Nightmare after nightmare traumatized my sleep that night. It was the same dream, every time. Spiders, thousands of them, were everywhere, all over my bed, my room, my walls, myself, and no matter what I did, no matter how many I killed, no matter how long I screamed, they kept coming.
I'd wake up in a cold sweat, only to fall asleep and relive the dream again. After it'd happened a third time, I decided it had to have meant something. I worked to stay awake, curious if I'd feel any blasts of air or see any demonic things in the form of dead kids. After thirty-five minutes of lying in the dark, blankets pulled up all around me, I began to doze off.
I was almost a goner when a sudden interruption forced me back into consciousness. The ghastly, contorted face of the darkling appeared once again before, at the edge of my bed. My eyes widened with horror, but I didn't have time to scream. Its neck had already stretched off, and with one final gory look, it disappeared completely, vanishing as quickly as it had come.
I waited five seconds to make sure it was really gone—the last thing I wanted was for a demented head following me in the dark—before dashing to Caleb's room. I didn't want to look like a freaked out little girl, but he'd told me to tell him if I saw, felt or heard anything strange. Besides, he himself had screamed like a little kid when the face appeared before us in the car.
When five seconds were up—and I counted—I hurried across the hall and threw open the door to Caleb's room. Just like that night before, he was awake. There was no thunder, only the light pattering of rain on the windows, so he heard me.
He looked up. "What's up?"
"I saw it again."
He didn't need to ask what "It" was. "When?"
"Ten seconds ago, literally."
The shrill ringing of his phone made us both jump. He groaned and reached over to pick it up. The floorboards were chilly, so I perched on the base of his bed frame, my feet on the blankets.
"It's Pogue," he mouthed.
I nodded.
"Yeah?" Caleb winced as he sat up. He was shirtless and sweaty. I grimaced.
"Honestly, Caleb, is it so hard to wear a shirt?"
He held up a finger, clutching the phone to his ear to hear what Pogue was saying.
"Put it on speaker," I whispered, and soon both of us could hear Pogue's voice.
"I just saw that same darkling you and Char saw—that dead kid at the Dells." His voice sounded a little nervous. "What the hell is it?"
"Hey, Pogue," I said, leaning closer to the phone.
"Charlotte?" he asked.
"Who else?" I said. "I just saw it, too, like thirty seconds before you called."
I heard him mutter something on the other end—it sounded like a swear word.
"To answer your question, Pogue," Caleb said, taking the phone back, "I don't know what it is. But it's starting to freak me out. I tell you, someone's using the Power, and I mean big time. I intend to find out who."
"We intend to," I corrected automatically.
The line went silent, and Caleb hung up.
"Go back to sleep, Char," he said. "We'll worry about this tomorrow."
Wearily, I trudged back to my room, fell onto my bed, somehow got myself under the covers, and fell asleep.
The next morning dawned cloudy and…grey. There was no other way to put it. Grey days—though they were the norm in Ipswich—were a pain. Still tired from being up last night, and from worrying, I overslept, and therefore, was in a rush to get ready.
I threw on the ugly Spencer uniform—which consisted of a horrid turtleneck sweater, a tacky knee-length skirt, and long, itchy stockings. Pinning my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck, I hurried downstairs. I knew I couldn't make breakfast, so I grabbed a granola bar. Caleb had pulled the car around and was honking like crazy outside. Knowing his irritation would grow the longer I took, I proceeded to do my makeup in the car on the way to school.
Caleb was tired too, and grouchier than usual.
"Don't get makeup on the seats, Char," he moaned when I dropped my blush brush.
"We just went over a freaking pot hole! Calm down!"
"Just be careful with it," he growled again.
We pulled into the Spencer parking lot just as the first bell began to ring. I threw my makeup into my messenger bag and slung it over my shoulder. It was hard to run when I was heavier on one side, so I settled for a crazy sprint.
We burst into our first class, breathless, but we were lucky. People were still milling around. I hated this room. It was so stiff and awkward. It looked too much like a building from Washington D.C. then for a high school classroom. The seats were on one side, rising up higher and higher, with high-backed benches covered in ugly blue fabric, which were horribly itchy.
I found my seat in the middle of the circular seats, sitting with Sarah and Kate. Caleb went to sit with Pogue a few rows down. I scanned the room for Tyler and Reid, spotting the latter next to a few of his other friends. He shot me a hard smile, and I knew he was still pissed from last night.
"Good morning," the teacher said. He looked so tiny from where I was sitting—another this that aggravated me about this room—the bizarre height thing.
"Mr. Danvers," the teacher said. My head snapped up. "Provost Higgins requests the pleasure of your company after class."
I pulled out my cell phone—this was one of the few benefits of this room…we could text without getting caught—and my fingers flew across the keyboard.
What did you do?I sent.
Really? He responded.
Come on.
You shouldn't be texting in class.
Hypocrite. You do it all this time.
Only when the lesson is boring.
The lessons are always boring!
No, they aren't.
Answer the freaking question Caleb.
I don't know.
Yes, you do.
No, I don't.
Fine. Be like that.
Like what?
Oh, never mind.
I slid my phone shut with a sigh.
"You okay?" asked Sarah.
I found a smile for her. "Yeah."
"Now, we're going to study four American contemporary writers of fiction," came the teacher's voice. "Cormac McCarthy, Tim O'Brien, Kent Haruf, and last, but certainly not least, Stephen King."
"Yeaaaaaah!" Reid's mocking voice came from above us. "Dreamcatcher was the bomb!"
I burst out guffawing before I could stop myself. Caleb looked at me sharply, as he'd heard my loud outburst. He could he not have heard me? I was known for my loud, snorting laughter. He shook his head slightly. I tried to restrain my giggles, but I was not alone. Snickers and laughter erupted from all over the cavernous room.
"Thank you, Mr. Garwin,but my choice is The Shining."
Reid smiled tightly, which made me start laughing again.
"Miss Danvers, is there a problem?"
I blushed. "No, sir."
Class seemed impossibly long and boring after that. Caleb slipped out right before class ended. I stood and chatted with Sarah and Kate and Pogue for a little while after class before leaving, too. I hurried down the halls towards the headmaster's office, hoping to get there before classes started switching.
I got there quickly and no one was around so I slumped down against the wall and rubbed my temples. I could feel the makeshift knot of hair on my neck begin to fall, and I began to pull the bobby pins that held it in place one by one. The door opened and Caleb stepped out.
"What are you doing down there?" he asked.
"Cleaning the floor with this ugly uniform," I said sarcastically. "What do you think I'm doing, Caleb? I'm waiting for you."
He muttered something and started walked. I jumped up and followed him. "Well, what did he say?" I huffed, struggling to pull my bag over my shoulder.
"Nothing. Just asked me about Chase, the kid who died at the Dells and the fight at Nicky's."
I cussed under my breath. "Screw Aaron. That can't be good."
"It's nothing," he assured me. "I hope."
Classes were changing, so we said good-bye. He headed to chemistry and I had free period, so I went to the library.
I found Sarah hunched over a book, reading intently. I looked over her shoulder, scanning for the title. I couldn't find it, but I recognized the color and the binding…and my heart sped up. It looked like the Chronicles of Paganism. She was immersed, so she didn't hear me behind her.
Damn, I thought. Our family history.
"Hey Sarah!" I said.
She jumped. "Hey."
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay."
"What are you reading?" I asked, pulling up a chair next to her.
"Chronicles of Paganism," she said. "It's for a project."
I looked at the page that she'd been reading. I scanned it…and four words stood out. They were surnames, ours to be exact. Danvers, Simms, Garwin and Perry. Great. Wonderful. Fantastic.
"Uh, find any of these books interesting?" I asked, desperate to distract her with another story, though I didn't need to, because Kate came up and claimed her attention.
After school, we had swim practice. I sat talking with Reid and Tyler when Pogue and Caleb joined us.
"So what did the provost want?" asked Tyler.
"Someone told him about the fight at Nicky's," Caleb responded, running his hands through his hair.
"Aaron can go straight to hell," muttered Reid. I poked him and he and I shared a grin.
"Feel like elaborating on that?" asked Reid, eyeing Caleb.
"You gotta piece of glass in your face," said Pogue.
Reid grinned and slapped his hand away. Tyler and Caleb laughed. I smiled. It was good to have things back to normal.
Caleb had dinner with Sarah after swim practice, and Mother was away with friends, which didn't happen often, but I was glad. I rarely got the house to myself.
I changed into sweats as soon as I got home and then I pulled my wet hair into a ponytail. I flopped on my bed after that, just staring at the ceiling. It was quiet…too quiet. I leaned over and picked a random song from my iPod and hit play.
Paramore's "Misery Business" came on and I closed my eyes, listening to the lyrics and focusing on them…refusing to let my mind wander to anything but the song. Things began to fade and darkness began to take over…
My eyes flew open. The light was still on, but I had no idea of what time it was. It was dark outside, and I sat up, fumbling around for the iPod speaker remote. The music had been playing the entire time I'd been asleep. The clock said eleven ten, which meant I'd been sleeping for nearly six hours.
I groaned, kicked off my slippers and slid under the covers. I was asleep as soon as I turned the light off.
Sorry it took me so long to update! I've been very busy lately, but things have calmed down significantly, so now I can write. Yay! This chapter was a little slower, but the next one will be better. Please review!