Violet

23| Those games

That night I dream in red.

I am running through the sunflower field again, except instead of yellow petals, they are red, as is the sky above us. I am not alone this time. I am with Emmett. He runs beside me, holding my hand. I like this, but we do not run for the fun of it. We run in fear. Red painted words, phrases and objects flow behind us in a raging wave about to crash down and swallow us whole. Occasionally I turn to look at him beside me, his face contorted in a grimace from running so long, then he turns to look at me, then down to our hands. The sunflower stalks get taller and thicker until they reach over our heads like enormous tree trunks. The touch of Emmett's grasp on my hand loosens and I see him let go, I see him dive onto the ground, the wave crashing over him. Killing him.

"S-" I attempt to say his name, but the rest is muffled.

I let out a scream, or try to because again, nothing comes out. I stop and turn around. I cannot spot Emmett anywhere, but I am now met with a red colossal-sized wave swiftly approaching me, as large as three castles placed on top of each other. It has taken Emmett, and I do not want to continue without him. I am tired of running and escaping. I am exhausted.

So, this was the thing that was supposed to kill us in the end.

Even though my heart is beating right out of my chest, I just stand as the giant wave approaches me, hanging right above.

Then I hold my breath.

I cannot hear anything, but I do feel everything. A sharp pain in my back as I get knocked down, my head flinging back from the force of the water as I become engulfed in it, pushing me to the ground, heavily suffocating me.

I feel like I am dying, there is no other way to describe it.

"Violet!"

Someone is calling me. Not even by my real name. But I am too tired. I have failed this mission. I have lost Emmett; I have lost everything. I do not respond.

"Violet?"

I jerk awake, my heart beating fiercely inside.

"Violet."

Someone is shaking my shoulder. I sit up at once, to see Arietta bent down, peering at me with wide eyes.

"Ah!" A scream escapes my lungs and terror surges through my body. Arietta jumps back.

"No, no, no. It is just me, me, okay? Get up and get dressed, the girls and I going out to the fairy village! I want you to come."

Taking hardly any of this information in, I sit there gasping for air, dragging away strands of my hair that stick to the side of my face with sweat. I did not know how vivid my dreams – nightmares – could get.

"A fairy...what? What time is it?"

"The fairy village! Yesterday you told me your bruised rib had healed so now you can join us! Here," Arietta lights the candle on my desk then takes a pile of fabric and puts it on my bed, "wear this, you do not want to be wearing a dress over there."

"Sorry," I breathe, "but where and what is this?"

"It is a place the girls and I go once a week at 4 o'clock before work starts to enhance our team-building skills. I think you should come, but it is up to you," she says while leaning tiredly against the wall in short pants and a singlet. I have never seen her wear such a thing before. "We leave in around 10 minutes, so meet me down at the gate in around five if you are keen."

"Okay," I say halfway through a yawn, "when do you get back?"

"Five." Then Arietta strides out the door, leaving me with the flicker of the candle from my desk.