A slight movement in my peripheral vision caught my eye, causing me to glance behind myself. What I saw filled me with surprise. My jaw fell slack and my limbs were lead. Savanna sat serenely in the corner, gazing off into the distance with a peaceful smile. My eyes were glued to her, entranced by her fiery red hair that cascaded around her shoulders. The tilt of her head that seemed to question the world around her screamed familiarity. Slowly I watched the light in her eyes die, bright embers being stomped out. Fear filled her crystal green eyes and a cold shiver ran down my back, dousing me with the same shock that held her paralysed. She was looking at me with a mixture of terror and disgust. Under her cold stare I shrunk. I had and would never hurt a hair on her head yet I felt like a criminal. Bewildered, I discovered that her piecing glare was not centered on me, but right behind me. Her mouth stretched in a grotesque way and emitted a shrill scream that echoed through the room. I went toward to comfort her yet she looked right though me. I covered my ears as it grew louder and intensified. Looking behind me, I saw another figure that walked toward her. He was a brute, strong and intimidating. He towered over her and kicked her violently. Instantly I shouted and tried to attack the stranger. I flew right through both of them. Unable to touch either. Horrified I watched him kick and whip her. Again and again he struck the girl I called my best friend as blood steamed down her face. Legs bruised and bloodied, her body shook at the torment. I covered my ears as the screaming intensified. She cradled herself, flinching with every lash, cringing at the man's yelling. Beautiful red curls turned damp and matted with blood. It wouldn't stop, and I begged she would be knocked out, dead, anything for her pain to end. My gut wrenched and I curled in the opposite corner, hiding my face and sobbing uncontrollably. "This isn't real" chorused through my head. The words a matching band that drummed as a headache, louder than her pitiful cries. The harder I tried to plug my ears, the louder I could hear her pleas for help. Rocking back and forth, her ringing screams dismissed me into a restless sleep.
