Emma rushed around her room trying to find the perfect outfit to wear for her first day as a senior. There was something in the back of her mind that was bothering her yet she couldn't figure out what it was. Emma just pushed the thought aside and focused on the day ahead. She tried on outfit after outfit and finally decided that she liked her green dress the best. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Her long auburn hair cascaded down her back and ended just before the bottom of her rib cage. The strapless light green dress that ended at her knees fit her petite body perfectly and brought out the icy blue color in her otherwise dark green eyes. She strapped on her sandals, grabbed her brown purse and hurried off down the stairs. Emma had decided that she was going to get breakfast at the little coffee shop on the way to school. She pushed her front door open and the blinding light of the morning sun was a welcome sight.
Emma woke with a start, a cold sweat had formed along her brow. She could feel nothing but a cold damp floor beneath her and see nothing but pitch black all around her. The sickening smell of rotting flesh overwhelmed her and she started to heave. As Emma’s senses started to adjust she could just make out the faint outline of an old couch, but saw nothing else in the room. Emma heard agonizing screeching that sounded almost demonic as she sat up on her knees. She clasped her hands over her ears and clenched her teeth. The screeching stopped and Emma felt a sharp pain on the back of her head. She reached to the back of her head and felt something prick her finger. Emma pulled out the thing that had pricked her and found that it was the edge of a needle that had broken off a syringe. She scrambled up to her feet, her heart pounding out of her chest. She looked around frantically for a way out. To Emma’s demise there were no windows and all the doors led her into a different array of seemingly endless hallways. She decided to walk through the door that lay in front of her. As she passed through the threshold she found herself already lost in a maze of halls, all turning in different directions. Emma wandered aimlessly through the unfamiliar passageways.

Emma didn't know how she had gotten into this hell of a house. She remembered talking to an old woman outside of her house. The old woman had purple eyes with teeth as sharp as daggers. Her smile could give a child nightmares until they were forty. Emma herself was petrified at the sight of the woman. The old woman had asked if she could have some sugar but Emma lied and said that she was already running late for her first day of her senior year. Then she ran off, leaving the old woman staring after her. The last thing Emma remembers was a sharp pain on the back of her head then everything had gone black.

Turn after turn she went down the limitless hallways. The bare walls and floors made her increasingly more panic-struck. Emma guessed that she had been in the cold dark house for days because she was starving and weak and could feel her body eating away at her muscle. She knew she should be conserving her energy in case she really needed it, yet something seemed to be drawing her further down the various halls. Emma couldn't help but feel as if she had seen all this before somewhere, she just couldn't figure out where. She took a final turn and saw light creeping its way out from underneath a large wooden door. As she stared at the door the demonic wailing continued even louder. A scream escaped Emma’s lips and she fell down onto her knees. Her scream merged with the others wailing from behind the door creating a ghastly chorus. Tears welled up in her eyes as the sound pierced her eardrums. The wailing stopped and Emma lifted her head up to see that the door was slowly creaking open.

Emma struggled back up to her feet with panic quickly building.. Her heart hammered inside her chest so loud she was sure it could be heard throughout the house. All her senses screamed for her to turn around and run back to the room she had awoken in. Yet again something was pulling her toward the room. Emma took slow cautious steps forward, inching her way toward the door and whatever lay beyond. She finally reached the door and put a hand on the hard rough wood. Emma took a ragged breath and pushed the door open just enough for her to step through.

The white walls were all splattered with blood and she saw bloody knives all along the far wall. Other than that the room was spotless. The black and white checkered floors were polished to the point where you could eat off them. A table stood in the center of the room with a body on top of it. As Emma looked around she realized where she had seen all of this before. Everything she had experienced and seen in the house had all been in her dream from the previous night. As the realization dawned on her the person on the table slowly stood up and giant dirt stained feather wings outstretched from its back.
The creature that stood before her had charred white skin. Its eyes were solid white with black veins surrounding each one and its face was very gaunt. The creatures hair was as dark as a ravens feathers and was mussed up with blue feathers woven into it. Its hands ended in jagged claws and its feet turned into bird talons.
As if reading her mind the creatures mouth twitched up into a wicked grin as it snarled, “Dreams really do come true.”
Emma’s dream came flashing back and she remember that this was when she died. In her dream the creature had come running toward her with outstretched claws that raked down over her. Just like in her dream the creature came rushing toward her. Emma tried to move but she found herself paralyzed by fear. No, She thought to herself, I won’t let myself die like this. Emma sidestepped right before the creature was able to strike her. She felt the air move by her face as the claws whizzed past. The creature went tumbling past her. Emma quickly regained her footing and bolted to the far wall with all the knives. She grabbed two knives off the wall and turned around, just in time to see the creature running toward her once again. She waited till the creature was ten strides away from her then she fell on her back with her feet against the wall. She kicked off the wall and went sliding across the tile flooring. As Emma skimmed through the creature's legs she slashed at its achilles heel with each knife. The creature went crashing down behind her.
Emma pushed herself up off the floor and walked over to the creature. She put her foot across the creatures neck and as it thrashed and struggled Emma said, “The thing about dreams is, you control your own.”