tree, grabbing hold of a manicured limb.
But when his hand come into contact with the branch, Darren felt a pain shoot through his arm. It was not, thankfully, a pain like the one in his werewolf dream. It was a slow agony, a feeling of loss, like someone had cut off his arm. Darren’s sight swam and he had this disconcerting vision of someone advancing on him (who couldn’t seem to move) and carefully cutting off his fingers one by one with hedge clippers, while whistling a cheerful tune.
Whaat? What was that? Darren tried to organize his thoughts, realizing he had fallen to his knees. He felt Colby’s hand on his arm and almost winced, then also realized his arm didn’t hurt anymore.
“Are you alright, dear?” she asked, a worried look on her face. Somehow it reminded Darren of a dream he had had a night ago. It was a nightmare like the one with Daniel, but this time Darren was a ravenous vampire who had cruelly stalked Colby in a game of cat-and-mouse, finally catching her and draining her blood from puncture wounds in her neck, holding her in a crushing embrace, while she whimpered and weakly beat against Darren’s chest. The only thing that had been the same with the two dreams was the fact that Darren seemed to be trapped in his own body, with only a part of his mind free, just enough to be aware of what he was doing and despair. The other part was the moon, it’s beams acting as a catalyst, for it had been the moonlight that had triggered the horrible hunger in Darren’s dream.
Darren repressed a shiver and managed to smile reassuringly up at Colby, shaking off her attempts to help him up.
“It’s OK Colbs, I just tripped on a tree root.” Darren lied glibly, patting a whining Obi, who licked his hand. Colby looked doubtful for a moment, then gave Darren a small smile, apparently reassured.
Darren got up and lead Colby back to the park path, with Obi trailing behind them, relieved that Colby had accepted his excuse.
Colby was relieved as well, that was a much more plausible answer than the one her eyes had given her. For a moment, when Darren had grabbed the tree branch, Colby could have sworn that Darren had disappeared. He eyes must have blurred or Darren must have fallen into the shadows. After all, people don’t just shimmer out of existence.
Do they?