The Darkness of Forever

Chapter 5

‘Bark!’ ‘Bark!’ ‘Bark!’ I looked at my puppy and smiled. 

“Hey sweetie! Where have you been? Oh my gosh… I forgot to give you a name now didn’t I? Hm… Well, since you’re a girl, how about… Lulu. Do you like that?” I asked Lulu. She wagged her tail hard in reply. I sighed and cuddled Lulu into my chest, leaning against the wall next to my bed. My head started pounding, so I closed my eyes, hoping that would help. Except, as soon as my eyes closed, the voice came back. “Nicky-y! Help me! Help me! Nicky! NICKY!” The voice changed, and I opened my eyes, seeing my dad shaking me and yelling for me to get up. 

“What!” I asked, my voice hoarse for some reason. 

“Nicky, I ran up here when I heard you screaming… There was a black mist surrounding you! It was trying to close on you entirely, but didn’t seem like it could… When I ran into your room, it disappeared.” He said breathlessly. I froze, remembering the voice I heard before I apparently fell asleep. 

“There was a voice… It kept saying my name and telling me to help it… It’s voice was really creepy, and it just scared me so much that I get the shivers thinking about it!” I said, tears falling in a steady stream down my cheek. I’ve been doing a bunch of crying lately. “Dad, what is this thing? What does it want with me?!” My voice was shaking really badly, so I took a couple deep breaths. 

“I don’t know honey… It may just be nothing. I may have just imagined the mist… but I’ve got to run an errand. So I’ll be back later. Eat something.” And with that, my dad kissed my forehead and left. I waited a couple minutes, then walked into the kitchen, grabbed a power bar, and left to take a walk.

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When I came back, I heard a noise up in my room and went up. “Hey Nicky! What’s up?” asked Annie in her soft voice. I looked at her, confused on how she’d gotten inside, then smiled. “Not much, just went out to take a walk. You?” Annie smiled mysteriously than changed the subject. 

“Hey, where’s your puppy?” she asked. I looked around, eyes wide, until I heard a small whimper from under my bed. When I looked underneath my bed, Lulu was cowering at the end of the bed. I grabbed her and brought her out from under my bed. 

“Lulu! I’m so sorry sweetie! I forgot all about you! I’m so, so, so sorry!” I said, holding Lulu tight to my chest. She licked my face, and I took that as an acceptance to my apology. I quickly filled her food and water bowl. 

“Lulu?! That totally fits her personality!” Annie said, her smile bright. I nodded, than held my breath. 

“Let’s go to the future! Last time I checked, we have a meeting there… with ourselves!” I said, full of excitement! 

“Let’s go!” Annie replied, her smile even brighter, and grabbed my hand. I focused all my thoughts on the future, closing my eyes tightly. Seconds later, I let go of Annie’s hand and opened my eyes. 

“Hey!” a familiar voice said. I turned around and saw Drake. My insides went all gooey, and I giggled. 

“Hi! H-how are you?” I asked, feeling drunk with the pleasure of seeing him. Drake looked at me and smiled, showing brilliantly white teeth. 

“So, where’d you go? You just disappeared on me!” he said, a teasing smile on his face. I heard Annie sigh impatiently, but I was in my own world now. Population: 2. Me, and Drake. 

“Oh… um… Annie had to… drag me off… to do something…” I stuttered, trying to sound sane. Drakes blue eyes flashed a little bit, but it was so quick that I barely noticed. “So, did you find a way to… fix… your mom?” I asked, feeling giddy. Drake smiled again, and laughed a deep throaty laugh.