1 Chapter 5

*Disclaimer: I don't own FTTD or any rights to the series or it's characters don't sue blablabla

* This chapter is high on conversation and (kinda) low on action. But this is intended, part of the masterplan! Mwuhahahaha! (kidding) I'm working on some good ideas for the next chapters but until then, this will simply have to suffice.

*Author's note: I haven't written any fanfics (or chapters) in quite a while so I hope this chapter won't disappoint you and will be as good as the other ones. Sorry for taking so long to continue by the way! (gets down on knees and starts praying SOMEONE will read and like it, besides herself of course ;) ) Alright I'll shut up now. Enjoy reading!

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~At Dr. Goodman's house~

The day had dragged on for Sara, who had been suffering all day from a nasty headache. She had avoided Tony, Flint and the others as much as possible. The dream and the single dark blue rose had been floating in her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't let go. It was impossible she could see things that weren't there, Tony had said. She didn't understand it either, but she saw it none the less. "Am I really losing it? I must be overworked, what else is there to say about it? I… I need some air I guess." She thought. After dinner, she quickly brought all the plates to the kitchen and saw that uncle Bernie, Tony and Flint were already on the couch, watching a soccer game. Sara sighed and got her long purple coat. As she put it on, she said; "I'm going for a walk if you don't mind. I'll be back in about an hour or so." Uncle Bernie looked up from the TV and nodded. "Allright, but be careful. You've just recently recovered. Are you still worrying about that dream, Sara?" Bernard asked all of a sudden, one eyebrow up. Sara turned around and faced the door. "Just a little. But I just want to go outside and enjoy some fresh air. I've been inside for days uncle." Bernard just nodded. "Then go ahead, but don't stay out for too long." "I promise" Sara replied.

Sara stepped outside. She pulled the zipper of her coat up a little higher and smelled the air. It felt good being outside again. She looked around the neighbourhood, deciding where to go. "The playground will do. There are usually no kids out there around this time. Maybe I can get some things straight. That place always manages to calm my nerves. And how I need that right now." She thought. She turned left and started walking, while her boots made soft tapping sounds on the pavement.

She heard a sound coming from a low wall nearby. She tightened her muscles.. but relaxed them slowly when she realized two small boys were playing with some marbles, behind the small and low stone wall she was passing. Not long after she arrived at the playground. She walked towards her favourite bench, underneath a huge tree with hanging branches. She sat down, pulled her knees up and put her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes and thought about what she was going to do. The first thing that popped up in her mind was to go and see Merlock. "What if I just go to him, tell him that I had a strange dream in which terrible things happened ...and that he was mentioned something about a message.. No. If I do that, he'll just think I'm nuts and somehow I don't think I can deal with not being believed right now. I mean; a rose no-one can see, come on. It must be just my weird brain. I'm probably just still reacting to the fever." Unfortunately, that thought did not give her the comfort she was searching for. "O.k. Suppose… suppose I do go and tell Merlock. How will I start?? I have to have things straight or I'll make no sense at all.." She carried on and tried to decide whether or not she would visit the time detective vampire. After another few minutes, she made her decision. "I'm going. I'll figure out what to say when I get there." She stood up, wiped the sand that had been on the bench from her coat, and started another walk. She had a little trouble finding his home, since it was hidden between all the other, larger houses, but finally she found it. She swallowed once and walked up the short path to Merlock's house. She brushed her hair over her shoulder with her hands as she stood in front of the door. She knocked three times and waited.

~Merlock's home~

Merlock had finished showering an hour ago and was still in deep thoughts about his failure. He was blaming himself for everything and was in a bad mood. He hadn't been able to contact Jillian, as she wasn't present at the headquarters. She had been called to a very important meeting with some other leaders and managers of a different location. He walked downstairs and laid down on the couch. Bindi still was upstairs, getting ready for bed. She had tried to forget the whole matter ever happened. Merlock hadn't been able to explain what had happened, other than they had been attacked by their enemy and that he had failed. Her attempts to make him feel better all had failed and she had eventually stopped trying.

This was when he heard three soft knocks. A small low growl came from his throat as he got up and walked towards the door. With a quick jerk he pulled the door open, preparing to snarl at whoever was standing there.

"O!" Sara said as she turned back towards the door. "I…I thought you weren't home. I was wondering, may I speak with you right now? I mean, have you got time to see me?" Sara asked a little nervously. She had never seen Merlock look this tired and somehow beaten before.

Merlock's mouth opened a little and his eyes widened, forgetting immediately he intended to snarl at who dared to knock on his door. "Sara!", he said, "How lovely to see you. What brings you here? I'm sorry, I'm kind of a mess right now but I just… yeah sure come in." Sara stepped through and entered his home. Everything was a little dark as all the shades were down. Merlock quickly pressed a few buttons and there was light in the room. The plates from dinner were still on the table and Sara turned away from the table with a small blush, as she had seen the small bloodbag that was laying there. Merlock saw why she turned away and quickly disposed of it. "I'm sorry if that scared you Sara, but I'm glad you know what I am. Please, sit down. Do you want something to drink?" Sara quickly shook her head. "No thanks, I'm not really thirsty right now." Merlock smiled a little. "Neither am I." A small silence fell. Both seemed to be thinking about what they were going to say to each other. Merlock suddenly looked up and stared Sara straight in the eyes. "What are you afraid of Sara?" He asked calmly. Sara's eyes suddenly widened and she got nervous again. "What? What do you mean? How could you know I'm…" She stopped in her sentence. "I have high senses. When I concentrate, I can sense whether or not humans are scared. But I do not discover any fear for me. Something is else is bothering you. Why else would you have come here?" He had said the last sentence with a soft, almost painful voice. Sara heard this in what he had said. She didn't quite understand what he meant exactly. Sara's thought raced through her mind. She hesitated, then opened her mouth, hesitated again, then finally spoke up.

"Last night… I had a dream.." as Sara spoke, Merlock's heart started racing and a unpleasant feeling awoke. Sara continued, as Merlock concentrated and got a very serious look on his face. Sara noticed the sudden tension in Merlock. She continued. "I'll try to make sense, but please don't mind if I don't, I'm not quite sure I'm doing the right thing, telling you about it. Well. Like I said, I have had a dream. It wasn't a very pleasant one." Sara laughed nervously. "Actually, it was quite terrifying. I was in a strange, cold place with a marble floor. There was no-one there except me, at least that was what I thought. I heard the sound of approaching footsteps, but I couldn't see who it was. And then I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.. when suddenly the floor disappeared and I fell and fell, I remember I screamed, when someone stopped my fall. That someone he's, well, he was you. At first he was any way. You had caught me in your arms." Merlocks eyes lighted up a little after hearing this. But the serious expression returned as Sara continued again. "I tried to thank you, but my voice; it was gone. Then you started changing." Sara looked up as she had been staring at her fingers the whole time. "You or the thing that was you suddenly looked at me with a look of hatred, then threw me on the floor. I tried to crawl away, but I.." Sara felt tears burning as the whole experience returned to her. She calmed herself a little and continued. Merlock's bad feeling was now growing by the minute, as he saw the tears coming up in Sara's eyes. "I couldn't move", Sara whispered, "I was paralysed but something made me levitate of the ground into an upright position. He, the one who changed, spoke to me. He talked about that he knew who your loved one is, and that somehow I was meant to tell you this. He threatened to hurt Flint, the others, I honestly believe that he could, you know, because it was real. You had to make some sort of choice, or something terrible would happen. Your love and friends, or your blood. And he.." Sara paused and swallowed, "he made a cut in my cheek, and he licked the blood that welled up. After that, he tossed me away like I was nothing more than trash."

Sara felt disgusted and turned away, not wanting to see Merlock's expression. Merlock said nothing, but closed his eyes and tightened his jaw. Sara tried to figure out what precisely his reaction was, but couldn't succeed. Sara felt insecure and uncertain. "I'm not making a lot of sense, but I just had to tell you what happened. At first, when I woke up, I convinced myself that it really was just a bad dream, as did my brother, uncle Bernard and Flint. But when they left my room, at my desk I saw a memory; a darkblue rose pinned on my desk. When I told Tony this, he thought I was losing it. He said that there was nothing there. But.. I know what I saw. I think." Sara closed her mouth tight, and almost felt ashamed of coming to Merlock and telling him about some dream she had. "He must think I'm crazy too, why else would he have that closed expression. Why else is he so silent. This was a mistake." Sara nervously thought. She licked her lips and spoke again. "Allright I'll go now. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, you must have work to do. You decide what you want to believe, I'll go now." Sara felt disappointed and got up. A cold hand grabbed her wrist as she passed him on her intended way out. She looked at him and finally Merlock looked up. His voice sounded a little hoarse. "Stay. I have something to tell you too. Although I was hoping I wouldn't have to." All sorts of thoughts crossed Sara's mind. But the thought that stood out the most was the fear of not being believed, a form of rejection.

However; Sara sat back down beside him, curious of what he was going to say.



* Well this was it, already working on chapter 6 so until then! Please R&R and let me know what you think, I appreciate it.