Quiet As A Mouse (Outsiders Fanfic)

Chapter 9- Will They Ever End?

Note to Readers: Sorry it's so short, but I hope you like it.  Don't forget to comment and vote! 

        The murmuring voices surrounded me, the din wave of noise turning into a hurricane of indecipherable, horrible, screeching sounds.   It kept getting louder and louder, nearly deafening, and I clasped my hands over my ears as I doubled over, screaming till my voice was hoarse for them to stop.

        The cacophony of sound seemed to draw closer to me, suffocating me until I couldn't even hear my own screams of agony for the voices to stop, my begging for them to leave me alone.  A cold bony hand grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up, right into the black pits where their eyes were supposed to be.  I shrieked and pulled away, only to stumble right into more of the eyeless faces that the horrendous racket was coming from.

        They drew closer and closer, and then the only thing I can comprehend is the demon-like tumult of noise filling my head and climbing inside of me and the deep black pits of their eyes and ghastly pallid white of their faces and the dark red blossoms and splotches of blood.

        Five figures were clearly visible to me, two with matching red holes in their rib cages where their heart would have been had they been alive and not walking corpses, one with an explosion of crimson covering half of her skull, one with streaks of maroon running under the bones in the direction of veins, and one with blood everywhere.  Streaming from his head, streaking the white bone with rivulets of red like rainwater.  Slashes of it across his neck and on his spine and over his ribs and limbs.  The voice coming from that red and white striped skeleton was the worst. 

        I woke with a start, and my mouth was open in a scream even though of course no sound was coming out.  I was panting and sweating, and I glanced nervously over at Kayla, but she was still asleep, blankets pulled up under her arms and snuggling with a teddy bear.  I heaved a few deep breaths, my breathing ragged. 

        It was just another nightmare, I told myself, but it didn't really help.  It seemed like they got worse and lasted longer every time.  It was only eleven, but I already didn't want to go back to sleep.

        I threw back the blankets, and the cool night air hit me, making my hot and sweaty body chilly and clamy.  I shivered, standing there in my shorts and tank top, and then headed downstairs to get a glass of water.

        I came back up and climbed into bed, shaking under the covers as I tried to fall back asleep.

        I drifted off again, only to be met with another nightmare lurking in my subconscious, waiting to torture me again.

        This time it was similar to the one I'd just had, lots of senseless noise that was so loud I couldn't even scream, and those strange pallid skeletons with blood all over them. 

        I woke up again with a start, around two in the morning I think.  I lay back down, determined to stay awake or fall asleep without nightmares when all the sudden I heard something in the dark.  Fear seized me, thinking it was one of the tumultuous voices from my nightmare, but I realized it was just Kayla.

        "Mickey," her soft voice called in the dark.

        I sat up and looked at her.

        "I had a nightmare.  Can I sleep with you, I don't want to wake mom up cause she has to work in the morning," she asked timidly.

        Apparently I wasn't the only one who had nightmares.  I nodded, pulling back the blankets and she climbed out of bed, padding across the floor in her bare feet with her nightgown swishing around her legs before climbing in next to me.

        I tucked the blankets around her and myself, and she curled up next to me with a relieved sigh.  She was already falling asleep, and I hoped I could do the same.  And for her sake and mine, I hoped I wouldn't have anymore nightmares so I could actually get some sleep.

        After laying awake for a few hours, concentrating on the steady pattern of Kayla's breathing to keep memories of death from haunting me, I finally started to drift off.

        One last thought flashed through my brain before it shut down.  I wondered if it would ever end, and the best answer I could come up with was no.