A loud rapping sound ticked out.
From the cracks in the earth came a tune straight from hell. Made up of voices whispering sharply and deep monotonous humming, the song like no other played in surround sound. Volume rising, the sheets of darkness slowly let up revealing a dark hooded figure sitting behind a thick table. With legs wide and carved into what could only be made out as skulls, the entire make of the table shook. The figure had begun to pound, now the only things able to be seen from beneath the cloak were two hands. They were painted white with black markings and they were deathly skinny. After each boom, they shook as if they were going to fall right off. And as the fingers resembling bones curled into fists, the grinding sound of sickly joints was added to the loud rapping.
Leah hiccupped in panic as her surroundings continued despite the deafening song. Something fearful rose in the air in an instant; and it made her cringe with its presence. Looking out, she watched the hands drum once more on the table before they came to a halt. Wiggling, she soon realized she was tied up on her very own couch. Her heart raced drugged up on fear. One hand rose and pointed to her. She attempted to move again, but her skin began to burn beneath the rope wrapped around her body. "W-What is going on?"
The figure didn't move and its hand curled allowing one single finger to jab towards her. Her arms singed as she wriggled around again, "What is this? Who are you?" Following her questions, the hand pointing at her grew a cold force. The music made of voices began to grow more intense. As the hand slowly brought its index finger towards the neck of the cloak, it made a quick slicing motion across. Leah's eyes widened.
She inhaled but before she could finish, dozens of snakes began to pour from the corners of the darkness and slither around her. Some slithered up her legs, and soon after some began to creep down her shoulders. Shaking and screaming, she tried to get them off but her efforts fell short. She was tied tightly to the couch while scales traveled onto her body.
The snakes, as purple as the one she'd seen before, soon covered her entire body until she could see no more, speak no more and hear not a sound. Pure darkness squeezed her and every inch of life she had left.
--
Sweaty and sore, Leah screamed out nearly jumping off the couch. She shook around still feeling the reptiles on her skin before realizing it was a dream. No, it was more like a nightmare. Her breathing began to decline but her heart still rattled in her chest. She held it, staring around the room. She was alone as ever before.
Peering over her shoulder, she checked out her dining area that had been very much occupied in her dream. It was empty and instead of the bizarre table from the terror sat her plain light wood dining set. She sighed, shaking her head, "It wasn't real. It wasn't real."
She wiped the sweat from her face and studied the clock. Only two hours had passed by. The house was growing dim as the sun began to set. Night would soon engulf the town, she could tell from the streaks of amber light that shone in from her windows. That meant Alice would soon be arriving.
Leah gave her den one last look before slowly moving into the dining area, dissolving her fear a bit more and opening the back door. There they were, glowing eyes staring in at her. Blue round eyes came close as her giant husky approached, masculine as a wolf but sweet as a puppy. Her companion, Beo rubbed against her leg and licked her fingertips. He looked at her as if he knew of the terror from her dream. His dark markings above his eyes acted as brows and rose up, a whimper making a whistle in the air.
Leah pet his head, "It's alright boy. Come on in."
He licked her again before trotting by. In a matter of seconds the heavy steps against the floor stopped and were replaced by the sound of water being lapped up. He often came to the door thirsty after being out and about. Her backyard was only separated from a small forest area by a wooden fence in which Beo had a not-so-secret way out.
The change of sunlight to moonlight was more apparent as she stated out her doorway. Her back porch light was off and all she could make out was the distant light of a neighbor's lantern on their fence. Beyond that, the amber had quickly deepened and the trees remain still in the shadows of oncoming night. Too still for her after her... nightmare. Leah turned her light on and shut the door with a slam, locking it with a swift motion.
She turned and sighed, "Guess it's time to give this dinner another shot."
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"And I don't know what it is about men, but they just think they are the best thing that happened to us! I mean, last I checked, Adam was all alone until Eve came along and bam, history was made. They didn't happen to us, we happened to them. The nerve!"
Alice took a hefty gulp of her wine and bit into a biscuit. She could talk as much as she could eat sometimes. This night was a night where the topic of her encounter with annoying men helped her through a few cups of wine and hours of biscuit based chatter. Leah didn't mind, she sat folded up at the edge of the couch, slowly making her way through another glass of wine.
She focused in on Alice as best as she could. Her friend had her long black hair draped down onto her shoulders and was apparently back into red lipstick. She wore one of her many handmade sweaters of pink, unbuttoned revealing a humble view of her cleavage. Leah smirked as she watched her flip her hair and lean back on the couch. Her friend's mouth was moving again but she couldn't hear a word.
She pulled her eyes to the glass in her lap. It was hard to concentrate. Ever since the snake, the powder, and the nightmare; she didn't feel completely herself. And that man from the library, she had never seen him before but something inside of her gut told her not to forget his face. She just wished she had gotten a name.
"Earth to Leah!"
She snapped up, finding Alice amused by her zoning out. Her eyes blinked rapidly trying to pull herself back to reality. "I'm so sorry, I completely spaced out."
"I see that. You seem like something is bothering you. I know I've been ranting, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just had a really weird day." If weird was even the word for it. If she could she would explain it word for word. But things like powder that made her sleep and snakes that left symbols weren't her cup of tea. Alice wasn't the type to just sweep it up and make dinner.
"Well spit it out."
"It's a boring story."
"I doubt it."
"You don't want to hear it."
"I'll be the judge of that."
Leah sighed and tried to find a way to sum it all up. Her hands gripped the glass, "In a nutshell, I ran into a man at the library, he'd found my card. When I left I noticed this stinky purple powder on it. I came home to cook and a purple snake was here, same powder on it." She took a drink of wine, "Then I had a nightmare about purple snakes and shadows. I woke up and well, now I'm here."
There, she thought.
Alice sat still, staring at her friend with glossy eyes. She picked her shoulders up and cuddled into the couch cushion. "That's something alright."
It sure was.
Leah felt uneasy staring at the remainders of her wine and leaned forwards to set it on the coffee table. She crossed her arms and sighed, "Tell me what you really think."
Alice's bottom lip trembled for a second before she hurried to finish her glass and held it tightly, "I think you're spending too much time in those ancient books."
"Here we go again."
"That's right. Come on Leah, if you spent as much time as you do with your paranormal books, I'm betting you could find something new to occupy your time."
"But I'm content."
It wasn't a complete lie. Leah had always enjoyed a good book, whether she was studying something extraordinary or indulging in a novel. It wasn't the most exciting thing she could do, which bothered her at times but it was comfortable; even if it made her over-think things.
"No, you're comfortable. You don't want to step out of your cushion. But if you just tried, you might like it."
"I've gone out, Alice. And I do like it, but it's not something I can do often, it's draining."
"And you being paranoid isn't?"
Leah sucked her teeth. Waking up from dreams, over analyzing and studying could be very tiring. But she couldn't do the whole drinking and one night stands like other people. She narrowed her eyes. As much as she loved Alice, she could be a real pain in the ass sometimes. "You act like this stuff is all fake, messed up and foreign. You act like it isn't in your blood."
Alice's lip quivered, "It is messed up."
But it wasn't fake or foreign to either of them. Leah pointed at her with her nose, "You can sit there all day and tell me you're too wrapped up in a modern life to dedicate just a second to your heritage, but I saw the look on your face when I told you. You can't run from it."
"I can try," Alice snickered and played with her hair, dark and wavy like a horse's mane. She was beautiful as all get down and yet so stubborn and determined to break free of her roots.
"Good luck," Leah mumbled. She looked across the house at the clock. It was getting late. The little bit of wine she had wasn't agreeing with her and it was time to sleep it off. She scoot off the couch and scooped the glass before heading into the kitchen. It clinked as the remainders spilt out into the sink.
"That's a waste of wine." Alice joked.
"It was a sip, maybe two." She turned to face her tipsy friend, "It'll be fine."
"I would have finished it for you," she leaned against the island. Her eyes closed for a moment before revealing balls of brown behind long lashes.
"I think," Leah reached for the glass in her hand, "You've had enough." She went to pull it away, but there was a strong hold on it. Alice growled at her and pulled it to her body. Her eyes grew sharp, "I disagree."
"Give me the glass."
"No."
"Oh just cough it over." She grabbed the neck of it and tried to yank it. Clearly, she didn't need anything else to drink.
Alice denied, "Let go."
"You let go."
They pulled and fought over it as if they were having a childish match of tug of war. But it wasn't that innocent. Soft smooth hands were acting like claws determined to catch and keep. Leah pulled, glaring at her dear friend before asking her once more to let it go. Alice pulled it harder, her face darkening and eyes becoming soulless. Her red lips opened and an unfamiliar voice roared out, "Pour me another glass of wine native slave!"
The shock stung.
Leah let go of the glass and it went flying across the house, smashing against the fireplace mantle. Picture frames knocked down and everything went silent. Her chest moved quickly and she felt a weight pushing at her. She stared at her friend who now had large eyes taking in the broken glass. She bit her lips, "I am so sorry."
"W-What was that?"
"I'll buy you another I swear."
"No, not that, you sounded different and you, you called me a native slave."
Alice's jaw dropped, "I would never."
But she did. Didn't she? Leah stepped back and shook her head. She had heard a voice other than Alice's come out her mouth and eyes darker than they had ever been. She knew her best friend would never call her out of her name. So who did?
With a low voice she crossed her arms across her chest, "Maybe it was the wine." All two cups of it. She knew it wasn't so, it took a lot more to make her crazy; but nothing else could be responsible for such a thing. She sighed, "I think we should just call it a night."
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So, what did you guys think of that nightmare Leah had? Think it means anything? Sound off in the comments! --A