Darby Rutledge II -- Run Faster
Chapter Two
Who is she?
All I can see is her red hair. That flaming red hair. Maybe its the light in the room... there really is no light, just a red light... no, her hair is red. Red. Who is she? I can't see her face. Only the back of her head... why? She's running. Running fast. Running really fast. The hall is long. Getting longer. She's running down the hall now. The Girl with the Red Hair is running... from something. From something chasing her. She's not happy. She's... she's scared.
Red Hair... Run faster. run faster! RUN FASTER!!!!!
Hitting the floor, Shawn opened his eyes. His heart beat rapidly, his breath was short, he felt as if he had just finished a sprint. He put the back of his palm to his forehead... wet. He was sweating.
It took a few seconds, but he caught his bearings. He was in a room, on the floor next to a bed. His room. His floor. His bed. After remaining still to catch his breath, he reached up for his cell phone.
Shawn's hand fumbled in the dark, knocking over a small cup holding change. He cringed as it crashed across the metal shelf, but put his hand on his cell phone. "I hope no one is awake..." he thought. He pushed the button to see the time... 1:04am. Another bad dream.
When he heard the knock, he jumped. After determining that he wasn't hearing anything, he looked toward the door.
"Shawn?" I asked, lightly tapping on the door.
"Yeah?" came the call from the inside. He slowly got up and took a deep breath. He put his hand over his chest, feeling that his heartbeat had slowed.
"You okay, man?"
The door cracked slightly, with Shawn's face appearing. "Yeah, I'm okay... I just fell out of bed."
"Fell out of bed? You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, Dave," he forced a smile. "Just fell out of bed."
"Alrighty," I took a step back and turned to leave, perhaps going to bed myself.
"Hey, Dave," he said softly.
"Yeah?" I turned back to see the door standing open, him leaning against the door jam.
"You..." he stopped. He pursed his lips and started again. "You ever have bad dreams?"
I looked at him peculiarly. "Bad dreams?"
"Yeah, like, nightmares or something? You know, bad dreams?"
"Not usually," I replied. "I mean, I dream weird stuff sometimes, maybe a vampire chasing me or something, but usually its something that I find very silly when I wake up the next day."
He didn't say anything. I gave it a brief silence, and then asked, "Why do you ask? You have a nightmare?"
"Yeah," he forced a smile again. "Um, it was silly to. It was a vampire. And I fell out of bed. Stupid, huh?"
Something about him caused me to not think he was telling me the truth. "Yeah, just stupid stuff. Probably all that Xbox crap you play."
He laughed uncomfortably, "Yeah. I probably should lay off the Xbox."
Another awkward silence passed.
"Alright, well, I'm going to bed," I said, turning away again.
"Yeah, I'll go back to sleep," he said quietly. I heard his door closed behind me.
Something was obviously wrong with him, I thought.
Inside Shawn's room, he crawled back into bed, almost fearful of closing his eyes. He knew the moment he fell asleep, he'd see her. The Girl with the Red Hair. Just like he'd been seeing her almost every night for months now. Running down that same hall. He could never see what was behind her.
Shawn just knew whatever it was, it was getting closer everytime he dreamed about her. And he wasn't sure he wanted her to be caught.
Who is she?
All I can see is her red hair. That flaming red hair. Maybe its the light in the room... there really is no light, just a red light... no, her hair is red. Red. Who is she? I can't see her face. Only the back of her head... why? She's running. Running fast. Running really fast. The hall is long. Getting longer. She's running down the hall now. The Girl with the Red Hair is running... from something. From something chasing her. She's not happy. She's... she's scared.
Red Hair... Run faster. run faster! RUN FASTER!!!!!
Hitting the floor, Shawn opened his eyes. His heart beat rapidly, his breath was short, he felt as if he had just finished a sprint. He put the back of his palm to his forehead... wet. He was sweating.
It took a few seconds, but he caught his bearings. He was in a room, on the floor next to a bed. His room. His floor. His bed. After remaining still to catch his breath, he reached up for his cell phone.
Shawn's hand fumbled in the dark, knocking over a small cup holding change. He cringed as it crashed across the metal shelf, but put his hand on his cell phone. "I hope no one is awake..." he thought. He pushed the button to see the time... 1:04am. Another bad dream.
When he heard the knock, he jumped. After determining that he wasn't hearing anything, he looked toward the door.
"Shawn?" I asked, lightly tapping on the door.
"Yeah?" came the call from the inside. He slowly got up and took a deep breath. He put his hand over his chest, feeling that his heartbeat had slowed.
"You okay, man?"
The door cracked slightly, with Shawn's face appearing. "Yeah, I'm okay... I just fell out of bed."
"Fell out of bed? You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, Dave," he forced a smile. "Just fell out of bed."
"Alrighty," I took a step back and turned to leave, perhaps going to bed myself.
"Hey, Dave," he said softly.
"Yeah?" I turned back to see the door standing open, him leaning against the door jam.
"You..." he stopped. He pursed his lips and started again. "You ever have bad dreams?"
I looked at him peculiarly. "Bad dreams?"
"Yeah, like, nightmares or something? You know, bad dreams?"
"Not usually," I replied. "I mean, I dream weird stuff sometimes, maybe a vampire chasing me or something, but usually its something that I find very silly when I wake up the next day."
He didn't say anything. I gave it a brief silence, and then asked, "Why do you ask? You have a nightmare?"
"Yeah," he forced a smile again. "Um, it was silly to. It was a vampire. And I fell out of bed. Stupid, huh?"
Something about him caused me to not think he was telling me the truth. "Yeah, just stupid stuff. Probably all that Xbox crap you play."
He laughed uncomfortably, "Yeah. I probably should lay off the Xbox."
Another awkward silence passed.
"Alright, well, I'm going to bed," I said, turning away again.
"Yeah, I'll go back to sleep," he said quietly. I heard his door closed behind me.
Something was obviously wrong with him, I thought.
Inside Shawn's room, he crawled back into bed, almost fearful of closing his eyes. He knew the moment he fell asleep, he'd see her. The Girl with the Red Hair. Just like he'd been seeing her almost every night for months now. Running down that same hall. He could never see what was behind her.
Shawn just knew whatever it was, it was getting closer everytime he dreamed about her. And he wasn't sure he wanted her to be caught.