Nightmare
Chapter 2
The nightmare was always the same. She relived the terrible accident that had cost her birth parents their lives. But because she had only been four years old at the time, her mind had processed the information differently and the memories she had of that night; vague images of smashing glass and rushing water, were contradicted by the dream that had haunted her until she was nine or ten years old. In the nightmare she was in the backseat of her parent's car when something rushed out onto the road. Her father swerved to avoid it and had crashed into the side of the bridge they were crossing, crumbling the old stone. The car fell down into the water. That much was true.
But in her dream the thing that her father had tried to avoid hitting was a monster; taller than any man with a long snout, sharp teeth and dead eyes like a shark. As the car hit the water the windscreen, already damaged by the rubble from the bridge, smashed, the glass flying everywhere as the water filled the small car. Her mother would turn to her, her mouth moving as she desperately tried to undo graces seatbelt. Grace couldn't understand what she was saying, only the fear in her mother's eyes, blue, like her own, only hers contained specks of a darker blue running through them. They were beautiful. Suddenly there was a horrible scraping noise and something wrapped around her arm, dragging her out through the roof. She was being saved! Looking back at her mother she saw that she was screaming and struggling, reaching for her. Didn't she want her to be saved? Her arm exploded with pain as she was dragged out of the car and she knew it must be broken. It wasn't till she got a look at her saviour that she realised why her mother had looked so terrified. It was the monster.
It bundled her into its arms and jumped from the car onto the bank, further than anyone should be able to jump. There was some sort of woodland on that side of the bank and it ran easily through the trees she tried to scream but she was too scared. The beast didn't get very far before it stopped suddenly in its tracks and wailed. It was a horrible sound and she wished she could lift her useless, broken arm up to shield her ear. It fell to its knees and she tumbled out of its arms. She saw the blood pumping from its shoulder then and felt more of it in her hair when she pushed it back out of her eyes with her good arm. There were more monsters running towards them now. They looked different than the one who had taken her, human almost, except for their teeth, the canines were pointed and looked deadly sharp. Grace ran, holding her useless arm with the good one. The beast snarled and she looked back to see them fighting, the human looking monsters using weapons like knives and guns. The hairy monster using its claws and teeth.
They seemed to have forgotten her and she took advantage of it, running back through the trees. When she got to the river she looked out at the water but there were only bubbles where the car had been. The only evidence of the crash was the ruined bridge. Grace heard the monsters behind her. They were quickly catching up, calling out to her, calling her name as they looked for her. There was nowhere to hide and in a moment of panic she leaped out into the water…
Grace woke gasping for air as though she really had just dived into a cold body of water. looking at her clock she groaned at the time. 4:15 in the morning. knowing that if she went back to sleep she wouldnt wake when the alarm went off at six, she got up and stretched. a quick shower and cup of coffee later she was ready for the day ahead. it had been a few weeks since her few days of insomnia and she had been back to her usual punctual self, that was until just the day before, when she had woken two hours late for work with no explanation to give. her only option had been to feign sickness on the phone to a very unconvinced sounding nurse and an angry text to matt, who didnt deserve the blame she piled onto him for not calling her; it wasnt his responsibility after all, but hers and she had noone to blame but herself for not getting up in time.
things had been progressing between her and kain. through a cruel twist of fate they had been put on separate shifts for the past three weeks and she had begun to lose hope that he was interested in her (it had never seemed like a genuine possibility anyway, he was far too good looking after all) but he had surprised her by calling out of the blue and asking her out for dinner. she stopped in her tracks when she realised that the date was in a mere matter of hours, right after her shift. she hastily threw her make up bag and change of clothes into her bag before leaving the house. as she drove to work she spotted the faint outline of the full moon visible in the daytime sky. the suns glare caused her to squint and she pulled down the visor, blinking rapidly.
a few hours later, grace was beginning to wonder whether she actually was sick. every sound seemed amplified to her somehow, to an almost unbearable found herself wincing at the slitest noise. soon after that every smell became harder and harder to ignore. she found herself feeling as though the lights above her were becoming brighter and brighter and that everybody she met during the day was shouting at her.
her thoughts were on dinner that night. she would have to cancel. grace just hoped she would have another chance with kain and that he wouldnt take her cancellation as a rejection. he wasnt on that day so she rang him during her break. even the sound of the dial tone was enough to pierce through her skull.
Kain had seemed reseved on the phone and she clenched her teeth together after hanging up, dissappointed by his reaction. the hours ticked by slowly after that until finally, quitting time arrived. grace didnt bother to change in the locker room, merely grabbing her things and getting out asa fast as she qould. she did however run into Matt who told her, in a friendly way, that she looked terrible, his tone and expression assuring her that there was no bad blood between them. she was glad that he wasnt annoyed with her over how she had treated him the day before.
leaving the harsh flourescent lights of the hospital behind her, grace exited through the automatic doors and breahed in the cool night air. her comfortable work shoes made an almost deafening noise on the smooth tarmac as she walked to her car, shielding her eyes from the seemingly unearthly brightness of the full moon that looked too big to be real to her. she got into her car and closed her eyes only to open them with a snap as someone knocked on her window.
graces heart thumped in her chest as she turned to look at the man stooping to look into her car. he knocked again and she rolled the window down a cautious fraction. the street lamp above illuminated his handsome features and she gasped as she realised who it was.
"hi" the man from the elevator weeks ago greeted her. no, not just from the elevator, she reminded herself. she had seen him since that. she was both curious and at the same time slightly afraid. he didnt look threatening, with his perfect features and brilliant green eyes flecked with a darker shade of the same colour that seemed to draw her in and make her want to roll down the windo further to get a better look at him but she was wary. grace was almost sure she had seen him the day she visited her families grave. was he following her? Kain didnt seem to like him very much. was it something to do with him? if so what?
"yes?" she replied finally. his mouth twitched as though he knew what she was thinking and it amused him. "i was wondering if you were headed towards raheen?" she was. grace just wanted to get home though and have a shower and get into bed. she didnt trust this dark haired man so she shook her head. "sorry im not, but there should be a bus headed in that direction shortly. she pointed to the small bus stop located across the road from the hospitals entrance. he nodded and stared into her eyes for what seemed like an age and no time at all. it was as though he were trying to communicate with her in some fashion that she was not aware of. unsettled, grace said a swift goodbye and rolled the window back up. he looked taken aback for a moment, as though sure she would have changed her mind, but then moved out of her way as she pulled out and left the car park. she looked back at the gate to find that he had disappeared. a swift look at the bus stop showed her he wasnt there either.