Nightmares ; Bonkai

Chapter 1

Hallways; It seems like that's all there is in this house, long corridors leading to more corridors and a door in every place you look. I turn down the up-teenth hall and pause, an acute awareness that something is not right. Why am I wandering around the house? Am I looking for someone - is someone looking for me? I glance behind me as I pick up my pace and shake off the wariness, my mind kicking into overdrive. One by one I open each door, kicking in the one's that are locked to see if there's anyone on the other side. Just as I'm ready to kick in the last door I see a light go out where I was first standing - encasing that small portion of the room in utter darkness. I feel my breathing start to quicken, goosebumps breaking out across my arms as the next light went out, then the next. I break into a full sprint to the end of the hall rearing around the corner that leads to the staircase when I came face to face with another hall. I look down towards the end and it seems like it's getting farther and farther away. I glance back over my shoulder and realize there are only a couple of lights lit with the darkness approaching fast. I get one last look before I take off when fear locks me in place, within the shadows someone is staring back at me.

Bonnie wakes up with a gasp, shooting straight up from bed. Sweat trickles down her temple as she tries to calm down her ragged breathing and rapid heartbeat. She glances over at the clock - an act no one should really ever do - and groans in contempt. 4:15am flashes back at her which, if her calculations are correct, means she got four hours of sleep, one hour more than last night. Ever since Damon got sent back to present day over a week ago, Bonnie hasn't had one decent night's sleep. Dragging herself out of bed and into the living room, she collapses onto the couch surrounded by a blanket. When she isn't pulling an all-nighter with movie marathons or late night sitcoms, Bonnie's struggling to pull herself out of intense nightmares about where else but the house she is imprisoned in. It was the same dream that haunted her every night; endless hallways, an array of bedroom doors, and the shadow. Each time she gets a little farther into the dream, her curiosity and survival instincts kick in and the farther she gets the more dangerous it becomes.

"Rough night, huh Bon?" Kai asks plopping down on the couch next to her.

Caught up in her own thoughts she didn't even hear him walk into the room. "Go away Kai. Shouldn't you be asleep right now?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" he retorted, a smirk creeping up onto his face. "You know, in some cultures, when it's so early that it's still dark out, people have been known to stay unconscious until the sun comes out."

"Oh a comedian," she said through a roll of her eyes. "Where would I be without this to get my day going?"

"Sarcasm? You mean to tell me there's actually humor locked up inside that comatose looking exterior? Maybe this lack of sleep has its perks; sarcasm, some witty banter, maybe even letting me in on what's keeping you up at night?" Bonnie shrugged, closing her eyes and resting her head back against the couch. "I might be able to help, you know, keep the Boogeyman at bay."

"Aren't you what nightmares are made of?"

Kai's devilish smile more than answered her question. "Then I'd say I'm qualified for the job."

Pushing the blanket off she rose to her feet, "tempting, but seeing how no matter what I seem to do I end up trapped in this house with a monster, I'll take my chances."

Kai caught her by the hand as she tried to surpass him with a glimmer in his eye. "Ever stop to think that you're afraid of the wrong thing?"

Kai's words rang in her ears for the rest of the morning.