"Wake up, Shawn!"
The sun covered Shawn's face with warmness as he finally woke up on his front porch. Did he miss lunch? Why didn't his mother call him in? Before him stood Amelia, the girl from just a few houses over. This was exactly how they met the first time. She had walked up while he was sleeping, and asked what he was doing. After telling him that he shouldn't sleep his life away, she invited him to explore the town. Seems this time she had another place in mind.
"There you are, silly!" The small child with short blonde hair leaned forward to smile at the lazy Shawn. "How come I always find you like this?" She started to giggle in that same high-pitch giggle she did the other times they met.
Shawn rubbed his tired eyes, "Hey, it's not funny. I had more nightmares last night, and I couldn't sleep!" The child had been having nightmares almost every night, but why?
"You know, when school starts again, you're not gonna be able to lay down on your front porch like a lazy lump all day! I heard Mrs. Steadford is VERY mean!" Amelia's eyes widened as she spoke. "I still don't know who my teacher is. Do you think we'll be in the same class? If so, we can be partners when she has us team up!"
"Oh, yeah. That would be nice." Shawn didn't normally enjoy teaming up with the other students. The class total was usually odd numbered, which left Shawn to be the only one without a partner. The young boy would then be asked to find two partners and team up as a group of three. Though, nobody invited him, so he had to ask them on his own, which was embarrassing. But, since Amelia had moved into town, that would change.
Amelia turned around and started to skip down the gravel drive in a playful fashion. "Well, you coming or what, Shawn-bon?" She had called him that stupid nickname that made no sense ever since she first came up to his door and asked to come out and play. But, nobody had ever asked him to do that before.
Shawn stood up and ran over to Amelia's side. "Where are we going today?"
"To the big forest just on the edge of town!"
"What?! That place? Isn't it scary inside?"
Amelia's tongue peaked out of her mouth at Shawn. "I saw something with a tail run into it today, and I want to make sure it's okay."
"What was it?"
"I don't know, maybe a puppy?"
Shawn sighed, "Fine, let's take a look, Amelia."
The two marched their way to the edge of the small town of Glendale in hopes of finding whatever ran into the forest. Finally, they had reached the massive wall of trees with the never ending darkness dwelling inside. Shawn shivered at the sight of it, but Amelia continued to march forward.
"A-Amelia... Are you sure this is safe?"
"It'll be fine, Shawn! If you're afraid of other people, then you should be fine by yourself if we get separated, right?"
Shawn froze. "I-It doesn't work like that!"
"Huh? How can you be afraid of other people and be afraid of being alone at the same time? That's funny, Shawn-bon."
The small boy suddenly stomped past Amelia right to the edge of the forest. "Stop it! Let's go, now!"
The two entered the shady forest, calling out generic dog names as they walked. As the forest went on, the darker it got. Sticks crunched beneath their sneakers, and leaves fell to the ground before them in a slow, graceful manner. One or two branches would fall before the two, causing them to jump. Naturally, Shawn would want to turn back, but Amelia pressed on. Shawn may be a coward, but he didn't want Amelia to go off on her own.
It wasn't long before Shawn got tired and fell behind.
"Ameliaaa... I'm tired. Let's rest."
"I think I hear him, we have to keep moving and make sure he's okay!"
"How do you know it's a 'he'? Amelia!"
Amelia had disappeared into the trees before him while Shawn had stopped for a quick breather. He ran forward, only to find nothing but trees. Which way did she go? This way, that way?
"AMELIAAAA!"
"Over here, Shawn." Her voice had a faint echo to it, she really did get ahead of him. Something wasn't right, she kept repeating those words, and every time she did, her voice got lower and lower.
Shawn continued to run faster and faster, the tree branches started to move as Amelia's voice got deeper and deeper. They clawed out at him, scraping his face with sharp edges. The boy broke out into a sprint as the tree trunks split in the middle. Large, blank eyes formed from the cracks, following Shawn wherever he went.
"HELP ME, AMELIA!"
The trees grew taller, blocking out what little light he had and turning the entire forest pitch black. He could no longer see where he was going, but he continued to run towards the deepening voice. Tears shed from the poor boy's eyes, he wanted nothing more than to get out of here as soon as possible. But he had to find his friend first.
As Amelia's far away voice was now the deepest it could possibly get, she finally screamed in her normal, high-pitched voice, louder than he had ever heard her.
"OVER HERE, SHAAAAAWN!"
Shawn tripped on a root, sending him flying to the ground. He tasted dirt and blood. The boy slowly lifted his head, only to find that the eyes were still staring down upon him. The branches, however, had stopped. Nothing could be heard but the cool breeze atop the forest, rushing past the limbs of the trees and creating a soft song of wind.
Then, he heard footsteps behind him. Amelia? No, these weren't human. Shawn shut his eyes, wanting whatever it was to go away. Then, he felt something wet on the back of his neck. Was it... A tongue? Shawn turned around to find what looked like a white German Shepherd facing him, looking him dead in the eye.
"Are you what Amelia was looking for?" Asked Shawn. He reached out his hand to pet the dog until its jaws opened, suddenly engulfed by the darkness of its mouth in a split second.
It was only a matter of seconds before Shawn had realized he had been mumbling out loud on the couch in a mono-toned voice in his sleep. He sat up, only to find his German Shepherd, Bert, looking up at him from the floor.
"Want a snack, Bert?" Shawn said as he stumbled to his feet to go fetch a bowl of the beef and chicken dog food. Bert seemed to like it, so it was definitely a good choice.
He made his way to the bathroom after getting Bert his food. There, he stood before the dirty mirror and lifted up his blonde hair along the right side of his face to stare at the scar that mocked him every time he brushed his teeth, combed his hair (which was always a failure, of course), and washed his face, which is exactly what he did next. He splashed the cold water onto his pale face, letting the water run as he reflected on the hazy memory of the day in the forest. The nightmare had obviously warped the memory slightly, but everything about getting lost, and getting injured by the white German Shepherd was true.
Shawn had his reasons for not hating dogs after that incident. Oh, he had his reasons. But, he did not wish to reflect on the memory of what had occurred that life-changing day. Besides, he would be force to experience it in his sleep in a more warped version that before. These memories seemed to appear in his nightmares in order, believe it or not. He would be free of the nightmares for quite some time until the cycle would begin anew. Looks like it started back up again, and there was no avoiding it. At least he got to see Amelia again, before things changed.