Chapter 4

It was late before we got back, we spent rest of the day just hanging out and messing around like the good old days. I’d forgotten how much fun we used to have over such little things. At one time, we even started to play blind mans bluff in the park which turned out to be hilarious when Ryder attacked a random girl walking by. I apologized but I didn’t recognise her. She was just probably a first year student. She smiled, separated her two blonde pigtails and scurried away before Ryder could apologize himself.

“Feel better now you’ve bullied some poor innocent girl on her first day?” Austin laughed, re-doing his blindfold.

“Yeah, fantastic.”

I got caught on his second attempt of catching us, but that was only because Bryony pushed me in front of him and sacrificed me.

“Come on Pinky,” Ian said, covering my eyes from behind and tightly pulling it into place.

“Watch the hair!”

He turned me around sharply, almost knocking me off my feet in a manner similar to Josh’s before the accident. Vulnerability closed in on me once more, giving me butterflies in my stomach. I could hear his voice- or someone’s voice at least- inside my head. Droning on in the empty darkness, wanting to burst out of me into the light. Kira. My name, repeated again and again in cold whispers. Someone was calling for me. A chill went down my spine. I could almost feel the warm breathe on my neck. I felt sick.

Suddenly, a clear giggle came from behind and snapped me back into reality. The voice faded away. I stepped forward, trying to concentrate on the game. It didn’t take long to find someone, surprisingly because Mina was stupid enough to try tripping me up. Instead, I reached out and pulled her down with me. Game over.

Going back to our room, the first thing I noticed was that the door was unlocked. Lucky really because none of us had got the concept of remembering room keys yet.

A slight scent of paint drifted out into the hallway. The floorboard under the carpet creaked as Mina stepped inside, making our presence known to our new roommate. She stood next to the kitchen units, pouring a cup of dirty water into the sink. Spinning on her heel to see us, she wiped her hands on her stained shirt, twice her size and ripped it off to reveal her denim dungaree’s underneath.

“Hi,” she smiled, tidying up one of her blonde pigtails and nervously standing up straight in front of us.

As she did so, her slightly larger teeth were revealed from her plump lips and two dimples appeared in her cheeks. A smudge of orange paint was still spread across her face from where her paintbrush had caught her whilst painting. I recognised her as the girl Ryder attacked earlier this afternoon.

“I’m Helena Prince.”

“Mina.”

“Bryony,” Bryony smiled, exhaling in relief, getting four mugs out of the cupboard and breaking the seal on the cocoa.

I reached out to shake her hand. “I’m-”

“Kira Lopez?”

“Yeah, how did you-?”

“The nametag on your suitcase,” she giggled.

At first I thought she had been rooting through my belongings but then I realised that the label on my suitcase poked out from under my bed, my name clearly printed in bold ink.

Mina’s milkshake maker roared and she ripped open a packet of digestives. “Sorry we left you alone all day, we weren’t really sure when you were coming,” she explained.

“It’s fine. I’ve just been walking around, checking things out.”

“What’s on your face?”

She wiped her cheek on the back of her hand and laughed. “Oh, it’s paint. I found a nice view from the roof so I did a quick sketch and then painted it.”

She pulled out a large artist board from the window sill and showed us it. It was strange but brilliant. Dark but light. Bold but fragile. The vibrant colours revealed the sun at its lowest point, stretching over the woodland tree’s behind our dorm. The detail was simple but effective, capturing every glint of light and tone of darkness.

“It’s gorgeous!” Bryony beamed, concentrating on the misty blue shadows of the forest.

“Thanks, just something I like to do. I left all my portraits to my friends in London so I need to build up my portfolio again.”

“Wicked.”

I sipped my milkshake as Bryony handed it over. “Well then, looks like we’ve all got a lot to talk about.”

………………………………............................................................................................................................

The moon shone a glistening silver sheen through the crack in the curtain which floated like a satin veil in the darkness. The wind whistled peacefully outside, harmonizing with the gentle breathing of my sleeping roommates. Bryony was on the top bunk, I was in the bottom. Her hand slipped from the mattress and dangled in the cold air above me. She was still; much like the rest of the room.

I knew I should be sleeping as well. It was the first day of lessons tomorrow and although class would most likely be sorting out new books and catching up with things we had done the previous year, I needed to be awake and refreshed.

I was normally a heavy sleeper, able to sleep through a hurricane but tonight I just couldn’t keep my eyes closed. It drove me crazy being the last one awake and squirming in annoyance; I kicked off the covers and screwed myself into a tight ball. In the darkest corners of the room, I could see the door knob glowing as the moonlight bounced from its glossy handle. I could see Rain’s PlayStation, placed on top of the TV for installation tomorrow. I could see my dark reflection in the long mirror at the back of the room.

Biting my nails in boredom, I sat up in bed and unwillingly began to daydream. No! No, I needed to get to sleep and by God I would. Determined, I wrapped a dress scarf around my head and tied it around my eyes so they would be less inclined to search the room for more distractions. For a while, it worked and I felt such relief as I felt myself growing tired. All I had now was my hearing. The tree’s whispered outside the window from the woodland behind. Mina snored gently. The floorboards groaned and on one or more occasions I had mistaken them for footsteps out on the hallway. It was probably Lexie, still wandering around the dorm. I had remembered from a couple of years back that she had insomnia but it had probably gone by now.

“If you can’t get up in the morning, Kira, you are in so much trouble!” I growled to myself, sitting up again, ripping off my eye mask and cradling my head in my hands.

For a moment, everything seemed to come to a stand still, suddenly very silent. Then the creaking became loud and sharp like a brittle pod, cracking. I ignored it. A wave of coldness came over me when I heard my name being whispered in the same icy tone from earlier on. My stomach sank as the sound caught me off guard and my blood froze in my veins. Slowly and silently, I looked over my fists and gazed into the shadows. Had our door just been pushed slightly ajar? I watched in anticipation. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

The wind shrieked. As my focus moved away from the door, I heard it creak once more and looked to see it, slowly moving forward. The air grew thick. Who was coming in our room at the late hours of the night?

I refrained myself from watching any longer and threw the blanket over my head. If I pretended to be asleep, maybe they’d just leave. Maybe they had come to the wrong room.

The worse part of hiding under your covers though is that you can’t just appear out of nowhere. For all you know, a crazed psycho killer will be standing over your bed, holding an axe. I had to stay under there until I was certain it was safe.

‘Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep,” I begged myself.

Heavy breathing. Was that me? Must have been.

What was I doing? I’m just being stupid, the door was never open. I’m imagining it. I’m tired; I’m sleeping in a new place. It’s all in my head.

Cautiously, I peered out of the covers and stepped out of my warm bed. The sweat on my back dried instantly as I stood in front of the open window. The soft carpet tickled my feet as I slid into the centre of the room.

My heart was thudding. Why was the door now wide open? No one was in there. Or at least, I couldn’t see anyone there. My eyes scanned the room. Nothing.

Suddenly, something gently stroked my arm and made me jump out of skin.

“So stupid!” I hissed aloud, seeing that it was only the curtain.

I turned around and glanced across the room only to find a small girl standing in the open doorway. Her pale skin and fair hair, stained by a stream of dark blood. Her small summer dress, ripped and torn. Her expression grey and emotionless. I held my mouth tightly shut. I didn’t cry out. I just stood there and stared into her eerie black eyes that seemed to widen. Whispers hissed frantically in my ears. Everything else seemed to fade away. It was just me and the girl, eyes locked on each other as she studied me from across the room. I wanted to move. I wanted to call out for Mina. I wanted to break that intense moment that strained every muscle in my body. In a mixture of whispers, I heard my name in the voice that sent chills down my spine. I whimpered as it landed heavily in my mind as I realised this was all too real to be a dream. The little girl raised her finger to her cracked lips. In fear, I backed away and her eyes seemed to bulge. I shuffled backwards, further and further.

“Don’t do it, Kira,” the whispers hissed, surrounding me from every direction. “Don’t follow. Don’t fall.”

I then watched in horror as blood streamed from the girls eyes. My chest heaving, I yelped, spun around and came face to face with yet another terrifying encounter.

A white face. Two piercing eyes, burning into mine. A twisted, sickening expression. So close. So hideous. Hot sticky breath wrapping around my whole body. Pure striking terror that turned my legs to jelly. And in that split second, I knew that it would hurt me. I saw it in that angered glare.

My screams instantly found the strength to escape just as a cold hand clasped around my throat. I pulled sharply from its grasp, tugging the bed covers and taking them down with me as I landed in a huddled heap on the floor.

“Kira? Kira, are you OK?” a voice cried, followed by the sounds of feet tiptoeing towards me.

Helping to pull the covers from me, I gasped to catch my breath with eyes frantically searching the room. There was just me and Mina now.

“Thank god you weren’t on the top bunk,” she said, throwing the blankets back on my bed. “You could have hurt yourself.”

Still breathless, I stammered to myself whilst rubbing my neck. What just happened?

“Are you Ok?”

I hesitated, coughing nervously. “Yeah, sure. Just a bad dream.”

“I hope you’re not letting Ian get to you,” she laughed. “That Malevolent story was so lame.”

My ears pricked up. “Malevolent?”

“Don’t worry about it. He was just trying to scare us. Jerk.”

I sat back on my bed and studied the door. Closed- just like it was before I went to bed.

“I’m off to the study to write to my dad. You’re OK here on your own, right?”

I nodded, relieved that she was staying up and would only be down the hall. Mina’s dad worked in Adelaide, Australia. He hardly had much free time on his hands and sometimes I wondered why Mina even bothered keeping contact with him. It was so much hassle. I guess that was just Mina though. She grew up way too soon both physically and mentally which is why she’s so mother-like.

She brought me a glass of water and I settled back into bed, not daring to open my eyes again.

To be continued...