New Beginning

Nightmares

Perhaps it was the shock that made Evie sit there, hand outstretched but otherwise unmoving.

Her mother had set up a 'sleepover' she called it with the other children as the adults talked downstairs and so they had talked for a long time themselves before finally falling asleep as a pile on the floor.

Normally Evie was quick to fall asleep but tonight was different and soon she was the only left awake. She lay there for a long time simply staring at the ceiling trying not to move to much. Her family were drooped around her. Jay lay next to her, closest to the door, with Carlos's head resting on his chest. Evies head was resting on Jays outstretched arm and Mal was curled up into Evies side, farthest from the door but the one who could most easily untangle herself from the small pile and launch herself at any incoming threat.

It seemed to take forever for Evie to start to feel the tiredness begin to take hold and drag her into a blissful state of unconsciousness and she would have happily gone... if it wasn't for the small whimper that seemed to echo through the room.

Evies eyes snapped open, immediately coming to rest on the purplette next to her. Mals face was scrunched up as though in pain and she whimpered again. Evie stretched out her hand to shake her awake. To ask where the pain was coming from when Mal spoke.

"Mommy stop..."

This was how Evie had become frozen, arm in mid air as she stared at Mal through the dim light of the moon.

She'd seen a lot of them have nightmares. She'd watched Jay fight off countless of attackers whilst they screamed at him to wake up. She'd watched Carlos shake, twitch and cry until they could finally wake the sobbing boy up. Evie herself knew she often begged in her sleep, something which Regina had told her was getting better.

But Mal... Mal had never had a vocal nightmare. Sure she'd twitched and woken wide eyed and breathless but she'd never spoken.

"S-stop... please..." Mal whispered again, shifting slightly as though sensing the hand coming closer to her.

"Mal." Evie whispered, knowing her voice was sure to wake Jay soon. "Mal it's me Evie. Wake up Mal."

Mal shifted, her face scrunching up but she didn't wake. Instead she groaned and shifted again quicker this time as though flinching in her sleep.

"Mal..." Evie shook the girls side but that elicited a small cry from the girl so she stopped abruptly.

"E?" She felt Jay looking over at her, Carlos moving in his sleep.

"She's having a nightmare I-"

"N-no..." her voice was louder now and growing in volume.

Evie wondered how upset the parents would be when they found the children weren't asleep. Flashbacks of punishments from her old mother forced there way inside her head and her heart hammered in her throat. No... no Regina had not hurt her yet... but there was always a first time.

Something collided with her chest hard and it knocked her back into the present. Mals hand had started flailing as though fighting, much like Jay, and Evie tried to grab one of her hands to pin it down.

Jay was suddenly the other side of Mal, grabbing limbs that kicked and punched with more power than the pair were prepared for.

"Mal wake up." His voice was soft but Evie could hear the fear in it.

"N-no please..." Mals voice was getting louder and on the edge of her vision Evie saw Carlos move towards the door.

"M wake up please." She mutrered her eyes darting to the two boys.

And then she screamed.

It was blood curdling suddenly Evie didn't want to know what memory was ripping its way through her head. Her body arched as she fought harder again. Evie had heard lots of screams in her life. You couldnt live on the Isle without hearing someone scream every night until it became some form of horrifying symphony echoing in the night.

The door was banged open, Carlos yelping out of the way as Regina was the first to stumble in, eyes wide and fearful.

"What happened!?" She looked for the attackers wildly.

"Mal!" Mallory sped through the door, spotting her purple haired daughter lying, screaming and thrashing on the floor.

The woman skidded onto the floor next to Jay who watched her warily.

"Whats happening!?" She begged the children who gave each other a quick glance before answering.

"Nightmare." It was the only thing they said but it didn't take a genius to realise that it was more a memory than anything else.

Suddenly Mal shot up, her eyes snapping open and gasping for breath. Her body shook and her eyes shot around the room until they landed on Mallory.

"M-mom!" She flinched backwards her eyes wide and terrified.

Mallory moved slowly, trying hard to not seem threatening but feeling her blood boiling in her veins.

"Its okay darling... i promise you arent there.."

"I-Im s-sorry." Evie knew that Mal didnt stutter. Ever.

" You didnt do anything wrong darling. I promise... its all going to be okay."

Regina touched Evies shoulder and silently motioned to the door. The blue haired girl wanted to do anything than leave Mal on her own with her mother but she knew better than to disobey and so silently she stood and left.

They six went down the stairs in relative silence and sat in the front room. The adults didnt know what to say to them. What were they meant to ask? They'd all seen the scars, the other nightmares the children had had. They'd seen the bruises, broken bones not healed correctly, the burns and terror in their eyes.

Regina decided then and there she was going to find a way to get to this other world somehow and personally rip out the heart of every single one of their parents.

Mallory came down the stairs with a pale faced Mal after an hour and as she went passed and saw the barely hidden anger in the other's face Regina knew she had already planned to burn whoever she could find to the ground.