Our Demonic Hearts - The Craven Pact Book 1

Chapter 23: Sweven

Ana was not in her house. She was not in Morganwood, and she certainly wasn't anywhere on Earth. The long, thin trees were all lined in a row, as if their only purpose in life was to be cut down and replaced with a younger version of themselves, used for the same ultimate purpose. A fog surrounded her on all sides, lessening her vision so that that she couldn't see what lay on the horizon. The moon could barely be seen in the cloudy sky, but she could see it's silhouette, a full blood moon that was nothing but an ill omen.

She has had this dream before, and she knew how it ended, but she had never been more aware that she was asleep. She didn't want to be here, but she didn't seem to have much of a choice.

A sound erupted from behind her; a low growling, the crashing of trees, large footsteps. Her heart started to race, and by instinct she started running the opposite way. She has never seen the monster, but she knew it was chasing her somewhere, and she had no choice but to let it.

She raced past the identical trees, her footsteps letting out a dull thump against the unnaturally clean ground as the monster's thunderous stomps grew ever closer. They thumped, shaking the ground as the beast ran towards Ana. She almost tripped at one point on a root that rose from the ground and nearly fell to the ground, but caught herself at the last moment. That near slip-up cost her everything, and she dodged a sudden dark, clawed hand that reached down to grab her. She screamed as it slammed into a tree, splintering it in half and spraying debris everywhere. She continued running in a different direction, breath fast and quick as she jumped over the tree roots that threatened to trip her over again.

It was leading her somewhere, and she finally arrived to the destination. Long, wooden stairs descended into the ground, stretching in either direction so she had no choice but to descend them. Something was different this time, however. In the basement below, she could see warm fire and a silhouette standing in front of it. She rushed into the room as the monster followed, crushing the rickety stairs as it followed.

She stopped in front of the man standing before the fire—no, it wasn't just a man. It was Beau, but what was he doing in her dream? He was never in her dreams. He looked at her with a placid, neutral expression as if he did not care that she was there. Did he not see the monster coming in behind her? They were both trapped. Trapped, and nearing their death.

The monster. She had almost forgotten—It gripped her shoulders and pushed her to her knees, its dark hands suddenly seeming smaller. It grabbed hold of her wrists and restrained them. She fought against the grip, but it was to no avail.

She looked back up at Beau, terror in her eyes. "I have done nothing to deserve this! Do you hear me?"

He did not answer her, nor did he move to help her. Instead, he took a cigarette out of his pocket. This wasn't unusual, Ana often had cigarette dreams but never like this. She could only watch as he lit the cigarette with the fire behind him and brought it to his lips.

Fear suddenly filled her with a reason unknown to her, and she struggled against the hands holding her. "No! Stop—wait! Please!"

She could not do anything as he inhaled, the cherry of the cigarette glowing a bright yellow. He held the smoke in his lungs for a brief moment before exhaling, but what came out wasn't the disgusting fumes she was familiar with. Instead, it was fire. Blue, hot fire. It consumed his face, covering it and slowly spreading to his neck. Beau stood stock still, the cigarette dropping from his hand.

Ana cried out, trying to pull away from the monster holding her. "Beau! Beau, please! Don't do this! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

What was she saying sorry for? She didn't know, or maybe she didn't remember. She just wanted him to fight against the fire licking and consuming his face. She wanted him to be safe, and to be free from the fire around them. This was somehow all her fault, she could feel it in her bones and in her heart. She was the reason why they were here, and she had to make it right somehow. She knew she had to.