Ok, I'm finally gonna try writing a story again Why? Cuz I feel like it. Yeah...so...starting from scratch...again...I wonder if I'll ever make it past the fifth chapter of any of my stories, lol. And yes, I realize at the moment that it really sucks. I'm going to edit it one day.

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Every gasp for breath was a struggle. Every pound of the heart brought a sharp pain. Zach ran down the street of the remains of a city. He ran past house after house, glass windows cracked, doors half-destroyed. The sky was dark and gloomy, a starless night. The moon shone high overhead; it's glare staring down on his back, as though shearing it with intense cold heat. Zach continued to run, desperately trying to escape It. He was certain it was close behind, just out of sight, just out of reach.

He could feel It lurking within the shadows, coming closer, and closer. Within moments It was closed in on him and pounced. With the last remaining energy, Zach gave a great burst of speed and dived forward onto the pavement, his seemingly last chance to resist It at all.

With a thud, he crashed onto the ground. His left palm scraped a shard of glass and blood began flowing, causing him to gasp in pain. It made its presence known, and Zach braced himself, as It jumped…

Zach gave a sudden start. He almost jumped out of his chair as he pushed back and leaned against it, his hands hanging limply at his side. Still gasping for breath, Zach felt sweat trickling down his face. He felt a drop fall down his hand, and he looked down to see that his left palm was covered in blood. He had a cut on it.

Zach squeezed his eyes shut, and put his head back on the edge of the chair's upper rim. After a few moments, as his breathing began to calm, Zach slowly opened his eyes. He saw his homework, now wet with sweat and blood, before him on his desk in his room. His ten questions were still blank, and his pen lay on the floor. He had a desk lamp on the corner of his desk, its neck stretching like a long, withered snake over the desk, casting a luminous glower over his desk. A pencil tray stretched from his desk lamp to the other corner, filled with crumpled pieces of paper and pencils.

Without another moment, Zach reached to his drawer on the right and opened it, revealing a small box. He quickly removed the box from the drawer and shoved his homework to the side, placing the box in middle. Then, he took the cover off and pulled out a photo of a young woman who appeared to be in her late 20s. She was sitting on a bench in a park, with the trees blowing in the background. Her long, soft, brown hair was blowing in the wind, as the trees behind her blew. She had green eyes that were large and soft, and seemed to comfort Zach as he smiled sweetly at the picture of his mother. Carefully, he set the picture aside and reached into the box again to pull out a letter.

Please take care of my baby Zachary. I realize that I am burdening you with a task, but would you please be as so kind as to take care of him. Do not worry, for I will be back to collect him before long. Thank you, kind souls.

Diana

Zachary closed his eyes and rested his head in his arms on his desk. His breathing had already slowed and returned to normal, and he felt relaxed, his muscles not quite so tense. He'd been having these dreams every time he slept, and it always comforted him when he read the letter afterwards. His mother would come back for him, as she promised, but 15 years later he still lived with his adoptive parents. With a sigh, Zachary set his precious items back into his box, and continued to set it back into his drawer. He clasped his hand over his face before realizing it was still covered in blood. With haste, he took a tissue from his box near his desklamp and wiped his face with it. Dripping with blood, he dropped the tissue onto the ground and set his head on the table, too tired to do anything else. But he could not fall asleep. No, if he were to fall asleep, he'd end up back there again. He had to avoid that at all cost. He could not let It kill him, not when his mother would come back one day to get him…