The darkness was unbearable. I couldn't see anything, I couldn't feel anything. The only sound was the pounding of my own heart. There was no way I could fight it. No exit, no way out. Then I saw him, a dark, tall masculine figure stood fixed right in front of me. His black eyes were like pits that were about to suck me in and take me away. A strangled scream escaped my throat and that is when I woke up. A pool of sweat surrounded me and I gasped for as much air as I could. Checking my alarm clock, I realised it was 4am and there was no way I would be getting back to sleep now.
Forcing myself out of the sweat dampened bed; I dragged myself out of my bedroom and down the corridor to go downstairs. My head quietly poked round the door of my parent's dull room to see that they were in a deep sleep that was free from any nightmares- unlike mine.
"Starla, why are you awake?" the innocent voice of Mylo came from behind me and a gentle smile made its way across my face.
"Hey little bro," I whispered, "I couldn't sleep that's all!"
"I heard you scream and I'm not little anymore, I am 8 now!"
"Well I'm 23 so you are little to me! I just had a dream!" I tried to erase the image of the pit eyed man in front of me from my brain but it wouldn't go anywhere. I knew 23 was a fairly old age to still live with your family but after Mylo was born prematurely and my mother went through a phase of not coping, I felt as though the safety of my family was in my hands. Plus, the nearest housing up for sale around here was miles away!
"Ok, I'm going back to bed now, goodnight Starla," Mylo rubbed a tiny hand across his left eye and turned to walk to bed.
"Sweet dreams Mylo." I whispered and carried on my walk down the stairs to the kitchen.
I always liked waking up early, seeing the world awake after I did but today was different. I couldn't stop thinking about that man. He wasn't human; he wasn't like anything I have ever seen before. Sure I have read books and seen pictures of things like him but not ever as vivid and horrifying as him. It was just a dream; it was just a dream- so why am I still thinking about it? Finishing the last of my water, I headed to the living room to see if I could get my mind off of it all. The moonlight shone in from the window of our small, cosy house and I couldn't help but wonder what else lurked in the dark that nobody had ever seen before. Shaking the thought out of my mind, I wandered into the living room and flopped down on the ancient sofa we had kept in the family for years. I felt colder in this room, like the temperature had suddenly dropped. A shiver made its way up my spine and I felt a sense of unease. Suddenly, the photo frames that lined our windowsill dropped one by one onto the wooden floor beneath. I whipped my head around to the sound of the radio playing my favourite song of 'We come running' but it changed to a crackling sound and one word being repeated over and over again- "Starla, Starla, Starla, Starla"!
I had to get out, I had to escape! But then the door shut and there was no way I could leave. My breathing became fast and my heart was about to burst out of my chest. I could fight this, whatever it is I can fight it.
"Let me out! Help me someone!" My fists fought against the wooden door trying to free my body but they were useless.
"Get me out! Get me out! Get me out!" My feet tried their best with the most powerful kicks I had but they were no use either.
Then my dad came rushing through the door and I collapsed into his arms, tears streaming down my face.
The morning came too slowly and I woke to the smell of toast in the kitchen. I had spent what was left of the night on the sofa and I slept the best I had slept in a while. The radio that had terrified me last night was showing the time to be 7:30am so I quickly got up and walked to the kitchen.
I was greeted by the concerned faces of my mum, dad and brother who tried their best to hide it with loving smiles. Replying with a smile was the best I could do.
"How are you Pepper?" My dad questioned as he placed his newspaper on the table and looked up at me. The newspaper had its daily remembrance of all the people that died in the war and it had a classic reminder of exactly what happened. I hated how they acted as though the people knew it was going to happen and they were sacrificing what they had for 'the greater good'.
"I'm fine honestly but I have to go somewhere. I don't know when I will be back so don't worry about saving me any dinner!"
"After what happened last night do you really think we are willing to let you go out on your own?" My mum turned around from the cooker to ask.
"Well I'm 23 now and I can do what I like!" I answered a little too harsh than I wanted it to be.
"Don't speak to your mum like that! You still live under this roof so you respect what your mother says!" My father furrowed his brows until they knotted together and stared at me.
"Look I'm sorry but I really have to do something so I will see you later," I gave a nod to all of them and made my way upstairs to get changed.
After dressing in a simple outfit of black jeans and a white t-shirt with a blue hoodie, I grabbed my bag and left the doors of my home.
The outside air was fresh and cool as I headed in the direction I intended. We had lived in Lawrence since I was born because it was one of the only places that survived the war. Not that we hadn't had our fair share of problems, but we were lucky to live here and everyone had to know that. Kansas had always been a place of safety to me but after last night I wasn't so sure.
It had been around an hour since I had first started walking and in that time I had gone to the shop to grab some food and walked around as much as I knew of Lawrence. Everything seemed normal, like last night was some kind of crazy breakdown but I didn't believe that I was that weak.
Then I saw him. From the corner of my eye at first but it was the clearest picture I saw. Stood across the road from me was the man from last night, the man that made me so scared I was weak. I didn't know what to do. I scanned the streets looking for a way to run. My eyes opened wide. My heart was about to burst out of my chest. I ran. Passing as many people as I could, looking back every few seconds to see where he was. But that was a bad idea… I crashed into a person in front of me and it brought me back to the reality of Lawrence.
"Woah, slow down sparky! You almost pushed me over!" The boy was probably the best boy I could crash into as it turned out to be my best friend Rian. I had known him for 8 years now and we got on like siblings.
"Oh… sorry… I was just trying to…" I turned back to see where the man had gone but he was nowhere I could see.
"Are you alright there?" He looked slightly concerned even though I hadn't told him anything yet.
"Um… I'm not so sure!" I finally took a deep breath and looked into his deep blue eyes that searched my face for a reason why I was so scared.
"Well, come with me, I will take you to this little place I know and you can tell me all about it! You don't look like the Starla I know" He felt so safe to be around and he always told me I could trust him with anything.
"Okay… thanks Rian!" I followed him down this small pathway that I hadn't seen before.
"Don't worry about it Sparky!" He smiled again and carried on down the path.
"Um… it's Starla not Sparky," I replied as I jumped over a few bricks that had fallen on the floor.
"Come on I haven't got all day!" He skipped the question and broke into a jog with a smug grin on his face.
I just shook my head and ran to catch up with him; this guy was as stubborn as me!
We soon reached the place he couldn't wait to show me, but from the outside I wasn't as amazed as I thought.
"Don't worry it gets better on the inside!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the fence that lined the gardens.
He twisted down a few more corners until he reached his destination and sighed at the view.
"So, what do you think?"
I turned around to see row after row of intricate sculptures of all different sizes. They had grown old over time and had lost shape after the war but were so detailed and beautiful they took my breath away.
"This is amazing!" I gasped as I tried to take in the sight of what was in front of me.
"Well I'm glad you like it!" He smiled and began to stroll past all of the different sculptures.
I followed him and took a look at each of the models around me. A rusty, ancient sign lay at the bottom of one of the sculptures that read "Downtown Lawrence Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit" and I lifted it to blow away some of the dust that had gathered around the edges.
"How old is this place?" I questioned as I glanced over at Rian who was looking up at one of the larger sculptures.
"Probably around since the 20th Century!" Rian replied as he walked over to meet me.
"The 20th century? That means it's like 100 years old!" I exclaimed as I placed the sign back into its original place and carried on walking.
We walked for a while in silence before Rian came to a stop and led me over to a patch of grass nearby.
"I think we have missed the point in us coming here," He said as he lay his jacket on the grass for us to sit on, "Why were you running earlier?"
"You really wouldn't understand!" I sighed at the thought of the darkness I had in my life, not all of it was green grass and sculptures.
"I think you would be surprised at the amount of things I have seen in my time!" He laughed slightly and shook his head at the thought.
I looked at him with confusion and interest about his life, "Okay, well it started last night…" I told him everything about the man and the dream and the radio until I paused and realised there was nothing else I knew.
"Oh my gosh… you saw him…" Rian looked annoyed but upset as he tried to avoid making eye contact.
"What? Do you know him?" I couldn't believe what was happening. Had the same thing happened to him? Did he know how to stop it?
"You could say that..." He turned to face me and took a deep breath, "He is my dad…"
My eyes widened and stared right at him, he was the son of the man with the pit eyes and the horrible face, him? The boy I trusted most, the boy I could always rely on?
"Yeah, he is my dad. I never knew it was you he was haunting, honestly!"
"Wait, you knew he was haunting someone?" I didn't understand, how did he know?
"Well yeah, but I didn't know it was you!" He had a hint of hope in his voice as though he thought I would understand.
"How could you do that? I don't even care if it is me! He could have been torturing any innocent person and you just stood by and watched!" I quickly shot up and shook my head in disgust before walking away without looking back.