My hands were full of blood. I didn't know whose it was until I saw the crying baby in front of me. But it was not hurt; the corpse behind it had a hole in its head, Evelda's eyes shut tight with caked blood. My head started to drill again, like a drum, the pain bringing me to my knees in the cold dirt. The baby wouldn't stop crying.
There was nothing around, just darkness. I tried moving but my head spun with the smallest movements.
I was panicking. I couldn't speak, or function at all.
I tried reaching out for the baby, my hand touching cold air.

I hadn't noticed the darker shadow looming over me. It grew larger and larger; I dared to turn around.

Dr. Lecter stood over, his lean chest bare. His lower torso grew into darkness, into the dirt. My mouth dropped as dark demon-like wings protruded out of his back. A terrifying grin appeared on his lips, his teeth white against the rest of his body. I was shaking uncontrollably ,as his wings engulfed me.

The human baby's screams changed to the screaming of slaughtered lambs.

My sheets were soaked with sweat; it took me a couple of minutes to start breathing normally again. I should've been used to these dreams by now. They weren't new to me, and I really shouldn't be so surprised. The lambs usually made their grim appearance, but Dr. Lecter's form left a new burn in my mind.

Nights were drawn out with these nightmares, but I could typically go back to sleep. But tonight, that dream just repeated itself in my mind for hours. I had dreamed of him before, but I had never seen him in that way.

I quickly shut the image out of mind. My head ached so painfully, it was hard to get up from the bed. The clock on my bedside table read 4:13 a.m. I looked toward the corner, where I saw Dr. Lecter sit only a couple hours before. The space was empty.

I crawled out of my bed, out into the hallway, to an empty house. He was nowhere to be seen. The cat had followed me downstairs, making the silence of the night a little more bearable with his meowing. I could tell whenever someone else was in the house easily; any presence other than my own could be felt in such a small house. I knew I was the only one here.

His words echoed in my mind. I was believing them, weren't I? I was trusting him.

Then where was he?

I went into the bathroom, finding the first aid box in the cabinet. Rolls of gauze and makeshift string for stitches were placed among the Tylenol and Advil bottles. I wish I had something stronger, I thought, as I picked up the Advil bottle. I didn't know if I had a migraine or just stress, but the aching wasn't leaving.

Oh Starling, get over it. You were put off for a while. It's not the end of the world.

But it was for Evelda.

Shut up, oh God, shut up, I yelled at the other voice in my head. I looked in the bathroom mirror.

Dr. Lecter had been right, I was thinner. I guess I hadn't noticed over the years. My hair had been in a ponytail for such a long time that my hair had become wavy, but not any more glamorous. The dark circles under my eyes were screaming for some real sleep again.

I found my bed once more; I was frightened to go back to sleep, frightened to see that nightmare again, but my tired body disagreed. The cat jumped into the foot of my bed, and I could feel myself feel a bit more relaxed. I looked into its amber eyes. Midnight.

I think I'll call him Midnight.

Four days had passed since Dr. Lecter had appeared in my bedside chair. I could feel myself become worried for his safety, for his whereabouts. It was if my mind had forgotten of his dark nature, and thought of him as any colleague. I made sure to remind myself what he truly was.

The thunderstorm was gone, now leaving behind a trail of dark clouds. Rays of sun were coming through the cracks in the sky. I missed the rain.

It was a warm Friday afternoon. I was trying to make myself busy, cleaning the house and organizing the endless amount of papers. The ache in my head was down to a low thud. I was getting a bit worried lately; my head wouldn't let up. Maybe a visit to a doctor wouldn't hurt. I knew it wasn't something serious, a stress related aching, but I knew I should have checked it out days ago.

Midnight sat on the porch, watching the few cars drive by in the street. I looked at the piles of papers in the living room; this could take a while, I thought, as I started throwing away useless papers. Years of small cases etched into the white pages. Memories of fighting my way through the Bureau laid before me on the table. Since the Buffalo Bill case, it seemed like I would have had a promising career. I had my hopes too high. And I held that case on a pedestal. Instead of honor, I received envy, bitterness, and contempt. The only people that appreciated me were my own old roommate Ardelia, and Mr. Crawford. You'd think people would respect me because the head honcho did, but that was never the instance. I was a joke.

I had to stop putting away all the junk. I didn't want to get frustrated again. It was near five; I hadn't gotten much done.

Surprising, Starling. Be useful, for God's sake.

Footsteps were sounding on the front porch; Midnight started meowing gently. A dark woman was approaching my house. I couldn't see very well who it was through the murky-colored screen door. As she came nearer, my mind couldn't believe my eyes. The bundle of papers I was holding fell unto the ground.

It was Evelda Drumgo.

No, Starling. Evelda's in the ground, because of you.

My heart beat in the tune of the thud in my head. The shadow approached the door, knocking once, then twice. I was starting to panic, freezing in my seat. It wasn't until the shadow spoke that I my fear died down.

"Clarice? Clarice, are you in there? Open up!," Ardelia called.

I opened the creaking door to a worried Ardelia, looking at me as if she'd seen a ghost. I could always count on her being honest with me.

"What the-…..Clarice, what's going on with you? Have you been sleeping? And eating, for that matter?", she asked nervously. I welcomed her inside.

"I'm fine. Everything has been fine. Just working on some papers, you know, keeping myself busy", I responded with a small smile. I had to make sure Ardelia wasn't going to worry about me. But she didn't seem to believe me.

"You can't lie to me, girl. You should know that. I'm sorry I didn't come by sooner. You won't believe the amount of work Crawford's been making us do. Look, I brought you something sweet. I knew you could need something to pep you up", she proclaimed, holding a full plastic bag.

A large gallon of mint chocolate ice cream kept my stomach happy as Ardelia and I sat on the porch exchanging stories. I felt 25 again, sharing a miniature room and feeling free. But soon, that feeling diminished as she asked me what I had been trying to avoid.

"Clarice, seriously…how have you been? I still can't believe what they did to you. I tried going to Crawford personally but the other bastards wouldn't let me through."

"I've been…alright. Crawford did what he could in this situation. It's the best thing anyway. The media would've finished me off if I'd continued. I've been fine, to be honest. Just trying to catch up on sleep. I see you've met Midnight," I smiled as the cat now snuggled next to Ardelia's boots.

"He's a gem. Clarice, don't change the subject. The circles under those eyes can't lie to me either. You're eating, right?"

"Of course, Ardelia, I'm not like that. I can take care of myself."

"Hmm…Look, just be careful. Take care of yourself more than the usual, alright? These things that happen to us…sometimes you can't control what the effect they do to you. I'm just saying, if you ever need anything, you know I'll always be here. I don't ever leave family behind."

I must have really been sick, since I could feel tears accumulating in my eyes. I made sure not to cry in front of Ardelia, though. I hadn't smiled genuinely in a while.

"Thanks, girl."

My throat hurt at the start of the words that were about to come out. I wanted to tell her everything that had happened four days ago, and everything he had said. But something else told me that was a bad idea. Worried about my own safety, Ardelia would tell Mr. Crawford, and soon I would be stuck in witness protection. I had to be honest with myself, however: I wasn't even sure if the whole event had happened.

Let's keep our mouth shut, Starling.

Ardelia was waiting for me to speak, but I just took another bite of the ice cream. She hadn't noticed the sweat on my brow.

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