Claire awoke to the sound of thunder. The lightening flashed in the sky causing

her whole room to light up. She sat up and looked at her clock on the nightstand.

It was a quarter to three. She turned to Leon who was soundly asleep. She

couldn't believe the thunder didn't wake him. It was so loud. Leon truly was a

deep sleeper. She quietly slid off the bed and tiptoed toward the door. She

prayed to god that Chris wasn't home. If he found Leon here he'd kill him. She

pulled the door shut and made her way down the stairs. She walked over to the

front window and pushed the curtains aside. She was relieved to see that Chris'

car wasn't in the driveway but then something caught her eye. Her car wasn't in

the driveway either. She quickly pulled the front door open and ran across the

lawn. She looked around, scanning the streets to see if she found her car, but

there was still no sign of it. "Where the hell is my car," she thought, as she

stared at the empty space in her driveway. She knew Chris would never take

her car. He didn't need it. Claire crossed her arms in front of her and gazed

at the street. Thats when she felt it. That dreadful feeling. The feeling that came

over her like a wave of fear, when she knew something wasn't right. She felt

as if someone were watching her. She turned and began walking back to the

house without taking her eyes off of the ground. When she finally looked up,

her heart nearly burst out of her chest. "Looking for something?" Steve asked,

a mischievous smile spreading across his face. She blinked a couple of

times just to see if she was hallucinating, but he was still there in front of her.

"S..Steve?" she muttered, trying to keep herself from passing out. "What's

the matter? surprised to see me," he said, his smile suddenly fading. "No,no,

no. You're not real. This isn't happening. Y..you died," she cried, feeling her

whole body tremble. Steve stood up and walked toward her but she just backed

away. Claire didn't understand. She saw Steve die that day. Steve pulled a

pair of shades out of his pocket and put them on his face. "I'm a whole different

person now Claire."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Claire's eyes shot open and she quickly sat up, ignoring the sudden dizziness.

The bright sunlight lit up her room. She could feel the dampness of her hair

against her back. Leon sat up and rubbed his eyes before he saw Claire's

horrified expression. "Claire, what's wrong," he said, putting his arm around

her shoulders. "N..nothing. It was just a nightmare thats all. She turned to

look at her clock but instead, she saw that her door was open and Chris was

standing there, a twisted look of rage on his face.