1: DREAMERS OFTEN LIE
The island is quiet, still, undisturbed. The wind howls through the trees, and whispers,
"Come hither"
The grass sways with the song of the wind, and tides continue their never-ending dance, flowing backwards, and forwards, backwards, and forwards…
Claire steps onto the sandy shore cautiously, something is not right. A sweet scent fills the air; it's coming from the forest. It lures Claire in as she follows the wonderful smell. She follows it some distance, but then it disappears. The wind stops. Everything is silent. Claire begins to get nervous, and retraces her steps for a few metres, then stops. There is a gigantic roar, and the sound of falling trees. The monster is back. Claire pulse quickens and her heart beats faster. She begins to run, run as fast as she can. It's getting closer.
A wail is heard in the distance. She turns to her left and runs towards the sound, careful not to head towards the monster. It's Aaron in his crib. Claire grabs him, and sweat now dripping down her forehead. She races as fast as she can in the direction she thinks is the beach. However fast she runs, it is faster, and getting closer and closer to her. She's running with Aaron, fearing for her life. No one escapes the monster.
To her horror, she trips over something in the path. The monster is approaching. Claire looks to see what she tripped over. It's a body. Charlie's mangled body.
"AH!" Claire shot out up and screamed. The light was on next to her. Someone touched her shoulder. This only made her scream more.
"Ssh, hey, it's me, ssh." Charlie's voice rang through her ears, and she clung onto him. He stroked her arm. There was another deep cut. Blood was spilling onto the floor. Once again, she didn't tell Charlie about the dream. This had happened every night. Every time she lied to him. Every time she had the dream, she woke up in the kitchen screaming. She cut herself somewhere different every time. Charlie had tried taking her to a doctor, locking the kitchen and hiding the knives. Yet she still 'succeeded'.
This carried on for a month. One morning, there had been no screaming in the night. Yet Claire was out of bed. Charlie went down to the kitchen. There she was, blood sprayed all over the walls. She had stabbed herself through the heart.