Leather, Sand, and Blood

The Dream

Running, that's all that she could think about doing.

Her chest heaved and she gasped for air, sweat pouring down her face and across her body, but she didn't stop, not even when her lungs screamed at her, not even when her throat felt raw from trying to suck in as much air as possible. She didn't know where she was, the streets were dark and not even the moon was out, besides, she couldn't well stop to look at street signs. Lorelai didn't know why she was running, but her legs pushed her forward faster and faster, obviously trying to get away from something. She turned, ducking away into a small alley and cowering next to a large dumpster. She tried to calm her breathing as to not draw attention to herself from whatever was following her. As Lorelai began to catch her breath, she began to think about what was happening. She didn't remember anything chasing her when she was walking home from the boardwalk; hell, the last thing that she remembered was crawling into bed, meaning she shouldn't even be on the street at all, so why was she here now? She felt the back of her neck tingle and something dropped in her stomach, causing her to hold her breath and remain still. While she didn't hear anything, it was almost like she knew whatever was chasing her was there, standing just on the other side of the dumpster looking for any sign of her. Lorelai could hear her heart thumping in her own ears, she could feel the uneven pounding in her chest, and for a second she could have sworn that the thing chasing her could hear it too, but she pushed the thought away quickly; there was no need to scare herself more then she already was. She wasn't sure that she was going to be able to hold her breath for much longer, and just before she let out all the air she was holding, she heard retreating footsteps leaving her hiding spot. Giving it a few more seconds, she let out a ragged breath, closing her eyes tightly when she felt tears welling up. She felt defeated and utterly exhausted, like she had been running for hours.

Taking a moment to herself, she allowed a few tears to roll down her cheek before she swiped them away and opened her eyes. No, she wasn't going to just sit here and let herself feel this way, not again. Standing on wobbly legs, Lorelai moved slowly out of the alley, looking around for whoever was chasing her, only moving once she realized that she was alone in the darkened street. As she began walking, rain began falling from the black sky, but instead of soaking her, the scenery began to melt around her, houses distorting and muted colors blending together until a new picture began to shape infront of her. Thats when Lorelai began to realize that she was, in fact, in her bed, and this was just a dream, or rather a nightmare. But even with that fact echoing her head, it still didn't make her feel any better, if anything it only terrified her more because she knew that she wouldn't be able to wake up until the whole thing was finished.

Lorelai stumbled forward, meaning to walk down the water-smeared street but instead caught herself on a closed door. She looked around quickly, feeling her heart begin to race and she let out a small whimper as the distortion faded, revealing that she was in her bedroom in New Jersey, the one she thought she had left behind. Everything was still dark and colors muted, but that didn't scare her as much as it should have. What did frighten her was how still everything seemed, how quiet the house sat for once, the calm before the storm. Against her better judgement, Lorelai felt herself open the door and walk down the flight of stairs, her feet moving on their own accord. The whole house seemed empty, and for a second, when she found herself alone in the living room, she felt a small smile form on her face.

'Im safe....' It was like that thought triggered something, because the moment the last word ended, screaming erupted from all around her, shadows danced along the walls and suddenly her stepfather was infront of her. A scowl was on his face and an empty bottle was in one of his hands, his knuckles white from how hard he gripped the neck of the glass.

"You are worthless, a slut just like your mother!" She flinched away from his harsh words, taking a small step away from the stench of beer that lingered out of his mouth and off of his being. The closer he got to her, the farther she backed up until she was in the kitchen, trapped in the corner that the counter made. The moment her stepfather crossed into the kitchen after her, his face began twisting, changing into someone else. She felt something cool in her hands, and when she looked down, she saw that it was a pair of scissors, the same that she had used on her last night in the house. When she turned to face her stepfather, she saw it was now the man standing painfully close to her, a cruel smirk and empty eyes staring her in the face.