Her eyes fluttered open. Lightning splayed her arm over the bed, finding the sheets cold. She blinked once, then twice.
"I know you're there."
There was no reply.
Her eyes closed again.
The dream was easy to move in, but almost impossible to navigate. Lightning found herself forgetting most things instantly, even as they drifted right in front of her. Another landscape, one filled with trees, opened up. She walked through the forest, her footfalls the only noise in the dark.
Lightning stopped. "Answer me." Her voice echoed through the trees.
The dream didn't reply.
The world swirled around her, and Lightning forced herself out of the dream. Irritable and confused, she stopped thinking.
A hook sailed towards her, sinking into her mind. It tried to pull her back.
"Stop it."
The grasp hesitated, but tugged again more insistently. Lightning could feel desperation in the gesture, and she fought back. Lightning was losing ground, but she wouldn't surrender.
Back in the forest, Lightning huffed. A bitter taste dripped from the trees, somehow reaching her senses.
"I'm tired."
The taste swirled, and sharpened. Lightning felt a dizziness wash over her. She made her way through the forest, stumbling in the dark. A branch caught her ankle, and Lightning fell. She hissed through the pain, and tried to reach her leg. Her hands grasped on nothing.
"What kind of game are you playing?!" Lightning voice barked through the trees, and leaves fell around her. "I've had enough of it!"
Droplets of sap fell to the ground, and the sky opened up to accompany them. Lightning's hair stuck to the back of her neck, and she sighed.
"Talk to me..."
The forest replied through the gentle pattering, slow and soft. "Follow her."
Salt mixed in with the rain on her face. "How?"
The trees were silent again, and Lightning sat beneath them, the liquid rising up to her neck. She took a gasp of air, and the water stole her away.
There was a boat, now she remembered. A flash of light illuminated the craft. Lightning squinted through the torrent, gripping the rails until her knuckles turned white. Another flash, and something fell past her vision. Lightning jumped, and her lungs caught fire. She fought past the current, forcing her limbs through the viscous resistance. Her mind grew foggy, but Lightning roared into the murk, refusing to stop. Her hand brushed against another, and she took it with an iron grip.
Morning light peeked past the shutters. Blankets lay about the room, thrown in no particular order. A body curled up on the bed, liquid pooling by the mouth. Lightning gasped, one last time, and the room was still.