Nightmares (Editing)

Nightmare 5

I'm cringing.

Ella shivered in her bed from the overbearing cold, tossing and turning in her sheets trying to catch the much needed sleep. She yawned, closing her dry eyes, and dozed off again dreaming of things a 14 year-old should not. Her nightmare was filled with blood, gore, and fear. She saw herself running down the long, victorian-style hallway. Her leg was aching, her arms had blood splattered along them like paint. Cliche flashes of lightning lit up the hall, showing the spiders and cobwebs that hung from every blue-painted corner. She heard heavy breathing, her blood rushing, the slow piano music that echoed throughout the old home, the clapping thunder, the thumping that banged behind the walls, and the creaking of the wooden boards beneath her bare feet. She tasted the dust that rested thick on her tongue and smelled the rat skat that littered the floor and the mold that crawled up the walls like a virus. She felt fear, anxiety, confusion and her heartbeat pounding intensely against her ribcage.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

BANG!

Ella jumped awake, sat up slowly while rubbing her eyes, and looked around her small room with drowsy eyes and intense confusion. She shrugged it off, wearily, and slowly laid back down on her pink pillow. Finally, she thought, I can finally get some rest. But just a few minutes after she closed her eyes, a quiet thump played outside of her door. Her eyelashes fluttered in annoyance and she reached for the lamp that sat on her white-painted nightstand. The light flooded her room with a warm, yellow glow. After sitting on the edge of her bed for just a few ticks of the clock, she decided she would get a nice, cold glass of water to soothe her parched throat.

She tiptoed quietly down the stairs, the light from the kitchen illuminating the stairway. Her shadow danced and followed her on the way to the dining room. She sighed when she filled her glass up to the brim and took a small sip. Her soft breaths could easily be heard in the quiet atmosphere. After she finished, she went to put the cup in the sink, but a creaking sound sounded from behind her, halting her motive. Her hand stilled, the cup still held, over the sink. Ella's hair fell into her face and brushed against her eyelashes and lips, but she was to scared to make a move to sweep it behind her ear. When everything went silent, that was when she put the cup down carefully and turned around. She saw nothing as she glanced to her side, her eyes bouncing to the left then to the right. She sighed. "Pretty sure I'm still on my high," she mumbled lazily; her friends had convinced her to try weed -for the first time, mind you- earlier in the evening, and she had thanked God, when she got home, that both of her parents were asleep in their room.

Ella started towards the stairs to go lay back in her bed, almost moaning thinking about the warm bed, but remembered she had left her phone in the garage; she had abandoned it as she stumbled into her home. She groaned, throwing her head back in regret and frustration. She reluctantly turned herself and trudged to the garage after contemplating whether or not she should just leave it.

Opening the door, she reached for the lightswitch and flipped it on. She walked in slowly, looking around for the Samsung, and started whistling a tune. "Ah, here it is." She grabbed her phone off the counter, turning it on to see missed calls from her parents. Guess they didn't know where I was, she thought. She hugged the phone to her chest but jumped when the door -that she came in through- slammed shut. She shivered violently. "Hello?" Her voice went an octave higher. "Mom?" She paused. "Dad?"

She prowled slowly towards the blue painted door, lifted her hand to the doorknob and twisted it. It didn't move. It was stuck, and she was trapped. She quickly tried to dial her mother or father, her phone was at one percent. She groaned; she knew she should have charged it before she left to her friend's house. "Come on, come on!" She tapped her foot, waiting for the call to go through. A beep blared in her ear. It was dead.

"Shit."

Ella leaned against the wall, trying to think of what to do. She banged and pounded the door. "Mom! Dad! Hello!" she yelled. "Help! I'm stuck in the gara-" Her car clicked behind her, and her hand froze for the second time that night. She turned around, and just as she did, it roared to life. She sprinted to the car, trying to open it, it was locked also. My keys! She screamed in her mind. She felt dread wash over her like a bucket of ice-cold water, though, when she realized her car keys were left in the passenger seat.

"Shit, shit, shit! Mom! Help!" she screamed. The room began to fill with gas, slowly, and her heartbeat hammered faster when she heard someone walk up to the door. She stood on her tiptoes, pressing her ear to the door.

"Ella?"

"Yes, yes it's me, Mom! Help, my car is stuck and I can't turn it off! The door is jammed also. Please, oh god!"

"Okay, hun, I can't open the door, hang on." Her mother shook the door. "John!" she yelled for her husband. Ella only heard mumbles from the as the car's rumbling became louder, and her thoughts took over her mind. She coughed desperately as she became engulfed by the car's smoke. "Ella! Try to open the garage!" was what she heard over the loud noises. Of course, she thought, how come I haven't thought of that?

She pressed the button repeatedly, but it wouldn't budge, so she grabbed a chair and threw it at the window of the garage door. It didn't break open, and she began to panic until she saw it open -by itself- enough for her to squeeze through. "Yes!" she shouted as she got onto her stomach and crawled under it. She almost made it all the way, but something grabbed her feet and slowly dragged her back in. She flipped onto her back, her legs twisted, and screamed. "No, no!" She sobbed, her mouth was open, gasping for air. She heard her parents yelling for her as she looked it up, wheezing, and saw the garage door lift all the way up before slamming down on her neck.