Chapter 66

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Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 66

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Niall...

When did I get here? The last thing I remembered was... actually, I don't remember. However, I do know that I was supposed to be somewhere that's not here. I felt like I was supposed to be somewhere important. So why was I standing in front of my old house?

Shrugging my shoulders, I turned around, about to head to Annabelle's house. I stopped dead in my tracks once I got a glimpse of it.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself.

Her house looked run down and abandoned. There were vines overgrown on it, boards covered the windows, and parts of the structure was crumbling. I quickly ran across the empty street, threw open the door and let myself in. I was again surprised when I saw that the inside did not resemble the outside at all. Everything looked the same as I remembered it from childhood. It was neat and tidy, perfectly clean and comfortable.

"Annabelle?" I called out, feeling like this was completely natural, just like all those times I'd come over as a kid. "Annakins!"

"Niall, what a pleasant surprise!" I jumped back, slightly startled, as her dad popped out of the kitchen. This happened all the time as a kid, being greeted by her parents when I came over. His happy face and warm smile was the same as it always had been, but for some reason there was a weird feeling nagging at the back of my mind.

"Oh, uh...hi, Mr. Skyhill. Is Annabelle home?"

"No, she's not here. Sorry, kiddo." He clapped a hand onto my shoulder like he's done hundreds of times, and steered me out the front door.

"Weird." I mumbled once the door shut, shaking my head to knock the strange feeling.

Not knowing what else to do, I started walking down the road towards town. I came to a stop once I saw a house I'd never seen before...or maybe I had?

It looked like a house that didn't belong in Ireland. It looked very...Hollywood almost? But why did it look familiar to me? I've never been to California. Or have I? Something didn't feel right.

Whether I had seen the house or not, I felt drawn to it all the same. It was quite beautiful actually. The curiosity took over, and I made my way across the yard to peek in one of the front windows. I expected the interior to be just as wonderful and put together as the outside, but I was very surprised to find the opposite. The room looked like it was the living room. It was covered in dust and littered with cigarettes and alcohol bottles. There were blood stains covering the carpet and even some of the walls. I got the most chilling feeling looking into the room.

"What is this place?" I mumbled.

Deciding to explore a little further, I pushed open the front door beside me. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked.

"Hello?" I shouted, causing my voice to echo through the giant house. The messy scene was amplified now that I was actually inside. "Hello?!" I called again, feeling a sense of deja vu since I just did this at Annabelle's house.

"I'm here!" A broken voice shrieked out, sounding very distant and above me. "Help me, please!"

Not bothering to distinguish who the voice was, I started bolting up the staircase in front of me. A loud scream suddenly emitted from the upstairs, causing me to sprint up faster. "I'm coming! Hold on!" I yelled to the nameless voice.

I frantically ran through the halls of the house, bursting through door after door, only to find each room empty. I don't know why, but I felt the urgent need to be fast and find whoever this person was.

I finally came to the last door. I was taken back by seeing glass in front of me. The glass door lead to a clear room, completely made of more glass. It was so strange. It was like the house suddenly became see through. I could see the ground below, and the world outside. As weird as that was, my attention was focused on the center of the room. There was nothing in the entire glass room, except for a bed, smack in the middle.

There was a girl on the bed. She was curled in a ball and crying. For some reason, it broke my heart more than I felt it should.

I tried to turn the handle to get inside, but felt defeated at the fact it was locked. I started to shake the handle, trying my best to force it open, and the girl continued to cry louder.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here, I'm right here." I soothed through the glass, even though I was certain she couldn't hear me. "I'm gonna get you out of there."

Before I could say anything else, someone else appeared in the room. Or maybe they were already in the room and I just didn't notice? I didn't even know what was happening anymore.

Anyone else would have seen the new presence, and thought someone else was there to help. But for some reason, I just knew this person was bad news. That feeling made me start yelling and pounding on the glass harder.

The person in the room started walking closer to the girl. "Hey! Stay away from her!"

The man started to laugh. The sound irritated me. "You couldn't save her, Niall. This is your fault."

I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to why he knew my name. However, when he lifted his head to look at me, anger filled my veins.

Nick.

"I'm going to kill you!" I screamed, feeling my veins popping out of my neck.

Within the blink of an eye, Annabelle's father was standing behind her too. Without warning, the two of them started swinging. I didn't even have time to register it before blood started splattering the glass walls, making it harder and harder to see.

"Stop! Leave her alone!" I screamed, pounding the glass harder than before. "Annabelle!"

I caught glimpses of her beaten and naked body. The sight made pain and helplessness flood my soul. "No.." I cried as I slid down the glass, unable to tear my eyes away. "Annabelle!"

"Niall!" She screamed. "Save me! Please..." Her voice started to fade away.

"Annabelle! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..."

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"I'm sorry!" I yelled, shooting up.

It took me a few moments of blinking my tired eyes before I realized I was in the dark hospital room I fell asleep in. I was covered in a sheen of sweat, and could just barely control my heavy breathing. My heart was pounding, and felt like it could burst at any moment, as I felt around the bed. It was only a matter of seconds before I found Annabelle's fragile body. With a sigh of relief, I didn't waste a moment as I laid back down, pulling her to my chest.

Cradling her in my arms, I started evening out my breathing. "It was just a dream, Niall. It was only a dream."

But no matter how much I tried to calm myself down, my attempts were absolutely useless. Sure, everything in the dream happened in a stranger way, but what happened was real.

What happened was a nightmare.

And it was real. Just like the sobs that started coming out of my mouth.

They were real.

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Just a little dream filler, and a little insight into Niall's subconscious at the moment.

Only a few chapters left!

Much love xx

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