“Hello, Heath. Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Analey. Sorry to be calling so late. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“I know you haven’t been in town long, so I wanted to check in with you,” Heath said.
“I’m getting along just fine. You really don’t have to worry about me.” I appreciated Heath’s concern, but I wanted to cut the phone call short. I held my breath as I anticipated what Heath would say next. He would start by telling me he was still seeing the red-eyed demons. Then he would say that they are all around us and it was his job to find them. No, not only find them, but hunt them.
“What do you think of Shadowmist?” he asked.
I let out my breath, relieved. “It’s nice; I like it here.”
We talked about my job at the boutique and Kami. I told him about my date with Kian. The only thing I purposely didn’t mention were the bad dreams and strange visions. I would be starting a conversation that I knew I didn’t want to have with anyone.
Especially Heath.
“I want to tell you something, but please just listen,” Heath said, his tone serious and shaky. I waited for him to speak, knowing I had not been able to prevent the topic from springing up. After a long pause, Heath spoke.
“I have been having strange dreams again. The same ones about some kind of monsters that appear human, but I know they aren’t.”
It was the same story from a few years ago. Images from my nightmare suddenly flooded my mind. “Like nightmares?” I asked. I didn’t think he was experiencing the same bad dreams I’d been having, but maybe something similar.
“Yeah, something like that, but they aren’t after me. It’s like I…” Heath stopped talking. He was silent for a moment before finishing his thought. I could hear the soft hum of the heating unit, Heath’s low but quick breathing, and the sound of the wind as it began to pick up outside my window. “In these dreams, I am after them.”
I could imagine his hazel eyes darting back and forth as he talked about the insanity that was not crazy at all. I could almost see him running his hand through his unruly hair, the way he did when he felt anxious.
“I know it sounds crazy,” he said with a nervous chuckle.
“No, not all. I understand. I have nightmares sometimes too,” I said.
“What kind of nightmares?” He sounded intrigued.
Now it was my turn to hesitate. “Just the usual monster under the bed type of dreams.”
“What do these monsters look like?” Heath pressed for more details, but I wasn’t ready to talk about them.
“Like in the movies, I guess,” I said.
“Analey, if you ever want to talk about it, you can call me.” Heath’s voice was solemn.
“Thanks Heath. I will keep that in mind.”
“Analey,” he whispered, “beware of the darkness.”
My heart skipped a beat then pounded in my chest. “What--what did you say?”
“I will check in with you later. Good night, Analey,” Heath said and ended the call.
I stared at the phone in my hand. Was I hearing things now too? I shut my eyes and shook my head. I thought maybe a good night’s rest would help me to feel better, but the idea of what was hiding in my sleep brought on a bout of insomnia. I changed out of the dress I had worn on my date with Kian and slipped into a pair of blue cotton pajama pants and a t-shirt.
1,2,3,4. I counted then held my breath for several seconds. I counted to seven as I exhaled. I repeated the breathing technique until I fell asleep.
The sirens wailed loudly as the ambulance raced through the night. The streets were wet from the falling rain and the water splashed as tires rolled through the puddles. The two paramedics in the back of the ambulance were calling out commands to each other while the machines sounded loud beeping warnings.
"She's lost a lot of blood. Put more pressure on her neck wounds,” the male paramedic said. "She is going to bleed to death." But there wasn't much blood left in the woman's lifeless body.
"I've never seen anything like this," the female paramedic said.
I didn't know what they were talking about as I felt fire and ice racing through my veins and my heart was beating so fast. I couldn't see anything I presumed I closed my eyes, too scared to open them and see what was going on. Suddenly I saw bright lights shine through my closed eyelids and heard more voices. We had reached the hospital.
"What do we have?" a man asked. His voice was thick and husky. From the lackluster tone of his voice he sounded as if he must have been nearing the end of a long shift.
"Female, mid-twenties, about eight months pregnant and she has lost a lot of blood," the male paramedic answered.
"What happened to her?" the second man asked.
"Animal attack," the female paramedic replied, uncertain of her answer. "No one saw anything."
I heard multiple people talking at once. So many feelings and sensations were coursing through my body. Heat then cold; pain and tingling sensations were everywhere, all at the same time. I didn't know where I was or what was happening. The pain was becoming unbearable. I knew death was near.
"She's coming to," I heard someone say. "Miss, can you hear me? Do you know what attacked you?"
"My baby!" I heard a woman cry hysterically. "Please save my baby," she pleaded.
"Miss, miss? She's out again," a woman said. "We're losing her. We have to get her into to surgery now if we are going to save this baby."
"Hey! What's going on?" I tried to yell, but no sounds came out. Several minutes passed and then the lights got brighter. The sound of an infant crying filled the room and faces were looking down on me. My vision tried to focus, when suddenly everything went dark.
eight
Iawoke trembling with fear, my forehead damp with sweat, and cold chills ran through my body. The nightmares were getting more vivid and more intense. I wanted to stay in bed, but I was now wide awake.
"So much for sleeping in," I said aloud to myself. I couldn't go back to sleep. I was still rattled from the dream. Sluggishly, I made my way out of bed and sat on the edge, forcing the bad dream out of my head, replacing it with thoughts of the night before. Happy thoughts of Kian and our first date. I hoped the bad dreams would end soon, but I wasn't feeling overly optimistic.
I tried to keep myself busy through the day as I waited for Kian to call. I dusted the end tables, washed the few dishes in the sink, and mopped the kitchenette floor. After the house work was all done, I spent the rest of the morning sitting on the fire escape, wrapped in a thick blanket, reading. The morning faded quickly, and it was lunch time. Then it was afternoon and soon the evening came with no call from Kian. I mentally beat myself up for thinking he would call. It was close to 8 p.m. when my phone finally rang.
"Hello," I answered
Kian’s voice came from the other end. A sense of relief came from hearing his voice. "Hi. Sorry I didn't call earlier. We had a slight emergency and I had to go to the office."
"It's okay. I hope everything is fine at work,” I said.
“Yes, everything is okay,” Kian replied.
We made plans to see each other after work the next day. Kian wished me a good night with a promise to call in the morning. I couldn't believe the luck I was having. Kian was handsome and genuinely nice. He was the type of guy I would love to bring home to meet my parents, if I had any.
The good feeling was quickly replaced with one of being watched. I tried to ignore it but it stayed with me through the night. I decided to go to bed early, even though I feared the nightmares would return.
That night, the nightmares were different. There was no monstrous attack, but the unnerving tone of the dreams was just as unsettling as the ones of the woman being murdered. In this dream, I found myself floating in water, then my body was sinking, going down without stopping. The water covered my body and I gasped for air. I turned and twisted in the dark water trying to decipher which way was
up, but there was no way of knowing. It was all so dark and cold in the watery abyss. In the depth of the dream, I felt the cold grip of death around my soul. It felt empty and lonely, as if a part of myself was missing. There was an agonizing sorrow that filled me and surrounded me. I felt detached from the world, but not from my body. The grief of losing myself was unbearable and I began to weep.
When my body finally began to rise to the surface, I awoke with a start, my head aching from all the crying I had done during the night.
I had to pry myself out of bed. The last thing I wanted to do was to be around people and pretend to be okay. I wanted to stay in bed, but I hoped I could distract myself enough to forget the empty feeling of losing my soul. It was the only explanation I had for the horrible dream. It felt as if I was only half alive, like having one foot in the grave.
After peeling my pajamas off and standing under the running water in the shower for what seemed like hours, I dressed for work. I stepped out of my apartment and began walking to work as I did every day. I was only a block away from the boutique when I bumped into a beautiful young blonde girl. She looked no more than 17 or 18 years old. Her light blue eyes flickered red as she smiled apologetically at me and kept walking. Then an overwhelming urge to go after the young girl caused me to stop walking and I fought the maddening need to attack. I couldn't explain the feeling, but danger radiated from around the girl. I followed close behind her, not knowing why I was doing it. I trailed close behind the young girl as I struggled with my dark desires to kill her. As the girl turned the corner she glanced back at me one last time with a wide grin on her face. I turned the same corner, but the girl was gone.
I wanted to run in the opposite direction, several blocks down the street, away from the route the girl had gone. I stopped to catch my breath, inhaling the cool spring air. I was shaking as I fought the impulse to track down the girl, who I knew was a red-eyed demon. I then remembered what Heath had told me about his dreams. I couldn't believe I was feeling what he said he felt during his dreams. I wanted to run after the girl and felt the need, an unrelenting desire, to kill her. I got back to my apartment with no strength left in me to go to work. The thought of having to talk to people seemed like a daunting task at the time. My hands trembled as I dialed Candice’s number and waited for her to answer.
“I can’t make it in today,” I said when she picked up the line.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, genuine concern in her voice.
“I’m feeling sick. I think it was something I ate.”
“Okay, that’s fine. Kami and I can handle your shift. I have a part-timer who can come in and cover as well,” Candice said.
“Thanks for understanding,” I said. I slid the phone into my back pocket and ran home.
I stayed inside all day and didn’t talk to anyone. I spent the day peering out my window not sure what I was searching for, as my eyes scanned every detail of the street below. Strange things were going on and I had not one explanation for any of it. It all frightened me and at the risk of sounding mad, I felt I shouldn’t tell anyone. As I sat alone in my apartment trying not to think of the girl, because when I did it took all my will power not to rush out and track her down. I was restless and couldn’t resist the urge to move around. I was pacing back and forth in my small living room when I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I took it out and sighed when I saw it was Kian calling.
“Hello,” I said. I dropped onto the couch, rubbing my temples with my fingers.
“Hey. Kami told me you weren’t feeling well. Are you sick?” Kian asked.
“Just something I ate.” I used the same excuse with him as I had with Candice.
“Do you want me to come over and stay with you? he asked.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I pushed down harder on the sides of my head.
“Are you sure?” Kian insisted he wanted to make sure I was okay, but I wasn’t in the mood for his company. I could sense something was changing between us, but I didn’t have time to think about it at that moment.
“No thanks. I don’t need anything,” I said.
“I could bring you a club soda or something,” he offered.
“No. I just want to be alone.” I was becoming impatient with him.
“Okay. I will call you late….” Kian started to say but I had already disconnected the call. I hated to be rude, but I had to get through to him and knew of no other way. I had no explanation for my feelings, but I sensed something dangerous was on the horizon. I cared about Kian and wanted to keep him safe.
Beware of the darkness. The words echoed in my mind. I didn’t know what it meant but a malevolent sensation chilled me from the inside out.
Get in control of yourself, Analey. I reprimanded myself. I started to pace back and forth again stopping in front of the window, my frenetic steps falling loudly on the wood floors. I stared out the window, feeling bad for the way I had treated Kian. He was only trying to help, but his stubbornness was more than I could deal with at my point of almost insanity. I stood a moment longer looking out the window, when I noticed a man standing across the street and he seemed to be watching me. I let the curtain fall and hid behind it. I looked through the small opening in between the panels expecting him to have disappeared but he was still there. He watched me for what seemed like minutes, but it had only been seconds, then he was gone. His presence sent the same cold chills over my skin as the girl had earlier in the day. My phone rang, making me jump out of my skin. I cursed at myself for being so spooked. I saw it was Kian calling again and I rejected the call. Kami was soon calling too. I knew if I answered Kami’s call there was a good chance Kian would be there beside her, so I sent it directly to voicemail. I sat on the couch hugging a pillow to my chest. Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. I stared at the black television screen, when I heard a noise coming from outside. I hopped off the couch and looked over to the buildings across the street. I couldn’t see much of anything through the windows of the vacant structures, most of them boarded up and the rest were dark. I squinted against the black night but didn’t see or hear anything else. I looked down to the street hoping the strange man hadn’t returned. I felt relieved when I found the street below empty and returned to the couch.
I received a text from Kami then one from Kian. Both said the same thing; they were worried about me and just wanted to make sure I was okay. Kian’s message included a plea for me to call him. I decided I would respond and let them both know I was feeling better. A little white lie to make them feel better wouldn’t hurt. I picked up my phone to send the message, but as I was typing, it started ringing. My phone had never had as much activity as it did that day. The number on the screen had Havencrest’s area code. I immediately answered.
“Analey,” Erica shouted. “Thank goodness you answered.”
A wave of relief washed over me when I heard my best friend’s voice. It had only been a few weeks, but I missed her.
“How are you?” I asked. “How’s Nicolas?” I added, not knowing why I did.
“Well, that’s why I’m calling. Nicolas insisted I call you and see if you are okay. He said something about the bad man from his dreams following you.”
All the blood washed out of my face at the mention of the bad man. I ran to the window and looked for him.
“I, ahem, I’m fine. Tell Nicolas not to worry.”
“Are you sure everything’s okay? You sound sick or something.”
“Yes, I have been little ill today, but I’m already feeling better.” I lied again. “Give Nicolas a hug for me and tell him I’ll call and talk to him soon.”
“I will. I miss you Analey.”
“Me too. I will arrange a visit out there soon.”
“Great. Take care. Bye Analey,” Erica said.
“Bye,” I said. I tossed the phone on the couch and stood watch at the window for the rest of the night.
nine
The sun was setting in Shadowmist, bringing an unnatural mist with it. I had not left the safety of my apartment since the day before and I shivered with the slightest memory of the encounter with the young girl. The feeling of being watched had been the only company I had throughout the day and it stayed with me through the evening hours. I didn’t mind it so much during the night. The sensations of being watched unexpectedly comforted me because I didn’t feel so alone. I spent the day curled up on the couch staring blankly at the television screen. My mind filled with images of my nightmares, of the girl I wanted to attack, and of Heath Gibbs. I felt Heath had some of the answers I was looking for, but fear kept me from reaching out to him. I was afraid I would not be able to handle the truth of what was happening to me. I had no idea of what that reality could be, nonetheless I knew it would be frightening. I awoke the next morning relieved I had not had any bad dreams, but the run-in with the young girl from the day before and the man outside my window filled me with anxiety. I contemplated not leaving my apartment, but I couldn’t hide forever. I wasn’t used to hiding or running away from anything and the two-day hiatus had been plenty. I waited until late morning before venturing outside. I hoped a walk would help clear my mind as long as I didn’t run into anymore red-eyed demons along the way. The cool morning felt like icy fingers stroking my face as I stepped out the door. I hesitated on the front steps before descending them and onto the street, mortal fear holding my feet in place. The persistent urge to fight whatever it was that had kept me hiding pushed me down the steps and I didn’t resist. I walked briskly down the street avoiding eye contact with everyone. I didn’t want to look into those red eyes ever again. I knew there were more out there, and I would do what it took to avoid them.
I walked along River Road not paying much attention to where I was going. My mind was on the woman from my dreams. I thought about how her hair swayed back and forth as she ran for her life. It was always raining and dark, so I couldn’t make out more of her physical features. All I got from the dreams was that someone or something was chasing the woman, she was scared, and she was pregnant. I could still feel her fear as she splashed through the rain. I would wake up as she screamed in horror when it had finally attacked her. That panic lingered long after the dream was over, and I couldn’t shake the feeling though that maybe it was more than a nightmare. I considered that maybe it was some sort of prophetic dream about an impending tragedy. I’d had my share of odd dreams but never any that seemed to predict the future, yet I didn’t discount the idea. Regardless of what I thought, something sinister warned me that the real nightmare was yet to begin.
Edge of Forever: The Death and Life of Analey Rose (The Immortal Souls Book 1) Page 7
