Dead Nightmares

by James Lawrence Jr.

  We arrived at the bus station, and our teacher ushered us one by one onto the bus and said, “Hurry up class, this is going to be a good day and a field trip to remember!” Her voice was as cheerful as ever. I got onto the bus and scanned the available seats and decided to sit in the third chair on the left of the bus as Kyle quickly joined me. As I stared outside and looked back at the school, I had a feeling deep inside my heart that she might be right about this being a day to remember.

  Skipping School

  I sat alone, texting on my phone at the bottom of an apartment steps. I was minding my own business but every now and again I would have someone glare down at me as if I was some scum of the earth trying to understand my motive. So naturally I would stare back intensely until they would throw back a nervous smile falling upon an unyielding wall. Eventually, they would leave and quickly walk away. I didn’t see the problem with me just sitting here. Maybe it was the all-black clothes and the fact that I was a black kid with dreads. Nonetheless, I tried not to let it bother me as I sat and waited until a figure approached me from behind with a smile that was difficult to comprehend since it was so early in the morning.

  “Good morning bro!”, Pat yelling as if trying to wake up the entire neighborhood. “Hey,” I said rubbing my ears, “How long were you going to keep me waiting here, the next person who came up to me and glared would have had a black eye!” I stood up and we walked off the steps of the apartment steps onto the sidewalk.

  “We are going to go to school THIS TIME, right?” Pat said, studying my face as if it was a difficult exam. With a shrug, I kept walking and never turned around to answer. Pat lived two miles out from our middle school so he could sleep in as long as he wanted to. As we broke the corner of Jefferson street and walked across, a familiar annoying face appeared in the distance; his face alone was one that was enough to bother you, let alone his personality.

  The moment his eyes caught mine he dashed forward at us as if being chased by a demon and arrived bent over at our feet gasping for air. He wasn’t necessarily a fat person, but you could tell he didn’t work out either. His brown hair, bobbing up and down was the only thing you could see, but he still managed to try and rise up and talk.

  “Hey....” Carey said, still clutching at the air to talk and then continued, “Good morning.” My eyes still looked forward and I answered weakly, “...Hey” and kept walking. Wearily, Carey continued to walk, “What’s the plan for today, Troy?” I kept walking and again shrugged without turning back to Carey.

  We arrived at the front of our Middle School towards the entrance where the sign is, I stared for a bit as if trying to figure out a hard math problem. I also was trying to thought about making my way towards the entrance, until I saw the stick in the mud principal making his rounds. His eyes vexed, scanning the area for kids who were late or trying to skip school. Yes, we were late by 20 minutes and I didn’t want to deal with him today.

  My mind was made up right then. “Hell to the nah!” I said, turning and walking away. Patrick and Carey scurried close to me confused and not surprised. “We have a test in two classes and a class project in biology!” Pat bellowed from the rear of the group.

  “Don’t care plus I don’t feel the need to be at school today,” I said with my arms crossed. For a while, we roamed the street until Pat suggested we go to the park, with nothing else better to do I humored his idea, and we proceeded to the park. The park was empty but big enough to get lost in, and it had a track around the park that stretched a couple of miles around. There were multiple playgrounds, each a different color, bunched inside these humongous parks. We came to this park as children, but now it had a different tone and vibe. We decided to hang out by the playground closest to the local fast food joint because it made sense. I sat down on the bench and started to daydream looking at the cloudy sky that was beginning to form up above. Carey went wild at the park enjoying all its amenities from the swings to the slides, but Pat stuck to my side like glue. I put my hand towards the heavens as if to grasp it, and felt empty inside. At this moment, I felt like the king of nothing, yet the leader of change.

  Bad News

  The bus departed, slowly inching away from the bus ramp as we made our way towards the highway. I looked out the window until Kyle started poking me to get my attention. “Hey, are you ok? You seem spaced out and out of it.” He said while continuing to poke me. I turned quickly and bit his finger, laughing. With a yelp, he shook his finger, “Why?” “Why not?” I answered back.

  “Well, now that I have your attention. I wanted to know if you know what my favorite animal is?” He said grinning. I shook my head and looked at him, curiously.

  “It’s the wolf, they are cool and big and have big sharp teeth”. He put his fingers to his face like they were fangs and acted big and scary.

  “What’s your favorite animal?” Kyle asked while calming down a bit. I looked at Kyle, a little proud of my answer, “The bear”, I said after a pause. “ It’s big, strong, calm, and nobody messes with them. So that makes them the best”. With a bragging tone I heard from the other side of the bus, “except the black leopard!” We both turned in our seats and saw Mike standing up looking even more proud of his answer. “I bet the black Leopard could easily win against a bear with no problems,” Mike said, with his black long sleeves crossed.

  My face went a little red as I shouted back, “the Black leopard is smaller so the bear is stronger and won’t lose!” “But the Leopard is faster, and so he will always win,” He said back. Things quickly heated up, but before they could go further, Mrs. Baker announced that we have arrived at the Salisbury Zoo.

  She then stood up and said, “I need everyone's attention. The person sitting next to you is your partner and is never to leave your side. We will be getting off the bus in pairs and return onto the bus in pairs.” Some of the kids groaned, but most were excited. We quickly departed the bus and dashed towards the entrance in pairs of two. We all stopped dead at the gate because for some reason it seemed like it was closed. There was a zoo attendant, sitting in a bamboo hut shaped booth playing on his phone, currently ignoring us until the noise of our crowd drowned out the sound of his phone. He looked up slightly, and when Mrs. Baker arrived at the booth, he pointed to the sign over the front entrance

  “CLOSED DUE TO UNFORESEEN EVENTS.”

  Then he started playing with his phone again. She looked over the sign and became very upset and then banged on the booth’s window.

  “Why was I not warned or called beforehand so the trip could be canceled.” Without breaking concentration, he shrugged but never looked back up. She then demanded to talk to the manager. The man in the booth casually picked up the phone, turned in his seat and went into a conversation. Mrs. Baker then turned and leaned over to us and said we might not be able to go to the zoo today. We all looked at each other confused and a little saddened. Some of the girls cried, saying that they wanted to see individual animals. Other kids were getting angry.

  Kyle and I looked at each other a little devastated, but not defeated. Kyle looked over the fence for an area of weakness and found a small gap that lead into the zoo. While Mrs. Baker’s attention was focused entirely on the man in the booth, Kyle and I slipped away into the bush and went through the hole. As I stepped through to my surprise, there was Mike and Kyle angrily whispering to each other while grabbing each other’s shirts. Once I was entirely through the gate, I quickly fell on the floor. A sharp pain filled my cheeks and tears slowly developed in my left eye.

  Mike seemly content with the satisfaction of his fist on my face, said “Why are you here? You babies are going to get me caught.” I sat on the ground rubbing my cheek, Kyle glared at the Mike and shocked his gut with the force of the wind. Mike quickly fell over gritting his teeth. Kyle helped me get up checking me over, and I was still surprised to a degree since I still don’t know what happened.

  “Come on Keith. Let’s go,” Kyle said, as he pulled me along, leaving Mike on the gro
und.

  Encounter with the strange

  Eventually, Carey finally calmed down and went to sit on the ground next to us. Things seemed fine for a little bit, or at least that is what I thought just as woman close to her twenties came creeping out of the pond next to us which startled me for a second. The way she moved out of the water it was as if she had forgotten how to use her arms and hands. She had a weird, jagged like motion and she was twisting and shaking as if to defrost her joints. The water had made her tan silken dress blend in with her skin and from afar gave the illusion that was she naked; you could see her hardened tight nipples.

  “Hey girl, you look chilly. Come over here, and we can help warm you up.” Carey yelled over to her, practically drooling. Her stance immediately froze and then her head turned in our direction just like an owl; turning a complete 270 degree angle. That’s when I noticed her eyes were as white as clouds. My heart wrenched, and I stood up quickly, then slowly backing away. Pat quickly took notice of my odd behavior and followed in the same behavior. Carey ignored us and stood his ground. “Come on guys, He continued, “We can take this!” With a banshee-like wail, she bolted towards Carey who froze in fear and with a plunge she had tackled this 120-pound boy to the ground. With her jaws wide open, she began to inch closer to his exposed neck, which was pulsating with fear.

  “GUYS, OWW, PLEASE HELP ME OUT, AAH, HELP, AAHHH!!!”. Carey’s plea burst out into the air. I turned around slowly and walked away laughing, while Patrick stared petrified.

  “NO....,WAIT FOR...GUYS....AHHHHHH!” the voice said behind me as I continued to walk further on. I turned back for a second to yell at Pat to come on, but in the brief second, I could see the feast had begun. Carey’s white flesh was already torn away exposing his meaty neck bone which was consumed like a tasty morsel. His arms and feet still flinging in the air before finally running out of energy.

  I knew we had to get away as soon as possible, so we faded from view to leave her with her lunch undisturbed. When we had gotten far enough away, Pat turned to me and shouted, “ What the Hell? Why didn’t you save Carey?” His eyes seemed lost, confused, and angry all at the same time as if he was a lost puppy.

  “That would have been stupid of me to waste my time, saving stupidity.” Patrick still looked confused, so I continued, “The moment she appeared, I had my suspicions, and because I followed my gut and instincts I am still alive. Carey takes everything as a joke, and because of that he became the joke”. I bolted quickly to the ground and peered forward, and in the distance, I could see what looked like a couple more of them . Their behavior seemed to be like that of a savage dog; just like the girl at the park. “Do you see something?” Pat asked, whispering into my ear.

  “I think so.” I turned to him, grinning slightly and chuckled, “and because you paid attention to what I am doing, you are also alive-”. Suddenly, a massive force collided upon my body and I collapsed to the ground. Almost directly thereafter, there was a painful shriek. I looked up. There it was on top of me, looking me right in the face. Another crazy personwho looked like he never missed a meal and my difficulty in breathing was proof. His blood, saliva, and pus covered face was trying desperately to have a taste of me; his lunch but I wasn’t ready to be served yet. With all my might, I managed to free my right hand, turning it into a fist and thrusted it into his ribs which gave in like jelly.

  I shouted with what air I could retain in my lungs, “PATRICK!!” I could tell this did damage to the it because its body jolted and let out a cry of immense grief. It then changed positions and had his arms around my throat. I tried once more to yell to Pat, but it seemed able to gain the advantage from this angle slowly.

  “JUST...A...TASTE!!” his low growl demanded. Pat was frozen in place and none of my words seemed to reach him. I quickly realized I had to save my own ass. Using my right arm to inch him away as fast as I could, I focused every fiber of strength I could muster at the moment and unleashed it in a fury of desperation towards the thing it called a face. It was by the fourth punch that his grip loosened and with the aid of a new free arm, I continued my assault. I don’t know if it was the angry curse words I was chanting, or a new found energy was placed in Pat, but in a matter of seconds, it was bulldozed off of me.

  “Sorry Troy,” Pat said, lifting me off the ground. I wasn’t furious at Patrick, but I was plenty pissed. For a brief moment I gave him an angry stare then I turned and started running. Yet something wasn't right. That voice. That familiar voice I just left behind was still running with me. It was running down my spine; it was slowly getting closer.

  “JUST A TASTE!!! JUST A TASTE!!!”. I would not dare look back. But in that brief moment, I came to the sudden realization. “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” I yelled out loud to myself. Pat shouted forward, “What!?” My feet just kept running forward with no intention of stopping, “My brother is on his field trip to the zoo a couple of miles away!!”

  Strange But Familiar Place

  Kyle and I tiptoed through this silent jungle. I had been to the zoo before and around 9 o'clock it usually has a few people around here at the very least but today it was eerily silent. It was an odd experience since often you would hear some birds at the very least...but today maybe it's so quiet because the animals were still asleep. When we got to the main trail. We followed a path that had lots of bloody tracks and patches of fur scattered all over. This discovery filled me with fear that someone hurt these sick animals. Kyle whispered to me while over at the beaver cage.

  “Keith come quick!”. I walked over very carefully so as not to get blood on my shoes and it didn’t take long for me to see why he called me. The beaver exhibit was empty, trashed, and the metal fence had a small hole with more blood and brown hair.

  “What the heck happened?” I whispered, slowly backing away and looking around. It was the same at almost all of the exhibits we had seen. Kyle looks over to me with his hands clenching the metal fence, “I don’t think we should be here anymore.”

  At that moment I was angry and scared for the animals. We needed to investigate a little more and then tell our teacher so she can fix it. Kyle didn’t look wholly sure but still agreed to pursue further into the quiet, bloody zoo. I felt a little bad because I also had a small desire to see still the bear exhibit. The eerie silence was deafening to us for our breathing was the only noise we could hear. Kyle and I crept through the opened gates and noticed that a bear was lying on the ground. The massive beast laid motionless.

  Kyle whispered, “Bro, I think he’s dead.” I tried to get a little closer to investigate. “I see blood, Kyle.” I started walking faster as I began to panic. Hovering over the bear, I finally got a better look at the wound. Blood is gushing from the neck, and its guts were hanging out of its stomach. Something was off. This blood was different. It was completely black.

  “What happened!? Who could have done this to it!?” I shout. I didn’t know how to feel. How could a big, muscular bear be overpowered and hurt so badly?

  It finally began to rain, and Kyle walked over to me. “We have to go,” he said. I didn’t mind leaving at this point. There was nothing left to see. As I turned away, I heard a whimpering roar coming from the lifeless body on the ground.

  “Did you hear that?” said Kyle. I was too afraid to turn around the moment he heard it as well. The animal slowly began to rise to its feet. I didn’t realize how big the bear was. This huge giant’s shadow covered us and silence regained the exhibit. I gave in and turned slowly to see this enraged, drooling, beast of a creature. Its eyes were a mix of white, yellow, and red. The jaw and snout were shredded like a blender. I started to scream but was drowned out by the incredible, ear-splitting, bloody cry of this scary animal.

  From out of nowhere. The sound of a crackle of thunder landed upon my ears. I instantly remembered how much danger I was in.

  “RUUUUUNNNN!!!!!!” My feet moved before I knew it and I pushed Kyle on forward. The rain made the ground muddy and difficult to run fast in. Kyle was clo
ser to the gate and the moment I thought we were home free, the wind got knocked out of me. My body flew backward in an instant jerk. I felt the immense force on my backpack straps. Ten feet into the air, I could see Kyle had reached the gate before I was thrashed into an dark corner. My book bag laid torn apart upon the ground and overtop the colorful remains lay a creature staring with such intensity that it was breathtaking. I couldn’t even begin to explain how much of a new found terror I had for bears.

  A race against time

  The rain started coming down harder than before. My heart was racing and it felt almost too unbearable to keep in my chest. That fat, crazy bastard is still chasing after us.

  “Doesn’t it get tired?” I shouted back at Pat who looked like he had enough of running. I notice an opening to get into the wooded area of the park. A couple swift turns down this forest area and out of the brush of clearance we should clear from it. Or at least that's what I thought, but we quickly found out that running down a muddy hill was impossible.

  With my second foot into the muddy terrain, I slipped and came crashing, sliding down the hill with twigs, rocks, and other debris cutting up my arms and legs. Pat suffered a little worse than me for when he came tumbling down, he landed on his ankle, and I believe he sprained it. Pat let out a sharp wail when he tried to get up. I looked up quickly to see it tumbled off too and attempt to somewhat lunge, midair, towards us. It fell near us head first into the ground with a loud snapping noise then stopped moving.