1 Into the Darkness: Chapter one

I woke in a puddle of sweat. The same nightmare again? I sat up and looked around. I kept seeing something move out of the corner of my eye and I'd hear the pitter patter of feet. "Mom!" I yelled and screamed. Suddenly she burst through the door and looked around my room, my dad not that far behind her. "What's wrong Nickole?" she asked and I pointed over to the corner of my room. Mom became a statue of fear as she looked into the darkened corner. Deep within the dark corner stood a black figure, tall and skinny, with an outstretched hand peaking into the moonlight.

I looked over at my mom, as a bonfire of fear flickered and danced in her eyes. Mom stepped back out into the hallway as Dad came in and picked me up in his arms. Dad turned to leave but the door slammed in front of us quickly and nicked my arm, blood rushing to the surface of the fresh cut. Dad turned and I saw that the figure had now moved up to the foot of my bed, one hand still outstretched. Out of no where, my bed started shaking rapidly, causing what sounded like a thunderstorm to take over the noise of my mom's screaming. I felt myself being lifted out of my Dad's arms as I was then slung across the room. The last thing I remember seeing was my Dad charging to my aid, as he was thrown back against the opposite wall as me. Even though I had blacked out, I could still hear a little bit of screaming and a little bit of heavy breathing.

I awoke in someone's arms, bouncing up and down alittle as they walked. Slowly I regained my hearing and I could hear what sounded like leaves crunching and twigs snapping. 'The forest?' I thought to myself. "Nickole!" I heard a muffled scream. "Nickole wake up!" I heard a little more clear this time. I started to feel myself being shaked instead of carried. The sound of the forest faded into the sounds of sirens. "Wake up!" I heard again, but more muffled than either before. The sound of sirens faded as the sound of the forest came back, and I felt like I was being carried again instead of being shaked. I wanted to open my eyes but it seamed almost impossible.

"h-help." I said weakly. "h-help me." Again I said weakly. The sound of sirens came back and mixed with the sound of the forest, as the shaking feeling mixed with that of being carried. "Help me." I said a little louder. "Help." "Wake up Nickole!" This scream echoed off the trees and bounced around the forest. "Wake up!" The shaking feeling was taking over and so were the sirens. "Help me!" I started to scream. "Help!"

I jumped out of the arms of whomever was carrying me and woke up to my Dad holding my head up. "There she is!" he yelled. "There's my tough girl!" He yelled and hugged me, mom wrapping her arms around the both of us. A paramedic wrapped my arms and legs, and covered me in a blanket. "Mom, what's wrong with my arms and legs?" I asked and she staired at me. "You really don't remember?" she asked and looked at Dad confused. "Remember what?" I asked and looked at Dad.

"There are deep wounds up and down your body Nickole, no one knows where they came from." He said and wrapped his arms around me, mom doing the same. "I'm just happy you woke up." Dad said as he let me go. I look up at him and then over at Mom, confused as to what they were talking about. "What do you mean, woke up?" I asked still confused as to what they meant by that. They looked at each other and then at me. "Nickole you blacked out after you hit the wall. You stopped moving and we thought we might've lost you." Dad said and I looked at mom and saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

"It was kinda like being in a dream Dad." I said at random not having control of my tounge. He looked at me confused as more words poured from my mouth like a waterfall of nonsense. "One second I was being carried through the forest and heard the leaves rustling and the twigs snapping." I said and zoned out. "The next thing I knew, I was being shaken instead of carried, and I no longer heard the twigs snapping and leaves rustling, but heard sirens instead." I said and Dad grabbed my shoulders and I zoned back in, my words stoping like a deer in car headlights.