5NAF & Horror short stories

Nightmare of Daydream

It all started out as a dream… I was in a dark forest, running. And was scared for some reason. My feet pounded against the forest floor and my heart rattled in my chest. Fear flooded through my veins as I saw a shadowy figure in the distance. I changed direction and stumbled into a large tree. My head slammed into the trunk and I collapsed against the ground. The world spun and my vision blurred. A few moments later my vision cleared and the world levelled out again. I sat up and the shadowy figure approached me. It swung its fist at me and I sat up in my bed drenched in sweat. “It was only a nightmare” I said while my voice still was shaky. I looked at my alarm clock; 7:00 am. “Almost time for school” I said to myself as I sat up and got out of bed. I went to my closet to get dressed. Then I walked out of my bedroom and went to the kitchen to make myself breakfast.

After about 25 minutes, I had eaten breakfast, made my lunch and recess for school and packed my bag. “Morning James” my mum said as she came into the kitchen. “Morning mum” I replied as I zipped up my bag. James mum went over to the cupboard to make herself breakfast. She poured cereal into a bowl, put the milk in and sat at the table to eat it. “Ok mum” I said. “I’ve got to go to school now” James mum nodded. “Ok James, have a good day.” I shouldered my backpack and headed out the door. I walked to my bus stop and sat down at the seat. After a few minutes, my friend Billy turned up at the bus stop. “morning man” Billy said to me as sat down next to me. “Second last day of school” I said to Billy as I sat my bag down next to the seat. “Yeah, pretty crazy huh. This year has gone so quick.” James gazed out of the bus stop and into the forest. James and his mum lived at the edge of a forest which was about 30 minutes from his school. “Hey, I’ve got an idea” Billy said with a hint of excitement. James looked at Billy. “How about we go into the forest for a quick walk. Like, we’ve never been in there before and we would hear the bus coming anyway.” James thought for a moment and grinned. “Let’s go then!”

James and Billy casually strolled through the forest. The forest was a giant mass of pine trees and oak trees. Underneath the forest, it was quite damp. Only dead pine needles, fallen branches and the occasional mushroom were present. “This is awesome!” Billy exclaimed as he stepped over a fallen branch. “Yeah, it is” James replied back. “I love how dark and quiet it is.” James and Billy stopped and listened for a brief moment. “That is cool” Billy said as he started walking again. “So, how far are we going to walk?” James asked. “Only a little further. Like maybe in the holidays we can walk to the end of the forest if we really wanted to.” Billy replied back. “Sounds good.” Suddenly in front of them, a shadowy figure dashed past in a blur. “What the hell was that?” Billy shouted. “I-I don’t know” James stuttered. “Umm I think we should leave now” Billy said as he started to walk backwards and break into a run. James started to run too, but he remembered the shadowy figure as clear as day. The shadowy figure was in his nightmare this morning. “Oh god…’ James said to himself as he started to run faster. “Billy” James yelled into the forest. “I know… I know what that shadowy figure is.” No reply. “BILLY” James screamed now. “Where are you Billy?” James heart pounded in his chest. “Oh god. Oh god” James recited in his head. Ahead of James was just darkness. “D-Did I go the wrong way?” James stuttered out loud. James tried to run faster but his body declined. James jumped over a fallen branch and stumbled down a slight ridge. James jumped over another branch but this one was slightly bigger and his foot caught on the top of the branch. James fell but his momentum carried him a little further than the branch and he face-planted into the ground.  James groaned, rolled over and spat pine needles out of his mouth. James picked himself back up and started to run again. Ahead of him, James saw a shape leaned against a tree. It wasn’t shadowy like the strange creatures, but it was a figure of a person. Billy! “Hey” James shouted as he jogged over to Billy. “Why did you run off ma…..!” James stopped. Billy wasn’t leaning against a tree, he was slumped against the tree in a lifeless manner. Blood soaked his shirt, slowly dripping onto the forest floor. His hands were tied to the tree and his a large gash was cut along his cheek and run down to his neck. “Oh god…” James stuttered, tears blurring his eyesight. James stepped back but he walked into a solid mass of some sort. He spun around, and came face to face with the shadowy figure!

James went wide-eyed and tried to scream but his voice wouldn’t work.  Instead he spun around and bolted. Now I was really scared.  My feet pounded against the forest floor and my heart rattled in my chest. Fear flooded through my veins as I saw a shadowy figure in the corner of my eye. I changed direction to try and loose him but as I turned I slammed into a large tree. My head cracked into the trunk and I collapsed against the ground. The world spun and my vision blurred. My head felt prickly and warm. Blood! A few moments later my vision cleared and the world levelled out again. I sat up and blood trickled down my face. I looked around but the forest was silent and clear. Above me the tree rustled. I looked up and the shadowy figure landed on me. My body crunched against the ground and I let out a cry of pain. My head was bleeding and I had possibly broken a few ribs. I looked up and the shadowy figure swung its fist at me. Its fist shattered my skull and white spots danced in my eyes. My body went limp and I blacked out for the final time….