Chapter 11

Vaughn stared at Sydney for a moment with a look of bafflement on his face. She was making no sense, he thought.

"Sydney, you were just having a nightmare. It wasn't real" He said gently stroking her back as she sat there wide eyed and nervous.

"Vaughn, you're not listening. I remember now! I saw him. He cut my throat this time, but I remember him in the other dreams too, but I kept forgetting who he was when I woke up. I remember now" she explained, her eyes wide with fiery sparks in them.

"Sydney, you're not making any sense."

"I am though." She said, putting her hands firmly on both of his shoulders, and staring deep into his eyes.

"Okay, then who is it? Who was in your dream?"

"Sloane."

There was a moment of silence that seemed to last an eternity for both of them.

"Sydney, what are you saying?" he asked hesitantly with deep concern.

"Sloane is Korsakov," her tone of voice was completely dead and her eyes stared straight into him with only the rare blink.

"Sydney, who is Korsakov?" Vaughn asked wearily.

"The leader of The Guildiya."

"Syd, how do you know this?" Vaughn questioned, realizing she was in a much more serious condition that he had thought.

"I just..." She paused, not really being able to explain how it was she knew, "I just do." She believed it whether she could explain it or not.

"Sydney," he started. He looked to the side as he searched for the right words. He was really dumbfounded at what she had to say. Its not that he ever trusted Sloane, but to say he is Korsakov, someone who no one but her knows about. It just seemed implausible. Vaughn took in a deep breath and then started again. "Sydney, I don't understand where you are getting this information. How do you know Sloane is the head of The Guildiya?"

Sydney broke eye contact with him and began shaking her head in a great frustration. She looked up at him with piercing eyes. "You don't believe me."

"I want to Syd. I really want to. But I don't know how to." He replied, not knowing how to avoid angering her.

Sydney stared at him with a cold hard look. Her eyes grew furious. "You don't believe me, again." She said slowly in a harsh low tone. Vaughn looked at her with sympathy as she shook her head. "I can't believe you!" She screamed. She abruptly got up off the bed and grabbed her pants off the chair they were slung over, slipping them on quickly. Vaughn watched her with concern.

"Where are you going?" He asked desperately as she grabbed her tank top and slipped it on over her head.

"Anywhere but here!" She growled as she slipped on a pair of shoes.

"Syd, its the middle of the night, you can't possibly think its a good idea to just leave," he said trying to reason with her.

"Leave me alone," her voice becoming rabid as her eyes flashed fury at him. She ran out the bedroom door, slamming it in Vaughn's face as he attempted to stop her.

Nadia arose from her room as she heard the shouting and door slamming, "What's going on," she asked with concerned eyes.

"Its Sydney, I don't know what's wrong with her," Vaughn replied to Nadia with a desperation in his voice. Nadia looked at Sydney with wide eyes of worried curiosity as she ran out the door, no coat in hand.

"Sydney, wait!" Nadia yelled. They both proceeded to run after her, not bothering to change into regular clothes. Sydney was already in her car and pulling out of the driveway by the time they got to the door.

"My car," Vaughn yelled to Nadia as he pointed towards his vehicle. She jumped in the passenger seat and Vaughn quickly drove off after Sydney.

"Where do you think she is going?" Nadia asked, as Sydney's car disappeared around a corner and into the darkness, driving rapidly with no lights on.

"I don't know," Vaughn said with a faint quiver. He gulped hard as he turned around the corner and realized he'd lost her. Vaughn ended up driving around, taking any turn he saw, trying to find her. But they both knew it was useless. She was gone, they weren't going to find her.

The tires on Sydney's car screeched around the corner as she sped down the roads. She had no idea where she was going. She just needed to get away. Her face remained tough though, as she drove, stone-cold with anger.

After about 15 minutes of driving, she pulled into a parking lot at the beach. She had no idea why she was there. It just looked inviting. Sydney got out of the car and slipped her shoes off as she walked in the sand towards the water. The sand felt soothing as it squished in between her toes. As she made it to the water, she swept her hand across the ocean, coldness on her finger tips. She sighed and took a few steps back to dry land and sat down.

Suddenly a feeling of guilt penetrated her stomach. Vaughn and Nadia must be so worried about her, she thought. Sydney sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. A tear trickled down her cheek. She felt so confused. And moreover, she felt alone.

She thought about Nadia for a moment. She said she believed her. But she would never believe the notion that Sloane was the head of The Guildiya. She would be angry at even an insinuation about it. Vaughn had probably already told her too. Maybe she could deny it. Say she was confused by her dream, and in the meantime, she could do her own investigation. Sydney thought deep and hard about this. It seemed logical.

Sydney got out her cell phone and pressed Vaughn's number on the speed dial. She listened to his frantic voice as he answered.

"Sydney!" Vaughn exclaimed, as Nadia's eyes perked up beside him, "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," She started as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't want to do this, to lie and make herself look stupid, to say it was all a misunderstanding, a confusion from her nightmares. But she had no choice, she thought. "I was confused. I just keep having nightmares and they confused me. I was daydreaming both times I saw those people and it just felt so vivid, I thought it was real. But I realize now that I was wrong. Vaughn, please believe me," she pleaded, her voice quivering.

"Sydney, I do believe you. Come home okay and we'll talk about it then, just come home." He said, his voice going soft to sway her.

"Alright, I'll be there soon." They hung up and Sydney arose from the sand. She took a long look out at the stars and the ocean as it swept up against the shore and tickled the tips of her toes. She took in a large breath of ocean air and let out a large sigh. Sydney walked up towards the water and bent down to swirl her hand in the water for a moment. She saw her reflection. It startled her. There were tears streaming down her face and a confused and terrified look in her eyes. As she watched herself in the water, new tears fell. Finally she took her hand and stirred up the water so her reflection would disappear. She got up and walked to the car quickly and drove home.