Slenderman

Chapter 7

The weekend passed rather uneventfully.  I'd had a couple more dreams, but in the morning I could recall none of them.
Monday morning rolled around and that morning, I woke up with a terrible headache.
I groaned as I went out to the kitchen. James and Hazel were already up. Mom wasn't here so I assumed she left for work. I could Leo in the bathroom.
"Cas?" James asked as I grabbed the bottle of Tylenol off the counter. "You look horrible--are you okay?"
I nodded as I downed a pill with some water. "I'll be okay--I just have a headache."
Leo came out of the bathroom and I blinked in surprise. He looked as bad as I felt. He stumbled past me and sat at the table. "Want a Tylenol?" I offered him.
"Sure," he sighed.
"What's wrong, Leo?" Hazel asked. "You and Cassie both look sick."
"I don't know--couldn't sleep last night," he mumbled. "Bad dreams."
I stared at him when he said this. He looked at me and frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," I shook my head. I glanced at the clock. "We're gonna be late--c'mon."

*******

My headache pursued past lunch--the Tylenol didn't seem to help. It felt like I had grown a second heart in my skull, one that was aching and pulsing with pain.
I finally walked off to the nurse in third period. I felt cold too--like I might have a fever too.
The nurse put a hand to my forehead and frowned.
"Hmm. You don't feel warm...Here, take a Tylenol and maybe go home to rest, okay?"
I nodded, accepting the pill from her. Home sounded like a good idea .
I called Mom and told her how I felt. She agreed that going home would be the best idea for me as well. She'd pick Hazel up for me.
The walk home seem to take an eternity. I reached my home and I was about to unlock the door when I felt a chill. I turned and jumped when I saw that tall man standing in the middle of the road, facing me. He looked different somehow--his face seemed sunken in and I thought I could see a long cut along the front of his face.
I hurriedly opened the door and rushed inside. I locked the door behind me and ran to look out the window.
He was gone.
I wasn't sure what to do. I turned away from the window and walked to my room. I curled under my blankets with Pepper, clenching my eyes shut.
If that thing wasn't real, then why was I constantly seeing him?

******

An ear piercing scream made me jump awake with a yell. I scrambled out of my bed and into the hallway, dazed. It sounded like James who just screamed.
Mom and Hazel came out of their room at the same time as I did.
"What's going on?" Mom asked me. I shook my head as we looked at my brothers' room. I heard James sobbing on the other side and Leo talking to him quietly.
I opened the door. "Is everything okay?" I saw Leo standing and talking to James who was sitting up in his bed, tears streaked down his face.
"It was just a nightmare," Leo told me. He rolled his eyes. "Scared the shit right out of me with his girly scream."
I huffed in amusement and looked at James. "Hey--what's up, dude?"
"What's wrong, honey?" My mom asked.
Hazel climbed up to James's bunk and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Did you have a bad dream too?" She asked him.
He nodded, his cries slowly turning into hiccups as he calmed down. She nodded.
And then for some weird reason, I didn't see Hazel--I saw that little girl from the library. I almost let out a scream myself when I heard her ask, "Was it about that tall man?"
"What?" I whispered. Leo and I both stared at her. She gave us a nervous look.
"I had a bad dream about him too, Cassie. It's not just you."
I stumbled back. James and Leo looked shocked.
Mom finally broke the silence. "Okay, it's the middle of the night--we need to go back to bed. James, are you going to be okay?"
He nodded as he laid back down and pulled the covers over himself as Hazel climbed back down.
"Good night, boys," Mom called to us as she left for her room.
We all said good night to her before I went back to my room, still freaked out. What did my sister mean, that it wasn't just me?
What did that mean??