The Hallway

Chapter 2- There's Something Wrong with Addison

May 4, 1986 - 3:00 A.M. - Flashback

I was now 5. I remember waking up at 3:00am, sharp. I had this gut feeling to go downstairs and look on the couch. We had crisp, white, fabric couches. I remember going down the stairs and into our living room. My stomach had dropped when the crisp white couches were covered in blood. Fresh blood. There was a body of a little girl with long black hair. She had a gunshot, and there was a gun laying to the side of her. She reached out to me and said, "Help,". I can remember screaming at the top of my lungs and my mom came running down the stairs. She asked me what was wrong. I showed her what I saw, and she didn't see anything. It was only me. It was always only me...

I was crying. I was crying so hard. The vision of this girl reaching out to me haunted me. My mother thought I was crazy. From that day on, every night at 3 AM sharp, I would shoot up from my bed, wide awake. The girl would be standing in my room, in the corner. Her eyes were a sad shade of gray. I remember the tears that she would always have coming down her face. She would say help me, and then I would blink and she would be gone. The silence after she left was eerie. There wasn't the sound of a cricket; nothing. Just pure, haunting silence. My mom told me it was my imagination. I believed her for awhile. 

September 18, 1996 - 7:45 A.M. - Present Day

After my strange morning, I had finally arrived at school. I walked to school, as it was only 5 minutes away from my home. The school was bustling and loud. I couldn't stand all the noise, it was driving me crazy. I stood still, unable to move. People bumped into me, knocking my books from my arm. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see straight. I could just see... them. There were 3 of them. They were sad. They didn't fit in, kind of like me. There were scars on their arms and they were carrying a burden. They reached out to me and slowly, and all at once said, "Help us," My heart started racing and I felt sick. Blood dripped from their heads as they cried out. In fear, I ran to the bathroom and sunk down to the floor under the sink. 

I was crying hysterically. I was rocking back and forth, back and forth. The tears stopped and I suddenly just felt fear. I continued rocking, holding my knees to my chest. I hummed to myself, alone. The best thing I could do was be alone. The bathroom door opened. "Um, are you okay?" A girl asked me, looking confused. I clenched my fist and grind my teeth. "NO," I scream and run out. 

The rest of my day goes as normal as it could considering the events of the morning. I'm still ignored by everybody. My math teacher acknowleged me...only to tell me my answers were wrong. I had never been good at math. I was so lost. Lunch rolled around and I tried to sit with a group of girls.

"Um, sorry, this seats reserved." A girl with brunette hair and piercing blue eyes turns to me and says. Her ponytail whips around behind her. "Oh, I'm sorry." I quickly turn around and head over to an empty table. I stared down at the food before me. Chicken, rice, and an orange. I wasn't hungry, so I just sat there, staring down at my food until I heard a tray hit the table.

"Hi," a blonde haired boy says with a smile. I nodded. "I'm Derek, you?" I looked to my knees. "Addison," I reply. "You're new here, right? I think your in my science class. Your really quiet." He laughs. I turn back to my food. "O-oh sorry, I didn't mean it like that..uh, where'd you move from?" I looked back over to him. "Uhh, K-Kansas. Yeah, Kansas." He nodded. "Thats cool! I've always lived here. Lots of tornados in Kansas, has your dog ever been swept away?" I shake my head nervously. "We should hang out sometime, you seem like you could be one of those girls who are super shy at first and cool when ya get to know them." He laughed, taking a bite of his mashed potatoes.

My stomach was getting sick. My mom had always had concerns about me. I could never make friends. I told her it was just the simple fact that I wasn't likable. "But I like you," she would always say in return. I wanted to go home, I wanted to hear my moms voice tell me she loved me. "I..I gotta go." I picked up my tray and stormed out of the Cafeteria.

When I get out of the Cafeteria, somethings wrong. Theres blood on the hallway floors. It's everywhere. I run, and I slip on the blood. My clothes are covered in it; I'm freaking out. What is wrong with me? I race to the principals office and tell him what happened. "Theres blood..all over the hall. Theres girls, they needed help, blood was.. blood was dripping from their heads...they...they were so...their souls-" I got cut off by the principal. "I'm going to give your mother a call. I think you may need to see a psychologist." His words...his words may me so angry. I couldn't stand him. I...I wanted to kill him. I reached out. I reached out to grab for him. But nobody was there...I was alone. I was in a bed, in what looked to be a nurses office. There was no nurse, though. I lay back down, staring at the hanging bulb from the ceiling above me.

At this point, I couldn't think straight. I was seeing figures in the light bulb, my mind was spinning. I had never felt so scared. I was replaying the days events. I could have easily made friends with that guy, he was being nice to me. I could have stopped everything happening. My mom didn't have to cry, it was my fault she did. All of this was my fault. I began to cry. I didn't realize how hard school could be for someone like me. I was sick and tired of everything.

I cried myself to sleep in that nurses office.