Haunted Haven

Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1

Running Away

Something startled me from my sleep. The clashing sound of thunder. "This storm came out of nowhere." I heard my mother say to my father. I peered out of the window at the sheets of rain. It was hard to see the trees as we drove past them. The thick, milky fog started rolling in and the rain was relentless.

I wondered why this dream had come again. It wasn't like I'd forgotten the day it happened. I had fallen asleep out on the grass when I had the dream the first time. Then again no one could really control what dreams they had. Dreams were vast universes that I'd often wondered if someone could get lost in them without even knowing they were lost. I'd imagine it would be quite easy to get lost inside of a dream. What was it really like to be awake?

Do we dream to wake up? Or do we wake up to dream?

I wrapped my arms around my knees. I hated storms. They reminded me too much of what I was missing in my life. The freedom to be me. The freedom to simply let go of what stirred deep down inside of me. But I dared to let anyone know how and what I was feeling inside. I hadn't told my parents of the dream I had because I didn't even know why I'd had it. Sometimes, I felt different from everyone else. I can't recall ever being sick. There were times I'd see or feel something that I couldn't explain and if I happened to fall asleep, I would have strange dreams. Dreams that never seemed like my own but in a way they did. I'd dreamt so many times of different worlds that I began to lose count of them all.

Luxor wasn't a city where people welcomed others who were different. Maybe I wasn't different? Perhaps, the reason I felt this way was normal for teenagers. Maybe there was nothing wrong with me at all. All of this was part of growing up.

A strike of lightning lit up the car like a Christmas tree. I nearly screamed out. Panic shot through my chest, like the bolt of a defibrillator. My mother wasn't specific in her details, but something had happened to me, an accident when I was younger, where I'd stopped breathing and a defibrillator was used. I peered out of the window once more and watched the lightning strikes ribbon across the sky like Jellyfish tentacles. Dad was driving, focused on the road ahead. Mom sat nervously in the passenger seat, and I sat behind them. The sprinkle of rain soon turned into a torrential downpour. It was so thick; I could hardly make out the forest around us. The road ahead was difficult to see. The white and yellows lines lay beneath sheets of water.

"Charles?" Mom asked, "maybe we should pull over. Just until the storm settles down some." Her voice was so calm.

"Maybe, you're right, dear but we will miss our flight," Dad replied.

"We may not have a choice," Mom whispered to Dad.

"You know the risk we take if we pull over," my dad whispered.

"Mom? Dad?" I asked.

"Sweetheart?" Surprised. She glanced at my father. Dad looked at her. Then glanced at me. Then back to the road ahead. "Did the storm scare you?" My mother asked. I shook my head.

"Yea, kind of. Do we have anything to drink?" I asked. My throat felt like I had swallowed the desert.

"Of course, I do." My mother replies. I nodded and she handed me a thermos with hot tea inside.

I sat back, screwed off the cap and inhaled the minty scent of the herbal tea, and took a large mouthful. It was not as hot as I had suspected it to be, but it was so good. I could feel the warmth of the liquid flow past my tongue, down my throat, and into my chest. I took another big mouth full. It was helping already. I could feel my body slowly start to relax and then my eyes became heavy. "Mom? Dad?" I asked.