Chapter 4

"Bhdbhdbhbbshbsh."

The sound of whispering arose Zoey from her slumber. At first, she thought she was sleep talking, but the sound persisted after her initial dryness.

"Bhdbhdbhbbshbsh."

The sound persisted. The woman rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't perceiving things wrong. What was making that wretched sound? And why? Zoey sat up in her bed to gaze around the room. Her eyes moved rampant from the side table that held both the glass of what she had earlier in the night grabbed and her alarm clock. To the single window that was sheltered by the long draping curtains. There was nothing. Nothing in her room had moved from the last moment she closed her eyes. She looked at the clock to see the time that barely illuminated the room. 3:22 am. Great. She swept her hair over her bonnet as she sighed to herself.

"It was a dream, a dream, and nothing more." The sweat that painted her face got more and more apparent as time passed. The initially terrified woman flipped her pillow over to place coolness on top of her hot sweating head. I just need to go to sleep.

Go to sleep

To sleep

Sleep.

Bang.

Zoey's body jumped as the sound rang in her head. Her head looked around once more. The glass that she once considered a beacon of safety, is now on the floor with all of its liquid spilled. Her heart began to pick up the pace. She couldn't have done that. No, she didn't. The feeling of urgency caused her to jump out of bed.

"There's no ghost," Zoey's breathing became irregular. She couldn't tell what way she was breathing. The feeling of her chest rising felt like agony to the woman. "There can't be." Her mouth went dry at the thought of something watching her. Was it Mr. Kingiver, Mom, or Amire... it could be anyone. Literally anyone. The feeling of coldness ran through the back of her neck as she slowly backed herself into a corner. Zoey knew that wasn't her imagination. She couldn't be imagining things. Feeling trapped. She ran to the door to find somewhere else to stay.

Locked. That was the best and only way to describe the door. No matter how much Zoey pulled and yanked at the wooden gateway, nothing would budge. This is it. Zoey hastily rushed under the cover to find some sense of security.

"Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep." The woman's voice slowly faded out as eventually, sleep took over.