Life at Windian High (Part 2)




Janet was tossing and turning in her bed as she slept. Inside her mind, her thoughts and worries were transforming themselves into nightmares that plagued the windian.

She was standing in the halls of Windian High, clutching her science book to her chest as she made her way through the crowded streams of students that were mingling around her. She wasn't wearing her school uniform. Instead she had on her favorite green dress, and being surrounded by the students of her high school, all of them wearing the grey school uniforms, Janet stood out like a flower in the snow. And this was bothering her.

The windian kept slipping through crowds of students, people that she recognized, some that she didn't. No one seemed to take notice of her as she weaved around the grey bodies of her classmates, but Janet still couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She was doing her best to try and blend in with the crowds of teens, but due to her colorful appearance, that wasn't working very well. Many times she caught herself glancing over her shoulder, trying to find out who or what it was that she could feel gazing at her, but every time she looked her eyes only spotted the muted faces of the students that surrouned her. With a nervous sigh, she continued on her way through the halls and around a corner, hoping to get rid of the feeling.

As she turned the corner, suddenly she found herself in a much longer hallway that stretched through the school. The lights that were supposed to brighten the hall seemed oddly dim, and half of the corridor was concealed in shadows. Janet felt uneasy as she stared down the unlit hallway. No students could be seen wandering up and down its passage. The hall was completely empty, save for the windian in the green dress. Janet turned, hoping to head back around the corner that had taken her there and back into the halls filled with the grey students, but as she looked behind her, a shiver ran down her spine and her breath caught up in her throat as her eyes went wide in wonder.

There was no corner to go back around. There was nothing there at all, just a long, dark, empty hallway that stretched out before her.

Janet shook her head and turned to look ahead of her once more. This time it wasn't just a long hallway that stretched out before her, because now she could see turns and bends in the corridor that split off into other hallways that snaked through the school. She could see the closed doors of the classrooms that were located down the hall, she noted the closed grey lockers that lined the passage way on both sides. But it was still dark. And it was still empty.

Janet noticed a couple of other things that were changed too. No longer was she holding her science book. Her hands were completely free and empty as she stared in wonder at the place that she was now standing in. There was also a cold draft that flowed through the hall, adding to the empty feeling of the scenery. Janet could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in alarm as suddenly once again she had the overwhelming sensation of being watched. The windian cast a fearful glance all around her, but she was not able to find what it was that was watching her. All around her, the school seemed to be growing darker, colder, and emptier by each second.

All at once there was a loud thump from behind her, and with a startled shout Janet took off running down the hallway, her heart racing as she moved quickly and blindly down the hall, rounding a corner and starting off down another long and dark corridor through the school. She honestly wasn't sure why she had started running, it had just been her nervous reaction. The windian was slowing herself down, doing her best to regain rational thought in her mind when something made her stop completely and she strained to listen for what she thought she heard.

Voices.

More exactly, Justin's voice.

Janet glanced around her once more. She could hear Justin's voice echoing all around her, calling out her name. She felt a shiver trace up through her, there was something about Justin's voice that made her feel even more alarmed. She could her footsteps, but she wasn't sure from which direction they were coming. Another shout from Justin, and suddenly panic over came her as she took off running again. She wasn't sure why, but all she knew was that she couldn't let Justin find her.

The sound of running footsteps started up behind her, and Janet shot a glance over her shoulder in time to see the windian chasing after her, a strange look in his eyes that sent another chill through Janet and urged her to run faster. Another turn around a corner and down another hallway, and still she could hear him chasing behind her. Another turn into a hallway, and suddenly she found herself at a dead end, only a closed classroom door infront of her. She turned to look behind herself, seeing Justin was still following her, and was now quickly bearing down in her. With a startled cry, the windian attempted to open the door, only to find that it was locked. Janet pounded on the door with her hand, yelling in hopes that perhaps someone would be on the other side of the door to hear her and open it for her. No luck. Janet looked behind her to see Justin just a he was reaching out for her. She closed her eyes and waited for what would happen next.

The sudden sensation of falling backwards overwhelmed her, and Janet opened her eyes, realizing that the door behind her had just been opened. The windian tumbled backwards, out of Justin's reach and into the room behind the doorway, stumbling to regain her balance. She turned in hopes of finding who had opened the door, but there was no one there. In fact, she wasn't even standing in a classroom like she thought she would be. All around her seemed to be the remains of a small town, located somewhere surrounded by woods. It was night time, and a cold breeze was kicking up dirt around her and ruffling the hem of her dress. Janet looked behind her in the direction from which she had entered this setting. There was no door. Justin wasn't there anymore. And still it felt like she was being watched. Janet looked around and shivered. She felt goosebumps rising on her arms, and she knew it wasn't from the cold. She now recognized where it was where she was standing. She was in the ruins of Springton. Suddenly she caught a movement from the corner of her eye, and instictively she turned to try and catch of glimpse of what it was.

It was as if her sudden realization of where she was had brought the whole town to life. All around her, Janet was now surrounded by the zombies that had plagued Springton when she and her friends had been there. Frantically she began to look around for a way out of the town, but all around her all she could see were the animated corpses. A loud moan rose up from behind her and Janet turned, letting out a scream as she spotted the decaying cadaver of a familiar looking forest clansman. She wasn't sure how she could recognize it, but Janet realized that it was the same wolf man that had cornered her in Springton. A feeling of trapped helplesness overtook her and Janet stepped back fearfully as the rotting creature shuffled towards her. All around her, she could hear the moans and movements of the other zombies closing in, and she knew there was no where left to run. The windian simply closed her eyes and waited for whatever would happen next.

Suddenly a warm feeling rushed over her. The sounds of the zombies were washed away in a flood of sudden and comforting silence, and Janet was amazed as a type of calmness seemed to enter her body. It was then that she was aware of the feeling of someone standing behind her, a pair of arms wrapped around her, holding her close. Janet slowly opened her eyes, attempting to turn and see who it was that had appeared and chased her nightmares away.

She was sitting up in her bed, the light of the moon filtering through her window and shining down on the floor. Janet blinked in amazement and rubbed her eyes before glancing around again. Yes, she was really in her room. She wasn't dreaming anymore, she had woken up.

"Landon..." Janet stared into one of the dark corners of her room absently before turning to where P-chan was asleep in its cage. "What was all of that about?" The windian paused, listening as if the nighttime could explain her strange dream to her. After a moment, she simply shook her head and layed back down, pulling the covers back up to her chin as she slowly drifted off into a more pleasent sleep.


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