Third night of no sleep. Great. Okay, it was only one in the morning- maybe she could get in a few hours before the trip? That was going to be hell. Lack of sleep made the irritable teen more so than usual. That plus a small car crammed with suitcases and her very… extroverted sister spelled disaster.
Chloe didn't know exactly what was keeping her up. She wasn't usually the type to be such an insomniac, rather she prefered to sleep in for as long as possible. Though she had this feeling she couldn't shake. A constant feeling that something was going to happen, something bad. Which was ridiculous.
Maybe she was paranoid she'd trip down the stairs again, or step on Mr Briggs cat? God, come to think of it she really needed to work on grace. Kicking the covers off her legs, Chloe sighed in defeat. Time for a midnight snack, like hell she was actually going to get a wink of sleep tonight.
The apartment was cold, not simply because the wooden floors felt frosty on the girl's toes, but the lack of anything filling the place made it feel empty and void. It was a familiar feeling, almost as if Chloe and her sister we're never there at all. It's not like she was attached to the place really. Packing up and moving on was a routine as embedded as brushing your teeth in morning at this point.
Chloe squinted as she pulled open the mini fridge, the fluorescent light casting shadows across the dark kitchen. She reached in and muddled through whatever hadn't been packed away yet, trying her best not to wake her sister in the process. All that seemed appetizing was a half empty carton of milk and one of those yogurt tubes usually found in kids lunchboxes. 'Not sure how that got there, but it'll do'. Rubbing her eyes, Chloe reached towards the frozen treat, but not before she felt the hairs on her arms stand on end and the entire mood of the room shift.
The still quiet felt like frozen hands reaching around her waist. Suddenly, she couldn't move. Claw like fingernails dug into her neck, her breath became short and panicked. This isn't real. But it was, she felt a man's chest pressed up against her back, she could see his leather jacket and red flannel, hear his chilling voice.
She wanted to scream, but instead her voice trebbled out two confusing words. "I'm sorry". Slowly, she could feel the strangers heartbeat rise, pure anger seething through his fingers as he began pushing them into the girl's neck. The pain caused her eyes to prickle with tears, her breath became shallow as she felt the warm blood seep from the punctures. Closing her eyes, she concentrated all she had left on ending this terrible nightmare.
A small mutter escaped her lips, "This isn't real," before the claws dragged swiftly across her neck, making three clean cuts, her instinct was to cover the wound but it couldn't stop her gasping for air as she fell to the ground. Panic and fear pulsated through her body and she writhed on the floor, faint screams echoing in her mind as she felt flames lick her fingers and toes. Please, please, please, this can't be real-
"CHLOE!" The scream rang loudly in her ear as she took in a deep breath, letting out a sob of relief as she inhaled. The room was still and cold once more, the sleeve of yogurt abandoned on the floor, and her sister Ella desperately cradling her shaking body. Chloe cautiously reached up to her neck, the cuts were gone but the blood was still there, drenching her shirt.
"What- how, I-I heard you screaming- are you okay? Fuck, of course you're not okay" Ella muttered, helping her sister to her feet.
"I'm fine" Chloe replied, though in reality she was pretty spaced out.
That always followed these weird visions of hers, though she wouldn't exactly call them that. Visions, by definition, we're supernatural dreams. This wasn't a dream. It wasn't real, sure. If it was she'd be dead. But the blood drying on her neck would say otherwise.
"Bullshit" Ella spat, taking the girl's hand and pulling her into the bathroom.
"Shit- we packed all the towels" Her eyebrows furrowed in a state of panic. "Stop swearing" Chloe sighed, splashing her face with cold water.
"How can you be so nonchalant about all of this, this is the 6th fuc- freaking time this year". Chloe didn't reply. She instead sat herself on the tiled floor, pushing her hair across her face, feeling the tight curls wrap between her fingertips.
According to the doctor a lot of people dissociate after having a panic attack. That was the best explanation anyone could come up with for whatever the hell these were, as for her knack for finding dead bodies and general creepiness, that was apparently an ocd quirk, or something.
"What the hell happened in there, seriously. I know you don't like to talk about it- but it looks like you're bleeding from the neck or something..."
Chloe's grip tightened around the blonde strand of hair between her fingertips. "If you get me a change of clothes, I'll have a shower and wash this all off. We have an early start tomorrow"
She responded, completely ignoring her sister's question. Chloe wanted answers as much as her sister, but those answers would come with more of, well, this. So avoidance seemed like the best tactic. For now.
Sighing, Ella walked out of the bathroom in a slight huff, slamming the door loudly behind her. The girls had enough to deal with, considering they still weren't exactly sure what they're next stop would be. Ella drove wherever the story took her, which was fine for Chloe. Back in their home town she'd managed to freak out most of her peers by being the resident dead body detector. However this time the girls were leaving to god knows where. Usually Ella had a place in mind, but this time she said she was "waiting for her big break," something that would get her past the fluff pieces she was usually stuck writing for the online magazine that employed her. Still, the lease was up, and the girls couldn't exactly afford to live in this place must longer since Ella's latest lead had been a bust.
Running the shower, Chloe peeled the blood drenched tank top off her body. Tears began to prickle in her eyes, though she brushed them away quickly. She didn't have time to get upset about things like this. Crying wouldn't make it stop, it would just make her feel worse. Removing the rest of her attire, she stepped into the shower. The temperature fluctuated wildly, going from hot to cold every thirty seconds or so. Chloe stared at the bottom of the tub, watching the water turn red as it disappeared into the drain.
How is this possible, how is this happening to her. God, was she actually crazy? She knew she'd always been different, but what if she was actually insane.
The loud sound of running water drowned out the small gasp that escaped her lips as the tears began to flow. Her body felt heavy as she sank down to the floor, letting the water crash loudly onto her head as she sobbed. She'd give herself a minute, after that she'd dry off, throw away the clothes, and be on her way. At least now that foreboding feeling was gone, maybe she'd actually get some sleep.