Starstruck - Chapter 1

I was outside. Not knowing where I was, I checked my surroundings. The floor was made out of an unknown metal and it seemed I was on a battlefield. Looking straight ahead, there were stairs leading up to a dome-shaped building made with the same metal as the floor. The sky was a dark blue, light gray clouds covering the sky. A flash of lightning appeared, to close to comfort, making me flinch with fear. I felt as if I've been here before but I had no idea where I was. Another lightning struck, hitting the floor with a bang. I held my hands close to my chest, thinking that it would somehow protect me from getting electrocuted.

When I noticed I was still breathing, I opened my eyes to see the brightest purple I have ever seen. Under the bolts and cracks of the metal floor, lines of this unknown purple filled the floor, it's brightness increasing every second. I couldn't explain the feeling. The purple was super bright, causing you to have the feeling of a welcoming presence. But at the same time, you didn't want to touch it, afraid that if you did, your entire being would disappear. It had the illusion of being friendly, but the power coming off of it was enormous. For some reason, I could tell it wasn't friendly. If anything, it was the complete opposite. It had so much negative energy radiating from it that a normal person would be corrupted from it if they were standing a mile away. But again, for some reason, I knew I was different from most people, at least right now.

"What's going on?" I say, hoping someone close by would hear me and answer. The only reply I got was another lightning strike that I swear was closer than the last one. I look down to the floor, the purple light increasing every second. I was so distracted with this glowing purple that I didn't notice the increase in the storm brewing in the sky. A lightning, this time the same purple as the floorboards struck the metal floor. For a second, it was complete silence. The storm stopped, the glowing of the floor paused. But only for a second. Almost exactly a second later, the silence was interrupted by the thunder of the growing storm, the clouds changed to a dark evil grey. The glowing purple floor grew stronger, its energy flowing from the cracks and metal parts. 'The lightning must have made it react." I thought. The floor was increasing with the negative energy, the metal almost completely covered with the mysterious purple. Another bolt of lightning struck, this time it being the color of ghostly white. I close my eyes, wanting this all to be over, almost giving in to the energy consuming everything but myself. But I open my eyes slowly, hoping that if I did, the person causing all this would feel sorry for me and stop this. My eyes completely open now, I look straight ahead to see a silver podium holding a book.

'That was not there before.' I thought to myself, making sure I wasn't making hallucinations. The book seemed far away but at the same time, super close. I was drawn to it, an invisible string seemed to pull me towards it. It seemed important but also forbidden. I had to see what was inside, to read it's secrets. I ran towards the podium, not giving a second glance at what was happening behind me. The energy was taking too much to control for the metal floorboards, the bolts and parts holding the metal together popping off, like popcorn in the microwave. I kept running, knowing that if I stopped, I wouldn't make it in time. With the floors bursting at the metal seams, lightning struck around me, one on the left, then one to the right, repeating the same deadly cycle. They never hit its mark, and I hoped it stayed that way. I seemed to be moving nowhere close to the book but still gained distance away from the breaking floor. A couple of feet behind me, the floor was completely consumed by the purple energy, the metal ceasing to exist. I ran faster. I was getting closer to the book! The energy was catching up to me.

'Almost there.' The lightning was moving closer. 'Almost there.' I was so close to it, I could almost touch it.

"I'm almost there!" I yell to no one in particular. I slam my hand on the book with force I didn't mean to cause. Right then, the purple energy reached my end of the floor, causing the metal to disappear. One second, I was there, ready to open the book and learn all its secrets. The next, I was falling into the energy, ready to accept defeat. I was falling fast, but yet, there was no ground beneath me to slam into. I closed my eyes, wanting this all to be over.

"Your no fun." Someone said. I look around me, still falling, wondering how someone else could be here.

"You're weak." Right then and there, a silhouette of a man appeared. It looked like a shadow moving on its own. The only human characteristic of this figure was the glowing red eyes, staring at me, its gaze nowhere friendly. It had the same negative energy radiating from it as the purple energy I was falling through.

"You'll never get the book." The silhouette said. Its voice was deep, low but smooth, like dark chocolate was rolling of its tongue if it had a tongue. The voice of pure evil. 'How did it know I wanted the book?' I didn't give a reply to it, thinking it didn't want an answer. We stayed silent, the figure staring at me with those bright red eyes, me, hoping it would go away. Then, out of nowhere, the man started laughing. It wasn't a laugh of happiness, a laugh that would make you smile, no, it was a laugh of pity, of weakness, the laugh of the bad guy in a movie who just got away with something. This continued on for a couple minutes until he finally stopped, staring at me once more. He smirked as if he knew that I was afraid. Then his smirk disappeared, a frown appearing on his face. Not of anger, but disappointment.

"Pathetic." He said, then the figure turned into a horse. Black, like midnight without the moon, eyes still the same dark red. It neighed, looking ready to charge at me with full force. It galloped towards me, appearing to ride on the purple energy, steam coming out of its shadowy nostrils. I braced myself, knowing I couldn't run away. A few feet away, it didn't seem to stop or even, want to stop. Right before the horse crashed into me, it stopped, seeming to change its plans. The horse stared at me with its bright, blood red eyes, waiting to see what I would do. I stood there, frozen, not being able to look away. 'I've never seen anything this terrifying before.' Through the horse's eyes, I saw death staring back at me. I screamed and woke up.

Sweat dripping down my forehead and tears in my eyes, I panted heavily, trying to calm down my racing heart. "It was just a nightmare Rikki, calm down," I whisper to myself, knowing that talking to myself wouldn't calm me down. I must have screamed in my sleep because my mom came running into my room, a flashlight in her hand. She was holding the flashlight up to her shoulder, looking ready to bash anyone who would mess with her daughter in the head. She was wearing her cream-colored, pink polka dot shirt with matching pajama bottoms, with her light blond hair pulled up into a messy bun. She was barefoot, meaning that she hasn't gone to bed yet. She always wears her special fluffy pink socks that match her pajamas to bed, her feet the only thing that's cold at night.

"What's wrong? Are you ok?" She says, her face creased with worry. Still holding the flashlight like a weapon, she turns on the light in the hallway. The glare of the bright light reaches my eyes and I groan, knowing that I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. My mom walked to my bed and put the flashlight down on my bedside table. She sat down on the side of my dark black sheets bed and looked at me, the worry never leaving her eyes. I don't like the color black, but I always seem to get stains on everything so having a black comforter was the best option.

"The nightmare again huh?" She asked, brushing away my blond hair that was stuck on my head from the amount of sweat I produced. I didn't want to say yes, that would make her worry. But I can't lie to my mom, not just because I'm a bad liar, but also because she would tell I was lying anyway.

"Yes," I say with a sigh. This same nightmare has been occurring ever since my sixteenth birthday. Every night, I would get the same dream about the book, the purple energy, and the shadowy figure. I should be used to it by now since it's been three months, but I haven't. And every single time I get the dream, it's scarier than the last. If I didn't get the nightmare one night, that's because I didn't sleep, afraid to experience the terror again. My mom has tried multiple methods but nothing has worked. She's tried reading to me at night, asking my teachers for less homework thinking it was because of stress, even going to a therapist for a week even though my mother thinks therapists are lying money grabbers who put you on a couch, let you fall asleep than say you're cured.

"Sweetie, I don't know what to do," Mom says, putting her hand to her forehead. I always hated to make my mom worry. She already has enough on her plate, and to deal with me and my recurring nightmares. Mom always works weekdays and weekends except for Sundays. She's a doctor for children and only children. She never has and always says never will, get along with adults. She says all they ever do is talk about politics or what their kids are doing wrong these days, which isn't wrong, but it also doesn't help with her making any friends of her own. Which is why we are so close and why it's so hard for me to see her stressed. She usually doesn't get home till eleven, ten if you're lucky and usually leaves at three in the morning. So for me to see her wasting her few hours of sleep she has to check to make sure I'm ok after going through the recurring nightmare, it hurts.

She looks at me and rubs the back of her neck. She only ever does that when she is about to say something uncomfortable. "Rikki," She says, hesitant for a few seconds, "You're not having these nightmares because of your dad right?"

I freeze, almost like someone pressed the pause button. 'That traitor?!' I thought. I stared at my mom for a few more seconds until I realized I stopped breathing. I quickly put oxygen into my lungs but not because I need it to survive, I needed to breathe so I could reply to her. She looked down at me, the look all over her face that she regrets what she said.

I look at her with a straight face and reply "Don't call that monster my dad. He's not my dad." I turn on my side, facing away from her. I didn't want to talk about this anymore, not when that person is in the conversation.

She touched my shoulder gently, as if she put any more pressure on me, I would crumble like a cookie. Maybe I will.

"Sweetie... " She started saying but I interrupted her immediately, knowing where this was going.

"Goodnight Linda," I say sternly. Mom knows when I call her by her first name that it's time to leave me alone. I never usually call my mom Linda unless I'm angry with her or just don't want to deal with it at the moment. You would think that most parents would find that disrespectful but with my mom and I's relationship, it doesn't matter as much. She stood up and slowly walked out of my room, making sure to look at me once more before closing the door quietly.

I already started feeling guilty for pushing my mother away but she brought HIM in the picture. I couldn't bear talking about that monster. Not after what he did to us, to our family. He broke my mom, like a mirror that shattered into a thousand pieces and can't be put back together. You could try, but the pieces would fall right back down to the ground. You might not see it, but under that child lover, therapist hater, always happy exterior, is a broken heart that can never be replaced. I could never forgive him for what he did. The worst part is, most of it's my fault. I closed my eyes and cried silently, knowing if I made one sound, that would give my mother another excuse to come check on me. I cried for who knows how long, until I fell back asleep, back into the purple energy and the galloping stallion.