Wake Up

By Aria McGill - Year 10, Bayfield High School

Darkness engulfed her.

She knew she was dreaming, but her terror was still real and it boiled up inside of her, fighting to be released.

Lana Kennedy was standing

in her bedroom, slightly shaking for a reason she couldn't place, but deep down in her consciousness she knew something was wrong.

Glancing at her alarm clock, she registered that it was just after 8am, Monday.

''Mum?'' Lana called as she strode into the living room, pulling her fingers through her un-brushed hair. ''Hello?''

No answer. The house was eerily quiet, and Lana didn't like the way she could hear her heart beating in her chest.

Lana fought the panic and battled to find an explanation in her mind.

Her thoughts were whirling madly around her brain, moving too fast for her to grab one and focus on it.

''Hello?'' she called again, straining to keep her voice under control.

She went from room to room, yelling, searching, until she broke, crumbling to the ground and sobbing into her hands.

''It's just a dream, just a dream.''

She felt tired and drained when she finally got up and forced herself to move.

Wearily, she walked to the front door and clasped the cold handle.

In one swift motion she yanked the door open, not wanting to be creeping around like some girl in a horror movie.

''Although ...'' she thought to herself, ''it kind of feels like I'm in a horror movie.''

Lana steeled herself and hopped down the steps, preparing herself for the worst.

The worst wasn't far off.

Lana was standing outside her house, in the familiar streets of her neighbourhood.

Although they weren't all that familiar, at least not right now.

The street was deserted.

Taking a deep breath, Lana took a shaky step.

She began making her way down the street, picking her way through the rubbish and debris scattered down the cracked road.

It looked like a hurricane had whipped down the street, leaving the shattered remains behind.

Houses on both sides were smashed and torn apart, not one stood unharmed.

Windows were smashed, doors reduced to gaping holes in the crumbling walls.

There were even small fires burning in trash cans.

Lana stood captivated by the derelict street, a random mix of emotions confusing her.

Fear, anger, worry, sadness.

They all swamped her, and she felt paralysed, rooted in place.

Unable to take it anymore, she ran until she couldn't anymore.

The houses on either side of her were blurring, her tears creating a glistening wall in front of her eyes.

She reached the end of the street and turned, her feet moving on their own.

A dead end.

But that wasn't right. There was usually another street around this corner.

Lana strained to recall the name of the street, surprised when it easily popped into her head: Dream St.

Lana hesitated. A voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her to turn around. She could hear it chanting to her. Danger, danger, danger, danger.

It slowly got louder and louder, causing her to clamp her hands against the side of her head.

She screamed and turned back the way she came, taking one step before slamming into a tall brick wall.

The street was gone. The whole street had vanished into thin air.

A massive, intrusive wall stood in its place, blocking her only means of escape.

She had no choice. She had to go down the dead-end street.

Slowly, she turned and started down the alley.

She could already see the wall that marked the end of her journey, and she reached it in seconds.

Lana stepped up to the wall, seeing a small piece of paper taped to the stony, cold concrete.

Two words were boldly scribbled in the middle. WAKE UP.

Lisa Kennedy sat in a small, hard chair beside her daughter's hospital bed.

Her hot, clammy hands clasped Lana's stone-cold ones, tears streaming down her cheeks as she listened to the irregular beating of her daughter's heart.

Her ragged breathing was unsettling, and Lisa almost wanted to leave the room, but she stayed.

Lana's body suddenly convulsed and she began screaming, her arms and legs flailing around like crazy.

''LANA! LANA!'' Lisa yelled, desperately trying to hold down her arms.

A stream of nurses and doctors flooded into the room, gently but insistently shooing Lisa away from Lana's side.

They held her down and a doctor carrying a large needle walked in, jabbing it into Lana's arm.

She stopped convulsing, her screaming dulling to a distant murmur.

Lisa watched in despair as her daughter fell back into her dream-like state, eyes tightly shut, her mouth twisting down into a sad, scared, frown.

Lisa walked to her daughters' side and kissed her forehead, a tear slipping down her face to land on Lana's cheek.

''Please wake up,'' she whispered, before settling back down into her chair, ready for the long night ahead.

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