Alice

I sat at the kitchen table, trying to keep myself awake. Ever since those dreams started, I hadn't gotten that much sleep, and I was starting to feel the effects of the lack of rest. All I wanted was to find a way to make them stop. It was bad enough I had to live the horror once, but over and over almost every night was just too much.

I wasn't sure how much more of it I could take till I would break down. I already felt at my wit's end, which was surprising for me. If I knew what it was I could do to put an end to the hellish nightmares, I would have done it in a heartbeat. My grandfather walked into the kitchen, looking as if he had just woken from a goodnight's rest.

If he had, then I envied him. He yawned and saw me at the table, where he proceeded to sit down across from me. "Morning, Alice. Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked through his yawn. He knew about the sudden occurrence of my nightmares, and how they had been effecting my sleep.

I shook my tired head, my messy orange curls hitting my face as I did so. My grandfather frowned and told me, "I'm sure they'll eventually go away." I sighed, wishing that he was right. Although he knew about the dreams, he didn't know what they were about since I refused to tell him.

What would he think if I told him I kept seeing Klaus killing Shun? Would he think of me as crazy? It just seemed like a better idea to keep the contents of my dreams to myself. But they seem so real, I silently thought to myself. "They're just dreams, Alice," my grandfather told me, obviously sensing my distress.

I applauded his attempt to comfort me, but if he had seen what my subconscious mind had shown me, then he wouldn't think they were just dreams. I closed my eyes, fighting the need to shed tears. My grandfather sighed and stood up from the table. "I'm going into town," he told me.

"Do you want to come with me? It might do you some good to get out and get some fresh air." I thought about his proposal, then shook my head. He frowned once more before leaving the house. I didn't like seeing my grandfather worry about me, but he had no idea as to what I was going through at the time.

I left the table and walked over to a window, where I peered out and watched my grandfather leave the house on horseback. I was all alone now; my parents still out of town on business. But if I knew what this 'business' was, then I guessed they were trying to find me another suitor.

Although, when I came back home after being gone for several months, they promised to stop trying to force me to marry complete strangers. But that didn't mean they would keep their word. Then again, they could have been telling me the truth, and I was just being overly paranoid.

This lack of trust in them was the result of them not keeping their word very often. I sighed, and began to quiet my rampaging thoughts down. My eyes then focused on the trees that surrounding the house. They were all shades of brown and yellow as another Fall swept across the land and changed the scenary once more.

I began to count the months since the war began to change everything. It was well over a year and a half at this point. Maybe even two years. It amazed me how quickly time had passed by already. It felt like just yesterday, I was still with Klaus and trying my best to make it through the day by pretending that I loved him.

I began to wonder where Klaus was at the time, and what he was doing. Was it wrong that I was thinking about him, even with all that had happened between me and him? I was allowed to think about people, right? Even if I didn't particularly like them?

Still staring out the window, I adverted my gaze up at the sky and took in the site of the vast blue space. There wasn't a cloud in the sky; the only thing that was up there, was a flock of passing birds.

Smoke then began to rise up into the sky from afar. It was thick and black, and destroying the perfect scene. I soon realized that the smoke was coming from town, and I quickly ran out of the house and towards the source.

Alice

I finally reached town, and saw a large crowd gathered around the general store, which was up in flames and had smoke flooding out of any opening it could find. My mouth was slightly open with shock, just like some many others around me. Snapping myself back to reality, I ran closer towards the burning building and joined the crowd.

Heat waves radiated from the store, and I had to step back a little so I wouldn't get too hot. I looked around and saw Julie and Runo. They were standing on the other side of the crowd, watching as well. Their eyes fell on me, and they began to run to meet up with me.

I met them halfway and asked, "What happened here?" The two girls shrugged their shoulders, obviously confused like me. The town's 'fire department' came running up to the scene, buckets of water in their hands, and they began to try and extinguish the flames.

Once things were a little bit more under control, several people from the crowd, mainly men, ran into the store and came out with the people that had been trapped inside. One of them, was Julio, of course. He was walking on his own, but needed to be steadied by one of the brave volunteers.

Several more people were brought out; some were in better shape than others. I overheard a conversation between two of the people who had helped to put out the fire. One of them said, "Looks like a lantern was knocked over and caught the place on fire."

The other nodded and turned back to the charred remains of the building. One of the townspeople that had run into the burned store to help those inside, came walking out, a person draped over his shoulder. He set the man down on the ground, and from where I was standing, I saw that it was my grandfather.

Shock took over me, and I pushed my way through the crowd and joined his side. His skin was covered in soot and ash, but I couldn't tell if he was still alive or not. "Grandfather?" I whispered, trying to hold back tears. Julie and Runo were standing behind me now.

I knew this because I could feel their gazes on my grandfather and I; I didn't have to see them in order to know that there was shock on their faces as well. A man walked up to me and said, "Ma'am? Do you mind if I take him to my office?"

I glanced up and saw it was the town doctor that had taken my grandfather's place after his retirement. I nodded my head, but I was sure that I hadn't fully registered what he had asked me. The doctor snapped his fingers, and several other people stepped out from behind him and they picked carefully picked my grandfather up.

Once they had carried him off on a stretcher, the doctor told me, "I promise to take care of him and the others that were hurt in the fire." Again, I nodded, but did not know why. The doctor tipped his hat to me and ran off.

The crowd that had gathered around the burned general store, began to thin out, leaving me still knelt down where my grandfather had been laying just a moment ago. I felt two sets of hands rest on my shoulders, and knew it was Runo and Julie. The reality of everything finally set in on me, and I let my tears flow freely.

Alice

Julie and Runo escorted me back home, but I kept fighting against them and saying that I wanted to see my grandfather first. They insisted that I needed to go home and get some rest, seeing as what I had just been through. Although they had a point, my mind wasn't thinking straight, and I was being irrational.

My two friends finally succeeded into getting me back home, and laying me down on my bed. I was now sobbing, making myself sick with worry for my grandfather. What would I do if he didn't make it? He was the only family member that I had that truly understood me, and listened to the problems that I may have been suffering from.

The only other people that were like that, were Julie, Runo, and Murucho. But they weren't blood, no matter how close they were to me. Julie had stayed in my room with me, and Runo had stepped out for a moment, and soon returned with a cup of hot tea.

She offered it to me, and I took the drink in my shaking hands. Slowly, I sipped the hot liquid. "It'll be okay, Alice," Runo told me, but I thought I detected a hint of doubt behind her voice. That made my eyes well up with more tears, but I quickly forced them away before they had a chance to spill over. "Do you really think so?" I asked her. Runo hesitated for a moment before saying, "Of course. Now, get some rest, Alice."

The two girls left me alone in my room. Once I finished the last of my tea, I laid down in my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Tears started to form again, and this time I failed at keeping them down. They flowed from my eyes and down my face, landing on the pillow beneath my head.

My eyes began to grow heavy, and I feel asleep. And for the first night in a while, I didn't have a dream of Klaus killing Shun, but rather one of fire.

Alice

Morning rolled around, and when I woke, I felt completely awful from all of the crying I had been doing the night before. Slowly, I climbed out of my bed and made my way to the kitchen. When I crossed the threshhold, I expected to see my grandfather at the table, but saw Julie and Runo instead.

My eyes felt like they were trying to make more tears, but they were all dried out. Julie smiled at me and said, "Morning." But her smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared when she saw that I was still out of it. I pulled out a seat at the table, and sat down.

Runo and Julie looked at one another, concern on their faces. Runo leaned forward and asked me, "Do you want Julie and I to take you to see your grandfather?" I nodded my head slowly, feeling like a little kid that might have broken their favorite toy and was being asked if a new one would make things better.

I understood why they wouldn't let me see him yesterday; I was completely out of it thanks to the shock of seeing what had happened to my grandfather. After sitting at the table for a few minutes so I could fully wake up, I retreated to my room and got changed into a clean set of clothes, while also combing out the knots in my hair.

When I felt presentable to the public, I left with Runo and Julie and we rushed to the doctor's office. Once there, we navigated our way to the infirmary, where I saw the other burn victims. My eyes scanned over the beds, but my grandfather was nowhere to be found.

The doctor from yesterday stepped out from a room in the back. He froze when he saw me, and his face turned grave. "Oh. It's you," he said, somewhat surprised. I took a steep forward and said, "My grandfather. Where is he?" Runo and Julie stood by my sides for support, but even they weren't enough for what I was about to hear.

The doctor told me, "He had some pretty severe burns. I'm sorry, but there wasn't much we could do for him. Medicine can only do so much." It took a moment for the blow of it all to hit me, and when it did, I dropped down to my knees and was choking on sobs.

Runo and Julie were trying to calm me down, but their efforts were pointless. I had lost my grandfather, and that was the only thing that I was able to focus on.

beh. i had to force my way through writer's block on this one. i had absolutely NO ideas. -.-'' also, not to sound pushy, but i'm going to be closing the poll for the title of my upcoming zombie fic, so if anyone hasnt voted yet and wants to add your opinions, i suggest doing so before the end of september. because, and hopefully, on the first day of october, i'm going to start my zombie fic. so, please vote if you havent. i want EVERYONE'S opinion. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~