The Nightmare

Artemis couldn’t breathe.  She gasped each breath, clawing at her throat.  This darkness was going to swallow her whole and she would be no more than an observer.  The black mist swirled around her, whispering her name.  It tried to coax her into relaxing and let it take control.  She struggled, thrashed.

Artemis woke up by falling off the bed, her sheets wrapped around her. She breathed heavy gasps as she took in her room.  She rubbed her eyes.  This was the fourth time this month that she had the nightmare.  She rubbed her throat and looked outside.  It was a clear night with the moon and stars shining brightly.  She knew her papa would disapprove but she didn’t want to wake Kniles.  She untangled herself and put on a pair of pants and a shirt. She grabbed her hunting knife in case some wild animals were around. She crept down quietly, fearing the steps would squeak.  She got to the front door.  She quietly opened the door, stepped outside, and carefully closed the door.

Her breathe showed in the cool weather.  She decided she would take a small walk to clear her mind.  She walked around the farm until she got to the cattle.  She stopped and a sense of dread came over her.  There was someone hunched over the cow.

“Hey! Get away from that cow!” She hollered.  Artemis recoiled when the person turned around.  It was a child who was eating the cow.  She could see that it had eaten a lot of the cow.  It had black eyes and blood all over it.  She then heard a tiny voice.  “I’m lost, can you help me?”  Artemis reached for hinting knife.  She felt the familiar blade handle as she pulled it out.

The boy grinned, sharp teeth showing.  He launched himself at her.  Artemis turned to run but was too late.  The boy landed on her and held her wrists tight.  They struggled for a moment until Artemis threw him off.  She scoots backwards but fell to her elbows.  The boy began to throw himself at her but Artemis rolled to the side.  She looked around for her knife and found it a few feet away.  Artemis grabbed the knife and plunged it into his chest. He fell to the ground.  Artemis kept stabbing him over and over.  Blood spurted everywhere.  She finally stopped and gasped for breath.  She ran to a pump and tried to clean her hands blood off.  She continued to scrub and scrub.  Finally her hands were clean but she was covered in blood. 

She looked back at the body.  She had to get rid of it before dawn came.  The woods were not far off, but there was an area that recently been dug for one of their old dogs who died.  She dragged the body to the spot, and ran to get a shovel.  When she got back she began to dig into the ground.  She was stronger than most girls from her life of hunting but she was tired from the fight.  Sweat rolled down her back, soaking her clothes.  Finally, she got to the bottom or the old dog was.  “I’m sorry.” She whispered and threw the boy in.  She looked up at the sky and knew she didn’t have much time.  She began to fill the hole. She wiped her face off as she finished.  She had an hour at most before the sun arose and about 30 minutes until papa awoke.  She cleaned the dirt off.  She looked at her clothes.  She would have to hide them for now.

She tiptoed/ran to the door and crept quietly up the stairs as she heard movement from her father’s room.  She ripped off her clothes and hid them under the bed.  She quickly put her pajamas back on, and jumped in her bed.  She pulled the covers of her eyes and shut them tightly.  She silently prayed that it was all a nightmare and she would wake up with everything back to what it was.