Ethereal Beings

Chapter Two

Throughout the night, Nancy tossed and turned, slipping deeper down the rabbit hole. Her subconscious mind raced with images of violence, death and darkness.

She envisioned standing in front of what seemed to be a portal with a white light emitting from it, which pulsated and flowed. It was as if the gateway was alive. Its structure was mighty, a dense black material, towering high above Nancy. She was an average 5'6" and her small frame seemed like that of a mouse in comparison to the unknown doorway she dreamt of. She was insignificant here. The reaches beyond the portal, and everywhere else around her, were bleak. The ominous light pouring out of the threshold, constantly surging and fading, was the only thing illuminating the darkness.

Suddenly, the image of an older woman, wearing a white night gown, flashed over the portal. She spoke softly, yet directly, to Nancy, "it's my time, dear. You must take me." As soon as the image appeared, it was gone again and replaced by something much more sinister, but the woman's words still echoed through Nancy's head.

An image of a young child manifested. In the vision, his mother could not stop the inevitable as he let go of her hand and ran into the road. Without much notice, the oncoming traffic could not stop, and you can guess what happened next. Again, as soon as it appeared, the image was gone.

The third image which was revealed to Nancy was that of a dog. The dog was in a clinical setting, almost like the vets, its fur tangled and messy. "Mummy loves you!" She heard a woman say, leaning in to kiss the family pet, as a final goodbye. Once again, the image was gone.

The next swiftly replaced it and flashed before her. She was staring down the barrel of a gun. Nancy gasped as the person behind the weapon pulled the trigger.

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The sound of her alarm pierced through the air of her room, shocking Nancy out of her sleep state. Startled, she sits bolt upright and reaches for her phone. Shutting off the alarm, she sighs and rolls out of bed. She realised that she must have fallen asleep fully dressed and shrugs, picking up the plate of food from yesterday and making her way downstairs.

"Good morning!" Her mother was always up early on weekends, and Nancy could see that she had already made a start with the weekend chores. The kitchen was neat, and Emile Howes was wiping down the kitchen side. "How did you sleep?" Her mother beamed at her, quite clearly a façade.

"Huh?" Nancy was distracted by the wild pictures conjured up by her subconscious last night, replaying them over and over in her mind. "Oh, yeah. I slept fine... thanks." She places the plate down on the side, near the sink.
"That's good, dear. Want anything for breakfast?"
Nancy shrugs, "sure, I'll make some..." her words trail off as her father enters the room.

"Well, good morning Nancy. Are you in a better mood today, or are you going to give me the finger again? Hmm?" Nancy rolls her eyes and pushes past her father, who is stood against the kitchen's door frame.
"I was actually going to head out soon, mum, so I'll grab food from town!" She calls over her shoulder, heading back up stairs to get showered and ready for the day ahead.

Nancy had planned to meet up with Lucas, her best friend, for a little over a week. It was rare that they ever saw each other now, seeing as she went to college and he had an apprenticeship with an archaeology company. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and set him a message.
"Are we still up for today? :)"
Her phone buzzed no less than a minute later, "Yeah! Meet me at the spot in an hour or so?"