Slenderman

Chapter 5

I sat up gasping and drenched in sweat. I looked around my room--Pepper was beside me, looking at me in slight puzzlement.  I let out a shuddering breath as I tried shrug off the dream.
It was just a dream. Just a dream.

******

"Bro--you okay?" Adam asked me in P.E. the next day. "You just look trashed, dude."
I nodded. "I've just been having bad dreams, that's all."
"Bad dreams? Like Nightmare on Elm Street shit?" He joked as he bumped a volleyball to me.
I chuckled. "No, not that bad. It's-it's stupid, that's all."
When free period rolled around, I found myself back in the library with my earbuds in. I was walking through the cultural mythology section.
I pulled out a couple books and sat down at a nearby table. I started flipping through them, looking at a few of the pictures. They all looked pretty freaky  but still--none of them matched that thing I kept seeing.
I rubbed my eyes and looked around the library. There was a few other kids in here besides me. I paused when I swore I saw a little girl of at least five peek  at me from around one of the bookshelves.  She put a finger to her lips and turned away.
I wasn't sure what to do--hell, I wasn't even sure if she was real. But I stood up and slowly walked over to where the girl had been standing.
"Hey--where'd you go?" I called out. The girl suddenly appeared on the other side of the library, close to the back wall.
"Hurry! He's always watching us!" She waved me over in a nervous voice.
"Who?" I asked as I walked over to her. She didn't run away from me this time. I knelt in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder. She certainly felt real. "Where'd you come from?" I asked her.
She looked at me solemnly--a creepy look for such a young kid. "The man with no eyes--he's looking for you, Castor. He's seen you."
I got chills when she said that. How did this girl know my name. Was she real?
"Wh-who?" I sputtered.
She pointed down the row and I stumbled back in shock.
The tall man was standing there.
"Castor!"
I jumped up. I looked over to find Leo  giving me a confused look. "School's over. Didn't you hear the bell?"
"Oh. No, I was..." I trailed off, looking at my table of books.
Leo sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well, come on. We still have to get James."
I looked over to the spot where I had first seen that little girl. It had been nothing but a dream--it didn't happen.
I followed Leo out of the library. There wasn't a lot of students in the halls down--most of them must've already left. How long had I been sleeping?
We picked James up and then the three of us hit a nearby gas station, grabbing slushees to drink on the way home.
Mom was already home with Hazel when we arrived.
"What? You guys got slushies? Did you get me anything?" Hazel asked, jumping off the couch. I grinned and pulled out a candy bar for her. She gasped. "Snickers? Thank you!" She snatched it and ran off to show Mom.
Leo pulled his headphones on and just lounged on the couch on his phone while James and I went to our rooms. I collapsed on my bed, and groaned. I was so tired.
But that weird thing with that little girl in the library...and then more nightmares...what was happening?
I felt a chill as something else hit me:
I had seen that little girl somewheres else before.