Theresa tossed and turned in her dorm room. She'd been drifting in and out of sleep ever since she'd gone to bed. Groaning into her pillow, her hand brushed over the items on her bedside table in search of her phone. 02:07. She blew an irritated breath; knowing herself, she was probably going to fall asleep half way through her morning lecture. She rolled onto her back and stared helplessly at the ceiling.
Her body was exhausted but at the same time wide awake. She felt the beginning of a headache developing behind her eyes and she hoped it would not develop into a full blown migraine. But her eyes were irritated from exhaustion and when she rubbed them dots clouded her vision instantly and her headache worsened. With dim moonlight coming in through a partially opened curtain, Theresa could just make out the shape of her bottle of sleeping tablets. Flinging her covers to the side, she grabbed the bottle and her phone, and half stumbled to her door. Maybe stretching her legs would do the trick.
Quietly, she stepped into the passage and padded over to the communal bathroom at the end. She caught a glimpse of the big, pale crescent moon in the large window at the end of the passage and felt a strange sensation creep over her body. Shaking the ridiculous feeling from her mind, she stepped into the dark bathroom and felt around on the wall before flicking the light switch on. A soft buzz of electricity filled the room as the fluorescent lights came on.The tap creaked a little as Theresa let out the cold water. The pills rattled as she unscrewed the cap reminding her of how crappy the last few weeks had been and how she'd have to refill it soon. She eyed the yellow oval wearily, they were supposedly one of the best on the market but she still wasn't getting any sleep. Popping it into her mouth, she watched her face scrunch up in the mirror as she forced down the bitter tablet. A few gulps of water barely washed the bitter aftertaste away.
Theresa closed the tap and run her wet hands over her face before looking back into the mirror. The bags beneath her eyes were getting harder to hide. She gave a humourless snort as soon as the thought came into her mind. Her looks were the least of her worries. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was happening again.
She gripped the sink to steady herself and screwed her eyes shut. Please, not now. Not now. Not now. She took deep calming breathes and willed herself to calm down. Sometimes freaking out made the experience worse than it already was. Pushing off of the sink, she grabbed her phone and bottle of pills from its side and went to turn off the lights. Just as she was about to go back to her room, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw another girl standing in the hallway.The other girl had her back to Theresa and for some reason, Theresa felt the need to stay hidden. There was a glowing around her and Theresa realised she was on her phone. She looked to be around Theresa's 5'2" frame and had long dark curly hair. Confusion crinkled Theresa's forehead. The girl seemed familiar but Theresa was sure she didn't have a room in that wing of the house.
As if sensing someone else's presence the girl turned around but Theresa had already moved back just in time. She held her breath and the girl suddenly spoke."Hey," Theresa froze. The girl continued, "I just wanted to tell you that I love you. If you're listening to this, then it means-" She stopped probably to get rid of the shakiness in her voice.
Whatever she said next was lost to Theresa as a mild wave of nausea hit her unexpectedly. Oh, no. She fell to her knees as a sharp pain shot through her spine causing pain to erupt in her head. She gritted her teeth, barely able to stop from crying out. She didn't need anyone to see her like that. The room started swaying in her vision and she screwed her eyes shut.
Only a handful of people were aware of the episodes that had plagued Theresa since her childhood. And one of them was dead. There were no visions. No mysterious voices whispering the secrets of the universe into her ear at night. Just a feeling- a warning. Sometimes she'd go years without it and other times she'd spend days trying to escape it. She never knew how long or how bad it would be. This time, however, she considered herself lucky.
A few feet away, Theresa could make out the shuffling of retreating footsteps. The girl's voice floated around her mind. Although muffled by the ringing in her ears, Theresa remembered the sadness in the familiar sounding voice. She managed to push herself up into a sitting position as the pain started to fade away.
... If you're listening to this, then it means- ... I love you ... I just wanted to tell you ...
Grabbing her phone from the floor, Theresa gripped the doorframe with all her might and forced herself up. She stumbled into the empty passage and used the wall as support to inch forward. Something terrible was going to happen to that girl, she just knew it. I have to find her. Her body tingled uncomfortably but the pain and nausea had almost completely disappeared. She was on the right track.
Rapidly regaining her strength, Theresa lumbered along in an attempt to catch up to the girl before it was too late. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs a few moments later, she found the entrance hall empty and for a moment considered going back to bed but the pounding in the back of her head told her a different story. She groaned internally. Was she really going to do this? Yes, her body seemed to say as she bolted to the service entrance.