The curse of the broken soul

Contagious nightmares

While Barley was able to get some sleep, the imp stayed up all night long. She wasn't sure why but after the incident she is yet to share with Barley, she hasn't been sleeping. Her body just didn't seem to need it anymore, an effect of the curse she didn't even realise she had. She didn't seem to need to eat anymore as well, the pain of hunger soon becoming nothing to her as she slowly rots away within her despair. She knew something was wrong, she couldn't even seem to die as well it seems as she should've died from a number of many things long ago now. The curse keeps it's host immortal, the only way to be remotely dead is when time consumes the breaking heart. By then not many know what happens, if the cursed one dies of if they are left as a ghost with no memories or form anymore. Some even wonder if they cease to exist. All that is described is when the heart has turned to dust, the rest of the body does the same, leaving nothing but ashes that blow off in the wind which is accompanied by one final wail of pain. Same say that those who get this curse become banshees or that they turn into a type of banshee to say the least due to their constant wailing and moaning. The fact they can't seem to die adds to their almost ghost like state.

She sat there wide awake, unable to sleep as she kept thinking about Barley. He was being so nice to her and she couldn't understand why. 'Why is he being so nice to me...' she wondered. 'He must want something off me surely...no one is nice. Everybody hates me...' she thought, lightly clenching onto her blanket. 'I-I can't let myself be fooled again...b-but why...why would he even bother doing any of this?' She kept telling herself the same thing over and over, not to fall for whatever trick he is trying to pull. She believed everyone was out to get her, that she should never trust anyone. Yet at the same time she never ever experienced such an act of kindness before. 'He will betray you...it's just a matter of time.'

She looked out the window of the van, starting to wonder if she should just run away now and save herself the grief, the grief she brings to herself and others for merely existing. Her hand was inches from the handle, ready to leave before one final thought occurred to her. 'But...what if I hurt his feelings doing this?'

Slowly, she backed away from the door, feeling so confused it made her head spin. 'If I ditch him...I would be no different than those...those girls from when I was a child...even though it's clear he must be using me for something...I can't do that to him. I can't ever become like them, even if it may cost me my life I won't ever be like them.' She began to breathe a bit heavy, scared and unsure what to do. It was like she was beginning to have doubts in her beliefs, thinking perhaps not everyone wants to see her suffer. Although another part of her was screaming at her not to be fooled so easily. There have been many who seemed so friendly towards her before and as a result she ended up here like this. Betrayed, used, backstabbed. The overwhelming confusion was more than enough to give her a panic attack, causing black smoke to fill up the van as she started crying.

That night as everyone slept, everyone had been struck by a terrible nightmare of some kind. Including neighbours down the street. Her pain was reaching others within a 50 mile radius. Ian having nightmares about getting bad grades and humiliating himself in school, later seeing the ghost of his father saying how disappointed he is with him. Laurel having nightmares about her husband dying and then Colt and her sons as well. Colt having nightmares about losing his loved ones because of a violent criminal he wasn't able to stop. Barley having a nightmare about seeing not just his Dad in a hospital bed, but his mother too, his brother, Colt, The Manticore, all his high school friends, all his friends he played Quests of Yore with in beds with tubes attached to them. Even the little imp was there, slowly dying in front of him.

Everyone shot awake at the same time, the horror of their dreams being too much for them to bare. Laurel and Colt both woke up at the same time, looking over at each other to see how scared they both looked. "C-Colt...?" Laurel breathed out, trying her hardest to calm down.