Bad Intentions (Book One)

Chapter 20

After picking up Max and grabbing what was left for costumes, we rushed home and thankfully beat Neil home. We helped mom prepare dinner and sat awkwardly around the table while we all ate. Thankfully Neil was too tired to do much and went right to bed after dinner. I went to bed shortly after hoping that if I didn't stay up too late, I would be well rested. I hadn't been getting much sleep since we moved and if I wanted to actually have fun at the party tomorrow night, I needed sleep. Unfortunately, I couldn't fall asleep. No matter what I did my mind just wouldn't shut off. I hadn't heard any noise from outside my door in over an hour, so I knew everyone else was asleep. I needed to do something, so I quietly walked out of my room and filled up a cup of water at the sink. I quickly drank the glass and then headed to the bathroom. I was going to go real quick and then force myself to go to sleep.

When I was done, I turned on the faucet and started washing my hands. While the water was running a noise from outside caught my attention. It wasn't one I heard in the house before and I wondered if the low rumbling noise was coming from the pipes. Not wanting to wake Neil up I quickly turned off the water and dried my hands on the pink towel that was hanging nearby.

Once my hands were dried, I noticed the noise was still there and it was getting slightly louder. I turned and looked at the bathroom door, I found myself nervous. I told myself it was because I didn't want Neil to wake up, but my gut knew it was something more.

I opened the bathroom door and the rumbling intensified. My heart dropped into my stomach and the strange noise was now the least of my worries. I didn't know where I was. The house that I was looking at from the bathroom door was no longer my own. I wanted to look back, to go back into the bathroom but it was as if my body was moving on its own. I walked out of the bathroom and a strange red light was coming in through the windows. Lighting up the inside of the house before going out and then repeating the same pattern over and over again. I took a few steps forward and was staring at a door. It looked like the front door to a house. It was made of dark brown wood. With a small square window at the top. The glass was tinted so you couldn't see through it. There were two square panels of the same size carved into the bottom of the door. The sound of thunder crashing outside made me jump. I kept slowly moving furrowed even though I didn't want to.

The door unlocked and started to push open with a loud creaking noise. As the door continued to open, I could see there was a storm raging outside. The leaves were spinning around as if I was standing in the middle of a tornado.

When the door was open fully, I saw that there was a strange black leafless tree framing the door. The roots stood out above the ground and reached all the way to the woods that were in the distance. It started to get hard to breathe as I stood there unable to move from the fear. I could feel a chill run up my spine and all of the hair on the back of my neck stook completely up.

The storm intensified and I could now see the red lightning filling the air. I started walking forward again. When I stepped outside everything was different. That tree wasn't a tree, it was one part of thousands of vines that covered the house and all the ground surrounding it. The air was filled with thick gray specks that flew all around. It reminded me of ash but something about it was slightly different.

I looked up to the thick black storm cloud that was spiraling off in the distance. The lightning was coming from inside the swirling storm. Pure terror filled my body as I watched each lighting strike illuminate a large dark spider like figure in the middle of the storm. It was far away and still looked taller than any building I have ever seen. I couldn't make out a deficient figure to the creature as it in itself seemed to be moving around like smoke.

"Leslie, wake up!" I could hear a distant voice yelling.

It sounded so far away but yet so familiar.