I somehow ended up standing outside of the local library, located all the way across town, without breaking a sweat. I had a habit-bad or not, I didn't know-of letting my mind wander as my body did. It was how I managed not to stress over small details and become distracted from enjoying myself.

"Well, I'm here. I might as well." Shrugging, I stepped into the well air-conditioned building, a small smile tugging at my lips from the musty smell of well-used books. Before I had turned to party-hopping and dancing until I couldn't feel my feet, the library was my true sanctuary from the void of excitement that I called home.

But now, in broad daylight, I was left without my fellow night owls and dance partners. The ones waiting for the only exhilarating moments found in all of Pax Township. I had to go back to my roots.

"Good afternoon, Violet. Long time no see." The voice cutting through the dense silence caused me to give a start. I swiveled my head towards the front desk, an impish smile on my face as I met the gaze of the town's one and only librarian, Mrs. Glenda Hoffman. I inclined my head a bit, recalling my elementary school days.

"Good afternoon to you. It really has been. Not much around here has changed, from what I see. How have you been?" I was met with a sad look that nowhere near matched the cheery response I received.

"Oh, I've been well, thank you. I've just been trying to keep busy. You're right about things not changing, though, with the exception of a few new books coming in. How about you?" I meekly informed her that I was trying to do the same and rushed into a subject that we would both be more comfortable with: books.

"You mentioned getting new titles in?" The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up. I greatly admired the enthusiasm she held for her work.

I want that, one day, I thought wistfully, knowing full well that the adult world was bound to come crashing down on my head, sooner or later.

"Boy, do I. You're still a fan of Science Fiction novels, right? I have a few that would knock your socks off! And don't get me started on this one Fantasy novel I just finished…"

Just like that, I had gotten her going, and was soon seated in the very back of the library with a stack of seven or eight books to read through. Mrs. Hoffman personally read through every book available in the relatively large collection the library kept, so I knew to trust her opinion on any book she suggested to me.

"Down to business, then…" Getting comfortable, I cracked open the front cover of one of the Science Fiction novels-one that featured traveling to other worlds and dimensions. The kindly librarian knew that these types of books had always been my favorite, because they were as close to escape as I was going to get, and would always grab them up when one caught her eye.

As it turned out, the writing was absolutely brilliant, and I ended up submerging myself into the story. Each turn of the page sent a wave of excitement coursing up my spine.

I found myself falling victim to what reading sometimes inexplicably does, however, and ended up drifting into a light-albeit long and restless-slumber. I did, surprisingly enough, have my first nightmare in about five years.

Particles of dust swam in my vision as I lay on a cold wooden surface. I sat myself up, blinking in hopes of clearing my sight, and looked down to see that a gold nightgown served as my only protection from the chill in the air. I stood on shaky legs and realized that I was balanced precariously on a suspended bridge, the ground so far down in the blackened pit below that I couldn't see where it ended. My knees immediately buckled underneath me and I landed on them harshly.

"Oh crap," I whispered, eyes trained on the light above me, which served as my only source of comfort.

I was able to calm myself, just in time for the light to begin to fade.

"What?" I gasped. "No!" Steadying myself, I dashed over to one of the ends of the bridge, hoping for some sort of hand or foot-hold, but cursed my bad luck as my fingers slid over the smooth obsidian rock. A panicked scream ripped through me as fear gripped at my heart, making little of the situation make any sense.

"Please," I sobbed, eyes watering as I was cast into darkness, yet still searching for any traces of light. Everything went pitch black.

I then felt, more than heard, a mocking voice chime smoothly from the other end of the bridge.

"Still afraid of the dark, and at this age? Oh, my, how precious." I turned towards the voice, trembling but not able to move much otherwise. Two golden orbs gleamed in the dark, holding the look of a predator as they stared directly at me, no doubt sizing me up. I felt the blood drain from my face, which was odd, considering that I was-supposedly-dreaming.

"Who…who are you?" I sputtered, not able to help the sense of familiarity of both the voice and eyes in front of me. The orbs disappeared, as if their owner was checking to see if anyone was behind them, before glaring at me in suspicion.

"No, no, that can't be right. She can't see me," the voice muttered, seeming to pause, before moving towards me. I fell onto my backside, a startled cry parting my lips as the being seemed to disappear and reappear right before me. Terror seeped out from my pours and, although I had no idea why, I was afraid of the faceless being.

Curiosity got the better of me, however, making me rather reckless and stupid. I wasn't too worried, of course. It was only a bad dream, right?

"I-I can so see you. And hear you. What are you doing here?" My voice came out absolutely pitiful, but I kept a straight face, with the exception of my lips trembling slightly. I could have sworn that I caught sight of razor-sharp teeth set into a wide grin.

"It appears so. Oh, what an exciting turn of events." A sudden flare of moonlight made me flinch back, the soft glow confusing my terrified state.

I immediately took in every inch of the-supposed-man standing not even five feet away from me. Black slicked-back hair covered the top of a slim gray face, his neck exposed, but most of the rest of his body was draped in a cloak that bled into the shadows. I kept my gaze on his face, however, trying to sort out the very real flash of excitement that crossed it for the briefest moment.

"What do you mean?" I gasped quietly, trembles wracking my frame as movement behind the strange man came closer as he did. I managed to back myself up against the wall of the pit, bringing my knees up to my chest in a defensive position, which only encouraged him to loom over me more.

Brief flash-backs of my childhood skirted around my vision, bringing me back to when I was physically frozen underneath my covers as ominous shadows danced along my bedroom walls. At the time, I was absolutely convinced that the Boogeyman was lurking underneath my bed. Now, nearly a decade later, my past fears seemed a lot more reasonable.

"You need not worry about that, Violet," he assured, ice climbing up my spine as he spoke my name. I narrowed my eyes at him; he was getting a kick out of all this.

"Why wouldn't I? It's my nightmare, after all." Those words were a huge mistake. He cast me a wicked grin, the shadows behind him lashing violently.

"You may hold sway over your dreams, my dear, but your nightmares belong to me." I opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but he disappeared before I could get the first word out. I immediately slumped back in relief.

However, the fact that-even though I was dreaming-he knew me, but I didn't know who (or what) he was, bothered me.

"Hey, wait…" I reached a hand out, into the darkness beyond the light of the moon, only to snatch it back as a rumbling laugh shook my perch on the bridge.

"Pleasant dreams." As if on cue, the rope support nearest to me began to fray, as if an invisible blade was hacking away at it. I shot to my feet, taking off, away from the comfort of the light in a vain attempt to find safety. I wasn't able to, unfortunately, and soon found the bridge dropping out from underneath me. I let out a weak scream, falling, falling, and falling until…


A/N: Heh. Hi. Can I just say how strange writing dream sequences is? So strange.

Anyway, I decided to put up two chapters, to start. This will probably be updated about once a week and, considering I have a lot of it written up, updates will be relatively consistent. Tell me what cha' think. 'Til next week!

If you also read my Rationalized Delirium story and have been wondering what the hold up has been, then: This. I'm doing my best to kick myself in the butt and get an update up, though, rest assured.