Fever Dream

• Gypsy Gilbert, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2021

My brand new, fuffy blanket wraps around me, as I fall asleep into a deep slumber. Everything feeling right.

I wake up in a field of dried up grass. My mouth dry. I feel as though I been here before. My cousin's house. But it was different. Everything green is dead and everything new is old. I cautiously stand and walk over to the rickety and rusting house. I see my 'cousins' staring at me. I feel a sense of dread and quickly turn away.
"Maddie."
I hear their voices call out to me. I hesitantly turn around and try not to make eye contact.
"Want to play? Maybe we could go for a swim?"
I look over at the pool, glistening in the scorching sun.
"But I could have sworn it was just filthy-"
"Of course not." Their synchronise voices send shivers down my spine. I glance at their faces and almost scream. Their eyes are pitch black. They grin, their smiles taking up half their faces.

I turn away, ready to run, but a little girl stands in my way. Only five or six. Her silky, black hair flows around her shoulders.
Her dark green eyes staring into mine. I could trust her.
"Follow me" her emotionless face stares at me. She spins around in one robotic motion. I follow her. We walk past the, yet again, disgusting pool. Giant black spiders crawling in and out of the sharp rocks around the pool.
"Where are we going?" I whisper.
She merely shushes me.
Everything seemed to go fuzzy as we entered a field of knee-high, dry grass. The sound of a metal cage door rattles in my ears.
I try to stumble forward. The young girl seems unaffected by this weird force. She kneels and starts patting? Something like a bunny? My head spins. Everything seems so unclear. For a split-second, I blackout.

I open my eyes and see an underground tunnel in front of me.
"Go." The girl's voice suddenly turns to an urgent whisper "Now."

I don't have much of a choice. It's the only way. I turn to thank the girl but she's already gone. I step forward and take a deep breath, the smell of blood and rust is overwhelming. In front of me is a tunnel, it has dimly lit lanterns along the wall, I can barely make out my surroundings. The carpet is old and worn, it's a muddy red with a yellow pattern along the edges. There are several doors along the hall. Each room is filled with a different horror. The first room I walk past is a bathroom; a bloody, filthy, bathroom. I start to run. Something runs across my feet, tripping me over. I crash to the floor, hitting my head. Im in pain. Everything goes fuzzy again, I slowly and gradually close my eyes.

I wake up with a start in a cold sweat. Nothing feels right.