Something About Alice Murphy: BOOK 2

P A R T - T W E N T Y - F I V E

Chapter Twenty-Five : The Scarlet Secret...
Part One
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Friday, 21st June
2:12am

It was just passing half twelve at night, and the Murphy household was quiet as it's inhabitants slept. Alice had left her moon lamp on, illuminating her room with a faint white-blue glow... she slept peacefully, or so it seemed... Since her eyelids were darting back and forth as she dreamt, her physical body completely unaware... of the figure stood at the end of her bed.

Alice was stood at the end of a hallway, staring down it at the darkness lingering at the end of it. She was at school, and she recognised the lockers... she recognised the floors, the walls, even that one flickering light that every hallway seemed to have. She glanced up at it, her heart thudding with the wavering sensation of fear... as if she knew she should be scared but didn't know why.

Suddenly she saw movement out the corner of her eye and a door slammed, causing her to jump but only quietly gasp. "Hello?" Alice called, staring down the dark hallway still. Her voice echoed back to her and she felt a chill squeeze her spine as if the fear had found somewhere to settle... but that was only when her eyes focussed on the silhouette of a figure stood off to one side in the eerily dark hallway. She could see them holding something... and felt her legs tingle as the adrenaline was released.

Alice didn't bother to wait for confirmation, and turned to run, seeing whoever it was jolt as if to bolt after her. Suddenly her heart was in her throat, and she ran as fast as she could down the hall, and darted round a corner, finding herself in the upstairs hall of her own house leading from her sisters room. She whimpered out loud, feeling someone right on her tail as she fumbled at her bedroom door handle and nearly fell inside, slamming it behind her.

Whoever it was began to bang on the door, and Alice locked it, and stepped back covering her ears as her mind raced. She couldn't think straight, since it felt so real and she was panicking. She thought it was real, her whole body did. She couldn't breathe or think, her vision felt dark and blurry. The banging suddenly stopped, and Alice dropped her hands to her sides and stared at the door... waiting for something to happen. She needed to escape, and it was silent for a few moments which allowed her to think.

The window. The way Magnus usually came in. She whipped around as she suddenly remembered she hadn't locked it, only to see a hooded figure climbing in frantically with a knife the size of her arm tightly clasped in their fist. They bolted towards her, and Alice screamed and stumbled back, snapping her hands to cover her eyes only for the room to drop into silence.

The panic was gone, and Alice sat up in bed, breathing heavily as she realised she was dreaming. She could see a lump next to her and assumed it was Magnus, and reached over to wake him so she could tell him about her dream... his face was covered with the duvet, and she shook his shoulder, but he didn't stir. "Mags?" She asked, shaking him again then reaching over to pull the duvet away from his face.

A violent gasp shot out of her mouth and her heart leapt into her throat as if it was chasing the air out of it. A mirror of her face seemed to mimic the gasp and the shock as it was revealed, before dropping the expression of fear and smiling a little. "Is someone watching you sleep?" It asked in a hushed eerie whisper.

Alice suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze staring at the nightstand and the digital clock, showing it was just moving past two in the morning. She suddenly felt extremely awake as her ears registered movement around her room... footsteps, heavy ones, stepping around on the other side of the bed, a shuffling noise, and then a thump... "ow." A familiar voice muttered, and Alice reached forwards and turned on the light.