Anchor Hollow

As I ran down the twisting hallways, my breaths were quick and rugged, as I turned a corner and met the dead end that I had been dreading, I turned to face the creature that had been chasing me before-!

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

I woke with a cold sweat, groaning and running my hand down my face and through my hair before opening my eyes.”Where am I-” I looked around and froze. I was still in my dream, or was I? I opened a door from the dreadful asylum, from what I’m guessing it was, And realized I was home. I was back in anchor Hollow, I was back where I used to live, right on the edge of the lake where the trees would bend away to reveal my small family cabin. The flowers are still just as bright as always, I’ve always wondered how they stayed so pigmented…

“Oh leigh i was just about to come find you, dinner is ready so let’s head inside.” It was my mom. My mother died, she left me. Why is she here?

”Are you alright honey? You seem scared.” she said as she pulled me into a tight embrace, smoothing my hair flat. The warmth from her felt real, and so did the tears that fell from my eyes. She wiped them away with her thumb and led me inside. “Steven, can you grab the first aid kit? I think Leigh might have gotten hurt!” She called out to my father.

”Steven?” She called again. As she led me to the bathroom I saw myself in the mirror. I was standing behind my younger self, I knew what was about to happen once my mother finished fixing my scraped knee. My younger self screamed as I turned around and saw a man in a hood, his face hidden. He threw a knife and hit my mother in the back, she fell quickly and then he finally saw me. My mother blocked me from his view originally but now that she was on the ground, slowly bleeding out, he saw the horrified expression on my face. At that moment I was now back in my younger body. The expression didn’t feel right. I should have been smiling, eating dinner with my family, But i was sitting on the edge of the tub, quiet tears strolling down my face. The killer froze before picking me up and taking me past the kitchen, where I saw my father lying dead in a pool of his own blood. He held something I had made for him that I left on the table. My guess is that he was trying to clean off the table before I came to eat but ultimately ended up with a butcher knife lodged in his jugular. Blood still slowly flowed from his mouth.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

I Rose from my bed quickly and once again I was back where it all started. Back in front of my house, Back in my mothers arms. I witnessed it all, over and over and over again. I tried altering this, I would just not walk out of the asylum, I would turn and run, or I’d try and hit the man who threw the dagger, I’d step in front of the blade and let it plunge into my chest or back. Nothing worked, it would always end the same.

“Why can’t you just let me save them?!” I screamed out, I clawed at my face and screamed at the top of my lungs. “Why am I still here?!” Everything froze at that moment. The air stilled, my lungs burned with hatred, and a wanting feeling that felt as though it couldn’t, more so wouldn’t, go away.

I fell to my knees, clutching my sides and pulling myself into a tight ball. I heard footsteps and looked up, thinking it was my mother coming to drag me through it all again but it was the five year old version of myself that my mind had made up. “It’s your fault……You killed them.” She said pointing at me with a look of disgust.

“If you would have just stayed inside,” My mother said from beside her, the blood no longer vacant from her appearance,

” You should have never led them to us,” My father now appeared, the blade logged into his throat still. “You did this.” They pointed at me, ignoring my pleading cries for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to! Please forgive me!” I let out in a chalky tone as they circled me, repeatedly saying,”It’s your fault!” I soon started to believe it was my fault before I turned and ran. I ran past My house, past the lake that now was a dark red color as blood seemed to be dripping from the sky. I ran until I met a white void and heard my alarm blaring, I could still hear the whispers as I finally woke with a gasp.