tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31502151586600459122024-02-20T18:09:38.114-08:00Bad DreamsWhat's your nightmare?Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-15279597065772904092011-05-25T12:47:00.000-07:002011-05-25T12:47:01.538-07:001<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">“What’s wrong with you?!?” the man yells.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I can hardly think. My heart beats so hard against my ribs, like it’s trying to get out. Breathe. Don’t forget to breathe. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Okay. Now I can think. What just happened? I’m on the road. Sitting, though. I’m panicking, just a bit. What’s the point? I’m panicking more than a bit. I think I was nearly hit by a car, for crying out loud!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I realise I haven’t answered the man yet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I’m sorry, I’m usually really careful. I don’t what happened…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Are you okay?” the man says, slightly calmer now. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I nod. “Yeah, I think so.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I put my head between my knees as I’ve heard that’s what you’re meant to do when you feel sick. I feel a sick, anxious feeling at the bottom of my stomach. Butterflies. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You need me to call someone?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No…no thanks. I’ll just…go to school.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>The man frowns. “Are you sure? I could call your parents.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No!” I practically shout. “Sorry. I just don’t want to scare them.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mum is so paranoid. You can’t do anything – I mean, <i>anything</i> – without her stressing for hours about it. And Dad doesn’t know how to calm her down.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“If you’re sure…” The man stares at me warily. Probably trying to suss out whether I’m going to faint or something. “You going to school?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mmm. What school?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Sacred Heart…why?” I shouldn’t’ve told him. (You can see Mum’s paranoia rubbing off on me!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I’m going to call them later to check you get there all right.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I smile. “Okay. But I’m off on a school trip to Chislehurst Caves.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“So? They’ll still mark you in.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Oh, yeah.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Take care crossing roads, kid.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes. Thanks.”</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-19919055442451492972011-05-25T12:46:00.002-07:002011-05-25T12:46:33.811-07:002<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">As soon as I’ve registered with Mrs MacCodrum, I get into the coach and slide into the seat Mally saved for me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“This is going to be wicked,” Mally grins. “Kim went last year; she said it’s great fun. The guide takes all the torches in at one point and there’s this really loud noise…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Great. I just <i>love</i> the dark, and things happening when you can’t see them. My idea of pure bliss.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“…oh, and why are you so late? We’ve been waiting, like, forever for you, Adam, Leah, Jake and Lucas.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Well, I left early enough. But, y’know, it was drizzling and I guess I forgot to look both ways when I was crossing.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You? But you’re the girl who looks, like, ten ways before crossing!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>If there was any point, I’d refuse to carry on. I hate it when people interrupt me. But it’s just not worth it. It won’t affect Mally because she just doesn’t care. She’ll move onto a new topic, and you’ll get sucked into the conversation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Instead, I pull a face. “Yeah, whatever. So this car came along and almost hit me. Just missed. So after that I walked real slow and careful.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mrs MacCodrum steps up into our view.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Quiet now children. Now that we’re all here, I’d like to thank Mr Gerty for arranging this trip again. He does it every year, so we have a lot to thank him for. However, I’d like to remind you how hard it is for just 5 adults to look after 30 kids. We will need your cooperation…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I sort of go to sleep until Mrs MacCodrum invites Mr Gerty up to talk. He’s usually good for a laugh.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Thanks, Mrs MacCodrum. Well, kids, I’d just like to say it’s a pleasure to take you all on this trip. However, I think you ought to know that these caves we’re visiting, well, they’re supposed to be haunted…So I’d keep my eyes peeled for ghosts!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Perfect. Strange noises and ghosts in pitch blackness. As I said earlier, perfect bliss. Not.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-19672214139704802602011-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:002011-05-25T12:46:14.637-07:003<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><img src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="ieooui" data-original-id="ieooui" /> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “I’d like you all in pairs please! That’s right, in pairs. C’mon now, quickly. Stick together and follow me. If you get lost, you’ll never find your way out again, and it could take us months to find you.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Why did the teachers pick <i>caves</i> of all places to go on a school trip? What about the claustrophic and the scared of the dark? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mally grabs my arm. “Us, yeah?” she whispers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I nod, lips pressed tightly together. “Yes.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>We follow the guide in our pairs, our journey taking us past a small table filled with torches. Everyone is instructed to take one torch and enter the caves. We enter a narrow stone corridor which leads off into a cavern with 2 bunk beds, an armchair and some plastic mannequins. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Chislehurst Caves were partially man-made, dating right back to the Celts and the Picts. In the Second World War, they were used as shelters from air-raids. You could pay a fee…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>The nightmare begins.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-13441374585908137572011-05-25T12:45:00.002-07:002011-05-25T12:45:43.408-07:004<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">We hand over our torches pretty reluctantly. The guide grins at us. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Don’t worry; you’ll get them back later on.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I know what to expect. Mally’s sister Kim told us all about the noises the guide makes to scare you. But I’m still getting that heavy sensation in my stomach.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mally clutches my arm tightly, giggling. “I hate the dark,” she whispers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Not really, she doesn’t. Not like me. I can feel the darkness closing in on me, suffocating me. I can’t see what’s happening. There could be a murderer standing behind me and I wouldn’t know. I close my eyes to escape the darkness but it doesn’t work. The darkness is still there. It always is. When you blink. When you sleep. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>There’s a crash, a scream. My eyes try to fly open, but they can’t. I’m so still, afraid to move. Breathe, Eilla. Remember to breathe. <i>In</i>. <i>Out</i>. <i>In</i>. <i>Out</i>. <i>In, out, in, out, inoutinout</i>. Not so fast, Eilla. Calm down. Don’t panic. Don’t. Panic.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-14506375710433308872011-05-25T12:45:00.000-07:002011-05-25T12:45:12.057-07:005<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">Mally hands are pinching so hard, and then all of a sudden they’re gone. I ease my eyes open. It’s still so dark. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I feel someone push a torch into my hands, and go for the switch. There. I flick it, and a beam of light shoots out. I shine it round me. There’s no one here. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><span> </span>I begin to panic again. No. I won’t let myself.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>A deep breath in. “Very funny, guys.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Silence. I hate the silence. It makes me feel so alone.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Guys, you can come out now.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Oh, come on, it’s not even funny. Why don’t they come out?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I admit it, I’m scared.” I look round nervously. Come on!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>And then it dawns on me. They’re not coming out. They’re…gone.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-87139323739027577302011-05-25T12:44:00.003-07:002011-05-25T12:44:40.257-07:006<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">I don’t know if I should stay or go. The guide said it was so easy to get lost. If I stay here, the guide might come across me on my next tour. But it’s a week day, and the next tour isn’t till tomorrow. It’s only about noon now. I can’t stay here the night. What about that story the guide told us? On our way to this cavern we passed a sort of pool. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Ah, this is a ghost hot-spot,” said the guide knowingly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>The boys all leaned in to hear better, naturally.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Basically, a young woman was sacrificed here by Celtic druids. And in the 1990s, a pair of men decided to stay here the night for a bet. One fell asleep. The other heard strange screams in the night. He stood up and tried to run away from the noises he was hearing, but ran straight into a wall. He was knocked out for the rest of the night. The first, however, was found with his arm ripped out of its socket. When asked about it he couldn’t remember a thing.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I don’t want either of those things to happen to me. I mean, I wouldn’t mind being asleep right through everything, but the fear that would inhabit me beforehand…it would be unbearable. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I am not a superhero. I cannot bear the unbearable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I curl up, clutching my lit torch like a teddy.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-52215170110722920742011-05-25T12:44:00.001-07:002011-05-25T12:44:20.441-07:007<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">“Eilla? Eilla!” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I sit up. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally, is that you?” I whisper, hoping it’s not a dream. Because I fell asleep, against the odds. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No, it’s Adam. I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys. I blacked out and when I came to everyone had left. Just abandoned me,” he says sourly. “I didn’t have a torch or anything.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“That’s weird. They left <i>me</i> a torch.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You’re lucky. Do you have a watch?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Adam sighs. “Shame. I wish they hadn’t confiscated our phones.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“There wouldn’t be any signal anyway. Adam, are you scared?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Adam hesitates. I can see him thinking hard. “Not really. I mean, I was a bit at first, but it’s all a joke, right? In an hour or two they’ll all get bored and come get us.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Maybe. But let’s stay here, okay? This is where they left us. They’ll come back here.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Nah. I’m going. I want to get out without their help, just to show them.” He grins.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I’m staying.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Suit yourself. But I’m taking the torch.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>He pulls it from my hands. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No! Don’t go! Please stay! I don’t want to be here on my own!” I shout, scrambling to my feet. “Please, Adam!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>He laughs. “You can come or you can stay. The choice is yours.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I feel hot, unexpected tears force their way through my eyes and slide down my cheeks. “You can’t take my torch.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Why? You scared of the dark? Well, I was stuck without a torch for God knows how long. It’s your turn.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Please,” I whimper. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I’ll send them back for you when I get out of here. Then again, maybe I won’t.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>He winks. I know that he <i>will</i> send them back if he gets out, but that’s not the point. He’s stealing my torch, that’s what matters!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>He runs away, gradually turning into a circle of light. Suddenly it seems to fall to the floor. Then it’s gone.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span></span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-3021159312995302442011-05-25T12:43:00.000-07:002011-05-25T12:43:51.409-07:008<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">My back hurts, pressed against the cold stone wall like this. I don’t like it. I’ve been here for days now. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Well, probably not, but that’s what it feels like. It’s at least an hour since Adam left with MY torch, and I’m scared, hungry and tired. I can’t get to sleep because my stomach is churning too much. Every time I start to drop of, I feel it…bubbly? I don’t know how to describe the feeling. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>And also, I keep hearing these whispers. <i>Follow me, let me lead you on a dance, follow me, if you survive it’s just by chance.</i> I don’t know if I’m imagining it or not. I can’t really be imagining it because I can’t rhyme to save my life. And I have a feeling someone’s going to have to save my life soon. Even if I don’t die I’m going to go insane. <span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally, why did you let them all abandon me and Adam?” I whisper.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I didn’t!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally! Mally, are you there?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes. I thought everyone was gone.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>It’s my imagination. Mally isn’t here. What a coincidence it would be…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Look, put out your hand. Hang on a sec…c’mon, now.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I reach out my hand tentatively and feel her sharp nose. I move my hand up to her eyes, just to be sure, and feel…ugh!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally! What’s wrong with you? What is that?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I pull back my hand and shuffle back, pressing myself against the wall. My hand is all sticky. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Is it bleeding?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Oh. So she <i>hasn’t</i> mutated, then. Okay. That’s a good start.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“What happened?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I’m not too sure. I crashed into a wall. I don’t know. I can’t really remember. Eilla is that you?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Of course it is, Mally. Can’t you recognise my voice?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Sorry, I’m not sure who I’m speaking to. Can you take me home?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I think I’m lost, Mrs MacCodrum. You and Mr Gerty promised you wouldn’t leave me here with strangers this time.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally, what’s wrong with you?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Oh, hello Eilla. Are you lost too?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally, what the…?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Suddenly there are two spots of red, glowing in the dark. <i>“Follow me, while you can. I’ll lead you, by the hand. If you come I’ll take you far. On your soul I’ll leave a scar. Three days you have to leave this place. After that you’ll lose your pace. If you want to see you family, it’s time to open your eyes and see.”</i></span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-13160670086273658042011-05-25T12:42:00.001-07:002011-05-25T12:42:37.177-07:009<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mally, snap out of it!” I scream. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>My words echo eerily around the cavern.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Out of what?” Mally asks, normal again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You were being all weird. You kept asking who I was, and talking to Mrs MacCodrum when she isn’t here, and reciting a poem.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mally laughs. “I don’t know any poems. All I know is I said I didn’t abandon you, and then you said snap out of it.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“C’mon, funny joke. You were saying some sort of poem about scars and souls and following you.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Laugh out loud,” Mally says dryly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Seriously. First you were telling me how you hit your head, then –”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Hold it. I never hit my head.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yeah you did! I didn’t know if you were really there, or I was just imagining you, but you told me to reach out my hand and your forehead was all sticky with blood.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Nuh-huh.” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“It was! I don’t like it here, Mally, lets go.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“But this is where the others will come back for us!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No, Mally, let’s go. Please!” I shout, tears pouring freely down my face.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I don’t mind. If I concentrate on crying, I can’t panic. I don’t have to remind myself to breathe, it just comes. And I don’t have to slow the breaths down, either. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Fine. I’ll lead. Hold my hand and follow me. I don’t want you leading us into a wall, the state you’re in!” Mally laughs, trying to make a joke.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Follow me, while you can. I’ll lead you, by the hand.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“No! I lead!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Why does it matter?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Just – please. I have to lead. All the time.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I think Mally starts scowling. “Fine.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I sigh. The nightmare has just begun.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-71190059450678878782011-05-25T12:41:00.000-07:002011-05-25T12:41:32.345-07:0010<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">“Look, that’s the pool we passed on the way up,” I whisper to Mally. Is it me or is it glowing slightly?</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “Oh yeah!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “Can you remember what direction we turn to get here?” I say, looking at the fork. There are 2 stone corridors. One turns right sharply, the other left.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “No.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “Oh well. Remember what turns we take, and we take the opposite ones back.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> I lead Mally left, then right, trying to make a random route, so nothing can follow us. It won’t work I know, but I’m being paranoid. Stupid, probably. But Mally said all that stuff, I <i>know</i> she did. What if she’s turned into a…what’s it called again? Prophet. God, I hope not.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> We come to a dead end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “Okay, so that didn’t work,” I frown, pushing at the wall. “Can you remember the turns we took?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “What do you think?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> “Snap. Let me think.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"> Mally finally snaps. “No! You’ve done</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"> all </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">the thinking so far and look where it got us! To a dead end!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I take a deep breath. “If you could remember what you were saying, you could lead. But you keep forgetting.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“You’re so set on that, but what if I’m not forgetting? What if you’re just imagining.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I’m not, Mally. I know what I heard, and that was you going all weird on me. So let’s turn round and find another way. And I’ll do the thinking.”</span></div><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;"><span> </span>We turn round. Walk about three steps. Right into a wall.</span>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-22926654540617940452011-05-25T12:39:00.003-07:002011-05-25T12:39:51.788-07:0011<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">“What?” I gasp. “This can’t be…there wasn’t a wall here before.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mally breathes out deeply. She walks round, her hand against the wall. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“It’s like a cage made of stone,” she mutters. “No way in, no way out.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“What’s going on?” I wail. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I don’t know. You’re the big thinker round here.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>My legs are too weak to hold me anymore. I fall to the ground, crying. “I’m so thirsty,” I say to Mally. “Maybe my tears…will make it…better.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mally kneels down beside me. “I’m thirsty, hungry and scared too, Eilla! But we have to find a way out!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I look at her. And watch as she disappears.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span></span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-34648884062978674442011-05-25T12:39:00.001-07:002011-05-25T12:39:28.413-07:0012<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">I moan and close my eyes. Open them again. Close, open, close, open. Like a mantra. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Follow me, follow me, follow me.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>That again, over and over.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Fine!” I say hoarsely. “I’ll follow you. Just, who are you? I’ll let you lead me by the hand if you give me water.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>There’s something pressing at me from all sides. I stand up, and use up the last of my strength to shout, “Who are you?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>This space is getting tighter. Am I growing or is it shrinking? Abruptly, my head is touching the ceiling. What used to be a large, spacious cavern now seems to be the size of…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>…the size of a coffin.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Go back to the pool, where the answer lies. The pool is an angel in heavy disguise. If you take the leap before it’s too late, then no longer in this gloom will you have to wait. But heed my warning because if you don’t, or simply, stubbornly, obstinately won’t, you’ll never escape this city of gloom, but be trapped for eternity in the dank, dark gloom.</i></span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-1337582813512114892011-05-25T12:38:00.003-07:002011-05-25T12:38:48.429-07:0013<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">I can breathe again. Oh, oh, oh. Sweet oxygen, so good to me. I’ve never appreciated you before. I will never again take you for granted, but instead will savour every last bit of you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>My legs lead me aimlessly through a network of corridors. I find myself at the edge of the pool.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Jump.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>What? No way. That pool is glowing green, and it looks really creepy with some smoke just wafting from it. Or steam. Or whatever you call that stuff.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Jump.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I said no!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Jump and be free. Be free for all eternity.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I swallow. What have I got to lose?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I close my eyes. If I die…I guess I’ve only got myself to blame. Breathe in. Breathe out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I place half of my feet over the edge of the stone, holding them over the pool.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span><i>Jump.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“It’s hard,” I murmur, tears squeezing out. Surely there are none left by now?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I slide.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">“Eilla?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I’m in that warm fuzzy place between being awake and being asleep. So relaxed, so happy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“I think she’s awake!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Oh, please be quiet, sweetly excited voice. I want to go back to sleep.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Eilla, wake up!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Wah yoo wan?” I mumble sleepily. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Eilla!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Excuse me Mrs Smythe. I need to check her over.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Someone shakes me gently. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Go way.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Please open your eyes, Miss Smythe.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I force them open reluctantly. Definitely not a good idea! That’s blinding, that is! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I don’t know where I am but it’s very, very white. It hurts my eyes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Eilla, Eilla baby, you’re back!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Wait a minute…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>That’s my mum!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Mummy!” I squeal, sitting up. “Oh Mum, you found me!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes, he called us…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>‘He’ must be Adam.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“It was so scary down there, I was starving, me and Mally were half dead and there were those voices and…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Eilla, sweetie, what are you talking about?” asks Mum gently, sounding really worried.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Chislehurst Caves. Everyone left us down there, there was me, Mally and Adam. I guess it was Adam who called you, right? But I was by the pool – in it, actually – so how did you know where to go?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Mum exchanges a worried look with a nurse. “Eilla, what are you talking about, darling? You never went to Chislehurst Caves. There was an accident, a car hit you…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I laugh lightly. “No, Mum, it wasn’t an accident, the car missed. And if you mean in the caves, the class left us on purpose, 3 of us. You can ask Mally.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Miss Smythe, you’ve been asleep for 5 days. You were hit by a car on the way to school. The class did go to the caves as planned, but you were brought to hospital with a broken arm and in a coma. Of course, it’s only natural to have strange dreams when you’ve been injured, but you have to wake up now.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“But I had 3 days to leave, or I’d…be trapped…forever.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I get it. I was asleep. I had to get out of the dream, wake up, or I’d stay in a coma forever. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>Die.</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-20309598336225979192011-05-25T12:37:00.001-07:002011-05-25T12:37:53.602-07:0015<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;">“C’mon, it’s a celebration,” Dad says, rolling his eyes at me. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes, but I’m just saying, I wasn’t paranoid. I was being realistic. Isn’t Eilla getting hit proof enough?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes, dearest,” Dad replies, catching my eye. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I smile back weakly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Shall we go on holiday this year?” I ask, trying to change the subject. Thinking of the accident makes me think of my dream, which gives me the shivers. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Yes, let’s!” agrees Mum.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“Hmm. Well, it would certainly be nice, but these things cost money. And there’s planning to do. I suppose we could go but – “</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>“If you think too much about something your mind will turn and twist into another opinion,” I say to him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>He stares at me blankly for a few seconds. Then his face clears. “Alright. We’ll go on holiday, and leave everything last minute. It’ll be an adventure.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>I sigh.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial;"><span> </span>If only they knew…</span></div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3150215158660045912.post-83571602514565919882011-05-23T12:28:00.000-07:002011-05-23T12:28:08.181-07:00Dive In<div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes it's better not to think too much.</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just throw yourself over the edge.</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before you have time for any doubts,</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dive in, jump off the ledge.</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't worry about what you don't have,</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Or can't get anytime fast.</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Don't worry about what'll always be there,</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And what won't necessarily last.</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you think, your mind will twist into another opinion.</span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">One you can never believe in. </span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">And if you don't believe something, </span></div><div style="color: #0b5394; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">How are you supposed to win?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Just dive in. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Eillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05067802250537586672noreply@blogger.com0