Jellybones

October 28th, 2016 - Part Two

The boy had died on the operating table. I felt a touch of remorse about the boy's death, but in a sick sense, I felt he deserved it. He had destroyed fine art, which to me was a crime that should have a harsh punishment, not to mention, one of his buddies managed to make off with my prized statue.

"I don't know that death is the right punishment for this, Julie. That's cruel of you to say. Sure, the boy and his friend did wrong, but no one deserves that kind of torture." Sam said to me after I had told him about the boy's death.

"Maybe... I don't know, honey, I am still in shock." I responded, trying to convince myself that I was not that cruel of a person. I wasn't, was I?

"Maybe you will have a different perspective on things after a good night's sleep," Sam said.

I agreed with him. I was exhausted, and the thought of slipping between my fleece sheets sounded good to me.

Sleep for me was anything but good. I tossed and turned most of the night as I could hear the dead boy's words whispering to me as if he were in the room with us. "Jellybones is coming for you, you are going to die."

I pulled my pillow over my head trying to block him out. Through the open window, I could hear the gentle rustling of the breeze through the leaves of the old elm tree, trying to coax me to sleep. I could smell the Weigela flowers drifting through the window, as the white flowers had started to bloom on the fiery bush. The world around me was at peace, and I drifted off to sleep.

I walked into the art gallery, taking in the scene. Paintings were pulled off of the walls, and statues lay on the floor broken. I heard my name being called from the back storage room, I followed the sound.

As I entered the storage room, there was a white flash of light, and for a moment, everything was still. I found myself inside of a barn. The rain was pouring down, and the clean scent of fall filled the air.

The boy was waiting for me. He sat on a bale of hay, and wore a t-shirt and jeans; he looked alive, much different from the close to death state I had last seen him in. He waved at me as I entered the barn, and smiled. 

He's so young; I thought as I walked over to him. Hardly the criminal type, but he's dead... how can he be here?

"I have been trying to warn you, lady. You are going to die." He said as I approached him.

"This is nuts, I am asleep and you are dead," I replied, sitting down next to the boy on the bale of hay.

"I am glad to see you care, Juliette. Jared broke the statue, and she destroyed him, and then me. You are next; she wants you more than anyone else. You are to blame that she is here." He replied.

"Who... what are you talking about? I asked.

He said nothing in return as he sat next to me. He raised his hand and pointed to a doorway ahead of us. The boy began to shimmer, and slowly faded into the unknown. I felt bad for the kid. Maybe I had been wrong about my belief his death was righteous punishment for destroying my art. I actually did care that he had died.

I sat on the bale of hay, not sure I wanted to take his direction, I wanted out of this barn. I couldn't make myself wake up as hard as I tried; I was trapped in this dream. Before I could get out of it, I had to walk through that damn door. I mustered my courage and went through the door.

The walls were covered with blood, and the smell of rotten fruit dug itself into my nostrils. I gagged as it began to overwhelm me. I was back in the art gallery, seemingly reliving the day's events over again.

As I walked through the gallery, surveying the damage, I noticed a girl was in the gallery with me this time. She stood with her back to me by the display my trophy piece had once resided. It lay shattered on the floor at the girl's feet.

That statue was missing when I looked for it after the break in. I walked forward to pick the pieces up, hopefully, I could salvage it. The girl tried to stop me from touching it, trying her hardest to knock my hand away. I recognized her; she had been the medieval girl in the statue. She was dressed in the same kirtle and bonnet she had worn in the statue. I noticed her cat was missing.

I ignored the girl and pushed her arm away. I picked up the largest piece of the broken statue. As my hand touched the stone, my flesh began to sear, and my heart started to beat fast, to the point I thought it was going to explode. I screamed in pain as my heart tried to burst out of my chest, dropping the statue. It shattered into pieces on the floor, irreparable.

The girl smiled at me, I was still knelt on the floor above the shattered pieces of her statue. She called out my name, and I looked up at her.

Her hollow sad eyes met my gaze, as she said in a shrieking voice, "Have you seen my cat? Where is my cat?"

She reached out her hand, grabbing my face, chilling me to the bone. I let out a scream of terror, only to find myself sitting up in bed screaming, with Sam sitting next to me.

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