Out of the Darkness

152

The deeper the kiss got, the longer it lasted, making everything else unimportant. When she finally pulled back, we were both breathing heavily. "I'll never disappear in here. You'll always be able to touch me," she whispered, taking my hand in hers. She drew it to her chest, then pressed it against the exposed skin over her heart. "I'll always be alive. No one can take me from you. No one can take you from me. It'll be just us." It sounded heavenly, and I wanted nothing more than for this dream to be a reality, as I stared into her glowing emerald eyes. "No one can break us apart," she continued. "Not Addy, or Tara. Not Sam or Kat. No one. Just us, always." Hearing Sam's name brought my clouded mind back to reality. "Sam?" I repeated, trying to picture him in my mind. It was hard, like a memory that just didn't want to resurface. He was my best friend, right? Why couldn't I remember what he looked like? Or any of the times that we spent together? That just wasn't possible! I couldn't lose that! I liked it here, in this space with Anna. I really did. I enjoyed not being in pain, or having to deal with the threat of dying. But, without Sam? I couldn't do that. Just then, his image broke through the clouds. His blue eyes were shining with laughter, his lips curled up in a small grin. He ran his hand through his blonde hair, and shook his head. That was my brother. I couldn't leave him. Couldn't be without him. "You don't need him," I heard Anna say sternly, placing her fingers on my chin. She pulled my head down, so that I would meet her gaze again. "He's trying to take you from me. To keep us apart. He doesn't love you. Not like I do." "That's not true," I said, my voice low and shaky. I didn't like this dream anymore. I wanted to wake up. "But it is," she replied, before she started to laugh. Her hands gripped my upper arms, and started to tighten until it was painful. "Anna, stop," I said, trying to break out of her grasp. "I want to wake up now." I watched as her emerald eyes turned black, and her face and body started to change. It was a horrible, grotesque thing to watch. Her joints popped in and out of place, her limbs elongating, until they belonged to someone completely different. Her raven hair faded and brightened until a shorter blond style was revealed, so bright that it almost blinded me. Her eyes rolled back, as her face started to distort and stretch until it wasn't her anymore. "Lilith," I murmured, unable to take my eyes off of her. When she was finished morphing, and every little detail was in place, only then did she meet my gaze again. "Correct," she purred, draping her arms around my neck again. I felt dirty and unclean, just from her touch. I wanted to pull away, to get as far away from her as I could but... I couldn't. I started to dance again, my hands on her waist, having no real control over my own actions. "What are you doing to me?" I asked, my voice shaky. Fear ridden anxiety crawled it's way up my throat, threatening to cut off my air. She wound her fingers into my hair, and pulled, just hard enough to make it sting. "Why, I'm not doing anything to do, love. Only showing you what you could have. You tried to take my prize possession. I could've and should've killed you for that. Instead, from the goodness of my heart, I'm allowing  you the chance to be together. You could be happy here, with her," she purred, while letting her fingers play in my hair. We waltz around the spacious room, then I twirled her away from me, pulled her back, then dipped her. "Are you controlling me or my dream?" I asked, as I pulled her back up to face me. "Both," she replied, with a seductive grin. While she was beautiful, that smile only made my skin crawl. I could feel the evil coming off of her, just like I could see it in her eyes. There's no way that I would've thought that she was really Anna. Not if she weren't in my head. "Does it matter? I'm still only showing you what could be." Her eyes started to burn into my own, so I clamped them shut and shook my head. My feet kept moving though, just as my hands kept their grip on her waist. "Don't you love me, Colby? I only wanted to be with you." I heard Anna's voice, clear as day, but now I knew that it wasn't her. It was only Lilith playing with my head, and my emotions. "You're not her," I spat out, grinding my teeth. I let the anger flood my system, not bothering to hold it back. "YOU'RE NOT HEEERRR!" I screamed. My feet stopped moving, and she fell into me. My eyes popped open, and I shoved against her with everything that I had. My anger had helped me break free from her control, but I wasn't sure how long it would last. I needed to get out of here. I didn't bother to look and see where she landed, or what she looked like. I knew that it was all a lie. I glanced around the room, to see if there was anything, anything at all, that might help me wake up. "She hurts me, Colby. Why haven't you helped me yet?" Anna's voice, pleading with me, had me looking back at her. Anna stood there, in her normal jean jacket and flowy white skirt, tears streaming down from her beautiful green eyes. "You're not her," I said again, feeling the anger that I had only moments before start to ebb away. "Please," she begged. "She hurts me so badly. I can't take it anymore. You promised that you would help me, Colby! Why haven't you?!" She broke down crying and hid her face from me, but I was still able to see her shoulders shake with each sob. "It's not her," I told myself, feeling less confident than I had earlier. "It's not real." I tore my eyes away from the sobbing Anna, and ran to the door that I had just noticed. I pushed through it, and found myself in a very old fashioned kitchen. I froze for a second, taking in my surroundings. Then I heard Anna scream. It was filled with so much pain, I almost ran back to her, to help her somehow.