Running From Nightmares

I was running. My feet thundered against the tile floor of my old school building. It had been years since my feet had walked the grounds of Cottondale Elementary. Why had my dreams brought me here? What was there to find?

The old yellowing lamps gave barely enough light to find my way. My sharp breaths echoed down the forgotten halls as I raced to find an exit.

I knew they were behind me. They had to be, they were always there, watching and mocking me. I wanted to know how far away they were but I dared not chance a glance over my shoulder. I imagined the feeling of their cold slimy talons wriggling around my neck, and put on a burst of speed.
I slammed through a door to the stairwell and leaped down whole flights of stairs.
They weren't going to have me. Not today.

I launched myself at the exit door and went careening out into the dawning sunlight.

I collapsed in the grass just a few feet from the door. As I caught my breath, I saw their hulking dark figures crowd the doorway . They shimmered as if they didn't belong to this dimension. One of them tried to reach out the door for me. His fingers scorched and sizzled in the sun.

I stared into his eyeless cowl and knew he was looking straight into my soul. He was trying to speak.

One day.

One day, you will be ours.