Out of Darkness

Nightmares

I'm running as fast as I can.  There's a soulless laugh off to my left, and another just behind me.  I trip over something, a root, I think, and as I splash down into what I now realize is swamp water. The laughter surrounds me.  I try to get up, but there are hands reaching up through the muck and pulling me down.  I shriek, but they only pull harder.  My face hits the water and I am pulled down, down, down.  The chilling cries of the creatures ring in my ears as I am sucked into the earth.

I sit up, gasping.  This time, I remember where I am, but I can't seem to catch my breath.  I dash into the en-suite bathroom with barely enough time before my stomach surges.  I lie down on the cold tile floor, willing my heart to stop racing, and trying to purge the feel of those hands from my mind.

I hear shouting coming from the living room, and I tiptoe down the hall to see what is going on.  This is becoming a bit repetitive.

"Wait, are you telling us that he escaped?" Victor cries.

"How is that even possible?" asks a dumbfounded Silas.

Dr. Sean looks like he's about to lose it. 

Gabriel notices me standing here and shouts, "Oi, you fuckers woke her up!"  He throws something at the back of North's head with surprisingly accurate aim, but Mr. Blackbourne plucks it straight out of the air and shoots him a dirty look.

"What's g-going on?"I yawn at them.  I'm still trembling from the nightmare, and my mind is alert, but my body must really still need the rest.

Kota comes up to me and lightly grabs my shoulders.  "Sang, sweetheart, why are you shaking?"

I yawn again, and before I can answer, Luke says, "We probably scared her with all of the shouting.  Sugar, don't be scared of us idiots."  His eyes are big and round and I suddenly understand the phrase 'puppy-dog eyes'. 

"I just had a bad dream, and I can't seem to bump this one off as easily as usual," I tell them.

North jumps up and stalks over to me, but surprises me when he stops abruptly next to Kota and with his index finger, swipes away a tear that leaks from my eye.  "Baby, how often do you have nightmares?"  His voice is so soft that it melts away my shivers.

I shrug and push my finger to my lip.  "Most nights, I guess," I tell him.  This seems to upset all of them and I start to rattle again.  North opens his mouth to say something, but Kota silences him with a look and takes my hand, leading me back to the bathroom.  About half of them follow us, and it's a little ridiculous when they all try to crowd around the sink.

"We'll rejoin you all in a minute," he says in an authoritative voice.  North and Nathan grumble, and Gabriel sticks his tongue out, but they all exit the cramped space, and I feel like I can breathe again.  Kota hands me a toothbrush with a stripe of green gel on it and orders, "Use it."  I look at him sideways, unsure, and he says, "It'll help, unless you want to try and go back to sleep?"  I don't answer, and just start brushing my teeth.  I can see his smirk in the mirror, and I am amazed at how much better this makes me feel.

"Thanks, Kota,"  I tell him with a small smile.  We exit to the bedroom and find North perched on the bed.

"Sang Baby, tell me about your dreams."

I shake my head at him.  "North, they're just bad dreams.  Everyone gets them.  I was just having a hard time coming completely out of this one."

"Sang," Kota sighs, "though it is normal for people to have occasional nightmares, every evening is uncommon.  What was this one about?"

I take a seat next to North on the bed and try not to shiver as I think back on it.

"I was running from something.  Or a group of somethings."  I quake.  "I couldn't tell, because it was pitch black.  I fell into the swamp, and hands reached out and were dragging me down into the mud."