Annabelle would have loved to listen to music at that moment but it was nighttime and she wanted her ears to be free in case of emergencies. Hampton had the highest records of night kidnappings and rape incidents.

  She walked up the hill, heading to her house as she began to think of what she was to tell her parents if they didn’t believe her. She had barely walked halfway up the hill, when she noticed something in the woods staring at her.

  Is that something or someone? She thought to herself, squinting her eyes, trying to get a closer look.

  The creature waved at her as if it recognized her. Seeing this, she walked faster. She briskly walked uphill on the tarred road nearly running, and looking behind her every two seconds. Then she looked into the woods but didn’t see anything.

  “Oh God, don’t tell me it’s following me,” she said to herself, picking up the pace. Her heart rate increased and suddenly, she could hear footsteps behind her. The thought of using her flashlight didn’t cross her mind at that moment.

  “Almost there, almost there,” she said to herself, refusing to look back, as her house came into view. The footsteps of whatever was following her got louder.

  Oh no, it’s going to get me. Her heart rate got faster, so fast she could hear it beating. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.

  “Please don’t kill me,” she whispered softly, then felt a hand on her shoulder.

  She screamed, turned around and sprayed a can of pepper spray into the eyes of the thing that was behind her, not knowing the thing was her neighbor, Jacob Hittcroff.

  “Owwwww!!” Jacob screamed, covering his eyes with his hands. He fell to the floor due to the unbearable pain of the pepper spray and started to cry. Luckily for him, Anna had missed his eyes by a hair’s breadth but still sprayed a little amount into his eyes.

  “What the hell are you doing following me like that?! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Anna wailed. She was really relieved that the thing that was following her around was her nerdy neighbor, Jacob.

  Jacob was a seventeen-year-old boy who used glasses and attended Hampton high but was never seen in classes. He had a flair for the supernatural and he loved to research horror stories. He was pretty weird.

  “It really hurts!” Jacob screamed, still in pain.

  Anna looked at Jacob for a moment and then hesitantly pulled out her water bottle from the side of her backpack.

  “Here take this and rinse your face,” she said as she handed him the water bottle. Jacob collected it, still keeping his eyes closed and used the water to wash his eyes. He felt a slight tingling sensation run down his spine, as the cold water touched his face.

  “Mmmmmm that feels good,” he said, and emptied the contents of the water bottle.

  He handed the empty bottle back to Annabelle who snatched it from him and walked away. She was clearly disgusted, and wondered what he was doing outdoors by that time of night.

  “What exactly are you doing outside by this time?” She asked as she spun around.

  “I was ghost hunting, and I saw you when I was in the woods so I waved at you but you ignored me. Then you started to run and I followed you, wanting to know why you were running from me,” Jacob said, looking at the ground.

  “Anyway, let’s get out of here. We are in the open,” Annabelle said, grabbing Jacob by the hand and running uphill on the tarred road.

  “Why are you home late today?” Jacob asked, trying to keep up with Annabelle. He was not very athletic.

  “It’s none of your business,” Anna replied as she ran.

  Why am I even holding his hand? She thought, as she let go of his hand and walked.

  Jacob stopped running too and was panting.

  A while later, they arrived at their houses, and bid each other goodbye.

  “Ok, I have to tell them I was doing an assignment,” Annabelle said as she turned the doorknob to open the door but it was locked.

  “Locked? I thought they’d wait for me,” she said to herself, still trying to open the door. She looked up and noticed some of the lights were still on.

  “Dad must be back.” She thought of a way to enter the house without using the door. She was just about to turn around when the door was opened, and her father was standing right before her.

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  Her father, Mr. Riles Peterson, was a well-built man with six abdominal muscles, and a really broad chest. He really took his time at the gym every weekend just to impress his wife. He was dark skinned and had a beard that most ladies loved.

  “Why are you just coming home?” He asked, clearly displeased.

  “I see you are prepared to sleep outside today,” he added, without even giving Anna a chance to reply.

  “You better give me a good reason for coming so late, or you’ll sleep outside. And if it’s any different from what your brother told me, you’ll be in trouble,” He said, looking intently at Anna.

  Josh, what have you told him? She thought, while still trying to maintain a cool demeanor.

  “Umm I had school work to do with Joanna,” she replied, silently praying it was in accordance with what Josh had told her father.

  Mr. Peterson looked at Anna, seeming to take forever and then grunted as he stepped aside to let her into the house.

  Annabelle walked straight to her room and closed the door behind her. Then she heaved a sigh of relief. She didn’t realize she had been holding her breath almost the whole time.

  Annabelle was not scared of her father but she did not take what he could do lightly. She undressed, took a shower and went downstairs to eat. After the meal, she headed back to her room and was just about to enter when her brother came out of his room smirking.

  “I just saved your ass,” he said, as the smug look on his face grew wider.

  Anna, in disgust, ignored him and slammed the door of her room. She sat on her comfortable and slightly bouncy bed, or so she liked to call it. She had nicknamed her bed ‘bouncy the snuggles’ because of how soft it was.

  Clouds floated high in the sky, shifting the shadows in her room as she took off her soft bunny slides and slumped onto the bed.

  The bed bobbed up and down and she smiled saying, “Good work bouncy,” gently tapping the bed.

  Her mind went back to the activities of the day and so many thoughts ran through her mind as she stared at the white wooden ceiling.

  What will I do about Crow? Does magic really exist? Who is coming after me? Were the thoughts that ran through her mind as she put off her lamp and closed her eyes. The room was dark, the only source of light being from the moon.

  Anna squinted and closed her eyes even tighter, but she couldn’t sleep. She then stood up, turned on the lights and was about to begin reading a random book just when she heard a slight knock on her door.

  “Who is it?” She asked, but didn’t get a reply.

  “I said who is that?” She asked again, but no one answered. She stood up and walked to the door, opening it in anger.

  The moment she opened the door, she saw the same tall creature from her visions standing in front of her. She wanted to scream, but it covered her mouth, muffling her screams and stabbed her through the heart with its claws.

  Annabelle jumped out of bed panting and soaked in sweat. She had fallen asleep after she took off her slides, and her heart raced even faster as the image of the creature lingered in her mind.

  “A nightmare or a vision?” She asked herself, covered in sweat.

  “No, it has to be a nightmare. I can remember it at least,” she said, looking around the dark room.

  She lay back on her bed, but this time she had plugged her ears and was listening to music hoping that the music would take her mind off the incidents of that day, including the dreams.

  “Annabelle,” A voice woke her up and her eyes instantly opened, but no one was around her. Her alarm clock had been buzzing but she didn’t hear it because the earphones were in her ears.

  She gently took out the earphones and stopped the song as she muttered some words to herself.

  “I don’t feel like going to school today,” she said, groaning and scratching her head. She checked her cellphone which was on her table and saw that Jackson had texted her many times. “Guess I’ll make it up to him,” She said to herself.

  Annabelle then slid her feet into her soft bunny slides which she had properly positioned before going to sleep the previous night.

  She looked at her clock and screamed on noticing the time. It was 7:45 p.m. and she was going to be late for school.

  “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” she kept on saying, as she scrambled through her wardrobe looking for what to wear.

  She dashed out of her room and headed straight for the bathroom, not even bothering to look for her parents. She hurriedly took her bath and dressed up after which she headed down the stairs.

  “Mom? Dad? Joshuaaaaa!” She screamed, but no one answered.

  “Did they all leave without me?” She said to herself as she noticed a piece of paper on the table in the living room. She picked it up and read the content of the paper which stated: “From mom to Anna. Dear President, there’s food in the kitchen. We allowed you to sleep because you screamed at us when we tried to wake you up. Take your time and go to school when you’re ready. Love, mom.”

  I don’t remember screaming at anyone. Anna thought, as she headed to the dining room. She sat down and ate the pancakes her mom had prepared for her. They were cold but still delicious. Her mom had a way of making pancakes that still made you want more even when they had gone cold.

  Annabelle hurriedly ate the pancakes and headed for class. On getting to school, she looked at her wristwatch which read 8:45 a.m.

  “Well, I’ve already missed the first period,” She said as she walked into the school.

  On getting inside, she saw her boyfriend having a conversation with some of his friends.

  “Maybe I should go there and disrupt their conversation,” she murmured, having a smug look on her face.

  But as she began to walk through the slightly crowded hallways, slowly approaching her boyfriend, someone grabbed her by the arm from behind and pulled her into an empty classroom.