Silent

     When I awaken with my heart beating rapidly and trying to catch my breath, I replay my latest nightmare. During my dream, I was running in dark woods, trying to get away from something that was trying to catch me. 

I was in slow motion and I could feel the presence of the stalker easily catching up to me. I couldn't tell what it was or who, but I soon felt its breath on my back sending a chill down my spine. 

When I felt its hands start to wrap around me, and a scream about to form from me, I woke up in a sweat. Now i breathe in heavily, my chest going up and down rapidly. I know I should try to get myself under control, but I can't shake off the terrifying nightmare I just encountered.  

It was only just a dream... I tell myself this over and over for a few minutes until I can breathe normally. I've been having nightmares like this one this whole month and I can't seem to figure out why. Usually they appear just blurs and distortions, but this one was the clearest and the longest.  

When I told my step parents about the horrible dreams I've been having, they were always unconcerned saying "it will soon go away" or "suck it up". And that was them being nice. I sit up and grab my cup of water on my bedside and take a few gulps before setting it back down on my little table.  

I lay back down, resting my head on my huge pillows. I lay there,staring up at the ceiling for a long time and was beginning to fall back to sleep when I heard a soft thud. I linger a bit taking my time to pull myself back up and looked down the hallway expecting to see my fat cat scamper into my bedroom, onto my queen sized bed and bite my toes hanging out from under my baby blanket. 

I remain looking down into the vast dark hallway waiting to hear the sound again. Minutes go by. I began to consider that I just imagined it when I heard the noise again, but louder this time and more audible. Even my fat cat can't make such a sound like that. It sounded like footsteps. Like a person's footsteps. 

I thought of how this couldn't be right since I was the only one home tonight. My step parents snuck off to Hawaii last night leaving me only a note on the refrigerator door saying that they would be gone for a month. Hatred boiled up inside of me, posing the question of why they never took me along with them; especially since we had the money to do so. 

I heard the loud thud again, bringing me back to reality and possibilities swarmed through my head, each one getting more startling the more I thought about it. I debate whether or not I should just lay in my bed and hopefully fall back to sleep or get up and investigate. Curiosity won over. I got out of my bed and slide my feet onto the icy marble floor.  

The sound of my footsteps walking towards my half-opened door echoed throughout the house, bouncing along the walls. I tip-toed trying to make it more quiet so I could hear the noise better. Thud. Thud. As I reached out for the knob to turn it, I was startled by the noise again, but this time sounding way nearer than before and loud enough where I don't need to be silent.  

I open up my door and peer out slowly, my body rigid, searching for any sudden movement. I walk out slowly, putting my hand along the wall searching for the light-switch. I felt goose bumps along my back remembering watching Scream 2 earlier this evening before I went asleep.

I'm just imagining this all. Maybe it's like one of those dreams where you think your awake, but when you pinch yourself you actually wake up. I put my fingers on my arm and close my eyes tight, and pinch myself. I open up my eyes, but my surroundings haven't budged. Mmmm maybe I just didn't pinch myself just hard enough. I close my eyes and pinch myself harder this time, but when I open up my eyes, I was still were I was in the beginning. I sigh realizing it wasn't a dream. Well crap, that probably means I'm not alone in this house. I tip-toed back to my room grabbing my baseball bat and walked back into the hallway. I knew this stupid gift from my step parents would come in handy someday.

I had my bat posed to be ready to start leaping into action. I continue walking and extended my hand out again, still searching for the light switch. My hand made a scratchy noise moving up and down along the wall. I kept walking where I was almost close to the staircase when my fingers felt a slight bump over the wall. Bingo. I flipped the light switch to "on" and light flooded the upstairs hallway. It took my eyes a while to adjust, but soon I could see my upstairs lounge off to the right of me and my step parents bedroom door to my left. I turn, examining the lounge seeing if there was any evidence of a break in.

The lounge looked like it usually does: clean and tidy with its expensive leather seats and  the flat screen TV covering most of the wall and stereo sound system. I know what your probably thinking, but the thing is, I'm not even aloud to step one foot in this room. My step-parents say its their own personal space and if I touch their expensive furniture and their little precious vase given as a gift from my step mom's great grandmother, then I would somehow find a way to destroy it. I snicker to myself knowing how foolish they are, and how they think of me as a delinquent by what i look like: dark black hair with dyed red streaks, thick eyeliner, and rebel personality.

I heard a crash downstairs and peer my head over the staircase. I stand there, lingering, darting my eyes from one thing to another searching for movement, but didnt see anything out of the ordinary. I step foward and look back and plunge into deep darkness. I put my hands along either sides of the railing taking cautious steps hoping i wouldn't fall and die. Well that would be a stupid way to die.