How? How can this happen? I was frozen with fear, my heart pounding in my chest. It was dark except for a few flickering lights.
“Shhh,” something whispered in the dark. I tried to look where it came from, but I was stuck.
“HELP!” I screamed. For some unknown reason my voice managed to get through my sealed lips.
“Look at little Jebby, scared and lost,” The Voices began singing in an omniscient voice. Suddenly, I became angry, Fury was battling its way through my fear-stricken bones, and then-
I was free.
Running, running, running. Through empty hallways, through dark corridors. I couldn’t stop, but I knew I couldn’t keep going either.
“Don’t worry boy, we’ll help you!” The Voices came back, and I swiveled on my heel, quickly following it. Left, right, straight for one, two three, left again. I was counting my steps, praying that I wouldn’t get lost. I looked behind me, and saw two hallways disappear, and two new ones forming. Counting my steps was- is- futile.
“That’s it Jebby, you’re almost here!” The voice cackled as I turned the corridor into a room, my room.
What? I was panting and covered in sweat. Was it really all just a nightmare? I glanced at my night table, the clock was blinking 12:00.
“Great, the power went out.” I mumbled. Trying to erase the vivid images of my dream from my mind, I got out of bed and checked the other rooms of the house, trying not to wake anyone up.
~*~* The Next Morning~*~*
Beep! Beep! Beep!  My alarm clock screeched in my ear. I groaned, rubbing my eyes. After last night's’ nightmare I had barely gotten any sleep, fearing another one.
“Jeb! Hurry up or you’re going to be late!!” his sister Libby, thirteen years old, ran into his room. She managed yelling at him while putting in earrings and brushing her hair.
“I’m up, I’m up. Now get out of my room!” Jeb pushed her out and got dressed. As he stared into the mirror he noticed a black figure behind him, grinning from ear to ear- literally.
He blinked once, twice. The figure disappeared. What was that? he couldn’t help but think. Shrugging it off he went downstairs, mentally preparing himself for another day of so- called- torture; school.
Livingston High School. Total count of people who go there; 1,428. How many kids are friends with Jeb; 0. How many kids hate Jeb; 714. How many kids ignore him; 714. How many kids bully-
Enough. He didn’t need, didn’t want to think this way. Jeb knew he shouldn’t, enough kids called him crazy, but with that dream reoccurring over and over for the last two weeks, each in  new place, he couldn’t just brush it off. What I really am crazy? What if, what if the people at school are right?
“You’re not crazy, Jeb, but hurry up and eat breakfast or you’re going to miss the bus!” His mother shouted at him from downstairs. He trudged down the stairs, and slouched in a chair, pouring his normal breakfast of cinnamon toast crunch and milk. As he poured the milk, he saw something black swirling around in it, but before he could ask, it was gone.
On the bus, Jeb noticed less people than normal were taunting him. If anything, they looked scared of him. He leaned over to the person sitting next to him, Chase, and asked why.
Chase flinched, before nervously answering, “It’s because rumor’ s-sprouted up last Friday that y-you’re possessed.” stuttering, he moved away from him.
Me? Possessed? And if it was only a rumor, then why does everyone look like I’m about to explode?

Chase’s P.O.V.
After answering Jeb, I moved away. He had black shadows surrounding him, almost as if he were a caterpillar and they were the cocoon. Those people were right. He probably is possessed.
Now, don’t get me wrong, he actually seemed like a pretty decent guy, but with that rumor spreading like wildfire, I can’t risk it.
In school, things were actually less chaotic without people yelling and pushing him. He seemed nervous though, and even the teacher wouldn’t call on him.
He was like a bomb, about to explode with the slightest of touches.

Jeb’s P.O.V.
At lunch, it’s pretty much the same as any day. I guess the rumor people were spreading had died down because there I was, getting beaten by Josh, the football captain while Sherry, his girlfriend watched.
“Hey! Stop it before I get the principal!” someone from the crowd shouted. I looked up and saw (Chad? Cade? No.. it started with ch… Chase? Yes, Chase.) Chase push his way through the crowd, glaring at Josh.
“What do you want, nerd?”
“Ooh, that hurt. Stop messing with him before I get the principal. Or maybe the coach, whoever’s closer.” Chase snapped, and Josh’s smug face faltered.
“Yeah… whatever.” Josh shoved me down one more time before the crowd dispersed around the cafeteria.
Chase started to walk away before I yelled, “Hey!” He turned around. “Um, thanks for, you know, saving me.” I put a dramatic tone in my voice like a female character in… well… any movie. He grinned.
“No problem. It looked like you had a rough morning, you didn’t really need anymore stuff to pile on top of that.” I nodded, and he walked over to me. “You, uh, wanna hang out? We can play video games.” I nodded, agreeing.
I wonder why he wants to be my friend all of a sudden?

Chase’s POV
All through fourth period my mind wandered. Jeb had looked on the verge of snapping when I ‘rescued’ him at lunch today. The black shadow that had surrounded him during the bus ride this morning seemed to have spread to the people around him, making some onlookers more frightened of him.
I frowned all the way to fifth, and on the bus ride home. Jeb sat next to me, but we didn’t talk, we listened to music.
As the bus slowly pulled to a stop in front of my stop I looked over at Jeb.
“You can, um, come over to my house if you want.” he twiddled his thumbs for a moment before nodding, grabbing his bag. We walked to my house in an awkward silence, but at the same time it was sort of comfortable because we didn’t have anything to say to each other. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why is it that you put up the bullying? I know I wouldn’t be able to.”
Jeb seemed unsure of his answer. “I… don’t really know. It didn’t ever really bother me before, but today I just, well, I almost blew up.”
“Oh, well, ok.” we fell into another awkward silence. I knocked on my door before walking in, “Mom! I’m home!”
“Chase! How was your day at school?” Mom was in the middle of the living room doing sit-ups watching a workout video.
“It was good. I brought a friend over, if you don't mind.” Mom nodded and continued with her workout.
Jeb followed me to my room, where we sat in my gaming chairs. “That shadows around you again.” I muttered.

Jeb’s POV
“What? What… shadow?” I asked, confused.
“The shadow around you. It’s really light now, but  earlier, like on the bus and in the cafeteria, it was really dark.”
I gaped at Chase, my mind spinning. Can it… can it be the same shadow from my dream?
“What do you mean, shadow?” Chase looked confused.
“You heard that?” I was pretty sure I had said that in my head. We ended up talking for a while; Chase told me he wanted to be psychiatrist when he got older, so he was really good at deciphering feelings and what they meant.

Next Day
“Everyone that has Mrs. Harrison in any class including homeroom please report to the gym.” The announcement came on during fourth period, right after lunch.
When we got to the gym, I frowned at the sobbing female teachers. I noticed a few students crying as well.
“What is this?” I asked the girl standing next to me.
She sneered, backing away. “Freak, stay away from me!”
“We are very saddened to say,” he looked at the confused looking students, then at the students who were crying. “Mrs. Harrison passed away last night. It wasn’t official until this morning, but the hospital didn’t release this information until lunch. We should find a replacement for her subject, but I think it’s fair to say that no one could ever truly replace Mrs. Harrison in our hearts as a teacher. Okay, now is there any questions?” A few hands popped up. “Yes, you over there.”
“Did the hospital say exactly how she died?” the girl who had moved away from me earlier asked, her eyes wide.
“Yes,” the principal nodded, “apparently someone broke into her home last night and stabbed her multiple time in the chest, face, and arms.” The principal’s face looked grim.
Everyone gave shocked gasps, and the crowd started murmuring.
“Do they know who did it?” one student shouted out among the rest.
“I’m afraid not, the man who did this left no fingerprints, and the weapon he used hasn’t been identified by local police officers.
“Whose are replacement?” I shouted, before having to shout again because of the voices. Everyone stopped and stared at me, shocked that I had spoken.
“His name is Mr. Finch.” The principal stated, turning back to the rest of the crowd. Finch… the name sounded familiar, even though I was sure I hadn’t heard it before.
The rest of the day I pushed the murder and that… name out of my mind. Before I laid down for bed, though, I noticed that I had heard that name somewhere before- in one of my recurring nightmares. 
I awoke to the smell of something burning. Opening my eyes, I saw the kitchen was on fire- the whole room set ablaze by a burning oil pot. I cringed as the fire slowly started to seep through the walls, eating its way towards me.
“HELP!” I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Testing, I tried to move an arm; it moved.
I started to run, but was confused as to where to go. My eyes seeking out a door amongst the chaos, I saw the shiny sliver of silver through the smoke.
I coughed, trying to make my way over there, but my lungs were slowly starting to fill up with smoke, my legs feeling weak from the dread. I couldn’t help but feel like I wasn’t going to make it out- at least not alive.
This is just a dream. This is just a dream. My mind kept chanting the phrase over and over, hoping that with it would come some hope, some confidence, something that would me to cling to.
I made it to the door- barely. Opening the door, I hissed at the pain of touching the knob. Is there fire on the other side? I thought.
Bracing myself for the pain a second time, I pulled open the door quickly, nearly sobbing when the door didn’t move. It was jammed.
It was then the voices came.
“Hush little Jebby- you’re almost there! Hush little Jebby- you’ll love it there!” The singsong voice gave a sarcastic laugh, before disappearing at the edge of my mind. 
“Just OPEN ALREADY!” I screeched, running up to the door and slamming into it with my shoulder. One, two, three times- it opened. I breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped dead at what was inside. It was the face of a man, a horrible looking man.
His face was charred and melted at the same time, the skin flaking around the edges before falling to his feet. His lips were boiled and raised, his hands and arms drooped too long, yet it appeared that his legs were too short. His shirt had holes in it, yet he managed to keep hold of the cruelest looking grin I’ve ever seen.
Trying to uphold a sense of confidence, I stuck my chin out. “Who are you?” I demanded, my voice coming out strong even though I was shaking on the inside.
“Oh, Jeb.” he spit out my name. “I think you know who I am.” his voice wasn’t coming out of his blistered lips, oh no, his cruel smile didn’t move. It was his glassy eyes that were speaking to me, into my mind, intruding me with this voice- a voice i had most definitely heard before.
“I know that you need to get some work done.” I gestured to his face, and what was left of his mouth snarled at me.
“I also know that this act you put on, is all a facade.” I glared at him now, before he took two steps closer to me. “See you tomorrow, oh Jebby boy.” He smirked, before snapping his fingers.
I woke, covered in sweat, my chest still aching from the smoke inhalation. But that was a dream…
Bounding down the stairs I got a glass of water, and, knowing I would definitely not be going back to sleep, I started working on some homework due a couple of days from now.

The Next Morning
“Dude, you look exhausted.” Chase said to me as I walked onto the bus.
“Thanks for giving me the confidence I need to get through the day.” I snapped back, not noticing his hurt look.
“Well sorry,” he replied, hunkering down is seat.
“No, it’s not your fault. I just had another nightmare.”
He looked surprised this. “Explain please.”
I told him everything I could remember about my dream, even his face, and Chase looked freaked out.
“I don’t think that’s normal. Especially the ‘see you tomorrow’ part.” he told me, and I nodded. We discussed it over the bus ride, and all through first period.
It was on our walk to second period that I felt the dread. It began as a knot in my stomach, working it’s my into my bones, and soon I could feel it become thick threads in my muscles.
The replacement for Mrs. Harrison was here. Mr. Finch. and he looked exactly like the man from my nightmare would have- if he wasn’t melted and charred.
He grinned at me, before telling everyone to sit down. “As you know, your former teacher was in an… accident… and I am going to be here for the remainder of the year to help your, bright, young minds excel into excellence.” The speech sounded rehearsed and fake.
That’s him. I passed a note to Chase who was luckily sitting next to me.
Are you sure? Chase looked curious, but not all that surprised. I nodded discreetly, but Mr. Finch noticed. Of course he would.
“Mr. Livingsworth, would you please like to tell the class what you find so important to disrupt my class with?’ he asked, his voice serious, his eyes frightening. The kids surrounded me started to lean away, as if chilled by his coldness.
“I-I was just s-saying how great of a y-year we should have.” I said quietly, my voice shaking. The kids sitting up front started to snicker, and he grinned.
“I too hope that we have a good year.”  he went back to teaching, and that’s when I noticed a slight shadow around him. That’s what Chase meant. I only noticed it now because the color had darkened when he scared me…
Fear…. That’s it! He… absorbs… or feeds… off of fear!
Right after class I told Chase, and we started to form a plan on how to capture him. We needed to either capture him to see what he wants here, or to kill him, whichever it came to.
That night I slept soundly. I think Mr. Finch couldn’t project himself out to my dreams when he was this close to me…. Waking up, I felt refreshed, and was practically smiling on the way to school.
The next few days passed without incident, and with no more nightmares, I could concentrate more on contributing to my plan.
There was a dance, a Hallow’s Eve dance coming up tomorrow, and the school was going to be turned into a haunted house. With the added levels of fear, Mr. Finch would have to show up, or risk missing out on a ‘tasty snack.’

Day of the Dance
“Come on, we need to buy a ticket!” a girl in a fairy mask squealed on the way up to the school. I groaned in distaste- could anyone not think of anything original?
Chase and I were standing outside the school, waiting for something, anything interesting to happen. The haunted house section doesn’t start for another hour, and I was insanely bored.
“Do you think he’s already inside?” Chase whispered.
“No.” I whispered back, frowning.
“How do you know?”
“Because. I would be feeling an incredible feeling of dread or of fear if he was in a 500 meter radius of me.” I grinned. “Plus, I’m just that good.”
We laughed, and then he checked his watch. “We got a good forty minutes. Let’s go have some fun before anything happens to dampen the mood.” I nodded curtly following after him.

I knew immediately when he entered the building. I also knew it was going to be precisely when the haunted house opened up. I nudged Chase, and he nodded.
We ended up being almost at the very back of the line. By the time we actually made it in, my anxiety was making it hard for me to move forward.
The lights flickered and things jumped out at you. You could hear menacing laughter in the background of some supposedly scary music. I heard a girl scream, and got angry. How could they not know that he’s enjoying this?!
It happened in a flash. One second Chase was next to me, the next I felt a breath in my ear and he was gone.
“Chase? Chase!” I shouted, flailing my arms, running into dead end after dead end. And then it hit me; he burning building in my dream. The flashing lights in my other dreams. I started slowly putting the pieces together; the first dream was a warning, to stay out of this mess, to get away from here. The next dreams were about him coming to the school. The most recent dream was Mr. Finch, before he was burned. I need to find the house; before it was burnt.
The address came to me; Mrs. Harrison’s house! Of course!
I followed my instinct on how to get there, but was tortured by what I heard when I reached the door. There were screams; and not of fright like earlier, oh no, these were screams of pain.
“Chase!?” I cried out. How could I get him into this mess? I knew being alone was better… I followed him the thick brush around the side of the house to the door. I knocked on the door a couple of times, before deciding to just open it.
The knob felt stiff and cold, which I think is better than it burning my hand. I tugged on the handle, and unlike the door from my dream, this door opened.
I walked in and cringed at the smell of rotten meat. Recoiling back at the sight of Mrs. Harrison on the floor, yellow caution tape around her, I gagged at the sight of her guts on the floor, surrounding her like a pair of twisted wings.
I heard the scream again, and started to sprint toward the sound. Why does it not surprise me that it’s coming from the basement?
I ran down the stairs, across the short, dark hallway, and into another room, where I saw the Mr. Finch.
“Stop!” I cried  out, and Mr. Finch turned towards me. He was grinning, and I gasped at the look of horror on Chase’s face. He was feeding off of him! Mr. Finch lifted his hand up and grabbed at the corner of his face, tearing of his flesh as easily as if it was a mask. I shouted out in horror, gagging as his face took on the melted look from my dream. All that’s missing is the fire. I noticed Chase shuffling away from Mr. Finch, so I tried to uphold as much attention as I could from him so he could escape.
“Why?” I asked. Mr. FInch looked slightly surprised and puzzled.
“Why what?” He asked me.
“Why are you doing this?” I screamed at him, as Chase stood up.
But right before he could do anything, Mr. Finch grinned and glared, turning around and reaching into Chase, pulling out his heart and crushing it.
I cried out, trying to run to my friend, but Mr. Finch just grinned. I’m not… scared. I’m… mad! I ran towards Mr. Finch, grabbing him by his shoulders and kicking him in the gut. He fell to his knees, and groaned out in pain. There was a knife on the floor next to me, something he had been using on chase, but I took no thought of that and picked it up, plunging it into his skin over and over, on his chest, face, arms, and legs. I was being so thorough that I didn’t notice the man with handcuffs behind me, and didn’t notice the sound of sirens filling up the air.
“Sir, you’re coming with me.” The rough police officer’s voice couldn’t even pull me out of trance- but his hands restraining me from doing anything else could. I tried pulling away, before feeling a shock, and everything went black.