Jenny and Julian Chapter 4

Jenny slumped to the floor, eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"JENNY!" Dee shook her friend's shoulders to no avail. "Jenny, come on! COME ON!" she whipped out her phone and hit speed dial.

"Tom..Hey," she choked out.

"What's going on?" his voice was clipped and cold.

"Something's wrong with Jenny...we need to call a hospital! She collapsed1"

Tom swore. "Call 911. They'll take her to Memorial. I'll meet you there. God...what happened? I have no idea what's going on with her..." his voice wavered. "She's been such a ghost since...since..."

"I know," Dee interjected. "I'm calling the hospital now." Within seconds, an ambulance was on its way to pick up their friend.

Cold. I'm cold. The ground was hard, freezing. Inside her head, a dull pounding in time with her pulse.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Muffled sounds. A cry, someone far away, struggling to talk. A male's voice, gagged. Wailing behind cloth. Thrashing.

Don't wake up, don't wake up, she chanted, floating in the space between sleep and consciousness. She was aware, but couldn't move quite yet. She didn't want to face whatever she was hearing...the voice was too familiar.

No…God no…please…

THUMP. THUMP.

"Open your eyes," a soft voice in her ear. "Open your eyes, sweatheart. For me."

A sweet sound, gentle, caring. Loving.

She opened her eyes. The noise stopped. All was silent.

It was the same room, with the same bed. She was on the ground, looking up at the ceiling, with the same wallpaper as before. As she looked around, chills went through her.

"What now?" she whispered. She scrambled to her feet, looked around the room, and finally laid eyes on the bed.

Blood. Blood everywhere.

The bed was elegantly made, its cream sheets perfectly tucked in. Yet pools of red brown liquid soaked the sheets through, splatters ruining the pillows.

It was like a crime scene. It was something out of a movie.

Jenny shoved her wrist in her mouth and bit down hard to keep from screaming.

NO. NO. It was too much... too much fear, too much horror. She ran for the door and bolted out into the same hallway as before, running wildly. She didn't know where she was going, but she hoped for another door, anything, that would keep her away from Caden and that terrifying room.

She didn't have to wait long to find one. She was no longer an empty hallway; after a short sprint she found large arched double doors.

Even in the dimly lit hallway she could see the same stains, smeared across both the door and the walls.

Her legs were so shaky she almost fell over while tears dripped down her face. The cries she heard had stopped, but she had a feeling she knew who was making them.

And she knew exactly where he was.

Jenny closed her eyes and begged herself to wake up. She tried to pinch herself again. She bit her lip till blood ran down her mouth, all the while staring at the door with wide eyes.

Finally, she accepted. She knew what she had to do. She had to go through the door. There was no other option, no escape.

She slowly exhaled and shakily extended a hand to the doorknob, wincing as she felt the slime of blood on her palm.

The door opened with a loud and slow creak. This room looked much the same as before, except there no bed, only a sheet covering something that looked like a large box in the middle of the room.

Her first instinct was to run. Everything about the room was wrong. She knew, KNEW that she needed to take the sheet off and reveal whatever was underneath. She was now an official player in Caden's game.

And this would be her first move.

The panic was crippling. She was shaking uncontrollably, her body soaked in perspiration, her breath coming in quick shallow gasps. Slowly, ever so slowly, she took small steps away from the door and closer to the middle of the room. Every few seconds she had to stop and regain her breath.

With one quick motion she yanked the cloth off…and choked.