Nightmare

Zacky and I appeared back at the house, still giggling, and soaking wet from the rain. Upon entering, we saw Johnny passing through, who instantly stopped when he saw us.

“Uhm, I know I’ll probably regret asking this, but why are you guys wet?” he asked, confusion masking his features.

“Oh, we got caught in a rainstorm,” I explained with a smile.

“Uh-huh.” Johnny mumbled.

He stood there, crossing his arms over his chest, staring at both Zacky and I with an unreadable look on his face, noticing that Zacky as I had our arms around each other, big smiles occupying our faces.

“Starr, you should probably get to bed,” Johnny said suddenly. “You have a long day tomorrow.”

“What? No!” I protested. “I don’t wanna go to bed, and what do I have to do tomorrow? It’s jus the same stuff as always.”

“Starr, go to bed,” Johnny now sounded like my father.

“No,” I protested again, complaining like a three year old. “Zacky, tell him I don’t want to.”

Zacky smirked. “Starr, you should listen to Johnny.”

I stared at him like he had just spoken a foreign language, not able to believe he just sided with Johnny.

“You guys are no fun, you know that?” I questioned.

Zacky’s smirk turned into a soft smile. “Johnny’s right, you do have a long day tomorrow. So go get your rest, okay?”

I sighed, giving in. “Fine, but only ‘cause you asked me to, instead of ordering me, like some people.” I stuck my tongue out at Johnny playfully.

Johnny rolled his eyes laughing in response.

“Okay, night guys,” I said.

“Night Starry,” Johnny gave me a light hug.

I turned to Zacky who reached for me next, hugging me closely.

“Night Starr,” he whispered.

“Bye,” I said, slowly backing away from the two of them, making my way up the stairs.

Back in my bedroom, I removed the makeup, taking a shower, then getting dressed in some sleep pants and a tank top. I crawled into bed, and the moment that my head hit the softness of my pillow, I only then realized how tired I really was.

Apparently, Johnny was right.

I began to move around a bit, getting comfy, pulling the covers around me, and nestling in, closing my eyes, feeling complete relaxation taking over, as well as sleep on the way.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I was awakened again when I heard a light tapping at my door. I sighed, lightly annoyed, wanting to sleep, but then smiled, knowing it was probably Zacky, needing to remind me of something.

I quickly bounced out of bed, going over to the other side of the room.

“Just needed to tell me something more, huh Zacky?” I said opening the door.

But to my surprise, there was no one standing there.

“Zacky?” I called out.

I got no response.

I hung my head out of the door, looking down both sides of the hallway, to see if someone was there, but there was still no one. It seemed a bit strange that there was absolutely no one there, but I just brushed off the idea, thinking it was just one of the guys that were being stupid.

I sighed, sleep returning to my top priority, about to close my door again, when I heard a light, airy laugh. I jumped, startled from hearing it. The laugh was a bit high-pitched, sounding like it was amused, but for all the wrong reasons.

The laugh was terrifying. It sounded like something I would expect to hear at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. It sounded almost evil.

“Guys?” I called out once more. “Hello?”

I hung my head out the door again, looking around, and in the blink of an eye, I saw a blurry figure moving incredibly fast at one end of the hall, like it was sprinting to get around the corner.

At that point, I knew it was one of the guys that were just messing with me. Now the only question was which one? The blurry figure seemed to be on the taller side, so that immediately ruled out Johnny. It seemed to be a bit taller than Zacky was, so I quickly dismissed him as well.

That left Matt and Brian.

The blur wasn’t really super buff, and Matt was more of the serious type, so I automatically knew it was Brian.

I sighed, knowing that this was just one more of his ridiculous pranks that he was trying to pull. Stepping out of my bedroom door, I pulled it closed behind me, pulling my hair back into a messy bun quickly as I walked down the hall, where I had seen him disappear around.

“Oh, Brian!” I called out dramatically, following the hall.

Turning the corner to the other hallway, I saw the blur disappear into the room at the far end, the door closing. I sighed, running down the hall, going to the door, and letting myself in to the room. I found it to be empty, but saw another door on the opposite side. I went to it, finding it open, and going through it.

Again, another hallway.

“Brian?” I called out, starting to walk one way, not knowing where he went. “Brian, where are you?”

I heard the laugh again, making me jump once more, as I stopped, looking around. I saw the blur moving quickly at the other end of the hallway.

“Brian!” I called out once more, chasing after him. “Dude, slow down! I can’t keep up with you like that!”

He didn’t listen, continuing to move at inhumanly possible speeds, making me sigh in annoyance. When I caught up with him, I was definitely gonna punch him for this. I ran across hallways, through doors, and along staircases that I didn’t even know existed until I found myself in a part of the house that I didn’t even recognize.

This part of the house was lit with candles along the way, casting shadows on the walls, and it didn’t even look like electricity ran through here. It looked un-kept, with a thick layer of dust covering everything around.

Where has Brian taken me?

He disappeared through another door, and I went to it, stopping before it as I stared at the wood. It was a thick wooden door, looking very worn out, with an old, tarnished brass handle that wasn’t like any of the others in the house. This one was round, like a big ring that you had to pull on.

I glanced around the hallway once more, not sure if I should go in there. I didn’t know where I was, and I had no idea how to get back. But then I remembered it was just Brian playing a joke on me, and I pushed all the negative thoughts out of my head.

I reached out, touching the handle, my fingers closing around the big ring. I pulled on it, but the door was much heavier than I thought, which made me grab onto it with two hands. Matt was right when he said I needed to work on my upper body strength a little more.

After a little pulling and yanking, I finally got the door open enough to slip through. The moment I did, my mouth fell open in shock. I was in a dark room that looked like something from a horror movie. I took a few steps in, and when I did, the door slammed shut, making me jump in surprise at the loudness.

I ran back to the door, but as hard as I pulled on it, it wouldn’t open. That could only mean that I was stuck in here. I swallowed hard, taking a few shaky steps forward, tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

“Brian?” I called out again.

I let my eyes wander over the room, again being reminded of the time I went to a horror house for Halloween. The room was a bit spacious, but there was nothing in there. It was completely bare, which actually surprised me. The walls were made of stone, keeping the dark, cold feeling intact throughout the room.

There was one small window on the ceiling that allowed a small bit of light to enter the room, which allowed me to see, and there were a few heavy chains that were spaced about the room. The entire place was covered in a think layer of dust that looked unclean-able, having a moldy scent that stained in the air, as cobwebs hung from the ceiling.

Once again, I heard the laugh, but this time, it sounded from somewhere in the room. I swallowed hard, feeling my breath coming out in short bursts as I tried my hardest to control the fear that was rising within me.

“Brian?” I called out again, this time my voice quivering with fear.

The laugh sounded again, much closer to me this time, and I felt something rush by right behind me. I jumped, turning around, staring off into the darkness, frantically searching for the something that was in there with me, but there wasn’t enough light.

“Brian, this isn’t funny anymore,” I said, my voice still trembling, my eyes still searching.

I heard the laughing once more, getting closer and closer, until I felt the room suddenly get much colder, causing me to see my breath as it shakily left my mouth. I ran my hands over my arms lightly, trying to warm myself up, feeling my heartbeat increasing rapidly.

My breath cut short as I felt a presence behind me, one that was enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight.

“Brian…?” I whispered, hoping that it would be him.

I slowly turned around, my eyes widening in horror as I saw what was before me. I opened my mouth finding nothing there. I gasped, struggling to make some sort of noise but there was nothing there. Slowly, I began backing away, not knowing what else to do, not knowing how to get out of there. My back suddenly collided with the stonewall and I knew I was trapped.

Staring at what was before me in pure terror, I screamed.