Prologue
"Nikki
D, why don't you ever sing for us?" giggled a childish, someone
staticy voice. Bella, I immediately assumed. I couldn't be sure, not
seeing anyone's face behind this cold room, but Bella was the most
common caller, always pestering me with these ridiculous question.
I switched the microphone to the other side. "Well, for starters, I sound like what you get when you key a CD that's half-melted," I explained, dryly.
"Oh, Nikki D, I'm Bella; your number one fan!" she squealed, as I pressed the button, cutting her off.
"Mmmhmm...next caller," I said, trying to hide my pure boredom.
"My name's Jeremiah, from Woodwin-- er, Windwood. Yeah, are you single?" And unfamiliar voice nervously said, slurring together his words. "N-not that I care or anything. I'm just curious," he quickly added.
I raised an eyebrow. "And on that note, Nikki D is OUT!" I said as enthusiastically as I could, faking a laugh. I searched for the button on the small control panel above me, finally finding it,, shoving my paw on it as hard as I could. I tore of my headphones, throwing them to the side, and rushed out into the main-room of Nookington's. You could call me spoiled, having a job as easy as a radio personality, but the pay was low, and I was the only one throughout towns and towns, cities and cities. Worse, I hated attention.
I
walked into Nookington's, barely a year ago, just excepting to buy an
umbrella for the upcoming rain. Finding a decent one--just plain
black--I put my paw in the air to call for Nook. "Maddie!
Maddie!" he said, rushing over to me. "Yeah, I'd
like to buy thi--" "You have a good sense of humor,
right?" I was confused at the question, but still, gave a
reluctant answer. "Uh, yeah, you could say that..."
I said, glancing around. "Good! Do you want to be the
radio host? Do you, do you?" he said eagerly, jumping
around. "Eh, may--" "Great! Meet me
after ten. I'll be here; we'll talk." I half-expected him to say
'I'll have my people call your people,' as he gave me a super-star
smile when I decided to walk out without the umbrella. I set
my alarm clock to go off at ten. The job seemed interesting
enough--as long as nobody could see my face. When I walked over
there, he made it sound absolutely perfect, and I couldn't help but
take it with no hesitation.
"Good show, 'Nikki D,'" the old raccoon said, not bothering to look up as he polished his sign.
"Yeah...right," I said, grabbing my old, black leather coat from the hanger, rushing out the door. I was just trying to rush home as the winter breeze thrashed against my face without getting frostbite, when I heard the same voice earlier calling me in the distance.
"Mollie!" Bella called, carefully dodging a mud puddle as she ran up to me.
"Maddie," I corrected her, keeping my voice indifferent.
"No, Nikki D!" she squeaked so high it was piercing.
I stopped in my track. "What?" I demanded.
"I noticed Nikki D is always off at eight. After spying, I saw you always come out of that back room in Nook's at eight!" She gave a proud smile.
I tried to speak, but I was interrupted. "EVERYONE, COME HERE!" I heard a loud group of footsteps in the distance. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by more animals jumping around like maniacs then I could count. My heart stopped.
"Surprise!" The white mouse cheered. "You can sign autographs now! I called everyone I knew from every town! They all LOVE you!"
I felt woozy, sick to the stomach. My heart was sinking. I closed my eyes as tight as possible.
Finally, daring to look, I saw no crowd. No Nookingtons, no fans--no nothing. All there was, was pure blackness. I could feel my body falling, but there wasn't wind against it, ruffling my brown fur.
A scream rose from my throat, but I couldn't make a sound. I tried to stop myself from hyperventilating as I continued to fall as moments passed.
"AAAH!" I could finally make out. It was more of a gasp then a scream, since I couldn't keep the sound for long. Just then, I stopped. I was still surrounded by blackness, and I couldn't feel a solid holding my up. I was just floating there.
Finally, I saw a figure pace towards me from the distance. He was a white cat, with illegible scribble on her face in many colors. "Hello, Nikki D," she whispered to me, the faint, cold voice echoing.
I decided to let her call me what she wanted. "Where am I?!" I instantly demanded.
The cat snapped her fingers, and a bright red couch instantly appeared under me. I hesitantly took a seat.
"This will take a bit of time to explain. For starters, my name is Blanca," She said in a husky voice. She began pacing on the darkness.
"Well, we select one villager from every town who has the absolute worse phobia. You--Nikki D-- are scared of attention?" Blanca gave a slight laugh. "How silly," she said, clearly just saying it to mock me.
"You will come here for a year, facing your fear. You will be going step by step, slowly learning the ropes of this place. Now, of course you wont be here for a year. After you have completely gotten this place down, you can return home, and it'll only seem like you blinked."
"You will be given a house. You'll have someone share that house with you, but they'll be in a separate room. You'll go to training together, and probably have a couple other people with you. I'd suggest you learn to not hate them. It's pretty much the same as any other neighborhood, but in the words of many guests here, 'floating in blackness.'"
"Well, you can go to other houses to get more explanation. I'm not much for words." Blanca flashed a smug grin. "Welcome to Nightmares."
