I am running, and it is chasing me. Trees surround me on every side, and this forest seems as if there is no end. I am wearing a white dress, but it is muddy from the dirt-covered ground. Flecks of blood cover it from where tree branches scrape against my skin. I try to scream, but no sound comes out. My voice is gone.
I can sense it behind me, I feel its presence in my very bones. Its breath is hot on my neck, and the sound of its footsteps are all I can hear. It is walking, yet it is still right behind me. Every so often I feel its claws brush my skin, marring my already-scarred back. I always manage to break free though, just before the sharp talons can rake across my skin.
Finally the world of trees come to an end, and I reach a large lake. The water in not blue, but black, and it is perfectly still. There is no sound. I am completely alone. Soon I heard the creature behind me, and I have no choice but to enter the lake. I wade out deeper into the water, and I can no longer see it.
Something grabs a hold of my leg, and I feel myself being dragged under. Sharp claws tear at my skin, ripping my skin to shreds. Soon I start to lose consciousness, and everything fades to black.
I shoot of from bed, panting and dripping sweat. Danny barely stirs from where he is laying next to me, he has gotten way too used to this. He squeezes my hand, and I squeeze his back, glad for his closeness. I laid back down, knowing full well that I would not be going back to sleep.
It had been almost a month since the attack, and the nightmares haven’t stopped. When they first started, Danny and I had pushed our beds together, creating one big one. It felt nice knowing he was there, I felt so much safer. Neither Ryan nor Aaron had been very pleased about it, which surprised me. It made me wonder if Danny had been right about Aaron liking me.
The nightmares were different every night, but they all involved the creature. And they all involved him trying to kill me. I sighed and rolled out of bed, giving up on pretending to sleep. I dug through my dresser, before pulling out a simple outfit.
The shower felt great after tossing and turning all night. I took longer than I usually did, just enjoying the way the hot water felt on my muscles. Eventually the water turned cold, and I groaned as I got out of the shower. I could have stayed in there for awhile.
When I walked back into the bedroom, Aaron was the only one still in there.
“Where are the other guys?” I asked him, taking the seat next to him on his bed.
“They are out hunting.” he said and I nodded. They had been hunting a lot lately. I rested my head on his shoulder, all these sleepless nights were taking its toll on me. I looked up, and saw him smiling at me from the corner of his eye. We sat there like that for a couple of minutes, but of course the moment was ruined when my phone started ringing.
I walked over to where it was laying on my dresser, and glanced at the caller id. Mom. I just started at it. It had been over a month since I had talked to my mom or Emily, and I regretted it.
“It’s my mom.” I informed Aaron, who was still sitting on his bed. I turned back to staring at the phone. I heard Aaron’s amused laugh from behind me.
“Do you want me to answer it?” he offered. I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. I shook my head, and reached for the phone.
“Hello?” I asked, bringing the phone to my ear.
“Haven! Finally you answer! I was really getting worried about you. I assumed you were just busy with homework and what not, but I was getting ready to call the school! Could you really not have sent me at least a text? That wouldn’t have been too hard would it? How was I supposed to know if you were okay? You could have-“
“Mom. Calm down, I’m fine. I’m so sorry I haven’t called you back. I’ve just been so overwhelmed with things. There has been a lot of stuff going on at my school recently. But I promise I will call more.”
“It’s fine honey, as long as you don’t forget me. But since you answered for once, we need to go over Thanksgiving plans!” Oh dear God. I had completely forgotten about Thanksgiving. From his bed I saw Aaron raise an eyebrow, he could clearly hear this whole conversation.
“Right. Thanksgiving plans.” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“You are coming home right?” My mom asked, and I grimaced. There was no way I could return home with this thing after me.
“Well mom, I was actually planning on staying here with some friends, they don’t really have anywhere else to go…”
“Oh perfect! I would love to meet your school friends.”
“Mom I don’t think that that is going-“
“I’m buying tickets right now! How many will you guys need?” I sighed, my mom was unstoppable when she put her mind to something.
“Four.” I groaned, giving in.
“Great! I will text you the info. Bye Sweetie, love you!” And with that, she hung up. I threw myself back onto Aaron’s bed, covering my face.
“Thanksgiving, huh?” He asked, looking amused.
“I guess so.” I sighed.
“Where are you even from?” he asked, and I realized I had never told the boys much about my family.
“San Francisco.” I said, and he seemed surprised.
“California?”
“No stupid, the other San Francisco.” I said jokingly, and he laughed.
“I just never really pictured you as a California girl.” He said. He had a point, I did look nothing like the stereotypical Cali girl, I was not blonde and I was definitely not tan. We heard a door open from somewhere in the dorm, and Aaron and I walked into the living room to find that Ryan and Danny had returned. They looked us over, and then decided something was up.
“What?” Danny asked cautiously.
“How do you guys feel about California?”
