Monsters And Us

Chapter 10: The Dream

I stood up from where I sat and slowly got up while being a little dizzy from the experience and start making my way back into the forest following the voices calling out to me. I walked through the forest feeling the rocks underneath my shoes and hear Oliver's voice get closer and closer to me before I could see him a few yards away and see him looking around for me and his eyes go in my direction and hear him call out to Silas telling him that he found me before running towards my direction and hugging me tightly in his arms. He pulled away from me and his once warm smile faded to a disappointed expression.

"Why the hell did you run off like that?"

"I didn't realize I ran off, I'm sorry"

"What do you mean you didn't realize, you were just standing there looking at that tree then you started running off, I tried to run after you but I couldn't keep up with you. It's like you were possessed."

"I thought I was just daydreaming."

"And what was this daydream about?"

"Nothing, it's stupid."

"No, tell me."

"It's nothing Oliver, ok?"

"Annabel Elizabeth Bowyer, tell me." He said with a raised angry tone,

"I was in a dark forest, I couldn't see anything and this thing was in front of me, it had yellowish golden eyes and fanged glistening teeth. I tried to run away from it but I couldn't like I was frozen in place, then I felt a warmth wrap around me and I was finally able to run away from it and get to a field covered in moonlight, and...."

"And what?"

"It had a pale body, with a burn mark on its side in the shape of a hand print and it's eyes had turned to pitch black, then It just disappeared and I stopped daydreaming and was in the field over there."

"Oh..."

That was all he said, he furrowed his brow like he was thinking about what I just said, and grabbed my hand and basically dragged me back to where we first were and Silas was waiting on a bench almost looking nervous as if he had an anxiety attack over what he was going to tell mom and dad if they never found me. He looked up at me and almost tackled me to the ground, holding me so tight I could barely breathe and he finally let go of me and smiled at me, trying to keep his composure around me though he was likely freaking out internally. He grabbed a cold water bottle he had and handed it to me which I thankfully took and started almost chugging the water which helped me feel a little better and my face less hot from running. Oliver and Silas stayed by me the entire walk back to the truck almost like I was a prisoner and they were the guards, and when we got back to the truck Silas decided he'd sit in the middle seat to let me get some air, we drove back home and didn't tell our parents about the incident in the woods. That night I could barely sleep, whenever I tried to close my eyes all I saw in my head was that thing, it's glistening fangs and that burned hand mark on its side the image of it was burned into my brain. Before I knew it my alarm was going off it was already 9:30am and I felt like a few seconds ago it was only 2am, I got up tiredly and looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, I had dark bags under my eyes and looked almost sickly, I grabbed whatever shirt and pants I had and got into the shower. The hot water felt so good on my skin and almost fell asleep standing up, and slowly turned the knob to cold and that definitely woke me up immediately and I got out and dressed in a black sweater, black sweatpants it was Saturday and didn't have any plans for the day or the weekend in fact. I went downstairs and the house was empty, which wasn't unusual for my family since my father and mother were at work and Silas was likely on a date or at a friends so I felt a little more comfortable eating breakfast when no one was at home. I walked into the kitchen and looked into the fridge to think of what I could make for breakfast, eggs, bacon, ham, turkey, milk, cheese, tofu, leftover cake and hummus, just a few items in the fridge I looked in the pantry and saw some boxes of cereal, chips, bread, cans of veggies, tuna and canned meals and some English muffins. I grabbed the English muffins, eggs, bacon and cheese and made my own version of an McMuffin, I grabbed a random plate from the cabinet and looked at it, it was an old plate from my childhood that had my favorite Disney princess on it, Pocahontas and smiled as the memories of when I first got it, I was 5 maybe 6 when my parents gifted it to me on my birthday I was so happy and used that plate everyday. I put my finished sandwiches on the plate and went into the living room and turned on the TV, I was flipping through the channels till I found what I wanted to watch, it was some program on animal planet about animal control. By the time the episode ended I had already finished my breakfast and was both fascinated and angered by the show mainly angry at the fact people think it'd be ok to hurt animals. I grabbed my plate and put it in the empty dishwasher and turn the TV off before heading back upstairs to my room, I grab my laptop off my desk and place it on my bed and began getting out a book I've been writing in a document application. I grab the television remote next to my bed on the nightstand and flip to a show about people doing various tasks around the world and start writing. Page 78, I couldn't think exactly how to start my 10th chapter in the book, it felt like the previous chapter ended good but now I'm stuck....what would my character do after having a foreshadowing moment. I put on some music and started zoning out into the music and began typing and eventually got distracted by my song and began lip syncing to it and pretending I was in my own music video, my laptop laying on the bed still unfinished and began dancing something I'd never do in front of other people. I finished with the song and got my laptop back over in front of me and began typing for what seemed like hours until the door bell rang. My heart jumped at the sudden noise and soon my social anxiety kicked in, I never really liked answering the door because I was always afraid of meeting new people. I walk slowly downstairs and look through the peephole and see my ex, Carter standing on our porch, he was wearing a black hoodie, worn jeans he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks he was just pacing around the porch. How'd he find out where I lived I thought to myself, I slid down onto the floor with my hands covering my ears and my knees to my chest, my heart beating fast. He banged on the door almost as if the door was about to bust on top of me I kept my hands on my ears and prayed he'd go away when it stopped finally, I slowly got up off the floor and looked through the peephole once again he was still there just standing there looking at his phone and moving his fingers along the phone's screen and I feel vibrations coming from my pocket and reach in and see text from a different number.

"Hey....Hello....How are you.....Open the door I know your in there."

I block the number and silence my phone and look back at the peephole and don't see him anymore and breathed a sigh of relief for now but was still afraid he would still be around and made sure all of the doors and windows were locked and slowly went back of the stairs and back to my bedroom and pray he doesn't come back. I lay in my bed still having a panic attack over this event and try to calm myself down and close my eyes and plug my music in and drift off to sleep and wake up and see Carter standing over me I lay there frozen in fear and he's just staring down at me. I tried to sit up but couldn't it was as if there was a weight on my arm and legs holding me down, I tried so hard to get up but it was no use, he got closer to me and his eyes weren't normal they were pitch black like a great white shark's eye during a feeding frenzy. I kept looking at him and grabbed the closest thing next to me and swung it at his head but it went through him almost like he was an apparition, black smoke fazing through the spot I just hit him at and he was still there unmoved and just staring at me. I swung the object at him again and again and no change.

"Your not real" I said in a soft voice.

"What do you mean" it said with a voice that wasn't Carter's but a more deep demonic sounding voice.

I repeated myself only louder until I was screaming in it's face, it started twitching and suddenly was on its knees holding it's ear and letting out a bellowing sound that sounded like a goat being slaughtered before turning to smoke and disappearing under the wood floor in my bedroom. I sighed a breathe of relief the nightmare was finally over and feel my body being shaken violently by an invisible being.

"Annabel" I heard a quiet voice say.

"Annabel please wake up" The voice got louder and more familiar, it was my mother's voice I looked around and didn't see her but the violently shaking didn't stop, I didn't know what to do I laid back in bed and closed my eyes hoping that would help stop the violent shaking and voices.

I felt the violent shaking continue and open my eyes and see my mother over me, with tears in her eyes and my father by the bay window on the phone with who I assume is the police. I look around confused what happened and my mother looks at me and gasp and calls to my father, who turns towards me and runs to my side.

"Oh my god Annabel are you ok honey?" My father asked me,

"Y-yeah" I managed to muster out,

I was confused as to what happened, was I dreaming I thought to myself I tried to get up but felt too weak to even lift myself up into a sitting up position, my father got back on the phone and told them to send the ambulance even though I weakly protested they were here in no time. Two male paramedics came into my room with equipment and one of them who looked around mid 30's with bushy dark eyebrows and a thick formal looking mustache went over to my dad and began talking to him, while the younger early 20's paramedic walked over to me, he had a very noticeable mole on his cheek, and dark brown eyes and tan skin that reminded me of a young Robert De Niro.

"Are you ok ma'am?"

"We got home and she was just in her bed laying still for hours not moving, it didn't even look like she was breathing either, that's why we called."

"Hmm the only thing I can think of that could've caused it was she might have sleep apnea but that's only from the things you've told me."

"I mean this is the first time it has happened to her, right Annabel?"

I nodded weakly and started sitting up not wanting to be a burden to the paramedics I smiled nervously at the paramedic in front of me, my mom nervously looking me over making sure I was ok, my father still talking to the older paramedic.

"I'm fine really just a bad dream I guess."

"Annabel Elizabeth Bowyer, you stopped breathing that's not just a bad dream sweetie, please let's just get it checked out, ok?"

My mother was always the type to be over dramatic over small things and this is one of those times, even though I continued to tell her I was fine we still ended up in the hospital even though my stomach felt like it was in knots the entire ambulance ride there(even though I was fully able to walk to the car on my own.) I felt looked at and judged the entire was even though they might've been more worried about me than judging me by my weight the fear lingered in my mind and covered my body up with my hoodie.