tw: blood, mentions of death
276Please respect copyright.PENANA5pSzIWeFm9
276Please respect copyright.PENANAvL8uK5nxqf
I think I am no longer in a dream.
276Please respect copyright.PENANARtAtsp1ptV
I am trapped. I am aware. I can smell a putrefying odor flooding the cave, strangling my lungs. I can hear reverberations of demons taunting me endlessly, forcing me to smell my own near death. There are three others in the central cave, none of them I recognize: a man wearing all white with a scar near his left eyebrow, an old woman missing an arm, and a young boy clutching onto a rag doll. The man keeps tapping his foot on a stone, his lips dry and pursed. The young boy is seated on the ground twiddling with his doll, as if he's at home in the living room on a typical Sunday evening. The old woman is the strangest. She keeps repeating someone's name in a monotone voice, staring down at her chest. "Amy...Amy..."
276Please respect copyright.PENANAe0F5Dpi4R0
I am too frightened to wander. I am too frightened to ask questions. So I begin to think. Is this hell? Am I already dead? I can't even remember my own name. Is this the dreadful afterlife my father warned me about? But there is no reason for me to be dead. This should only be a dream. I look down at my forest green gown which feels so. . .familiar.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAgaAylCjWJ7
The little boy watches me. He doesn't blink.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAUAOPgAA9XX
My feet are leading me toward him. He looks back down at his doll, which I notice is covered in brown stains. The boy's fingers dig into her petite arm. He strokes her hair with the other. I take a deep breath and kneel beside him, remaining silent. The cave is oddly hushed.
276Please respect copyright.PENANA0Ca4NlRVHa
Finally, the words pour from my mouth. "Who are you? And where are we?" I tremble, as he doesn't react. He cradles the doll in his arms, quiet, as if trying to remember.
276Please respect copyright.PENANArN7ROKhZUz
The old woman is still speaking in a muffled voice. I want her to go away. My knees ache and the dress starts to itch my back. The heat steams my neck. Footsteps trickle behind me, listening closely to my wobbly breaths.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAiZW3oaAOzv
"Excuse me?"
276Please respect copyright.PENANADGFZbdRYkN
I jump to my feet, whipping around. It's the man dressed in white with a scar near his eyebrow. His foot is still tapping. "Excuse me, have you seen my daughter Amy?" Tap tap tap.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAORPCsehuIH
"I don't know her," I manage.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAmy1YU7FBTc
He squints at me. "I recognize that dress somewhere." Tap tap tap.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAW1qN1qVAr5
I look down, confused. "No, I think you're mistaken..." I begin, but that's when it struck me.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAiFhqy3fgsv
276Please respect copyright.PENANAVnPDBbyzVj
"Here. I found it." Amy waved a gleaming, green dress in my face. "What do you think? Do you want it?"
My jaw dropped. "Want it?" I squealed. "I need it!" She laughed as I admired the straps, the sleeves, the color. The envy I had felt from her wealth turned into guilt."I owe you so much for this. You sure you're fine with me wearing it to the party?"
"Don't worry about it. I know you'll take good care of it anyway."
276Please respect copyright.PENANAktXi1vVxRY
276Please respect copyright.PENANAwjCo8x0e15
The man shakes his head vigorously. "No. It's Amy's. She wore it to her final piano recital," he says tearfully. "And it's ruined."
276Please respect copyright.PENANA0gzdq5CFSm
My mind snaps. The first thing I see are splatters of red splotched on my dress. Bright, scarlet red. Blood dripped down the hem, down my ankles to the rugged ground.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAhYVNZCbnpK
"I'm sorry," I choke out. "I didn't mean to ruin it."
276Please respect copyright.PENANAgQGdlbZ34s
He leaves. The young boy clutches his doll to his chest and looks away from me.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAdl8QPrnDu5
276Please respect copyright.PENANAv4pghOiXEd
"Where are you guys going?"
Amy and I spun around to find James, her younger brother. He examined us up and down and narrowed his eyes. Of course he was suspicious. We looked like we were going to be late for a ball. I clasped my hand over my mouth, trying not to give ourselves away. "We're going to Maddy's house," Amy blurted.
"Why are you dressed like that?"
"We're playing dress-up," Amy said while I responded with "It's a secret." We smirked.
He crossed his arms. "I can keep secrets."
I opened my mouth, but Amy already leaned in. "Okay, James. The secret is — we're actually heading to the movies."
"I wanna go to the movies!"
She ruffled his hair. "Sorry. They're only playing princess movies at this hour. You don't like princess movies, do you?" Amy grabbed my hand and we sprinted to the door, giggling like lunatics. "Don't wake our parents!" she called.
276Please respect copyright.PENANA8aNDRjvIrj
276Please respect copyright.PENANAx8YvxexyLY
"It's your fault."
276Please respect copyright.PENANA4gf8grfoOR
My head jerks. The boy's eyes stare intently at mine. "What did you say?"
276Please respect copyright.PENANAGdKcsR0MSX
"It's all your fault," James repeats, squeezing the doll's neck. "It was your idea to go to that party."
276Please respect copyright.PENANA0gm1wYmakw
I blink. How could he have known that?
276Please respect copyright.PENANA2BBwwmKi8X
"Amy..." The voice of the old woman echoes.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAw5T5bwrxMo
The cave starts spinning. The noises tangle together until it creates an awful, nauseating noise that squeezes my skull. The sound of James' fingers scraping the floor, the woman repeating Amy's name, the man's foot tapping continuously. Tap tap tap. I stand frozen, my mouth sealed shut by the invisible tape preventing me from screaming.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAIzJfL7Rkwd
"Madison..."
276Please respect copyright.PENANAoCtiacn2us
I start to cry.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAxJ3m0oYnFu
The noises halt. A dark, shadowy figure approaches from the end of the cave. He is missing a face, and his legs appear taller than I am. His feet look like they can crush me eight feet underground. "Madison," he echoes. Even the demons go silent. "Why are you still here?"
276Please respect copyright.PENANAEL7bPP76V6
"It's such a shame you torture yourself every day for that little girl." He grunts at my silence. "And you still cry. Do you think it's fair for a murderer to cry for her own victim?"
276Please respect copyright.PENANAX6jbdiWIEM
I want to face him and speak. But I collapse onto the floor.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAEOy7NfmdeM
"You've taken a lot of lives that night," he continues, keeping his voice low. "Now the boy carries her doll to remember what is left of her. The man lost his only daughter to someone who reminded him of a second daughter. What was he supposed to feel? Her grandmother will remember the loss of her granddaughter in her last days. They will never be the same again. Do you think it's fair for a murderer to cry for her own victim?"
276Please respect copyright.PENANAqrUmQyig44
"I'm not a murderer." I'm barely able to whisper.
276Please respect copyright.PENANA41WyANbaeC
"But who was driving that night?"
276Please respect copyright.PENANA4CBjEaaeQH
Air draws out of me as I close my eyes. Wake up. Just wake up. Please.
276Please respect copyright.PENANApQ32gIyvBk
276Please respect copyright.PENANAs7JZgyYfCD
276Please respect copyright.PENANAisd90l0eh2
276Please respect copyright.PENANAuyU3gHubZ5
Sweat trickles down my warm neck. I can hear my heart hammering, unsteadily beating. Another dark room, but it's my own. But I'm not sure if I'm still dreaming. It's still a blur. I'm barely alert. Despite my fatigue, I strive to stay awake. I kick the covers off my body and reach for my phone. 3:57 AM. I wonder if there will ever be a day when I wouldn't be afraid to sleep.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAYEZfukTFGj
"How was your sleep last night?" my mother would ask with genuine concern.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAxJBesYUkch
"A lot better," I would reply. I imagine myself straining an assuring smile, clutching my bag.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAgkgqvUbW8h
"Maddy, you don't have to go to school today if you don't want to."
276Please respect copyright.PENANAeBJPJcCroA
"I'm fine."
276Please respect copyright.PENANA8kavR07zRs
Only a few more hours until the day replays.
276Please respect copyright.PENANAoijyMLs9wC
276Please respect copyright.PENANAoDdY8Sp9xI
276Please respect copyright.PENANAXue1YJTe2R
276Please respect copyright.PENANAS4VSdUu3vV
276Please respect copyright.PENANAd3OveuocxZ
276Please respect copyright.PENANANEE5GE2nRs
276Please respect copyright.PENANADBfeDICxJU
276Please respect copyright.PENANAPFRiNfyE1Z
276Please respect copyright.PENANA2G7Fdw8639
276Please respect copyright.PENANA4zl1fcwRCC
276Please respect copyright.PENANAVHl6W8kKkD