My eyes shoot open to nothing. I blink, the darkness being replaced only by the back of my eyelids. I turn my head to the side, nothing. Not even a slither. I panic.
My body tenses, I will myself to breathe. To...take..one...
I gasp for air. I begin to cough. I feel my eyes fill with tears, but I will not cry. Not now. It won't help.
"Okay," I breathe. I close my eyes, though it doesn't make a difference, and take another deep breath. "Okay, okay, okay."
My hands begin to frantically search for a clue of my surroundings. My confinements are rough, aged, worn out. I run my hands along my sides, I'm laying down. I slowly stretch my arms up in front of me. A barrier greets me before they're fully extended, it's made of the same material. I throw my arms above my head, blocked again. I rotate my ankle and find my feet are at the end of whatever this is as well. Not good.
I'm in a box of sorts. A full body box.
The panic creeps up on me, begging to choke me out once more. Another deep breath, good. The panic builds again.
No.
My cheeks feel the hot tears free falling, soaking the neck piece of my dress.
Deep. Breath. In and out. Over
and
over.
I stifle a sob and try to pull myself together. Suddenly, I hear something. I make myself as quiet as possible, but it has rescinded. I strain in the silence, willing it to sound again, to give me some indication of where I am.
I wait.
And wait,
and wait,
and then... A voice.
Two voices actually. Men. Their voices are low, but I can pick out certain words. Died, family, traitors. And then I start to move. Well, I don't. But the box I'm stuck inside is lifted and brought somewhere new.
When I'm put down, it's warm. I can feel heat radiating from wherever I am. It's quiet, but I can hear the soft sounds of birds singing and the slight rustle of the crisp leaves as the wind blows. It's a peaceful sound. And then it's not.
THUMP. and then more... smaller sounds, like the thumping something is separating. It rattles my bones, I jump, but only move so far. It's quiet and then again. THUMP.
I move frantically. I pound my hands against the box wall in front of me. It doesn't give.
THUMP.
"HELP!" I yell, but it's only a croak.
THUMP.
The smell of dirt fills my nose and I find it harder to breathe.
THUMP.
I hear a priest lead more voices in prayer. Something brushes my hand. I play with it between my fingers, soil.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
They're getting more frequent and more of the warm soil falls onto my body.
"I'M ALIVE! I'M ALIIIIVE!"
I yell, I scream, I cry. The time to be rational is over. If I don't get out, I will be buried alive. Dirt falls into my mouth. I choke, I cry, I scream. I push, I push, I push.
I bang on the coffin. "Let me out!! PLEASE SOMEONE! LET. ME. OUT!"
Dirt falls over my eyes. I can't move it. My arms are buried, I feel like I'm sinking into the earth. Past the confinements of the box, past the layers of dirt and rock and those who came before me.
Further and further and further.
I look around, it's hot and it's bright. A flame catches on my dress. It rises, rapidly eating my clothes. I look around in terror. The flames roar. I try to cover my ears, but my arms are stuck by my side. Now bound by vines that burn my skin when I wiggle around. I try to speak, but my lips are sealed shut. I search the flames quickly, hoping-just praying to find something, someone to save me.
There.
Through the flames, I see eyes. They look familiar, but I can't quite put my tongue on who they belong to. I try to speak again, try to ask for help, but it's no use. I cannot open my mouth.
So, instead I reach out my hand. They reach out theirs.
My fingers, inches away, reach for the solitude of someone else.
I stretch and stretch, my body slowly burning up. I let out a blood curdling scream and then-
- - - - -
I wake up in my bed so forcefully that I fall out of it, ripping down the curtains from my bed posts with me. I hit the ground with a hard thump, wincing with how I land on my arm.
Ow.
"Scarlett?" Someone calls. Getting closer and closer. Footsteps grow louder and louder.
I push myself up off the floor and stretch out my body. Upon further inspection, my bed is wet with sweat. I push my hair back and throw the covers over the stain, to avoid the prying questions that would accompany it. I lean against the bedpost and rub my eyes.
Another nightmare.
I jump when our housekeeper, Moira, bursts through my bedroom doors.
"Scarlett, are you okay?" She runs over to me, taking my weight on her.
I nod, "Yes, I just had a-"
She doesn't need to hear the rest of it. She nods.
"Please don't tell my mother."
"Oh bug off, sweetpea, she's just worried. Now, let's get you cleaned up. We've got a long day ahead of us. Plenty of things to do."
I roll my eyes. Her glance moves to my side and she notices something out of sorts.
"Goodness," Moira exclaims and I jump again, startled by the sudden burst of sound. She scurries over to my wall where a portrait of my mother once hung. I raise my eyebrow, knowing full and well I didn't move it. The dust has even settled around it, leaving a perfect square where the frame was once positioned.
Moira picks up the portrait off the ground. "I can't recall any crazy weather last night, odd that this fell." She begins the process of hanging it back up. I watch as she does so, straightening up my blanket and tidying up my room. I walk over to my wardrobe and throw it open, admiring the many dresses Moira has made for me.
"Alright, let's get to it," she exclaims materializing behind me. "You only graduate from high school once, we've got some work to do."
I roll my eyes as she tugs on my hair. It's going to be a long one.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A/N: Hello? Welcome back? I don't really know. It's been 6 years since I published anything on Wattpad and I wanted to get back into writing. So here we are. If you know me, it's Emily, if you don't it's nice to meet you!
Though I've strayed from the fanfic path, I will probably pull ideas and inspiration from some of your/my/our favorite YA series and books, so let's see what happens.
Let me know what you think of the beautiful Scarlett and her treacherous nightmares. I don't want to quite establish the setting yet, but we will get there I'm sure.
Vote, comment, follow me if you'd like. I'm going to try to be back in the writing world so all the support, I remember, definitely helps.
