The Night - Original Writing

My bed had never been more comfortable and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow: “Raine, why are you crying?” Vivian asked. “It’s nothing...really. Daddy just yelled at me and I’m a little upset,” I mumble, wiping my eyes. Concern

It was Four o 'clock in the morning, and despite the warmth of the bed, Minerva couldn 't sleep. The thumping of the dryer didn 't usually bother her, but tonight it was all she could focus on as she tossed and turned. Now, she laid awake, eyes wide with indirectable annoyance while she stared at the ceiling, considering her options. She knew she wouldn 't be able to get to sleep, but the thought of getting up irked her. Sleep was a commodity, and she never got enough of it.

He awoke with a gasp. Heart pounding in his ears, his eyes darted around the dark room. His breath came in short, rapid pants, his thoughts were fuzzy. Cold sweat beaded on his skin and soaked his tawny hair, making it stick to his forehead. The damp sheets twisted around his legs. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. There was his desk with a small, messy mountain of homework that need to be finished, his closet, and the familiar bare walls. A little light trickled in through gaps of the blackout curtains. With a groan, Leon untangled himself from the sheets and  dropped his head back onto his pillow. He twisted his neck to face the digital clock on the nightstand.

Surprising as it wasn 't, Night and Day were back out in the open air, stuffed in a crowd of nitrogen molecules. The whole lot of them were unpleasant to be around, since they were practically everywhere. But, the oxygen duo pushed on through, grumbling the entire time.

hold on tightly, and he lurched himself into the air flying clear over the river. He gently set Tabitha down on the soft ground and flew back to get the centaur, but the prince of the shifters turned into a small owl and flew over with them. They began traveling again and decide to set up camp on the outskirts of the forest. They enjoyed telling stories and eating their meals. Tabitha then realized that she was freezing, the closer to the mountain they got the cooler the air became. The chattering of her teeth prevented her from sleeping, and suddenly she was embraced by a huge warm body. She jumped and grabbed her knife at first, but relaxed when she realized the Neart had shifted into a bear to keep her warm. When they woke up they gathered their things and began traveling through the forest. Tabitha became cautious when she kept hearing noises behind them and was on guard as well as the others. Suddenly, a hand reached out of the ground and cut into her ankle making her scream in pain. Neart realized what was happening and cut the arm off of the creature making it give a shrill shriek. “Ghouls,” shouted Neart as they sprang up all around them. Seeing an opening Tabitha ran and the others followed. Soon she could no longer take the pain of being on her leg and collapsed. Neart quickly picked her up and put her on the centaur 's back and shifted into a wolf. Neart and the sphinx stayed to fight the Ghouls, giving Tabitha and the centaur time to escape. Once they cleared the

Nothing but darkness laid ahead as I slid rapidly down a massive tunnel. My grasp tightened around the crystal skull and landed on a rocky turf. Then, I brushed the dust off my soiled dress, and waded through the murky water. Between the humidity of the cave and failure to hold the hems of the dress up, I decided to toss it and keep walking in a slip, relieved to breathe.

“So let me get this straight, you’re going to find a legendary ring, slay a dragon, then marry a princess?” My friend Mary questioned. She was walking around the room still facing me.

There was deep stillness in the house. The strangled, agonized coughing that went on all day and all night had temporarily grown silent. The moon was up, and through the open window brightly lighted the room. Within the four walls, isolated from the routine of the world she heard no sound but the irregular labored breathing that raised and lowered her father 's chest and the ticking of the clock on the bedside table. An unpleasant feeling came over her; being alone with him felt somehow improper; somehow unsettling. Looking at him lying motionless, wasted hands stretched across his sunken belly, she recalled the terrible things he had done to her in this room. She grieved for what had been stolen from her. She became more and more

had been raining for a week in the city of Berlin. Thomas looked out his bedroom window at the passerby 's wearing their yellow rain coats, holding tattered umbrellas above their heads. The gray clouds hung over head and showed no sign of blowing over. Thomas sighed as he slung his legs over the opposite side of his twin bead and slipped into his monster truck slippers. He was droopy already from the weather and didn 't think his Saturday would be much fun. He threw his hand over his silver bedroom door knob and opened the door. The smell of fresh blueberry pancakes, syrup, and bacon filled his nostrils and instantly chased away his mopey mood. With a hop in his step he cheerily bounced into the kitchen where he found his mom hard at

She rushed home after work telling Rachael of her dinner plans for the night and she promised she wouldn’t interrupt them. She did however want a full report of the night’s events the following day. Lila had decided to go with something more casual since they weren’t actually going out for dinner this time. She settled for a pair of jeans and soft green sweater. She twirled around a couple of times happy with the way things fit, put on her coat and headed out.

Sophia watched as he walked towards the dining room. His walk was unchanged with their encounter and she wondered how many other girls who talked to with such familiarity.

I had glanced over at my mom, her breaths were shallow and light. Her eyes were closed and her hair was still soaked from the shower. She tapped my Dad on the hand,

It was like any other show. A mixture of nervousness and excitement filled the air which, surprisingly, smelled just like the hairspray which hung over the freshly-curled heads of hair of the group of dancers which I stood with. The lights were dim in the side stage wing, allowing me to see only the silhouette of my friend, Jade, who stood impatiently next to me.

Evelyn peeked down the hall from her bedroom making sure the light to her parents’ room was off, indicating that they had gone to sleep. When she saw the darkened hallway she knew that her parents had gone down for the night. Her younger sisters, ages 10 and 8, had been put to sleep a couple hours before. There was no one watching. Evelyn tiptoed down the stairs—thank God they were carpeted, which helped shield the noise of her steps—and she grabbed her mom’s car keys carefully exiting the house, shutting the door quietly behind her. She jogged to the car, which was parked on the street in front of her house and hopped inside, starting the engine. She quickly looked back to make sure that the older car’s engine had not stirred anyone in

I felt strong arms lift me up and put me on my makeshift bed. I just laid there shivering. When I finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep it had been a few hours later and I had stopped trembling, only then had I noticed who pulled me out of there, Mike. I know I can count on him.