The Stranger

5. Returned

When Amelia wakes up she notices that she's not inside the house anymore. She glances around, confused. "The woods?... But I was just in...the..living room. Elliot, where is he??" She thinks to herself.

She starts to hear rustling noises in the bushes nearby and her heart starts racing. "Who's there?" She calls out. There's no answer though and she can't move. It's like her feet are stuck on something, but it's too dark to see.

"Elliot?" She asks in a frightened tone. "How did this happen?" She says as she starts thinking of the worst. A figure starts slowly rising up from the bushes. "Who are you??" She cries out. Still no answer from the looming silhouette though. It starts walking towards her. Amelia's breathing becomes heavier as they approach. Amelia tries to backs up as tears begin to roll down her cheek. "Stay back...." She says in a shaky voice.

As she tries to back up again she falls back and notices that her feet are tangled up in some vines. When they're close enough she can tell it's the same eyes as before. Amelia scrambles to get her feet free. As soon as she does, she starts running as fast as she can. She has no idea what direction she's going in.

The pounding footsteps are right behind her and she can hear the man grunting as he runs. The cold air makes her lungs burn and the tears flow down her cheeks. "Leave me alone!" She cries out.

Amelia can feel the man getting closer and closer. She realizes that she's not fast enough to get away. Suddenly, the man yanks a chunk of her hair. Pulling her against the ground hard.

He leans over her face and their eyes are closer than they ever have been. In a deep voice, full of hate, the man says, "You'll die here." He slowly lifts up his hand and she sees it. A knife in his hand. "No!" Amelia cries out and screams as loud as she can. "Elliot!!! Help me!!"

He swings his hand down and everything goes black. She feels a pushing on her arm. "Amelia?! Wake up." Her eyes flutter open and she lets out a deep gasp of air. Elliot is starring right into her eyes with a shocked look on his face.

"Amelia, it was a nightmare..., are you ok?" He says as he gently holds her. Amelia's face is wet from the tears and her body is shaking like a leaf. "Wh...what happened? Where is he??" Elliot gently rubs her arm. "It's ok.., you had a nightmare. I woke up to you yelling my name... you were moving your arms and legs frantically so I woke you up. Where's who?"

She takes a deep breath of relief and calms down first before she speaks. "I was.... in the woods and he was there.. he started chasing me and I was alone. He stabbed me and it all went black. You were the only person I could think of in that moment. I was so scared. It was...the stranger."

Elliot continues to hold her and pulls the blanket up over them. "It's alright, I'm right here. I won't let him hurt you Amelia. I'm sorry you had such a horrible nightmare." She nods, leaning into him. Her muscles relax a little. "I'm so glad you're here...that was the worst nightmare I've ever had. Oh! And he said something before he...you know... He said I was going to die.."

"He will first before that ever happens. I'll kill him myself if I have to." Elliot says protectively. It takes a little while for her to fully calm down. After about an hour they can see the sun rising.

"I'm sorry I woke you up that way, and that early." He shakes his head and smiles. "Don't worry about it. My dad gets nightmares sometimes too. He never seems to be phased once he's awake though."

That strikes her as a little odd, Amelia gives a slight confused look before she speaks. "Oh, he's never scared or bothered by them?" Elliot takes a second to think. "No, the only type of emotion I've ever seen him give after one is anger. It doesn't ever last long though."