The Story of Jeremy

"You don't look so good." Amy said to Jeremy. Ever day him and Amy walked home from school together. It had been like that since 6th grade. Amy was a fit girl. The kind that love to do all kinds of different sports. Most importantly swimming. She was a member of the school's swim team. She looks like the avenge girl but the one thing that made her point out of the crowd was her pink hair. "Have been getting much sleep at all." He said back to her. He had dark bags under his slightly bloodshot eyes. "Tell me…why is it your hair is pink?" He asked. She giggled "You dared me to dye it this color a month ago. Don't you remember?" "No," he replied, "I can't really recall much. Not after what started up a few weeks ago." "Maybe you should see someone about those…" She stopped. Jeremy stood a few feet be hide. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Amy said turning to him. She had a worried look on her face. "It's just…." "Don't be sorry", he said cutting her off before she could finish, "They're just nightmares. I'm sure every teenager gets them from time to time." "Yeah but does a NORMAL teenager have them for three weeks and gets little to no sleep due to them?" She exclaimed. Jeremy could tell just how much of an issue it was to her.

"Just forget about it."

" Forget about it? How can I just push something like this away when I know it's hurting you!" Just then her watch beeped. She sighed, "It's four. I have to get going to the team. You sure you'll be all right walking home by yourself? I saw you nodding off in class today."

"Yeah. I'll be fine. You should get going. The team needs you."

"Ok. I'll chat with you later online tonight." She began to walk back down the road the sidewalk back towards the school but turned back to him and said, "Jeremy…promise me you'll be okay." He looked her in the eyes. "I promise I'll be fine. Now you should really hurry." She nodded and jogged away.

The walk home was a hard task for him. Trying to keep his heavy eyelids from closing was tough. All his mind wanted to do was rest. He found himself at the front door to his two story house before he knew it. He couldn't recall the walk at all. Only the conversation between him and Amy. Upon entering his home he saw his parents weren't home. It was really no surprise to him as they usually worked in till seven. Throwing his backpack on to the brown carpet next to the living room table he laid down on the couch. The temptation to sleep was too much for him to resist. Soon his eyes closed.

A loud bang woke him up. Startled he jumped up from the couch and was on his feet. His heart beating a bit. He looked around trying to pinpoint where that sound came from. The room, however, was pitch black. The only source of light was coming in from outside but even that form of light wasn't bright. Moving along against the wall he searched for the light switch. Fumbling around in the dark made it seem as though it took hours for him to find it. He flipped it…nothing turned on. "What? Hey why isn't anything turning on?" He moved the switch up and down a couple move times before moving to the nearest window to look out it. The light coming in was from the moon. The streetlights also were not on. Nor any of the other houses had any signs of power. "Must be a black out" He said out loud. "Wait. It's night already? Where are my parents…"

Once again the loud band rang. He ran towards the kitchen. All the way at the other end was the back door. The noise was coming from the other side. Then another bang. He saw as the door moved. Someone was trying to break it down. The banging increased as did Jeremy's beating heart. Slowly he made his way to the door. He didn't want to but he felt compelled to. As though he had to open this door and let what ever it was in. As he got closer his heart's beat got faster and faster and faster. As the banging got louder and louder and louder with each inching step. Half way there he noticed on the counter to his right in the middle of the room was a large kitchen knife stuck in a cutting board. Not questioning why it was left out he managed to pull himself away from the urge of the door. Placing his left hand on the board to make pulling the knife out more easy. Gripping the handle with his other hand he gentle pulled it out. Now armed with a weapon he continued onward to the door. Being a little more alert, though did not clam him down. Face to face with the door the banging seemed to echo both in the house and in his head. He mustered up the courage to reach out for the knob. As he touched the bass the banging creased. He just stood there for a minute or so unsure what to do next.

Something came crashing through the window casing him to place his back up against the door. Opposite of him was a black mass. Human like but at the same time far less than a human. It had two thin skinny legs and arms. Its hands were claws. He could only tell due to the fact that the claws reflected the moon's rays. It had a mouth at the center of its body. The arms at the height a human's would be but nothing else was above those arms. It was a round monster with dark skin that looked like it was moving. Move like shifting actually. The smell of garbage filled the room. Jeremy held back the sensation to puke. Frozen in fear he stood there just staring at this..thing. It let out a low growl and leapt at him. Scared he turned his head and closed his eyes. Seconds passed. He wondered why he felt nothing. Opening one eye he saw that the creature was impaled on the knife. It stuck in him right below the mouth. Pushing the body on the ground he stabbed it in the same sport again and again. Out of fright and wanting to make sure it was dead. 11 to 15 thrusts later he finally believed it was surely dead. It was in a puddle of it's own yellow blood. The knife was covered in it. Oddly enough though there was none on Jeremy. He felled against the back door. The knife still in that thing. The smell worsened and he could not keep himself from throwing up this time. Panting from tossing his cookies, he got up and opened the door. Hoping to get out of the kitchen with out going over the body.

To his luck the door was unlocked. Quickly he got outside and closed the door. Breathing in the fresh cold night air made him fell better. Gazing up moon. He noticed that it was full and that it was giving off an eerier green color. He stepped forward onto the grass. He looked back at the door. Claw marks run up and down, left to right, corner to corner on it. "Was that the thing that was trying to force its way in?" A number of growls shot out from the silent night. More of those monstrosities moved out of the darkness. Much smaller than the one he just fought. They were not very quick but what they lack in speed they made up for in numbers. There were a bunch of these things. Jeremy didn't know how many and didn't want to know. He sprinted to his right to the street than down it to the left. Both looking over his shoulder now and then to see how close they were following. It didn't take long for him to lose sight of his pursuers. Not wanting to give them a chance to catch up he kept running.

Stopping to rest against an object. After he regained some breath he was shocked to see what he had his hand on. A freezing cold tombstone. He ran himself into the middle of the cemetery. Living down the street from it was bad enough…..but being lost in it at night is terrifying. His throat dried up and a cold sweat poured down his head. Nervously he crept along passed the graves trying to find a way out. He kept thinking he was hearing low moans. Creped out even more he picked up the pace. The moan seemed to be getting closer. Now jogging he ran past a tombstone that caught his eyes. Going back to it he read the epitaph. Amy Smith, 1994-2010. The rest was unreadable. "Amy…NO! This can't be real!" A hand touched his shoulder he spun around to see who it was. The decaying skin, missing eye, and maggots wiggling all over it. It was no doubt a zombie. "This….can't…be real…" he stood there repeating it as more undead limped over . The odor of decomposing fresh and guts filled his nose. Unable to move to his state of panic the zombies approached him. Each grabbing apart and digging in. Jeremy felt them biting and ripping away at his skin. His blood gushing out all over. He let out screams of agony. Some zombies gnawing at his exposed bones he shut his eyes and submitted to death. Becoming their late night snack.

Waking up under a tree drenched in his own sweat he knew it was all a dream. Sitting there he gathered his thoughts back. "Where am I?" he checked out his surroundings. Next to the tree was a metal bench. Out in some feet in front of him was lake. A light fog prevented him from looking to far around. "I'm at the park…but how did I get here?" He tried standing up…no use. His body was tired and for some reason he was panting. "JEREMY!" a voice called out. Unable to see who or where it came from. Suddenly a figure could be seen running to him. It was Amy. "Jeremy there you are. Everyone has been looking all night for you." "All night…?" he realized the mist meant it was early morning. Amy was wearing a jacket. Jeremy, however, was not affected by the cold. His body was still be heated by his racing heart. "Yes. When your parents got home you weren't there. We spent all night looking for you. What are you doing here at the park?" "I don't know," he replied, "Must have fallen asleep under this tree on my way through here." "Well lets get you home. You worried them enough" Once again he attempted to stand but fell like before. She got down on her knees. "You hurt anywhere?" "No. My body just fells heavy. As though it got no rest at all from my sleep." "Here I'll help you" She picked up his left arm and draped it over shoulders and reach around with her right hand onto his right side from be hide his back to support him.

Amy's parents were not home. She told him that they also were out looking for him and that she'll be calling his and her parents soon to tell them that she found him. She let him down on her bed. "Hold on I'll be back with a glass of water." She rushed out of the room. He sat up. Trying his best to keep himself awake he looked around at the stuff in her room. Everything from her white walls with orange flowers painted on them to her CD collection. After looking at her bookcase from afar she came back with a clear glass of water. "Here drink you must be thirsty." Amy handed him the cup. He took it and only drank a small amount and then put it down on her nightstand. "Go ahead and sleep. My bed is more comfortable than the trunk of a tree. Besides you really need to rest. I'll be in the kitchen calling everyone alright." Before he could say a word she was out of the room again. He laid back down. Once more unable to keep from nodding off. "I'll close them for just a second" He said softly.

Reopening his eyes he was stunned to find himself in the boys locker room at school. "I ONLY CLOSED THEM FOR A MOMENT!!" he shouted. His body no longer fighting him he was able to get up and move with ease. "This has to be another nightmare" The lights above gave a dim lighting. Jeremy went to a locker and hit his head against it. "Wake up!" he repeated over and over each time he hit it. To the point where it was him yelling it out. Feeling something warm on his head he stopped. The pounding sent a ringing noise to his ears. He felt the area that was warm. A thick substance was on his hand. Putting his hand more into the light he saw just what it was…blood. Not his though. More blood fell onto his shoes. It had slipped down the locker. The blood was…coming from inside it. All the lockers were oozing blood. There was only one that wasn't. And that was locker 315. His locker. His hands seemed to have a mind of their own has they put in the lock combination. The locker creaked open revealing a gun and a note inside. Picking up the gun confusingly he said out loud, "Why is there a gun in my locker?" The pistol gleamed in the dim light. Like how that monster's claw had. The gun was so clean he could see his own reflection in it despite the lack of good lighting. The white note in the corner of his locker. Almost too afraid by what it might say after reading Amy's grave it took some time for him to man up and read it. It was poorly ripped out of a notebook. In big letters it said GO TO THE POOL. Letting the note fall to ground he looked over at ht exit to the indoor pool. "The pool hu. I guess I have to face this nightmare in order to wake up"

The pool area looked the same as it would normally..expect the pool water was dirty. Standing at the edge he looked down at the murky water. That scary growl returned. A creature the size of five of the smaller ones combined came out of the locker room. Jeremy's hands acted on their own. Shooting the monster in several different spots but it didn't slow it all. It charged him with full force. Both falling into the misty waters. The beast was dead but too heavy for Jeremy to move. So they sank to the bottom of the pool. Using all his strength he tried unsuccessfully to push the iron weighted corpse off of him. Lungs begging for air. Heart decreasing its beating. No longer able to hold his breath he gasped for air that wasn't there. Water filled his insides. His hands began chocking him. Like they wanted to add to his suffering. At last…everything went dark.

He jolted up. He awoke to being in his room on his bed. "Parents must have brought me home from Amy's" His body didn't feel none moveable. Only new thing was that he felt cold. Getting up he saw a pile of towels in the room. Sitting in a wet puddle. Jeremy brushed this off. He just wanted to go downstairs and get something to eat. He was starving. He went downstairs to find out he was alone. Not wondering what day or time it was he moved into the living room. The T.V. flashed on as he walked by. At first just static. He couldn't walk away..the T.V. was drawing him in. Jeremy watched as the white noise cleared away and could hear the screams of people. Loud painful death screams. He grabbed the remote to try to turn off the T.V. but it wouldn't. Muting or messing with the volume also did nothing. The cries got more intense. Covering his hands with his ears worked till they got stronger. Picking back up the remote he chucked it at the damn screen shattering it. Sparks jumped out and set the house on fire. His hands covered in blood from his bleeding ears. "Stop…. STOP!" He cried. Tears running down his face as the shrieks continued to relentlessly haunt him. The fire raged on consuming everything. In the center of the flames was Jeremy who was clawing at his ears trying to tear them off. His skin began to burn from the heat. His shirt and pants caught a flame. Spreading to the rest of him he fell forward. Eyes wide open some faces appeared in the fire. The ones that have been casing the uproar. He allowed his eyes to close figuring he would awake from this dreaded dream….

It's not bad. Waking up in a small room with no doors or windows. Just a light bulb hanging from the ceiling swing back and forth slowly. Once you attune to the loneliness it's not so bad. Losing track or time and days helps wonders. Hope? Lose it. It'll only make your stay longer. Held up in the corner rocking is good. Jeremy yelled hoping someone would hear him. The light began to slowy dim in till it finally burned out…..





"So doctor tell give me the news" Said detective Jackson. "Well the patient is beyond coming back reality. Everything we've tried has failed. He'll be scheduled for a lobotomy tomorrow." Said the doctor.

"Will that bring him back down to Earth?"

"Don't know for sure. Too many problems with his brain. We're hoping this at least lets him recover. I doubt you'll be able to get a trial though."

"You sure? We found the kitchen knife with his fingerprints in the lake in the park. The one used to stab a woman to death. The bullets from the five shot swim team members match the gun we found in his locker. It's his father's pistol. Both fingerprints of his on the gun and the sixth victim at the pool whom he straggled to death on the bottom of the pool. Apparently that girl had rejected him a lot through out the years. Not to mention we found him in front of the house he sent fire to. He was just standing there…listening to them scream. I think that's enough to put him away."

"But you'll never get a straight trial. He'll win the insane vote each time."

"I see your point. His friend Amy was lucky enough not to be at that swim team practice that day. She was out looking for him with his family. She was the only friend he had."

"She's been coming by every day to see him. Poor girl" The doc said.

"I'll be by tomorrow to see how things go." The detective said and left.

Inside his padded room Jeremy sat there in a straightjacket whispering to himself "This isn't real......"


"We take our shape, it is true, within and against that cage of reality bequeathed to us at our birth, and yet it is precisely through our dependence on this reality that we are most endlessly betrayed."

- James Baldwin