Stay

The Nightmare

If only I tried harder that night, things wouldn't be this way. If only I noticed sooner; ran faster. Things wouldn't be this way.

"-ere you?" A faint voice whispered. Thana whirled her head towards the sound, but saw nothing. Everything was pitch black. She desperately attempted to scream, but her own body betrayed her, allowing no sound to escape.

"Where were you?" the voice demanded, more stern this time. She recognized this voice as her sister's. The sweet tone barely resembling the hoarse one that was now present, but threading itself just enough for her to perceive it.

Thana's heart leapt in her throat as she reached for her kin, and sunk nearly as quickly when the silhouette she had reached for turned to ash and disappeared from her forever. She fell to her knees, grabbing at the empty space that seemed to envelope her sister's form.

"WHERE WERE YOU!" The voice shrieked, no longer echoing the sweetness from before. Thana jolted upwards and cautiously looked around. She wasn't sure what she was hoping to see- or didn't see. Her eyes darted from one inch of this never-ending darkness to another.

"WHERE WERE YOU, WHERE WERE YOU, WHERE WERE YOU!" the shrillness of the voice made her ears ring. She closed her eyes, praying the nightmare would end. After what seemed like hours had passed, she opened her eyes to reveal a blank white canvas had replaced the total black that used to swallow her entire being. She turned around, revealing her beloved sister in all her beauty.

"I waited for you," her voice was just barely audible as she continued to stand with her back to Thana. "I waited for you in the house. Why didn't you come back for me?"

"Trust me, I tried everything to reach you, Ava," Thana choked out, the lump in her throat refusing to surrender control of her voice. It took every inch of willpower she could muster to keep from breaking down in front of Ava.

"I waited for you, Thana. Where are you? I can't see you," Ava had her fingers splayed in front of her, as if trying to feel her way around.

"What do you mean? I'm right behind you, Ava," she chuckled a bit and stepped forward, but stopped dead in her tracks when Ava stopped moving and dropped her arms to her sides. "Ava?"

She slowly spun around to reveal that her once beautiful honey eyes were replaced with empty sockets. Thana stared straight into the hollowed areas of where she used to find her solace, her warmth. She couldn't tear her eyes away as Ava stood there, laced with a bit of melancholy and another emotion Thana couldn't describe. She couldn't help but feel more guilty.

"Where are you?" Ava purred as the corners of her mouth twitched upwards into a smile. Thana continued her trek to close the distance between them, but something was off. The closer she got to Ava, the more this indescribable emotion grew, until Thana was standing an arms-length away. "Where were you?"

This time, Ava's tone struck like poison, resembling the wail from the darkness before. Thana looked at her quizzically before noticing her smile growing. It grew and grew until the corners of her mouth reached just below the vacant sockets.

"Ava...?" she cocked her head, examining Ava's face even further. Ava's lips curled back as if in response to reveal a row of razor sharp teeth. Thana realized what the emotion she sensed from before was: hunger.

The figure that once looked like Thana's sister began to deform its body until it showed what it truly was. She had never seen something more terrifying in her life- it turned her blood cold. It was some sort of giant wolf. The beast lunged at her, but she was quicker and flipped back in time to narrowly escape its salivating muzzle snapping shut. Without missing a beat, the monster swung its muscled arm and hooked claws. Thana jumped up and kicked out her leg, expecting to connect with the beast's face, but to her surprise, her leg went through it. She could see where the shadows had blurred where her leg disrupted it and turn back to normal to portray the image of the hideous beast once again.

The horror had no body. Ava had to body. It was just as empty as the space Thana was trapped in. For the first time in her life, she felt useless, weak. There was nothing in this dimension that could come in handy. The white stretched on for eternity in all directions. There was nothing she could do. Nothing. The monster began regaining balance after its momentum from slashing at nothing had brought it down. The beast opened its mouth to reveal a foul stench, one that makes your stomach churn, but Thana only fell to her knees. She had already accepted death. The beast sprung from its haunches, the tips of its teeth sinking into Thana's skin, but it stopped. She slowly opened her eyes.

"Get up," demanded the sweet voice. "Have you already given up after one failed attempt? Boooring. We both know you are better than this, Thana! Now, get up."

"There's nothing I can do, Ava," a twinge of sadness bit into Thana after hearing herself say those words. Ava sympathetically gazed into Thana's golden orbs and cupped her face in her hands.

"Everything has a weakness. Find it. Destroy it." Ava's eyes gleamed after saying those words. Thana looked into her honey eyes and reflected the exact image.

The thrill of the hunt.

Thana removed her shoulder from under the beast, wincing a bit as it tore through her flesh. She stood up and held her sister's hands, guiding her to stand up as well. She roughly embraced her elder sister, her own eyes still glittering.

"Thank you," Thana whispered into her ear. Ava's lips tugged up into a sweet smile and pulled away, giving a curt nod before disappearing from her once again. Thana felt a piece of herself fade just as Ava had done, but now was not the time to wallow in sadness. The beast released a blood curdling howl before staring straight at Thana.

She couldn't help but grin. Her bright eyes glowed with excitement. She eyed the beast, scanning its shadowy body, looking for some sort of weak spot. It hadn't blocked her attack when she aimed for its face, so there probably isn't anything important there. The beast lunged at her and she stepped to the side and plunged her arm where the heart should be. No reaction. Thana darted back to regain her composure before a spurt of adrenaline shot her forward, wreaking a flurry of attacks.

Left, right, left, right. The horror leaked a guttural growl before snapping its jaws and connecting with her left shoulder. Its terrible teeth sunk deeper and deeper, crushing the bone beneath. Thana could hear herself screaming, but couldn't sense anything but sheer pain. She wildly swung her right arm, wishing she could find something, anything. Suddenly, the creature dissipated and reappeared a distance away from her, the pressure on her shoulder no longer there.

It hadn't done that before. It hadn't escaped before. Had she finally struck gold? Thana smirked to herself and began to manically chuckle to herself. It was so obvious! Where did the wolf grow the most fur to protect from other predators? The neck! Except, this creature had no fur. It had no defense, but was impenetrable at the same time.

Thana looked up at the beast and realized its face distorting into pure rage. Normally in this game of predator vs. prey, she was the hunter. But the look this monster pierced her with easily reversed the roles. She was frozen in place, her blood cold.

"-ke up," the beast growled. It's entire being distorted now. "Wake up!" it snarled.

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A/N

Alright! Well, if I have any old readers left, this story is completely different from what it used to be, and if that's a turn off then I'm terribly sorry. :( I already feel like this story is off to a better start already and I have so many routes I could choose to take so I'm really excited about this one! Yes, there is a complete change of scene and a complete change of pretty much everything, but I feel that this version is a lot more interesting to a larger group of individuals. Anyways, to all my readers... enjoy! I've been tirelessly working on this chapter alone for many days and hopefully it suites your guys' tastes. I will try to provide every chapter with the same or even better quality than this, so stay tuned! :)