Somewhere In Brooklyn

Chapter 05

October 24, 2017

It started again.

Murmurs. Whispers. Laughs. They were all facing him.

Blurred faces. High-pitched voices. They were all pointing at him.

As soon as he reached his locker, they started to crowd him, saying things he couldn't even understand. He started to panic. Over the sound of their screams, he could hear his own heartbeat thumping faster and louder. His sight was getting blurry from the tears welling up on his eyes.

He wanted to run but someone pushed him on the back, then another one on his left and it kept going. It was hard to get away when you're being toyed around like a ball. Finally, someone broke the chain and he was pushed too hard, his back slammed against the lockers.

He brought up his arms to protect his head, expecting them to start kicking but they just started to scatter and that's when he saw her. Hand on his forehead, he traced the small scar on his left eyebrow.

Her frizzy, blonde-dyed hair was dripping with murky water. Her white dress was wet and ruined, clinging to her bony figure and the hem was covered in mud. Chills ran down his spine as she limped her way towards him, arms bended funnily. But there's nothing funny about this. No, it was a sight that would have any child run away and hide behind their parents.

He almost ran away and hid. But he couldn't. He left her before, he couldn't do that now.

The girl stopped ten feet away from him. Her face was dissolving into the air, leaving it blurry like the rest. He expected the worst from her but instead, she let out a deafening scream and her body bursted into an endless water.

Dale sat bolt upright, shivering in his bed. Sweat dripped down his forehead and chest as he felt tears escaping his eyes. He looked around his room before collapsing back into the bed. As he stared at the ceiling, he sobbed. "I... I d-don't want t-to... to be l-like this anymore."

He didn't go back to sleep, just like every other night.