I Hope This Is A Dream

• Brianna Pick, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2015

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to erase what just happened. Where is my friend! Where am I? These thoughts race through my mind as rapid as my heart does. My breathing is intense, my body is freezing up, locking into place. I slowly open my eyes and peer at my surroundings. I am surrounded by a forest. Minimal light breaches the trees from above, I know it is a full moon, that’s all I want to remember right now. I need to find Riley, I need to make sure my friend is safe. There is a light trail in front of me. It glistens the bits of bark that have fallen from the trees, they light up as if they were actually water reflecting the moonlight. I walk, calling out Riley’s name. No answer.
I keep walking, I can feel a presence behind me. My body tingles and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I stop walking, I’ve stopped. Who is there, better yet, what.
“Hello…” I say softly, hoping it is just my imagination.
There’s no response.
I turn around slowly, only for horror to fill my mind. Something is staring at me. Its eyes are as white as the moon, its eyes being the only thing visible. It begins to growl and walks towards me. I am stiff with fear. I can’t move, my body is seizing. Its face is too close to mine. its face only has eyes and a slight crease where its mouth would be. It can see my fear, it can sense it. It’s tall, with an elongated body, long enough to catch me if I run. I don’t know why it is observing me, I just want it to go away from me, I just want this to be a dream. The moon goes above and lights us both, I can see it clearly now. It’s a creature from every worst nightmare, still it continues to stare. It twitches slightly and turns its head towards the left. It smiles, showing its razor sharp teeth covered in blood. The blood begins to drip from each tooth, creating a mesmerising effect on its body. The light above begins to fade. It is slowly disappearing. The creature turns back to me as I slowly begin to step back. It knows what I am trying to do, it doesn’t want me to leave. It looks back to the left and smiles again. I look to where it is looking. To my horror I see Riley. Just the body, not the head. How could it do this to my friend? Is it going to do this to me? I start to panic as the light is still rapidly fading. Soon I won’t be able to see anything, I won’t be able to escape. I can’t escape! I can’t run, the creature will catch me. What can I do? I can’t stop myself, oh no. I start to scream as loud as I can.