Ch.1 Haunted Land of Nightmares

#1

The last thing she remembered before she d slipped away within the dark oblvion of dreams and nightmares was kissing her little boy goodnight..Loving her husband. and her hopes and dreams for the future. None of them really had fears of anything anymore as the world changed into a perfect painted picture..A picture that any mother would want to raise a child in..But that night when she went to bed she had not realized just how wrong she was and just what was out there lurking in the dark..Just how evil the darkness could really be when you forgot about it.

It hadn t taken her long to fall into dreams and nightmares and leave life and living behind and then her fate wasn t up to her or the world anymore-It was up to him-Who he was, Well that was the big mystery. The mystery in which changed her belief in utopia and made her believe that a perfect world , had been a complete lie and something had been there all along..Lurking..Watching. But would anybody believe her..This did sound like Crazy talk.

It was almost as if she hadn t been dreaming at all. As if she d stepped out her back door and had taken a little walk but what she saw wasn t anywhere near her house and that s when she realized it was a dream..But was it? Was it just a dream or a nightmare or was it much, much more than that,even.

When she was young she used to be petrified of the forest. Had believed it was dark and haunted..and yes, evil. And what was right in front of her now? The most mysterious, Haunting forest she d ever seen in her entire life..it seemed to sprawl out around her, Trapping her,somehow in the darkest hour of the darkest nightmare she d ever had in her life. Silvery moonlight poured down on the forest making it appear to be a scene from a horror movie...All of the branches seemed to bend together..Some formed arks while others under the light of the moon appeared to be alive,somehow. she knew they weren t but a part of her on the inside whispered in fear.. Could she be wrong about that? , She didn t know. All she knew was what she felt. She wanted to runaway and hide from the forest which seemed to pull her in against her will..Pull her into a terrifying scene from the most horrifying horror film ever put to film and even though she wanted to run; To hide. She felt herself being pulled, Dragged into the forest as the forest became closer until she was inside it and the world that had existed before had seemed to dissapear. Not just that but she d seemed to once she d been taken in by the dark forest forget about this being a nightmare..Now she didn t know if it was real or if it wasn t. This felt real..She thought. So the memory of the nightmare fell away from her and all she was left with was an incessant urge to escape..To get out before it was too late. It wasn t just the forest or the haunting, Glow of the moon which warned that something wasn t right here..It was her own intuition telling her that this was a bad place and she was in grave danger. That feeling alone made her walk even faster as she was able to realize that whether it was a nightmare or not..Maybe she was in danger no matter what and she had to get away from this. She had to escape.

So she moved faster. Through the tree branches which had been binded together to form archways..she tried to avoid them as much as she could for fear that the branches would reach out to grab her..Not like branches at all..But like Claws. She couldn t even believe she d think such a thing. She was a young woman..Not a little girl. These were the things her little boy feared..the things she told her son that didn t exist..Just children s games. and Now what was she doing? She was doing the same exact thing that she d convinced her son didn t exist. But in this world..Wherever she was she had doubts on whether they didn t exist or not. This fear..This evil..It was real. Maybe it made her seem crazy but in the dark of night under that hateful moon and in this evil forest, She believed every word..Every thought that made her believe..She wasn t safe here.

Taking deep breaths, She tried to calm herself down..Even as she heard the howling and soft, Night mournings of wild animals. She heard the howling cries of a wolf..Maybe even a Coyote off in the distance of the forest-She could see as plane as day as a snow Owl took it s Purch on a high branch making it s soft mourning calls as obvious as the night it s self..All of this made her walk even faster. Even though the snow owl was beautiful and seemed harmless. But somewhere in the distance was a wolf and wolves were mean and if there were wolves there had to be other wild animals as well. She knew one thing and that was that even if she was crazy she knew one thing for certain. In a natural setting with wild animals as these she was still in danger and she didn t need to be of sane mind to understand that. She knew that the quicker she moved, the sooner she d reach the end of the forest. She wanted to reach the end of the forest as soon as possible. Hopefully before the sun came up. She couldn t imagine staying out here all night. She d be prey to all of those wild animals. Maybe she wouldn t even make it through the night. Not unless she found some kind of shelter. But she didn t plan on staying so at first, she didn t look.

The thing which scared her most was that the more she looked straight ahead of her as she stepped over twigs, Logs and dead Grass the more that she was only able to see the continuing Threat of the forest and Moon s horrible, haunting glow made it appear as if the forest would never end..As if she was trapped in an on-going and never ending forest and would never escape it. It made her feel weak and tired but it didn t stop her..It made her strive harder to move foreward, despite the moon s cunning, Irony nor her own instincts which told her she was fighting a losing battle. She still walked as far as she possibly could as she began to wander if she d make it out tonight. Maybe she should start looking for a place to camp out..A safe place. It was already starting to seem as if her life. Being married and having a little boy and living to the fullest was just a dream and this was her real existence.

At the top of a hill in the forest she stopped to catch her bearings. Her knees and ankles were killing her and she was getting so tired..So very tired. She didn t know what to do but she knew she had to look for some place to stay the night. She knew that she couldn t walk much farther. Besides, She felt as if she was being watched. As if something evil was following her. She had the urge to run but instead she moved very carefully watching every step she made as she knew that running would just draw attention to herself..If it was an animal it could catch her and kill her quickly without her even blinking an eye. So she moved slowly but nothing happened..Soon she picked up her speed and soon she was moving up on a secluded area where a nasty, faded and rotten Orange school bus had crashed some time ago..It s once Orange paint had changed and faded so much that it looked more like a beige color. The light in the bus had since dimmed out but with the florescence of the moon casting it s shadow the windows of the bus seemed to light up giving the whole bus a haunted glow. On the front of the bus was a since faded black sign which read Act B. None of the other letters were visible. Her guess was Activity Bus as she had traveled on a bus out of state when she was in high school to see her husband play basketball. She edged foreward moving up towards the opened school bus door..But all that was left inside was brutality and evil..Remains after remains..Person after person. She couldn t hardly even call them people now because what they were was a warning sign of what happens when you tried to escape this forest..these group of kids had ended up losing their lives..Even the smell was enough to destroy her. If there was one thing she knew it was that she didn t want to end up like that..She didn t want to end up just a pile of remains scattered among the forest. Obviously, something horrible had attacked the bus and killed them all brutally. She wouldn t die that way, she told herself that over and over again.. I can t..I m Haley James Scott..When it comes down to it I ll get home..I ll be with Nathan and Jamie again..This is just a nightmare! , She told herself this over and over again. The fact was she wasn t so sure it was just a nightmare..She wasn t sure where she was or if she d ever get home. The only thing she was certain of was that she was in danger..That she could die just as horribly as everyone on that bus had died and that scared her beyond belief.

All she knew was that she would strive..She would fight to not become trapped here like those lost souls..Those mangled remains that had been left to rot on that old and decayed bus. She wouldn t be left to rot like that. She would find a way home to her husband..To her little boy. She d fight whatever this evil was that was trapping her here..But she wandered..If this was just a nightmare..could she ever truly sleep again..Or would sleeping become the enemy? She hadn t thought about it until then because she hadn t thought it was a nightmare. She d thought it was reality. That she was just lost and she needed to find her way home. But maybe the fact that there seemed to be no end to this forest was a warning sign telling her that it was a nightmare and until she woke up this forest would be all she d see. She didn t want to think that way for fear that maybe she d never wake up. She was trying to stay positive even when staying positive was the hardest thing to do.

But she didn t want to believe that there was no getting out of here. She didn t want to believe that she wouldn t escape the forest tonight. Nor did she want to believe that she d soon be forced to take shelter no matter how haunting this forest was or how much danger she knew she was in. It wasn t a question of want to. it was a question of survival. She d do whatever she had to in order to survive and get back to her husband..Her little boy..and her friends. The life she loved was waiting for her and she wouldn t just fall down and let the world carry her away. That was a silent vow she d made to herself not realizing just how powerful..How evil this nightmare world really was.

So she kept walking. The reason she believed it all a big nightmare was because no matter how far she walked..emotionally she was more tired than she d been in her life. But physically she could run a mile. She knew that if this was real at all she d feel as well as tired but the knowledge of it being a nightmare made it even more frightening as it felt surreal. As if the evils..The threats in this world could hurt her in the present. She knew that what she was thinking..It was craziness. Those were the stuff that horror movies were made of-Not real life-. When she woke up from this nightmare and realized it was just that-A nightmare-. She d realize how foolish she sounded. Maybe when she awakened she wouldn t even remember the nightmare at all..Only a faint fearful feeling that she d been running from something. That s how dreams and nightmares worked. You never really remembered the nightmare itself. But you remembered the feeling that went along with the nightmare. Being scared and alone. fearing that you d never see the ones you loved again. Those feelings were very much real but haley wandered..If those feelings were real..Were the things that caused those feelings real,too?

Wherever she was it was dark. Really dark. Her only Guide to the world around her was the haunting, midnight glow of the moon that shined above and beyond as if nothing but a halo of light. But it seemed to mock her..To trick her. As if the light wasn t her friend afterall, but her enemy. But even so, she followed it because being in the light felt safer than being in the darkness alone and ungaurded. So she followed the rays of the moon further on. Through Shrubs and sticks that pulled at her legs. She climbed atop a grassy hill where the trees didn t seem to surround her as much. Where she could actually see. See if she could actually get out of the forest before first She looked from one direction to the next...The forest seemed to stretch out wherever she looked. It appeared to her as if the forest would never end. As if no matter how long and far she traveled..She d never be free of this darkness; This evil. She closed her eyes for a second, Willing the negative thoughts away. Thinking that if she just stayed positive that she d get out and return home..Safe and sound. .. It s just a trick..A stupid trick..Smoke and mirrors is all it is , She told herself. But even as she pushed herself straight ahead telling herself that it was mind games , didn t change the fact that wherever she looked was more forest and the moon and the darkness seemed to lurk all around..As if to tell her that she d never get out..A dark, gritty voice..A haunting voice in the night told her.. You ll never get out of here..Nobody ll even find you..You re gonna end up just like those mangled corpses on that school bus..Lost, Neglected, and brutalized and no matter how hard you run you ll never escape your fate..This is your fate, Haley James Scott! .. At first Haley had thought the voice was her own inner voice making her fears come to light. But it wasn t her voice at all. It was a man s voice. A hard Grity..Ice cold voice it was. But she couldn t see him. She could only hear him. Telling her that she might as well crawl onto that bus and take a seat. Cause you re gonna die alone and scared..and you re gonna die soon and it ll be horrifying ... Haley wanted to scream. She felt her heart jump up into her throat as her heart beat seemed to go stronger and faster than she d ever remembered it beating.

The most horrifying feeling in the world was hearing someone threatening you..Haunting you and not having the knowledge of knowing who they were, what they looked like, or even where they were. She d admit it. Right now she was scared. Scared to death. But she wouldn t let whoever it was get the best of her. She d survive. She wouldn t die and fall to peices like he expected her to. She wasn t going to climb onto that bus and give into whatever he thought her fate was. She d always been strong and had never given into things even when they were at their hardest. So she wasn t going to change that now. But she couldn t say that she wasn t petrified because she was. Just hearing those Those dark, haunting words..that voice..So devoid of heart or warmth..But of complete darkness. She d pushed herself fast and hard up hills and down hills through heavy grassy areas and dirt until a loud, Haunting howling noise stopped her in it s tracks.

Haley shivered, Trembling in terror at the sound of it. It wasn t as if she hadn t thought of the fact that there were wild animals around. This was a forest and a big forest at that. Which she yet again thought back to the bus and how all of those kids had lost their lives. Had been a wolf or a bear. Or some wild animal that had malled them. No ..She decided. There bodies had been too disfigured, Too brutalized to be a simple malling. Maybe the wild animals had done them in afterwards..but she had a feeling that there deaths had more to do with that haunting, evil voice than anything else she could imagine.

The wind began to blow heavy moving the branches so they swayed evenly from side to side. Haley could even feel the cold, winter chill of the wind. It wasn t winter though. Atleast not in reality. The wind made a Sad, howling noise. But she d known that it hadn t been the wind that had made that noise afew seconds ago. Something was out there, something was watching her and it became clear at that very moment the need to find somewhere safe from the night and quick unless that voice would end up being right and haley felt as if she d already known that if she died in this reality whether it was a dream or something else she d die in the real world,too.

She ran as fast as she could, nearly tripping over rocks, Dirt, branches, and grass as she sped through in search of safety and for the longest time she found nothing. just more trees, grass, dirt, and rocks.

She could see a stream of water to the side of her now. But there was something beside it. Something tall, Like an animal. Like a dog..She at first thought. But it was too big. Too monstrous to be a dog. But as she watched, every bone in her body froze in disbelief at what she was seeing and the terror that she felt as she did see it. The creature was big and furry..Grey,brown, and black patches of fur made up it s entire body but it wasn t a wild animal or a dog. Big black shiny claws with sharp razor blade nails to cut and tear a person open at will. It s fangs were sharp and warning while it s eyes..Those eyes..Those Silvery-Green eyes Taunted with evil desire to hunt it s prey and wrip it apart. Haley couldn t believe her eyes. She d seen movies but never had she ever had a nightmare as an adult. Atleast not about a werewolf..She knew that if she didn t run away that she d be it s next prey and right here, Right now she believed in everything she saw because she was no longer in her world..She was in it s world and she was in serious trouble.

It s eyes were cunning and vicious as it began to chase her..Lurking in the shadows as if to believe that it didn t even have to worry a bit. But this time haley ran hard and fast not caring if she tripped or fell. Soon she came to a path as it led up to an old, abandoned old Cabin which appeared to be falling a part in the glow of the moonlight as in the glow of the moon it seemed to her she was entering the sight of her own doom. But she tried not to think like that: She was a survivor. That s all that mattered right now.

But right now she couldn t be picky. Right now all she cared about was a roof over her head and a safe place to hide. Hide from this reaccuring nightmare..Hide from the monsters that haunted the forest. Hide from the idea that maybe that horrifying voice had been right and that maybe she never even had a chance.

The heavy door swung open as if it wasn t so sturdy afterall and would swing open with any kind of breeze. but she went inside of the cabin and pulled the door tightly behind her..Not paying attention to her surrounding at first as she was in the dark she felt for something heavy and reaized it was a chair and held it against the door as well as acouple of heavy bricks that had been near the outside of the door. once the door was secure and shut she d taken a look around. She d found an old lighter on the ground and was grateful that it still worked as she lit an old coleman lantern that sat on an end table near a bed..The bed was dust but was made up with fresh sheets and a cream colored blanket and pillow. the floors were weathered oak which had looked bright and shiny probably a decade ago, but now look and felt decayed and unsafe. but they were safer than being out there. She knew that in a place like this there was probably mice scurrying all over the place but in the whole night she didn t see one. things were quiet. Sure, it was cold but it was only one night. First thing in the morning, she vowed to herself she d be back home again.

She hadn t bothered to look in the darkened rooms when she d found the cabin. But the next morning she d done a thorough once over of the whole cabin. There was just a small kitchen with an old wood burning stove and a handmade oak table and chairs and the floors felt just as weathered and decayed. There was nothing to eat in the kitchen,though not that haley would ve tried eating anyway as the food was probably as old and outdated as this whole place seemed to be. But stepping outside in the light had never come up and it was still as dark as ever and the moon still raised high and bright like a beacon.

But this time she made a run for it. leaping through the high hills on a good jog that she hoped would carry her far away from wherever she was. She followed the moon as if in belief the moon was going to lead her home. She ignored all of the doubts and all of the haunting noises that made her feel weak and powerless. As if she was already dead. but then as she entered a place where trees became scarse she heard a voice but this time it wasn t that dark, evil man s voice. It was nathan s voice. She could hear him as clear as ever. his soft, genuinely loving voice was calling to her but she couldn t see him anywhere..

.. Come back to me hales , he said in a soft mournful whisper.

She ran, trying to follow the voice. Thought that maybe if she followed the voice, Nathan could lead her back home. I need you..Jamie needs you! , he urged once more.

Haley followed the moon while listening to Nathan s sweet, mournful voice. Begging her to come back to him. She no longer worried about how long and far the forest spread or the evil things willing to tear her to shreds because in her mind she didn t see all of that. She saw nathan s loving face. his dark silky hair..his dark , sensitive blue eyes..His beauty that had made so much more of a husband and a father than his father had ever been. She followed the moon and nathan until she could no longer hear his voice anymore. She was in the hospital, in a hospital room staring down at her own figure laying in bed, helpless and sick..Maybe even dying.

Nathan was there, he was holding her limp, lifeless hand in his..Tears streamed down his face.. Come back to me,hales ..he went on. The same voice that brought her back to him in the first place and she d realized right then that Nathan had saved her. And she owed him everything because of it. As if out of some kind of magic or some kind of rule she was no longer staring down at herself. She was in that bed hooked to wires and machines, half asleep. But when she d opened her eyes it wasn t like any nightmare she d ever experienced because in the still of the early morning s light Haley James Scott was certain that she remembered everything.

#2

The first few moments haley had awakened she had felt as if she was still in some kind of a dream world. As if she was not completely there yet she wasn t completely asleep. If anyone would ve asked, she wouldn t know how to explain it. It was almost as if she could see Nathan, She could feel his tender touch. Hear his words and feel how grateful she was that he was able to pull her back, but some part of her was still processing what she d felt and seen and wandering if it was really a nightmare or a dream at all. If maybe just maybe what she d experienced could be more than just that.

She remembered every single part of it. Down to hearing nathan s voice and him pulling her back to this world. But that voice..That hauntingly evil voice just wouldn t leave her. His voice seemed to haunt her very soul now that she d heard it. But it wasn t just the kind of voice you could just hear. somehow, someway his voice was different because with just one voice she was able to feel a mixture of emotions as if one man could possess the most undeniable power in the world and truly was just an ant that he could squash at any minute. She wanted to chastise herself about how she was acting.. Do you hear yourself? you sound cirtifiable. No one will believe you. Do you actually believe that this nightmare man is real..He s just a figment of a bad nightmare! , she thought to herself. But there was too much that did not add up. One thing being..Everyone dreams or had nightmares sometimes but she d never heard of a nightmare sending you directly into a coma..Not even the doctors could make sense of it. It wasn t normal. But did that necessarily mean that what she d seen was real? she didn t know. She knew that if she told Nathan he would be serious with her and he wouldn t laugh but she wasn t so sure about Lucas or the girls. She knew that Brooke would understand her..Brooke would try to see that she d been through alot. While Lucas. Lucas would make fun of her, he d laugh at her and be mean. The lucas that had been around lately wasn t exactly the same kid she grew up with. Somehow he d changed and she nor Nathan could understand why or how.. Now he was hateful and angry with everyone..Especially Peyton. They were married and had two kids..Sawyer and baby keith. Haley had thought that he should be thankful but she hadn t dared to ask him why he wasn t. she didn t want to be snapped at not that she put up with it as Nathan just let him walk all over him. Haley was never the kind of person to let people push her around..She was strong willed. Being strong wasn t a bad quality..It was the exact kind of quality that had saved her life.

acouple of hours after she d awakened she felt more herself even though there was a part of her that was still very much thinking about what she d seen and how she d felt in that coma nightmare-That s what the doctors called it- as they didn t have a technical name for what had happened. Dr. Harper Roberts was her main doctor. Long jet black hair she puled up into a ponytail and dark, asian eyes matched with high cheek bones and a pleasant smile..An older man with greyish brown hair and dark green eyes who wore a white lab coat was the other doctor that had been more in command with the whole situation..Dr. Edison Mills had been a doctor for atleas 40 years and was a specialist in his feild and even he knew nothing of what Haley had gone through. They d wanted to keep her a night for observation. While Nathan had to go home for when Dan,Deb, and Karen brought Jamie home as they d been on a camping trip as to keep jamie preoccupied so Nathan wouldn t have to answer so many questions about haley. But today he was coming home and today nathan didn t mind answering questions..Tomorrow morning Haley would be coming home. All he d tell their son was that his mother was sick, But she s well now. what else could you tell a 5-year old. He wouldn t dare tell him that his mother was hospitalized because of a nightmare. he d be petrifed of ever going to sleep again. It was bad enough that his Aunt quinn had brought a collection of horror movies..The nightmare on elm street movies for halloween and Jamie had stayed up for almost 3 weeks after he saw them. .. Oh Come on..Every kid watches a really great horror movie once in a while and wets the bed or won t go to sleep..It s called being a kid! You should ve seen some of the movies we made haley watch when she was little..She wet the bed every time.. , Quinn would go on laughing. Nathan had thought that Quinn and Taylor had a morbid since of humor, not that it bothered him other than the fact that Jamie had kept them awake for nearly 3 weeks saying that he thought he saw a hand with knives on his bedroom wall but was just the outside tree s shadow...Jamie hadn t had a dream like that since before he d met his grandpa dan and he d had reaccuring nightmares about Dan. So that s why they didn t tell there son about nightmares sometimes being dangerous. Although not even the doctors understood what had happened with haley. Nathan wouldn t lie..Just that alone scared him plenty. he d thought he was never going to see her again. He was just so relieved that this story had a happy ending. But Tonight Lucas had agreed to stay with haley as the doctors had agreed that it would do her some good as Lucas was her brother in law as well as one of her oldest and dearest friends. Lucas had even agreed to be warm and helpful instead of grumpy and mean.

It had been less than afew hours when Lucas had come into her hospital room. For the longest time they didn t say anything. he did seem as if he was worried and concerned about her. As if her almost dying had taken a toll on him and effected his life in some way. She did feel as if he cared and that he was the same Lucas Scott she d grown up with. But in his eyes..they were cold and Angry. Eyes that seemed to know something that she didn t. Eyes that had seen something so bad..So evil that he d never be the same again. She wanted to think that she was seeing things that weren t there. That maybe he was just going through a hard time or had changed because he wasn t just the lucas Scott who had been born and raised in Tree hill. He was a Hollywood figure now. Right after his daughter, Sawyer was born he d gotten the oppertunity of a lifetime and moved to Los Angeles, California with his newborn daughter and wife, peyton. But Not long after he d started his own television show off of his book, An unkindness to Ravens ..Although he d named it just simply.. The Ravens . But it hadn t changed him like this, haley thought. Sure, he was alittle bit more arrogant and had begun to feel that he was better than everyone. he hadn t even kept in touch as much as he used to but he hadn t been mean. His Show was on the CW network and brought in the biggest ratings the network had seen in years-almost 20 million viewers. But Lucas had gotten into a fight with the exec of the CW and had moved his show to Fox. Now his show brought in nearly 65 million viewers on Monday nights. Haley watched it. It was like looking into a mirror as it was the story of their lives growing up in tree hill. Ofcourse, with a different town name and different names for the charactors. Haley loved it. Even Jamie watched it. He d cuddle up on the sofa with them come monday nights and he d smile and giggle.. Is that what it was like growing up for you guys,mama? ..Haley would smile. Nathan would even smile. More or less,buddy ..Nathan added. But just afew weeks ago Lucas had added a new charactor..A deborah Hall..Instead of Scott the boys last name was hall. He made her just like Deb except making more like a prostitute. It had been all over TMZ last week how Deb had found him and knocked him out. TMZ had it on instant repeat.. The Lucas she knew would ve never done such a tacky thing to someone he knew. Even if it was just Deb Scott. Well, while not a scott anymore. She was still Nathan s mother. Lucas had always shown Deb respect but to create a charactor and privately slander her. This had even annoyed his own mother. Karen and Deb had their problems but Karen couldn t condone what her son had done.

But things had changed there to. Keith had become more of a drunk lately so Dan was justified in calling him Boozie , But Dan and Karen were married now. They had a five year old daughter Lily and a 4 year old son, Sam. Lily looked just like Karen..Long, dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes although her skin seemed to take on more of a natural tan than a dark complexion. While Sam was everything Dan. Light brown hair and dark blue eyes. Keith had even made mention how he looked like Danny when he was a boy. Although Lily was not Dan s daughter..Lily was Keith and Karen s daughter. They d been married for a while and something had gone wrong and now Keith and Karen could barely say two words to eachother without getting into a fight.

But back to the here and now. Lucas tried to smile. Tried to be warm and gentle like he promised his brother he would be. But something kept getting in the way. Haley almost died. It had been so close to the things his nightmares were made of. A voice..A dark, Angry..An evil voice told him not to get close..To only hate. Logic told him that if he got close he d lose his best friend..He d lose his brother..His wife..The children..Anyone he cared about... this evil..This dark man would take from him and the fear that was developing inside of him was filling him full of hate and anger..He could feel it destroying him and sometimes he did care. Sometimes he wanted to stop. To try to change it, But other times he realized that the evil wouldn t just go away and what if he took his guard down and everyone he cared about were killed..Just the way he envisioned it in his worst nightmares. So he distanced himself from it because that s what he had to do to survive this. It was easier this way, he believed. He knew what Dan Scott would call this..He d say he was being a little boy to where he needed to be a man. Peyton had even said that much.. I didn t Marry Lucas Scott the little boy..Atleast, I thought I married a man,Luke! , She d said that so many times for the last few years. Then that voice..That hateful..Evil and Cruel voice would come to him.. She doesn t respect you..She never will. She s never loved you..Not once , Then lucas would shutter at the thought of that voice being right when he d loved Peyton Sawyer his entire life. From the first time he d seen her as a child he d known and said.. One day I m gonna marry that girl ..and he had. Could it all be thrown away..Just as simple as that. The only one who knew his secret was Whitey..Whitey had referenced that he understood..That he believed him and thought he should tell Danny. Danny s a different man than he was before, Lucas..He s with you re mother now and she s brought out the good in Danny.. , It wasn t that Lucas still hated Dan. It wasn t that at all. Sure, they still had there problems..Lots of problems. Dan still hadn t been there for his whole entire childhood and now that he was around he felt cheated. He could be there for Lily..For Sammy..But he was never there for him. He knew that even nathan was a bit jealous at that. But they were making strides foreward..Himself, Nathan..They were trying to let Dan in even though he was still an ass, he wasn t as vicious and conniving as he d been in the past. But If there was one thing that Lucas wouldn t tolerate it was being laughed at. If a person said they heard evil voices that went down deep into their soul taking all the good out of life and making your world Rotten they sent you to an asylum and labeled you as crazy. But somehow he knew that Whitey had been right about Dan..But He and Dan weren t exactly that close in their relationship to actually talk about anything that serious. He d had long, personal chats with Whitey. He couldn t talk to keith anymore. Keith had changed when his mother had chosen to be with Dan. He d went back to drinking and nobody could really have a conversation with Keith without the bottle. He even turned his back on Lily who was really his and Karen s daughter. But it was like everyone had went opposite..Instead of keith helping karen raise the child it was Dan helping Karen raise his brothers child. To Luke it was weird how everything could change. The man you looked up to as a child turned into nothing but a pathetic drunk who only cared about himself and the one man you hated as a child reformed into somebody that could be respected..Somebody could be trusted and maybed someday a ways down the road he d look at his own father with the eyes of a son but he didn t even look at him as a friend now. He wasn t sure what he really thought of him other than respect . Now if that wasn t something that was laughable. If someone would ve told him years ago that right now he d respect Dan Scott , he d laugh in there face. But respect wasn t love. Dan made his mother happy..Happier than he d ever seen her in his entire life..He was a good father to Lily and Sam and he was trying..Trying to be a friend to him; To Nathan. That did count for something but the darkness inside of him wouldn t let him get close enough to love anybody, much less Dan Scott.

Whitey had just sighed on one of their many chats..that time they d sat at the picnic table to the side of the rivercourt. The rivercourt had always been where Lucas had done his best thinking. It was that way for Nathan,too. Whitey had been sure that when Dan and Keith were boys it had been the same for them. I can tell you what you are son..You re Haunted..I believe you..But givin in to the rage..The Anger, It s letting the monster win , It had been some very sage and wise advice and Lucas still knew that Whitey was right. He was letting the darkness take over and he was letting the evil win. But for the first time in his entire life..Lucas was scared. Scared that by not letting the evil win that he d lose everything. He knew all too well that this evil existed..and right now he knew that haley knew it too. But all he could feel was rage..Anger. Because one of his worst nightmares had almost come true this time and what would it take before it wasn t just a close call. He could feel himself dying with each day..With each breath as if the next time he opened his eyes he wasn t sure who he d be..Lucas Scott or this horrible dark person that he d become..A person he despised.

But Lucas remained quiet. He knew that she wanted to ask him why..Why was he so mean..Why was he so angry all the time. For a long while she didn t say anything. As if she was still reeling from a nightmare that was still going on in her own waking hours of the day..A time when nightmares were supposed to be put to rest. Lucas knew better than anyone that these nightmares never died. they were a part of you as if the darkness that was the evil was real..He had no doubt that he was and that he would destroy them all, The world too. He believed it even though he d never believed in superstition or the supernatural before..He did believe as everytime he looked in the mirror the evil was turning him into something darker than anything he could imagine..he just kept thinking back to an old quote he d quoted in his book, An unkindness to Ravens . It was one of his favorites, yet heart pounding quotes that he d ever wrote down on paper and it put everything he was feeling into words.. Does this darkness have a name..Is it your name? ..

Haley was lying on the bed, it seemed motionless. Stuck in her own hell. Reeling from a nightmare that appeared to have no end. She tried to forget about it. Tried to move past it and realize that she was awake..she d escaped that horrible, nightmarish world..A world she d thought she would ve died in if Nathan hadn t brought her home or the moon had glazed just right enough to lead the way and in some ways it seemed as though a part of her was missing..Like a part of her had experienced some horrific form of darkness and knew something bad was coming. But if she told anyone, especially luke. She was certain Lucas would just laugh at her. Make her out to be a joke. He wasn t the same Lucas she remembered and she wanted to know..She needed to know...Why?!

Her dark brown eyes..Full of worry and conern gazed up in Lucas direction. He stood there, just simply staring her way. His eyes were filled with ice and torment and he didn t smile..Not one bit. Haley brushed a strand of her light brown hair out of her face. Her hair felt dry, Like she hadn t washed it in weeks and that alone made her feel as if her nightmare had been real in someway. She gazed up at Luke..Lucas blue eyes seemed to stare right through her. His dark blonde hair, now tapered into a shorter cut made him appear handsome in every way but the shadows that hung over his face made him seem haunted and hurt, somehow. It was so peculiar..Haley wasn t quite sure how to describe or explain what she saw when she looked at him now.

.. Why are you like this,Luke? What s changing you.. , It was a simple question. her throat felt like sand paper as she spoke. But it didn t stop her determination to find out the truth about why her best friend had suddenly changed in the last year or out of nowhere. Sure, he was a public figure now..A celebrity. And he had developed an arrogant attitude because of that..But Arrogant and plain out right Cruelty were two different things and she thought she deserved an answer..She deserved to know why as she d been his best friend ever since they were kids but she doubted that she d get an answer.

Fire had seemed to ignite in his eyes as he glared at her. Not that he himself hadn t expected the question but whenever he was asked a question about his attitude or challenged him in anyway he got mad..When he got mad that darkness just seemed to take over and it was no longer Lucas Scott at the wheel anymore..it was just plane out right Rage.

.. Like What!? I haven t even said anything yet..I m actually happy to be here..Time away from PEYTON! That s just what I need! , he roared. Whenever he went into one of his attacks against them it always went back to peyton. Haley knew that he meant none of it. He loved peyton. If there was any person who knew Lucas better than anybody it was herself and ofcourse, his mother. Something was changing..Something was controlling him and she wanted to know what. Had he had nightmares like hers..Was he plagued by them?! She didn t believe that,though. it was rare for two or more people to share the same nightmare. But she knew that if she had nightmares like that continually, she d be driven insane. She was almost afraid to sleep..For fear that she d be pulled back into that world and maybe this time nobody would be able to save her. It was a fear that she d harbored ever since she d awakened and realized she d been saved.

Lucas had become annoyed by her.. But lucky me..I get stuck with you! I promised Nathan I d behave..But maybe I lied..See: I can be a liar just like the rest of you! I don t even want to be here! , he d almost yelled. Haley was worried that a nurse would come in and tell him to be quiet or he d have to leave. Right now, she knew what he d chose. he wasn t the most pleasing company. She knew that he cared..that he d been worried about her. On the inside he was the old Luke..Atleast she hoped he was. On the outside all she saw was an armour of Anger and rage. She wanted to understand but right now at this moment, she wouldn t be able to.

Things were freakishly quiet for the longest time and soon Haley was fast asleep again. While she'd been asleep Lucas had dissapeared out of the hospital room as he denied sleep to take him over. He'd never admit that he was afraid what sleep would bring but it was one thing that was inevitable. He'd eventually fall asleep and that darkness, that dark figure and those dark, inhuman Saphire blue eyes would be there waiting for him, Tormenting him with every step he made and then he'd be reminded about the one thing he feared most: that no matter what he Said or Did this darkness could take away everything and leave him with nothing. So he'd let everything he cared about or held as important to him go. Pretended not to care about people. He wanted them to hate him..He was in the process of letting them all go and in that process he was losing himself but for once he didn't care. In his mind he was already dead. He'd died the first time he'd seen those eyes, Witnessed that evil. Darkness like that..It changes you. He'd realized that the first time he'd seen evil's true face.