Eternal

Sweet Nightmare

The wonderful cover was made by the even more wonderful Egoeaters :-D

Chapter 23: Sweet Nightmares

The wind blew gently through the throng of thick fir trees. A soft swish, swish came from the action, a lullaby that could only be fully appreciated from where i sat.

Keegan was at my side, his arms dangling over his knees which he'd brought up to lean on. The wind tousled his mess of hair, tumbling the gentle boyish waves into his deep, dark eyes. There was a contented look on his face - one i couldn't piece together. Not after everything that had happened.

I tore my eyes away from my best friend to take in the beautiful view before us - the same view I’d stared at every single Sunday for years. Dark red stained the sky, mirrored perfectly in the rippling glimmer of the lake below us. The trees were dark, so dark against the vibrant red that it was impossible to make out any details other than the sharp outline of the gathering against the sky. 

I rested my chin on my knees, letting myself drift into my thoughts as I stared intently at the lake. An uncomfortable tingle spread from the base of my spine, making my back straighten slightly as nausea settled in my stomach. It was the same feeling that appeared the night I  phoned Frank and Jane. Something was wrong 

My mouth twitched down from the smile I didn't even know had taken residence on my lips as the sunset faded into a rich purple - but the lake did not. No, the lake was no longer following the colour transition of the sky. Instead, the deep red hues that I believed were cast on the reflective surface of the water by the setting sun did not turn the dark blue as the sun surrendered more of its light to the night but rather intensified. Soon the entire lake was a pulsing blood-red stain, rippling from the centre slowly at first but quickly growing in size and strength until impenetrable red waves welled high enough to reach the cliff where Keegan and I sat. 

Panic swirled in my gut, weighing me down so that I couldn't stand and flee as I so badly wanted to when faced with this new threat. U opened my mouth only to choke on Keegan's name, desperate for him to help me. I couldn't explain why I was so distraught but there was no way to escape the sinking feeling, the breath robbed from my chest like the very air was resisting entry into my lungs and the dreadful numbness spreading through my body.

I turned to face him, hoping to reach out and grab him so that he would realise what was happening but when I turned he was staring at me, pale and covered in dirt, drops of blood splattered across his face from injuries long healed. Tear tracks cut through the mixture of blood and dirt. His eyes, red and swollen, made the navy irises even more striking.

“Keegan.” I tried to say once more. Nothing left my lips. I was left with no more than the ability to mouth the word. When I attempted to reach for him I found my arms glued to my sides, the rough swells of blood-water growing larger still until an ice-cold shadow swallowed us up and eclipsed the sun.

“Liz!” Keegan’s panicked exclamation sliced through the fear clouding my mind, booming across the forest with enough intensity that everything began to shake. The ground came first with rocks tumbling down the side of the cliff to drop down, down, down into the thick red liquid threatening to end us in one foul sweep. I tried to reach for Keegan once more, tears blurring my vision as I willed my body to comply, to hold his hand as everything ended.

“Keegan.” I sobbed silently, watching the sorrow rooted deep in his eyes intensify. “Keegan!” the cliff was collapsing.

I could feel the earth slipping away from beneath me but still as the sky fell away and that red swell took over, as I hurtled towards its inky, shadowed depths when the last of the rock finally gave way, I couldn’t find it in me to move and so I watched as Keegan disappeared from sight, undoubtedly lost in the chaos and destruction as I was.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the impending impact, just waiting for it all to end – needing it all to end.

“Liz!”

My eyes burst open to a hazy blur of yellows, whites, blues and reds. I couldn’t focus on anything, not with the violent movement of my body being tossed back and forth. I no longer felt like I was falling and yet still the world refused to settle into perspective.

“Oh thank God.” Keegan! My heart nearly burst with happiness as I reached out into the blurriness to find him. I refused to let him be swallowed up once more! In a second I was enveloped in the tight security of Keegan’s arms, harsh sobs wracking my body as everything finally settled down and I could see clearly once more.

I realised I was sitting in his lap, the sheets soaked with sweat and tears with the bedside lamp lying smashed on the floor of the little motel room.

“Keeg.” I whispered hoarsely a few moments later once I’d calmed down enough to assure myself that it was only a nightmare.

“Yeah?” Keegan stroked my arm gently with one hand, the other cupping the back of my head as I tucked my face into his neck.

“Nightmares suck dead guppies.”

I felt his chest rumble with relieved laughter as he agreed with me, finally releasing his death-grip to allow me to sit up properly.

“You’ve never been like that before, Bunny.” His voice was a full two octaves lower than usual, resonating with a curious sadness as he regarded me carefully.

I shrugged, “I don’t know why it keeps happening.” The second the words left my lips I knew it was a bad thing to say.

Keegan tensed, blue eyes hard as he all but growled, “This isn’t the first time?”

I shook my head as I rolled my eyes, tipping my chin up in defence, “They’re only nightmares. I think I can survive a few bad dreams, almighty protector.”

His expression softened and a smile graced his face as he lifted his hand to cup my cheek. “And that’s why I’m worried. You’re far from a wuss, Bunny, so it must have been more than slightly bad for you to react so strongly to it.” He leaned his forehead against mine, “Are you okay?”

I nodded, “Don’t worry, I’m fine now” I assured, not breaking eye contact with him even if it did make me turn red like a tomato. Cheese puffs I needed to get my head out my butt! I must have really hit my head hard what with all the crazy thoughts and reactions I’d been having regarding Keegan over the last day or so!

Unfortunately even with that declaration I still felt my heart thrum loudly in my ears which blocked out any and all sounds except for that of Keegan’s voice.

“Liz?” he breathed, the soft air brushing my lips like butterfly wings.

“Yeah?” I couldn’t resist it. I would find a reason to claim it was an accident later, right then I couldn’t stop from leaning in slowly and pressing my lips to his.

The first kiss was more of a caress, a feather light encounter, tentative and questioning. We moved apart to stare at each other with a mixture of surprise, trepidation, excitement and wonder. Then it was impossible to tell who leaned in first because a second later I had my hands full of coppery brown hair and my legs wrapped around my best friend’s waist as we kissed with languid intensity.

“Liz.” The husky whisper left Keegan’s red lips during one of the quiet moments in which we simply stared at each other.

“Keeg.” I replied with a smile, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m sorry I brought you down with me.”

So! it's been a while. i apologise about that but i had to panic more about school than my writing :-) i hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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AndUCallMeWeird