Excerpt: Confessions of a Nyctophobe

CHAPTER ONE

“You do not have my vote for favorite person of the day!” I screeched, as I elbowed Ryan in the chest, violently using my elbows in attempt to free myself from his and Patrick's attempts to shove me into the closet.
They laughed at me. Actually laughed at me. I couldn't believe it.
“Seriously guys! Don't put me in there!” I yelled.
“You lost the game, fair and square!” Ryan grunted back, still annoyed about that whole elbowing thing. Honestly—that was a whole two seconds ago!
“Seriously, don't!” I said. I was almost beginning to cry, now.
“What, are you scared of the dark? Don't be such a baby!”
“Yes, I am! Kessa! Shannon! Don't let them do it!”
The more imminent the punishment became, the harder I struggled, and my cheeks turned red with anger. My breathing became a labored pant, and I'm sure I didn't look too pretty.
“Holy crap, Ryan, why don't you cut it out? Look at her—she's totally freaking out!” Shannon said, tugging on Ryan's arm.
Ryan scowled at Shannon. “It'll only be for, like, thirty seconds!”
With that, the two muscular boys finally succeeded in shoving me into the closet and closing the door.
My world went dark to match the color inside that closet. I could feel the familiar stifling, strangling fear creeping over me. All I could hear was my heart pounding a mile a minute, throbbing like a deafening bass drum. The fear coursing through my system created a roaring in my ears, and my eyes were wide, but blind in the darkness. I could hear myself breathing, but suddenly, it sounded very far away, and each breath seemed to happen in slow motion.
No. I shook myself a little and fought against the fear, trying to steady my breathing. No. I can do this. It's not normal for me to . . . I can do this. A fresh determination bloomed in my chest.
Straining harder than I ever had before, I took a step forward in the pitch-dark room, every muscle in my body uncomfortably tense, the sweat dripping off my forehead. The painful terror lessened a little, and my determination grew. I took another step forward, toward the light switch, my breathing growing easier still. My body, my mind both still wanted to panic, but I refused to give in.
“No,” I said out loud, liking the sound of my determined voice. “No, I can do this.”
My palms cried in pain—I'd been digging my nails in. My voice was shaking almost as much as my knees and hands, but I took another step forward. The fear that was generally debilitating lessened dramatically, and almost left me. Adrenaline pumping through my veins hot and fast, I took yet another step forward.
That's when it happened.
What it was, I can't exactly say, but I can try to describe it.
A shiver, a tingle, a shock seemed to blossom in every cell of my body, beginning with my toes and working upward. It made me feel like I was vibrating. But it didn't feel good—it felt out of control. Like I was riding a skateboard down a bumpy hill, my toes and feet and knees eventually growing numb, until I knew it was sheer luck keeping me from crashing and sprawling all over the pavement.
For some reason I can't explain, I loved it.
The basement bedroom next door suddenly popped into my mind, and I felt another vibrating wave pass through me. A second later, my feet felt different. I lifted one experimentally.
Instead of the hard concrete of the storage room, I felt soft carpet under my foot.
Now that's strange . . . I thought.
“Brooke!” I heard Kessa shout. “Brooke, where are you?”
I blinked twice. I was still in darkness, but I looked around me and saw a strip of light under the door. With a sudden, mysterious feeling of calmness, walked over to open it.
“I'm right here,” I heard myself say, feeling very composed.
My friends all just stared at me. Looking around me, I discovered why. It was because I wasn't in the storage room anymore. I was in the basement bedroom.