Nightwalker

Chapter 4- "YOU'RE NEXT."

Author's Note: Sorry for another late update. The dinosaur I was using to write stories on took a shit and I had to get a new phone.

Author's Note #2: I got grounded not long after getting my new phone, I'm back.

TW: Gore, graphic murder, corpses, horror, nightmares

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I was in my room again. The same dream as before. I looked down to see that I had just finished the same hourglass drawing. This time, there was a bit more sand at the bottom. It was quiet. Too quiet. So I decided to look around for more answers.

At my desk, the map was still there. Instead of the usual notes from before, there was a line connected to a new house, closer to mine. It was circled with what looked like a black crayon. The date on this one was blurry and kinda chunky from the crayon, so I moved on.

I peeked outside my window and saw that same tall creature from my bus ride home the other day. That same suit and blank face. This time, I didn't hear the static.

"That warning was no hoax."

The loud voice echoed in my head. I couldn't hear a tone, but I somehow knew the words.

"What warning?"

"You know what warning I speak of, child. It is not to be taken lightly. If you'd like to make it out alive, I suggest you pay attention to small details now. If you do, your loved ones might survive as well."

"How can I stop it?"

No answer

"What do you mean survive?"

Nothing.

"Why are you people doing this?"

...

"WHAT IS GOING ON?"

Static blared in my head and I fell to my side, clutching my ears. It felt like I could easily crush my skull with my own two hands. I screamed and writhed in pain, frantically begging for it to stop. I heard the crackle of fire and knew I needed to hurry.

I got up, ran to my sisters' room, and dragged them both downstairs, away from that damn music box. When we made it down the steps, the static stopped. My sisters looked up at me, clearly confused and concerned.

"Something is wrong. You need to stay with me so I can keep you safe." I looked at the clock in the living room. On the walls, there were scribbled words in the same black crayon.

"TICK TOCK"

Everywhere we turned, it was there and each clock had messily scribbled arrows pointing to the clocks. My parents screamed in their room and I ran with my sisters to see them.

"Maybe that thing was right. If I figure out how I can save them, they can make it out alive."

We opened the door and hurried inside. I slammed the door shut and locked it, hoping to keep the monsters out. My parents were watching a movie in their bed, laughing and screaming while it continued.

"Kids, what's wrong?" My father asked as his face shifted into an expression of concern.

"Dad, something is wrong. Very wrong. We're next. We need to leave. Now." I grabbed my parents' wrists and attempted to pull them out of bed, but they refused to cooperate.

"What are you doing? Don't just lay there- Get up! Move! Do something!" I started to lose my composure. The walls in this room didn't have the scribbles.

"Well, what do you want us to do?" My mother asked quizzically. She remained calm, but I knew she didn't believe me. Dad was more likely to believe me, and he wasn't budging, so I definitely wouldn't be able to convince mom.

"I don't know. Call the cops or something? They won't get here in time, but they can help. We need to go. Mom, dad, please-"

They glanced at each other with questioning looks. My eyes wandered to the clock on my father's bedside table, which, oddly enough, stopped. I looked back up to my parents and met their empty, bloodshot eyes. Their gazes were lifeless, but I could see the pain in them. Their faces were pale, with deep carved smiles in their cheeks covered the lower halves of their faces with blood, and their bodies were covered in frantic, scattered stab wounds.

My sisters pulled me back to reality when they started pulling my arms and crying. I looked down at them and wiped their tears, holding them close and crying with them.

"I couldn't save them. I could try, but it wouldn't work. There's no way out of this."

"I know that look. Don't give up yet." A scratchy voice came in with the followed creaking of the floorboards.

I looked up at the man and gasped upon seeing his messy hair, burned face, bloody hoodie, and a carved smile that matched my parent's faces.

"It makes the game less entertaining." He chuckled.

"Who are you?" I finally managed to muster up the courage to ask him. I hid my sisters behind me and shielded them with my body.

"You'll figure out who I am soon. As you can see here, this is my doing. My other victims match your parents." He brushed his hair back, moving some of it away from his face.

"Soon, your parents will match the others in real life as well. You'll get to meet me in person, and I won't let you get away as easily as I might in your dreams."

The static started creeping into my head again.

"Now..." He looked at my sisters before grinning up at me.

"Wake up."

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Author's Note: Sorry about the late update- I know it's months overdue, life has been kicking my ass. Expect random updates, as I can't post them on a schedule rn.

Word Count: 962