Crossroads

Carpe Noctem

Drowning.

The dirty lake water was filling my lungs through my nose and my mouth. The pressure in my chest was becoming unbearable, it felt like something was going to burst at any moment. I wished it would, just to get it over with.

I had to get out of here.

I thrashed, struggling to reach the surface before I lost consciousness. But it wasn't working, I wasn't floating to the top. Terrified, I tried again.

It didn't work.

Again.

Nothing.

By this point, I wasn't sure how to feel anymore. I was scared to think that this is how I will die, young, and it hurts. But at the same time, I wanted to accept it and just be done for already.

Then something occurred to me.

Something- or someone- was holding me down.

Pulling me down, actually.

I turned over in attempt to look at whatever was pulling me down, and I opened my eyes.

Only to see another pair staring back at me.

They were glowing, and held no emotion. However, the grin that appeared told me everything I needed, but didn't want, to know.

Whatever or whoever it was, wanted to kill me.

A hand reached up to grab a handful of my hair, and pulled me down even more, pushing my head down deeper.

By now, I had stopped fighting.

This was it.

My death.

I was going to die this way, and it was final...

I woke up with a jolt, my breath shaky and my heart pounding. I was staring at my the wall. Sighing, I sat up.

"It was only just a dream," I said quietly to myself. I was relieved, but frustrated. Of course I was happy to be alive and not actually drowning, but I would live to have that dream again and again, and that's the part I wasn't happy about.

I looked down at my hands. I balled them into fists for a brief moment, and then pushed the covers off of me. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my feet touching the cold floor. I stood up and began slowly pacing around my room, staring down at the floor the whole time.

As time passed, I noticed that it had started to rain. It started off with a light rhythmic beating of raindrops against the roof and windows, and rapidly but steadily turned into a downpour with thunder. The thunders were loud enough to cause a vibration throughout the house, the lightning flashed at random times, a quick, bright flash that lit up my curtain-less room for a brief moment.

Instead of sitting on the windowsill seat like I have been for the past few minutes, I figured that, since I was awake, I would get something done.

I got up off of the windowsill seat and exited my room, leaving the door ajar. My dog must've heard, because as soon as I walked out of my room, I heard claws tapping against the wooden floor, making their way over to me. Once he saw me, he barked.

I winced.

"No!" I whispered, then walked past him. I love him and all, but I don't want to wind him up right now, so I just ignored him.

I made my way to the kitchen, ran my hand up and down the wall until I found the switch, and turned on the small light that was pretty dim. I looked around, examining the large granite counter and the white cupboards. Everything was polished and dust-free, no sign of anything unclean whatsoever.

The digital clock on the fridge caught my attention.

Four twenty-one.

"Wonderful." I grumbled. It was earlier than I had expected.

Instead of getting something done like I thought I would, I opened the fridge and examined what was inside. There was a variety of things but nothing that sparked my interest too much.

Come on, there has to be something, I thought to myself. I started pushing stuff around, until I found a small cup of yogurt.

Whatever, this will do.

I took the yogurt out of the fridge, let it close on its own, took a spoon out of the drawer and sat down. As I slowly picked at the yogurt, I started to think about the dream again.

I turned over in attempt to look at whatever was pulling me down, and I opened my eyes.

Only to see another pair staring back at me.

They were glowing, and held no emotion. However, the grin that appeared told me everything I needed, but didn't actually want, to know.

Whatever or whoever it was, wanted to kill me.

A hand reached up to grab a handful of my hair, and pulled me down even more, pushing my head down deeper.

I was confused. I know sometimes dreams can be just downright weird, and make no sense. But this was one of those dreams that worried me a bit.

But maybe this is just something silly.

I lost myself in my thoughts for a while, just sitting and staring at the table. I barely touched the yogurt that I had intended to eat, for I had lost my appetite.

A loud crash of thunder snapped me out of my thoughts, just in time to hear a thump on the porch. Shocked, I just sat there in silence, staring at the door. I wasn't sure whether to get up and check, or go back to my room and pretend that I never heard that.

My final decision was to get up and check whatever had landed on the porch. Slowly, I slid out of my seat. I hesitantly made my way over to the door, and turned on the light that lit up the porch. I unlocked the door and opened it, looking around.

There's nothing there.

But there was. I looked down, and noticed a boy on his knees, hunched. His unruly bangs covered his face, his clothes were soaked and shredded. Blood was pooling around his knees, and his hands were covered in dirt and blood. A large knife was sticking out of the pocket of the coat he had tied around his waist. It glistened with the light. It was spotless, but the rag beside of it that was also sticking out of the pocket was not.

I stood there horrified.

I wanted to run. I wanted to slam the door and run back inside where it felt safe. But I also felt bad, and I wanted to help him.

He could kill me, though. What if he tries to?

But look at him. He's a mess, maybe he needs help.

Forget that! He must be dangerous. Get away from him. This isn't safe.

I silently argued back and forth with myself, harshly debating whether I should stay or run.

He looked up at me. I still couldn't see his face. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling his bangs back. His eyes held nothing but rage. He glared at me as if I had done something wrong.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he beat me to it. Quickly, he scrambled onto his feet and lunged at me, slamming my body against the floor. Before I had time to react, he had a knife to my throat, pressing down ever so lightly but still roughly.

He was glaring at me again. He was gritting his teeth, and the hateful look in his eyes was still there.

Finally, he spoke.

"Don't. Say. A word."

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I hope this wasn't too bad. I haven't been writing for a while, and I've decided that I should get back into it. So...this is what I came up with. Sorry if it's shitty, though ;-; I may edit this later on, if there are any typos that I missed while reading through this.

I don't know when I'll have the next chapter up. I have an idea for it and all, but sometimes I get too caught up in other stuff to get around to writing it. I'll try to have it up soon.

Till then~