Laughter

You wake up startled, gasping for air, as you recover from a nightmare. It's the same nightmare that has been repeating itself for weeks now. Every night, you helplessly watch as the same damn scene unfolds right before your eyes. There are children running around in a playground, as a little girl climbs across the monkey bars. You get that nauseating feeling that something is about to happen, but you don't know what. You try yelling for the girl to warn her, but the only thing that escapes from your throat is air. Now that you realize it's too late, you attempt to block your eyes as the girl falls, causing a sickening crack to ring throughout your head. You look helplessly at her limp body, along with the rest of the kids who were laughing just a few minutes ago. That's when you wake up in a cold sweat, realizing that it was just the same nightmare again. You haven't gotten any used to it by now, and you don't think you ever will. Still in your sleepy daze, you look towards the bright green digital numbers staring back at you. It's now 1:30 in the morning, same as last time. At this point, you have given up all hope of going back to sleep, and you head downstairs to get a glass of water. You realize that you have work in the morning. About a week ago, you started helping tear down an old school that hasn't been used since the 60's. Strangly enough, that's when the nightmare started. 'Great,' you say between sips, 'How am I going to function properly with only four hours of sleep?' Later that morning, you arrive at the school. Obvious signs of age were shown throughout the building, such as rusting pipes, plants growing up the walls, chipping paint, and the fine sheet of dust that coated every surface within the area. 'What the hell happened to this place?' You say as you walk through the front doors. 'Mess isn't it?' Said Mike, standing at the top of a step ladder. He seemed to be taking down some of the ceiling. The echoes of drills and nail guns rang throughout the building, with the occasional whirr of a power saw. 'So, uh, what do I got to do today?' You ask. 'Well,' said Mike, not sparing any attention from his work, 'You can start by tearing up the floor boards in the gymnasium. After that, we're gonna need your help in dismantling the chalkboards in the classrooms.' You nod, and with that he hands you a hammer and a pry bar. As you enter the gym, the sounds of the door opening and slamming shut reverberated around the walls. It's silent. From here, all the noises of power tools couldn't be heard. It's a big school, and you're on a completely opposite wing than them. You find a corner in the gym, where you decided you will start, and you begin the challenging task of prying and ripping up wooden boards. About halfway in, you notice something odd. It felt as though you were being watched, as if someone's glare was drilling into your skin. In an attempt to uplift the uneasy feeling you call out, 'Yeah, Mike?' No answer. Of course, you expected that there wouldn't be an answer, but you had hoped that there was a reason for that feeling. You quickly shake it off and continue working. Since you started working here, nothing has ever seemed out of place, or weird. You came to the conclusion that it was just the silence that made you feel uneasy, so you decide to start listening to music while you work. But then, like before, you got that feeling that someone was watching you. Even your music didn't seem right. It sounded as if there was this faint background noise mixed in with the singing, but you couldn't put your finger on it. You hastily rip one headphone out of your ear to see if someone was trying to call you or something. You find out that the background noise was laughter, and it definitely wasn't coming from the headphones. 'Hello?' You call out as you shove the headphones into your pant pocket, 'Who's there?' The laughter quickly fainted, as if a group of giggling children ran further into the recesses of the building. 'There's kids in here?' You say to yourself. You pull the pry bar out from underneath a boar