A Horrible Dream (Post Fourteen)

Suddenly the world came back to him.  It was still pouring rain, harder than it had the entire trip.  If it wasn't for the headlights, the car would have been lost behind a curtain of water.  Instead the beams waved eerily in the deluge, shining bright onto the side of the house.  He took a quick look back at the closed door and ran, more to get as much distance between him and the house than to get out of the rain.

Beth threw the door open as he came near and he jumped in, slamming the door shut behind him.  "Where is she?  Where is Sam?  She's coming, right?"  Beth was doing her best to stare through the glass, distorted by the rain as it was.  There wasn't much to see.

"No.  No, she... She's not.  I don't know where she is.  Something's not right.  Something about her is not right."  He did his best to wipe the dripping water from his face, but it was of little use.  The others just stared at him in silence, not sure what to say or what to do.  He shuddered, cold from the rain and just shaken to his core.  "We need to go."  Marla hesitated behind the wheel, not wanting to leave Sam. "Go!"  She jumped at his harshness and threw the car into reverse.  He sighed and leaned his sopping head back against the seat, closing his eyes and gulping air.  It was only now just hitting him what he had experienced.  It made no sense.  It terrified him.

"Are you okay?"  It was Beth.  Her hand found his shoulder and he looked at her, though didn't really see her.

"I'm fine.  I just need to catch my breath."  He was still reliving the house.  The creature at the bottom of the stairs lurked in his mind, its swaying causing his head to throb and his stomach to churn.  Resigning himself to the fact that Sam is gone was difficult.  She was right there in front of him, just sitting there.  He couldn't explain what had happened.  It all seemed like a dream. Just a horrible, horrible dream.

"It was horrible wasn't it?"  Jack's voice sounded dry and cracked, so small in the tiny pace of the car.  He looked at Jack and found his hollow eyes staring back, unwavering with the sway of the car making its way down the long, unpaved drive.  "The voices.  They don't stop."  Jack's gaze seemed to withdraw into himself, his eyes glazing over as he sunk back into his own personal nightmare.  Eventually Jack swiveled back towards the front, still muttering about the voices.  Beth had gone silent as well, her hand still on his shoulder, her fingers absently squeezing.  The real touch felt good after what he had seen in the house.

Suddenly Marla screamed and the car hit something then swerved off the gravel road.  They slid sideways through the mud a ways before the car came to a stop facing the opposite direction.  The four sat silently, eyes wide and breathing heavily.  Beth started asking around if everyone was alright.  Jack slid down in his seat and was holding his head.  He was visibly trembling now, his hands clamped tight to his ears.

Marla turned to him and tried to help him sit up.  He refused and pulled deeper into his curl.  "Jack, what?  Are you alright?"  She pulled at his hands but he shrugged her off and turned away as best he could.  He was mumbling something under his breath and there was blood starting to run around his hands.  "Jack, sit up so I can see you!  Are you alright?"  Marla was more forcibly pulling at him but he continued to refuse.

"Make it stop."  It was quiet but his voice was audile now.  Marla stopped and asked him what he said.  "Make it stop."  He repeated it over and over again.

"Jack.  Alright.  I stopped.  Jack, what's wrong?"  Marla seemed to be at a loss her; voice was soft and quiet.  She rubbed his back, but even that seemed to make Jack cringe.  Still he continued muttering.

Everyone jumped when Beth let out a scream and pointed out the front of the car.  Except for Jack, their gazes all followed her finger out the windshield and into the rain.  Sam was there, standing in the eerie glow of the headlights.  Her hair was down and partially covering her face, the rain making it stringy and heavy.  She was wearing a simple white dress now, stained on the chest by something dark.  Her hands hung limply at her sides and her one visible eye was half closed and lazily staring at nothing in front of her.  She continued to sway, just as before, but the rain and distance made it impossible to hear if she was still humming.

At that moment Jack sat up screaming, "MAKE IT STOP!"  His hands clawed at his ears, the skin now ripped and gouged as his fingers worked.  He turned to the door and fumbled with the latch, throwing it open and bolting from the car into the dark, wet woods.  His screaming echoed into the distance.  Marla called after him but was unable to get out due to a tree pinning her door shut.

When they looked back, Sam was gone.  "Wher- Sam.  Sam's gone again.  Where?"  Beth's eyes were wide and her breathing was rapid as she swiveled to look out all sides of the car.  She turned back towards the front of the car and sank into the seat, her shoulders slack and head down.  "I just want to go home."  Her soft whimper could barely be heard.  "I want to get out of here."

"I know.  We all do."  He put his arm around her and pulled her shaking form close.  She leaned into him and continued crying, burying her head in his shoulder.

Marla was still freaking out about Jack.  She ripped her seatbelt off and scrambled over the center console of the car, cursing when she banged her knee on the gear shifter.  Then she was out of the car and running off into the woods after Jack, whose screams could still be heard, albeit faintly over the rain.  Beth had picked her head up and was staring after Marla, her eyes wet and heavy with tears.

He looked past Beth and out the window behind her.  There were two purple orbs glowing faintly in the dark woods, unmoving and menacing in the distance.  He placed his hand on the back of her head and gently pushed it back down into his shoulder, comforting her.  She hugged him tight.  Jack's screams had stopped now.  "It'll be alright.  We'll get home.  Don't worry."  He continued talking to her softly, promising her that there was nothing to worry about, all the while watching the orbs.  This all had to be just a dream.  A horrible, horrible dream.