Charlie's Awakening

Part One: I Am Charlie

It's 5:30 a.m. and the sun hasn’t even come across the sky yet. Out here in the backwoods, I can see everything the morning sky has to offer an early bird.

A beautiful view and hope for a day better than yesterday. I used to wake up to this sublime feeling every morning. Before the dreams started, every day was just a good day for me. I was just a man who wanted a simple life. Somewhere in between wishing and dreaming, I became someone else.

My name is Charlie S. Hicks, and I was born and raised here in Alexandria, VA. It was just me and my mother up until the day she died—Mr. Hicks was never in the picture. It was strange. She would keep pictures of my father on the living room wall, but she would never talk about him. As the years rolled by, I just learned to accept that he would never be a part of our family.

Last I heard they placed him in Crestwood Mental Asylum. I needed to know him for myself so after high school, I got a job there as a janitor. Jean Chiffman oversaw the hiring when I first started working there twenty years ago. She was a real pain and made sure I knew it when we first met.

“Alright pee in this cup, don’t flush and I mean it,” she said, “You made it to this point because your background came back clean or close—now we just need to make sure that your system is too.”

I went home that afternoon knowing that I had the job—there weren’t many people who wanted to be janitors. Oddly enough, I was glad that I would be seeing more of my father, even if he was out of his mind. That evening I spent my night drinking and watching TV.

I drifted off to sleep around midnight only to be woken up by a loud bump that came from upstairs. I got up slowly from the couch trying not to make any noises. I reached for the bat I kept on the side of the couch for emergencies, and I felt a leg. I looked down to see that I was still laying on the couch.

Riinngg. The phone rang and startled me out of my sleep and back into my body.

I franticly reached for it answering, “H-eello”.

“Good afternoon is Charlie Hicks available,” a woman asked.

“Yea...I mean speaking” I stuttered.

“Well Mr. Hicks we’ve been trying to reach you all morning to inform you that the position for the first shift at Crestwood is available to you”, she said.

“Thank you. I can come by Friday to pick up my badge and keys.”, I replied.

“We’ll see you then”, she replied.

That day I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I just had this eerie feeling walking around the house—all except one room. My mother’s room.

I lounged around in there, going through old photographs of fond memories. Hours had passed before I realized how long I had been in there. I placed the photographs on the nightstand. When I reached for the bed to help myself off the floor, I lost my footing and went tumbling into the vanity mirror.

A bit dazed from the fall, I wasn’t sure if I was seeing clearly. I’ve been in this room hundreds of times since my mother passed, and I’d never seen this package under the bed.

Once, my head stopped spinning I took a closer look. I pulled the large package from under the bed and sat it on my lap. It was a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper with no name, address, or hint as to what it could be. Strange.

Part Two: The Asylum

The first couple of months were rough but I made it. I had to gain the trust of the caregivers and security before I even saw Sean. That’s his name, Sean Hicks. He mostly kept to himself and gave them no problems, so they agreed to arrange a meeting for me.

Sean and I finally sat face to face in December of 1985. I was a mirror image of the man; we shared the same cold grey eyes that mom hated. To break the silence I asked him, “Do you know who I am?”

“Yeah, I know you your Catherine’s kid”, he said.

I took a breath and said, “I’m your son too Sean, the name’s Charlie.”

Laughing he said, “I can see that.”

Feeling embarrassed I got up and started walking towards the door. “Sorry for wasting your time”, I said.

As I was walking out of the door Sean said, “Have you opened the package yet?”

I pretended like I didn’t hear him and rushed back to work. After my shift was over, I stopped by the local supermarket for some beer and TV dinners. When I got to the register, I was greeted by my old classmate Lily Sanders.

We laughed about our high school years, and we even made plans to hang out. I walked away feeling like I finally did something right today. I just needed to know how Sean knew about the package.

Later that night I fell asleep in my bed to avoid any other out-of-body experiences. But it happened again. I was walking through the house with the brown package in my hand. When I got to my mother's room Sean was standing in the doorway with his hands extended toward me.

I handed him the package. He gave me a smile that sent chills down my spine as the box deteriorated in his hands. I closed my eyes only to be startled by a strong grip on my forearm. Sean had smeared what was leftover from the package on my arms and hands. “It’s your curse now”.

I woke up in a cold sweat at 5:30 a.m, time to go to work.

Part Three: Unpack

The next morning Sean actually looked happy to see me, probably because I looked horrible since I haven’t been sleeping well.

“What can I do for you Charlie”, he asked smiling.

“Last time I was here you asked me about a package. What’s in it” I asked?

Sean sat up and leaned closer to me. “A gift, son”, he teased.

Sean sat back in his seat. “It's simple son, you just have to open it”, he said.

“That’s not an answer”, I yelled in frustration.

“Keep it down or I’ll have to cut this short”, said Betty.

I took a deep breath.

“If you want the dreams to stop you need to let me help you”, Sean said.

“How can you help me”, I asked.

"Bring me the package”, he said.

This conversation was giving me that eerie feeling again. “Thanks for your help Sean, see you around”, I said as I rose from my chair.

“You’ll be seeing me sooner than you think, son,” he said as Betty took him back to his room.

I finished my shift and went home and watched TV until I drifted off to sleep. A hard knock at the door woke me. It was Lily.

“I thought today would be a good day to hang out since it’s raining out”, she said, “Aren’t you going to invite me in”.

I wasn’t expecting her but I let her in any way. “I know that I’m drenched because I was just in the rain", she said. "Why are you soaked, you've been working out”, she asked?

To save me the embarrassment, I lied.

“Yeah, I was. How about I get you a towel to dry off with and shirts for the both of us", I said.

“Sounds like a plan”, she said.

I raced up to my room and changed into a dry shirt, then I went into the hallway closet to get a towel for Lily. I forgot her shirt so I went back to my bedroom. When I reached into the drawer to grab it, I heard someone say, "She shouldn't be here". I spun around quickly to see who was behind me.

To my delight, no one was there. I grabbed the shirt and left the room. Everything seemed to be fine until I looked in my mother's bedroom doorway. Sean stood there holding the package. Then it went dark, and Sean disappeared. I heard glass shattering and Lily screaming.

I ran downstairs to find the door wide open, and Lily was gone, I turned around to see if I could find a flashlight and someone hit me. I fell o the ground, and someone ran past me.

"You should have listened", said Sean.

"What's in the package Sean", I asked?

He just ignored me and went into the kitchen. I heard him fumbling around in the kitchen drawers. I took the opportunity to sneak out the door to find Lily. I ran for what seemed like forever until I finally caught up to her. The heavy rain made it hard to see where Lily was going.

“Lily where are you”, I screamed, he wasn’t too far behind. I knew we had a better chance of surviving only together and if we left now. Everything was starting to get blurry and quiet just like in the dreams.

I starting yelling even louder, “Please Lily he’s coming this way we don’t have much time”. But there was no answer only silence and then darkness, I felt myself starting to feel faint.

“Lily……” I mumbled.

I woke up in front entrance of the asylum. I looked around for any sign of Lily. I stood up and looked over the front desk and saw the lady Carol leaned over the counter lifeless. It was starting to look really bad for us.

I went to the basement to see if anyone in the staff lounge was alive. The lights were out here too but thank God the backup generator was working. With blurry vision, I made my way to Sean’s room. I saw Lily in the left corner of his room on the floor.

“Lily come on we have to get out of here”, I said.

But she just stayed glued to the wall and stared at me with fear in her eyes. I walked toward her saying, “I know you’re scared but we have to go and get help everyone here is dead”, I said.

But she still wouldn’t move.

“You can’t let her leave”, a voice said. It was Sean he was standing in the doorway behind me.

I turned around and said, “You can just let us go and you can go free.”

Sean smiled at me and said, “I’m already free. You unlocked the door and now I’m here to help free you". He stepped behind the door and reappeared with the package wrapped in brown paper.

"My gift to you son", he said as he placed it at my feet.

I reluctantly bent down to open the package. When I touched the package, I started to have flash images of my dreams from the months before. The room began to spin more and more as I put everything together. The murders. The asylum. It was all me.

“I don’t understand”, I sobbed rocking back and forth.

Sean kneeled beside me and placed his hand on my shoulder. “I know it hurts to unpack everything all at once son”, he said, “But it needed to be done. You’ve built a great life here and now there is only one thing standing in your way.”

He looked over at Lily standing in the corner. Then finally poor Lily spoke to me.

“Who are you talking to Charlie”، she asked.

I almost forgot that she was in the room with us. I looked over at her, smiled, and said, “No one, Charlie is gone now.”

It's 5:30 a.m and the sun hasn’t even come across the sky yet. Time to start work.