Chapter 2: Scary Stories
Nell ran from the classroom, pushing open the doors and stepping out into the rain. She pulled her jacket up over her neck and ran towards her dorm. It really sucked not being able to bring her car up here. She'd be running through the rain and bad weather for the whole freshman year. Slipping a few times, she managed to make it back fairly early. As she dragged her bags out and locked her room, her phone rang. It was her dad calling from the car. About an hour later she was home hugging her brother Robert. For the rest of the day the family hung out at home and played catch-up. After dinner, she headed upstairs to put Robert to sleep. When he had nodded off, she headed off to her bedroom and flopped down on her bed. Staring at her ceiling, she smiled as the name Jareth popped up in the back of her mind. She laughed through her smiling teeth, thinking about it. How unreal it all seamed, at one point she had been convinced it was a dream and she had simply lost her silly bracelet, but inside she knew. She knew it was real because once you've been to the labyrinth you were changed forever.
Kicking up her feet, she swung herself forward and off the bed. She stumbled a bit, and then went across the room to dig through her closet. At the very bottom of her thickest chest, she pulled out a tiny red book. Nell ran a hand over the cover like it was made from the finest velvet instead of shabby old paper. Standing up, she took the book over to her bed and sat down on the edge. The stiff pages cracked open. She skimmed through the pages remembering the story and how it had been so very different from what she had expected. When she had gotten back she wrote her adventures down so she wouldn't forget them. Nell put the book down on the bed and went over to her computer. Once it loaded, she checked to make sure it was still there. She had never dared to print it out, but it was nice to know that it was there if she needed it. After reading through most of it she yawned and turned off the computer. After a long shower that steamed up the entire bathroom she went back to her bed and threw the covers out of her way. After crawling in, she replaced the covers and snuggled up to her dreams.
The next day went by too fast for Nell's liking. She sat in her room thinking about going back to school the next day. Listening to her stepmom tell Robby a story, she peeked her head out of her door. Her face grew muddled as familiar words mumbled on. Curiosity pulled her out of her room and along the hallway. Only once she grew nearer to his room, she realized what story her stepmother was reading. "NO!" She shouted running into the room. Her stepmother just looked at her with a laugh. "Look, Robby, your big Sis doesn't want me to wish you away." Nell stood dumbstruck as she chuckled. "I wish the Goblins would come take you away right now!" She laughed some more and said, "See Nell, nothing bad happened. No scary Goblin nightmares for anyone." She smiled warmly after the slight tease about the "nightmare" Nell had told them about a year ago; but Nell's heart had sunk into the pit of her stomach. Nell took the book quietly from her and said, "Silvia, I don't want anyone borrowing or reading this book, ok?" Her stepmother looked confused but replied, "All right, I'm sorry Nell, it was on your floor, I just assumed it was ok." Nell walked out of the room without another sound. "It's alright Robert, you won't have any bad dreams, will you?" crooned Silvia lovingly. Footsteps seemed heavier as Nell made her way back to her room. Once she had put the book back at the bottom of the trunk and closed it with a thud, Nell sat on her knees in front of it for a while. A cold wind crossed her cheek and she turned to look over her shoulder. Getting up quickly, she turned to face the empty window. No one was there… no Goblins, no Gobblers, no Trynris, and no…
"I guess the window just blew open on its own."
Even as she said the words, she knew they weren't true. She closed the window slowly and looked around outside just incase a white owl was nearby. He couldn't come back for Robby, right? That was part of the deal. She didn't sleep well that night and the next day, she was torn about leaving Robby alone. She gave him a big hug before her father drove off.