A/N: Well, here it is, the first chapter. The rest of the story is no where near finished, but I couldn't keep you guys waiting any longer! Hope you enjoy!
~Ali Wenstern
Black shadows fly over his head. He ducks and screams. The thing above him lets out a horrendous wail and he is forced to cover his ears with his hands, but the sound still pierce through. Strong claws wrap around his body and his is lifted into the air.
"Let me go!" he screams and struggles.
The claws dig in deep, breaking the skin. Blood flows down his body as the ground shrinks beneath him. He looks up at his captor and finds himself staring into a mouth of shiny teeth.
"No!" Wesley screams.
"Wesley, wake up!" a frantic voice says.
Wesley is shaken ferociously and his eyes fly open. He is back in his hospital room, the room that has housed him for the past 8 months.
"Another nightmare?" the voice above him asks.
Wesley focuses on the face above him and finally recognizes her. "Nurse Madeline."
"Wesley, how many times have I told you to call me Maddie?" Maddie asked.
"Sorry."
"So, was it another nightmare?"
Wesley nods. "It felt so real, just like it has every other time I've had it."
Maddie pats his back gently, her face sad as she gazes into Wesley's suffering eyes. "Come on, get up."
"Why?"
"Have you forgotten? You have your first session with Dr. Matthews today."
Wesley groans and tries to pull the thin pillow over his head. "I don't want to see another doctor."
"Come on Wesley," Maddie insists.
When Wesley doesn't move, she grabs him by the arm, pulling him from the narrow mattress. Wesley gives in and follows Maddie out of the room and down the hall. He tunes out the wails and moans of the other patients; he is used to this now.
"Here we are," Maddie says, trying to be cheerful. She opens the door with the small name plague that read 'counseling'.
Wesley steps inside. He had been in this room before; the desk in the middle of the room is the same, the lamp, the window, the blinds and the two chairs, one on either side of the desk. The chair behind the desk is occupied by the doctor. He is young, younger than the other doctors, and he smiles when Wesley steps into the room. He is so natural looking, brown hair and brown eyes, he looks relatable, like he will understand Wesley's problems.
"Hello, you must be Wesley, my name is Dr. Matthews," he says, extending a hand.
Wesley shakes his hand and lowers himself in the empty chair in front of the desk. He doesn't meet the doctor's eyes, just stares at the dark spot on the desk.
"So, Wesley," Dr. Matthews says, "How many counselors have you had?"
"Three," Wesley answers.
"Three, huh? Did you like talking to them?"
"No."
"Why?"
"They didn't believe me, and neither will you."
"And why not?" Dr. Matthews inquires.
"They say that I made everything up so I didn't have to face the truth."
"What if I told you that I'm not here to believe or disbelieve you; I'm only here to help you get better."
"I don't want to get better."
Frowning, Dr. Matthews asks, "What's wrong with getting better?"
"It's safe in here," Wesley whispers, "They can't get me in here."
"The monsters?" Dr. Matthews asks.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me."
Dr. Matthews clears his throat. "Why don't you tell me about your sister?" Wesley's eyes widen in surprise. "What's the matter?"
"You're the only one who's asked me about her. The others just wanted to tell me what I saw wasn't real."
"If I want to help you, I have to understand everything about what happened. So, your sister?"
"Her name was Staci and she was my twin."
"Identical?"
A small grin appears on Wesley's face, one of the first in a long time. "No, that's what made it so funny; we didn't look anything alike, yet whenever we told someone we were twins they would look at us and then say something about how they could see it."
"You like talking about your sister," Dr. Matthews notes.
Wesley grin grows a little wider. "She was always there for me, ya know? We were inseparable."
"Even to celebrate your high school graduation?" Dr. Matthews asks.
"Yes."
"And you each brought a friend?"
"That was the rule, only one friend."
"Who'd your sister bring?"
"Why are you asking these questions?" Wesley asks, "Don't you just want to hear the story and then tell me it was just my imagination?"
Dr. Matthews smiles. "I want to learn about who was there, so I can understand better."
"Fine, her name was Carla and she was the youngest; a Junior. She and Staci had met in band and became close friends." Wesley's voice cracks. "She wanted to be a doctor. She always wanted to help people." Tears begin streaming down Wesley's cheeks. "She didn't deserve what happened to her."
Wesley buries his face in his hands and sobs. Dr. Matthews lets him cry for a few minutes before saying, "Do you want to stop for the day?"
"No," Wesley chocks, "You were right, I feel better talking about them."
Smiling gently, Dr. Matthews says gently, "Go on, and take your time if you need to."
Taking a deep breath, Wesley sighs, "I brought my friend, Danny. We'd been friends longer than Carla and Staci and he was excited about spending the week at the house."
"And where was this house?"
"Poho County, Florida. There wasn't much there, except for maybe one or two towns along the highway. Some company was fixing to go out of business and tried to salvage what they had left. They constructed a giant lake and managed to build seven houses before finally going out of business. My father bought the property as well as the houses. One of them became our summer home."
"So that was where it happened?"
"Yes."
"Were there any other people living at the houses at the time?"
"I don't know about all of them, the houses weren't that close together, but yes, there was a family living in one of the nearby houses."
"Did they see what you saw?"
Wesley shrugs. "They were dead when we found them."
Dr. Matthews sighs and looks down at Wesley's chart. "Alright, well, if you want, could you start from the beginning?"
Wesley finally looks up at Dr. Matthews. "It started off like any normal vacation…"