The Hidden: Part 2

“Dan.. Dan wake up?” William shook Daniel’s body several times but Daniel was not responding at all. And Daniel, he was lying on the floor unconsciousness. While, William and Dylan has no idea on how possibly Daniel could be lying on the floor.

“Dan wake up!” William voice was getting louder but, as before, Daniel was not responding at all.

“He must be encountered something strange last night” William added, making his perception.

“Haa.. Don’t bother man, he just probably sleep-walking last night, or perhaps saw some hot chicks around here and end up sleeping here” Dylan joked but like seriously, he knew his brother have never done sleep-walking before.

“Hang on, I know what to do” Said Dylan while walking onto the kitchen. He then grabbed a bucket of water and,

“Splashhhh!!” Dylan splashed Daniel with a bucket of water. Daniel startled. Will and Dylan were laughing hard afterwards seeing Daniel was acting like a kid who afraid of water.

“Leave me alone, leave me alone!!!!!!” Daniel shouted, out loud. He was like, traumatically experienced something real bad, horrific and tragic! He kept shouting even louder when William grabbed his tee, trying to calm him down. But Daniel acted even weirder. He tried to grab William's tee and even wanted to hit him with his fist. After the 30 seconds of so-called dramatic fights between William and Daniel,

"Pap!!" William gave Daniel a slap across his face. It stopped Daniel from what he did.

"Wake up!" William shouted. While Dylan was dying laughing to see the situation. An epic fail of a drama he said while laughing hard.

"Why did you slap me?" Daniel shocked a while, looking at his surroundings and shaking his head. He then looked at William and his brother who were laughing hard for him and William, who was standing next to him, was showing his serious face, or perhaps his anger.

"Because you're acting damn freak! and well, that's for waking up you actually" William saw Daniel was in confusion. He did not even answer his question, and seemed he thought of something and he saw him was full with confusions, questions and curiosities.

"Oh my head hurts" Daniel felt dizzy and hurt at his head. He suddenly recalled on something he was encountered last night. He got up and ran toward the door next to the staircase. While William and Dylan were both confused and looking at each other, curious. Dylan lifted his shoulders when William looked at him, he did not know what was happening to his brother. And Daniel, he opened the door of the room he went last night, it was kinda hard to open it. It was unlocked but still hard to open it. He kept trying though. With some efforts, Daniel was able to open the door. He exhaled feeling relieve. But he was not happy once he opened the door. The door was just a door of a store. A store that kept old boxes, hockey sticks, some sports materials and also old clothes. The room was smelly as well. And it was not that big. There were no tunnel at all or staircase. It made Daniel seemed dreaming which he was trying to convince himself that he was just dreaming earlier, but at the same time he was curious how could he slept on the floor with his head hurt if what he encountered that night was just his dreams or hallucination. But what confusing him was, the tunnel was not exist at all and all inside the room he entered last night was just a dumb store.

"It's a tunnel last night" He said, still in confusion.

"What tunnel? What are you talking about?" William asked. He got even more confused.

"It's a tunnel, I went here last night"

"Dude, it is a damn room, can't you see?"

"Will, you have to trust me, I've been here last night, i met these two girls who were hiding in the tunnel" He tried to convinced them both.

"What the damn tunnel are you talking about?" William upset a bit and his voice was getting louder.

"It was a tunnel last night, but i don't know, it turns a room instead" Daniel still tried to convince Dylan and William.

"Are you alright bro? You're getting freak you know that right?" Dylan was joking again along with a sarcastic smile toward his brother. He sometimes did not understand his brother. The two years older than him was unpredictable sometimes. One time he would be so weird and no one will understand him. Their childhood was cheerful. None would question their siblings bonding. They were just like other kids anyway, siblings fighting, sharing the same hobbies who both were love camping and adventurous activities, and the siblings who were always trying to protect each others when one was encountering something real bad. But the 5 years ago tragedy changed everything. It changed his brother to be a mysterious and a passive person for the next few years. Until the mysterious old woman whom claimed herself a psychic from nowhere suddenly pop up in front of their house's door to "heal" him from his mysterious attitude just 2 years ago, 3 years after the incident in the lake.

*********** 5 Years Ago ***********

The two brothers Daniel and Dylan were paddling the canoe on the lake over the weekend. It was a normal activity for the two to spend their weekend with canoeing or with jungle trekking. But the weekend was great to get wet on the lake as the weather was real good with a great sunny day too. So they went to the lake which was crowded a little where most families spent their quality weekend time in the lake.

"What do you wanna be when you grow up bro?" Dylan started the conversation while paddling. He saw his brother who sat in front was so quiet since they left home. That day his brother seemed worried of something, he kept looking at his watch. Dylan perceived that Daniel has something very urgent to do, or perhaps he had to go to his weekend music class at church every Saturday.

"Aside of becoming a successful lawyer, I wanna be a professional musician" Daniel replied without looking at his brother at the back. He kept paddling and sometimes waving hands to those visitors who went kayaking in the lake as well.

"What about you?" He asked his brother Dylan.

"I wanna be a cop, investigating people and learn martial arts"

"Cool, all the best!"

"That's it? All the best?"

"Yeah what else? You want me to say, oh that's so great bro, I wish your dream comes true, becoming a hero, saving people lives, catching thieves or smugglers, slapping the thugs for not answering your questions, and all those stuffs?"

"Fine, i thought you'll say something nicer to motivate me"

"Yeah of course i do! come on!" Daniel then laughed while his brother's face turned serious. The two reached the jetty, handing over the paddles to the lake assistant and walked toward a hawker by the road. The two bought their favorite ice cream and the hot weather made the ice cream yummy even more! While eating, the lake was shocked by someone's voice who were shouting for help.

"help, help me!!!!" The voice from the girl in the lake was shocking the whole lake visitors. Daniel, who was a junior school swimmer, ran to the lake, dived to the lake and swam as fast as he could as the little girl was drowning. Everybody else watching in the edge and some were swimming to help the little girl as well. But Daniel who swam first, was almost reaching the drowning girl. In less than a minute, he reached the little girl, grabbing her back and pulling her to the edge. The three others who were coming to help were there too. The three helped Daniel to pull the little girl to edge. But suddenly, Daniel felt something on his right leg. It was so painful that he could not move his right leg that stopped him from swimming. And because of that, he started sinking.

"help, help me my legs cramped!" And now he was the one who were asking for help, the other swimmers were swam back to get him. But he started to sink and in less than 10 seconds, he disappeared from the people sight. Under the water, Daniel struggled to hold on his breaths as the helps were coming. But he could only stand it for 15 seconds and then he needed to inhale. He desperately inhaled, and he inhaled along with dozen of waters inside. He was getting weaker. His right leg was still in pain and he could not breath. And over there, under the beautiful lake. He saw someone. A woman whose face was terribly pale with worn clothes, long hairs, and behind her, there were another person with the same condition. But the person was a man whom has no more eyes. And behind these two, there were about ten persons who who terribly ugly with totally creepy face and appearances. And these peoples were slowly approaching him, with their hands forward trying to reach him. Daniel wrestled to ascend with all strengths he has. But he failed to do that. While those creepy people were just 10 meters away from him where he could see their faces clearly aside of the blurry sight underwater. He could see the hatred, sorrows and angers from the faces of these peoples but in the meantime, he kept striving to escape and to ascend, not just because he was sinking and it would be killing him, but also to escape from the weird encounters of paranormal interventions. His strengths were lessening and he drank too much water. His head was getting dizzy and he can feel that his sight was getting dark. And by the time the underwater woman reached his leg, Daniel could feel someone grabbed his shoulders from behind and pulling him while he was not sure either he was still alive or now living among those peoples he saw just in front of him.

Daniel opened his eyes, waking up from the bed. His parents and brother Dylan were besides him. They were all smiling and his mum was touching his forehead.

He looked at his surrounding, there were two nurses in the room, one of them looked at him and then smiling.

"What happened?" He said. The parents David and Rose Anderson just looked at each others. No word could describe who deadly worried they were earlier when Dylan called them informing about Daniel in the lake. Rose mainly who was emotionally unstable until he scolded her husband David for letting their boys spending the weekend by themselves instead of accompanying the boys.

"You're trying to rescue a drowning girl but you end up being rescued instead" Dylan answered. He was still nervous and shocked for what had happened to his brother in the lake early in the morning. He screamed a lot, he cried and panicked when everyone else were shouting as Daniel was sinking on the lake. Dylan could not stop crying and keep begging the people around him to help his brother even though there were two others swimmers in the lake who were trying to rescue Daniel. And by the time Daniel disappeared from his sight, he felt helpless, hopeless and frustrated. He has no much strength and could bear to see his own and the only brother who loved him more than anyone else, disappearing from his sight. But when the thought that he might be losing his brother pop up in his mind, he fought it back with positiveness and prayers although he knew that he was too weak for that. And when Daniel appeared and floated on the water together with his rescuer, no word could describe how relieve he was but at the same time was worrying sick that his bother might be drown. The professional rescuers put Daniel body on the ground and Dylan ran to them, seeing his brother unconscious while the rescuers were giving him the CPR. But in two minutes later, Daniel was taken away with an ambulance and he went along after convincing the ambulance staffs that he was the patient next of kin. He escorted Daniel to the hospital with tear but he always knew that his brother was strong and stronger than anyone else.

"Are you alright honey? you looked pale" Rose asked his 12 years old son. Daniel lifted his head up a bit to make him comfortable lying the hospital bed.

"I am okay mom, I am all alright no worries" He answered.

"Honey, you're almost drown on the lake and you simply said mom i am all alright? Don't do that anymore, I don't allow you to do that anymore!" Rose cried.

"Honey calm down" David tried to calm her down.

"No David my son is almost drown in the lake and he is just 12, I told you, you should have accompanied the boys"

"Yeah I know it's all my fault then, it's all my fault, none is yours"

"see, all you know is sarcastically blaming yourself like no one else did"

"What else do you want me to do, things had happened!"

"David you!!.."

"Mom stop! stop it please. It's all my fault, it's not dad or anyone else. It's me who were trying to help the girl, no one ask me to do that. I volunteered. I just can help it to see that girl crying for help" Daniel finally spoke out. He did not want his parents argued for him. And he did not want anyone to be blamed because of him. All he knew was, he tried his best to help the poor girl. And he glad that he made it though it almost took his life.

And when Daniel discharged from the hospital. He walked out from the hospital and passing by the patient rooms, he saw the rooms were filled with unusual humans. The humans that were looking alike those he saw in the lake. They were all scary and they stared at him, some with very serious faces. And Daniel got distracted awhile but then he focused to walked forwards afterwards. And when they went out from the hospital, walking toward their car, Daniel saw the place was surrounded by these unusual people. And they were all looking at him with real creepy face and appearance which Daniel only could describe as devastating. It turned even more horrific when some did not have eyes, or some with no limbs and some of them were bleeding all over their bodies. Some were crying and some were laughing out loud. Daniel saw there was someone standing next to his dad's car. That someone was bleeding in the head. The someone who was a girl cried and slowly approached him. The girl brought along with her a knife in her hand and she was approaching while Daniel was standing there still. By the time, the terrifying girl ran toward him with the knife,

"arhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" his voice was loud enough to take others' attentions.

To be continued.