Project High School

He Tries

I take a nap when I get home, and have a horrible nightmare. Maybe because it's because I have two cups of coffee when I got home, maybe it's because I'm in such a good mood that my subconscious felt the need to spoil it, I don't know.

I'm locked in the school cafeteria with Rachel and Kendall. They both sit, blank faced, at one of the tables, legs facing out. I rush forward to help them, and realize that they're handcuffed to one of the steel bars attached to the table. My heart pounds. "Joshua," someone says, their voice deep and wicked, "so good to see you." I whirl around.

A young man dressed in all black stands in front of me, his black hair and eyes startling against his pale skin. A sickening feeling of cold terror spreads through my body, starting at the top of my head and traveling downward, extending all the way to my fingertips and toes. The man smirks at me, the emotion not reaching his eyes, which are still unfeeling and dark as night. "I have a decision I need you to make." I can't move, I'm too frozen with fear. He reveals a shining silver gun. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. "There are four living people in this room," the man says, "and I need there to be three." I suddenly realize what he's going to do. He's going to kill me and force Rachel and Kendall to watch. But why would that involve a decision?

The man raises his gun and points it at Rachel and Kendall. He turns to face me, still smirking wickedly. "I need you to pick who I'm getting rid of." My heart stops dead in its tracks. "No," I say, my voice ragged and scraping. The man laughs, and shivers go down my spine. "I'm afraid you don't have a say in this." He walks slowly forward and presses the barrel of the gun to Rachel's forehead. She inhales sharply, but otherwise doesn't move. "Will it be your girlfriend?" He moves a few steps to the right and pushes the barrel between Kendall's eyebrows. "Or your boyfriend?" Kendall's jaw twitches. "Don't hurt him," I say, stepping forward. The man raises his eyebrows. "Oh? So it's your girlfriend?" He points the gun back at Rachel. "No," I say, "don't hurt her, either." He laughs again. "You have to chose, my friend." I look at them, Rachel's skin paper white, Kendall's green eyes full of fear. "Kill..." For a moment, a name flits through my head, but I force it away. I can't let her die, and I don't know why I would even consider it. "...me," I finish. I look into the man's deep black eyes. "Kill me."

"No, Josh!" Kendall says. I shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek so hard that I can taste blood. The man laughs even louder now, and he presses the barrel to my forehead. The cold metal feels startlingly real. "Excellent decision," he says. His jet black eyes boring into mine are the last thing I see before he shoots me and I sit straight up in bed, drenched in cold sweat, Rachel's sobs and the man's laughter still echoing in my ears.

Even after the dream, my mood is still amazing. I should've known it was too good to be true. I'm sitting at my desk doing homework when I hear the yelling from downstairs. My mom must be confronting my dad about what he did to me. I try to tune out the yelling, but it's not easy. After a while, I hear the door slam, and I assume that my dad left. I let out a sigh of relief and keep working. But the footsteps coming up the stairs are too heavy to be my mom's.

I hear the door open and close behind me. I freeze. I don't have to turn around to know who it is. "I told you not to tell anyone," my father says, his voice low and terrifying. I turn around.
He looks even angrier than he did when he found Kendall and I. I clear my throat. "You left me with no choice." My voice is shaking more than I'd like it to. "You can't threaten Kendall and get away with it." My heart lurches as I notice the belt in his hand. He starts towards me. I instinctively pull away from him, pure terror coursing through my veins. He grabs my throat and pulls me to my feet. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone." I try to pull away from him, but he tightens his grip. "There are consequences for disobeying me, Joshua."