Sweet Sweet Murder

Chapter Twelve

Havel's POV

     I woke up alone in my room. I felt almost numb, as if I didn't sleep at all except for a brief moment. I tried to look around my room but it was too dark to see anything. The house was silent. There was also a lack of birds singing outside. It couldn't be too early then. It must be the middle of the night still. I reached over to my nightstand to grab my phone. I patted the empty air for a minute before I realized it wasn't there. This feels..familiar. I moved my blankets over and stepped down from my bed. I made my way to my bedroom door and opened it. The stairs to the basement were pitch black. However, there was a small light on downstairs in the kitchen. My parents always leave one on in there so my dad doesn't smack his head on something during his midnight kitchen raids.

     I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen and turned to head into the kitchen. As I turned I noticed the light was now out. Someone must have just been in there, I could have sworn I saw it. The tile floor was ice cold. I looked around to see if anything was out of place but everything looked normal. I walked over to the light switch and flipped it. Nothing happened. I flipped it up and down a few more times before giving up. Did it go out? I looked around again but everything was as it should have been. I walked over to the stove to check the time but as I got closer I couldn't read the time clearly. Nothing felt off, but at the same time everything did.

     The kitchen felt eerie and foreign. I stopped walking and stood still for a minute or two. A chill ran down my spine and I turned around. It felt like something was watching me from the window. I started walking towards it but stopped just before it. I could see only a small sliver of the world outside my house. It was pitch black. I backed away from the window without turning my back from it. I heard a foot step in the kitchen and looked back. Nothing was there. I snapped my head back to the window to try to see whatever was watching me. But the presence I felt was gone. The temperature in the house suddenly felt colder. I quickly walked across the house to my parent's bedroom and opened the door. It was so dark that I couldn't see. Something told me I shouldn't have opened the door though. I heard a voice call out to me.

     "Hazel? Are you there?" The voice felt familiar.

     "Who's there?" I responded back.

     "It's me, Quinn. Hazel come out."

     "Quinn?" I knew the voice sounded familiar.

     I walked out of my parents bedroom and closed the door. I could barely see in the darkness. However, I could see the silhouette of her in the kitchen.

     "Quinn, I can barely see you but I'm coming."

     I started to head towards her but stopped just short of the kitchen. Something was...off. I can feel something watching me again. I can't tell from where though. I looked around but couldn't see anything other than Quinn...Is that...really Quinn? I feel like I'm forgetting something.

     "Hazel...What's wrong?" Quinn asked from the kitchen.

     "I..I don't know you." I replied back nearly in a whisper.

     Quinn replied back with silence. I took a step back and could feel something intense looking at me. Some strong sense in me told me to run. To get away and don't look back. The fake Quinn took a step towards me. Or did it really step? It just appeared closer. The feeling of being watched from somewhere else intensified and I looked behind me. My parent's bedroom door was slightly open. Just enough for a tiny little space to appear. Barely open enough to slide a piece of paper in. However, it was there. Whatever it was. I looked forward again and the fake Quinn was gone. She was nowhere to be seen. I turned around again and the door was closed again. I never even touched it. I started walking back towards the stairs to my room. However, Once I reached the bottom step I looked up to see the fake Quinn staring down at me, only a few steps above me.

     "Hazel." The voice said in a whisper that carried.

     "You're next."

     I turned and ran for the front door. That definitely wasn't Quinn. Whatever it was, it just wasn't her. I reached the door and turned the handle.. Everything felt like it had begun to fade away. The feeling of numbness intensified. I turned around to see if fake Quin had moved and she was gone. I opened the door and stood face to face with it. Her features were a blur but there was something dripping down her face. The ground was suddenly warm and sticky. There was a strong metallic smell in the air. I tried to back up but something was stopping me from moving. The fake Quinn got closer to me and stopped just in front of my face. The smell overwhelmed me and I felt sick. I tried to scream but nothing came out. Suddenly everything faded.

     I woke up in my bed. My real bed, my real house. The real world. I could hear birds singing this time. I looked towards my window and the early morning sun was just barely peeking through. I picked up my phone and read the time. 6:04AM. I had another nightmare...Every night since Quinn was killed I've had them now. It makes me not even want to go to sleep.

     I got up from my bed and made it downstairs. Everything felt cool but not the chilling cold I felt in my nightmare. Everything looked truly normal. I made myself a cup of coffee and some toast and sat at the kitchen table watching them cool. The next thing I knew I was being shaken by my mom.

     "Hazel? Are you okay?"

     "Huh?"

     I looked up at her standing over me. She was dressed and ready for work.

     "How long have you been sitting here?" She asked.

     "Three, maybe four minutes?"

     "Hazel, it's 8:00am."

     "What? I swear I just woke up!" I said shocked.

     "Well, you're late. You look like you haven't slept well in weeks. Head back upstairs and rest. Don't worry about school today."

    I went back up into my room and laid on my bed. I laid there staring up at the ceiling watching my fan spin. I tried to sleep but couldn't. I rolled over and grabbed my laptop from under my bed. I need to find who killed Quinn.