Dream and Nightmare

Chapter 16 - Fear of Dying

The light hovered in front of Anah's eyes as she slept, casting a green glow over her features. The deep, rhythmic breathing of the people in the room nearly drowned out the soft humming of the orb. Her eyes half opened, and a smile spread across her face like she was seeing an old friend.  

It beckoned to her, dancing around the room to an imaginary tune. The glow drew Anah to her feet. Walking forward, it was like she was in a trance. She barely got out of the room without tripping over one of Jack's limbs which were casually strewn about the floor, twisting in near impossible positions that in no way seemed comfortable.  

In the wee hour of the morning, the town was quieter than ever. A casual breeze brushed against Anah and her new traveling companion, never stirring her from her trance.  

Their walk through the woods was peaceful, and without excitement. The only sound they'd heard was the fluttering of leaves in the breeze, and the gentle groaning of the trees. With no shoes on, the twigs on the forest floor stabbed and cut at Anah's feet, but even that could not wake her. 

Stairs in the bell tower tripped Anah four different times, and each time she'd get up and kept walking as if nothing had happened, still following the dancing light.  

Luckily there was no shattered glass in the room that once held a grand, stained glass wall, or Anah surely would have walked right over it and stained the wood with her blood. Instead, she made it to the absent wall unharmed. 

A grand view of the forest could be seen from where she stood, stretching on for miles in one direction, and ending at the edge of a large lake in the other. Anah took no time to appreciate the beauty of the view. In her eyes, there was nothing but the light.  

Anah didn't feel his hands grab her, trying desperately to pull her away from the edge. His calls fell on deaf ears. Only the green orb existed, and she would follow it wherever it took her. When a tall shadow crossed in front of the light, blocking her advance, she swiped at it with her knife, forcing it into retreat until both figures went tumbling out of the tower, hurtling toward the ground. 

.............. 

Laying on the rocky ground, Anah tried to figure out where she was and how she'd gotten there. All she knew was that her feet hurt, and she had that awful, empty feeling in her chest again. Then she registered the roaring sound of ocean waves, and the smell of salt water. 

Next to her she heard a groan that made her flinch. She had thought she was alone. "Anah, are you alright?" 

With a sigh she pulled herself up in a sitting position, looking though the moonlight to see Jack sitting a couple yards from her. "Yes, you?" 

"Well I'm bleeding, but I don't think you cut me too deep." Holding his hand up in the faint light, Anah could see a dark liquid on his palm. 

"I cut your hand?" She crept on the ground on all fours so she wouldn't trip on the uneven rocks of the island.  

"No, my ribs." The old, leather jacket was sitting on the ground next to him so he wouldn't get blood on it, and his soft shirt had a dark stain on it.  

Anah stared at it in horror. "I did that?" 

"You really don't remember waving a knife around like a crazed maniac?" he teased, but she found the situation more nauseating than humorous. 

"I'm sorry." The dim light of the moon was barely enough to see by so she had to lean close to him as he lifted his shirt to show her the cut. He wiped the blood away with the bottom of his shirt. It really wasn't that deep, or that long, but it still made Anah feel awful. She repeated her apology. "What happened?"