Duality (slashers x reader)

16. State of Unrest

'Right, you start on this side, I'll look on the other, grab anything that looks relevant.'

Sarah walked to the other side of the bookshelf, leaving me alone in the aisle. The nerves were catching up to me as I recalled the last time I'd been alone in a library. I was constantly checking behind me, terrified I was being stalked by a masked killer. I kept my breathing as steady as I could, not wanting to draw attention to myself, and balanced 5 books I'd found in my arms, carrying them to a nearby desk and motioning Sarah to join me. She dumped 6 books on the table as well, nodding at the collection we'd amassed.

'I think this is a great start. Did you see any others on your side that looked useful?'

'No, only these ones.'

'Okay, well, there were a few others I spotted, so I'm going to carry on looking. Do you want to start reading?'

'Yeah, yeah, can do. I'll call you over if anything seems good.'

'Cool.' She smiled before setting off down the aisle again. I sunk into the desk chair, feeling my eyes droop already, and picked up the top book. It was very heavy, a drawing of a brain on the cover. I propped it open on the first page, laying it down on the table and leaning my head on my hand as I began to read.

It was no use though. The words rolled over me, nothing sinking in, like a wave and my head lolled in my hand. I readjusted myself, my right arm leaning on the table as it held up my head, while my left arm held the book open in front of me. My body was twisted so that my back was facing the end of the aisle, something which filled me with immense anxiety since someone could sneak up on me with ease. But my body stayed still as my mind screamed, exhaustion finally taking over.

'Y/N. Y/NN.'

A rough shake startled me from sleep and my eyes struggled to adjust to the light. Through squinted eyes, I saw Sarah stood over me, her hand on my shoulder. 

'Sarah? Ugh sorry, I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep.'

'Did you have another nightmare?' Her eyes narrowed as she watched me with concern.

'N-no, nothing.' I sat up fully now, rubbing my eyes and stifling a yawn.

'Oh good.' She smiled a wide grin, a Cheshire cat smile, 'There's still time then.'

'For... what?' Sarah's smile widened and her eyes seemed crazed. The smile only grew and I watched as her cheeks ripped to her ears, blood dripping down her face as her smile stretched from ear to ear. 

She lunged at me and grabbed my face, holding it so that we were mere inches apart while blood dripped onto my shirt at an increasing rate. Suddenly, she held her other hand up and turned my face to look at it. I saw the long, polished knife attached to the leather glove on her hand, and she wiggled her fingers tauntingly, relishing in how the light bounced off the weapons. When I turned back to face her, I was met with the evil glare of Freddy again, and a shrill scream escaped my throat.

'Jesus, I'm standing right here.' Freddy winced and stuck a knife in his ear, pretending to block out the sound and chuckling as he did. He pulled his finger out and laughed wickedly as blood spurted onto the bookshelf opposite. 

Adrenaline pooled in my head and I pushed Freddy away with all my might, sending him falling to the floor. I jumped up from the chair and sprinted down the aisle, just trying to get as much distance between me and him as possible.

My legs throbbed as I ran as fast as I could, the aisle seeming longer than I'd thought it to be. I ran and ran but the end never seemed to get any closer. The bookshelves stretched ahead into darkness and the end became impossible to see. Sneaking a glance behind me, I saw Freddy still sprawled on the floor, a mere speck in the distance now. Turning back around, my newfound hope was quickly crushed when I ran full force into another bookshelf at the end of the aisle. A dead end. Footsteps sounded behind me and a deep chuckle echoed off the shelves around me. 

'Like taking candy from a baby.' He stopped in front of me, kneeling down so his face was level with mine. 'The baby actually put up more of a fight than you though, so this was a bit easier.' His face displayed that Cheshire cat grin again.

'Y/N. Y/N!' Sarah's voice rang out through the space, from where I didn't know, though I assumed she was back on the real side trying to wake me up.

'Looks like our time has been cut short... again,' He spat, his lips curling into a snarl, 'But you didn't think I'd let you leave without a gift did you?' He laughed wickedly, his gloved hand high ready to strike, as I felt myself being pulling away.

'Y/N!' I jumped up, unable to hold in a scream as Sarah gripped my shoulders tight. 'Y/N it's alright. You're awake now.' 

'Oh my god, I'm sorry, I - I'

'It's okay, don't worry. You were shouting in your sleep, did you have another nightmare? Come on, we're getting out of here.'

She promptly linked her arm with mine and pulled me through aisles back into the main area of the library. I felt my face flush as heads turned towards us, clear that it was us screaming and shouting. I kept my head down until we were out of the doors and in the car park, a chill breeze calming me down and helping me feel better after the embarrassment I felt in there. 

'Right, I was planning on us going to a coffeeshop after to discuss ideas or something,' Sarah walked ahead to the car, talking to me over her shoulder, 'But I think after that it might be best if we just g-' She turned to face me, her eyes widening in shock and fear as she looked at me.

'Your- your shirt.'

I looked down, confused, but immediately going light-headed when I saw what she was talking about. A bloody patch was slowly growing on my shirt, flowering out from my stomach as I watched in horror.