Chapter 1 Nightmare
“Help us,” a voice called out. “Help us please,” the voice sounded like a little girl. Keith looked franticly around in the blackness to find the body the voice belonged to, but all he could see was the darkness that surrounded him. “Keith,” the voice screamed in a panic and Keith shot up from his bed. Cold sweat soaked his skin. For the past two weeks he has had the same dream, and he could never fall back asleep. He looked at the electronic alarm clock by his bed, the red light read 4:20. He groaned in annoyance at the dream waking him so early.
He decided not to fight to go back to sleep and got out of bed. He grabbed a set of clothes, not paying attention to much except for the essential part, and then headed to the bath room down the hall. He could still hear the scream of the little girl calling his name. The sound of the voice haunted him for hours after waking; only the mind numbing lectures at school could get rid of the terrified voice echoing in his head, and the sickening sound of his parents praising his brother and sister to no end on how amazing they wear. If only his parents knew the half of the stupid and bad things his siblings do, his parents would not be so proud of them.
After a shower and shave Keith dressed in his clothes then headed down stairs. If he was lucky he could be out of the house before his parents started the praises. He ate a tosterstroodel and drank a cup of coffee. By the time he finished and was heading back to his room to grab his bag it was 5:45 and his mother was coming out of her room dressed to impress.
“Keith you’re up early,” she said absently as she adjusted her blazer.
“Yah had a night mare.”
“Oh that’s nice,” she said and passed her son, not hearing the words he said. He sighed and continued to his room. It was normal that his parents did not pay attention to him, he was not as athletic as his older sister, or as academic as his little brother, they would not notice that his talents lie in the arts for they do not think that could get someone into collage. They did not notice that he could play the piano like a pro, and they would not put forth the money to buy one for him, not even a small electronic one. He played at school in the music room, wear the piano teacher was the only one who paid attention. His parents didn’t even notice when he died the tips of his brown hair blue.
He did not live in a world of self-pity though, he did not mind being alone. He never had the presser to please his parents like his brother and sister did, and never had to face peer pressure from his classmates because they could not be bothered by him. Instead he lived with his head phones in, being engulfed by a beauty he could never describe, and staying late at school to practice on the grand piano the school had. He enjoyed this life, his parents did not know, but he had scholarships lined up because of his teacher for his musical ability’s, and he was only a sophomore.
He walked the mile and a half to school, with the moon still dominating the sky, being that it was January, the sun did not bother to rise till 7 and would not be fully up till about 8. A part of him loved Arizona, he knew other places wear colder than the 60 degree weather he was facing, but to him it was freezing outside, and he was okay with that for he loved the summer wear most people found it too hot to handle. He also never had to worry about earthquakes, tornados, blizzards, or hurricanes living in the valley of the sun, and he would miss that when he went off to college in two and a half years.
When he arrived at school, he went to the library to finish the school work due today, then off to class when the police alarm like bell telling that it was time to get to class. During lunch he went off to the music room and practiced the piano, and after school he came back to practice for another few hours before heading back home.
No one even noticed when he arrived for Liby was retelling her grand sport adventure, and how amazing it will be at collage, where she will be going in August. He finished dinner and headed to his room to write lyrics for his music. If he thought back on the day, the only words he said today were to his mother this morning, though most days he would go without saying anything.
He sat on his bed, surrounded by green and started drafts on notebook paper and listening to varies artists. He spent the rest of the night doing this till he fell asleep.
~~~
“Keith,” the girl screamed again and Keith shot up in bed again. His heart pounding and his t-shirt damp with his sweat. The light was still on in his room and he could hear the music coming through his headphones, even though the buds had fallen out while he was asleep. He looked over to the clock, and the numbers read 3:44. His body was tired, and so was his mind, but the little girl’s voice calling his name for help rattled in his head.
He moved to get out of bed and pee when he heard the crinkle of paper. He looked down at his notepad with the lyrics he wrote, and he froze. Scrawled across the paper was something he did not remember writing. An address, and under the address was written the words that the little girl would always say before screaming his name “Help us.”
