Blackstone

Chapter I

         I dash through the dark, fog ridden forest. Trees whip past me, barely visible in the scattered moonlight. Branches and briars claw at me from all sides. The grunts and growls emanating from behind me become increasingly louder. I dare not turn around. It can’t catch up to me. No. I won’t let it. Roots poke through the ground, making it uneven. Without warning, I trip and am sent sprawling into the brush. A sharp pain shoots through my leg, and I feel a fresh trickle of blood run out of the new gash.

           An inhuman howl pierces the night ahead of me. More have come. Huge wings flap through the night to my left, followed by scurries and scuffles to my right. I run out of the bush and into a clearing just as the moon is veiled by a cloud. All around me yellow and red eyes appear out of the darkness. I’m trapped! As the first creature lunges out of the shadows, I hear the echo of a cold laugh coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.  

                                               ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

          “Beep, beep, beep!” I jolt awake as my alarm sounds. My head spins as I adjust to reality. That’s the fifth night in a row I’ve had the same dream. They started a few months ago and have been steadily increasing in frequency. Each night the dream gets a little further along before I wake up. This was the first time I heard the laughter.

            If I told my parents, they’d probably send me to a clinic. I’d be so hyped-up on sleep medication, I wouldn’t know which way was up. No, I think I’ll definitely keep the eerie, psychotic dreams to myself.

           I hear pots and pans banging from the kitchen. Mom must have gotten an early start on breakfast. Waffles? Those would be a great pick me up. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and hop down. I take one step and crumble.  

       Pain far greater than I’ve ever felt pulses through my leg. I look down to see a pool of blood gathering around a large gash on my thigh. No way! It can’t be. How could this have happened? Wait, in the dream I fell and hurt my leg. No, no, you can’t be injured in dreams! I must’ve been sleep walking or something. I grab on to my nightstand to help me get off the floor. I look around desperately for something I might’ve ran into last night, but I find nothing. The bloodstain originates in my bed.