Restless Nightmare- a Hermitcraft Murder Mystery

Chapter 41

By now, Stress had fallen asleep still by the shore. The waves of the ocean were balanced, meaning no water could reach the spot she was.

Time flew, with every hour the sky darkening until it was almost pitch black. The ocean water was calm and collected. The atmosphere wasn't as windy as expected, instead it was quite breezy. Cool, light breezes covered the air.

Hermitcraft was quiet as could be. Not a surprise, considering the fact that it was two in the morning, almost about to hit three.

As per usual, almost everyone was asleep at this hour. Meaning it was quiet outside. Rustling of leaves, wind breezing, and the cricket noises were exceptions.

It had turned three by the time Stress had been woken up. Not by an ocean wave as she assumed, but an empty plastic bag flying into her face. She sat up and looked around in confusion as to her surroundings, then remembered her decision to sleep by the seashore. Based on the colour of the sky, it was obvious it was late at night. She stretched and groaned, frustrated she awoke in the middle of the night.

Stress rolled over and shut her eyes, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep before the sun rose. Maybe an hour if she was lucky enough.

After what seemed like an eternity, Stress gave up. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep once she woke up, it was close to impossible. She stumbled onto her feet and brushed the sand off her clothes and reached to grab her sweater.

"What should I do now?"

Stress thought, shoving her hand in her pockets.

"Everyone's asleep."

She sighed, glancing at her surroundings. The area was dark, the only things keeping it seeable were a couple of light posts lined up at the end of the main path.

Stress began strolling through the shopping district. It was quite eerie at night, giving off a liminal space vibe. Like the feeling of visiting your school at night, it feels odd. What was always loud and busy was now empty, silent, and dark. Nobody was around, it being the middle of the night.

Stress was exhausted, yet she couldn't sleep. She kept walking through the shopping district with no clear destination until she decided to settle down on a bench next to her own potion shop.

Her eyes were droopy, it being night and she had barely slept. Stress finally let them close and slid further down the bench.

"Stress? Whatcha doing out here?"

A voice startled her. She sprang up from her seat in panic. She scanned the area and spotted a certain someone leaning against a wall, giving her a concerned look.

"Joe?!"

"Yeah, that's me." He chuckled.

"What are you doing out at this hour?!" Stress shouted, a bit more irritated than Joe thought she would be.

"I could ask you the same." He shrugged, reaching into his pocket to check the time. "It's literally three in the morning, what's up?"

Stress sighed. There was no point in telling him. She was just overthinking the whole thing, right? Her dream that felt so real, was just a dream, that felt so real. A realistic dream? It was too realistic, so how could that work? She remembered the most precise details from it, and literally every event from it. Could have it really just been a dream all along, nothing to worry about?

The thought of it coming true bothered Stress. Maybe it was to worry about. Maybe False and Bdubs would plan another camping trip soon, and the same things would happen. It was unlikely, being the first time something like this had ever happened to her. It couldn't have been a warning now, could've it?