The Girl Standing at the End of Church Street

I lived in a small town known as Cartersville, which is somewhere in the middle of Georgia. I live on a quiet street out of the way of any big interstates or anything like that, so it is really quite peaceful and nothing much ever happens out there. When I was ten years old, I had a best friend, she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, we always played together as kids. In high school we still remained the best of friends. One day, my parents decided to pack up our bags and go on vacation. Little did I know, it would be a long vacation. I told Sierra, the girl I told you about, that I would be out of town for a few days on vacation, and that I would be back in about a week. Sierra, being a very quiet and shy girl, just nodded and said that she would wait for me. I smiled at her and ran to the car, I buckled myself in and almost immediately fell asleep. Of course after waving to Sierra through the back window until I could no longer see her shining face. She was so beautiful, I was not sure I would survive not being able to see her, even for a week. On the way to our destination, I can't really remember where we were going, we stopped at a gas station to fill up the tank, and ask for directions, just to make sure we were going in the right direction. I looked at the old ratty gas station and at all of the out of date candies and such. I had money with me, and I was really hungry, but nothing looked very appetizing with about an inch of dust covering everything. Then, I heard someone walk up behind me, I assumed someone wanted to pass me and make their way down to the coolers and buy a drink, so I backed up and turned to apologize for being in the way. I couldn't believe it, it was Sierra. She held out a perfectly healthy looking apple and put it in my pocket. I was shaking, I was not sure why. I was just standing there, rocking back and forth, as if someone was pushing me.. .. trying to wake me up. I opened my eyes, I had been asleep the entire time in the back seat of the car. My mom was shaking me, trying to wake me up. " You have been asleep for hours Lenny. You know part of this vacation is looking at the scenery. " I nodded and stared out the window, wondering why the dream felt so real. I Asked if we had stopped at a gas station, but apparently that happened hours ago. My mother asked me if I was feeling okay, I told her I was a little hungry, I stuck my hand in my pocket and felt something soft and round in my pocket. It was a apple, but it was brown and rotten, here were even maggots crawling around on it. I quickly opened the window and threw it outside before either of my parents saw it. I shook with disgust at what I once had in my pocket, in my hand. I remembered my dream, but pushed it out of my mind. It started raining outside, I touched the window and felt its icy surface. It was windy and storming outside. I was glad we were safe in the car. Dad swerved a little with the wet road. I looked down at my waist and made sure my seat belt was still on. We swerved again, and again. My dad lost control of the car, my mom's head smashed into the window, blood spattered over her clothes as the car began to roll. One two, three, or more times. I could not count, I passed out before it stopped rolling.

I was in the hospital. I looked out the window, it was sunny, and happy outside. I found the little remote patients can use to call the nurse and change the channel on the television. My vision was blurry, so I pressed only what I could assume was the call " nurse button ". Not too long afterwards, a very pretty young nurse came running into the room. "Oh good, you are awake! You have been in a coma for weeks." I sat up straight, "What about my parents? Where are they re they okay?" The nurse looked away and bit her lip. I held my head in my hands, "Oh god, they're dead aren't they? Aren't they?!" The pretty nurse gave me a pitiful look and nodded sadly. I cried, I must have cried for hours and hours, because night soon fell. I wanted to go home. I wanted to see Sierra, she could always make me feel better no matter what went wrong. When I was bullied at school, for my hand-me-down clothes, she would always be there to hold me and make me feel better. I told the nurse I felt better a few days later and asked if I could catch a bus ride home. She tried to convince me to sit back down in the bed, but I pushed her away and ran out of the room. I looked back at the tag on the wall that always said the patient name. It read out Lennard Streyer, 17. and then the nurse and doctor names. Something stood out to me, I am not seventeen, I'm just a freshman in high school. Something was wrong. I felt taller, more muscular. I looked down, I really was taller, I was wearing unfamiliar clothes, but they still had my mother's blood on them, or was it my own blood? I was scared. I ran out of the hospital, down the street, and did not stop until I reached a bus stop. I had to go back home, It was the only place I felt safe. I was shaking, and scared out of my mind, I looked over my shoulder, making sure no one was following me. When the bus pulled up, I gave the driver all the money I had. " I don't care how long it takes, but I need to get there, take me home. Take me to Church street, 703, that’s all I ask. The old man looked me over, and nodded. I took the back seat. No one else got on the bus. When the bus stopped in front of my house, I tried to get off but the man stopped me, “I'm sorry if it was not enough money,” I began, “but it's all I had.” The old man shook his head and looked up at me, “Take this coat kid, it's cold out there.” He handed me a grayish hoodie and I put it on, covering the blood on my shirt, which the old man noticed. He did not say anything about it though. “Go and find your destiny kid, it will wait for you in the world.” The statement startled me somewhat, it did not seem right, the man looked more sinister. The bus door opened and I ran out onto the street and into my house.     I locked the door behind me, and sat on the floor leaning against the front door. I panted from the run, I was scared, and alone. I used to be fourteen, but somehow, jumped through three years of my life I couldn't remember any of my fifteenth or sixteenth birthdays, no matter how much I tried. The nurse said I was in a coma, sis I sleep through three years of my life?! I heard someone walking down the stairs slowly, and carefully. They switched on the lights, baseball bat in hand. It was a man, and his frail skinny wife. I did not recognize them, Had the old man dropped me off on the wrong street? I looked up at the man, “What house number is this? What street am I on?" the man lowered the bat in his hand, a scared look on his face. For all he knew I could be some crazy person who goes around murdering people, looking so innocent, but hiding so much fury. He stuttered as he said the same as my address, Church Street, 703. "Can we help you son? Are you lost? " I was confused, why were these people in my house? "I .. .. I live here. This is my house." The man looked back at his wife, a look of pity and confusion on his face, "Son, the family that lived here moved away three years ago. We bought this house last year, can we call your parents, or someone to come get you?" I took off running outside, leaving the confused man and his wife in their home. I ran down the street, not looking back to see if they were following me. Tears were stinging my eyes, I have no where to go, no home, no family. I eventually ran out of steam and held myself up on a sign, I felt sick to my stomach, but there was nothing in it to throw up. I looked up at the sign, it was a regular old stop sign, nothing special, I could not read it anyways, tears blurred my vision. I heard footsteps behind me and I quickly spun around. My vision was shaky, and blurry, but I saw her, just as clear as day. She was the same age as me now, a lot older than I last remembered, but still just as beautiful. "Sierra? Is .. is it really you? " I said in a stupefied voice. She smiled and laughed at me, "You are goofy, stop being so wobbly and goofy."    I really was stumbling around, due to my blurred vision, I must have looked like a drunken buffoon. Her voice got dark, and intimidating, "Stop it. Stop it Streyer I mean it!" She had never called me by my last name before, she always called me Len, short for Lenny. "Sierra, It’s me.. Len .. why are you so angry?" She glared at me and my brain started beating against my skull, it was a intense pain, but it only lasted a few seconds, but felt like years. "I waited for you Lennard Streyer! Right here where you told me to! You never came back, and now that you have, we will show you what happened to us!" I was confused, and disoriented. A loud screeching emanated from Sierra, she screamed like a banshee at me. I held my ears shut, and opened my eyes, visions passed by my eyes, it was Sierra, sitting on the corner underneath the stop sign. A wistful look in her eyes, slowly she grew older, the wistful look turned to sadness, and depression was showing on her face. Then anger, so much fury in her eyes. The last thing I saw as I looked up at Sierra as I crouched on the ground. She looked the same as ever, with her beautiful smile, as it crept up behind me. "I waited for you, Len." She began, as I felt something wrap around my legs, it was ice cold. I looked up and saw a monstrous mass of black shadows, there were faces stretching out, trying to get away, sad ones, furious ones, there were no positive emotions. I shut my eyes tightly and heard Sierra walk towards me. My body lifted up off the ground, I was upside down. I felt a icy hand lift my chin and I opened my eyes to meet hers. "I waited here for you, for years and years. Now, I will make sure you are always with me. Just as the sadness is." I opened my mouth to scream as I was pulled closer to the thing behind me, I felt its cold mass crowd and surround me, swallowing me slowly. I felt a crushing sadness, as I watched the blackness fold over my face, and consume my entire being. I could see nothing but darkness. I felt sorry for what I did to Sierra. Then it washed away in an instant, I looked down at my body, it was all turning into the inky blackness. I felt anger, and rage flow through my body like a hot liquid being pumped through my heart to my entire body. I fought the thing, I punched and kicked at the blackness, but never hit anything. I looked again at my body, it was entirely dark, it crept up onto my cheek, I watched as it slowly reached up into my eyes, then I felt cold. The heat of rage now completely gone from my body. I had my eyes closed, as I felt my knees hit the ground. I raised my head and opened my eyes, and looked into her cold black eyes. I felt her cold hands touch mine, and pull me up onto my feet.

"See, now we can be together forever, just like you said."