Chapter Seven Nightmares

Carly returned too late to talk to her friends. They had already turned in for the night and were sound asleep. Carly, still light headed, pulled on her pajamas. She collapsed on her bed, taking one last look out the window, spotting a familiar envelope as she shut her eyes. Dreams flooded her mind. But they weren't like any other dream she had before. They weren't dreams, but nightmares. In the illusion, she was walking down a misty, wooded path. Gnarly tree branches curled their wet, black fingers toward her as she continued to walk to the misty clearing ahead. As she reached the clearing, she could see the outline of a man dressed in a black traveling cloak with his back turned towards him. His hair was well shaven from the back and he appeared to be young. She could feel the cold breeze and she approached the man. He was whispering something. It was a spell while standing above a cauldron. Carly looked around some more, there was no one else. She also noticed the familiar white gown she had been dressed in from the first dream. She continued to approach him. As she was closing in, she paused as he turned to face her. His head was bowed. "Sir, can I see your face?" She asked. He said nothing. He only remained standing with his face hidden in the bow of his head. "Please?" In an instant, the man raised his head and shouted a jumbled spell. A green light shot out of his wand and hit Carly. She began to scream.
"ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN…," Carly didn't even know she had woken up, and she continued to toss and turn "ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN!" "CARLY, CARLY, WHAT IS IT?" Cameron shouted as she was rendered from sleep by Carly's shouts. "ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN!" "WHAT IS ACKERMAN"
"ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN"
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?" Jade asked trying to restrain Carly's flailing arms.
"I DON'T KNOW, CARLY, WHAT IS WRONG?" Carly let out a blood curdling scream.
"ACKERMAN….ACKERMAN….ACKERMAN!" "Get a teacher! Hurry!" Cameron said to Laura. Laura ran downstairs, all of the Cougarfangs were outside the halls, groggy. Five minutes later, Professor Dunken rushed in to Carly's side.
"What happened?" he asked, no one knew. "Carly, what is it? What is wrong"
"ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN!" Dunken let out a gasp.
"What is it?" asked Cameron.
"It's happening all over again." "What is?" "We need to get her to the hospital wing, now! Go fetch Professor Beningo, immediately!" Dunken took Carly into his arms.
"ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN, ACKERMAN!" Carly was carried out of the room, Cameron tried to follow, but…
"Back to bed, all of you!" Dunken shouted to all the students in the halls. Jade and Shayla were in tears, worried about Dunken's reaction.
Dunken ran, Carly in arms screaming 'Ackerman', down the hall to the hospital wing were Nurse Canden, Laura, and Professor Beningo were already. "Laura, please leave, I need to speak with Professor Beningo alone." Laura left the room.
"It's him, headmaster. She keeps on screaming Ackerman, and she awoke doing this." "Keep her under close watch, give her what you can, Roberta." Nurse Canden rolled Carly away. "Do you think it is him, headmaster, The Guiltless"
"I'm afraid that there isn't much of another explanation, do you remember what happened to Harriet Harley"
"Yes, and Mona Meeks as well. And I've heard other stories of Juliet Jiggins and Persephone Peters, it all leads back to Radiance Riley"
"Oh yes, the story of Radiance Riley. All repeat the same thing, dressed in a dress, dark mysterious figures. And they all wake up screaming. But isn't she only screaming Ackerman"
"Yes, why"
"If I remember correctly, all of these women before her would scream "Cole Ackerman"
"What does that have to do with anything"
"Well, it could be something different, it has in fact been twenty years since the case of Harriet Harley, The Guiltless could have a change in his plans"
"What do you mean"
"Well, there is another change"
"What"
"Harriet, Mona, Juliet, and Persephone all died within five minutes of their panic attacks, all on the same night and time Radiance Riley was killed, October 31st at 2:59am."