Ghost Town

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You walk over to the fireplace and run your hands over the crumbling brick. You shiver, they are freezing despite the roaring fire. You feel a sudden urge to feel the flames. They look so real but this is a dream. They couldn't hurt you, could they? You shrug it off and hover your hand over the [[flame]].

You walk through a door and enter a long hallway. As you move forward the ground creaks underneath you. You walk down a bit but oddly enough, there are no more doors except the one you entered through. You decide to [[go back to the room]] or [[search the hallway more]].

As soon as you touch the flame something grabs onto your wrist. You don't have time to see what it is because you are being pulled down further and further and next thing you know you are free falling downwards. You can't open your eyes and don't know where you are. Unlike you suspected, your feet touch the [[ground]] very gently

You test the door handle, but it locked behind you. Guess you are stuck here for now. [[go back|leave the room]].

You walk the other direction to find another door. As you start walking faster something snaps behind you and you are suddenly falling further further and your breath gets caught in your throat. You try to reach for something but there is nothing to grab. Unlike you suspected, your feet touch the [[ground]] very gently

You look up dazed, unsure of what just happened. You feel a cold breeze run down your back and look up. Rows of ancient buildings tower on either side of you. They are crooked and have vines running up them. Some have graffiti trialing across their walls. Nobody is around you and the buildings seem to be abondoned. A path leads to a large forest and you think you see something move. You lean forward and suddenly you feel a hand on your should and you jump. You whip around to find an old lady behind you. You look up at her bewildered as she smiles and slowly raises a hand. Her face seems to glitch like a computer screen and you blink. When you open your eyes the woman is replaced with a skeleton. Her eye sockets are hollow and seem to be calling out to you in desperation. You scream and [[run into the woods]] or [[run into the nearest building]].

Adrenaline courses through your veins as you sprint as fast as you can towards the forest. You jump over fallen logs and push through branches. The path is very overgrown and the further you go in the darker it is getting. You stop abruptly as you see a fork in the path. You can remain going [[straight]] or you can go [[right]].

You break into a sprint running towards the first building you see. You open the door and slam it as quickly as possible. You put your back to the door and try to catch your breath. You realize you should try to barricade it and look up. Your breath catches in your throat as you notice that you aren't alone in the room. People that look like the woman you ran away from are staring at you in astonishment. Mouths are agape and staring at you like YOU'RE the one out of place. A man in the back stands up and you claw for the door handle again. You hear him stutter a question. "A-are you real?" You slowly turn to face the crowd. You feel like you might pass out. What do they mean, are you real? They surely aren't the ones stuck in a nightmare. You manage out one word, "What?" "Are you really alive?" If he had eyes you are positive they would be wide in fear. He shouldn't be the one shaking in horror. You answer [[Of course I am]] or [[Aren't you?]].

You take a shaky breath as you continue. The longer you walk the colder you feel. You stop moving when you hear something rustling further down the path. You squint your eyes as a shadow forms in the darkness. A large, black, shapeless figure is floating in front of you. You feel your hands trembling as it comes closer and closer. You are mesmerized by it and are frozen in the place you are standing. It is reaching for you and you are filled with terror. You try to [[run]] or [[fight it]].

You glance at the path ahead and decide to turn right. You slowly pick up your pace until you break in to a light jog. You get a weird feeling in your chest as you notice that a fog is slowly drifting toward you. You dig your heel into the path and stop. You can either [[run]] or [[let the fog come to you]].

You run back down the path. You pass the same trees until you see the street again, and the old lady standing at the exact same place. You have no where to go and decide to [[run into the nearest building]].

You hold your ground. This is a mere dream, whatever this thing is it can't hurt you. It is towering over you and you can feel it's clammy hands on you. You feel like you are being unravelled. You are forgetting simple facts. simple memories are being pulled away from you. You can't remember the last thing you ate or where you are [[until...]].

You are mesmerized by it's beauty. You stand still and reach out a hand to touch it. It engulfs your hand and you are screaming in agony. Huge welts are crawling up your arm like spiders. The pain is so blinding you feel like puking. The world around you is spinning and you feel the ground under you disappear. T he woods and everything around you is disintigrating. You gasp and sit up. You are back in your room. The digital clock on your nightstand reads '7:23'.

"Of course I am," you answer matter-of-factly. This is just a dream you decide. You are going to act like this is one big joke. They gasp. This is absolutely the last thing you expected to happen. The skeleton in the back cocks his head sideways. "Are you the one?" "The one... that...?" You stare at him and wait for an explanation. A woman sitting at a table that is close to the door perks up. "That fights the Shadow of course! It has been said that a living soul will come down to save us from him!" It is official. Everyone here is crazy. They have all gone dilusional. "Um... what is the shadow?" "He is a being that kills us." A laugh escapes from your mouth before you can stop it. "No offense... but aren't you already dead?" The skeleton in the back speaks again. "Yes, but the Shadow will erase you completely. From this world and the next. You are gone and you never existed in the first place." You ask [[why am I the one that fights it?]] or [[how are you supposed to kill it?]]

You answer in a straight forward tone. "Well aren't you?" The whole room seems to be holding it's breath and hanging on to your every word. "No, none of us are... don't you know where you are?" he answers in a questioning tone. You look at him blankly. This is just a dream, an eleborate dream with talking skeletons and shells of buildings. But... is it? You tell him [[this is a dream]] or [[this is the underworld]].

You ask the room with a small voice why you should be the one that has to fight it. Why can't they? "Because it can't harm you. You are out of place here and it won't recognize you as a being." "But I am a being! You see me, don't you? How am I any less here than you are?" You are starting to get mad at these people. They are crazy and trying to lure you into a trap. "You are worlds different than us," now the first skeleton is speaking again. "You are alive, we in fact are not. Don't you know where you are?" You stare at him and realize you had been trying to figure that out. It seems too realistic to be a dream, but than again... You answer [[this is a dream]] or [[this is the underworld]].

The room is silent and your voice seems to echo. The skeleton who stood up sat back down again. You try to meet someone's eyes... or rather where they should be, but each person is looking down. "Hello? Anyone?" A new skeleton that hadn't spoken before stands up and motions for you to follow them. You hesitate and then stumble forward towards him. As you reach him you see his arm reaching out to you. You feel his bony fingers wrap around your wrist. The next thing you know is that you are being pulled straight out the door you ran through only minutes ago. He closes the door behind him and looks at you, waiting. You stand in stillness until you hear a [[rustling behind you]].

After you say this you feel every soul in the room staring right at you. This is a dream after all, why should you feel weird about saying it? You remember laying down in your bed even if it seems like a life time ago. You realize the whole room is whispering in hushed voices and are quietly arguing. A woman calls out. "Maybe they aren't the one. This child is treating us like a myth. A joke for goodness sake!" This leads to an uproar. One person yelling over the other. Some claiming you are their liberation and others saying you are a jest. "Okay okay, maybe I've been quick to judge. I don't know where I am." The voices settle and the woman speaks again. "You have quite a spark to think this is a dream. How did you get here anyway?" Her voice is sharp and suspecting. "I honestly could not tell you," you say. "I fell through a house in a dream." Everyone is silent as a skeleton in the back stands up and walks towards you. You wait for him to reach you and he opens the door behind you, leading you out of the building and away from the crowd. He closes the door behind him and looks at you, waiting. You stand in stillness until you hear a [[rustling behind you]].

You didn't realize that you knew this to be true until you had spoken it out loud. Why are you here? You can't be... "Am I... am I dead?" you ask in horror. "No, you most certainly are not. When you enter this world you... well to put it simply you shed your skin. You become bone marrow." You should feel reassured but if anything, you feel sick to your stomache. You run out the door and back on the street. You look around and notice that the old lady is still standing there and you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up straight. She feels different than the others somehow... almost wiser. She is now walk slowly towards you, but this time you keep your grounds. Her voice carries itself to you and you [[listen]].

You whip around and nearly knock over the woman you saw before. "You have to sacrifice yourself." The words are so simple yet so jarring. "Excuse me? No offense but why should I sacrifice myself?" that makes no sense." "Because it is the only way for us to survive. He can not consume a living thing, if he does he will be destroyed." You start shaking your head in disbelief when you notice something out of the corner of your eye. A shadow is slinking out of the woods. THE Shadow. The man who walked out with you is now running back to the building that you left. The woman on the other hand is calm and steps to the side. "This is your choice. Our existance is left in your hands." You suddenly feel numb. You never asked for this. It isn't your fault. You make a spur of the moment decision to [[let the shadow consume you]] or [[run away]].

You swallow your fear. This is for the greater good... isn't it? You stare at the woman and notice another has joined her. A frail looking girl staring up at you. Then you see something else... she is crying. "Isabelle?" Your voice echoes in your head as you stare at the small child. She nods her head. This is your sister, she is here and safe. She holds out her hand ready to take you away from the shadow. "Come with me, $name. I can protect you from him." Her voice is soft and reassuring. You shake your head and back away from her corpse. "I am doing this for you Izzy." You turn around The Shadow is standing over you. You feel it's clammy hands on you and feel like you are being unravelled. Izzy's voice is calling, screaming your name. It is becoming fainter. You are forgetting simple facts. simple memories. You can't remember your last birthday. Even your own name [[until...]].

You run as fast as you can. Panting and gasping like never before. This is not your responsibilty. You do not deserve to die yet. You start to feel that falling sensation again. The ground underneath you disappears and the buildings and the woods and everything around you disintigrates. You gasp and sit up. You are back in your room. The digital clock on your nightstand reads '7:23'.

"You have to sacrifice yourself." The words are so simple yet so jarring. "Excuse me? No offense but why should I sacrifice myself?" that makes no sense." "Because it is the only way for us to survive. He can not consume a living thing, if he does he will be destroyed." I start shaking my head in disbelief when I notice something out of the corner of my eye. A shadow is slinking out of the woods. THE Shadow. The man who walked out with you is now running back to the building that you left. The woman on the other hand is calm and steps to the side. "This is your choice. Our existance is left in your hands." You suddenly feel numb. You never asked for this. It isn't your fault. You make a spur of the moment decision to [[let the shadow consume you]] or [[run away]].

Every night since your sister's death you have dreamt of the same place. An old rickety house that is barely standing up. Sometimes you wander the many halls, but other times you feel yourself glued to a corner, unable t move. You would usually just push it off as a nightmare but this is too supernatural. You can always feel your sister's presence, feel her breath down your neck. Some nights you can almost hear her voice calling out your name. And not only that, when you sleep it is so different from the normal dreams you used to have. When you wake up you can always recall every detail that happned to you that night. And you get up at the same time, 23 minutes past seven. You pull your covers up as you fall asleep and are transported to the dark house once again. You find yourself in a room. There is a fireplace and as always there are no windows. You decide to [[search the fireplace]] or [[leave the room]].

Nothingness engulfs you.

Ghost Town Written By Grace Hough Franklin Regional Middle School 8th Grade Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Before you being, what is your name? <<textbox"$name""Enter your name here">> Okay! Let's [[begin]]