“No, no, no. Please don’t hurt me,” Shanea whimpered as the shadowy man came towards her again. She had run so far and so hard. She finally had to stop when she started to splash into the dark water of a small pond. Tears trailed down her cheeks and her breathing was heavy after running. The water was cold as it hit her bare legs.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Shanea cried. “Please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt me.” Shanea continued to back into the icy cold water. She glanced behind her as it steadily rose up her leg. Green and brown seaweed wrapped around her legs; soon she was stuck, entangled in it. Pale gray fish swam around her legs, their long fangs protruding from their mouths. Red fish swam through the wrapped seaweed, their spiked bodies pricking her numb legs. Down in a hallowed out cave a snake uncoiled itself as the vibrations Shanea made reached its shelled ears and the blood from her cuts drifted past its nose. Its large tongue flicked out into the water, tasting her blood, deciding whether it was worth the effort to move out of its home. Her blood pleased the snake as it started the leave its cavern. Scales grated against each other as it swam towards her pale legs. The shadowy man stopped his rambling walk; a smile spread across his pale face. That was all she could see, his wicked grin; the rest of his face was covered by his dark coat’s hood. It made her sick, bile traveling its way up her throat and into her mouth.
Shanea’s breathing came quick and shallow as she lost feeling in her legs. The man advanced at an agonizingly slow pace; torturing her with each step he took. She trembled from the cold that took hold throughout her tense body, seeping its way into her bones until it took all her effort to try and stay still. Ultimately, he was close to her; so close she could feel his hot breath on her cheeks. Strangely, she had expected it to smell horrid since he was such a frightful man, but contrary to her belief his breath smelled like sweet peppermint with the sharp tang of citrus.
All the man did was smirk, pulling his thin lips back to show his white teeth. Shanea’s eyes widened as she glimpsed the sharpness of his teeth, small knives growing out of his gums. She tried to back away, scared of him beyond comprehension. The snake’s black, white-less eyes glittered as it reached the surface, its presence unknown to Shanea. It slithered around her legs, squeezing them together. She screamed as she lost her balance and crashed into the murky waters.
Shanea descended into the pitch black depths of the pond as water swirled around her. She fought against the snake dragging her further down. Its scales dug into her skin as it wound its tail around her chest. Air escaped from her lungs, bubbling out of her mouth towards the surface. She lost her strength, fainted, and plummeted into the dark gloom that engulfed her.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Shanea woke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat that chilled her to the bone. Her heart raced as she whipped her head around, taking in her surroundings. She was back in her room, tangled in her sheets.
‘It was just the dream,” Shanea whispered to herself. “Just that stupid dream.” She swung her legs over her bed and sat staring at the floor, gathering her thoughts. The door creaked open as her mom came into her room. Her yellow door cast a shadow on her baby pink wall.
“Are you alright, Shanea?” An exasperated look mixed with worry was in her mom’s eyes. Since Davey was gone, it was her mother that came to comfort her when the dream finally released its grasp on her.
“Yeah, I just had that dream again. Sorry.” She knew her mom would tell her dad that something was wrong with her. They always thought that she was the perfect daughter, that is, until the dream started when she was thirteen. An awful nightmare haunted her every dreaming moment, forcing insomnia on her. Her screams pierced the air at all hours of the night, causing her parents to worry and costing thousands of dollars in treatment, which did nothing but waste money. Her little brother, Dylan, and sister, Josie, were only one and two, respectively, when she started dreaming; they always woke up and cried when she screamed. Her parents would always rush off to them and never to her. She knew that she was adopted and Dylan and Josie were their own flesh and blood, but she was still hurt by their neglect. Davey, her older brother, and biological son of her parents, would be the one to rush in and comfort her. He would be the one saying that she was awake, that she was alright. They were very close, and Shanea often confided in Davey when she started losing friends. He listened and never criticized her, but most importantly, he kept all her secrets.
Shanea stretched her legs out before standing up. The tension in her joints cracking as she stretched towards the sky. She wandered over to her full length mirror, which framed her petite body, still shaking from the nightmare. She examined her eyes, emerald green while every Palmer had brown. She bit her lips, thin and crooked while her mother had almost perfectly even lips. The wavy flame red hair, that cascaded down her back, full and thick, shined brightly in all family portraits against the stick straight beach blonde and brunette hair of her parents and siblings. She touched her nose, a small button nose, the one difference she truly loved having. Hopefully Josie would escape the big nose curse shared through genes. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, glancing at the permanently tanned skin, only similar to her family when they were tan. So many differences. I wonder why my parents didn’t tell me I was adopted. I mean, it is pretty easy to tell, even when I was eight I knew I wasn’t like the rest of the family.
After a year of having the same dream and seeing all the therapists and dream specialists in the area, Shanea’s parents packed up the family; moved to White Ivy, a small town in the middle of nowhere, with the hopes that a change of scene would end things. Everyone had hoped that she would stop dreaming, or at least stop screaming. How wrong they were. Not only did she keep screaming, but things got worse. The dream got longer, scarier, darker. To intensify the situation, behind the new house was a dark and deep pond. Her parents never knew what the dream was about. The therapists couldn’t tell them and Shanea was too scared by her dreams to tell them. Her parents didn’t realized why Shanea was so scared of the pond, they never made the connection. They barely cared if she liked their new home; they just wanted the screaming to stop.
Through all this Shanea didn’t give up on having a normal life. She never had slumber parties or stayed over friends houses, but she did have a lot of friends when they first moved to White Ivy. Soon the pressure of always lying about her parents not letting her sleep over friends houses took its toll. She began to withdraw into herself and started drifting away from those closest to her. Things had gotten harder in the past year, though. Davey graduated and went to college across the country, in California. The dream started coming every night, sometimes twice a night. She could even see it happening when she was awake. Alone and tortured, Shanea had nowhere to run and no one to turn to.
Behind the pond and surrounding the small, upper class town, were the woods. Not many people went there since many of the citizens of White Ivy thought it was dangerous. They had a justified fear. It was rumored that the woods were the home of two serial kidnappers. Before her family moved to White Ivy, all the older kids met in the clearing at the center of the woods, a popular attraction during the summer for couples and groups alike due to the crystal clear pond. Then girls started disappearing, taken even if they were with large groups of friends. One minute they would be there, and the next, they would be gone. They’d be missing for months at a time. Searches were launched and almost every inch of the wood was covered. Most parents never gave up, even though everyone else believed the girls were dead and buried in the cold earth.
Then after everyone discarded all hope for seeing the girls again, they would mysteriously appear, just as they had disappeared. Most of them said they had been taken to a dark castle far away from the woods to a hut on the edge of the woods man. The descriptions the girls gave made it clear that there were two kidnappers. The girls often claimed that they had lived with these men for years, even though it had only been months. The police assumed that they had been given hallucinogens among other hard narcotics, which is why they thought they had been stuck in a castle or hut for years. Some of the parents just moved away, selling their houses for half the price they were worth, which is how Shanea’s family came into possession of their house. Others stayed and formed the Ivy Wood Watch Committee.
Only one girl was taken after Shanea’s family moved into their home even though the committee warned everyone not to enter the woods. Her name was Susie, Susie Dreshne. The news reports said that there was no trace of her in the woods. No hair, no torn pieces of clothing on branches, no footprints, no blood. Everyone was relieved when the reporters announced that there was no blood. There was nothing for dogs to sniff; they lost the trail as soon as they reached the clearing. Most thought that the kidnappers washed her off in the pond and carried her out of the woods. The whole town scrutinized every nook and cranny of the woods for a month before citizens gave up hope.
Then four months later, Susie appeared out of nowhere, stumbling out of the wood and into the arms of a committee member. They rushed her to the hospital, where she was treated for a broken leg. As with all the other girls she was sent to an expensive therapist and deemed mentally unstable. She didn’t talk with anyone about what happened; she became a mute. She dropped out of school and her parents hired a tutor. Her parents hired a personal bodyguard that was around her 24/7, even though she rarely left her house. No one ever went into the woods after that.
“It might be a good idea to take another shower,” she said to her reflection, realizing how much she had sweated during the night. Glancing at her clock she groaned in despair.
“Guess I’ll just get dressed and put on some perfume.”
Quickly dressing, Shanea rushed out of her room. Leaping down the stairs, taking two or three at a time, she reached the first floor out of breath. Stopping in the kitchen for a bagel, Shanea noticed that she still had ten minutes before she had to leave.
“Wow, I must’ve dressed faster than I thought,” Shanea thought to herself as her Dad walked into the kitchen. She looked at him; his face was taunt with concentration as he flipped through the phone book. He didn’t even seem to notice that she was there.
“Oh no,” she muttered to herself, “that can’t be good.”
Her dad seemed to hear her mumbling and looked up from the phone book. He feigned a smile as he closed the book and shrugged, a look of guilt thinly veiled on his face. Turning to his wife, who was putting dishes away, he said “Honey, there is nothing in the phone book for local lawn keepers, at least none that I see as suitable.” Shanea could see he was lying. They didn’t need anyone to take care of their lawn, her mom saw to that.
‘Thanks Hun,” was all her mom said without turning to face him. An unease rose as her dad pulled a chair facing her out from the table. She jumped up and grabbed her bag from beside the door frame. Pulling her keys out of the front pocket, she turned to face her parents.
“I gotta go, don’t wanna be late for graduation marching practice,” she said as she jingled her keychain. She smiled sweetly at her parents before spinning on her toes and going out into the hallway. She still had a little time, as long as they thought she was leaving she might have a chance of hearing what they were really looking up in the phone book. She tiptoed to the door and crouched down. Her parents were whispering even though she had left. Apparently, whatever it was, they didn’t want even a chance of her hearing on her way out. Their voices floated softly to her ears so she could barely make out what they were saying.
“John, what are we going to do? This is really getting ridiculous. It has been five years since she started having nightmares. Dylan and Josie can’t sleep. We haven’t had a good night’s rest in years. I know she is going to college soon, but she still hasn’t picked any of the ones that we looked at. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
‘I know that she hasn’t picked a school yet, but she will; don’t worry so much. I agree this has been a constant problem and the children can’t get any sleep, but there is nowhere else that we can send her. The nearest place is over an hour away and she would have to stay there permanently. Even then, I doubt it will work. I mean we can check into it…”
Shanea had heard enough. She ran out of the house and to her car. The engine revved to life as she hurriedly turned her key in the ignition. She sped out of the driveway and into the street, towards the ancient Greece temple of a school. Trees and parked cars drifted by as tears flooded her eyes, threatening to spill over. She wiped them away with her hand, forcing herself to calm down.
“There is no way they would send me away. My dream is longer now. Josie and Dylan are up before me anyways. What are they thinking? I won’t go to school like this; it’s my last day before graduation. A couple hours of marching around and then I can go and be alone.” Shanea slowed down as she neared the school, choosing to park on the road instead of in the lot. She wanted time to clear her head before seeing everyone.
*************
With no real distractions around her, Shanea’s mind wandered. Concern over being forced into an institution flooded her mind as she poorly tried to march in time with her classmates. This new insight to what her parents wanted to do with her sent her reeling. She snuck away as soon as marching practice finished at twelve and drove home to be comforted by the silence of an empty house. Her parents worked until five and her little brother and sister wouldn’t be home from afternoon kindergarten until three.
She drove past the abandoned parking lot for the woods. She had never seen it filled before, but now cars jammed into the tiny lot. Some of them barely had space for a person to get out of the car. These people must be super skinny to get out in those spaces. But what is everyone doing here? She saw a tall man dressed in the traditional khaki pants and green shirt uniform of the park rangers standing at the opening of the nearest trail. She parked her car on the side of the road and walked over to him, curious as to what was happening, yet terrified of the woods.
She crossed the dirt parking lot, her heart thumping in her chest the closer she got to the dark opening that marked one of the main trails. The ranger eyed her suspiciously then moved in front of the opening.
“Young lady you cannot go into the woods.”
“I wasn’t planning on it. I’m just wondering why there are so many cars here. And why are you here? I thought they pulled all the rangers out of the park.”
Shanea gulped as the ranger glared at her. I hope I didn’t upset him.
“Well a child was kidnapped about a half hour ago off of her property. The woods go right up to the edge of their land so we figured it would be a good place to start looking. There are groups of searchers in there right now with rangers stationed at the trail entrances in case anyone tries to sneak out with the child. The girl’s parents are on their way from work back into town.”
“Who is the child?” Our property is right on the edge of the woods. Oh please don’t say its Dylan or Josie. But what would they be doing home? It isn’t even close to three. Shanea blinked her eyes rapidly in an effort to keep from crying. The ranger looked at her thoughtfully, deciding whether to answer her or not.
“Josie Palmer.”
“JOSIE! That’s my little sister! Have they found her? Have they found anything?” Shanea struggled to get by the ranger, who grabbed her as she tried to launch herself past him.
“Let me go! I have to look for my sister!”
“You cannot go into the woods alone. We don’t need two missing girls in one day. It would be better if you stayed here and waited for your father. Your mother is with one of the search groups.”
“Why don’t you go with me? Then I won’t be alone.” She was grasping at any idea that crossed her mind. I have to get into the woods. If only I could create a distraction to get the ranger out of the way.
Shanea raced along the edge of the woods as an idea popped into her mind.
“Young lady, get back here!” The ranger took off after her, his long gait making it easy for him to catch up. “What are you doing,” he demanded.
“I saw someone running along the edge of the woods down there. It was hard to see them but I think I saw Josie being dragged behind him.” Shanea was still running, heading towards a large outcrop of trees.
“Which way were they going? I’ll follow them and you head back to the cars.”
“They went onto the other side of that group of trees.” Shanea pointed as she started to slow down. The ranger picked up speed without giving her a second thought. Soon he was crashing through the trees and lost from sight.
Shanea waited a few more seconds to be sure that the ranger would not turn around and see her. She darted into the woods closest to her, being careful not to make a sound until she was hidden from view. She saw a path and worked her way towards it as her eyes flicked around her surroundings. She wrapped her arms around her as the reality of her decision sunk in. She shivered with fright as the trees seemed to close in on her as she struggled towards the trail.
Finally her feet hit the compacted dirt. She instantly felt safer without branches scratching her face and arms. She walked along the path, hoping to hear on the search parties.
“Josie! JOSIE!” Shanea started to shout. She shouted over and over again until her voice gave out as she wandered along the twisting path. I hope calling for her won’t attract the kidnapper’s attention. That’s all I need is to get myself into trouble or get her into more trouble. Suddenly, a stone in the middle of the path caught her eye as it reflected the receding sunlight. She bent down to grab it, feeling its smooth, damp texture. Rainbows shined from it as she twirled it around in her hand. Thunder boomed louder over head as lightning cracked.
“I didn’t know it was supposed to storm today,” Shanea grumbled as she glanced up to the sky, shielding her eyes from the last sliver of light filtering down through the thickening clouds. She looked down at the shiny stone in her hand. Shrugging her shoulders while glancing back up to the overcast sky, she slipped the rock into the front pocket of her faded jeans.
Wind started blowing, pulling at her hair and whipping it across her face. Shanea shivered as she folded her arms over her chest. The wind whistled in Shanea’s ears as she jogged along the trail. Her thin clothes offered little protection against the roaring wind. Rain started to sprinkle down as she decided to turn around and go back the way she came. The sun was completely blotted out, an early night descended. Ahead of her, shadows moved as lightning flashed across the sky more and more frequently. The wind blew tree branches across the trail, scratching at her arms and face as she jogged along. Her heart raced as lightning clapped across the sky to be met by rolling thunder.
“JOSIE! JOSIE WHERE ARE YOU?” Shanea started to panic as her mind started to play tricks on her. Shadows became bears and coyotes, the trees reached out trying to grab her. I just want to go home. I should’ve let the searchers find her. Now I’m in a big mess. I am going to call one last time and then get the hell out of here. Hopefully they already found her and I’m just making an idiot of myself by wandering around in here.
“JOSIE!”
“Shanea?” Josie’s voice was weak, muffled. Shanea looked where her little sister seemed to have called to her from.
Ahead of her on the trail there was a large shadow, unmoving in the changing light and howling wind. It stayed there as she neared it, unchanging in the shape and size. Next to it was Josie, Shanea could instantly tell. Her heart beat quickened as she realized it was a man, a very tall man. Josie was struggling against the persons grip, trying to break free. Her thoughts raced, recalling her dream and the horrible man that hunted her in it. The wind shifted direction, blowing dust and leaves into her face.
“A…are you a park ranger?” Shanea stumbled over the words spilling from her mouth as she blinked dirt out of her eyes. She knew there were no park rangers alone. None of them would have left their posts unless they saw Josie. All the rangers were with groups of people searching for Josie. No, this man was something much more sinister; something much more evil. He smirked, sharp teeth gleaming in the darkness like small stars. The scent of peppermint wafted to her on the wind, faint among the smell of dirt and flowers.
Shanea stood frozen to the spot, eyes wide with terror. His smell glued her to the ground as images from her dream flashed in front of her eyes. Here, standing in front of her was the very same man that haunted her whenever she closed her eyes. There was no murky pond in the woods, she was safe. Or was she? Her breathe came quick and shallow. Her brain screamed at her to run, run as fast as she could to her car where she would be safe, but her feet would not obey. She trembled with fear as the man came closer, the same way he did in her dream, slow and agonizing. Unlike her dream, he pulled Josie behind him, dragging her like a rag doll.
“Josie, you alright?” It took all of her courage to speak.
“Shanea? I’m fine. I wanna go home.” Josie sniffled and whimpered as the man’s grip tightened on her shoulder.
“It’s okay. We’ll go home soon.” I hope. “Please, let my sister go.”
The man said nothing, just stood there staring at Shanea. Josie stood beside him, coughing as the wind blew dust into her face.
Suddenly, there was a bright light shining behind the man. The light grew and grew until Shanea realized it was a shining orb of water, spinning and growing until it enveloped the man, but not Josie. Shanea had to shield her eyes from the brightness in order to see what was happening. Another man, shorter than the first, came from the other side of the orb. He had his hands raised with glowing light, pale blue in comparison to the orb’s blue radiance, coming out of his palms.
The shorter man glanced at Shanea. The moment he took his eyes off the orb, the glow diminished. She could see the shadowy man struggling towards the edge of the orb. The shorter man quickly brought his gaze back to the orb, and shuffled between Shanea and the shadowy man, putting himself in front of her.
“I think this would be the best time for you to run,” the shorter man said, his voice young.
“But I can’t leave my sister!”
“Just go, I’ll get your sister!”
“I can’t!”
The shorter man pushed her away from him, diverting his gaze again. The shadowy broke through the weakened orb, leaving Josie behind as he reached for the shorter man’s throat. Shanea’s feet finally started moving as she twisted her body around, sliding on the wet ground. As she ran past the two men, she picked up Josie and held her close to her chest.
“Hold onto me real tight Josie, and don’t let go until I tell you.”
“Ok,” Josie sobbed, her head buried in Shanea’s shoulder.
The ground was muddy and slick from the rain that was pouring down from the dark sky. She could hear the two men’s footsteps following behind her, running with extreme speed. Soon they would catch up to her. She pushed herself to fun faster, focusing all her energy into getting a firm step each time her foot fell.
“Keep running, don’t stop!” The young man shouted from behind her. Shanea glanced over her shoulder to see them running after her. As she turned back to face the direction she was going, they entered a small clearing with a pond in its center. She put down Josie along the far edge near a cluster of wide trees.
“Josie, go hide behind one of those trees. Don’t make a sound. I will lure them away and you run out of the woods. Find a trail and don’t stop, you hear? There are rangers at the end of all trails and they will take you home.”
Josie nodded and wiped her nose. She ran behind the largest of the trees digging herself between a group of bushes. Shanea walked to the other side of the clearing, trying to stay as far away from Josie as possible. The two men entered the clearing running at full force with the shadowy man in front. Shanea held her ground as the two men stopped, the shorter one moving closer to her.
“Why did you want my sister?” she shouted, trying to beat the wind’s howls.
“He didn’t want your sister,” the shorter man said. “He wanted you. She was just bait to lure you to him, make you vulnerable.”
“I would have had her if you didn’t interfere.” The shadowy man snarled as he launched himself towards the shorter man. Josie darted from her hiding spot towards a large trail.
Startled from the anger distorting the large man’s features she turned quickly, tripping on the rocks lining the edge of a pond, falling forward into its clear waters. She hit her head on the opposite edge of the pond, knocking her unconscious.
Down she plummeted to the bottom of the pond, but she did not stay there for long. The sand started to slowly revolve until a great suction was created. Shanea swirled around in a cloud of rocks as the whirlpool grew. One of the rocks lining the side of the pond shimmered then vanished as the suction grew stronger, dragging her towards it. Down it pulled her, into a small tunnel. Into the darkness she was pulled. Only the glimmering stone in her pocket shined bright.
The young man dove into the water after her, swimming through the tunnel just as it closed, barely making it. He pulled her along, keeping her safe from the jagged edges of crystal that lined the tunnel. He wiggled through small holes as the tunnel narrowed, carefully moving Shanea through after him. Finally, the tunnel started to widen and the water brightened as he pulled her to the surface of a small pond.