Wake me

10: Night Strolls turn to Nightmares

The sun was still shining, but I could not get over how nippy it was. The orange gleams were still wavy and the yellow seemed to flicker and dance in the corner of my eyes as I trudged down the stone pathway. The courtyard for my block of dorms was small but neat; there was a willow tree in the center, decorated with those little fairy lights you get at the dollar store. Surrounding the tree were loosely placed rocks of clay and a few shabby shrubs of lavender that seemed to be wilting away. There were a few park benches dotted here and there, along with an old stone chess table and chairs. Under the corridor near the block were two vending machines and a rusty metal pull-down shutter, it was obviously some sort of tuck shop that hasn't been used in ages, as the locks were dusty and covered with metallic rust. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do on my walk, and Anna was probably back at the room already, wondering where I had gone. I stood there, rubbing my hands in an effort to warm them up. "Are you cold?" I jumped from fright, and turned around to see a tall, broad-shouldered man standing here, hands in his pockets. He wore a brown cardigan pulled over a white shirt and plain black jeans, his beard unshaven and his eyes glinting in the sunset. Yes, it all sounded very romantic, but to be honest I was really irritated and didn't feel like talking at all, let alone to a furry, brown-haired man who had given me a fright. Despite the fright, he smelt of caramel and it made my stomach growl a little quietly.
"Pardon?" I asked, a hint of irritation in my voice.
"Are you cold?" He repeated, looking down on me, making me feel like a pathetic ant.
"No," I said arrogantly, "I come from a much colder place than this."
"Is that so? Well, your goosebumps could've fooled me." He said smartly, "Anyway, students aren't allowed out their dorms after 6:00pm without signing out."
"How do you know I haven't signed out?" I said snootily, poising my nose in the air.
"Well," he coughed, "Your name isn't in the book, so I suggest you go back to your dorm and get that done." I narrowed my eyes at him crossly, and marched off to the dorm with the blood rising in my cheeks.

"Do you really have to sign out after 6:00pm?" I asked, frowning in disbelief. Anna flicked through an old textbook and nodded, "Mhmm- but do say, who told you to come back? Teachers don't walk around this block, it's too... Boring."
"I don't know, some brunette student who thinks he's the bees knees, clearly." I rolled my eyes, and rest my head against the cool wall behind me.
"Yeah, you get those." She agreed, and set her book down. Anna started rummaging through her bag and pulled out a pair of yellow fluffy slippers and a gown. "I'm going to shower- care to join?" She announced. I nodded, and quickly gathered my PJ shorts and undies, along with my knee-high socks that I liked to sleep in, especially in cold nights.

The steaming water felt reassuring on my bareback, and the steam opened my face pores as I rinsed my hair with some green tea shampoo from the drug store. The plastic shower floor creaked under my feet, and the tiled mosaic up the side of the shower looked as if the last time it was cleaned was when Shakespeare had died. Closing my eyes, I tried to remember myself when I came to college last. It was scary (my first day), I didn't make many friends at all. The teachers were frightening, especially the old bag Mrs Bat, who was tall and thin and very rigged looking. She caught me out for not completing a task, which to be honest, I didn't hear about. I shook the thought away with the next rinse and turned the tap off, afraid I was taking too long.

"Good night," Anna whispered as she flicked the light off. The digital clock read 10:30pm, and although it was early, Anna and I both agreed that we should have an early start the following day. What we were going to do, I had no idea.

I felt my hands grow sweaty on the car wheel, and although I saw the car hurtling towards myself, I couldn't do anything. Luke looked at me slowly with disappointment  as shards of window came piercing my skin. I cried out, calling for him, but he just shook his head at me pitifully. "Why didn't you save me, Grace?" Luke said as I pulled out the steering wheel from my bloody stomach. "I couldn't, Luke," I stammered, blood splattering out my mouth like words, "I tried."
"You just wanted to save yourself," Luke spat at me as I tried to ignore the screams behind me, helps of crying. "You were selfish."
"Luke, I wanted to, they wouldn't let me get near you-" I sobbed.
"Didn't they?" Luke frowned. My head whirled with confusion, flashes of white nurse uniforms and ringing ambulance sirens ringing through my head.
"No," I shook my head in disbelief, "They didn't..."
Luke looked at me and his body began to tear away, rips of flesh and skin peeling off of him like a rotten apple, his insides spewing out as shards and water soaked into him. "Luke, no!" I screamed, my throat squabbering from chunks of blood and phlegm. His blue eyes stared at me before they turned a pitch black, and I was thrown awake.