The Nightmare At Midnight

          I get in the car. We're moving, we haven't moved since I was six months old, which I don't quite recall. I'm turning seventeen on Friday; Mom says that there is a library, and we can check it out for my birthday. In the car I feel caged, like my Persian cat Sophie; separated from the the things I love. Our situations are almost the same, except for the fact that Sophie is literally caged in a crate made out of steel cords in the trunk; separated from us, and I am trapped in this small Volkswagen Beetle; separated from books which also happen to  be in the trunk. It's a long way from Oregon to Wisconsin, a whole... uh... well... I forgot, but it doesn't matter anyway, it's a long ride, though. 

         We have finally arrived. "Mom," I ask. She shakes her head out of a daze. "Umm, did you say something, Amanda?"

"Yeah, can you unlock my door, please?"

"Sure." I hear a click and open my door. I step out and notice that the air is different, more... "crisp." I pull on the trunk handle and it doesn't move open. I try yanking harder, yet it still doesn't budge. "And the trunk!" I call out to Mom. I hear a beep that is almost buzz-like and the trunk opens automatically. I was not aware of this feature. I lift the metal crate that holds my kitten out of the trunk and tell Sophie that we're here now.

         It's Friday. I'm Seventeen now. We're at the library Mom was talking about. It's oddly shaped and looks like it was sold to a family of dust. I open the door on the front. It's a soggy wooden door that is very creaky with rusty iron hinges. I barely notice an iron sign that looks like it was nailed on one million years ago. I blow off a thick coat of dust and see that the sign reads Mr. Linden's Library. The lettering on the sign looks old but well crafted. The sign is on a slant because a nail is missing on one of the four corners, another was sticking halfway out. I take a step in and look around. No lights are on so I ask if someone is there. "Hello?" I say questioningly. I hear the yank of a string. A dimmed light seems ro light up the whole room somehow. I see an elder man sitting at a desk. "Are you... are you Mr. Linden?" I ask. 

"Yes, I am," he responds. "And you are...?" He continues. 

"A-A-Amanda," I stutter. I feel like a child. 

"Amanda...?"He goes on.

"My name is Amanda Paulero Grey!" I exclaim, finally impatient. The man has a long, pointy nose that curls down, his ears are narrow with attached earlobes, and his eyes dark and shallow. If the old man doesn't look weird enough already, he has a short, thin, silky silver beard that comes to a point, with no mustache connected. Mr. Linden is wearing an old wrinkled top hat with ruined fabric, so I cannot tell what his hair looks like, although, I would bet anyone he's bald. He says there is a book sale going on and I can choose any book I want. So now I find myself wandering around the building scanning book shelves. All of the books are either a musky brown or gray color. Then, as I'm walking along, I see a bright book that catches my attention. I pull it off of the shelf not paying attention to where I pulled it from. The book has a bright red velvet cover and on the front are black felt letters that spell out The Nightmare At Midnight. I bring it up to Mr. Lindens desk. "I want this one," I tell him. He gasps and his eyes widen. 

"Please, you don't want that one!" He says this in a deep and loud tone that is somehow hushed. When he said that, the connection between me and the book fiercen. I respond in a suprisingly aggressive way.

"I do! This is the one I chose!" I look around thinking my mom's in here, but she's outside, holding the cat in the crate. Mr. Linden gets real close and glares at me. "Fine," he whispers in a deep voice. "I warned you. For The Nightmare at Midnight is truely a terror, and if you start reading soon will come Midnight. Once it starts, The Nightmare's eternal. You will regret all that you've done, once you no longer see the light of the sun. Remember that I warned you!" I walk out. I put the book in my bag and get in the car.

         We're back at our new home. I'm not quite use to it yet. My bag is hung up on a hook on my door. I get up out of my bed , I never fell asleep though. I check my clock, it's seven-thirty. That's new too, at our old house I didn't have a clock in my room. I take the book out of my bag as open it up. I start reading. It's about a girl named Amelia moving to another state just like me. She goes to a library called Mrs. Linda's Library and finds a book sale going on. She gets a book. It's called The Nightmare At Midnight. By the time I get to page two hundred- thirty five, I realize how addictive it is. Four hours have passed by now and I'm on page Seven hundred- fourty two. My clock strikes midnight and my vision goes hazy. My head is spinning. I no longer feel anything.