Tag! You're it!

Witchy Dream

    Her footsteps echoed all around the walls. The air was chilly but she kept on walking. She was in a large and unfamiliar house. Her fingers traced the cold damp bricks. She didn’t know where exactly she was going. She seemed to be in an endless corridor, lit dimly by yellow lights every few yards. She was alone and lost. She picked up her pace and started running. She kept going and going, following the path that seemed to swerve left and right, like an endless maze. She could feel her panic building. Where is the exit?

    That’s when the laughter started. A woman’s voice, laughing at her. 

    Stop it! Who are you? She screamed in the dark. The laughter was getting louder and louder. A high-pitched maniacal laugh. She covered her ears to block away the sound but it continued to ring inside her head. Suddenly she saw a figure at the end of the corridor. She couldn’t see her face but the woman had long flowy hair that almost touched the ground. She doesn't know how she could tell but she can feel the sinister vibe coming off from the woman. It was thick and it was suffocating.

    To her horror she couldn’t seem to move. She tried all her might but she seemed to be paralyzed with fear. The lady was moving closer and closer. She was starting to hyperventilate. She couldn’t run!

    The woman raised a finger towards her, “You will pay for this!” she hissed.

Arlene closed her eyes and screamed…

She fell with a thud on the floor next to her bed. She landed on her head. Ouch!!!

    She blinked her eyes a few times and squinted at the daylight. Goddammit! It was just a dream! She was still sweating profusely. She was upside down, with her legs still hanging on the edge of her bed. 

    She groaned, as she brought her legs down from the bed and rubbed her head. It felt sore. Actually her whole body felt sore. She felt tense. She looked up at clock on her desk. It was 11am, almost noon.

    She sat up and leaned against her bed. She tried to focus her mind and recall the dream. Thinking about the woman with the long hair gave her the shivers. Arlene could still hear the woman’s cold voice hissing with threat. Who was she? Where was she? One thing for sure there was a lot of old mansions in Hedgeshore. Would she be able to find the woman if she searched for her? Did she want to search for her? The whole thing was giving her a headache. The memory of the previous night flooded back in her head. She half wondered if that was a dream too, but she knew it was not. Johnny’s injuries were far too real to be a dream. She tried not to get emotional about it. She was scared. But the more she thought about it, the more furious she became. Johnny was an old friend. And one thing for sure, she will not tolerate anyone messing with her friend.

    She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror of her dressing table. Her eyes were still puffy with exhaustion but she gave herself a determined look. She decided whatever happens after this, she will not run. She will face them, she will fight. No weirdo witchy woman or vampire is gonna cause more damage to the people she loved! And in order to do that, she will need Raven’s help. 

    Arlene made her way downstairs. The day felt slow to her. She was sitting at the dining table, having a really late breakfast. She chewed on her cereals slowly, her mind still throughly occupied on Raven, the vampire and the creepy woman. Becky came skipping into the kitchen, cheerily carrying her sketchbook. She sat down in front of her. Today she was wearing a bright yellow dress and her long hair was neatly pulled back by her red-flowered hairband. 

    “You want to see my drawing? I sketched a few new dresses,” she opened her sketchbook. 

Arlene just smiled and nodded. “Oh you did? What sort of dress this time?”

     Like most 10 year olds, Becky’s main ambition was also to be a princess! Always dreaming of glittering flowy dresses and being swept up by a prince charming. Arlene didn’t mind it at all. She likes to encourage her sister in whatever her current passion is. She ooh-ed and aah-ed at the latest lily and the butterfly inspired dresses. Some of them were quite interesting. She was helping her sister to draw a peacock dress when the doorbell rang.

    She could hear her mother, Mrs. Thomas who was in the living room get up to get the door. Some voices ensued and she was called to the front.

    It was Louisa, Johnny’s aunt. She was a middle-aged woman in her fifties, roundish in features with very kind grey eyes. But today she looked tired and trying her best to suppress her sobs. She has met Johnny’s aunt many times over the years. Louisa made the best shepherds pie in the known universe!

    Sandra Thomas looked at her daughter questioningly. “Arlene, what is this about? Louisa says you might know what happened to Johnny? What happened? What’s wrong with him?”

     Oh crap.. the cats out of the bag. Arlene walked over calmly to the living room where they were sitting. Her mother Sandra was a stern woman. She has been raising them up single-handedly for the last 6 years, ever since their father passed away from cancer. She hadn’t thought about marriage since. She seems to prefer to handle her domestic affairs by herself. Her mother was very independent.

    “Oh Sandra, Johnny’s at the hospital. He is in a coma. He was in some sort of accident last night. I don’t know what exactly happened! But the doctor said Arlene was the one who brought him in?” 

    “What? What happened? You were out last night?” one eye-brow raised at Arlene.

    “Err.. yeah. But it wasn’t that late. I went out to buy some snacks at the grocery store.” No need to tell her the actual time.

Her mom gave a low exasperated sigh, “Then what happened?”

    Louisa gave her a hopeful look. Arlene felt bad. She wished she could tell them everything, the whole story. She considered it. But telling them that her nephew was attacked by a vampire and rescued by a nocturnal elf just sounded like a really bad idea. She sat down next to Aunt Louisa and held her hands. She summoned the strength to keep up a poker face. 

    “I’m so sorry Aunt Louisa, I wish I knew. I was walking back from the store and I saw him sitting with his back against the wall. I called him and when he didn’t answer I walked to him. But he was not moving at all! I started to panic, when a guy happened to walk by and I asked for his help. So we brought him straight to the hospital.”

    “Arlene, thank you so much,” she said as she wiped her eyes that had started to fill with tears. “Fortune must have been on his side that you were there last night. Johnny is like my own son. He’s all I have left of my brother.  I don’t know what would happen if you hadn’t come along.”

    Arlene wasn’t sure what to do. In the end she just held Aunt Louisa’s left hand with both of hers and held it tight. Watching this frail lady talking about Johnny only made her more determined than ever to put an end to this mess.