(CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO)

                                    

                                          
  The Other Side
DECEMBER 25TH, 2009:
	It was December 25th, Christmas day. Usually, the excitement from children would overrule the stress of the parents, but the children of Samridge Pines were oddly quiet this year. Maybe it was because of the way parents locked them behind closed doors, hoping that the monstrous shadow haunting the town wouldn't get a hold of them. 
	The sky mumbled, the birds flocking, children singing, children dying, and Tanner Archer was the only person who seemed to be the most affected. 
	He had many restless nights, waking up at around midnight, drenched in his own sweat, gasping for air, all due to a nightmare he couldn't remember. They were the ones at fault for his sleepless nights. They would visit his consciousness when it drifted off into sleep, that was the only time they'd get to flutter with him without him screeching or ignoring them.
	The boy was beautiful in his form, just like the one he seems comfortable with, that 'Connor' child. Although, they kept their distance from the 'Connor' kid, because something about his being felt...out of place. Just like the Archer boy. He did not belong, and they became weary of his tricky nature. 
	Connor was the apparition that the soccer boy, the one who had the most brutalized human legs compared to the rest of them–and the oldest, if they would say so for themselves–grew most curious of. He also visited the boy they saved many times in his sessions of rest. They wondered what went on during those moments.
	Sooner or later, chaos–if it hasn't already–was soon to unfold, as the boy himself woke up from a nightmare many years ago that he would never wake up from. His reality. Society's reality. 
	The Archer child awoke from his sleep, and they hushed and shushed, telling each other to remain quiet, to watch on his life another day. The ones who gossiped kissed Tanner good-morning, and then not only did the day begin in the boy's world, it was also unveiled on 'the other side'.

  DEBORAH
DECEMBER 25TH, 2009:
	"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas, all ye faithful!" Santa Claus cheered, yowling it from his chest. It was only a costume, just some chubby man in an itchy, white beard. He rang a bell three times periodically, passersby with their children, all of them on skates, jingling in laughter under the incandescent-vintage Christmas lights.
	Tiana didn't have the energy to skate around like most of the children her age and younger did, but Annelise and Deborah still tried to encourage it. One on each hand, Deborah grasping her oxygen-tank, Annelise's free hand placed gently on Tiana's back, they each held one of her arms. 
	"Mama, I'm scared!" she mumbled, her knees quaking. Annelise laughed. 
	"Don't be! It's fun! See, look," she pointed at all the other children going into circular motions, cheering and chuckling. Tiana grimaced.
	"The other kids are having fun!" Annelise corrected Tiana's beanie, the one that hid her shaved-bald head, as it tipped down to the side. She had ear-muffs on too, a scarf hiding her neck, and about two layers of clothing. 
	Annelise and Deborah were nearly dressed the same–the weather forced them too. It was Christmas day, and they woke up extra early to open presents. Deborah for the first time in a while didn't care for anything about Alicia Sparks, or Janiyah Statles, not even the Ray Burnings kid–all she saw was Tiana's smile whenever she unwrapped her gifts. There was a sinking feeling, though. And it was regarding if this Christmas were her last or not.