The Monster Within

Chapter 17

Emma bolts awake in bed, her heart pounding in her ears. She wipes away the sweat and tears. It was another nightmare, this one of her son being taken by Arthur King. Her head is pounding so hard that it feels like the room is spinning. She tries to calm herself down by taking deep breaths.

"Are you all right love?" a voice whispers. Killian lays next to her and reaches out to touch her bare shoulder. She shudders slightly and then turns towards him. She doesn't turn on the light, so she's only staring at his shadow in the gloom.

"Fine, just another nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks, doing what Dr. Hopper had suggested in order to try and cope with the nightmares.

"Not right now, I'm going to get a glass of water."

"Alright," he says, rolling over to go back to sleep.

Emma's bare feet pad down the hallway as she goes to the kitchen. She takes a glass from the cupboard and fills it in the sink. Her heart is still slamming against her chest from yet another nightmare. One where Arthur targeted her son and shoved him into a car. He was after her most vulnerable loved one, aside from the unborn baby. The image of her son being held at gunpoint replays over and over in her head. She readjusts her tank top and sips the water slowly. It does help settle her stomach a little bit, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong. She decides to check in on her son, hoping he was now sleeping peacefully. The fight was still fresh in her mind as she walks down the hall.

Immediately, she stops. His door is ajar and his room is pitch black. She checks the bathroom, but it's empty. She then hurries into his room, turning on the light. His bed is empty!

The glass slips from her hand and shatters on the floor. Her heart is now threatening to break her rib cage. She feels light-headed and tears come into her eyes. Her voice is caught in her throat and she only manages one word.

"NO!"

Footsteps pound down the hall and Killian rushes into the room.

"Emma, what's wrong?"

He nearly slips in the puddle of water on the floor and cuts his foot on one of the stray glass shards. His own mind is racing as he scans the room where she's standing, realizing that the Lad is nowhere to be found. He barely has time to react as Emma collapses on the floor. He manages to catch her before she hurts herself and the baby. He then tries repeatedly to call Henry on his phone, trying to do something, anything to bring comfort to Emma. When no one answers, his own heart sinks. Emma is now sobbing and shaking erratically. She cannot fathom what has happened, her mind has gone completely blank. She begins to scream, a primal scream of fear and agony. Killian can barely hold onto her. He sets her gently on the floor and fumbles with his phone, trying to work through the pain of his bleeding foot. He frantically dials a familiar number, starting to get the word out and trying to find the teenager.

...

David awakens to his phone buzzing on the nightstand. He slowly reaches over and sees Killian's name. Immediately he senses that something is off, it's after 2 o'clock in the morning.

"Hello?" he says, now fully alert.

"DAVID!" an Irish-accented voice calls out frantically.

"What's wrong, Killian?"

"It's Henry, he's not here! Is he at your place?"

"N-No."

"What happened?" the lieutenant asks, switching on the light, knowing that this would disturb his wife. He can feel his blood pressure rising in anxiety.