Angel Wings

Chapter 7

Izzy fell asleep early that night but wished she hadn't. For the first time in a while, she had a nightmare.

Normally, dreams come and go, disappearing into thin air to be forgotten forever. Mixtures of the last thoughts before sleep combine with worries and the two react together in a colourful explosion to form obscure, unintelligible images.

Only in the unconscious world, the senseless makes sense. That's why dreams can't be remembered.

But, as Izzy sat in bed with a cold bead of sweat on her forehead, the adrenalin she felt – and the visions that came with it, didn't go away.

The dream had started off okay; she had been sitting with Will on the bench in the middle of the park and they had both been eating ice creams. He had a strawberry cornetto, his favourite, and Izzy was holding a screwball. It must have been during summer because he was wearing a light blue t shirt and the playpark behind him was filled with children.

Will had smiled at Izzy from behind the cone and she had done the same back. The dream drifted along for what felt like several minutes as the pair sat together beneath the sun.

Unfortunately for Izzy, it didn't last.

She opened her mouth to speak, what she was going to say she didn't remember now, and Will had opened his eyes in shock. He had laughed nervously and had paused abruptly in a frozen motion. Izzy had leant forwards and put her hand on his knee to check on him only to recoil it a second later. A horrible coldness had shot through her arm. Will didn't react.

The sky above began to turn grey at the edges of her vision and Izzy tapped Will's shoes with a swift kick of her leg. He was scaring her. He still didn't move.

Behind him, the sounds of the children grew louder – a discordant cacophony setting the scene for what was to come.

"Will?" Izzy had asked clearly and had been surprised at how loud her voice sounded. It was as if she were speaking in real life.

"Will!" She repeated urgently. Her stomach churned.

At once, his head snapped up to look at her, only it was not his head. He still had the outline of his face and the basic features that Izzy knew like the back of her hand, but they had been tainted by something else.

His pale lips had been stretched across his cheeks from ear to ear and the incision was tinged black; black like poison. His eyes showed only the whites and dark veins appeared underneath his lashes as if rot were spreading through his system.

The same feeling that Izzy had felt in the car returned and she found herself yet again unable to move. A torrent of cries rushed through her head but her mouth refused to open – all she could do was watch.

"Isabella." A voice. It came out of his mouth, although his lips didn't move.

Something rang in Izzy's ears.

The creature, no longer Will, began to rise. He stood up tall and Izzy shrunk back, her shoulders rising defensively.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, unable to breathe.

The voice spoke again; an awful hissing sound like a serpent. "I've been watching you."

It outstretched its arm and Izzy shivered.

"What do you want from me?" She tried to look it in the eyes but a wall of fear forced her to look at the ground instead.

The creature didn't respond but let out a low growl. Izzy felt herself shaking and swallowed a large ball of anxiety.