Cally glanced at Kayson, her best friend, who was currently in control of the steering wheel. His blue eyes were fixed intently on the road, his face showing no particular emotion. The darkness surrounding them and their vehicle seemed to go unnoticed by him. He showed no signs of being tired or sleep deprived in any way. The long drive from Wyoming to California had taken it's toll on all of them, but he still seemed practically unaffected. "Kayson, I can take a turn driving if you'd like. You need sleep." He looked at her for a moment and smiled before looking back at the road. 

"Nah, I'm fine Cal. You need rest more than I do."

"Lies." She narrowed her eyes and smiled at him. 

"No, not lies."

"Yes, all the lies. You've been driving basically the entire trip. Just for tonight."

"Tonight is the last night of driving Cal. We'll be there in an hour or so. Let me do the homestretch." 

"You need sleep."

"I'm nocturnal."

"No you aren't. You don't sleep during the day either."

"Cause I don't need to." 

"Yes, you do." 

"No, I don't." He moved one of his hands to her head and ruffled her brown hair. "You worry about me too much."

"Heh. You're one to talk." 

"Well I have right." 

"So do I!" 

"Hey, lovebirds, could you quiet down? Some of us are trying to sleep!" John groaned from the backseat. Cally turned back and gave him an unamused look. 

"Ha ha. Very funny. " She rolled her eyes. 

"No I'm serious. When are you just going to man up and ask her out, Kayson? You clearly li-." 

"John, I swear to God, if you don't shut up right now, I will run this car off the road." Kayson said angrily. Cally placed her attention on him again. Kayson was never this quick to anger. That was part of the reason him and John got along so well. 

"Geez man, okay. When'd you get so defensive?" John frowned. Cally sighed before looking back at him again, on the far left side of the car, next to Miranda. She smiled sympathetically. 

"He's just grumpy and sleep deprived. Go back to sleep, we're gonna be there soon." He smiled back at her. 

"Alright shortie. Night." 

"Goodnight." She looked back at Kayson, who was now looking at the road as if it had just insulted him. She lowered her voice a little, before frowning at him. "What was that? He was just messing around." 

"Sure didn't sound like it." Kayson kept his glare placed steadily forward. 

"He was." 

"Yet he said he was being serious." 

"You know John. He couldn't be serious if his life was on the line." She softened her look to one of concern. "Are you alright? John's right, you got really defensive really quickly." 

"Can we stop talking about John?" Kayson grunted. 

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you." Cally muttered, a little deflated. Kayson took notice of this and sighed. 

"No, Cal, I'm sorry. I shouldn't talk to you like this. I'm just tired, I guess." She looked back up at him. 

"I can drive if you need to-."

"No. We'll be there soon anyways. Don't worry about it, just get some rest, kay?" 

"Okay. See ya in an hour." 

"See ya in an hour." Kayson repeated, smiling at her. Cally positioned the pillow at her feet next to her head and leaned against the soft fabric, closing her eyes and welcoming in sleep. 

The screaming wouldn't stop. It was loud and overpowering, taking over Cally's hearing and hurting her head. Blood. Shiny, dark red liquid that poured from underneath the locked door and down the walls. The emotionless eyes of Kayson, his lifeless body on the floor a few feet away from her. She wanted to run to him, or to the door, but she couldn't seem to move. So she screamed furiously, until her lungs stung and her vocal chords refused to continue. Screaming for it to stop, to wake up. But it wouldn't. That's when it appeared. The phantom-like figure that had been haunting her dreams and dwelling in her mind during her consciousness. It appeared through the door right in front of her, and it's black eyes stuck to hers. It neared, reaching out a dark, bony hand, and she screamed again as her vision slowly faded.

Cally woke up with a shriek. Kayson slammed on the breaks in surprise and turned to look at her. "What the heck, Cally? Are you okay?" His eyes went from slight annoyance to worry. Cally stared at him for a second, relieved to see the life light that was once again dwelling in his cobalt eyes again. She flew forward and hugged him, despite her seat belt and the space inbetween him. He moved one arm around her, placing it on her back. "What happened?" 

"I-... I just had another nightmare. I'm alright." She pulled back and straightened her seat. 

"I don't think people scream when they're alright." Miranda piped up from the back, sending Cally a worried look. 

"It was just a nightmare, I promise. I'm fine." Cally attempted to reassure her. 

"You sure, Cal? That didn't sound okay. Arianna joined with the other worried looks. 

"Yes, I'm sure." She waved them off. 

"Cal's a strong girl. She can get through a nightmare, there's no reason to be so worried about her. I'm sure she's perfectly fine." John backed her up. "Right, shortie?"

"Right, thank you, John." Cal sighed. John nodded, but she could still see the concern in his green eyes. Kayson sighed. 

"Well, whatever. There's no use going back to sleep now, we're really close." Sure enough, they were just driving into a small wooded area. It definitely differed from the rest of the town, with the tall trees and shadowed area. It gave off a kinda dark atmosphere, filling the group with unease. 

"You sure this is where we're supposed to be going, Kayson? It seems a little... off." Arianna furrowed her brows. 

"Yeah, I'm sure. It does seem a bit odd, but I'm sure the place we're staying will be fine."

"I hope you're right..." Arianna sunk back into her seat, still frowning at the trees surrounding them. The place they were staying was supposed to be a larger house, one that was offered to them for the Summer that they'd be there. The place had been cheap, the people living there seemed eager to hand it off, even if it was just for a season. They drove around a bend, and a large house came into view. Actually, 'house' didn't seem to fit the building. It was a massive manor, like something you would see in an old romance movie. Cally's eyes widened, and Kayson gave her an amused glance. 

"So I take it you like it?" 

"It's beautiful. And huge. Holy crap Kayson, you didn't tell me we were staying in a mansion!" She turned her gaze to the guy next to her, who smiled. 

"Figured I'd surprise you." 

"Aw, so this was just for her? Not us? Rude, yet adorable." Miranda smiled. 

"Shut up Miranda!" Cally sent her friend a glare, and she laughed. 

"Come on, Cal. Take a joke." Cally rolled her eyes and looked back at the towering house. 

"So tell me again how we got this house for that cheap?" She raised a brow and glanced at Kayson, who shrugged. 

"They just really seemed to want it off their hands. Sounded relieved when I asked about it." 

"Odd. Was there a reason why?" John asked. 

"Not that I know of." 

"Well then. Interesting." They pulled in in front of the home, and Kayson slipped the keys out of the ignition. Cally opened her door and stepped out, her stiff legs glad to be out of the car and moving. The others did the same, moving over to Cally. "Shall we?" John bent his arm and looked expectantly at her. She smiled and hooked her arm through his. 

"We shall." The two started walking to the front door, and their other friends followed. "Kayson! Open it!" She beamed back at the boy, who had been staring sternly at the close vicinity of the pair. He moved past them, sliding the key into the keyhole under the gold painted handle, twisted it, and opened the door. John and Cally hurried in, laughing. "Woah." They spoke the word simultaneously, peering around the large room that they were now standing in. 

"This is so cool, Kayson!" Miranda piped giddily. 

"Ain't it just?" Cally moved her head to look at her other friend. 

"Yeah yeah, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to find the bedrooms. Driving constantly is tiring." Kayson replied, continuing forward toward the stairs. 

"Okay, I said I would take over for you! But yeah, I second that." Cally rushed forward and leaned her head against Kayson, and he chuckled and wrapped his arm around her. 

"Yeah, sleeping in an actual bed for once won't be horrible." John muttered as he followed after them. At the top of the stairs was a decently long hallway, with six doors. 

"So how ya wanna do this? Two to a bedroom, or?" Miranda asked. 

"But that would leave one of us alone." Arianna pointed out. 

"If we do that, I'm not sleeping in a room alone!" Cally replied. 

"We wouldn't make you, Cal." John patted her head. She smiled tiredly at him. "I don't particularly want to sleep alone either. Don't think any of us do, really. We could do two and three." 

"Sounds good to me. I can I share a room with you and Kayson? I'm the closest with you two, no offense guys." Cally looked back at the two girls. 

"Nah, it's fine Cal. None taken. You guys have known each other for like forever, anyways." Miranda shrugged. 

"Okay, then we're doing that, I guess." Arianna rubbed one of her eyes. 

"Cool. Great. Can we go to sleep?" Kayson pulled Cally to one of the doors and a bit closer to him. 

"Yes, please. You did lock the door, right?" Cally raised a brow and looked up at him. 

"Yeah, I did." 

"Good." Cally yawned as Kayson opened the door and led her into one of the rooms, shortly followed by John. There were three beds, all placed against a wall, a oak stand with a large TV on it, and another door that presumably led to a bathroom. John flipped on the light switch so that it was better visible, and Cally let out a gasp, her eyes widening. 

It was the room.

The one from her dream. 

Mkay. 1776 words. Not bad for chapter one. This is one of the book ideas I had recently, and one of my friends helped me with the idea, so I really wanted to start writing it. I will still be keeping up with my other book though. Alright, hope ya could tolerate this. I like this story a lot, so I may be updating it more. Sorry, I'm easily scared, so if this chapter seemed a little less unnerving, that's just me being a wimp. I'll make future ones mo spoopy. OKAY I'M DONE NOW BUH BYE!