ELBINA

Chapter 7

"ELBINA!" Someone's screaming my name, I flick open my eyes to a solid wall in front of me. Trapped in darkness I didn't know where I was.

It's dark, so dark I don't think there's any light to the entire world.

And it's suffocating.

I brought my knees into my chest, please stop.

"What's wrong with you!"

Please stop.

Things are thrown, smashed against the ground so the vibrations rattle the ground I'm sat on. The shouts becoming louder and louder, mixed in within the crashing and they aren't stopping.

"Elbina! It's okay - Let her out!" The shouts are panicked, mixing between trying to reassure me and screaming in rage the next.

They were getting closer, the fear rising in my chest, ultimately making the tears fall.

I was trying to be silent even if I wasn't sure why. Because inside, I was begging to cry as loud as I could till my lungs burned but something in me just knew I couldn't, I couldn't move and I couldn't cry because that would only make it worse.

I'm starting to realise it's a dream, another night terror but like always, I don't know how to snap myself out of it. It's so intense, the voices scream at each other thrumming through my head on repeat and break up any thought that tries to break through it all.

I hide my head between my chest and my knees, pushing myself further into the corner. My fingertips scratching along my scalp trying to centre my fear in the pain beneath my nails.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Please, wake up.

Please!

It suddenly went silent but my gut still twisted hard in my stomach to the point I thought I would be sick.

I knew what was going to happen but at the same time, I didn't.

Light emerged along with a hand reaching in, quickly grabbing my arm. I screamed loudly, desperately fighting against the hand trying to pull me out of the darkness.

The shouting got louder and louder again, nothing I could recognize as they jumble together, the only few I could get from it all, was my name over and over again.

Another hand grabbed my other arm, yanking me out into the light.

I flung my eyelids open, looking up at the orange-tinged light on my ceiling above me. My breathing erratic and my chest rose up and down too quickly to reign in the breaths.

I brought my hand to cover my mouth trying, pressing down till it silenced any form of small mumbles of sobs. Trying to listen carefully to the hallway outside my room, waiting to hear any footsteps creaking along the floorboards.

After a few minutes, there was nothing and I slowly brought my hand away from my mouth breathing a long sigh of relief. Wiping the residual tears from my eyes, I sat up in my bed bringing my knees up and resting my arms on them.

I stared out of the window opposite, the orange light from the street streaming through.

Gradually the panic started to fade and with it, taking any resemblance of calm. It left me jittery and my chest felt tight and painful as I moved my eyes around the darkened room.

I hadn't had that one for a long time now, that specific dream anyway. I'm not exactly thrilled it's come back and I'm not sure what set it off either.

My hand shakily took hold of my phone beside my bed, twisting it over and checking the time.

4:00am