Lucas Ryan Versus - Madison Daniel Page 0,21
I pushed Ripley faster.
“Fly faster! Faster!”
Ripley’s metal body pointed itself toward the glowing moon and rushed forward. The midnight sky swirled from purple to black as the bursting stars bounced off of our bodies. From below us the ocean grew darker and darker. The wild moonlight sparkled like diamonds in its mighty reflection. For the briefest moment I couldn’t tell which way was up or down, heaven or Earth. It felt wonderful. It felt crazy. It felt unreal.
It was most definitely a dream.
Ripley tore through the atmosphere, punching us both into the center of the moon. It exploded like a firework, sending colorful bursts into my hair and clothes. I screamed with excitement and begged Ripley to fly faster. Unexpectedly though, Ripley froze in place, leaving us stranded a million miles above the world.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
~ Listen. ~
“For what?”
~ Don’t speak. Listen. ~
I closed my eyes tightly and focused all my attention on the sound of…nothing. What the heck was going on here? This was my dream. Ripley didn’t control that, I did.
“Ripley…”
~ Listen. ~
Just then a faint scream echoed below us. “Did you hear that?”
~ Listen. ~
“I am.” Another scream followed, this time much louder. It sounded like Olivia’s little sister, Sophia. Then, another terrifying scream. There was no doubt this time that it was Sophia. I’d recognize that call for help anywhere.
~ She’s in trouble, Lucas. ~
“Go! Now! Take me to her!” I demanded. Ripley coiled around me, clutching me like a vise with steel appendages. “Hurry!”
In a blink of an eye we disappeared in the sky. When we reappeared we were in the middle of a classroom, but not just any classroom…Biology II.
“Why did you take us here?” I began to ask when another scream shattered the windows around us. It hurt my ears and Ripley retreated into my arm without a word. I spun around to find Sophia in the back of the room, clutching the walls of a dark corner. Her face was pale like a ghost and tears were pouring down her cheeks. She was moving wildly but it was in slow motion as if she was underwater.
“Soph!” I called out, and ran up to her. Her eyes grew big and round. As I reached for her, she shrieked one terrifying word.
“SHE!”
“She? She who?” I asked, in a panic.
“SHE!” Sophia bellowed again. I didn’t understand. My hands reached out for her but like a candle flame, she disappeared. Vanished. What the heck was going on?
“Soph?” I trembled. No answer though. She was gone. From behind me came a sound. It was just as annoying as it was horrifying.
SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!
The unmistakable sound of nails on a chalkboard. Only it was louder and more electronic sounding. Like metal against cracking glass. Before I could spin around it happened again.
SCREEEEEEEEEEECH!
“Mr. Ryan!” an unwelcome voice announced. My eyes focused harder revealing Ms. Strickland standing at the front of the classroom like a beautiful statue. Her eyes were alive with hate and she wore a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
“Ms. Strickland?” I asked, without much sound. She smiled wider and took a step closer to me. It was an unnatural stride though, almost like she wasn’t flesh and bone. Mechanical, like a robot. Then another step. I wanted to turn and run but I couldn’t move. I was frozen in place as if my feet were buried in concrete. Crap.
“I have something for you, Mr. Ryan,” she said, from the corner of her perfectly painted lips.
“That’s okay, you can keep it.”
Another crunch of her foot thundered inside the room as she was only a few feet from me now. “And, Mr. Ryan, you have something I need.”
Crap, crap. She stepped right in front of me, inches from my face.
“What are you?” I said, petrified. Her smile faded away and she brought her hands up to her face and removed her thin glasses, placing them along the top of her hair. She brought one hand down and wrapped it around my tattooed wrist. Her other hand slid along the line of her chin. I watched as her blood-red fingernails found their way to the side of her face and cheek. Then, with the movement of a ghost, she jabbed her index finger into one of her lower eyelids. I tried to look away but couldn’t. My mouth fell open, unable to say a word.
“What am I?” she cackled, as dark black liquid streamed down her face. With a sickening crunch she jerked a convulsing spider-serpent from her eyeball