Plagued

FIVE

The ride was silent, neither of us said anything, and I was fine with that.

I spent the next fifteen minutes trying to recall what had just happened.

Why was this happening? The logical answer would be I was coming down with a horrible flu, but other than that, there was no clear reason for those apparitions.

One second, they are right next to me, the next vanished.

Most people would claim it to be ghosts. But that would be ridiculous.

The scenery passed by as we drove down our street; we pass my favorite tree.

Finally, I asked myself the big question.

Was the last night even real?

I wanted to say it was, but at that point, I had my doubts. But it must've been real. Either that, or a nightmare.

We pulled into the driveway, and parked.

"Help me with the groceries, would you?"

The first thing my mother said to me since we left the store.

"Sure."

I stepped out of the vehicle and walked over to the trunk. I pulled out a white plastic bag full of food, then another bag... and then another until the car's contents were emptied.

So much for helping, 'doing' is more like it.

Finally, the task is done, and I can go into my home.

But not before I get stopped by my father.

"Hey, Eva."

I made no visual signs of annoyance and spoke with him for the moment.

"Hi, Dad. What's Up?"

He shrugged his shoulders and motions towards the television.

I saw a football game playing on the TV, it was the only halftime so there wasn't any real 'game play' at that moment.

"Cool... Well, I am going to go upstairs for a bit, let me know if you guys need anything."

I meant that comment half-heartedly, I didn't really want to help them much, but I didn't really have much of a choice anyway.

I made it upstairs to find my room an utter mess.

I had just cleaned it the other day, how could it have gotten so destroyed? It looked as if a tornado ran through and had thrown everything all over.

I began with the floor, a scattered mess of clothing and nick-knacks from the shelfs. I couldn't begin to guess how this happened.

After that, I noticed all the other things which had gone amiss, like the window.

I do not open my window, I never have.

It rained the night before, so I couldn't have opened it then. I didn't even go near the window in the morning either.

I found this to be very disarming. Someone could have broken in, or some other danger could have been among us and I wouldn't be aware of it.

I closed the window and tried to shake the feeling There is nothing worse than a fearful mind.

Taking my phone from the nightstand, I message Michael and Sam.

"Hey, you guys wanna hangout tonight?"

I set my phone down, but not even a few moments later, I get my answer.

"Sure! Meet you the tree?"

I still needed to wait at least five hours until we would meet up, but it would've got me out of the house.

"Yeah, at seven o'clock."

I walked down our narrow hallways towards the washroom.

Closing the door, I checked on my leg.

The scrape wasn't looking good.

It was just a patch of broken skin, dried blood- and some fresh as well.

Taking a cloth and some water, I made an effort to clean it up. By the end, it didn't look too bad. A glob of Polyporin should help it heal a bit faster too.

After finishing up, and washing my hands, the time reads two o'clock.

I tracked my way back to the bedroom.

The window is once again open, wider this time.

A shiver ran through me, but I was unsure if it's because of fear or because of the now present draft in my room.

I let it stay open, no point in closing it again if will just open on its own anyways.

With not much left to do, I let myself fall into bed, and took a quick nap to pass the time.