disgusted.
I looked back and saw with relief that the small group of Argent spider’s had left, and we figured they had left either during our meal or while we were in deep discussion over the matter of killing them off. I finished off the remainder of my tea; Sarah and Dais had finished theirs half-way through the meal, but I always drank my beverage last so that I wouldn’t get full so quickly. I salted my lemon and ate it – I loved the bittersweet taste. I thought about asking for another slice of lemon, but decided I shouldn’t indulge too much. I didn’t want to have high blood pressure from eating too much sodium.
“Nope. The two are different, “ Daisy continued. “The vampire is the undead, and the Argent spider is the living. Vampire is the blood drinker and Argent spider is the spinning. You have to cut off the head of a vampire and take out its heart. For the Argent spider, you must axe the head and very quickly burn the rest of the spider. Once you have done this, the vampire and Argent spider will be no more.”
Daisy had always been the smartest of the three of us when it came down to something like this. Plus, she was always reading up on the supernatural creatures. Sarah often read romance novels, and I loved to read a good mystery book. Finally, we picked up our strap purses from off the table, and all three of us went to the front of Carla’s Manor to the cashier. I paid for our house salads and we left.
Chapter Nine
I had not been sleeping well. I was having bad dreams that started out strange and became really frightening. In my dream, or nightmare, I’m suddenly standing in the backyard and the fence is open, and suddenly I notice I’m in my pajamas without any house shoes on, and I worry. I think about going inside, but there is a dark force there moving me past the wide open gate and nearly into the street against my will. A thick mist of fog surrounds me and the street, and I am, without warning, lying face down with my head to the street and the rest of me on the driveway. Suddenly, a white four door car appears a few feet away from my face, as if a form of dark magic is happening – bewitching me, and I can hardly move. I lift my head and can only raise it so far, enough to see that the headlights on the car are bright, almost too bright, for me to notice that the silhouette figure behind the steering wheel is female. The car starts up and I try with all my strength to get off the edge of the street, but it’s as if a force is holding me there. The most crazed and frightening thing happens next: the woman in the car tries madly to drive over my head! I keep trying as hard as I can to get up, but each time something dark prevents me from escaping the jaws of death, and finally I become too tired to move. I lay my head down onto the edge of the road and wait to die. I wait in agony for the moment that my head is crushed to bits and pieces on the street by the crazed and evil woman in the white car. Once it happens, I don’t die, and there is no damage to me – I can’t believe it. How is this possible? I had been run over by a car – well, my head had been driven over by a car, and I have survived without any injury.
The moment I stand up, I’m facing to my right and there is the white car with a heavy mist of fog on the inside and surrounding the car, too. I hear crazy laughing and stare hard into the foggy car. I cannot see inside at first because of the fog, but then it clears and I see a crazed woman who looks more like a ghostly apparition. It lasts for a minute, and the engine on the car cuts off along with the headlights. Then, the woman disappears and the car vanishes into the mist. I stand there looking dumbfounded out into the dark wooded creek at nothing.
Suddenly, I jerk awake the same way I’ve done in my other nightmares. Then I remember it was just another bad dream. I’m going insane.
Chapter Ten
On the drive from Carla’s Manor we sent each other text messages. We were having another sleep over, and I wanted it to be at Aunt Ruth and Uncle George’s house, and of course they didn’t mind. Uncle George seemed to really like Sarah and Daisy, and so did Aunt Ruth. Aunt Ruth had a favorite gospel song called “Amazing Grace.” She sang it around the house when she cleaned. She also sang it during those times she and Uncle George comforted me after my parents and Father Westley were murdered by the Argent spider.
In my other dreams, I’m standing in the doorway of the kitchen in my old home, and there’s a wreckage of the place and blood stains all over the kitchen. I never make it through the rest of the house – I always jerk awake in cold sweat.
Gosh, the nightmares are really starting to bother me, and I don’t want to keep Uncle George and Aunt Ruth up half the night worried scared over my ridiculous nightmares. Sarah and Daisy will be there to support me, and after all, that is what friendship is about – being there for each other when they need it.
“Hey, thanks for coming over, girls!” I greeted Daisy and Sarah in the doorway of my bedroom upstairs. A warm pleasant smile lit up my face.
“I’m glad you called. Are you ready for a sleepover?” Daisy flopped down on my bed; she was smiling from cheek to cheek. Daisy could always make me crack a smile or laugh, no matter what mood I was in. She was fun, and Sarah was cool and a good listener, and I needed lots of both.
“Yeah, I don’t know about Daisy, but I couldn’t sleep last night either, Drea,” Sarah said, brushing a lock of hair out of her face with her right index finger.
Sarah and Daisy are supportive and wonderful to be around. I’m lucky to have true friends like them.
“The nightmares have gotten worse.” I sighed heavily, feeling a little depressed.
“Andrea, it’s going to be all right. Daisy and I are here for you.” Sarah’s words sounded so comforting, and it is what I needed to hear the most. “We’ll have a glass of warm milk and listen to music that sounds like nature at night. It will relax you and you’ll sleep like a baby.”
“Right, no more nightmares,” Dais agreed with Sarah. Sarah often tried this remedy when she could not sleep well herself.
Besides that, Daisy had become comfortable on my day bed. The mattress is a Serta, and it’s very soft and relaxing. Daisy almost seemed as if she was snuggling against one of the pillows used to decorate the day bed. The bedspread is designed with my favorite colors – purple and beige – and it’s made of ruffle. I love ruffles, especially the kind in Gone with the Wind.
“Let’s talk about something else besides falling asleep or having nightmares,” Sarah started up. She finally took a seat at my vanity set and I eased down onto the foot of my bed. I was tired of standing.
“Okay, let’s talk,” I said nicely.
I was starting to feel safe since Sarah and Daisy were there inside my bedroom with me. I feared less the monster of death from my nightmares, and I knew it wasn’t real, but just the thought of the thing gave me the creeps.
“Let’s discuss vampires some more,” Sarah mentioned and the room became completely silent for a moment.
After the silence passed, I spoke up. “Vampires? You need to be worried about the Argent spider, Sarah! My gosh, they are so damn controlling!” I nearly panicked. “The Argent spider’s are worse than the monster in my nightmares. Argent spider’s are going to use every human in Baron’s Hollowpoint as baby breeders to grow their spider empire!” I had caught on to the Argent spider sneaky and dirty plan quickly. “Once they’ve succeeded, they won’t stop, and they will never go away! Argent spider’s will rule Baron’s Hollowpoint and its people, and your concern
