I continued to the school as the sun didn't seem to move at all, same with the clouds as if they were like cutouts on a cardboard layer. I didn't really care about that though, noticing that the closer to the school I got, the more the gem's illuminating aura began to beat. At first it wasn't noticeable but when I arrived at the entrance of the school, bits of mortar and brick from the walls aimlessly flew into the school to create a perfect replica, the gem began to fade away and then rise to a bright red color in four-second intervals.
Why it was doing this was beyond me, but one thing was certain, there was something in here causing the gem to do so. I apprehensively grabbed the handles to the door and opened it up to see the lobby mostly intact, only parts of the ceiling being drawn into the sky and opening up into miniature slices, revealing the open air. Everything was still the same as it is in the real world, except the areas I haven't really been around like the office seemingly almost too plain. The heater and the cafeteria just a little further ahead were the exact same with small details like a pink slip of paper being jammed inside the heater.
Watching the beat of the gem, I used it to guide me around where it was locked onto. Each classroom was the epitome of generic except for the ones I had to go to on a normal basis, having their own unique setup like in real life. I didn't really care about that as the beating of the gem began to quicken with a beat every two seconds and the light was brighter. I must be getting closer to whatever it was, stopping to look around and noticing that I was in a part of the school that I hardly frequented. Everything seemed dead, with the floor tiles clipping onto one another and the end of the hallway being completely gone.
The rest of it must be in the sky, looking to see platforms just hovering in the air. The classrooms in this hallway were the same, missing a light switch, having a chalkboard, and rows of elementary desks on the other side. Then without me following where the gem wanted me to go, the beating began to quicken on its own. What the hell does that mean? Anxiety began to take over my mind as the beats were now resembling a heart, two pulses every second and a half. The lights in the hallway gleamed continuously except for the ones at the end of the hallway where I was, as these ones snapped off with a sparking effect. Followed by this was a quiet chitter around the corner. Something... something was moving this way and I didn't really know what to do, freezing in fear.
Then nothing, silence was the worst thing right now though. Maybe it didn't know I was here or maybe it didn't even exist; it's just a part of my imagination. Still, I could hardly breathe, turning toward one of the classrooms and carefully walking over to the door. As my finger curled around the handle, a large pincer clasped the corner of the hallway. It almost seemed like a crab pincer or a lobster's, crushing the piece of the wall it held onto. Small pieces of dust and debris fell to the ground only to rise back up into the sky. That didn't matter though as large skinny spider legs with thin hairs began to round the corner, fear freezing me once again.
Slowly, its body followed behind as I could see a large worm-like creature with eight long spidery legs and the head of a crab. Eyes littered the head as the body arched upward, like if someone was kneeling, with the pincers connected to slender arms connecting to the body. At the end of the creature was a stinger, a scorpion's stinger is what it looked like. It stood still as soon as its eyes spotted me, both of us making eye contact with stillness infused in our bodies. Suddenly without any warning, it charged at me with its body loosely keeping forward to grab me. Then as my eyes widened and the creature was about to collide with me, I awoke in my bed.
The school day was normal with Jose's gang, as I believe, still hunting me after I disrespected them. Luckily though, they weren't anywhere to be seen but it's not like I actively looked for them myself. The image of the creature in my dream was stuck in my head, what even was that thing? I could remember it as clear as day, that thing being a weird combination of a camel spider, scorpion, crab, and a very skinny tarantula. My mind was racing at the nightmare but that's just what it was, a nightmare.
I just have to forget about it and make sure I don't get into any more trouble. Besides, camel spiders don't even exist...or do they? No, I'm almost certain that I saw that creepy thing in a photo, which could have easily been faked. I do know one thing though; if I ever saw something like that in my home, I would burn the house down. Johndavid suddenly sprung in front of me as I snapped back into the present, almost jumping out of my skin as I was already pretty tense about my nightmare.
"So what's today my dear sir?" The question took me by surprise as I wasn't following along,
"uh, I think today is the twenty-seventh?"
Johndavid didn't seem to like that answer and changed his wording as he said, "What day of the week is it?" If it wasn't already obvious, I said that it was Wednesday as Johndavid sighed at the fact that it was only halfway through the week. Dominique didn't look amused or irritated but instead, looked as if he was about to ruin someone's day.
"It's needless to hope for the weekend JD, the required special school activity is on Saturday. If I'm observant enough, I believe your parents are subjecting you to this activity." Johndavid was already sad about it not being Friday but the realization hit him hard as his tall body seemed to shrink in size. As I was making my way to the front of the school, seeing everything in its normal state, I could see the bad batch of kids sitting outside against the wall. They seemed almost defeated and that's when I noticed Jose was nowhere in sight.
Was he absent today? Well, that's not really a surprise since he misses a lot of days but they seemed to know something I didn't. The beautiful girl left them as well, hanging out with other girls that were probably simply 'yes men' to her. Not my problem, but I still resented all of them for setting me up and making me their target. I just can't understand why they would even do that in the first place, maybe I'll never understand why they do the things they do.
Again after finishing my homework and doing the everydays of life, I fell asleep in hopes to find some enjoyment in my sleep. It wasn't like that though, my dream thrusting me back into the nightmare I was in the night before. Not only that but the clothes I wore today were still on me, yet the gem was still in my pocket. It didn't begin to beat slowly though, like it did before, instead, beating incredibly fast. I couldn't even tell how fast it was, maybe four beats a second or even faster. Then as I remembered every little detail and scene from the nightmare, I felt an intense fear of turning around.
A very quiet chittering popped into existence behind me as two large pincers approached on either side of my body. Out of pure instinct to survive, I ducked just as the pincers swiped above my head. My breathing was already unsteady as I bolted forward, rushing down the hallways. Turning around the corner where it first appeared before, I ran down to hear the creature slam into the wall with its large body chugging forward. The chittering sound was louder than ever as if it was yelling for me to lay down and die, but I just couldn't do that.
Why was it even chasing me, it's just a figment of my imagination? Wait no, that's it. As I ran past dozens of classrooms and across the cafeteria, I tried turning toward every corner I could see and used the precious seconds to try the doors to any room that seemed unlocked. Just my luck as my lungs began to burn, just like that time I was running away from those kids I supposedly disrespected. If this is a part of my imagination though, then I should have the power to get rid of it, swiveling around to face the creature and suddenly, without any warning, putting my hand out to do some cool super ability.
Nothing happened though except for the creature skidding past me and into the wall, its pincers and legs scrambling to pull itself out. I could've just died if it expected me to just stop like that, I can't get rid of it. What do I do, why...why don't I just leave the building? Looking toward the back doors into the field behind the school, I ran toward them and tried the handles only to see the brick and mortar floating in the sky to construct a wall in front of the doors. I don't understand why I can't escape this situation, eyeing the beast as it squirmed out of the wall, leaving an indent where it smashed into. I can't keep running in circles to escape this thing, I'm not athletic or all that strong. I just need to find somewhere I can hide so that I can come up with a plan, a way to fight back against this thing? If I'm stuck in here, then I need to kill it and end this whole nightmare, but right now it's just a game of cat and mouse.
Suddenly, as my thoughts became my only determination to kill this creature, the sound of all the doors in the building unlocking rang out. The doors outside were a lost hope though as long as the brick walls were there blocking it. Even if I managed to get the monster to slam against it, I probably wouldn't survive. Immediately without wasting any time, I ran across the school once more but this time to the other side where I believed the art class would normally be. I've never been in the class but I knew exactly where it was. It really was my only chance as I ran up to the wooden door, hearing the beast in the distance tumbling across the halls.
With a withheld breath, I reached for the handle only to breathe a sense of relief, rushing in and closing the door behind me. Looking around, it looked like what you would expect: large blank canvases were sprawled across the room on stands and small counters with a box of colored pencils set aside. In the corner was where the teacher would be, their desk full of various papers and a computer.
This was probably the worst room to hide in as there was nowhere to hide under except for the desk. It's not like I had any more time to look for another as the gem began to beat faster again. If this nightmare has taught me anything, it's that this thing in my pocket is tracking the creature somehow and beats faster the closer it gets. I had to just take my chances and hide under the teacher's desk, curling up and waiting for the inevitability when it finally searches under here.
At first, there was only silence but soon enough, the sound of something slamming against a wall pierced the air, the brickwork crumbling onto the ground following behind. It couldn't have been far as I haphazardly watched the entrance to the room. Nothing for seconds on end until a large shadow casted over the small window on the door. It didn't disappear though and seemed almost as if following some sort of trail. Was it following the scent that it picked up or was it something else like....I don't know.
My fear was only reinforced as the creature began crashing its pincers against the door, splintering pieces of the wood that clattered on the ground. A crazed quiver shook my body as I ducked back down, holding my legs close to my chest and listening for what was going to happen next. Just as I fearfully expected, the door burst open and flew across the classroom with the creature stumbling in. It sounded apprehensive with stifled chittering as the pincers or body pushed aside the blank canvases.
As it approached the desk I was under, I covered my mouth with the sound of my own breath putting me at risk. Then for a few petrifying moments, nothing happened as if it was waiting for me to make a mistake. I know it didn't leave; I would have heard its large body moving about. Even its chittering stopped, but I couldn't take the chance that I was safe. With nothing else to do, my eyes stared at the edges of the desk, noticing that the window blinds were drawn, and the sun's glare made it near impossible to see outside.
Not only that but it somehow made it easier to see any reflections, and that's when I realized it... the reflection that I could see in the window was the monster staring back. My body froze as it stayed completely still, waiting for me to make the next move. Either way, I couldn't stay here anymore as it obviously knew where I was, its multiple pupil spidery eyes staring back at me. As if everything began to move again in unison, I jumped forward toward the window at the same time one of its pincers grabbed the desk and flipped it back across the room.
Its other pincer swung across and collided with my body, sending me into the wall as the large figure chittered gleefully. There was nowhere I could escape, the pincer that hit me was now over my head and holding me down like a boot. All I could feel though was a mix of fear and hatred, maybe even disgust but why? I'm at the mercy of this creature and yet I can't stand to be beneath it, my fingers instinctively searching for a break in the window behind me so I can escape.
I couldn't find a broken seal anywhere though, the other pincer swinging at me like I was nothing to it. There was nowhere I could run to, I was trapped and my death was fast approaching... I'm going to die. No, I don't want to, not yet, not until I get to tell them off. To tell Taylor that he wasn't worth anything or Cadell to lay off on hurting people for fun. Out of the hatred I was feeling, I raised my balled-up fist from the ground and held it against the impact of the pincer, letting my arm take the full force. As soon as the pincer landed however, I woke up again.
So what, am I going to have to survive this nightmare every night now? If so, then I might as well get used to it. I can't keep running away from it, hoping not to get hurt. Why am I even scared of it to begin with? It's not like the creature can kill me in the real world. That's when I noticed that my forearm felt sore, but there wasn't a bruise or anything like that. Was it just mentally in pain, if that makes sense? I've heard of placebos in school but I don't know much about it or if it can cause pain. Dominique might know something though, so I might as well ask him when I get to school.
The mundane lifestyle was still here at least, eating some dry cereal while my dad drove the car to the school. Even the school day was normal except for the fact that Dominique and Grif weren't here today. The smart-alecky boy wasn't surprising anyone by missing today but Grif hardly does, as they're normally the proactive student when it comes to attending school. Not only that but Jose was back, or at least I think it was him sitting at one of the cafeteria tables. The usual gang was there like Taylor, Cadell, Jackson, and the girl I had a crush on. Her name, Jessica, really spelled out her personality.
I just wish I could have seen it earlier. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself or too hard on everyone named Jessica. It doesn't matter now as the feeling of betrayal is a lot stronger than the fading feeling of having a crush as well. I guess you could say the feelings toward my crush were crushed. Back on the subject, Jose had a large hoodie on that covered his face and leaned on the table in what I could only guess as shame or embarrassment. It was very similar to how I tried to hide my bruise near my eye, realizing that it was faded now and barely noticeable.
Thank god, or my dad would've had a conniption fit if he noticed it while I was being careless. The others just stood around him as if they were there to console him or something, just hanging out as a strong unit. Whoever caused Jose to act like that deserves a medal or a trophy for doing that, I would give them a round of applause if I ever found out who did it. The classes went by normally with Johndavid there to accompany me, which in turn made it harder to connect with other groups. After school though, instead of just walking back home, I went to investigate the school a little bit more and my first destination would be the art class.