6: Part One: Haunted House

Dreams and Night Terrors

Saturday, November 1st. 3 am.

Without a word, I retreat into my room and slam the door. Whatever rage stranded in me had died, leaving this cold hollow feeling instead. I can't bear it. All I want to do was sink into my mattress and hope to disappear by morning. Instead, I sink into my chair and turn on my computer as a distraction. Fighting back tears, I force myself to focus on something else. Even if I wanted to sleep, I know I wouldn't be able to. Not with all these thoughts rummaging around in my head. And I needed the distraction.

I open a web browser and search for the first thing I could think of that wasn't heartache. I type in people with albinism. Though, quickly my search leads me to melanism as I think of the boy with red eyes again. Even if it did make sense for the boy to have some darker skin pigmentation, it does not explain the glowing red eyes. Neither skin condition makes it possible for someone to have naturally occurring red eyes. Heterochromia is a combination of different eye colors but again, it does not explain what I saw. I sniffle and wipe my eyes before continuing. I try looking up if red eyes were even possible to have naturally, and my search abruptly ends with nothing. Only that true 'violet' or 'red-colored eyes' are not something that occurs naturally in humans, which leads me to believe that whatever I saw had to of been faked somehow. I take in a deep breath and sigh. Why can't this be easier to figure out?

I search if it were possible for colored eye contacts to glow in the dark. I get a solid no for an answer. Not sure why I bothered asking that. I didn't think glowing eye contacts were a thing anyway. Whoever the boy was sitting upstairs in that house, I'm starting to believe wasn't one of the guys from the group. I wonder if it was even someone from our school. If so, then why was he hiding out in that house? Did he know we were coming, and just didn't expect me to be there so soon? Maybe I saw something I shouldn't have, like a drug deal going down. That doesn't seem right thought. Unless I myself was drugged somehow and started hallucinating. I can't figure out how that would have worked though. How the hell did he pull off those glowing red eyes?

Out of curiosity, I pull up Facebook and look up the name Timothy Nelson locally, as clearly my red eye investigation is getting me nowhere. Maybe it's just a coincidence that Alex brought up the name, and maybe this Timothy person has nothing to do with the red-eyed boy. Still, it doesn't hurt to look. Not sure who exactly I'm looking for, I scroll down the list of every Timothy Nelson and no one by that name is or was a resident of Redwood Falls. At least no one by that name is displayed ever living here. I try to recall the boy's face in my head, but since I didn't have my glasses, it's a real shitty picture I'm trying to recreate. Most of it feels surreal because I know for a fact I couldn't have seen much besides that red glow. Now that I think about it, his eyes did glow similar to an owl.

Instantly I type in the search engine for 'Owl's eyes glow red at night' before hitting enter. One of the first pictures I come across is of a stygian owl. Its eyes shine bright red as it sits perched in a tree. Its colors are darker on the upper parts, while underneath is paler. I remember hearing about the theory of an owl being the main culprit behind the cryptid Moth Man. Because owls are nocturnal birds, their big eyes glow red or orange after dark. But even still, we don't have those kinds of owls around here. And I'm pretty sure the boy I saw was a lot bigger than an owl. But in a way, I guess the colors of the stygian owl are king of similar to what I saw for the boy. Then again, I may just be throwing in whatever nonsense to make sense of a blurry image...

I pull up a video of a stygian owl's eyes glowing at night and immediately compare the similarities of the color. His eyes shined almost that same way, but they were more vivid. Or maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. I let out a long yawn as my vision waters and blurs for a second. I don't get it. Even if he managed to fake it, that's one question I still don't have an answer to, but disappearing through a door? How did he do that? There were no trap doors from what I could see. I know everything happened so fast, and it was dark, but not leaving a trace? That's another question that's been bothering me too. Where did he go?

My thoughts are suddenly cut short as something heavy shifts its weight over me. I don't remember lying down or at any point moved away from my desk. When did I even go to bed? I try opening my eyes. Nothing happens, though I distinctively remember yawning not even two minutes ago. Instinctively I go to move before realizing I'm completely paralyzed. Panic seizes me. My heart sinks faster than any stone drowning in a lake. The feeling of a hand slides over my left ankle. Then another over my right, then my arms, and more sliding over my stomach and under my shirt. Their freezing flesh touches my skin, but I can do nothing to stop it. They pin me to the mattress. I can't move. I can't scream. Not a sound escapes from my throat. Another hand slides over my mouth and another over my throat. Suddenly I can feel someone's hot breath on my ear fallowing by what I can only imagine as a hot, wet tongue tracing along the side of my neck, and lingering down across my throat as the hand there is released. I clench my teeth unable to do anything else. Everything is black. All I can do is feel what is happening, and I'm terrified. Every touch of skin and tongue makes me need to crawl straight out of my skin. Abruptly my eyes open and I stare straight into the wide red gaze of a dark grey figure casting over me. His face is shadowed over revealing no other features distinguishable but its eyes. Somewhere deep down my gut instinct is screaming that I know this is the same boy from the room upstairs. He eyes me with no visible expressions. I stare straight back, unable to do anything else. I want to scream, or force him off of me and fight my way out of this bed, but I can't do it. I'm completely frozen and forced to face a monster I never wanted to encounter again.

He doesn't say a word to me but instead uncovers my mouth calmly. A smile ripples into the form on his face. It's an odd smile that doesn't match his actions and makes looking into his face all more disturbing as more features surface then disappear, constantly reshaping its image. It's maddening. But his smile shifts, becoming soft, delicate, even childlike. He's quiet and for another moment we stare at one another in even longer silence. And it's not the kind of silence where you hear everything else going on in the background, but a defending one, as if the world around you had gone mute. He moves a hand while remaining static, almost like a picture, and brushes a finger over my lips as we continue to stare at one another. For a moment I swear he's studying me. And maybe he is. The fear nestling inside me quivers as his head cocks to a tilt, and black teeth as sharp as knives poke through a menacing grin. He leans in closer near my ear, then without warning, I feel a sharp pain in the side of my neck and-

My head jerks up from the desk in an instant, along with a sharp pain coming from my neck. My hand races to feel for whatever wound I'm unable to find there as I try to gather what the hell just happened. It... It was just a dream. I think. I hope. I close my eyes again and try to soothe my throbbing heart. It feels like it was just about ready to explode out of my chest if I hadn't woken up when I did. After taking a few deep breaths I realize I'm back in my room. Only then do I start to calm down. Leaning back in the chair, I take a long deep breath, "It was just a bad dream, Shae. Just another nightmare", I tell myself. My head starts pounding shortly after in pace with my heartbeat. Not again.

Looking over at the clock on my nightstand I see that it's close to 5 am. I mutter, "Great," before feeling that same sharp pain on the side of my neck. It doesn't do my headache any favors. The memory of the dream is foggy now, but I remember feeling teeth on the side of my neck. Quickly I feel over the spot again, but there's nothing there. No injury, at least not on the surface. I guess that's what I get for falling asleep face down on my damn desk again. I really need to stop doing that, else I won't have much of a back worth using like uncle Gerry.

Slowly and on sore legs, I go to stand and leave my glasses on my desk before heading for my bed. Crawling onto my mattress, I grab my black body pillow and curl up to it, not bothering to cover up with my blankets or cuddle my stuffed wolf. Memories of my mother resurface, this time without a struggle as I let myself think of her. I avoid it most days because it's easier to bury that pain deep down than letting it hurt me. She's been on my mind since I took Eva out. I forcefully shove all thoughts of Eva aside and let the thoughts of my mother consume me. Tonight, I let my mind drift, testing those dark waters until I can't bear it anymore. This was her pillow. The same pillow she held onto during the many nights she was pregnant with me. I know it's unfair of me to keep this. But I do nothing about it.

I remember her telling me how comfortable sleeping with this pillow made her feel. And that it always helped her when she got morning sickness or a migraine. It always made her feel better. She was right about that though. Whenever I hug it I always feel better. It usually puts me right to sleep. Tonight, I'm not so sure. Though I try focusing on the one song she would always sing, and I would hum along to it. I shut my eyes, listing to the tune play in my head. I can almost hear it. And for a moment I can smell her perfume. With a drowsy gaze, I open my eyes to find her standing over me, humming the same song she used to sing to me years ago. I don't care if this is another dream. It's a better one, even if I can't fully see her. I know she's there. I savor her scent as she pulls up a blanket for me and tucks me in. Her hand brushes my hair back and is warm against my cheek. She stops singing to kiss my forehead and whispers softly, "Goodnight my darling girl."

I vaguely see her leave my room, no longer fighting the urge to keep my eyes open. I hear the door click shut. Right away my eyes flutter open after hearing the sound. Sunlight streams in between the slats of the blinds nearly blinding me as I do so. My head is pounding when I lift it from the pillow. My skin sticks to my clothes. I feel hot. Sluggishly I sit up on the bed, letting my eyes adjust to a blurry room. My glasses. Instinctively my hand reaches for my nightstand finding neither my glasses nor my phone.

"Oh, come on. Where are you?" Maybe I fell asleep wearing them? I throw the blankets off and as I move my legs a sharp pain shoots up my right leg. There's wetness where my hand grazes. I almost forgot about the gash on my leg. I guess the bandages must have come off as I slept and bled through.

"Fuck," I mutter when I notice the blood on my sheets. My brows furrow together not recalling covering myself up last night. Another thing I must have done while in my sleep I suppose. Swinging my legs slowly over, my foot smacks something cool on the floor and I realize it's my phone. I grab it and check the time. It's an hour past noon with two missed calls and five text messages from Alex.

"Damn it," I grumble. I step out of bed and grab the old bandages that also ended up on the floor before throwing them away in the trash. Finding my glasses on my desk, I put them on and step out into the hall. The latter to the attic sticks out like a sore thumb since I never brought it back up. I near Eva's bedroom on my way to the stairs and notice her door is wide open. Recalling the events that took place last night, especially before I somehow fell asleep, a twinge of guilt started prodding around in my gut. Stepping closer, I poke my head in. She's not in bed.

"Eva?" I say faintly. I look around her room only finding it absence of her. Her bed is made neatly though, just as it always is. All her stuffed animals are lined up against her pillows on one side while the rest are huddled at the foot of the mattress. The only thing missing besides Eva is the bear. I take a quick peek up in the attic while on the steps, calling out her name again. Not getting a response, I step off the latter and push it back up. I'll have to clean up there later.

Heading downstairs I make a weak dash to the bathroom and continue to hobble toward the medicine cabinet. I grab a few items to clean and re-bandage my leg. After I got what I need, I move into the living room, looking around for my sister. My wolf hide, along with the rest of my costume, is still sitting on the couch where I left it. My hand brushes against the fur as I step past the furniture.

I call out again, assuming this time she'd answer, "Hey Eva? Can I talk with you for a second? I just wanted to apologize. I don't care If you keep the bear, I just..." As I enter the kitchen, I find it untouched, except for a piece of paper left on the table. It's from Eva.

'I'm going out to play with my friend for a while, so don't come looking for me. I am still mad at you and I want to be far away from you, alone. I'll come back when it's time for dinner.'

-Eva

Pulling out a chair, I sit down to read the note over. Did I really push her away? All because of a bear? I sigh loudly, "God, Shae...It's mom's bear. You would have done the same in her shoes." I drop the note back on the table and pull my tangled hair away from my face. If she needed the space, then there's not much I can do besides waiting until she comes home. I remember the times I used to go out into the woods late at night to clear my head. No one ever knew where I ran off to besides Mom. And I doubt she ever told Dad that I snuck out into the night. Thinking back to it now, It was a dangerous thing I did, being so young. I wonder why Mom never stopped me? And why did she never tell Dad? At least Eva's at a friend's house and not wandering around in the woods like dumb kid me did. Sighing again, I prop my right leg up on a chair in front of me and grab a rag. I begin dabbing the wound gently with peroxide. It stung badly, bringing a tear to my eye. I dry it the best I can before adding some antibiotic cream over the spot. The cool sensation feels like an electric shock against the heat. After a moment, the pain starts to dull. Once I'm sure the wound is as clean as it'll get, I go ahead and wrap up my leg with another bandage, since we don't have any band-aids big enough to cover the gash completely.

I let myself enjoy the sweet silence for a moment and eventually shut my eyes. Time seems to stop existing until I hear my stomach growling, Annoyingly, I crack open my eyes and stare up at the ceiling. The fan's revolving arms dance around in a hypnotizing circle that I struggle to break away from. Eventually, I convince myself to stand up and return everything I pulled out back to the bathroom. I head back over to the kitchen again to grab water from the fridge. I pop a few pills of Tylenol to help with the pain when I hear a knock at the door.

"Hold on!" I set both bottles down on the table and maneuver my way to the front door. Upon opening it, I'm stunned to find Alex standing on the other side, waiting patiently. His hood is down displaying recently cleaned hair that's been slicked back, and his hands are concealed in his jacket pockets. He's dressed warm, well, despite the wet hair. The cold air sweeps in through the door, brushing past my bare legs and making me shiver. I cross my arms over my chest attempting to stay warm.

"Well good morning, sleeping beauty?" He laughs after getting a good look at me. I haven't changed into different clothes yet and my hair is a mess no doubt.

I give him a smirk full of sarcasm, "Sorry I'm not accepting any Prince Charming's any time soon, and yes this is what true beauty sleep looks like."

Alex chuckles and shakes his head, "I can tell. I'm guessing you just woke up?"

"Yea. I didn't sleep much last night. I was too busy being sucked into the computer screen to take a nap."

He raises a brow, "Well then, that explains why you didn't answer through text or phone."

"Yeah, sorry about that. And hey, shouldn't you be wearing a hat in this weather?"

He smirks playfully, "Are you worried I'll catch a cold, Monster?"

"If you still want to go back to that house with me, then you better wear a damn hat you fool," I smile back.

"Oh? Are you sure you still want to go? I wouldn't want to interrupt you obtaining that precious beauty sleep of yours, since we're caring for one another now." He mocks and jerks away before my hand could reach him.

"Oh, shut it. You're lucky I'm sluggish this morning." I hiss despite the warmth flaring over my cheeks.

His gaze suddenly drifts below my waist and I follow it down to my leg, "Did you fight someone in your sleep?" He asks pertained to the bandages.

"Oh, no. It's just a scratch."

His brow raises, "That's a lot of bandages for just a scratch."

"Now who's the real concerned one here?" I tease and quickly change the subject, "How about you give me another hour to wake up and we'll head down. I'll meet you at the park, but I also should make a pit stop at the library to drop off some books. Sounds like a deal?" It seems to work.

Alex bows smoothly and began backing away with a devilish smile on his lips, "Don't keep me waiting, Monster."

"Oh, I think you can handle the wait Mr. Impatient." I smile back and close the door. I watch him through the blinds trail further down the road. Once he's out of sight, I let go of the blinds. Returning to the kitchen, I finish my bottle of water, and down a quick snack before heading upstairs to get changed. I throw on a pair of old blue jeans, my long-sleeved fleece shirt, and a light blue jacket to wear over top. While brushing out the knots in my hair, I grab a clean pair of socks from the dresser and throw them on the bed. I probably should have showered before getting dressed. At least now I won't be going outside with wet hair. Though, a shower would make untangling my hair a whole lot easier. I have only an hour though to get these books back over to the library before meeting up with Alex, and from my standpoint, I think I'll live with my hair being a thick poofy mess. Scowling at myself in the mirror inside my closet, I grab a hair tie from my desk and decide to bind it all up into a bun for now.

Just in case I shove my brush into my bag along with the books I plan on taking back to the library. I put on my socks, throw the bag over my shoulder and head back downstairs to slip into my boots. I make sure to shut off all the lights before I head out.