The Girl in the Room

I continued to toss and turn in my bed. Why was it so difficult for me to fall asleep? Nothing would tire me out. I kept staring at the ceiling, and eventually punched the side of my bed in frustration. By now, I had awoken my youngest sibling.

"Shit..." I said under my breath, then tossed my blanket to the side, and walked towards the crib. Even in the darkness, I could faintly see his outline. He stood there, clutching onto his teddy bear, and wept. He let go of his prized possession, and stretched his arms out.

I sighed, then gently picked him up and held him in my arms. I rocked him to the side, hoping to cease his weeping. My action surprisingly failed. His sobbing grew worse by the second.

"Nathan... Shh, shh... Quiet down, please..." I said to him in a soothing voice. He let out a small cough, then continued to cry.

''What was it? I already fed the youngster... I changed his diaper less than 20 minutes ago...'' Thoughts began to ring in my head, but stopped abruptly as I heard something fall to the floor behind me. I practically jumped, and quickly turned around. I held Nathan closer to me, and my heart began to jackhammer against my chest.

Okay, Kenz... Calm down... It's probably just your cat, knocking over some of your 'My Little Pony' toys again, I thought to myself again, letting out a breath of relief.

I held Nathan in front of me, and realized that he stopped crying. I strained my eyes, and noticed him focusing on something behind me. "Hey, Nate... What's up," I said to him quietly, smiling. He merely stared, and lifted a small finger to his mouth.

He began to bite on his finger, like he usually does. I tsked, then set him back down into the crib. He began to giggle at random. Okay, then... I chuckeled, then turned to go back to my bed.

2:48 A.M.

I awoke for the fourth time tonight... This was peculiar, for I burst awake at the sound of Nathan laughing. For sure, I knew that Nathan never did this - he was normally asleep at this hour. Something was up, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

I sat up, then laid my face in my palms, as I continued to hear his laugh. ''What is making him laugh so hard? ''I let out a breath of defeat, then lifted my head only to see pitch blackness. Just as I was about to step out of my bed a second time, I felt something cold on my shoulder. I froze. I swallowed hard, and quickly brushed the thing off with my hand.

I gasped, for the object grasped my hand tightly. ''Someone. Is. In. Here.''

I bit my lip, and jumped off my bed. I ran towards Nathan, but was cut short, as those dead fingers wrapped around my ankle, and pulled me down with an incredible force. I was being dragged across the room, and ended up beneath my bed. The side of my head pulsed painfully, as soon I got rammed into the wall.

The lights flashed on suddenly. Holding onto my head, I noticed some navy blue Converse, standing in front of the crib. The lights flickered, and those sneakers ended up in front of my field of vision. I gasped, and backed away carefully, as to not get my hair caught in the springs of the bed.

The light flashed a second time, when I opened my eyes, I was face-to-face with a pale-skinned, green eyed girl. I pulled a hand to my mouth, and screamed into it. The girl stared into my eyes, not blinking. Her black hair fell in front of her face perfectly, With her cold hand, she touched my cheek. A tear ran down my face, as the light turned off again.

It was pitch black again, and I heard Nathan giggling again. I clenched my jaw, and was about to crawl out from under the bed, until the light turned back on again. The sight of what I saw, horrified me. I screamed aloud, and watched, as the girl's face began to melt away, exposing her pearly white skeleton.

"Shh..." The 'girl' said to me in a reassuring voice. The green eyes began to slowly slip out of her eye sockets; jet black blood, seeped out of the many cracks on her skull. I backed further away, until my back touched the wall.

Nathan was heard again, except this time, he was sobbing again. I need to get Nate, now!

I yelled out in fear, as two arms extended from the walls, and grabbed onto me, forcing me to stay down. The cold, dead arms, wrapped around my waist, and pulled me back. I continued to scream, as some scarlet red blood began to stream down Nathan's crib.

"NOOOOOOO!" I yelled out frightfully, and began to cry even more, as I noticed his favorite caramel colored, teddy bear, fall to the floor. It's soft fur was matted with crimson blood, and its black bead of an eye, was left hanging on a single thread.

"NATHAN!" I cried out even more, as the arms continued to hold me back. I gasped, as I noticed Nate's lifeless body, fall to the floor with a thump. Blood oozed out of his body quickly, and it took me a moment to realize that he had been decapitated.

The arms tightened their grip on me.'' "NATHAN! NOOOOOOO!" ''By now, tears began to run down my cheeks like never before.

"Shh... All is fine, Mackenzie... All is fine..." The girl's voice said. The sound of my name made my blood run cold. The lights flashed again, and I was left gasping for breath. I shook, and looked around from underneath the bed. The arms were no longer wrapped around me.

I let out a breath. Suddenly, the lights came back on. Nate's body wasn't there any more... Although the blood was. Shivering, I turned to my right, and noticed the girl and her green eyes looking into mine. I gasped, and watched, as she lifted a finger to her mouth, and said, "Shh..."

The lights went back out completely.

I jolted awake, and found myself laying down in bed, drenched in sweat. I breathed heavily... Then let a breath of happiness out. I chuckeled to myself, and held a hand to my head.

"Just a little nightmare, is all... Haha..." I sat up, and smiled to myself. It was just a dream, Kenz - Nothing more. I yawned, and was about to lay down again, until something grabbed my shoulder.

"Shh..."