A Man In Black

Stuck in a Dream

That night it grew cold. February was a month of snow and ice, the warmth of the day slid away into a freezing wind, and bruised clouds rumbled in the distance. Andrea stood on the balcony of her room, as day faded, and the small sparkling stars were covered by the thunderstorm. Lightning flashed, and within minutes, the rain came pouring down, smashing on the roof. With a slight squeal, Andrea ran inside as the rain turned into hail. Bang, bang, bang. She was glad that the maid had lit the fire in her room. Wringing water out of her wet hair, she grabbed herself a cup of coffee, and sat on the arm of the sofa, staring into the dancing flames. 

Andrea flopped onto the seat of the couch, finishing her drink, and placing it on the ground. Outside the hail stopped, and the whitest, finest snow came falling down. Smiling, she looked out the window, as the fields turned into a magical snowy land. Her lids began to grow heavy, until finally they were shut, and her body leaned against the soft cushions. 

Dark dreams filled her mind, of when she was working for the Russians. She always dreamed of Russia, when she forgot to take her medication... 

*Andrea's Dream* 

Trees flashed by in the dusk, as she stumbled in the snow. It was colder than it had ever been before. Her strength was almost gone, and she huddled up against a log, hoping they would not see her. 

A gun fired. Andrea hugged her knees, closing her eyes. 

She opened them again, and she was somewhere else... In a dark room, with a single candle burning. 
"смеющийся." the voice whispered. "смеющийся, смеющийся. ты умираешь, я смеюсь."  

Andrea knew what that meant, the voice calling to her in the darkness. "Laughing, laughing, laughing, you're dying, I'm laughing." 

She stretched her hand out, feeling tears trickling down her cheeks. Out of the night a bloodied hand grabbed her wrist. She screamed. 

She ran into the dark, there was a doorway. Andrea ran through it, but she found herself in the same room. Then the laughing started. Again, she fled through the doorway, to find herself in the exact same spot with the candle, and the Russian singing. She huddled in the corner, groping at her hair. "Leave me alone, please leave me alone." 

"Yмирающий." said the voice again. "Dying." 

Andrea cried, holding her hands over her face. 

"Time to kill again, Andrea, time to kill your brother. Come on, here's the knife." 

A cold hand slid down her neck. 

"WAKE UP!" 

The Irish accent cut through her dream, and her eyes shot open. Her whole body was shaking, and she realized she was still screaming. A cold hand clamped over her mouth. "Shh!" James Moriarty said curtly. 

*Andrea* 

I closed my mouth, and was ashamed to find I was crying. He removed his hand. "What the hell were you dreaming about!?" James asked, a weird expression  on his face. 

I rubbed a hand across my eye, and thought I probably looked stupid with mascara running in streaks down my cheeks. Right now I knew I couldn't speak. James Moriarty was standing over me, hands in his pockets. He smiled. 

That did it. I couldn't stand his adorably smug face anymore. I rose jerkily to my feet, and with my hand, slapped his cheek. James looked at me like nothing had happened, and that annoyed me more. 

*Jim Moriarty* 

I gave the curly-haired girl standing in front of me a raised eyebrow. "Would you like to go outside?" I asked, and not bothering to see if she followed me or not, I went out onto the balcony, and lit a cigarette. The snow fell on my face, and it reminded me of the winter nights in Ireland. 

Andrea stepped outside as well, just as he knew she would. What was going on in her mind? I thought, looking sideways at her. Whatever she had been dreaming about was obviously from some experience in her past. Oh why should I care, it's probably extremely dull. 

"What were you doing in my room?" she questioned. 

"You were screaming..." I sighed, it was so obvious. 

She folded her arms across her chest, a sign of insecurity and hostility. "Yes, but I locked the door. How did you get in?" 

"I have keys, it's very simple, figure it out, pickles." How on earth did she ever get employed as an agent? I only employed her because I was bored, and I wanted to have some fun. Surely not everyone employs her just to be a pet. 

She didn't reply, and sat on the balcony rails. "Thank you." 

"For what?" I asked, I couldn't think of anything I'd done to deserve gratitude. 

"You woke me up, ." she said, and walked inside. 

"I think you might be sleep taaalking, squeals, you don't dish out thank yous. You tend to be rude." I called. 

"Oh shut up, and my name isn't "squeals"." 

"It is now." 

*Andrea* 

I put on my jacket inside, since James had left the door open to the balcony. "If you call me squeals again, I will kill you." 

James Moriarty came inside, and made his way to the door. "You already tried to kill me, and you failed." 

My eyes narrowed as I stared at the dark headed man. "I might not fail next time." 

He just smiled that smile of his, and closed the door behind him, calling. "Goodnight...Squeals."