The Dream Catchers

2.

I knew I was dreaming.

This time I wasn't standing in the middle of a moving crowd. Instead, I was standing on top of a cliff, watching people move down below. From up here I could see how huge the crowd actually was. There were hundreds of them, they moved in unison, their movements almost robotic.

They were all moving forward in the same direction.

Where were they going?

"You again?"

His voice startled me. A surprised gasp escaped my lips as I turned to face him.

"You." I breathed.

I took in his familiar but striking appearance. His raven hair fell over his forehead, his grey eyes were intense. His sharp jaw clenched an unclenched in annoyance. The strong column of his throat led down to his broad chest covered in a fitted black tee and his sculpted arms were currently crossed over his chest.

My throat suddenly felt like sandpaper.

"W-who are you?" I managed to whisper.

He swallowed and turned to look away from me. His dark eyes fixated on the pulsing crowd below.

"Someone you're better off not knowing." He finally responded his voice harsh.

I raised my eyebrows pointedly at his response.

"Technically, I'm dreaming of you so you are a figment of my imagination. So you are whoever I say you are." I said smugly.

He just shrugged but I swore I saw a flash of amusement light up in his eyes but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"Let's see." I pretended to contemplate. Then my face lit up. "I know!" I snapped my fingers. "I'll name you Fredrick!"

I guffawed when I saw his lips curl up in distaste at his new name. He gave me a long withering look but didn't say anything. I continued to smile.

For a moment we just stood there, at the edge of the cliff, looking down as the wind whipped through our hair.

My expression suddenly became solemn. I swallowed thickly. "I uh- wanted to thank you," I murmured without turning my head to look at him.

I heard his sharp inhale.

"Thank me for what?" He questioned.

I chuckled lightly, "I managed to save myself because of the warning you gave me earlier."

I bit my lip when he gave me a cynical look. "I don't know why I'm telling you this but I woke up from a coma after a month and the accident that put me in a coma messed up my head pretty badly. Now I can't remember anything." I shook my head. "When I woke up a man came to get me, claiming to be someone I know. But although I couldn't remember anything about myself I did remember the warning you gave me in my last dream." I shrugged. "Long story short, he wasn't who he claimed he was and I managed to get away. So thanks for the heads up."

For a moment he didn't say anything.

"You were in a coma? You don't know anything about yourself?" He rasped. His words were tinged with shock.

I nodded.

"Not even your name?"

"I managed to learn what my name is. It's Evangeline Peters. . . I think." My brows furrowed.

"What happened after you escaped?" He asked. I could feel his gaze burning on the side of my face but I didn't turn to look at him.

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Nothing much. I wandered around aimlessly for a bit before finally regaining my senses. I went to the nearest police station and told them what my name was. They entered it into their database and were able to figure out where I lived-"

"You went to the police station?" His furious voice demanded. He was suddenly right in front of me, his expression livid. "I warned you not to trust them!"

His hands clasped my shoulders. "Where the fuck are you right now?" He demanded.

What the actual-

I was too shocked to respond. He shook me like he was trying to force some logic into me.

"Where. Are. You?" He hissed.

But even as I took in his tightly set jaw, his frantic gaze-

His silhouette was already starting to fade.

~~**~~

I jolted awake. My heart thudded wildly in my chest. I was gasping for air like I'd just run a marathon.

I sat up in my bed. Flashes from my dream still lingered in my brain. An uneasy feeling burrowed into my chest.

The dream, how it had ended. Something about it had deeply disturbed me. The wild look in that man's eyes just before he'd faded away still haunted me.

Suddenly, a deafening crash shattered the silence. I jumped off the bed in surprise as adrenaline started coursing through my veins.

The relentless pounding on the apartment door echoed through the room, someone was banging against it so loudly that I was scared that it would break down. A wave of fear washed over me and the fine hairs on my arms suddenly stood up.

"We know you're in there!" An unfamiliar voice called out. Their bone-chilling tone pierced through the night.