S.H.A.D.E. [{ Completed }]✔ (#Wattys2018)

Stolen

15.

I am walking through the halls of some building, not unlike the bricked building I was in before coming to L.A. I move quickly, eager.

I want to see her. I am excited to see her, to feel her.

I turn a corner, and there she is, back against the wall, waiting for me. Once she catches sight of me coming towards her, a smile consumes her lovely face, her green eyes shimmer with emotion I never once thought could be directed at me.

When I reach her, my hands twine through her yellow hair, and I press her lips to mine, tasting her, breathing her breath, wanting more.

"Cameras," she manages breathlessly after a moment, and I remember myself, pulling away slightly, eyeing the one above. Luckily, it is directed away, but it will turn eventually.

She giggles mischievously and pulls me into another room, someone's bedroom, closing the door behind us.

We embrace again, and I would give anything to stay in this moment with her, my hands sliding underneath her shirt, skimming over the small of her back. She trembles in my arms, threading her fingers through my hair, pulling me harder against her.

I want her. But now is not the time.

In an effort to gain control over myself, I push her back from me gently, placing my hand on her cheek. "This isn't where I want this to happen. You deserve better."

Her face is disappointed, but it quickly turns up into one of her sweet smiles. "You're right. " She kisses me softly, lovingly. "I love you, Will," she whispers.

I am about to pour my heart out to her, to tell her how much I have grown to love everything about her, but the scene breaks, and a long gash splits down her face, leaking blood.

I open my mouth in a strangled gasp, but before I can even think, her head splits apart, her green eyes bulging, the whites growing larger. She drops in front of me, her brains spilling out from her cracked skull.

I shoot up in my bed, crying out in agony. They stole her away from me!

... But wait. It was a dream.

I am not Will, I am Ebony.

Yes, it was a dream.

What was that? Why did I dream that? It was so vivid.

"What's happened?"

"J-just a... a nightmare." I press a hand to my hammering chest, getting a grip on my breathing.

That was no dream. It was so real. Another memory? But I am not a man. I am not Will.

"What about? Your brain activity was all over the place."

I get a feeling that I shouldn't tell him, one that latches onto my gut, squeezing.

"I can't remember. Something... chasing me. I couldn't find my axe." The lie comes easy, thankfully.

"Nightmares are normal. You've been under stress. Try to rest again. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"When do you sleep?"

He hesitates before answering, but ends up saying, "I get Nightmares too, sometimes. Even a robot has feelings."

The joke is stiff, a deterrent. "About what?"

"Doesn't matter. All my Nightmares do is motivate me. You should learn to treat them as such as well."

"We both have Nightmares at the same time? Wow, now I get why you're called a Sync."

"Yes... well... back to sleep."

"Right."

The rest of the night goes smoother.