Greetings!

This is my The Hills Have Eyes fanfic I've had in the works for years. I think I've finally fleshed it out, and I'm ready to share it with the outside world.

Rating M for violence, gore, sexual stuff, and swearing

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this crap except my character, Iris

As usual, take into consideration that this is a fanfic and thusly will not be perfect. With that in mind, I would love Reviews. It will really help to motivate me to write more.

Thanks :3

Iris awoke in sheer darkness. It was not that slow kind of waking that happens throughout the night, where she'd typically just roll over and pass out again. This was abrupt and instant, and Iris' eyes were pinned open as if someone had shocked her. Frantically she searched the room for a sign of where she was. Iris' heart was racing, making her feel sick and disoriented. She feared to even draw a breath incase the noise might awaken some terror in the shadows.

Then she saw it; the bar of light beneath a closed door that signified she was just in her bedroom, in the house she had almost always lived in. She must have accidentally closed it when going to bed, and had a night terror. Why the light outside the door was on at all was strange, but Iris thanked whatever god above that it was, or else she might have had a complete shut down.

Shaking, Iris stood up. She was clad in a small pair of shorts and a tank top, and shivered as she emerged from the blankets on her bed. With a slight whimper Iris began to walk across the room to the door, not able to see anything aside from that bar of light. While trying to distract herself from the oppressing fear and darkness, Iris concentrated all her attention on the light and focused completely on reaching it.

Finally she made it to the door, and her hand closed around the cold doorknob. Iris opened it slowly, then poked her head out and peered around. No sign of life. Down the hall was another bedroom, where the door was slightly ajar and dull light shifted out. Suddenly feeling very vulnerable and terrified, Iris leapt out of her dark room and into the living room, then quickly and quietly trotted down the hall to her safe point, this bedroom. Momentarily she stood in the doorway, fidgeting uncomfortably, then she shuffled cautiously inside. There was the head of a bed right next to her, and on the bed was a man wearing tattered pants and a wifebeater. Iris felt calm and relief wash over her at the sight of him there. It brought her back to reality.

Iris wasn't sure if he was sleeping, or if he was just lying there for lack of a better thing to do. Either way she was very hesitant to disturb him, even though this happened almost every night. Thoughts of the darkness, the nightmare, the horrible solitude that awaited her back in her bedroom came to Iris, and she bit her lip in frustration.

"Lizard?" she said, hissing the man's name. Then, louder, "Lizard?"

He moved, his hands rising to his face as he groaned and stretched. Then the man opened his eyes from behind his arms, saw Iris standing there, arms wrapped around herself, and he swung himself to his feet. Despite his body appearing perfectly normal, if a bit malnourished, Lizard's face was mutated into a relatively fearful appearance. His skin looked scarred, his jaw malformed so his teeth wouldn't line up quite right, and a severe cleft lip made him look as if he was constantly snarling in anger.

"Mmmphh…" he mumbled, still half-asleep, and he shuffled towards her. Iris stood there motionless, the sheer intensity of her negative emotions keeping her frozen. Lizard was familiar with this, and was almost used to her appearing in his room at night, standing there as if lost, on the verge of tears. Over the years he had figured out what to do, and how to calm her down. "C'mere, c'mon…mm, let's go…" Lizard muttered, grabbing Iris by the arm and leading her to his bed. He sat her down on the edge of the bed, then gently but forcefully pushed her back and down until she was lying on the far side of the mattress, near the wall. Then Lizard followed, dropping himself on the bed and eagerly lying back down. He pulled the covers up over both of them, making sure Iris was covered nicely, then reached behind him and turned off the dingy lamp on a rickety wooden table nearby.

Darkness again, but this time Iris felt okay. Not only was the door still open and the light from the living room was lighting the room up a bit, but she wasn't alone.

"Iris," she heard Lizard grunt next to her.

"Yeah?" she said in her timid, quiet voice.

"You okay now, huh?"

"Yeah."

She felt Lizard's arm come around her waist, then draw her closer. Iris would have complained about this during the daytime, but contact at the moment was helpful in preventing her night terrors from returning. It reminded her that she was okay, that the world was alright. Iris laid her head down on Lizard's chest and her hand along his ribs, feeling him breathing. Sighing heavily, she felt sleep begin to take over, and didn't fight it. For the hundredth time she thanked the gods above for Lizard, then drifted into unconsciousness.