Chapter 1
No, no no! This can't be happening.-I thought as I was lying in bed, unable to move a muscle. It was dark and late. And I was frightened. Very frightened. What's going on? And then I saw it, or should I say felt it. A tall, dark figure was standing by my bed, stroking my hair. Slowly its fingers moved down to my face, exploring every surface. Out of fear, I kept my eyes closed.
It's a dream, it has to be a dream, it can't actually be happening to me. – I kept repeating in my mind.
I was so lost in thought that I didn't realise that the fingers were now on my neck and collarbone; ever so softly brushing against my skin.
"Open your eyes" – the voice hissed.
And just like that I woke up. Startled I looked around my room as I bolted upright from my bed.
"Okay, only a dream. Nothing to worry about" – I kept telling myself, while trying to catch my breath.
A dream, just a dream that has been plaguing my nightly mind for months now. Every night, it starts and ends the same way. And every night I wake up in cold sweat, almost screaming my head off.
After calming down, and realising that there is no danger in the room, I looked over to see the time. 7:30am Saturday morning.
"Ugh, so early" – I whined.
I laid back down and thought more about my dream. It was so weird. And felt so real. I could still feel the shadow of those fingers on my face. What did it mean? If anything.
I must have fallen back asleep again, because the next time I opened my eyes the sun was shining through the window and the clock said 11:20am still too early, I thought but I knew I should get up. I made my way to the bathroom for a shower but stopped when I saw my reflection in the mirror. I gasped in shock as there was a small scar on my collarbone, right where I was touched in my dream. It was faint, but it was still there none the less. And I knew for a fact that I didn't have that scar before I went to bed last night.
But how? – I thought. "No, it can't be. No" – I whispered looking at it in the mirror.
After a while when I had calmed down enough to have a shower and get dressed I texted my best friend Grace.
'Morning. What are you doing? Coming out today?' – I texted.
As I waited for her reply, I brushed my hair and put it in a high bun and put on some clothes.
'Morning. Yes, I am. Pick you up in 5' – She texted me back and I went outside to wait for her.
It was a sunny day so I didn't mind waiting for her on the porch. I knew it won't take Grace long to get here. She only lived ten minutes away and ever since her parents got her a new car, she has been driving like a lunatic. Once we almost got into an accident because we were singing along to the radio and didn't realise that we ran a red light, until we heard a lot of car horns around as. In panic Grace hit the brakes and we stopped just short of hitting a tree. We still laugh about it to this day
I was so lost in thought I didn't realise Grace had arrived and was shouting my name untill she was right in front of me.
"Hey, Marcie. Wake up" – Grace shouted.
"Oh, hey Grace, sorry, day-dreaming" – I said and she laughed.
"Oh yeah, what about?" – She asked raising one eyebrow.
"Nothing for you to worry about" – I said in return to her question.
Grace was my friend of ten years. We met in school and have been close ever since. She was tall, tanned and blond, but not like those blond bimbos you see walking around, no Grace was very smart and down to earth.
Walking towards her car I noticed a dent in the passenger seat door.
"What happened here then?" – I asked, half laughing, half shocked.
"Oh, yeah that" – She laughed with me, "Accident".
"Alright" – I said and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't move, "Grace, I can't get it. If you didn't want me in your car, you could have just said".
She started laughing so hard, she almost fell over.
"Don't be ridiculous, just jump through the window" – She said.
The window? What? – I thought, wondering if she was serious. When she gave a look back that said she was indeed very serious, I started to climb into the car through the window. Which, let me tell you, was very hard, I had long legs and we were both in fits of laughter.
"Okay, so now where?" – She asked when we were both in the car, in one piece.
"The mall" – I said as she drove.
Because Grace drives so fast and crazy, we had reached our destination fifteen minutes later. But then I was faced with the task of climbing out of the car, and again, through the window, much to the amusement of the fellow shoppers who were at the car park. Blushing, we made our way to the food court, as I haven't eaten anything today yet.
"So, what are we having today?" – mused Grace looking at the menu.
"I've never had food her, so I have no idea what is good" –I said wondering if I actually wanted anything from here. I hated eating out, you could never know about the quality of food.
"Get the chicken salad, I think you will like that" – Grace said.
So that's what we ordered and sat down in the corner to eat, but after a while I felt like someone was watching me. I couldn't explain it, but the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up and I felt shivers go down my spine. I looked around, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, the again it was the weekend and the place was full of people.
"Hey Marcie, have you heard the news? New guys working at Starbucks, want to check it out?" – She asked, grinning.
That's another thing about Grace, she was boy mad.
"You sure know how to appeal to my caffeine addiction, Grace" – I said and walked to Starbucks, weird feeling still following me around, and the closer we got the stronger the feeling seemed to become.
"Hey, you alright?" – Grace asked looking concerned.
"Oh, yeah, just..." – I never did get to finish my sentence.
As we walked into Starbucks, I saw a guy sitting in the back corner. His hair was over his eyes and he was wearing all black, but I could feel him looking at me. I gasped at the moment, prompting Grace to give me a look of confusion. I tried really hard to ignore the feeling, to shake it off but it was no use.
After ordering our coffees, I looked around looking for a place to sit, when without warning Grace made her way to the guy's table and sat down next to him.
"Grace, what are you doing?" – I asked. I was so shocked that I was sure my voice wasn't as steady as I would have liked it to be.
"Oh, this is my cousin Jack, he's visiting and I told him to meet us here. I hope you don't mind" – She said to me, giving me an apologetic look.
"It's fine." – I said to her, and then turned to him, "Hi, I'm Marcie."
He gave me a nod of his head but other than that didn't make any inclination to talk to me.
"So, he called me yesterday, told me he's coming round and that I should drive him around" – Grace started, "and I didn't want to be his taxi so I gave him my old car"
"Yes, but seeing as your driving skills are terrible... plus if I wanted to kill myself, I would just jump off a building" –Jack said back to her remark.
"You aren't any better; remember who taught me to drive?" – She said.
"Yes drive, not be a suicidal maniac" – Jack said back to her.
"How long are you staying for this time?" – Grace asked him.
"Not sure, we'll see" – Jack answered and raised his eyebrows flirtatiously at me.
When we were finished with our coffees, we walked through some shops, I started to notice that there was a lot of conversing going on between Jack and Grace but not so much involving me.
"Ah shit! I'm late for work" – Grace exclaimed.
I looked at the time. 3:15pm. So late already? Time does fly then.
"Sorry Marcie, I can't drive you back, will you be okay?" – Grace asked.
"No problem, I'll just walk, you go to work" – I smiled and watched her go. At least I won't have to climb in through the window.
Walking out of the mall, I noticed that it had got cooler outside. I wished I had taken some jacket with me, at least.
"Hey, need a lift?" – A voice asked behind me.
As I turned around to politely decline, I saw who it was. Jack, almost half way out of the window. Slightly dumbfounded I nodded yes and got in his car. Sitting so close to him, I noticed that he was really good looking. Brown straight hair, loosely falling over his eyes. It was a miracle he could see the road in front of him.
"What are you doing tonight?" – Jack asked.
"Um, sorry?" – I asked him back. Why did he have to know that? I don't even know the guy, the again I am sitting next to the guy.
"I just mean, with Grace working late, though maybe we could hang out" – He said again.
"Oh, alright. Sure" – I said, and could have sworn I saw his lips form a small smile.
"Great, I'll pick you up at 7pm?" – He said.
I thought about it for a minute, debating whether to accept that time or push for later. In the end I accepted and got out of the car and into the safely of my house.
At around 6:45pm I was panicking. Jack will be here soon and I still wasn't ready. I didn't know what to wear because I didn't know where we would be going. When I saw his car outside, I decided to play safe. I wore a white top, my jeans and a leather jacket with comfortable shoes.
Outside Jack greeted me by opening his car door for me, and I slid in.
You look nice" – He said when he was back in the car.
"Yeah, I know" – I said, "Where are we going?"
"To the lake. Is that alright?" – He answered.
"Sure, no problem" – I said.
We sat the rest of the way in silence and when we arrived at the lake thirty minutes later, the sky was a beautiful colour of pink, orange and blue. It looked like a fairy tale.
"How do you know about this place?" – I asked him.
"It's always been here" – He answered, as we both sat on the bonnet of the car, "You didn't know about this place?"
"Would I ask, if I would?" – I asked him with a smile.
"Okay, don't get smart with me" – He said back in a light tone, "I used to spend my summers here, not much has changed by the look of things"
We sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the view and the sounds of nature all around us. I noticed that Jack would glance at me from the corner of his eye, once in a while but never say anything.
"Why did we come here?" – I asked breaking the silence.
"I don't know, you looked like you didn't want to spend another night at home on your own." – Jack answered.
"What makes you think that?" – I said.
"You were very quiet at lunch, and Grace might have mentioned that you spend a lot of time at home on your own, plus I hadn't seen this place in a while so I thought why not take you with me." – He explained.
"Well, thanks. I like this place, it's very...calming" – I said, looking around.
"Can I ask you a question? And you have to promise to answer" – He asked.
"You can ask but I'm not making any promises" – I said.
"What do you think of me?" – He asked.
"What do you mean? I don't even know you" – I said
"Well, today at lunch you barely said two word to me and now we are sitting here and talking like friends" – He said.
"Does that bother you?" – I asked.
"Don't change the subject" – he said angrily.
"I'm not, I just don't understand what you want from me" – I said.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I don't know how to talk to you." – he said.
"Why?" – I asked.
"Because I like you" – He said.
"Okay..." – I said confused.
"Never mind, what are you doing tomorrow?" – jack asked.
"Nothing" – I answered.
"Do you want to hang out?"
"Sure, why not"
"Great." – He smiled, "Come on, time to go"
We hopped of the bonnet and he drove me home. We exchanged numbers and he walked me to the door.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" – He asked.
"Yeah, tomorrow" – I answered and closed the door behind me.
I don't know why, but I had a good time with him today, even if he is a bit weird.
That night I went to bed hoping for a dreamless sleep but I had the same dream again.
I was back in my room, and a figure was leaning over me, and yet again I couldn't move. My eyes this time were open and the dark figure looked scary as hell. But what shocked me the most, was that it didn't do anything, just standing there, looking at me. And I saw the eyes. Eyes that shone bright green, even in the darkness. And then it started to lean closer. It started by kissing my forehead and then I hear its voice. "Marcie, I'm coming for you".