Persephone

Chapter 4: It's only just a dream...

Chapter 4: It's only Just a Dream...

I

Running.

Out of breath.

Throat constricting, allowing no oxygen in.

In a vast expanse of white, she didn't know where she was running to. Or running from. She was tired of games. She was falling out of grace. No one would save her. No one was there.

She was alone.

And she couldn't breathe.

The white was blinding; she didn't know which direction she was running to. She was lost, where was she? In this whiteness, this blindness, where? 

Then came the cold. It crept up on every step she made, it caught up with her feet, it was crawling up her legs, making each step heavier and harder to make. 

"Please..."  Of course she had her voice, but her neck seemed to be held by  a noose, intent on pulling her back. "Let me go." It tightened, and the cold became frost, frost became ice. "Let me breathe." 

"No. You mustn't listen to them. You must stay as you are. You mustn't know about them." It was the woman's voice again. 

"But you're choking me." Her fingers were stiff and heavy as lead. "You're choking me."

"It's for your own good." 

Then she was choking, her eyes losing sight. She was numb, as if glass was pouring down on her, hardening every part of her to keep her from moving. She wanted to fight it, but it coated over her whole body, rendering her helpless to do anything. 

She --

-- screamed and bolted upright, a frightened "Meow!" emanating as the furry black ball landed on the floor. Percy gasped and clutched the sheets, feeling her face sticky with tears. Her heart was thundering loudly in her chest, and she flexed her shaking fingers just to make sure they weren't glass.

Dream. That was just a dream. But she wrapped her arms around herself to keep her body from shaking badly. It was too real. She couldn't kick it out of her head: the helpless feeling, the cold, the voice. 

Black pinpoint pupils upon grey orbs reflected into her face, and a gentle paw tapped her face. Percy clutched the little black cat and rubbed its fur on her face, all the way purring. She felt relieved at once, and got her breathing even. But she stayed like that for a while, gathering her thoughts. Breakfast. Bath. Clothes. Come on, Percy. "Thanks, Mr. Black..." she stroked his fur and then let him down gently on the floor.

Then she released the tangled sheets from her legs, and then padded to the adjoining bathroom. She switched on the light and stared at the figure in the mirror. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, her skin paling more than her normal skin tone. Percy sighed.

The dreams, or nightmares, rather, were getting worse. Last last night was just milder than the one she had just now. Choking, someone killing her...She gulped and splashed water on her face, giving out a sigh of relief as the coolness of the liquid relieved her steaming skin. Percy closed her eyes, trying to get a grip on reality. 

"Come on, Perce. Come on. It's just a stupid dream, how bad can that be?" 

II

The weather was bleak as a stone wall; but Percy wasn't complaining about it. It was always like that in Duskendale. Bleak clouds. Bleak sun. Bleak pavement. Everything got the color of slate grey every time she had a bad day. 

She kicked off a stray rock from the sands and sighed. The cliff above her was situated high above Duskendale's docks, the sea, and the beach. The waves crashed against the white granite of the cliff, foamy spray washing up on the beach and clinging on rocks scattered on the sand. Neon bright seaweed or moss made the rocks slippery and dangerous if you didn't know where to step, while small pools formed in between cup-like spaces formed from both the sand and pebbles; glimmering like a mirror. 

And that was where Percy sat now as gulls screamed overhead, looking up at the white birds as they encircled the ash colored sky. 

She was already half-blind from staring up too long, watching  the cells on her eyes skidded down her peripheral vision as she contemplated in the silence and crashing of waves. Percy drew squiggly shapes on the sand with her foot, thinking abstractedly about her friends, Zee, her teachers, how she hated Math, and the next episode of Supernatural. 

"Cristo..." she said quietly, chuckling. 

"Persephone!!!"

She jerked her head violently and looked around like she was being haunted, getting that prickly feeling you get behind your neck when you feel someone's eyes on you.

"I thought this place is off limits?"

Percy nearly fell off the rock in sheer surprise. A boy leaned on a taller rock, raven black wavies falling over icy grey eyes, the pupils stark black against the color. He wore a half open button-up shirt, the sleeves folded just below his elbows. Ripped up pants seemed to be so against his upper garment, but she could see how his body was firmly toned through pale perfect skin. She couldn't stop staring at his eyes. They were intimidating. Catchy. Something not to be ignored. It was as if those two orbs held two different galaxies at once, trying to overwhelm her in a thick black flood.

She grit her teeth. Instead of that bubbly feeling the other girls had when they saw some guy, she reacted against him. "What are you doing in here then?" she snapped, hopping off the rock. Percy simply refused to get carried away by those orbs. Yep, she was strong like that. 

New guy shrugged, raising his hands as if in surrender. "I saw you.. well, okay then. So it isn't or is it off limits?" 

"It is."

"Which is?"

"Off limits."

"I thought it wasn't."

A quiet fire grumbled in her head. Idiot, she cussed softly as she bit her lip, debating whether she should answer this new guy or not. The smirk that played around his lip only infuriated her more. "It's off-limits for strangers like you because you might slip on the rock and split your stupid head in two."  

His smirk grew even wider.

Which made Percy want to slap him. 

She huffed and started to walk away from him. Better kicking at the sand before she does cause a casualty on a complete stranger to the town. 

"Never caught your name, you know. First thing I know is you leaving me here to slip on the rocks," new guy called out in a sing-song voice. 

For. Fuck's. Sake. She turned around, a scowl on her face, not letting it slip because the guy was already half-way up the jagged parts of the rock. Is he some kind of acrobat or something? "Why should I tell you?"

"Um, because I'm pretty?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

Percy viciously squashed the thought of him being intimidating. This guy's a flirt. A clown. A stupid-- Stop. Breathe. Breathe. Don't kill anyone. "Not a valid answer."

"So I'm talking to an answering machine now?" He sat down and dangled his legs down the rock, his sneakers tied and hung over his shoulder. He leaned on his fist and then continued to look at Percy as some scientist would to his specimen. 

She crossed her arms, refusing to talk. 

He shrugged. "Evander Hernes. Hello." He made a mocking bow in her direction, his grey eyes twinkling.