A Tragic Tale Part 1

Exposition:

This is the story of how my life turned upside down after I had a terrible accident. At least, that’s what people are telling me here at the hospital. They say nothing really happened to me and I dreamed the whole thing. I know that place was real. The torture I went through under that villain wasn’t a dream; it was a nightmare. She took what I loved from me and made me feel so insignificant that I lost all my courage. Now, I’m sitting here in a padded room and everyone thinks I’ve gone crazy.

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Beginning:

I didn’t know it would end like this when I went to the party. I was unaware that a change was coming closer every minute that slipped by. The upbeat music of my friend Angie’s radio blasted Halloween tunes that could made skeletons dance. We were having such a crazy time jumping around in out pajamas. Tonight, was that night for fun and mischief because we were going to hold a little competition to see who could stay awake the longest. The loser would have to sleep on the cold-hard floor of the old-haunted house down on Manchester Ave. I thought winning was going to be a piece of cake, but I was wrong. My friends and I were acting careless while dancing, and all of a sudden, I didn’t feel so good. A chill ran down my spine, and before I knew what was happening; I slumped to the ground.

The ground was hard and the noises were loud. I remember hearing these terrifying screeches surrounding the clearing I had woken up in. My heart started to pound as if someone was thrusting a hammer repeatedly into my chest. The sounds grew closer and closer. I stood up from where I was standing and started to run in the opposite direction away from the noises. The atmosphere around had begun to get colder and colder. I kept running until I felt so cold that I thought every part of me could have broken into a million pieces. I had given my last burst of energy as I broke through a large bush onto the other side. There was nothing on the other side but a long look down over a cliff.

When I woke up, I was surrounded by a group of girls who looked as bad as I felt. My friends who were there last night said I looked like death once they noticed I had grown quiet. I was confused and disoriented from whatever had just occurred to me. I was still in Angie’s house, so why did it feel like I had gone somewhere else when I collapsed.

I shot up from my sleeping bag and frantically tried to calm myself down. Had I fallen asleep? It felt more like reality than a dream. People say that only a small percentage of the world’s population can control what happens in their dreams. In this situation, I felt like I was being pulled toward a source somewhere in the dream.

“OMG! Stella, are you okay? You just passed out on the floor, and your face went white. Do you need sugar? I have a candy bar in my bag if you need it” my friend Joyce exclaimed.

“No, I’m fine, really. I don’t know what happened” I said.

“I guess this means I didn’t win the bet?” I prodded.

“Yeah, you lost. Ready for a night in a haunted house?” Angie asked excitedly.

“Um, not really, do you really think I should be spending time in a haunted house after the experience I just went through?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” Cameron prodded.

“Oh, I’m just kidding around. I must have danced too hard and I passed out from having too much fun. I lost, so tomorrow night I will be sleeping in a house that hasn’t been lived in for years and probably has rats everywhere,” I sarcastically declared “Everything will be fine and nothing bad will happen to me.

To my friends, I hoped that it appeared I was okay with going into the creepy house down the street was a normal thing teens our age did after Halloween. Although, the thought of walking through a deserted house all on my own was pretty scary. When I was younger, my parents took my little sister and me to a haunted house. I put on a brave face for my sister, Melony, so she wouldn’t be scared. Unfortunately, my fears really jumped out at me when we walked in and I realized there was blood everywhere. Blood and I did not get along. Anyway, about halfway through the maze, I passed out along the corridor, and my dad had to carry me out a side exit while my mom and sister continued on. I know that the blood on the wall was fake, but it still creeped me out because it looked so real. That time in the haunted house was the only time I’d passed out until the night of the Halloween party.

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My mind had run frantically that night. I was in my sleeping bag across the room from the window where I could see the moon. The moon looked big enough to swallow every bit of darkness in the neighborhood. It felt reassuring to feel the light of the moon because it was like a cool glow of protection instead of the freezing dread of the nightmare from a few hours before. It was a long time before Angie’s alarm finally went off and I had the opportunity to move on from the events of the night. From the corner of the room, I heard faint whispering and I heard the mention of my name.

“Do you think she’s okay? She fell over right in front of us,” asked Joyce.

“Yeah,” replied Angie “She’s a tough girl; plus, that house is even haunted as everyone says it is.”

“I hope you’re right. Should we go with her tonight? You know, just to make sure she gets in okay? asked Joyce.

I was glad to know that my friends were worried about me. If one of them had suddenly passed out I would be concerned to. However, in this situation, I did not want my friends to come with me because I didn’t want to appear frightened or give them the chance to ask if I wanted to back out. I sat up from my sleeping bag and stretched if I had just awakened.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Hey yourself,” said Angie “Did you get any sleep last night or were you still freaked out after what happened?”

“Um, I got a little bit of sleep,” I lied.

I was up all night thinking about the nightmare. Something about the person I was running with was familiar. The cackle I was hearing also reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Who were these people? Why had they appeared in my dreams only for a minute and out of focus?

“Well, that’s good,” said Joyce “We’re just glad you woke up and you’re okay because we were all really worried. I hope you don’t mind but Angie’s mom called your mom and let her know you fainted. Is that okay?”

“Yeah. That’s fine. I’m glad she knows what happened. Thanks,” I said weakly.