Actions Have Consequences

Chapter 8

The wind rustled around the skin of the school as I lay on the floor shaking, cold and hungry. Forcing myself to get up, I ran to the door of the hall. My throat cracked when I realized I couldn't get it open; my hands just wouldn't grab the knob. Turning my body around, I let out a high pitched scream as John faced me from the middle of the hall. He cackled as I attempted to run away. But where to? I didn't know, I just kept running. As I ran, the door never seemed to appear closer as if I was running on the spot, only, I knew I wasn't. I stopped running and turned back around, staring at the empty hall, where John no longer stood.

"Dad?" I whispered. The room flashed and my Mom stood in his place. I wanted to cry, to tell her that I was scared, to hear her reply that everything would be okay, but the windows of the hall blasted open and the wind began to howl around us. I started running again, this time to my Mom, but as a huge gale of wind whipped across my face, she floated away slowly, disappearing into millions of pieces of dust. My fingers reached out to catch her, but they just ended up groping at air.

The wind stopped suddenly and the hall fell silent. The door that I'd tried to escape out of opened and a tall, thin woman walked in. The noise of her heels touching the floor, and the sound of my heart racing, was the only noise you could hear. Her light brunette hair was placed neatly in a bun, and her spectacles sat softly on the middle of her nose. She was wearing a suit; long, grey pencil skirt, and a white ruffled blouse, underneath the grey jacket. I didn't know who she was but she stopped in front of me and smiled, flashing a row of white, straight teeth, and greeted, "Welcome to Cobham Hall!"

My eyes flew open as I screamed. I rolled over - a little too far - and landed on the floor, yet, I continued to scream.

"What?! What?!" My Mom panicked, jumping out her bed and kneeling down beside me. She put her hand on my forehead, seeing that I was shaken by something. "It's okay, honey, calm down, you're alright."

John got out of bed too and came over to see what was wrong. "What's happened?"

I didn't want to talk to him after what I'd seen in my dream - or nightmare. After he'd appeared evil, I was scared of him.

"Mom, there was you, and John-" I glared at him -"And we were at the school, and the wind, and the teacher, and you disappeared, and I was running, and-"

"Stop babbling. I take it you had a bad dream?" My Mom said calmly.

I nodded and closed my eyes, thinking of cute puppies.

"There, there. It's time to get up anyway, you don't want to be late for your first day at -" she started, but I interrupted her.

"Don't say it. Please, for frick sake, do not say it," I begged.

"Don't talk like that. What's wrong with Cobham Hall?" John asked, after I just told them both not to say it.

"Everything!" I wept.

"It's your own fault," John grumbled.

And he was right.

We got ourselves showered and dressed, then left the room to go down for breakfast. John stuffed himself with a full English breakfast which consisted of fried eggs, sausages, bacon, mushrooms, beans, and tomato. He'd complimented the staff on how well they'd prepared it, while I'd sat embarrassed. I had toast with butter and jam, along with some apple juice. I didn't drink tea or coffee, nor ate cereal. My Mom had a mixture of what was offered; tea, toast, cereal, yoghurt and fruit.

After breakfast we went back up to the room, tidied up a little bit, then went back down and checked out. The receptionist called a 'taxi' for us and within five minutes there was a cab outside the Travelodge. John and Mom thanked the staff and we departed from the building.