My Journal

-It Was Only A Dream-

STORY 2 ~ PART TWO

Breath in. Breath out. Then I set off confidently, yet carefully, down the misty path.

I walk, and walk, until I'm barely dragging along. The path seemed to go on forever. Perhaps the spirits are testing to see if I'll give up, or die of thirst. Ironically, if I died, wouldn't I join the spirits as one of them? It matters no more. Just when I thought I was done for, the path seemed to widen and open up. Then, flash! I almost fell to the ground from shock, it was as if a flashbang exploded out of thin air. Flabbergasted yet still conscious, I come back to my senses. Everything was a bright white. Nearly blind, I slowly regain eyesight when the white starts to disappear, leaving me standing on fading wood planks. Bright red lockers in the near distance, burgundy picnic tables to the right, and a playground to my left. All too familiar in the most unsettling way, the boardwalk of my school. The path led me here, but I don't see any signs of my fellow students.

That's when she appeared. Standing further down the boardwalk in a creepy manor, my best friend locked her cold eyes directly on me, sending chills up my spine. She was not herself, her skin was pale as a ghost and seemed completely nonchalant about my terror. Not the Rose I know or knew. Instead, she smirked, and held out her hand, waving me to follow. It was like my feet had a mind of their own, before I could even think twice I was running to catch up with her as she vanished into a classroom. When I reached the door, I yanked down on the handle and it flung open.

My so-called "best friend" stood at the front of the classroom, eyeing me down. I tried to ignore her glare, and focused on my classmates and close friend's dead expressions. Every single one of them occupied the rows of desks.

Out of the silence, Rose whispered very clearly, "Class. . .do what you were taught." And with that, the class mumbled in unison, "Yes, Miss Rose."

They all stood up at once, and formed together like a horde of lifeless zombies. I backed out the door nearly tripping. None of them stopped, they kept coming toward me. I turned around and sprinted down the opposite side of the boardwalk. I briefly looked back, to see they had broken into a sprint also. Familiar voices screamed out.

"We never liked you!"

"Our friendship was an act!"

"I was paid to hang out with you!"

"You. . .are. . .NOTHING!"

That's when I bolted upright in bed, sweat dripping down my forehead. The lamp was turned on and my mother hovered over me. "Sweetie? Are you alright? I heard you scream from the other room."

"Yeah, yes, just fine. Bad dream." I mumbled shakily.

"I know," She said, her voice suddenly changing, she sounded like. . .

Mothers face disintegrated, and altered simultaneously into someone else. I began to scream, and scream, until a hand covered my mouth, sealing my terror shut.

"I know," She repeated. "I was there." Rose grinned.

THE END