i-Spy | A Stalker Romance

Chapter 13: The Flames of Rain

Stella's P.O.V.

I opened my eyes and everything was dark. 

The familiar dark street... the familiar empty roads... bathed in the eerie glow of flickering streetlights.

I tried to move, but my legs felt like lead. 

Cold and paralyzing. 

I was trapped, unable to run, unable to escape. The darkness seemed to close in around me, suffocating and relentless.

And then I saw her. The girl. She stood at the end of the street, her face obscured by shadows, but I knew who she was. My heart ached with a mixture of fear and guilt. I didn't want to remember, didn't want to relive this moment, but the nightmare had me in its grip.

The girl stepped forward, and I could see her face now, twisted in a mask of horror and betrayal. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. I tried to speak, to explain, but my voice was gone, swallowed by the darkness.

A blinding light flashed, and suddenly we were in a room, the walls closing in around us. I held a knife in my hand, its blade glinting ominously. I didn't want to do this. I tried to drop the knife, but my hand wouldn't obey. The girl's eyes widened in fear, and my heart shattered.

"No," I whispered, my voice finally finding me, but it was too late. The knife plunged forward, and the girl's scream echoed in my ears, a haunting wail of pain and terror. Bloodstained my hands, warm and sticky, and I stumbled back, horror-stricken.

I looked at the girl, lying lifeless on the floor, her eyes staring up at me with a vacant, accusing gaze. The room began to spin, the walls melting away into darkness. My breath came in ragged gasps, my mind a whirlwind of confusion and dread.

The darkness swirled and the nightmare shifted again, and I was back on the dark street, alone and terrified. The girl's voice echoed in my mind, a ghostly whisper that sent shivers down my spine. I could feel her presence, could sense her anger and sorrow.

"You did this to me"

"You're a murderer" 

"I won't let you live in peace Stella Vasezzac"

"I'm sorry," I cried out, but the words felt hollow and meaningless. The darkness pressed in on me, and I felt myself sinking, drowning in a sea of guilt and despair. The streetlights flickered and went out, plunging me into complete darkness.

My heart raced, my breaths coming in shallow, panicked bursts. I could feel the walls closing in around me, could feel the weight of my actions suffocating me. I tried to scream, to wake myself up, but the nightmare held me in its grip, unrelenting and merciless.

And then there was.... something.... something different.

I felt two warm hands encompassing me and embracing my body in a warm hug. 

I held onto those invisible hands with my dear life. Like I was holding a twig for survival when I was drowning...  drowning deep into the dark trench of my nightmares. 

And those hands anchored me. 

I jolted awake, my body drenched in sweat, my heart pounding in my chest. I gasped for air, the room around me spinning as I tried to orient myself.

I cried into the embrace. Roaring... screaming... shrieking till my throat burned. I felt those hands wiping the tears off my face. Holding me together. 

"Shh baby... it's just a nightmare" 

It's just a nightmare, I echoed the words, but the horror of it lingered, a shadow that refused to fade. The memory of what I had done, of the girl I had killed, was etched into my mind, a scar that would never heal. I buried my face in my hands, tears streaming down my cheeks.