Chapter 10: Nightmares

That night Ray woke up from a strange noise in the room. He opened his eyes and realised what it was he was hearing. It was Liz, moaning in her sleep. He sat up so he could look onto Liz's bed and when his eyes got used to the dark, he saw that she was wrestling with her sheets, thrashing her head from side to side, her face all screwed up.

Okay, she's probably having a nightmare, he thought as he got up and slowly sat on the edge of her bed.

He reached his hand out and carefully put it on her arm "Liz…. wake up"

He shook her arm lightly in an attempt to wake her.

When she didn't react he decided to speak to her a little louder "Lizzie, wake up sweetheart", he said, rubbing her arm a bit.

"Lizzie" the third time he said her name, her eyes flew open and she let out a loud gasp.

As soon as her eyes focused she looked at Ray, her eyes big and teary "Ray…oh my god, I'm so glad you're okay" she said as she clutched his hand in hers, holding it tight to her chest. Ray had to fight the urge to lean over and hold her in his arms. Instead he put his other hand on her shoulder.

"Why, what happened? You were having a bad dream, weren't you?"

"Yes…I…. I dreamed about a burning building and you went inside…"

"Oh, Lizzie, I'm so sorry that story made you have a nightmare…." Ray said apologetically, "But look at me Lizzie. I'm right here and I'm fine, see? There's nothing wrong"

Liz looked at him and slowly nodded.

After Ray had fetched a glass of water, he sat back on the edge of the bed as Liz drank with big gulps. While she was drinking, Ray tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Try to go back to sleep, Lizzie" he whispered as he took the glass from her and put it on the stand next to the bed.

"I'll try" was all she said before lying back down again. Ray nodded and gave her hand a little squeeze before returning to his mattress on the floor.

The next morning, while they were all having breakfast, Ray received a phone call from one of the guards at the gate.

"Ehm, sir, could you come out here for a moment? We have an issue" the guard, Peter Kotsiopulos, asked.

"Sure, I'll be there in 5 minutes" Ray responded and hung up.

He wondered what the problem was and spoke to Sam about it while finishing his breakfast quickly.

"What issue?" Sam asked Ray

"I don't know yet. I know you're off to work now so I will inform you as soon as I have more information"

"No, it's okay, I will stay here a little longer. I want to know what's going on" Sam said, worried that something bad had happened. The guards never called to the house unless there was someone unknown who wanted to enter.

Ray walked up to the guards "What's going on guys?"

"Well, sir, I'm not sure how to tell you this…." Peter started "You know that we watch the video feed from the camera at the wall the whole time…"

"Yes, to see if anyone picks up the receiver. So? Did someone collect it?" Ray asked, getting nervous because Peter was being so vague.

"I think so, sir"

"What do you mean, you think so? You either saw someone pick it up, or you didn't" Ray said, agitated.

"Well, we didn't actually see it, that's the problem. But someone definitely picked it up yesterday"

"What? How the hell did that happen?" Ray was furious by now "You have one fucking job and you can't even do that right?!"

The other guard, Nik Korpal, was looking at his shoes, trying hard not to be a part of this awkward conversation.

Peter continued "I was here yesterday, but then you called me to the house to look after Miss Milhoan. Nik was here on his own and must have missed the moment the guy came to pick it up, because when Marvin started his night shift, he realised that he couldn't see the little red light from the receiver anymore.

So he started to go through yesterday's feed and that's when we found this" Peter said, pointing at the little screen in the guards' booth.

Ray went inside and looked at the screen. He saw a frozen frame from the video feed from the camera he had put up near the wall a couple of days ago.

On the screen he saw a man, but he couldn't make out the face because he was wearing a baseball cap and wasn't looking at the camera.

"Is there a better picture we can get? Do we get to see his face?" Ray asked Peter.

"No, I'm afraid this is the best there is. I've watched the entire footage 4 times now"

"Okay, I need that CD so I can watch it myself. I might get a better picture in the house, on a big screen"

After Peter handed him the CD with the footage, Ray walked back towards the house. He couldn't believe this had happened. The guy, whoever he was, must've been watching their every move and just waiting for his chance to get the receiver back.

Ray blamed himself for asking the guard to go to the house and thus creating a moment for the perpetrator to fetch the receiver. How could he be so stupid? He only hoped that they would be able to find out who this guy was before he struck again.

When he got back to the house, Sam was already waiting for him in the doorway.

"And? What's going on?" he asked curiously

"Our guy has picked up the receiver, except we didn't catch him red handed because no one was watching the live footage…" Ray said, disappointed, "Which is probably my fault, because it happened when I left yesterday morning and told Peter to leave his post to be in the house"

"No, come on Ray, don't blame yourself. The guy was probably watching the house and you couldn't have possibly known that. We might recognise him from the footage" Sam said, trying to stay positive.

"Maybe…. but I doubt it. I just saw his image and to be honest, it could've been anybody. But either way, let's watch the footage together and see if any of us recognises him"

They called Liz into the living room. Ray explained to her what they were about to watch, while Sam put on the CD.

Ray knew, looking at the clock in the corner of the screen, to what part he had to fast forward. The first moment the guy appeared on the screen, Liz exhaled sharply, shocked by the image.

"Don't worry, Liz, I got my guys to wipe the footage that was on there when they were setting up the camera"

They all watched as the guy looked around and carefully took the receiver from the bushes and put it in his backpack. He didn't know about the camera but he was lucky cause he never even glanced in its direction. They all stared at the screen as the guy disappeared from view again.

Peter was right, Ray thought. The image Peter had frozen on his tiny screen was indeed the best image there was.

"Does he look familiar to either of you?" Ray asked, hoping that Sam or Liz had recognised him.

"Not to me, I'm afraid", Sam answered with a sad look on his face. He had hoped they would catch the guy this way and it didn't work. Ray picked up on his friend's mood and felt even worse than before.

"I don't think so, sorry. It could be anyone", Liz said, looking distraught

"I'm so sorry, Liz. I shouldn't have asked Peter to come to the house yesterday. If I hadn't, this wouldn't have happened"

"It's not your fault, Ray. You couldn't have known" Liz said, trying to reassure Ray.

"Liz is right, Ray. Don't blame yourself. Okay guys, I'm off to work. Try to make a copy of the CD so I can take it to the police" Sam said to Ray as he gave Liz a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Will do"

After Sam had left, Ray turned to Liz "You want to go for a helicopter lesson today? Might be nice to take our minds off the whole thing for a bit"

"Yes! That would be great"

"Okay, let me make a phone call to the airport. I just need to get this CD in the computer, so I can make a copy and print out an image from the footage"

"Cool. You can use the computer in my dad's study. I'll go and get ready"

Ray watched Liz leave the living room and he cursed at himself. How could he have been so stupid? They could've gotten the guy by now and this whole mess would've been over and Liz would be safe again.

He went to Sam's study to get the copy and print and while he waited, he phoned the airport.

Liz's hands were a bit sweaty as she took a hold of the cyclic again. She had only had one lesson, but she still remembered Ray's instructions to the letter.

"Very impressive, Lizzie" Ray exclaimed as she was making the helicopter turn in various ways, "You've really got a knack for flying I must say"

"You think so?" Liz asked, her face beaming with pride.

Ray showed her a couple more moves, which she followed precisely.

Ray looked at Liz sideways, as she was concentrating on one of the new moves. Her tongue was sticking out slightly and her eyes were focused on the panel in front of her. Ray couldn't help but smile at the sight. He was glad that he was able to take her to do something fun.

After 45 minutes they were back on the ground again.

"That was so awesome!" Liz yelped

Ray smiled at her, "It was a good lesson. You're really picking up on it quickly"

In the car back to the house Ray was very quiet.

"Thinking about the guy again?" Liz asked carefully.

"Yeah…sorry…I just can't seem to let it go. It could've been over if I hadn't been so stupid"

"Stop it, Ray. Stop blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault, okay!"

Ray just kept his eyes fixed on the road, not responding to Liz's words so Liz decided to try to get through to him in a different way and put her hand over the one of his that was clutching the transmission.

"Ray, listen to me. You didn't make a mistake. That guy obviously knows what he is doing. He probably just kept his eyes on the house and us and took his chance when he saw you leave. I'm scared, especially after seeing him on the footage but I have faith in you that you'll catch him"

Ray finally took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. He felt her fingers stroking the back of his hand and he loved the feeling of it. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she meant what she had said.

"Thank you" he said, not much louder than a whisper

During dinner that night, Liz told Sam all about her lesson and how well it went. Sam promised her that he would come with them to the airport sometime to watch Liz fly.

While Liz was watching TV, Ray took Sam aside and talked about today's events and handed him a copy of the CD.

"I also printed more than one picture, just in case. I gave one to Peter to hang in the booth at the gates. Who knows, the guy might show up at some point"

"Good idea. I'll take this to the police tomorrow morning. Maybe this will help them in their search. At least now they have an image of who they're looking for"

They said their goodnights and all headed to bed.

When they were both settled in bed, Liz turned off the lights.

"Goodnight Ray"

"Goodnight Lizzie"

Yet again Ray was woken up by a noise, this time not so strange. He sat up, knowing already that Liz was having a nightmare. He looked at her and it confirmed what he thought. He got up and sat on the edge of her bed again.

Liz was slightly sweating and was moaning louder than she had the previous night. Her head was thrashing again and she had pushed the sheet off the bed entirely.

Ray put his hand on her arm, trying to wake her up as he had the night before. "Lizzie, wake up"

By now, Liz had started to whimper, "No…. no…please…. no"

He desperately tried to wake her now, feeling that she was in a very dark place.

"Lizzie, please, wake up sweetheart" he said as he shook her arm and took her hand in his.

Liz woke up with a jolt, sitting up straight away, her eyes full of fear. She looked around the room before her eyes settled on Ray.

"He's…he's not here…" she sobbed as she placed her hands in front of her face and started crying.

Ray couldn't bear watching Liz like this and he moved closer. He thought about his promise to himself about keeping a distance. But Liz is in distress and she needs me now. The hell with it, he thought. He took her hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Liz's arms automatically held on tight around his torso while she pressed her face in his shirt, crying on his chest.

"Shhh, it's okay, sweetheart" he whispered in her ear, while stroking her hair softly. "Did you dream about the fire again?" he asked, not understanding what she'd been mumbling before.

Liz was still too upset to talk so Ray just held her, slowly rocking her back and forth. He felt his shirt getting wet from Liz's tears but he didn't care. All he wanted was for her to feel safe.

After a few minutes had passed, the crying had stopped and Liz's breathing had started to slow down. She pulled away from his chest a little bit but still clutched his shirt with her fists.

"It wasn't the fire…. it was…he was here…. in the room" she sniffed, "He was standing next to my bed, looming over me in the dark"

"The guy from the footage?"

Liz nodded, "I couldn't make out a face but it was the guy from the tape. And he was putting his hands around my throat just before you woke me up" Liz whispered, her lower lip still quivering at the thought.

At seeing her pain and sadness, Ray pulled her in for another hug. He couldn't stand seeing Liz like this. He wanted to catch this guy more than ever before.

After drinking a glass of water, Liz had calmed down significantly but she didn't lie back down like she did the night before. She looked at Ray, who was still sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I….ehm…I don't know how to ask you this" she started, staring at her hands.

"Ask me what, sweetheart?" Ray looked at Liz questioningly.

"I would…eh…. really like…." Liz stumbled before suddenly blurting out "Would you sleep next to me tonight? I don't know if I can get back to sleep unless I know you're there"

Ray was taken aback for a moment but Liz had such a scared look on her face that he couldn't say no.

"Yes, of course I will" he said, before picking up the sheet off the floor, grabbing his pillow and lying down next to Liz. He draped the sheet over them, up to their middle.

He lay on his back, while Liz went to lie down on her left side, facing Ray. There was no contact between them. Not until Ray reached out his hand and grabbed one of Liz's and held it, resting them on his chest.

"I hope you'll get some sleep, Lizzie", he whispered, before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing it softly.

Liz held her breath while he did this and managed to whisper back "I hope so too"