I run through the thick forest panting heavily as fear gripped my heart with it's sharp claws ready to pierce into it.My heart beat accelerated to the point I could feel it in my head. Sweat dripped down my nose and fell on my lip. I tasted the salty liquid with my tongue snaking out of my mouth to lick my lips ever so often.

I had to get away from that frightening man. He had a knife in his hand with his eyes gleaming with intent to kill and I wasn't going to sit and allow that to happen. I pushed through the tree branches and maneuvered through the wild for my life. The only thing my ears could pick was my own heavy breaths. My feet planted on the ground with great intensity, throwing bits of stones and sand forward.

To my surprise, I was tumbling down a slope towards a small stream after tripping on a rock I swore was not there. Maybe my need to run away from whoever it is clouded my senses to even notice the stone.

I rolled down the slope, stopping just when I was about to land face down into the stream. I got up hurriedly and looked at the stream. It was surrounded by thick tall trees with just a little light from the moon caressing the water with its fingers. My need for water grew as I my throat got drier just looking at the water. I used my hand to scoop the water and took a few sips of it to moist my tongue and throat and then rinsed my face with what was left in my hand. My heart was still beating quickly at a rate I feared I could get cardiac arrest . All happening with the chirping sounds of crickets and the refreshing whispers of the moving water and my shirt stuck to my body after being drenched in sweat.

Suddenly I heard the rustling of leaves and the sound of footsteps coming towards me. Turning to see who that was, the tall man with sunglasses with a red glow in them came running towards me. He held the knife over his head coming at me.

"Nooooooo…

I jolted awake, my scream dying in my throat, replaced by the rapid thudding of my heart. Sweat clung to my skin, soaking my forehead, and I gasped for air, my chest rising and falling as if I had truly been running for my life.

For a moment, I lay there, disoriented, eyes wide as I tried to grasp where I was. The dlimly lit room around me slowly came into focus. The familiar sight of my bed, the scattered light from the sun filtering through the curtains. My pulse still raced, and my limbs felt heavy, exhausted, like I'd actually been sprinting through that forest.

It was just a dream… I repeated the thought, willing my body to believe it. But the vividness of it lingered.The taste of the cool stream water, the snap of branches underfoot, the terrifying red glow of the man's eyes. Everything had felt too real.

I exhaled deeply and sank back into the pillows, my heart still struggling to find its usual rhythm. The highlight of the dream playing behind my closed eyelids like a movie.

The sound of beeps interrupted my thoughts. I opened my eyes and got up ready to prepare for school. I slipped my feet into my flip flops and made my way to the bathroom.

I stood infront of my mirror with a a toothbrush in my mouth and foam covering my mouth with the icy cold mint flavour circulating my mouth. Then I heard my phone ringing from the room. I quickly jogged to my bedside table and took the charger out of my fully charged phone. Ruby's name and a picture of her pouting her lips to the camera appeared on my screen.

I pressed the receive button and placed the phone on my ear. "Goodmorning sweetheart", I greeted. "Goodmorning love, your voice sounds…weird", she pointed out. I remembered there was a toothbrush hanging out off my mouth right now. I laughed,"I am currently brushing my teeth,preparing for school. Your phone call just arrived so I picked it up without rinsing my mouth".

A horrifically cute laugh filled my ears and it made my heart flatter. She is an adorable girl but her laughter is horrible and quite ironically enough, I love hearing it.

"Well, you must look weird right now with toothpaste all over your mouth. Anyway I wanted to know if you could pick me up and we could go to school together", she said.

I took the phone with me and placed it on speaker before placing it on the sink counter. "Just a minute, let me rinse my mouth",I replied. I opened the tap and started splashing my face with water before taking some into my mouth to gaggle. That brought my mind back to the dream. I spat the water out and rinsed my toothbrush before placing it back in the cup. For a split second, as the cold water washed over my face, I was back in the forest,feeling the icy stream against my skin, hearing the crickets. The echo of that red glow flashed in my mind, unsettling me.

I shook my head, reminding myself that it isn't real and took my phone to proceed with the call,"Hey Ruby, you still there?"

"Yes, I am. Hope you good now", she responded.

"I am, no more foam in mouth. About your request… sure. Has your dad not come back from his trip?" I asked. "No, my mum tried reaching him and he is not picking up", she answered. "Well, sure I can pick you up".

"See you soon then, don't be late", she responded.

"Of course", I said and blew her a kiss over the phone before ending the call. I went back into my room to put my phone down when I heard sounds coming from my window. It was like a branches from the tree outside was hitting my window so at first I thought little of it so I focused on packing my books into my bag but it got worse and a lot louder than a little tree branch could do.

I went towards my window in slow steady steps and slowly pulled up the blinds. A little bird stood on the window with a red glow in its eyes, quite similar to what I saw in that man's eyes in my dream. The bird had a sinister look in its eyes as it stared at me quite strangely. As I got closer to the window. My heart started pounding in my chest, I deemed it wise to go closer and examine it but unfortunately it just started fading until I could see it no more.

"What the fuck",I cussed as I looked at the spot the bird was for sometime. I spun around drugged myself to the bathroom. I seriously need to get checked. I am seeing things. Maybe when my dad was right, I needed to see a psychologist.

After showering, I got dressed in a blue top and black trousers with my nike black sneakers. My curly hair was glossy and styled into a mullet. I checked myself in the mirror to make sure I was looking good for school and if I had any signs of illness after what I saw today, I am convinced that I have lose my mind.

~

My mum sat at the dinning table. A plate of omelette and toasted bread sat on the table infront of her. I could spot the steam rising from the coffee next to her as she rested her hand, seeming almost…lost. I inched towards her. "Mom", I waved my hand in front of her face. Her eyes diverted their attention to me. She took a deep breath and plasted a smile over her face to cover whatever might be bothering her. "Are you ok, mom?" I asked feeling a little concerned. "I am fine, just a lot of…work stress is on my mind".

I took a seat adjacent her and dished my eggs and put some toast on the plate before pouring some tea for myself. "How was your night, Malachi?" She asked while stabbing her fork into a piece of egg. "It was good… a little eerie but good", I answered before tearing a piece of bread. I continued eating as quickly as I could, wouldn't want Ruby waiting for too long and I also don't want to be late for school. I could feel my mom's quiet worries as her eyes stayed on me for a while. I lifted my eyes to see her putting her empty tea cup down. Her mind didn't seem at peace and I most certainly didn't like that. "Mom, are you ok? Is something happening at work?"

She took a deep breath and looked me in her eyes, I could see her amber eyes glistening in sadness, my heartbroke seeing that. She reached for my right hand and wrapped it with her two hands, maintaining eye contact with me. "I need you to be very and I mean very careful at school, do you understand?" She said, her voice sounding firm with intent to deliver the message in all its seriousness. An emotion I couldn't explain lingered in her eye. "I am going to be careful. I mean its just school I am going to right, I don't think I have anything significant to worry about".

Unless that scary man in my nightmare or that bird appears at school, I should be fine shouldn't I?

She let go of my hand and now reaching for my face, she held my face and stared in my eyes, its like she knew there was danger waiting for me but preferred not to say. If so, then I shouldn't go at all right?

"I mean it Malachi, be careful and watch your back every chance you get", she said with intensified caution. I nodded simply, my eyes roamed hers as if my questions would be answered by doing that. She let go of my face and rose to her feet before taking her keys to head for work and asked me to say hi to Ruby on her behalf. I silently ate my food with my mind processing so many things at a time.

~

I drove down my road from my house towards Ruby's. I drove my old 2007 hundai civic with one hand on the wheel and the other resting against the door just on the window. The air violently hit my face as I drove with a little speed. I listened to Kendrick Lamars raps while bopping my head to the beat.

The town of Artesia is not as big as your bustling New York or California type of stuff, its small but lively a little. Trust me, people commit crimes here but on a minimal level as compared to other towns and cities. That's the great part of this town and also people are hospitable and friendly. We don't have grand skyscrapers like the big cities but development is quite expansive here. The rich don't blow their wealth in our faces. Its just a fun town to live in as weekends are filled with partying, concerts from underground artists and neighbours that organise get-togethers. Making friends here is not hard as you could even make friends with your neighbour's children easily. In this town, boredom and loneliness is a choice.

I was currently stuck in some traffic which usually isn't so on this particular road. There were police cars parked in the far distance,with the loud sounds of sirens mixed with the persistent honks of vehicles. People seemed to have crowded around too but I couldn't see too well.

I saw a someone running on the median of the road from the commotion ahead. I got the man's attention. He started slowing down and came towards my car and stopped just outside my window. He had beads of sweat dripping down his face. He was panting hard, his shirt had wet spots under his arms and around his chest. "What's up", the man said as the sun shone on his shiny head. The sun sure is brighter and hotter than usual today. "What is happening there that is causing all this traffic?" I asked. He used is hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "A man was killed over there, you can see the ambulance and police over there with a whole lot of crime scene tape", he explained. I thought my ears were deceiving me.

"What? Artesia hardly records such crimes. The worse crimes are petty theft and street assaults around the alleys but murders were extremely rare", I responded. "A man just randomly stabbed to death some guy infront of my shop there. When people tried to catch him it was like he varnished into thin air. His eyes were strange as the man stared into the distance. He was squinting to protect his eyes from the bright glare of the sun. My eyebrows raised in confusion. I just hope it has no connection with my dream or the bird thing earlier. "Strange? In what way?" I further questioned. "His eyes seemed red, like a red glow shone from his eyes it was so…weird you know".

My eyes widened, what the hell is going on. Is the town going through some spirit possession or what? Well, it's too early to come to that conclusion but some weird stuff is going on. I don't even believe in those supernatural things but all these things seem like something straight out of a paranormal, fantasy novel. "I gotta go", the man waved and left.