The Unknown Other

Chapter One: The Nightmare

I jolt up from my bed as soon as my eyes flew open. I looked over my shoulder to see what time it is.

3.02 a.m.

I froze. There was an odd noise coming from under my bed. Slowly, I remove my blanket and took a peek of what's under me as I tried to control my shaking. I stopped as I heard my door crack open.

A black silhouette appeared beneath my bedroom door. It didn't have any eyes, but I could tell it was staring at me. Each of its footsteps sent chills down my spine until I couldn't hold it anymore. I screamed.

My eyes flew open and my breathing was heavy. It was all just a nightmare.

I sat up on my bed, staring blankly at the wall while sobbing hard. It wasn't until my bedroom door flew open and my brother came running in.

"Oh my God, Margie!" he cried. "You scared me to death!"

I was still sobbing.

"What happened?" his voice was so soft. I couldn't help but bury my face into his chest. I felt his comforting arms wrap around me as he tried to calm me down.

"Margie," he started. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head violently. No. I am definitely not okay. I've been seeing things lately and they really creep me out. I've been getting nightmares and waking up to 3 a.m. every night. Something told me it wasn't coincidence. At all.

"Margie?"

"No," I replied quickly. "Not at all. What time is it?"

"Three thirty-five. Why?"

His reply made my heart stop. My words could barely come out of my mouth due to my excessive shaking.

"I-I-I need to go. We need to get out of here. Now."

"What? Wait, no, Margie! You need to calm down."

"No!" I exclaimed. It was so loud I think I had waken the neighbors.

I began crying again. I couldn't bring myself up to tell him what actually happened. I knew that he wouldn't believe me. I knew that no one would believe me. He would just laugh and say that I was probably sleepwalking or imagining things. But I was not.

Not wanting to make the situation worse, he didn't ask any more questions. He just stared at me with a concern and anxious look on his face. He waited until I stopped crying.

"I-I d-don't want t-to sleep anymore," I struggled to force my words out between my cries. "I'm scared."

I was expecting him to say that everything's alright and tell me to go back to sleep again as usual, but he did not. He just let out a deep breath and looked down on my trembling hands. I could tell that he was thinking.

"Do you want Candice to sleep with you tonight?" he finally spoke up.

      It was pretty awkward to have your brother's girlfriend to sleep with you at night just because you're afraid of 'things' they did not believe exist, so I just shrugged. But he probably figured that I'm that sort of childish 16-year-old so it was better for me to sleep with Candice tonight, because then he got up from my bed and called her.

      Honestly, I had always thought that if Candice was my actual biological sister, I would be so happy to be home every day. Not only that she's generous and kind-hearted, she's also very sweet and caring. So I had no problems at all for her to sleep with me tonight. In fact, I was pretty happy about it.

      Not long after, I heard a knock on my bedroom door which kind of made me jump a little. I turned to see Candice standing in front of my room, smiling at me. She looked tired and sleepy, but she looked happy to see me, which I was also happy about.

      She walked over to sit on the edge of my bed before putting me back to my sleeping position and pulling my covers over my body. She patted me on my hip like a 4-year-old who couldn't sleep. After I was half-asleep, she went over to lie next to me.

      Her body warmth quickly spread across the inside of our covers. She gently put her arm around my waist like a koala then lean over to my ear and whispered, "good night, Margie."

      That was the last thing I knew about the night.