Fall woke up, unable to catch his breath. It was the third time that night he had had a nightmare. Fourteen year old Fallon Errigal had been plagued with nightmares for as long as he could remember. This was probably because of his parents’ traumatic death when he was just a baby. Fall couldn’t remember anything about his parents except their gruesome, gory murder. He almost never got a good night’s sleep because every time Fall closed his eyes, he would relive that terrible night, and see the murderer, with his face always just out of view.

The closest thing Fall had to a family was his old dog, who had died the year before, and his best friend, Clair Parks. Since Clair was the only girl Fall knew, she was the closest thing to a mother he had..

Fall crawled out of his “bed” which was really just an old mattress. Fall lived alone in an abandoned house that most people stayed away from because they thought that the cries they heard cane from lost spirits, although it was only Fall crying in his sleep.

As Fall walked to Clair’s house, he remembered the time they had first met. It was nine years ago when seven year old Clair was dared to go into the “haunted house” alone. When she heard Fall crying, she almost ran off, but her curiosity got the best of her and she followed the noise. She stumbled upon Fall, and instead of running away like most did, gently shook him awake and asked what was wrong. So Fall told her his sad backstory, and she dutifully listened. Fall had felt much better after that talk, so he asked Clair if she could come again soon, and she said that she would come whenever he asked. She showed Fall where she lived and told him that whenever he needed her, to go to that house and knock the door five times. Fall had gone there almost every night since then and Clair always felt kind of responsible for him.

When he got to her house he knocked five times, just like always.

“I’ll get it!” he heard Clair scream from inside. “I’m coming, Fall.” The door opened with a creak. “What happened this time, Fall?”

“I had another nightmare.”

“Again? What am I going to do with you? Don’t just stand there, come in! I’ll make some coffee and we can talk. Okay?”

“Okay.” Said Fall. He loved how Clair made his coffee: half coffee, half milk, and exactly three packs of sugar. While she was busy, Fall stood in the hall and looked at all of Ash’s family pictures. There was one photo in particular that always gave him a pang of grief. It was the last picture ever taken of his old house, but he had never thought to ask Clair about it. It had been burned to the ground right after his parents’ murder. It was a miracle Fall had survived at all. He had been stuck under his bed sheets and because they were not flammable, he was rescued with only minor burns and a high fever.

“You ready talk?” It was Clair with the coffees.

“Uh-huh.” He replied.

“Okay, was it the same nightmare as usual, or something different?”

“It was the same, except that I could see more of the murderer’s face, and the screams were louder.”

“Just try not to worry about that. You’re fine now, Fall, and even if you don’t have your parents, you’ll always have me.”

“Thanks. Can I ask you something, Clair?”

“Sure, anything.”

“Why is there a picture of my old house in your hall?”

“The old thing? You used to live there?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a tough one. My parents-,” Fall cringed. “Sorry. Anyway, they said something about a special club they were in holding meetings there.”

“Thanks a lot.” He replied sarcastically.

“Anytime.” She retorted.

.

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You know what? I don’t even care. Imagine whatever you want here. I’ll write something later.

_________________________________________________

He was watching T.V. downstairs, when he dozed off and had the worst nightmare yet. It was practically the same as the other nightmares, but this time, he could see the killer’s face more clearly than ever. He woke up feeling sweaty and sick, even though it was a cool day, and the air-conditioning was on.

Ash was sitting next to him on the sofa with a worried expression. “What’s wrong? You were yelling and thrashing around, but I couldn’t wake you up.”

“I had the nightmare again, but this time I could clearly see the murderer’s face.”

“That’s great! Now you can ‘seek your revenge’ or whatever. Who was it?”

“I can’t say.”

“Yes you can. You can tell me anything.”

Fall looked at Ash with the saddest, most worried face you could ever imagine. “It was your dad…”

I SWEAR TO GOD THIS IS THE WORST THING I”VE EVER WRITTEN.