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Alright, the next couple of chapters are going to be tributes to some of my favourite songs. I was going to do a one-shot on Eight first, but this song fitted in so perfectly with Six, I couldn't resist. Enjoy!

Invisible

I wake up with a scream, my eyes snapping open, my breath coming in short, sharp jerks. I just had another nightmare. Again.

It's been six months since Katarina's death, and every night, I'm powerless against the dreams which drag me through my memories, like horses pulling a carriage. Sometimes, I'll have a "good" night, and my dreams will be recollections of my happier times with Katarina- our games of Shadow or Risk, training, joking, laughing- and when I wake up, the worst I'll feel is a pang of nostalgia, longing for the past. Or I'll have a "bad" night, in which I'm forced to witness everything once again- our capture, her torture, and her death.

You probably figured out by now that this is a "bad" night.

I shudder and try to calm myself, taking deep breaths to slow my heartbeat, but it's too late. The image of the Mogodorian plunging the knife into her heart is already seared into my brain. It's going to be a while before it wears off.

I start shaking, my mind still addled with shock. It seems like it wasn't enough for me to witness her death once. I've relived it more times than I can count now, in my dreams.

All this- it just keeps getting harder and harder for me to take. Katarina's death has drained away all my happiness, all my warmth. Sometimes I'm filled with rage, with vengeance, with black tendrils of anger swirling together in me like a hurricane. Sometimes I'm like this- sad, unhappy, and alone.

The most disturbing part is that I haven't cried. The sorrow and regret I felt at her death still haunts me, but it doesn't affect me anymore. That pain has faded long ago. What I feel now is far, far worse than tears. It's an emptiness inside me, a hollow where Katarina was, where she should be. And every day, little by little, I feel the hollow consuming me, sucking out my life like my own personal black hole.

It's loneliness.

With Katarina gone, I feel more alone than I ever was before. Sorrow and regret can be shared, can be understood, can fade away. But my loneliness only gets worse. And on a "bad" night like this, it drives me to the brink of despair.

I try to hold it in, but after a while I can't stand it anymore. I let out a scream of frustration and yank at my hair. How much longer am I supposed to take this? It's been barely six months, and I'm already going insane. For all I know, I might not meet the rest of the Garde for years. How am I going to last that long?

The part of me that is still sane is completely unsurprised. It's become almost normal for me to have these fits now. The first few times, I ended up destroying a large portion of my room and had to sneak out before authorities came to investigate. Now I've at least learnt to control it a bit.

Not that that's any consolation.

I let out another scream of frustration and jump out of bed, scrabbling at my bedside table for the music player I saw lying there earlier. I desperately need a distraction. With a sob, I wrench the headphones over my ears and press play.

The sound of music fills my ears, and instantly I feel a little better. For a couple of hours, I sit in the same position, curled up in a ball, my legs pressed against my chest, moonlight streaming through the open window on to my face. The songs are soothing, and even though I don't listen to the words at first, I feel my heartbeat slowing, my breath evening out. I just listen, enraptured, letting my thoughts wander, unafraid. And for the first time since the cave, I feel completely calm. Serene.

At peace.

After a while, I slip off the headphones and return them to the table. I know that it was weakness that had caused me to put them on in the first place, and that I should not have given in. In fact, it was downright dangerous. The Mogs could have sneaked up on me while I was off guard. Yet somehow, I'm glad that I did.

I curl up under my blanket, slowly drifting away to sleep, the words of that last song still echoing in my head. And once again, just for a brief instant, I feel that same calm.

Maybe this will be one of my "good" nights after all.

I smile and fall asleep, the ending of the song still playing in my head.

Hear me out,
There's so much more to life than what you're
Feeling now,
And some day when you look back on these days,
And all this pain is gonna be
Invisible.

Hope you guys liked it! The song is called 'Invisible', by Hunter Hayes. He played it for the Grammies, if any of you watched. Thanks for reading! Please review!