Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

By

William Paul

Sweet Dreams

By William Paul

Copyright 2019 William Paul

Smashwords Edition

Prologue

There she was, standing by the river. At the very spot where he said he would meet her. She thinks back to that phone call. The line was bad, as she battled to hear him clearly. But she was sure it was him. It must have been. She closes her eyes at the thought. She listens to the rushing of water flowing by, as a sudden gust of wind causes the branches above her head to smash into each other. She opens her eyes wide as a sudden chill comes over her.

He liked her, that she was sure of. She always liked the unusual ones, she thought to herself. But she did not think that she would develop feelings towards him as fast as she did. A slight chill creeps up her spine, as the cold breeze blows past her. It’s getting colder. But she knows it will be worth it. He must be worth it. She knows he will be.

She begins to struggle with this idea in her mind. The two of them might complicate things. She is the most popular girl in her school and she has a reputation to uphold. This is more important to her than anything else Her popularity comes first. She knows that if this relationship will negatively affect her status in any way, she will call it off in a flash. She can't help enjoy the attention from so many boys. But he is something new. Something different.

She looks up as the sudden shuffle of leaves frightens her. The trees are swaying from side to side in the wind, which is now starting to blow stronger. The sky is dark with no stars visible. She thinks to herself that she would under normal circumstances not be found in a place like this. But tonight! This is special. He is special. She likes the chase and she knows she is way more in love with the idea of love than love itself.

She pulls her jacket tighter over her shoulder as the cold bites at her. A sudden jab in her ribs makes her jolt. She remembers. It’s the knife she grabbed in the kitchen, as she snuck out. Just in case. She feels silly for taking the knife as she has a giggle at herself. Then she thinks about it. She is alone, in the dark, at a river that is far away from any help. A slight concern comes over her as she starts to feel a bit scared. She puts her right hand into her jacked pocket and grips the knife handle firmly within her palm. It’s almost as if having the knife with her is making her more afraid. The idea of being prepared to defend herself is frightening her more. She takes it out and stares at the blade as the moon sneaks out from behind the clouds and shines down onto the knife. She spins the knife around and runs her fingers across the white handle. She looks around as she grips the knife tightly and places it back into her jacket pocket. She takes another look at her wrist watch, its eight o'clock. He said he will be here before eight.

What is taking him so long, she says in a soft voice.

She knows it is worth the wait, but she feels a bit scared and every minute is starting to feel like ten minutes. She takes another walk towards the wooden picnic table on the bank. She looks out across the water, the moonlight shimmers as it dances on the moving water. The moonlight on the water calms her nerves a bit as she feels hypnotised by the movement of the light. She thinks back to the few times her and her parents used to fish at this very same spot. Its dark, but the bits of moonlight which appears every now and then from behind the clouds makes it possible to see enough to move around. She takes another walk back towards the path way and has a look down the road. Still nobody! She closes her eyes again as she pictures him.

Samantha gasps, as a sudden braking of branches echoes from behind a bush on the left of the path.

She takes a few steps back as she removes the knife from her jacket pocket, tightly gripping it in her right hand. She panics as she can’t get it out straight away; she yanks it as hard as she can as it tears its way free. The ripping sound of her pocked is the last noise to be heard as even the crickets have stopped chirping. She holds her breath as she looks around frantically. She can't see anything, as she hears crickets start chirping again. She starts to breathe as a slight discomfort in her chest makes her realise she must have been holding her breath all along. Her eyes are pinned on the bush where the noise came from. It is too dark to see anything in there.

Maybe it was an animal, she whispers to herself.

With her eyes still pinned on the bush she makes her way towards the path to look down the road. She walks backwards slowly, still keeping an eye out in the direction the noise came from. She takes small careful steps. Old leaves lying on the ground crunch with every step she takes. The sudden rush of this scary situation makes her long for him even more. Her heart is still set on meeting him. Despite the circumstances it’s under. Now she really wants to be in his arms.

She looks down the road feeling disappointed. He should have been here by now. He has to be here. She needs him now more than before.

Where are you?, she asks.

I am right here sweetheart, a voice whispers from behind her.

Samantha falls down onto the ground. Her hand hits the ground hard as the knife falls out of it. She turns onto her knees and jump up, running as fast as she can. She runs straight into someone, as she bounces back and drops onto the ground once again. It is a boy from school. She knows he looks familiar, but she does not know who he is. He grabs her arm and pulls her up as he stares at her. He pulls her arm as he walks slowly back towards the other boy. A third boy appears from behind the bushes, laughing loudly. The three of them laugh and make a few comments at each other about how scared she looks. She struggles and tries to free her hands, which is now being tightly held behind her.

Hold still! The one boy yells in a loud voice.

She stops struggling and with a frightened voice asks,

Why are you doing this?, I recognise you from school. I am going to get you guys into big trouble.

The boy, standing in front of her answers,

You see, this is just it! You don’t even know who we are. All you care about is your status. Your image is all that is important to you, only interested in all the popular boys

Her heart is pounding in her chest as she tries to suck up the courage to fight back.

So you three are jealous?She asks with a slight hint of hesitation in her voice.

One of the boys holding her arm, swings her to the left and forces her down onto the ground. Her head smashes against the ground. She is dazed, moving her head slightly as she concentrates to try and remain calm. She listens as an argument erupts amongst the boys.

What the fuck, we are just supposed to scare her.

The one boys grabs her by the arm and tries to pull her back up onto her feet as she looses her footing and falls back down again.

This was your fucking idea. You wanted to do it. Now we are doing it properly. Think of it as getting the message across He reply’s angrily.

Her breaths are heavy as she listens to their argument; she looks around. She scans the ground for the knife and suddenly spot it lying half under a few leaves. She reaches for it slowly as she watches the boys who are still arguing. She looks at one boy fall the ground as he too knocks his heard hard against a tree stump. She glides her hand across the sand and leaves and stops as she feels the blade. She runs her hand down and tightly grip the white handle in her palm.

This is life or death now, she whispers to herself.

She listens too the boy standing up and shouting at the others.

Am I that bad?, she thinks to herself.

She tries to keep her focus as she glances back at the boys. She knows this area very well. She is starting to think of a way to escape. If she starts running at just the right time, she can get away. She knows she can. Maybe he will still pitch up. Maybe they were just here by coincidence. But her head is still spinning. She can’t think straight. She grips the knife firmly in her right hand as she rubs her forehead with the left.

Her hand touches wetness, and lots of it. She pulls her hand away and looks in shock at how much blood there is. She must have banged her head open when she fell. She pulls her knees up as she tries to calculate and plan her escape. She knows she only has one chance at this. She positions her legs as she rolls onto her knees lifting her left foot up and places it on the ground as she is now just about in a sprinters running block starting position.The argument develops into a scuffle as the boys tug and pull at each other. She hears a few words that scare her even more.

Finish her off! We have no other choice now!

She looks back in fear as the boys shove and pull at each other.One boy falls backwards onto the ground, as the other one runs straight towards her. The third boy is just standing motionless. She knows she has to run now. She jumps up and tries her best to get away, but he grabs her from behind and spins her around. She takes a violent stab at him with the knife,as it narrowly misses his face. He grabs her hand and forces her to the ground. He slams her hand hard down onto the ground as the knife jumps out of it. He grabs it as he stares at her angrily.

She can see the same amount of fear as she herself is feeling. He struggles with her on the ground as she decides to fight back. She gets hold of it his hand and tries to grip the knife. Somehow she manages to get hold of the knife again. He grabs her hand once more and smashes it against the ground, the knife jumps loose, landing on the ground about 4 meters away. He crawls fast as he he reaches for the knife. He reaches it before she does as he grips it firmly in his right hand. She is frozen in fear as she holds her breath, waiting to see what his next move is going to be. Suddenly one of the boys jumps on him from the left. They both roll to the ground. She struggles to her feet, but she is still light-headed from the fall she had earlier. She falls back down to the ground again. She hears the boys arguing.

It’s gone too far. We have to just finish her off! What do you think is going to happen now? We are in trouble already.

She stands up onto her feet slowly as she tries to concentrate on getting away, if she can just get into the bushes she can get away, she knows it. She looks back once more at the three boys still arguing with each other. Then she draws in a deep breath as she starts running. She bumps into trees and loses her footing and struggles back to her feet again. Branches slash at her face as she runs faster as she has ever had too. She needs to get away. She has too! She hears the sounds of branches breaking and leaves crackling behind her. They are catching up with her. The darkness is confusing her as she runs; she is not sure which way to go to get to the pathway that will lead her to the main road. She has to find it. She reaches a tree and stops to catch her breath. She listens in disbelieve. She hears nothing. Just leaves rustling in the distance.

Why are they doing this to me, why? She thinks to herself.

She listens at the wind whistling through the branches. It is so quiet. It’s almost too quiet. She holds on tightly to the tree trunk as she looks back past the left of it, she sees nothing. She slowly moves and has a look towards the right of the tree, still she sees nothing. All she can hear is the leaves blowing in the wind. She spins herself around now firmly pushing her back against the tree as she scans the area in front of her, moonlight illuminates part of the area, but it still doesn’t look familiar to her at all. She decides its better to keep moving as she takes a few slow steps in order not to make a noise.

Her body contorts in a sudden explosion, as she is forced to the ground in a sudden violent tackle. It is the same boy again; she feels a strange sensation as she rolls and comes to a stop on her back. The boy stands up and looks in disbelieve as his eyes are fixed onto her chest. The area where she lies on the ground is in a small open patch, the moonlight pinned on her almost like a light on an actor at the theatre. She notices the knife in his right hand, blood dripping from it. She looks down at her chest. Blood is pouring out fast. She feels an odd burning sensation as she draws in a breath of air. Her lung is punctured. The air forces out through the hole in her chest and sends blood splattering. She panics and tries to get to her feet. The boy pushes her down to the ground.

This is your fault, you did this to yourself, he says in a panicky voice.

She feels the life being drained from her body. She is losing lots of blood. She hears the other boys closing in on them as the noise of breaking branches become louder. She looks up at the boy in disbelieve as he walks up to her and stabs her one more time. She falls back down and turn onto her left side pulling her legs up to her chest. Her body cramps and spasms as she tries to stand up. He walks over towards her slowly. She falls back down as he pulls the knife from her chest. She can hear the flesh tear away as she fell backwards. She closes her eyes, as she realises that she is going to die. She feels peaceful as an odd relaxing feeling comes over her. She opens her eyes as she hears a struggle between the boys yet again. She rolls over onto her side as she holds at her chest. Blood squirting out between her fingers with every breath she takes. She closes her eyes and begins to breathe slower and slower. She thinks about him one more time. She thinks about him one last time. She can feel her body shutting down. She thinks of her parents and her friends, and of what will happen at school, then just darkness.

Chapter 1:

It was a warm day with blue skies, a day just like many others. Corbin has been drinking two whiskeys on the rocks followed by a whole lot of beers, this was nothing new, for this has been the routine twice a week for the past four years at Pleistocene, the local pub. He sits patiently waiting for his buddies to arrive. He looks around as he takes a slow sip. Balls smash loudly to his left as someone starts a new pool game, he stares at the balls as they bounce off the side and slowly come to a rest. He lifts his hand and checks the watch on his wrist.

Where are they! he mumbles as he takes another sip of his beer.

He phoned them to meet him here, they are an hour late now. He hates it when people are late. There are two reasons for drinking here every day. The first reason is the bar lady and the second purely the reason of getting together and talking a load of rubbish. Billy and Andrew arrive, while Billy is moaning about the previous days sport and just how corrupt everything has become. Andrew just nods and agrees as he always does.

You're late! Corbin says loudly as the two take a seat.

Minutes become hours as they down a couple of drafts and chase that down with a few shooters. The alcohol starts to leads most of the conversation and the laughter from their table grows louder as day turns into night, three friends with a lot to laugh about but even more a past to just forget, that would just simply be the best.

Strange hey, all the crap we used to get up to, it is strange how we got away with all of that shit Billy says.

Corbin’s eyes dagger