The Ring

Chapter 3

     I wake up to Chippy whining and literally jumping on me. "Chip! OFF!" I pat his side and he takes the hint to jump off my bed. I look over at my clock. 2 A.M.!? You've gotta be fricken kidding me! Chippy starts yelping quietly and his tail is in between his legs. "Chip quiet! You'll wake grandma!" Not only does he get louder, but he starts scratching at my door. "OK OK OK! One sec!" Still half asleep and a little more that irritated, I kick away my covers and walk over and reach for my door knob. Before the door is even two centimeters open, Chippy shoves his nose into the crack between the door and the wall and opens it himself, causing the door to smack me in the face in the process, then bolts across the hall into grandma's room. "OWW! SHI---" I stop myself. I do swear, like many teenagers do, but if Grandma were to ever hear me doing it, well, let's just say I'd regret it... BIG TIME. Holding my hand over the knot forming over my right eye, I tip toe across the hall and peek into grandma's room. Surprisingly, she isn't awake, and Chippy is curled up next to her head. "Thanks a lot man." I whisper sarcastically to Chip, and close the door a little, but not all the way, just in case Chip decides to pull another little 'act'. Still tired and now with another pounding headache, I stumble back into my room and close my door.

     Jeez, my head really hurts, I better check it out."  Thankfully, I have my own bathroom connected to my bedroom. I walk into my bathroom and flip the light switch and am blinded by the fluorescent lights. I blink about a million times and finally my eyes adjust. I lean into my mirror and sure enough I have a knot the size of a ping pong ball right above my eye. To top it off it's even turning colors. Like an idiot, I get curious and decide to poke it. "Ow!! Aw dang it!!" I'm gonna need some ice on this. I reach into my random, yet convenient, mini fridge. Yes, I have a mini fridge in my bathroom, but it's for the freezer part only. And ok maybe I sneak a few sodas and stuff once in awhile, but it's pretty much for the freezer.  And in my handy-dandy freezer I have three ice packs. I pull one out and wrap it in a wash cloth. Groaning and turning off the lights I walk back to my bed and bury myself under the covers. I press play on my movie again and look at the ring. I smile. Still there.  With the ice on my head and my movie started over I fall asleep surprisingly fast.

     I'm dreaming. And for once it's not a nightmare. Nobody's dying, nothing's on fire, it's actually pretty peaceful. I'm standing in the forest, in a clearing. Right in the middle of the clearing is a huge tree. For no reason at all I run towards the tree. I reach it and just look up. Then, before I know it, I'm climbing it. I just keep going higher and higher, there's no stopping me. I reach up to grab another branch and find nothing but air. I'm at the top. And for some weird reason, There is a beanbag at the top of the tree. With no fear at all I walk on a pretty thin branch and sit in the beanbag. As I sit down, a cooling breeze wisps past me. I take in my surroundings and see nothing but trees. Beautiful shades of green. I lay my head back and just breathe. Here, I don't feel scared, or troubled in any way. I take  this time to actually relax and just clear my head. And it feels.. amazing.

     A dull ringing sound breaks me out of my relaxation. I look around, but nothing's there. Hmm, what was that? Just then it rings again, this time getting louder, clearer, and a little closer. The sound can be described a thousand ways, but one stands out. Beautiful. I stand and continue to look around, extremely curious to find the source. The ringing is getting louder, and is even clearer. It sounds like bells. A hundred little bells all ringing in perfect harmony. As the ringing gets louder, the wind picks up speed. Withing seconds, the ringing is so loud and feels so close that I feel I could just reach out and grab it. And I do. I reach with all my might and grab nothing. My stomach drops as I realize what I just did. The wind picks me off my feet and I'm hurtling towards the ground.

     I wake up with a start. I grab my clock and force my eyes open to check the time. 2:45 A.M. Greaaat. I start to put my alarm clock back down right next to where I put my mother's ring. I use my other hand to search for the ring, to make sure I don't set my cock on top of it, and I don't feel it. Ignoring the throbbing in my head, I'm suddenly wide awake and alert. Panick sets in and I turn on my bed side lamp. Light floods the room once more, but I hardly notice. The only thing I can see is the empty spot where the ring had just been not 45 minutes ago. Just then, I hear the ringing again. What the hell?! I whip my head to the left where I had heard the sound. Nothing's there. I stand up and look everywhere. Under my bed, behind my bedside table, in the jewlery box, but my ring is nowhere to be found. Shit shit shit!!! Where is it, come on!!! A little movement catches my eye. I turn back towards my bed, nothing. Must be a bug... Then the ringing picks up again. I slowly turn toward my window, and a quick movement of light flies over it and lands in my open dresser drawer. Now, I'm freaked out. I grab my old baseball bat from behind my door and raise it over my head. I slowly make my way to the dresser and just as I'm about to look into it, Something small and glowing flies into my face. I scream like there's no tomorrow for two reasons. One, it scared the crap out of me. Two, a tiny little voice was screaming with me.