The Devil's Circle

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aly's POV

"Kayla! Kayla, wake up!" Aly screams, shaking my body.

She lets out a scream in her sleep.

"Is she okay? What's going on?" Kareana asks, concerned.

"She looks horrible," Michelle adds.

Cole and Aaron come running.

"We heard a scream. What's wrong with Kayla?" Aaron rushes out.

"Is she dead?" Cole ponders.

"Shut up! She's fine," I snap.

It sounded harsh, but I couldn't stand losing her. I don't even want to consider that.

I say she's fine, knowing well she isn't. She is as pale as a ghost. Which she is always pale, but this is an unnatural shade of white. She's sweaty and also shaking. I'm doing my best to keep her from lashing out, but it's getting hard.

"Kayla!" I scream, once more, also while gently shaking her, trying to bring her to her senses.

She lets out another blood-curdling scream, while thrashing her limbs.

"Oh my god, Kayla! Please, wake up! Please," I beg.

Finally, she jumps awake, and with tears running down both of our faces, she pulls me into a hug.

"Shhh. Babe, it was just a dream. It's okay," I try to comfort her.

I know her well enough to know this was serious. Her dreams have always been odd, but this one was different. She saw something.

What could it have been..?

***

Kayla's POV

I jerk awake. I'm sweating and shaky. I look around. I see Aly crying, and everyone else looking at me with confused expressions.

I reach out and pull her into a hug. I'm so glad it was a dream. It was so realistic. Although I don't know what the figure was, I felt like it was right there in front of me.

"Shhh. Babe, it was just a dream. It's okay," Aly whispers to me.

But it felt like more than that. I'm still shaking. That dream meant something, but I'm not sure what.

I don't want to tell any of them, simply because I don't want them to worry. It was probably just me overreacting.

I finally look around at all of my friends' silent faces. They looked worried, and at a loss for words.

"Guys, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream. That's all," I try to comfort them.

"You look like hell," Michelle said.

"Nightmares do that to me," I say, trying to laugh it off.

"What was it about?" Kareana asks.

I can't tell them. Not yet. Not before I understand it myself.

"I don't remember," I lie. "I-I don't want to remember.."

"Understandable," Aaron adds.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty sure my stomach just made some sort of whale mating call," Kareana announced.

"Agreed," I say, yawning.

Cole, Michelle, Kareana, and Aaron all back away from the tent to allow Aly and I to get out. We go to the bag we packed and find some sandwiches. Not the best breakfast, but it'll have to do.

We sit in silence, until I notice Aly scrutinizing me.

"What?" I ask.

"Huh?" She replies.

"You were staring at me," I inform.

"Oh. It was nothing," she tells me.

She's probably still upset about finding me this morning. I wonder how long she was trying to wake me. I was just so into my dream, it was almost like I was actually there. I honestly thought I was. I mean, I felt the crispness of the night air, felt the dirt on my palms. It had to be real. It's the only explanation I can think of.

And then I remember something.

I remember hitting my shin on the log. I bruise easily. So, I roll up my pant leg, and there I see a gnarly, purplish bruise around the size of a softball. In the exact same spot I made contact with the tree.

My sandwich slips from my finger tips, without realizing it, and I gasp out of shock. How can that be? It was just a dream, wasn't it? What is going on? A million questions are swirling through my mind.

"Kayla? You okay?" Cole asks me.

Cole's voice snaps me out of my thoughts, and back into reality.

I jerk my head up to find everyone looking at me. I look down and realize why; I dropped my sandwich. Oops.

"Um, yeah. I'm just tired. Didn't get much sleep last night," I say, forcing a half smile.

"Oh.. Okay," he says, unsure.

I can tell he doesn't believe me, but that's the least of my problems right now. What exactly happened last night?

God, I need to stop thinking. What I truly need is sleep. Although I was supposedly sleeping, it doesn't feel like it. At all.

But I know that until I find out what my dream meant.. and if it even was just a dream.. sleep won't come to me. I need answers. And in order to find the answers, I have to go looking for them.

***

A/N

Ayeee!

Another early update! Whoop!

What do you guys think of the story so far? & What do you think will happen? Comment! Gimmie some feedback, please!

You see the star button? Yeah, hit that! It'd would mean a ton!

So long, and read on! (Yes I'm aware I'm lame)

*rides elephant across African plane in a tux* (;

-Kayla