Lifeless [ #wattys2016]

Question time

I woke up the next morning screaming sweat dripping down my face and my shirt  stuck to my back , the cover tangled in my legs. It is pitch black from what I can tell and I looked at my alarm clock and it's 4 confirming my thoughts. This nightmare was different from my previous ones where I thought my voice was gone . In this nightmare my voice seems to have come back. My dreams always started with me sleeping peacefully but the man in the ski mask would always return with the knife in hand the knife always changes size from big ones to small ones. The ski mask had a whole for his mouth and he would grin in a twisted way and he had fang like teeth as if he had sharpened each indivual tooth. He would jump on me and I couldn't fight back. Like my hands and legs were immobile. Then the small knife (this time) would come near my throat exactly where I pulse beats and it was like I could feel the metal touch my skin. Before he would kill me he would say in a soothingly soft voice "They are coming for you" before I would wake up gripping my neck tightly a taking sharp intakes of breath.

padding footsteps could be heard and then I see Aiden come through my door and ask the usual question "Another nightmare?" in his soft yet concerned voice and I would do a simple nod. Then he would come and tell me that everything will be alright and that the man is being dealt with and I am safe now. Whilst I lie back down and him stroking my curls sometimes tugging on them using the same rhythm till I fall asleep. Then he would retreats back to his bed. But how many times can those words be told to you. If these words where true how come I haven't overcome these nightmares that attack me every night? How come I'm scared to close my eyes because I know what is going to come? How come these nightmares feel so real?

I never make it look like these nightmares  affect me the next day though and I don't know its for my sanity or for the thought that people may think I am vulnerable.  But I think Ava and Aiden both know I am affected. My fingers always shake now and I don't feel comfortable next to anyone anymore and I don't speak much either I just walk . Walking  mindlessly like a puppet. I have gone back to the Tara that didn't have anyone and was doing just fine. I am closed off more than ever.

Today is the day that we have to interrogate the guy that broke into Aiden's home, I don't know how I feel about that. We go down to the basement well ; I and Aiden go we don't want Ava to see what's going on. Once we are down by the door Aiden looks at me and says "You don't have to be here whilst I ask him questions you know." He says softly looking me in the eye. He is always looking out for my best interest I have noticed.

" I know but I want to be here." I tell him maybe by doing this the nightmares will fade away.

We walk in and the room is bleak it gives me the shivers no light or homely feel to it, strangely I feel calmer here because my old home was exactly like this. Once the lights are on I finally take in the person that nearly killed me.

His ski mask is off. My heart picks up and my hands start shaking uncontrollably again , I curse myself for allowing this guy to get to me. Am I ready to face him I ask myself? Breathe. Will he look like what my mind has conjured up in my head? Breathe I look up against my heads warnings. Breathe. This guy doesn't look like the sort of person that would do this sort of things. With his dark skin and black hair and  pale lips and dull brown eyes, shock is an understatement to what I am feeling. Breathe. Before Aiden even has a chance to ask him questions I do it for him. "What the hell was you doing at this house yesterday?" I shout and I can slowly feel my hand stop shaking. Breathe. He only looks at me with brown eyes that don't hold a care in the world. I ask again taking a step forward "What the hell was you doing at this house!" I shout my hands have stopped trembling and my heart beat it getting back to normal. Breathe. He doesn't make a sound so I look to Aiden and he nods his head getting the silent message that he better take the lead now before I explode

The Tara that had nightmares and was shaking terribly and barely eating was gone and was replaced with this confident, sassy slightly aggressive one, for some reason it made me admire her even more . She looked so angry  her eyes kind of twitching if you looked closely and she kept opening and closing her fists that I just wanted to clasp them in my hand and calm her down.  I don't know if it were because this man had caused it or something else. But I knew that if she kept asking and he kept ignoring then she would attack. So I took another approach. I walked towards him and then kneeled down so we were at eye level and ask him calmly "Why did you come to my house?" I was expecting no reply so when I heard him speak I was shocked. He looked like he didn't care what was going to happen to him next whether he lived or died it didn't seem to faze him and that sparked the curious side of me.

He began telling me but making sure it was loud enough for Tara to hear as well the reason why he attacked. He said he had a leader that knew there was humans that still existing and so they sent him to investigate but he never made his presence known. Every day he was out there in the woods just spying and watching us but we never noticed. I was speechless and my stomach must have dropped knowing that someone was watching me . The thought of many more people out there just watching and not making a move creeped me out. I then ask him what is this all for. He says that his master doesn't tell him the reasons he just follows. With this new found information Tara and I left the room leaving him down here and went back up upstairs I think some tea was needed. I still had many questions to ask but i wanted to do it with out Tara being there.

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Authors note:

i am back guys with another update!

hope you are enjoying the story so far:)

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till next time

signed:precious