Mia Carter THE DARE

Excerpt from chapter twenty – The Nightmare

“Excuse me. I need to use the restroom.” She looked at Jordan who looked like he wanted to throttle her just then. She put her hands up in silent surrender and walked to the upstairs bathroom. She needed to get her composure and remember that Mrs. Darnier knew nothing about the encounter with Nick at the creek or what they had gone through last night. She closed the door to the bathroom quietly and locked it. She began running the cold water and was splashing it over her face. She looked into the mirror at her reflection and barely recognized the face staring back at her. Her hair needed a good brushing, her eyes were tired and her color was pale. Is this what seeing a murder and being threatened by that murderer did to a person? She put her hair up into a messy ponytail and continued to splash the cool water on her face and neck. The air had turned hot again even though it was going into the evening. Kala began feeling every muscle strained in her body. She was weary, she was heartbroken, she was scared, she was feeling every emotion there could possibly be. Now she had to pretend to be polite to this stranger that suddenly kept showing up into their lives. She leaned her forehead up against the wall and shut her eyes. She took in long breaths and tried to get herself to relax. She kept her eyes closed tight, trying to push away the images in her head.

“Kala.” Someone whispered her name. She opened her eyes fast and whirled around to see who was there. The open window was letting the evening breeze in. She walked to the window and looked out to the back yard. The summer sun shone down still, lighting up the yard, no one was out there.

“Get a grip woman.” She whispered to herself. She walked back to the sink, leaned against it facing the small room and gripped the edge. She shook her head softly, tilted her head back and closed her eyes tight again.

“Kala. You didn’t save me.” The whisper was a little stronger and raspy now. Her eyes flew open again as she stared into the empty space.

“Who’s there? This is BS, come out, I am not in the mood for pranks.” She kept her voice quiet and firm, though her body was trembling.

“Kala, you didn’t help me, you didn’t save me!” The rasp louder now. No one was there. Kala could feel her heart beginning to race, she was sweating despite the chills she was shivering from. The air grew cold and thick. A metallic tang could be smelled and tasted in the air. What was going on?

“Who’s there damn it!” Kala was growing afraid. Was she having a full mental breakdown? She rubbed her arms as the chill began to take over.

“Kala, you didn’t save me!” The voice shouted now. New terror crept over Kala, she recognized that voice.

“Cristy? Is that you?” Kala was trying to keep her voice from cracking, she was terrified at the growing cold. The blue sky outside suddenly disappeared, it turned black as night with thunder and lightning raging from the clouds. Through the sheen material of the curtain surrounding the bathtub, she saw a figure rising up. She wanted to scream, she couldn’t find her voice. She wanted to run, she couldn’t find her feet.

“Cristy, why are you here?” Kala was gripping the sink again, trying to steady herself. Thick, crimson liquid started overflowing in the bathtub, spilling onto the floor. The figure was slowly peeling away the curtain with long, gray, gnarled fingers. Cristy emerged from the opening, with her dead, pearly eyes and stared at Kala now. Blood oozed from the wall and the faucet on the sink. Kala’s hands were covered in it. She was shaking and terrified of the image before her. Cristy was in a rage. Her skin, now gray and sickening to look at, was stretched tight over her bones. Her hands were like claws now reaching towards Kala. The gaping wound in Cristy’s neck oozed black, the openings in her abdomen exposed her insides. Blood continued to spill onto the floor from the bathtub, flooding the bathroom.

“YOU DIDN’T SAVE ME!” She was screeching so loud now that it hurt Kala’s ears.

“Cristy! We tried! I swear to you we did everything we could to try to get to you! Please!” Kala was shaking and crying, the blood started to cover her feet and ankles. “We didn’t know why you had sent us until it was too late! We tried Cristy! We tried so hard!” Kala couldn’t move, something was holding her there. Cristy flew right into her face and stopped nose-to-nose with Kala. Her breath smelled like decay and rot, like the alley way she died in. Kala fought back the urge to vomit. The pearly white sheen over her blue eyes was terrifying to look in to.

“You let me die! You let me die in that horrible place! You left me there!” She was spitting blood out as she talked. It spattered all over Kala’s face. She winced as the spray hit her eyes and flesh. She tried to move away from Cristy’s stinking face, but she couldn’t. Cristy’s ghost raged on, gripping Kala by the throat now. “GO TO THE POLICE!” She screamed even louder. The mirror cracked, the lightning outside lit up the terrifying scene. “YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE POLICE! YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ME! TELL THEM WHAT YOU KNOW KALA!”

“We will I swear to you Cristy! We will!” Kala was screaming her answer, she shut her eyes and screamed one last time for Cristy to go away.

The loud banging on the door woke her up.