Noel (completed!)

Chapter 5. The nightmare

I opened my eyes to see a woman standing in front of me. I don't know who this woman is or what's wrong. She has beautiful silver hair that's matted with leaves and sticks. Her face though beautiful is distraught, her face is a very creamy pale color. Her lips are as red as blood. She has tears running down her face and a bruise just below her left eye. She's holding my necklace. The moonlight shines on the single engraved word "Noel".

"Take this." She says, "Noel! Take this and run. Put it around your neck and never, NEVER take it off. It will keep you safe."

The woman hears something and turns around to look, then looks back at me with panic and sorrow in her eyes.

I hear a male voice behind her mumbling something, I can't make out what he's saying. I can't make out the man's face as he walks up behind the woman and squeezes her shoulders. He takes the necklace, wincing, and slips it over my head. They're talking to me but I can't hear what they're saying. I only see the panic in their face.

"Noel! RUN."

I hear screams and growls as I'm running as fast as I can. I make it out of the woods and onto a street. I hear the woman's blood curdling scream before I'm blinded by a light and everything fades to darkness.

I suddenly wake up. I'm breathing hard and drenched in sweat. I groan realizing I'm going to have to wash my sheets. I throw them into the basket for dirty clothes and run my cold naked self into the bathroom. I start the shower and when the water is warm I step in and relax under the hot water.

This dream is not a dream, I don't think anyway. I think it's a memory. A memory of when I became an orphan. I can't be sure though. The only thing the doctors knew for sure was that I was hit by a car after running out of the woods. I told them about this dream and the police searched but never found anything. I really think they thought I was crazy. Most of the time when this memory/dream crosses my mind it causes me to flip out. I don't know why but I get worked up and sometimes I even hear a faint elegant voice in my head telling me to calm down. Sounds crazy, I know.

I reflect on the dream, since for once, I'm not freaking out. This time the dream was more clear. I could make out more of what the woman was trying to say. I wish I could find her. I wish I knew what happened. I suddenly started to cry, letting the tears fall freely for once. When I felt I was done with my pity party I stepped out of the shower and began getting ready.

I was still exhausted so I threw on gray sweats with a matching gray hoodie. I put my hair in a quick pony tail. Once I was satisfied that I was ready I took a deep breath and opened my door. Ready to face my new friends who I'm sure must be worried about my reaction.

Brie must've still been asleep, even though the clock above the stove said it was 11:30am. A pang of guilt ran through me as I realized it was probably because I kept them up so late looking for me. I threw some coffee on and started making biscuits and gravy. I used to make it all the time for the other kids at the group home. The adults there didn't care if we ever had a warm meal so I tried to cook one whenever I could.

Once the food was done I slipped out of our dorm and down the hall to Amy's. I lightly knocked on the door and Amy opened a few seconds later. She definitely looked tired, but she was dressed so I was thankful I didn't wake her up. I gave her a smile and told her to come over for breakfast. She returned my smile with her own and said she'd be there in a few minutes.

I walked back to my room and opened the door. There sitting at the kitchen bar was Brie. She had her mouth stuff with biscuits and gravy and the look on her face made me think of a kid getting caught stealing out of the cookie jar. I instantly busted up laughing. She swallowed and started laughing too.