Personal Narrative

I was running, running as fast as I possibly could. I just couldn't get away. They were after me, I knew they were. I couldn't run forever, no one can. I knew they saw everything I did, but i didn't care. I was going to hide even if they saw it or not. I got tired of looking for a place to hide and ducked into a dark alleyway. My heart was racing, my body was shaking, and I had adrenaline coursing through my entire body. I was scared, more scared than i had ever been, and that made me worry about my chosen hiding place. I checked my wristwatch and waited for the time to come. Three......two......one...., I pushed my body off the cold, hard wall and dashed to the other side of the dumpster, but i was too late. They were right there, staring at

me from beyond the shadows of the abandoned town. They gleamed like rubies and didn't move. They were so bright, so ominous, so red, that they would make you think you were staring into the eyes of pure terror. They did not blink, nor did they speak, they just hung there, for they knew I was scared of them, so scared that every muscle, every tiny microscopic cell, froze with fear. Fear so powerful that I couldn't even tremble. It felt as if they were staring into me, staring into my soul. Finding my deepest darkest fears to use against me. I believed it, I believed it without a single doubt in my mind. I forced my eyes to close, and stay closed. I didn't know that a hand reached from beyond the shadows of the dark, deserted city. Then I opened them so suddenly, so quickly, that I awoke from my deep slumber with a jolt. My clothes and blankets were absolutely covered, probably even drenched, with sweat. They emitted a smell so foul it was like the odor of that of a rotting corpse. I grabbed my night-stand and urged myself to look at the digital clock that sat there. The clock flashed 6:30am, it was time for school. I threw the foul smelling blankets and clothes into the hamper, got some fresh clothes, and took a short twenty-minute shower. By the time I was walking out the door it was 6:50am and the sky was still dark.

The cool morning air blew by me as I walked along the sidewalk and I had three blocks to walk. By the time I got inside my first class the bell rung as I sat down. The day passed by with the slowness of molasses because it was the middle of May and nearing summertime. Throughout the entire day I kept quiet and did my work diligently. By lunchtime I had done all my work and missing work. I just had to get my mind off the horrid dream of red eyes. I stood in line, got my plate, and silently walked to an empty table to eat. "Boy, you sure are a workaholic huh?" came a familiar voice. When i looked up it was Josh. He was a tall, well-built, red-head with too many freckles to count, but he was a nice guy. "Guess so." I said and took a bite of my food. Lunch passed over quickly as Josh and I talked. He asked the routine questions everyone ask on a monday, how are you doing?, what did you do over the weekend?, stuff like that. I told him but left out the dream. Josh just was not the kind of person who believes stuff like that. The rest of the day passed quicker than usual, but I was in no hurry to get home. Home was a place I definitely did not want to be. My

parents were always away and sent money for bills and groceries. I had no siblings and friends rarely come over, so i'm mostly home alone. I sat at the park for hours talking and playing basketball. When I checked my wristwatch it shown 8:38pm and the stars covered the dark sky like a spotted blanket. I sighed deeply, put some ear buds in, and told my friends id see them tomorrow. The walk home was a long one and I still had three blocks to go. As I turned a corner slowly I saw them, the red, ominous, eyes from my dream. "No" I mumbled as my entire body froze with terror. "It's not real" I told myself. "It can't be." I protested but the eyes only grinned a solid white smile and uttered a laugh, so deep, so crazed, so filled with joy it sounded like it came from a book. It felt as if terror itself was hovering before me. I awoke with a sharp pain in my chest and a major headache. "It was only a dream?" i asked myself questioningly. I hadn't remembered coming home, or anything after that. It was as if it happened but it didn't at the same time. I was beginning to question the difference between what was real and what was a dream.