This Night Has Opened My Eyes

Chapter Nineteen, Drown

CHAPTER NINETEEN, Drown

...Loud.

It was loud. The sound of the engine and someone stepping on the gas was deafening. The sudden halt of the car was sudden - and the swing of the door was more aggressive than one would hope. The sound of heavy footsteps against the snow outside of the home, stopping only once the man reaches the front door. The steps themselves are the only sound that could be heard, aside from a few distant cicadas.

One knock. Two. Three.

Each one heavier and more aggressive than the last.

A loud annoyed sigh escapes the man's mouth, as he pushes the door open - slowly. He steps inside while mumbling something under his breath. The house is eerily quiet, as every step he takes is muffled by the flooring. The windows in the house are sealed shut, and it seems like all lights are off.

All he has is light coming from upstairs.

As the man steps upstairs... all that's visible now is a terrified woman.

Samansa's eyes shoot open as she suddenly jolts awake. She lets out a gasp and holds her head up with her hand as she begins to breathe heavily. She looks around, she was back in a car... but her heart was still pounding.

She looks up, and sees Mr Yashiro at the wheel.

"You alright there?" The man says, a little startled by the girl's sudden gasp - he almost lost control of the car there...

Samansa tries to say something, anything, but ends up just sighing. Something about that dream... she recognised everything in it - but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Mr Yashiro glances at her again with a mildly concerned look, then back at the road. "You look... pretty shaken."

"...Sorry." She mutters, getting her voice back.

Mr Yashiro shakes his head, and he lets out a silent chuckle. "It's okay, don't worry." His eyes flicker a brief glance at her, "You were really out cold at the station. Scared the hell out of me."

"...I had another dream." She looks down, and bites down on her lower lip.

"Again? About... you-know-what?" He asks, pausing slightly as he glances over at her.

Samansa shifts in her seat, rather uncomfortably. The dream was... so familiar. Everything about it was way too familiar. She looked so confused and scared at the same time - like she'd once again was forced to intrude upon something. Judging by her expression, the dream ended the second she woke up. Mr Yashiro was concerned - really concerned by now. It wasn't the fact she fell asleep at the station anymore, but the dream itself.

"What was the dream about this time?"

Samansa stays quiet, hesitating.

For a while, the only thing that could be heard - besides the constant rumble of the car - was the static of the radio, that was now playing on low volume. Finally, Mr Yashiro gets impatient. He looks over at Samansa, slowing the car down. He lets out a long sigh. "Come on, tell me what you saw in your dream. You look like you're about to burst from stress if you keep it a secret any longer."

Samansa looks down, and she bites her lip again. Why did this one hit so close to home? Finally, she answers quietly. "I... saw the killer going inside a home... but it felt... so familiar.."

Mr Yashiro's eyes widen a little as she describes the dream to him. The killer going inside a home, and it felt... familiar? Was it her house? Or a place she knew?

He lets out a quiet hum, and taps his finger against the steering wheel. "Did you recognise the house at all?"

"...I... well, not really... I know it's familiar but..." She pauses, her eyes widening. She sits up, and stares ahead. That's right... It was familiar for a reason, because Samansa saw that place every single day. Where she ate, where she slept, where she was raised. It was her own home.