M. Aline

Boom.

I heard the strangled scream of an older woman before her body fell. As if I were in a movie, I was suddenly brought into the scene and looking straight at the dead carcass of a loved one I never wanted to see. Red painted her neck in the print of a hand. Shock filled my body, but the fear of being a witness had me nearly tripping over my feet just to get away. Once I thought I was in the clear and far enough from the scene, I turned back for one final glance only to come face-to-face with the man who killed her. His face was emotionless. All I could see was the face of a murderer. Nearly ready to kill the man myself, I reached for my gun only to find it missing. I tried not to panic as I looked back up and into the eyes of this stone of a man. Instead, there was a gun pointed right at me. And it was my own.

Bang. Bang.

Down the rabbit hole I went. Falling further and further into the soil where my feet once were. Until…thump! My body hit the ground. The hole I fell down was now above me and beginning to close until daylight would no longer show. The excess dirt splattered on my skin and clothes as the stench of a rotten corpse filled my nostrils.

Swirls of black and white filled my vision as if hypnosis was settling in. Then a door appeared, and I found myself drained of any energy to walk towards it. Instead, I found myself crawling. An iridescent ball gown now swallowed me whole and made it more of a struggle to slide through the shrunken space. Sweat slid down my brow and threatened to fall into my eyes. I quickly brushed my arm up to dry my face. As I finally reached the opening, I nearly face-planted. Before me was the strangest sight…a red beaded curtain that separated me from seeing the other side. As I regained my energy, I slowly pulled myself up and began to walk through the secured area only to end up in my grandmother’s basement. I furrowed my brows in confusion and began to scan the area. Clothes were out of place, shoes were lined up in color order, hats were strewn across the ground…

Something was eerie. I couldn’t put my finger on it but being here didn’t feel right. And that feeling began to grow in the pit of my stomach as I walked further into the dimly lit room. When would this feeling go away? This was becoming a nightmare I couldn’t escape. What a strange nightmare it was.

An aroma of citrus filled the room and then, I heard a clock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. A ray of light shone down, and checkered stairs appeared. One foot after another, I skeptically made my way up. As I reached the final step, I found nothing but emptiness at the top. A slight breeze blew over, crystal blue painting the sky. Nothing about this made me feel safe. Below me was never-ending sky. Before I knew it, I tripped over the last step and was falling once again. I tried to scream but the sound was muffled as if I were attempting to breathe underwater. At that thought, bubbles began to float from my lips. I looked down to see a chain wrapped around my waist and tying me down to an anchor. I fought and fought to unwrap the chains that were weighing me down but to no avail.

My eyes weren’t closing but I felt myself losing consciousness. Slowly but surely, my breathing came to a stop. I could feel droplets of water hitting and falling off my face. Then my name was called out in the distance, “Lilah.” Before I knew it, my name was being screamed, “Lilah Rose!”

Hands gripped my shoulders and shook me until my eyes flew open. Ellison was hovering over me, a strand of his caramel hair falling against his sunkissed face. I quickly sat up and straightened out my floral dress. “You had a nightmare. What was it about?” He asked me, crossing his arms over his chest. My mind drew a blank. Confusion overtook my features as I drew a sigh, “I can’t remember.”

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Part 2? Let me know what you think. Thank you for reading!