Homework? Check. Dinner? Check. Hell? Double Check. Part 2

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We get to the table, and Father is already there, having just gotten home roughly fifteen minutes ago. He gives me an encouraging smile as I sit in my chair. No doubt Mother has told him all about what happened. I return his smile in earnest. Thanks to Mother and the hour I had to cool off, I'm feeling much better than I have all day.

As Mother sets the casserole down in the middle of the table, I take a large whiff of steam coming off the dish. I inhale the mouthwatering scent of beef, tomato, mushrooms, and pasta. Ever since I was little, this has been my favorite comfort food. Mother sits down and we all dig in. Just tasting that wonderful mix has the tension of the day just rolling off my back. No one really speaks as we're all too busy eating, and all that can be heard is the clink of silverware on plates.

We're all so hungry that we finish off the entire casserole. Mother smiles, Father leans back in his chair and pats his belly, Cole is scraping the plate to get the last little bit of sauce, and I'm just grateful that I have such a wonderful family.

"Thank you, Mom. That was really wonderful," I say to her as she stands to clear the table. She smiles at me and nods. In silent agreement, we all get up from the table. Father goes to the living room, and Cole and I go to the sink where Mother has just put the last of the dishes. She hugs us both and goes to join Father in the living room. Cole and I get to work washing the dishes; Cole washes and I rinse and dry.

Once we're done, we join our parents in the living room and plop down on the couch. Father is getting Netflix set up on the television. He scrolls down to "Resume Watching" and selects the next episode of Supernatural. We watch it together every night together.

The four of us laugh our asses off at the funny antics of the Winchester brothers. Cole actually snorts as Dean is barking at the mailman and swearing at birds, but the show ends far too soon and now it is time for bed. After all, as Mother and Father are quick to remind us, it is a school night.  

Cole and I head upstairs to our respective rooms, get dressed for bed and snuggle in for, what I fervently hope, is a peaceful night's sleep.

I'm at school and for some reason they are all laughing at me. Not the normal "you're a dork" laughter that I'm familiar with, but a cruel, malicious laughter. Everyone in the school, including Mr. Stockton and even the janitor is pointing and laughing. The room we're in, the gymnasium from the looks of it, starts to spin. First, it's slow, then it picks up speed. Faster and faster, it spins when suddenly from far down the hall, I hear a loud crash and screaming. The screaming is getting louder; the room is spinning faster. I hear growling and snarling. Suddenly, the spinning and noise stops. I look down at my hands and my hands aren't there. In their place I have two massive paws with long, lethal claws jutting out from the front of them. I open my mouth to scream and a howl comes out. I look across the gymnasium and see the yellow eyes from my nightmare a few nights ago. They're getting bigger, but don't seem to be connected to anything. They rush me, getting within a few inches of my face, and then...

And then I shoot up in bed, dripping with sweat. Just a dream, I tell myself. I'm fumbling for my glasses on my bedside table and as I grab them to put them on, I hear a crash. It sounds like the one from my dream. I slowly get out of bed and creep to the door. I inch the door open, careful not to open it too much lest it squeak on its hinges. From my small sliver of door space, I see a dark shadow moving around in the hall. It's massive, but I can't make out what it is. Suddenly, as if the massive shadow can sense my presence, the enormous head whips around to face me. I can't see anything beyond shadows, but I manage to notice two yellow eyes staring at me thanks to the moonlight of the full moon filtering in from the open door of my brother's room. I barely have time to register the fact that his door shouldn't be open, when the shadow pounces at me. I let out a long, loud scream before everything goes black.  


*Author's Notes*: What happened to Caleb? Keep reading to find out.

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