The Taste of Blood

Chapter 9: A Long Goodbye

I sat up in my bed. It was night, but there was a huge storm outside. I could hear thunder and saw a flash of lightning. I searched the bed for Shadow but he was nowhere to be found. I noticed my bedroom door was slightly open, just big enough for Shadow to slip out. I suddenly heard him barking in the hallway. I went and walked out into the hall and found him a few yards from my door. I walked over to him.

"What are you doing out here bud?" I asked the dog curiously but sarcastically since I knew he wouldn't answer me.

We were standing by the window so i could from the moonlight and when the lightning flashed each time. Shadow kept barking in the direction across from where we were standing. I looked but couldn't see down the hall since it was too dark. Lightning flashed in the windows and I froze. The flash had illuminated the hall and what i saw scared me. Standing there in the hall was Sarah. She was covered in blood and had an evil grin on her face. In her bloody hand she was holding the exact pocket knife she had given me on my 16th birthday. Another loud roll of thunder and a flash of lightning blinded me, and that's when I woke up. I hadn't fallen asleep for 10 minutes before the nightmare started again. It was always the same one, but each time it would go a little further. This time it had gone too far. I wanted to tell someone, but who? I couldn't tell Toby, or he might not let me become a proxy. I just met Jane, and I didn't want to dump this on her. Alice had EJ to deal with so she was a no. Maddie and Addie talk too much and I didn't want them to tell everyone. And Kayla... Kayla seemed off so I don't know about her. I wonder if she is okay? I quickly got to my feet and walked out of my room, making sure to close my door. It was starting to get windy outside, as I pasted by a window I could see a storm in the distance. It looked just as bad as the one in my nightmare. I turned to continue walking and accidentally ran into Slender.

"My bad Sir, I didn't see you there." I apologized to him.

"It's ok Ace, I was just a bit distracted." Slender says walking around me and continued down the hallway towards his office.

I turned to keep walking and nearly stumbled over a book that was on the ground. As I picked it up I realized that it was Kayla's book, the one she had been reading recently. I decided to put it in my hoodie pocket and return it to her once I found her. I walk past the library and I could hear someone crying softly. I open the door, only to be met with the point of a kitchen knife. Kayla was holding it. She sighed and laid down the knife once she realized it was me.

"Come on man..." She said wiping away a few tears. "What do you want?" She said harshly.

"I uh, just wanted to check on you. You seemed off earlier, so I wanted to make sure you were okay." I replied calmly.

She turned towards the table. "Well I'm fine...go back to bed or whatever." Kayla said bitterly.

I thought about leaving, but then decided I walked in instead and sat down next to her. I reached for the book she was reading, and recognized it almost immediately. It was ' Alice in Wonderland'. I flipped through a few pages until I came across a picture.

"Who's this?" I ask holding up the picture gingerly.

Kayla grabbed the photo and looked at it. "That's me and my dad.." She said and paused for a bit, "Before he disappeared.."

There was a long silence between us before I finally had the courage to speak. "What happened?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "He put me to bed one night, then the next day....he was gone." She said with almost no emotion.

I reach and put my hand on her shoulder. "I-I'm sorry." I manage to say.

She quickly shrugged my and off and snapped at me. "I don't want your 'sorrys'... All my life I've gotten was sorrys and lies...It never stops haunting me."