Mills dunked her sandwich into the soup and took a bite as Crane's sentence faded away. A wispy fog curled around her shoulder and crept down her arm, growing thicker as it went until it completely enveloped the table. Her brow knitted as she looked up only to realize she was alone in a forest.
"Okay, Abbie. You're dreaming. It's just a bad dream because your nerves are frayed, you've overworked yourself and your whole world is upside down. You're like Alice in Wonderland nightmare style." She took a deep breath and wandered deeper into the woods. "Sandy's gone, he won't come back. Stop psyching yourself out. You're just fine. The worst thing you'll see here is a deer."
The farther in she went, the darker it became. She instinctively put her hand to her hip where her gun was normally holstered but all she felt were her leggings.
"You're doing this to yourself, Abbie. This is a lucid dream. You control this. Think happy things. Dogs, cats… koala bears." She took a deep, shuddering breath as a gust of icy wind swirled around her, sending a painful wave of goosebumps around her torso. She looked up at snow began to fall in its eerily quiet way around her. "Snow is good. Snow… comes around Christmas and Thanksgiving. That one time when you were a kid and Dad showed you how to make a snow angel. You're doing good, kid."
She paused when Corbin's voice calling her 'kid' came slamming into the forefront of her mind.
"He's in a better place." She sniffled as her throat contracted in a vain effort to hold back tears. She swallowed hard and put a hand to her chest. "C'mon. Ponies, fawns… screw it, Ichabod."
"I'm here, Miss Mills." Crane's deep voice was tender as he spoke.
Mills gasped as she turned around, her skin burning with embarrassment to see Crane standing behind her. She took in his light brown hair all neatly tied back, the dark blue neck tie that was tucked into the matching dark blue vest. The same cloth shaped into a frock coat hugged his slender form and squared his shoulders. "Well, look at you all dolled up. We won the war. Remember?"
"Yet another war has begun. You and I are on the front line, alone." His eyes shifted over her shoulder and he raised his flintlock pistol and fired. A cloud of smoke swallowed Crane, leaving Mills to cough and wave away the burnt gunpowder stench around her.
"Okay, next is going to be Katrina, hexing me for feeling anything intimate for Ichabod." She turned and came face to face with a being with black eyes rimmed with red and its mouth crudely sewn shut. She gasped as she stepped back away from the creature, examining its burnt red skin while watching it move. It took a step forward, its skin cracking open with each slight movement. "What the hell are you?"
It slowly tilted its head until the skin broke and the head fell to the ground and
rolled towards Mills only to have turned to ash a short way down the slight slope. Mills looked from the head to the body that twitched as though it were seizing then imploded into fire. From the flames came a spiked black gloved hand. Bit by bit, the body came through and stood before Mills. She took in the black armor and the horned helmet that hid the being's face.
"Look, I don't know who you are or what you…." Before she could finish her sentence, the being grabbed her throat and clutched it with an unnatural force. She felt her feet leave the ground as she struggled against the hand, her nails digging into her skin, not caring if she drew blood.
"I am Famine." One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse growled into her face as it clutched tighter. She felt her hyoid bone cracking as the world faded to black.
Mills' scream made Crane bolt upright in the tempur-pedic bed. He grabbed the baseball bat from behind the door and went to her room. He opened the door and looked around the room illuminated by the light of the full moon, ready to slam the rod of steel into the skull of his friend's assailant. His heart rate slowed to a normal pace when he found they were alone. He set the bat down and went to his friend, unsure of how to proceed while preserving decorum. He took a deep breath and went to Mill's side as she screamed and struggled against an unseen force.
"Miss Mills." He licked his lips and shifted his weight to his other foot. He cleared his throat and touched the comforter that was twisted and halfway off the bed. She kicked as hard as she could while her hands reached out for nothing. Crane gripped her wrists to keep them from inadvertently striking him. "Abbie!"
Her chocolate eyes flew open and she sat up. She looked around, catching her breath before pulling a knee up and resting her arm on it. "Sorry for waking you up."
Crane frowned and took a deep breath. "What did you dream of?"
Mills lowered her head, ashamed of the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her finger tips and sniffled. "Famine. He walked through fire and grabbed my throat and started to strangle me. I felt like I was dying."
"He cannot, nor shall he hurt you, while I am near. I promise you that." He hesitated a moment, then laid his hand on her shoulder gently. She stifled a sob and put her hand over his, leaning her head against his arm, grateful for the heat his body generated. She yawned and nuzzled her head against him, clinging now with both of her hands.
"Thank you, Ichabod. You're the best guy I've ever met." She sat up, taking in his gentle eyes watching her carefully as she shifted onto her knees and cupped his cheeks. His eyes grew wide in misunderstanding a second before she brushed her lips against his as softly as she could. She took a shuddering breath a millimeter from his supple skin before kissing him again, more passionately this time. He put his hands on her elbows and pulled away from her.
"Miss Mills, I am sorry. Katrina is with me still, in my mind, in my heart and in my soul." He stepped away from her, letting her arms fall heavily to her side. "I wish you happier dreams. Good night."
He turned and left her room, leaving her embarrassed and disgusted with herself. She dropped back on to her bed and turned to her side, allowing her tears to fall steadily.
"Well done, Abbie. Real smooth." She rolled her eyes and stared out the window as she pulled a pillow closer to her mouth to muffle her sobs.