A dream like every other. One we always forget. We find ourselves in darkness. We've been there for so long. The light casts a shadow upon our dry bones. There's something wicked here. We belong to the echoes of tomorrow. So what shall we do but pray? On our knees we beg for a never ending dream of happiness. But punish us for our sorrow so we might find eternal peace. Where shall we go but to the light? Will we ever find that light that once cast a shadow? Or will we dream forever in the echoes of the dark. Cry tears of absolution. Whip in agony. It is here and yet to come. The fear we've always lived. To be amongst the darkness. That is surely a terrifying thing. And yet we haven't realized we've been living it. Because like a dream we forget.
Hi. My name is DeaJuan. I'm a 15 year old high school student and I live in a small town in Illinois called DavyJones. The city, although not as known as others, is still the site for the most mysterious things seen throughout the world. Strangely though people simply aren't really interested in coming here or really know it exist. The families that live here have always been here. They live, have kids, and die here and those kids do the same. Even the ones who leave DavyJones seem to always come back and do the same eventually. It's one of the mysteries of the town. My family was much the same though I don't remember them much. I live with my older brother ReSean. He's a detective in the DavyJones police department. Our father was a well known figure here. Though no one really knew his occupation. Everyone who knew him are either dead or not in town. My brother told me he traveled all around and our mother mostly took care of us. But there was a car crash and my brother and I were the only ones to survive. We lived with our Uncle but he's an uncle only in Name. Not related. Once my brother was old enough to take care of me he left too. Uncle Alex. That was his name. It was him and Kayla. She's the mother of one of my best friends Kaleb.
But enough of all that boring stuff. You're probably wondering why you're reading this. Well here's the thing. I think I might die. And I really need someone to read my story before I do.
So where to start?….the beginning seems reasonable. I was just minding my business reading in the library of DavyJones high. It's early in the evening. Around 6pm. There's suppose to be a football game happening and the librarian allowed students who aren't watching the game to sit and or read.
I'm reading a book it by a famous horror writer. His name is Zack Bryson. He's books are quite the marvel.
And then Helen appears. She's a gothic emo artist with a penchant for dark humor. I've been seeing her around more and more recently. Just there. I don't exactly care. But I always have a feeling she wants to say something. There goes my intuition again. I've been told I'm extremely empathetic. And with my hightened empathy is a even higher sense of intuition. Though I will say it's been getting unusually sharper recently since I entered high school. Which it's only been a few weeks but eh. But back to Helen.
She's a bit of a loner around school. People just seemed to avoid her since middle school. But as far as I know shes pretty cool. Or at least I think so.
She spots me reading.
"Hey, you're looking at books by Zack Bryson?" She walks around the table I'm sitting at. I look up at her. Her strawberry blonde hair looks brilliant under the dim light of the library and her ponytail bounces with each step. She wears a black laced top with a black leather skirt. She hugs a book close to her chest.
I notice she eyes me questionly because while I'm describing her to you guys in my head I'm actually just looking at her.
"Yes…yes!" I answer a little too enthusiastically.
Helen's eyes sparkle with shared enthusiasm as she tilts her head, strawberry blonde hair cascading over one shoulder.
"Ah, a fellow fan! I just devoured Lamb and Fool, they're hilarious yet profound. What draws you to his unique brand of irreverent storytelling?"
"hmm" i turn to face her "guess my black heart loves dark books. god I'm so edgy" I laugh at myself. Edgy? More like edgelord. Jeez that made my head hurt. But she chuckles warmly, leaning in slightly with an impish grin.
"Edgy, huh? I like that. Me too, there's something about exploring the shadows that fascinates me. But Zack Bryson's humor always lightens the darkness. Have you read old and new gods? His irreverent take on myths is brilliant. Although this one is quite dark. Darker than his other works"
"Um actually no I haven't read that one can you tell me about it?" Strange name as well. But he does tend to have mysterious names for his books so eh. Then again that name is less mysterious and more…idk.
"The book focuses on short stories based on old and new gods like the book suggest. It goes into creation and whatnot." As she explains it sounds more and more like a mythology book he created. Maybe he's expanded the world of his stories with lore? "He tended to write volumes and whatnot every other month or at least he did. It's been awhile since he last wrote another"
As I'm about to ask anything else, I feel something is terribly off. I feel dread wash over me. It's as if someone just walked over my grave. My hairs stand on end and my blood runs cold. I look around and I dont see anyone else in the library but us two.
"Something's wrong" I look around frantically as I stand up. I feel an ache in my chest.
"Huh?" She's smile at me but when she notices my urgent behavior she becomes defensive. "What do you mean?" She looks around seeing my attention is focused on our surroundings. "You're kinda scaring me dude." She hugs the novel tighter.
"I'll just…" I step towards the doors of the library. "Check outside." I move towards the door slowly. I hesitate to grab the door but eventually I do. My hands are sweaty. My heart feels like it's dropped into a pit. My head is pounding. This is fear. Anxiety. But I have to know what's beyond this door. A door of possibility.
I turn the knob and pull lightly. As the door open the whisper of silence enters the room. I hesitate once more as the creaking of the door cause me to panic a bit more. As if I'm hiding and the noise is simply giving me away. What could it be. The silence beyond the door. No light beyond. Simply darkness. It's strange. The school is never dark when students are still inside. It's a code violation. And that only makes this worse.
I finally open the door. And I open it to Darkness. The hallway is dark. Silence. Nothing here but the floor that is lit up by the light of the library. No sound. Which is strange. Not sound from the game or the wiring or conditioning in the school. Dead silence. I duck back in the library and hear the sound of the room. The air conditioning is working. I can hear the wiring of the lights. I hear both Helen's and my own breathing, but not when I peak my head out there. Reminds me of that horror movie I saw as a child. Whenever the haunting took place there was silence and a scream is what killed you. As if to test it i stick my head back out and again no sound. Just silence. I can't even hear my own breathing.
This is what I call a "Nope" moment. So as I'm about to duck back in the library and close the door I hear a ghostly whisper beyond the darkness as if it were next to me. It speaks "you have heard the call. I await you my dear friend"
Yeah. "Nope" I voice out as I duck back in but the next thing I know I'm surrounded by darkness. I look around and instead of being in the library I am in the dark of the corridor that was the hallway to the library. Panic builds up and I take out my phone and turn on the flashlight. I see the dark corridor of the school. I may be surrounded by lockers. I don't know. There's a strange black mist in the air. No sound. Just the sound of my breathing . And it echoes ghostly around me. I'm scared. I'm really scared. I try calling my brother. But it immediately goes to voicemail. I see I have no bars. Out of service. Oh my God what's happening? What happening what's happening what's happening! I'm panicking. I'm freaking the hell out. Why wouldn't I? My heart rate elevates and I'm breathing faster and faster. But then I have a feeling. Something warm in my chest. I begin to calm. I slow my breathing and although it takes what seems like forever I finally calm to the point where I can think.
How did I get here? Am I hallucinating? I mentally retrace my steps. The last thing I remember is I had been in the library. I heard a noise in the hall. I tried to duck my head back in and suddenly I was here. I don't remember going out into the hall. Maybe I did but forgot? Trauma? I feel no pain. But I might just die. And here we are. Let's move forward together shall we.
Just as I had been contemplating on what to do, I began to walk forward. I think I know where the Library is. But I'm down the corridor leading to it. There's a turn. I stop before I turn. Something feels off. My heart rate elevates again. It's almost as if something is telling me I shouldn't go around that corner. But something tells me I should. I decided against logic and as I'm about to keep forward I hear crying beyond the corner. It's low but it's real. Another step and I hear the sound of fighting. Ferocious roars and battle cries. The clashing of swords. The sound of blood splatter. The tearing of flesh. The screams of rage! I hear talking, I hear crying, I hear screaming, maniacal laughter, I hear too much! It's too much! "ITS TOO MUCH!!" I cover my ears and turn around for escape and I see Helen and the light of the library. I'm in the library.
I stand there confused. Helen looks worried and concerned. Something brushes past me and I scream.
"Gah!!!" I swing and accidentally hit a student. Other students walk in looking at me.
"DeaJuan are you okay?" Helen touches my shoulders. I just stare at her.
"Huh?"
I couldn't sleep that night. I had nightlights on in my room. Everytime I turned off the light I hear whispers of the things I heard in the dark. Like a sick lullaby. My brother had to come pick me up and took the night off from work to make sure I was okay. According to the staff who called my brother they said I had a nervous breakdown. Now everyone thinks I'm afraid of the dark. I mean. Technically I am. I always have been. But not to a degree of being petrified.
Sean is a great brother. He made sure I was okay and didn't leave the room until he knew I'd be okay. He sits upfront probably reading a book. That comforts me. Knowing he's there. Sure he can be annoying. What family member isn't. It's just he's always there when I need him most. Though he did say he thinks I need to take time off from school.
I use to get bullied often in middle school. Got my ass handed to me a number of times. But when it came to two particular bullies, it was rough. Don't get me wrong I know how to handle myself in a fight. Our uncle made sure to teach us the basics of fighting since he started taking care of us. But when he left my brother learned more and taught me what he could. He wanted to be sure I could handle as much as I humanly could. But as he'll say. "Dea your still growing " yeah. I've never won a fight against those two. And by two I mean the famous Symmetry Twins. Robert and Klyde Burgess. Theyre famous because they don't just fight students but rough members of society outside of school. I heard they even cleaned up some adults and gang members. They're incredibly good at fighting and always fight together. They're parents are incredibly wealthy and get them out of trouble all the time as well. Rich people problems. Am I right?
To be honest they only targeted me because I ended up fighting the majority of the rough housers in my middle school. For some strange reason I was a magnet for them. I never won my first fights against those bullies but the next time I always came out on top. I always learned. Adapted. I guess they wanted a taste. Though they were always disappointed. I never beat them in a fight. Not the first, second, third, so on. I also didn't complain to anyone about them. It's not like I was scared of being seen as a snitch. I just wanted to win the next time. Pride. Pride in what my brother and uncle taught me. Pride in who I am….but who really am I? I'm a 15 year old, African American student in Davyjones high who hates trouble but attracts it like a magnet.
I just want peace. I guess. I'm a kid that wants peace.
As tiring as these thoughts were they helped me momentarily forget this evenings events and drift off into sleep. But one question plagued my mind even as I slept. There was something inside the darkness. Something inhuman. And as scary as it was I needed to know. What is beyond?