Kathryn

I awoke to the scream and immediately looked to where Serena was sleeping. But she wasn’t there.

“Where’s Serena?” I muttered, trying to wake myself up. I look back to Kylie, but everyone’s gone. Stupid thing to do, sleep in Slender’s forest. I stood up and brandished my knife. I looked around. Nothing. Only trees. A bright light shone from every, and I closed my eyes. A dull roar started up, and when I opened my eyes, I was in a stadium. I was on a track, with four other runners lined up next to me. I got ready to run, to beat them all. My competitive nature took over, and then I heard the shot. I sprung forward, sprinting for my life. I felt slow, out of shape, which was weird, considering what I had been through recently. The other runners caught up quickly, and I poured on the speed. We went around the first turn, then the stretch. My legs felt like rubber and filled with acid, but I ran harder. The others started catching up, one even passed me. I gasped, then continued running around the second corner. As we approached the finish line, the other runners sprinted pass me. All of them! I tried running faster, but my legs wouldn’t respond fast enough. I ran across last and stumbled. I regained my balance, and then I walked around with my hands on my head, catching my breath. I heard footsteps behind me. The stadium was deafening. I turned and saw my sister, Jennifer.

“What was that Kathryn?” she asked accusingly.

“I don’t know! I don’t even know why I’m here, I just was suddenly… here,” I replied, exasperated.

“Kathryn, that’s just disappointing.”

“Jen! It’s just a race!”

“Kathryn, you’ve failed. I cant believe I have you for a sister.” Before I could respond, she turned and walked away from me.

“Jen! I was trying. It wasn’t me, it was them!” I called after her. She wasn’t listening. I felt terrible. I hated letting people down. I hated being a failure. I heard the crowd cheer louder, and I looked around. I saw me, on the big screen, and the word “LOSER” under it. I looked away, tears welling up. I turned to walk out of the stadium.

“Mommy! Look!” I heard a child call. I turned and saw a little boy of five or six pointing at me and poking his mom. “It’s the failure!” he laughed. I turned and ran out of the stadium, but the words “FAILURE” and “LOSER” bounced around in my head. I sat down on a curb under a streetlight and cried. I had failed everyone. Rain started falling, and the wind picked up. Trash blew past me, but a small envelope came rushing down the gutter in a stream of water. I picked it up and saw my name addressed on it. I opened it, then felt a weightless felling and passed out.