Lurking in the Shadows

Ch. 2: Broken Music Boxes

     I sat in a nursery, sunlight filtering in through dingy, torn curtains. The room had definitely seen better years but now the wallpaper was left peeling and a thick layer of dust had settled over everything. There was a fist sized hole in the ceiling from years of rain leaking in. The lighting seemed warped and gray despite the ample lighting.
     In the middle of the room, a group of children were holding hands and skipping in a circle. Clad in torn, outdated clothing covered in mud and soot, they sang Ring Around the Rosie with flat voices. My heart dropped to my stomach. Their faces. They wore faded Halloween masks, like the kind I saw in old photos that my history teacher showed in class.
     They stopped and turned their heads, staring at me, not blinking, not breathing. Suddenly, the temperature seemed to drop and the children scurried away, huddling together in fear. Goosebumps covered my arms. In the corner of the room was a dark shadow. It seemed to suck the warmth out of the air, replacing it with an icy chill. She lunged at me and-

     I shot up, my heart beating out of my chest. Staring into the darkness of my room, I breathed heavily. As I caught my breath, I heard music playing from somewhere in my room. Ring Around the Rosie tinkled softly from the broken music box that Sarah had left on my desk to fix. What a little liar, I should've known it wasn't actually broken. I rolled out of bed to look for a way to turn the music box off but the second my feet hit the ground, the music cut off. The song didn't finish, it was cut off mid-note. Weird. I picked up the box and opened it, checking inside; it was overwound. There was no way it could have played like this.
     Frowning, I crawled back into bed and tried to fall back asleep. I was almost asleep when I thought I heard whispering and giggling. Stilling, I listened over the deafening sound of my heart pounding. Faint whispering echoed around the room, accompanied by the laughter of children. Childishly, I hid under my blanket and pulled my knees to my chest. I could have sworn I felt hands on the blanket. Little hands tugging and trying to lift up the blanket. Then the giggles and whispers cut off suddenly, like the music box had. The already dark room seemed to grow even darker, like I was losing consciousness. The temperature dropped and the cold seemed into my skin, all the way down to my bones. Dread pooled in my stomach, threatening to climb up my throat to join my pounding heart. The bed began to shake, creaking.
     "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it." I cried, holding the blanket tightly over my head. After a few more minutes, everything went still. I didn't sleep until the sun came up.