Nocturne of Nightmares (Fanfic)

Chapter 3

"And now for our local news..."

Leila woke up dazed and confused, sirens blaring in her ears from a small distance and she looked around herself to realise she was on the sofa where she had fallen asleep the night before.

"A young woman was found lifeless this morning." The news reporter on the TV screen said as Leila attempted to recall what had happened last night. "The victim, Monica Collins, was-"

Leila froze.

'Monica?' She thought as she scrambled to turn the TV up.

"Monica Collins was found brain dead in her partner's bedroom earlier this morning." The news reporter said. "The circumstances regarding this mysterious case are currently being investigated by local police."

Leila's heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the TV screen in shock and a picture of Monica Collins was shown.

'She was in my dream...'

Leila knew there was no way that this was all a simple coincidence as an indescribable feeling of dread shuddered through her body.

Leila couldn't believe it, or maybe she just didn't want to. Unable to come up with an explaination, all she could do was stare at the TV screen.

"It can't be the same girl..." Leila spoke softly to herself in shock.

"The police are looking into the possibility of murder." The news reporter said and Leila turned away, her throat suddenly very dry. "They are also not ruling out an undiagnosed medical condition, considering the damage done to her neural functions."

"What on Earth is going on?" Leila asked herself.

The noise from the TV disappeared as she made her way into the kitchen to grab a glass of water for her dry throat.

"Neural damage..." Leila trailed off in thought as she turned the tap on and absentmindedly filled her glass, the water filling over the brim as she paid it no mind. "Monica was... Eaten by a monster."

'But it all just a bad dream, wasn't it? Did it actually happen...?'

Leila shut her eyes and shook away the image of the scene she had witnessed last night.

"Leila?"

'There's no way it could've actually been real... Right?'

"Leila."

How Monica died in the dream and how the news said she had died were completely different and Leila kept telling herself it was all a coincidence.

"Leila!"

Leila felt a hand land firmly on her shoulder. She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear her mother approaching her and calling out her name and she jumped away from the woman in surprise.

"What are you so scared for?" Her mother said as she turned off the faucet and Leila placed a hand over her chest, attempting to catch her breath and calm her racing heartbeat.

"Geez, Mum, you scared me." Leila finally said.

"I didn't mean to, Honey." Her mother said. "You were so out of it. I've been calling out to you, but you weren't responding. You even left the tap running. What's wrong?"

Her mother's loving concern made her want to cry, but she held back the tears welling up inside her.

Leila wanted to tell her everything...

But she couldn't.

Leila took in a deep breath and exhaled as she closed her eyes briefly.

"It's nothing..." Leila said. "I was just watching a scary movie last night."