"Serena..."
Her name sounded on his lips like a faint breeze as he watched the one he loved run from him. He'd made her cry for the second time that day.
"Why can't you understand that it's over!? We're finished!"
Even in his ears the words had sounded harsh and cruel, but what could he do? He wouldn't run the risk of endangering her life because of him. No...he would protect her at all costs, even at the sacrifice of his own heart.
Darien closed his eyes, willing the pain in his heart to at least subside a little. It had only been a week since their break up, but already it felt like it had been an eternity ago that he had last seen her smile, seen her laugh. He had debated telling her about the dreams several times, but knew in his heart that it would never work. Her love for him was just like his love for her...She wouldn't care if she lived or died as long as she could be with him.
He walked alone through the nearby park, silently hoping that Serena had made it home okay. It was getting late, and sky was already orange with the setting sun…but Darien wasn't ready to go home yet. He knew facing his cold, lifeless apartment would only add to his misery…
…And that the nightmares would come again tonight. This he dreaded the most; it was no longer a question of if the nightmares would come, but when. And no matter how many times he relived the dream, he was never prepared for it. He always felt the familiar jolt of horror and despair as Serena was ripped from him, night after night. Every night his heart seemed to die all over again.
He slowly trudged home, knowing full well that he was going to be worse off if he didn't at least try to get some sleep. He unlocked the door to his apartment to find it as it always had been, cold and unwelcoming. At least, that's how it always seemed to him now. Things had been different when Serena had been in his life. She had the most uplifting and beautiful smile of anyone he'd ever known. God, he was going to miss her. Scratch that. He was missing her.
He silently wondered if she would ever be able to forgive him, if she would ever again smile at him with all the radiance that he remembered. He closed his eyes, trying to choke back the emotions that came with the thought. He didn't deserve forgiveness, even if she offered it. As it was, he'd never be able to forgive himself for what he had done to her.
Trying to clear such thoughts from his head, Darien climbed into bed. But it seemed that, once again, sleep would elude him. Each time he would try to close his eyes, her own would swim into his view, those pain filled eyes that it seemed would forever haunt him. With a sigh he rolled over, hoping to rid himself of the unpleasant memory…
It would be 1 o'clock in the morning before he got any sleep, but it would prove to be anything but restful.
He knew the instant the nightmare started what was going to happen. And sure enough, he found himself donned in the familiar white tux with his beautiful princess at his side.
'Please, God,' he silently begged, 'please let it be different this time. Dear God, let her live.'
But his prayer went unanswered. Without warning the church disappeared, and the ground started to rumble violently before bursting apart in a haze of dust and rock. He tried to hold on tightly to Serena's hand, but even his vice-like grip couldn't keep her from being torn from him.
"SERENA!" He screamed, but it was too late. She was gone.
He fell to his knees, his left fist slamming down hard onto the cold ground beneath him. Once again he'd been unable to save her. He'd failed her.
He breathed in deeply, knowing he'd hear the disembodied next that would forbid him to see Serena…but it never came. Instead something completely different happened.
"DARIEN!" Serena cried. He spun around. She was alive, but she wasn't alone.
Terror gripped him as he realized that the man behind her held a knife up to her throat. His cold eyes bore into Darien's accusingly as the man pushed the blade harder against Serena's neck. Three crimson droplets fell onto the knife's edge. Without warning the man's face changed. His eyes turned scarlet as if he were a dangerous animal caught in a violent frenzy. His body shook as he struggled to control himself. Then slowly, reverently almost, he brought the knife's blade to his lips and licked.
Darien shuddered in disgust. It was like watching some sick pornographic film. The gesture was just so private, so…sexual.
Only after the man was sure that he had gotten every last drop off the blade did he again look at Darien. A faint smile spread over the man's face as he once again placed the knife against Serena's throat.
Panic threatened to overtake Darien as he realized a split second before it happened what was to come.
His eyes darted towards hers, and for the briefest of moments, his eyes met with her tear filled ones. A strange calm seemed to overtake her.
She had already accepted her fate.
It was all over in a matter of seconds. With one quick motion of his hand, Serena's lifeless body slumped against the man like a grotesque rag doll, the blood pouring freely from the open wound on her neck…
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Darien bolted upright in bed, the sweat cascading down his body. He trembled violently as he bent over, gripping his hair with both hands.
"Shit…" he cursed. "It was a dream, just a dream," he repeated to himself, trying desperately to stop the pounding of his heart.
Throwing off the covers, he started to pace back and forth across the room. At this point, sleep was most definitely out of the question, but what could he do? His mind mulled over the possibilities as he paced. He could go to Serena, tell her the truth, warn her about what Darien thought was almost certain to come. But as almost as soon as he had thought it, the idea was gone from his mind. If there was any truth to the dream, then the last thing on earth he wanted to do was go to Serena. She was in danger enough as it was without him adding to it.
But what other options were there? If only he knew who the man was, maybe then he could save her in time…
That was it. Without another moment's hesitation, Darien threw on a shirt and pants, grabbed his car keys, and headed out the door of the darkened apartment.
There was only one person who would be able to unlock the secrets of his dream…
When Darien's nightmares take on a terrifying new twist, he quickly realizes that it may not be just Serena's life that's in danger, but her heart as well.