The Attack by William Bryden (you can read anyone txt) 📕

you anything.”
The others and I laughed as the smile on Jeremy’s face disappeared and turned into anger.
“Just a joke. Here you go.” I handed him a package that he opened quickly. It was a roll of 100-dollar bills worth $10,000. “You’ve been a great friend.” I sat there and saw him jumping around like his butt had been bitten by a wiener dog that wouldn’t let go. I heard everyone gasp and jump up yelling lucky at Jeremy. I then patted Jeremy on the back.
“Stay in touch.”
“Will do!” Promised Jeremy.
I walked off and never saw any of them ever again. I found Artemis over by the punch bowl flirting with some of those girls that came to my window every day. So I just waited for the girls to leave, but as usual they saw me and ran over to me.
“Wow! You look bigger up close.”
Again the blonde one had said something first.
“Do you know how to drown a blonde?” I asked.
“No, how?” She asked intently.
“Glue a mirror to the bottom of a pool.”
“Would you be in the pool with that speedo on?” She asked densely.
“No way.”
“Awww… I still don’t get it.”
I walked away thinking about how dense people could get. I thought everyone knew that joke anyway. Maybe it hadn’t reached the UK yet. I kept walking trying to avoid the girls but they kept following, so I played a trick on them. I walked into the boys’ bathroom in the hallway that ran the perimeter of the courtyard. I knew the girls would wait for me outside. The bathroom I had walked into had two exits. I just walked out of the other door and came around the hall corner slowly, and peeked around. I saw the girls waiting on tiptoe for me to come out. I slowly tiptoed across the hall and opened the door leading out to the courtyard. I looked behind me as I slipped out and saw them still waiting in front of the door.
I started running for my dorm once I was outside. I was sick of the party and those three girls. I wanted to get away from them as far as possible. I reached the door and yanked it open. I ran towards the stairs and dashed up them as fast as I could. I ran up to the second floor and started walking down the hallway. I was far enough away from the girls that I was safe. I slowly trudged out of breath to my dorm at the end of the hallway a couple more times without success and finally looked up at the dorm number. I was on the completely wrong side of the building!
I sighed and walked down the hall and back down the stairs. I walked cautiously looking around for those girls but I spotted them still in front of the bathroom door not as anxious anymore. I bet they would eventually go in and find that I had ditched them. I was in the opposite building of the one I had been in and I walked up the stairs again. I slumped down while walking towards my dorm and then stuck the key in the lock and turned. The door opened slowly and I walked in and fell on the bed. I was out in a matter of seconds.

* * *

I woke up to find that it was 2:30 a.m. Artemis was back and snoring as usual. I tried to fall back asleep but I couldn’t so I got up and decided to go for a little walk. I didn’t need to dress because I had fallen asleep in my clothes so I took my key and walked out the door. I walked down the hall and down the stairs. I walked out into the courtyard where nobody was anymore and all the party decorations were already stored away. I walked toward the gazebo and sat on the bench. It was so… peaceful. The flowers swayed in the wind, the leaves rustled, and I could smell the scent of honeysuckle, but last time I remembered, trees didn’t move. My hair rose and my heart sped up with an adrenaline rush flowing through my veins. I slowly stood and looked around myself to see if there was anything still there.
I saw something move again in the corner of my eye and I turned as quickly as a cat to face the figure. He stood there about three inches above the ground just floating in mid air. The figure had a pitch-black cloak with the hood up hiding its face. I saw two red slits that appeared to be his eyes. There was an outline of a very bony face as if he had no skin or muscle. There was mist starting to spread all around us that seems to try to choke all the life out of everything it came near. I heard a very hoarse, evil chuckle as he floated closer to me.
He laughed more and raised the dagger over his head with both hands. “Die so called savior of humanity!” he screamed as he burst into flames. I saw a skeleton with red fire eyes and the ashes of his cloak around him. He began to bring the dagger down, and I invited the inevitable and shut my eyes tight. I waited a few seconds and felt a heat wave pass over me, but no pain. I opened my eyes just a slit and saw the skeleton stagger back and run away.
I looked behind me to find another figure with a futuristic looking gun. He was pointing it at the figure and shot once, twice, three times. One of the shots hit the skeletal figure and he fell over in a loud roar and shimmered away as if he had never existed. I turned and inspected the figure that had shot the skeleton and tried to decipher who it was but I couldn’t tell by where I was standing. I ran closer to him but a huge light that opened up in front of him blinded me. I looked up and found him looking back at me. He gave me a casual two-fingered salute and stepped through the blinding light.
The light disappeared immediately and I stared in awe at the place where the light had been. I slowly unshielded my eyes and walked toward where the figure had stood. Had he really been… me? I stood there dumbfounded. I looked around and noticed that he had dropped something. It was a golden bead that looked like it was useless. I picked it up and studied it.
It was perfectly round and only the size of the tip of my thumb. It weighed pretty heavy for its size. I guessed it was about two pounds. I put it in my pocket and decided to keep it, but I was hit in the head violently and fell to the ground with everything fading slowly to black. I fought to stay conscious, but in the end gave up and let the blackness engulf me.

* * *

It had just been a dream. I woke up with sweat on my brow and my chest rising and falling at a rapid pace as I hyperventilated. Wow… I thought. That was the weirdest dream ever. Was it real or… I slowly felt my pocket for the golden bead but it wasn’t there. Oh... That’s a shame… I guess I’d better get up. Is Artemis back yet?
I turned over on my side and looked across the room and was answered with Artemis’ loud snoring. He was still dressed in his regular clothes like me. He must have drank too much punch and crashed or something.
I got up and off the bed and stood up stretching my stiff legs. I looked over to the end table and noticed that the golden bead was sitting there next to my alarm clock. I took it and looked it over again to make sure it was real. It was. It was shining in the moonlight. I wondered how much it was worth. I looked around to see if there was anything else to tell that my dream was actually reality but there wasn’t.
I put the bead in my pocket, and looked at the clock. It was 5:30 a.m. Was it really reality, or was it just a bad dream and I had a coincidental golden bead on my end table? That was what I would call a stupid question. I decided to go take a nice hot shower.
Once I was done I needed to brush my teeth, but being the forgetful person I am, I had thrown away the toothbrush last night while not thinking about the next morning. I hoped the day would only get better from there.
I walked over to Artemis.
“Hey! Get up sleepy head! Our flight leaves in two hours!”
He grumbled a bit and whacked me with his pillow. I took the other pillow and whacked him.
“Come on. Get up!” I whacked him a few more times.
“Ok! Ok! I’m up! Stop hitting me!” He said stubbornly.
He walked slowly into the bathroom and I heard the shower come on.
I took the bead out of my pocket and looked it over. It still served no purpose.
There was nothing extraordinary about the bead except that it was nearly pure gold. There was a little slit of silver going down one side of it. I traced my finger down the sliver slit but it did nothing. So much for a gold bead. It probably wasn’t worth much anyway so I threw it in the trashcan. It immediately incinerated everything in the trashcan. The fire burned bright, but then died immediately.
I looked inside the sizzling trashcan. Through the ashes I could see the golden bead glowing brightly. I dared to touch it and found that it was icy cold. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. I could feel the cold touch of the bead through my pocket. So the bead was a weapon? A sort of fire starter? How was the bead so cold from just being in a fire inside of a trashcan? I looked over at the trashcan again and it was still steaming.
Artemis must have finished his shower and dressed because he came out of the bathroom and saw me staring at the trashcan.
“What happened to the trashcan? Did you light it on fire?”
“No,” I said. “It uh…”
“Don’t explain. I don’t care. I just wish I were around to see it.”
I looked at Artemis and back at the trashcan. There was a black ring of ashes all around the trashcan.
“The cleaners are not going to like that,” said Artemis.
“Gee? Really?” I rounded on him.
“Yeah. Really.”
“It’s called sarcasm Artemis.”
“I know.”
“Artemis, sometimes I wonder about you.”
“Well I wonder about you lighting our trashcan on fire.”
“Whatever.”
I walked over and sat on the bed to relax. It was going to be