Wildest Dreams

t w e n t y - t h r ee

There was yelling and glass breaking inside Nancy's house when she went down to confront her mother in the morning. I was eating a banana as I sat outside on the lawn.

Sun rays slipped through the leaves of the trees and the dew of the grass crystallized under its light. There was no wind but it wasn't very warm outside either. It was a very peaceful morning so far, save from the yelling behind me.

The sound of the door slamming made me turn around. Nancy had an angry expression written on her face as she stomped down the walkway, approaching my side.

"That went better than mine," I remarked, finishing the last of the banana.

"You got all your things?" She asked me.

When her mother woke up, Nancy got herself prepared for the confrontation. I was left in her room in case things would go well. But since it turned the other way around, I packed all my things again and snuck out, climbing down the trellis. And here we were.

I pushed myself up and dusted off the grass on my pants. "Yep. Where are we going anyway?"

"The library. Do a little bit of research."

We walked side by side on the sidewalk. Nancy glanced at the house across the street, I glared at it on the other hand. I felt like throwing the banana skin on his window, but I could do better than that.

Instead, I hoped he choked on his cereal and the milk would go through his nose.

#  #  #

I was reading about newspaper coverages of the Springwood Slasher, which were easy to find but hard to gain access in the library, when Nancy came out of the blue and dropped a single yellow book on the table, startling me and the nearby people.

"What's that?" I flipped the book and saw that it was about booby traps. I knitted my eyebrows and asked, "What for?"

Nancy had her hands on her hips. "We have to stop him, don't we? This's the best I found."

She grabbed the book from my hands and started reading the pages. I continued on my own research as well, propping my elbow on the table to rest my head on my hand.

"Maple, you're literally squeezing blood out of your face," whispered Nancy, agitatedly.

I pulled my had away to discover smears of blood on it. Cursing under my breath, I grabbed my bag and headed to the toilets. It was luck that I was the only one here. I pulled out the bandage from inside my bag.

I splashed water on my face first, watching droplets of blood stream with the running water. Faint red swimming with the pure and dark.

Then I realized that I just wet the wrapped towels on my hands as well. Now, they were bare against the cold porcelain sinks.

I looked up and saw myself at the mirror. Angry red embellished the wound as if it was fresh from yesterday. But my eyes, tired with the dark circles under. Pimples were forming on my forehead and my lips were cracked. I splashed more water.

Nancy was right.

"I looked like those guys wrapped in tissue paper," I muttered to myself.

I closed the water and dried my wound, then covered it with the bandage. I squeezed the water out of the towels for my hands then rewrapped them. Slipping on the straps of my bag, I walked out of the room.

I felt drowsy because of the cold water so I slapped myself lightly on my face and shook my head to wake up my brain.

When I arrived at the bookshelves where I left Nancy, she wasn't there anymore. Then, I realized other people had disappeared as well. I stood alone in the middle of the place, shelves standing sturdy and tall around me. The whole library became suddenly quiet.

Quiet has been unsettling to me lately.

A rustling noise came from my right. It came from the newspapers on the table and its pages were blowing in the non-existent wind. A chill went down my spine as if I've been a fish caught in the hook.

"Nancy?" I called, hoping she was just around and none of this was true. Hesitating a bit longer, I ran as quickly as I could to the exit to get out of this place. But then I collided with someone and we both let out shriek at the impact.

As I lied on the waxed floor, my vision became clearer but my ears were ringing. Groaning, I pushed myself up to see that it was Nancy who I collided with, both of us ending up on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Nan. I didn't see you there," I told her as she touched her head. I helped her up and gave her her book.

"It's fine. You appeared out of no where really. Why were you running anyway?" She asked.

"I thought I saw somethin— Wait, what do you mean I appeared out of no where?" I whispered.

"You were just suddenly there, running." She gestured at the direction I came from.

I hummed, becoming confused at this series. "I was screaming too, I was calling out for you."

"You were? I didn't hear anything."

"Strange, really strange. This place is now giving me the creeps," I said, looking around the library that was filled with people again.

"Yeah, me too. Let's get out of this place." Nancy placed a hand on my arm. "Wait, how about your papers?"

"I think I've seen too much," I replied, just wanting to be away from here. Nancy nodded and we left the library, sitting on the bus stop outside. My legs were under the blazing noon heat of the sun while Nancy sat beside me completely under the shade. It looked like she was waiting for someone.