Disclaimer: I don't own the Lost Boys. I only desperately wish I did.

Warning: This chapter will feature depictions of violence. Reader discretion is advised.

July 31, 1987

Edgar didn't have enough time to get back down to the ground. The curly haired blonde vampire dangling from the ceiling took hold of him as Sam and Alan fled. The pair had enough time to cast one wayward glance back Alan's brother before the creature impaled him upon one of the cave's many stalagmites with a deafening cry. His expression was not one that either would forget easily: pain, anger, fear, betrayal. They had left him to die with hardly a second thought. The others began to fall from the ceiling, obscuring their view. It only pushed the boys to run faster, scrambling down the shaft they used to enter this part of the cave in the first place.

"MICHAEL," Sam shrieked. "START THE CAR MICHAEL!" The brunette dropped Laddie's arm without a moment's hesitation, detecting the panic in his brother's voice. He hurried out of the cave to the best of his ability to get things ready.

"What did you do to them?!" Laddie stepped directly in Sam and Alan's path, preventing them from making an escape. His face was starting to change into something animalistic, and while they might have brushed him aside before to get to sunlight, they recognized that they weren't entirely certain what the youth was capable of. "What did you do to my brothers?!"

"Get out of my way you goddamn bloodsucker!" Alan roared, brandishing his stake. Sam winced, half expecting the child to lunge at them. What was Alan doing? Did he forget that they were being pursued by four much larger and scarier threats? Sam couldn't stop glancing over his shoulder, convinced a mob of angry vampires would be standing there the next time he chanced a look. They didn't have time for this argument!

At the same time, Sam was recognizing something had clearly and irreversibly snapped within Alan. His tone had taken on an unstable inflection in the way that it wavered and cracked as he screamed that frightened Sam almost equally as much as the monsters they were trapped with. He had become completely unhinged and his carelessness, Sam recognized, could potentially get them both killed. He hoped the young boy would just let them through, but Alan's patience was not going to allow them extra time to find out if he could be reasoned with. For Sam, the next few seconds slowed to a near standstill. He could see what was coming before even Alan did. In fact, he suspected that Alan might not have even realized what he was doing until it was too late. That didn't matter. Nothing could have stopped the stake from coming down, lodging itself in the child's chest.

Both Sam and Alan were mortified at first, gaping at each other with eyes wide as saucers, not sure where to go from here. Both were recognizing the potential repercussions simultaneously. Alan's choice had taken them both a step down an irreversible path. But that was when the first spurts of blood hit them, calling their attention back to the matter at hand. The child growled, futilely tugging at the wood lodged in his chest, and Alan seemed shocked that he was still alive. That's what the comic had said, after all - one well-placed stake was all it took and the vampire would be dead instantly. They couldn't have been more wrong.

Before Laddie could strike back, and he looked like he was about to, Alan had to make another choice. He grasped the wood with either hand, tugging as hard as he could. The child was knocked off balance by this sudden force and his feet failed him. Weakened due to blood loss, and he crumpled to the cold stone floor, writhing in pain. Alan was on top of him in an instant to finish the job, plunging the stake in again, wedging it as deep as it would go. The boy seized up for a moment, but with a final tiny, shuddering sigh, life finally left his eyes. The spurting arterial blood was slowed to a trickle from the decimated organ before stopping altogether. Alan's shaking hand rose to wipe some of the visceral liquid away, but it was futile. His hands were so hopelessly stained crimson that the action only served to smear more across himself. It disturbed Sam how quickly it was all over. He hadn't budged an inch, unable to tear his eyes from the scene. Laddie was dead. Alan had actually killed this kid, and he just stood there and watched it all. This couldn't be real.

Alan's shaking hand rose to wipe some of the visceral liquid away, but it was futile. His hands were so hopelessly stained crimson that the action only served to smear more across himself. It disturbed Sam how quickly it was all over. He hadn't budged an inch, unable to tear his eyes from the scene. Laddie was dead. Alan had actually killed this kid, and he just stood there and watched it all. This couldn't be real. Sam regarded Alan for some sort of confirmation that this was actually happening, but he was already on the move again, murder clear in his expression like a man possessed. Both knew was coming next.

"Alan, what are you doing?" Alan shoved Sam away as he tried to block Alan's path, advancing on the sleeping form of Star. "We just have to kill the head vampire! No one else has to die!"

"We tried things your way!" His nostrils flared with rage. "They killed my brother! Now I'm going to kill them all!"

"No! Please!" But it was too late. Even if he had beat Alan to his goal, Sam wasn't certain that the slayer could have been held back. The second stake found its target faster than on the first attempt, plunging into the chest of the young woman. Sam slammed his eyelids shut, not willing to witness any more death. "Oh God..." He began to whisper to himself over and over. "Oh God..." One was already too much.

Star left the world silently, and for that, he was grateful. He could almost block the entire event out altogether. However, Sam realized that in his horror, he hadn't been keeping an eye on the other danger lurking in the caves. Sam's eyes snapped open, darting to the left. Surely enough, there were the four vampires, but they didn't seem poised to attack like he had feared. Instead, the leader's arms extended out to each side of him in a symbolic act of holding the others back. He stared across the cavern, smiling eerily, but Sam realized he was not focused on Alan, Star, Laddie, or even on himself. Their leader was more interested in Michael who now stood at the entrance to the cave, stalk still. He had come back for the two surviving boys, Star and Laddie, realizing they were taking too long. Sam could only assume that he saw the whole thing. Michael's gaze locked into Alan's taking on a shocking yellow tint and Sam's legs turned to jelly beneath him.

When I realized that the clock read 12:00 pm, I was only amazed that I didn't sleep in any later. It had been almost a full two months since I moved into my apartment and I couldn't say my sleeping habits had improved much from my first nights in Young Haven. Thank the lord for afternoon classes. I would be flunking out by now if I had been expected to attend another eight am class that took attendance. Avoiding getting out of bed just yet, I glanced at the weather and my schedule for the day. A reminder sat on today's agenda to begin studying for midterms among my other class sessions. I could hardly believe that classes were almost halfway over for the semester. Typically I dreaded this point of no return, but I was actually confident my scores would be much higher this year, especially now that I didn't have cheating boyfriends to worry about. Unfortunately, that also meant I had a new distraction: November. I sighed, pressing the power button on my phone once to blank out the screen. Begrudgingly, I began to drag myself toward the bathroom to splash some water on my face.

"I thought we were done with this shit," I asked my reflection. I pulled my fingers through the curly mess on my head in an attempt to create a workable look for the day, smoothing out the frizz, and started the mp3 player app on my phone for some background music. It began to softly play and I reminded myself again, with a shake of my head, that I really needed to update my playlists.

The Autumn Effect - Ten Years

The closer I got to November, the more I thought about Josh. It didn't matter how many years had passed, it's like the wounds became fresh all over again. You see, once upon a time I lived in a normal house with a standard mother and father. I was even lucky enough to have an older brother. We were as happy as any other normal American family could be. However, as I think you've probably gleaned, not one bit of that statement could be considered true when I moved to Young Haven. It was that way once, though, and I held tight to those memories in spite of the pain they caused me.

Maybe it's time glossing things over, but in my opinion, my brother and I had a really amazing relationship. Despite the six-year age difference, despite the arguments and growing into moody teenagers, we stayed the best of friends throughout his life. Well, I guess for most of his life. He was always there to listen when I had a problem in school and to chase away the boogeyman when I was afraid. He was the one who taught me not to be scared of the dark and also the one who showed me my first horror movie when mom and dad told me I wasn't old enough. If we're being honest, I think he helped me get into about as much trouble as he got me out of. I didn't mind.

Josh moved to Young Haven College when I was twelve. We tried to keep in touch through instant messenger sessions and the occasional phone call when our schedules lined up, but it's amazing how far thirty minutes becomes when you're busy. In the end, we never made it out to see him and Josh stopped coming home to visit save for important holidays. Even then I was finding it difficult to recognize my brother. He had changed so much in just two years. At the time it seemed like it took forever, but looking back, I felt like if I blinked I would have missed my freshman year of high school. I was days away from getting my permit and learning how to drive so I could go visit my big brother who promised to sneak me into his house parties and teach me how to be a "proper teenager" who broke the rules and snuck out. I couldn't pretend I didn't want the street cred with my classmates. He always teased me for not challenging our parents more, but someone had to balance out all of his rebellious decisions, be it the motorcycle or the tattoos or the underage drinking. My brother was all sex, drugs, and rock n roll and I was more about reading and playing video games in my jam-jams.

It was late October when things took a turn. Some stupid boy had decided to go and break my heart and I was out for revenge. I don't even remember his name let alone what he did at this point, but what I do remember was that I was hurting and who else would I turn to but my big brother for guidance, comfort, and threats to smash the kid's face in? Joshua hadn't been on AIM in forever, but we had moved onto texting by this point anyway, so I wasn't too concerned about his absence. I figured there had to be some reason he was so difficult to get a hold of – probably school work or some new girl in his life. But then I saw that dumb boy with some dumb girl making out at the mall a week later. Josh missed a few dozen of my calls and finally texted back. He kept promising that he would talk to me soon, it just wasn't a good time right then. It seemed like it was never a good time.

My birthday rolled by and I still hadn't had a conversation with my brother that didn't consist of excuses and promises to talk soon. I was fed up and I didn't know what I had done, so I decided to call him again. And again. And again. He finally picked up, his voice apologetic, telling me he was on a ride and he would call back later. I could barely hear him over the wind and the rumble of his dirt bike. I screamed at him that I was tired of getting blown off and that he needed to talk to me; to just pull over and talk that second. We argued for a while before I heard him scream.

The line went dead. If he had both hands on the handlebars at the time, he might have corrected when he hit the pothole instead of skidding into the path of the oncoming semi-truck.

I hadn't noticed that I found my way to the bathroom floor until I finished recalling all the gory details, specifically the visit to the morgue where the coroner had to explain to my parents that their son was so badly mangled that an open casket funeral would not be possible. I hugged myself tightly as I recounted how the therapists all told me in the years that followed that it wasn't my fault. The look in my parents' eyes was always contradictory. The cops had found his cell phone. They knew I was the last call and that it corroborated with the time of his death. The truck might have been the killing blow, but in the minds of the police and my parents, I set his death into motion even if I wasn't legally at fault.

My parents' marriage didn't survive too much longer after Josh's death. My mother couldn't handle remaining in a place that constantly reminded her of her dead first born son and instead ended up somewhere on the west coast. We weren't exactly on Christmas card terms, so I really didn't know or care what she was doing there. My father, on the other hand, was too proud to leave. He was a big strong man, after all. However, because he didn't physically escape the reminders, he took temporary mental leaves of absence at the bottoms of bottles that eventually caused his kidneys to fail. I didn't feel welcome enough to attend the funeral and I didn't ever find out where he was buried. But, just like that, I was the only bit of the family left where we all became a family in the first place.

"Ugh, just put on some lipstick and pull yourself together," I mumbled, trying to convince myself to start the day while hoisting myself into a standing position. I gave up on my hair, pulling it back into a ponytail like I always ended up doing, hosed myself down with something pretty smelling, and applied the absolute minimum amount of makeup necessary to make myself look human. I snatched my backpack from my room before I could reconsider going to class and, realizing the time, I grabbed a Diet Mountain Dew from my mini fridge on my way out of my apartment. I nearly jumped out of my skin as I did so.

I was immediately met by a certain familiar someone outside my door. I raised my fists in defense and, in turn, they raised their hands to show me they were empty.

"No stakes today," they affirmed. "We've kept our eyes on you. You're not…One of them." It was the vampire slayer from move in day.

"But you need to be more careful," another individual chimed in. I hadn't noticed them at first and so I jumped again. I was getting real tired of the surprise visits.

"Alright, Sam and Dean." I gritted my teeth, clutching at my chest.

"Jack," he corrected, somewhat perturbed. He clearly understood my joke and did not care for it. "Jack and Theo Dart." I took a moment to examine them both a little more carefully through narrowed eyes. The brothers dressed similarly in what appeared to be Doc Martins accompanied by dirtied jeans and red, checkered flannels. Their hair was cropped short, but with enough left to remain choppy. Jack, the individual I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, had darker hair, a narrow face, and pale skin, contrasting Theo's tanned skin, light hair, and squared jaw. Jack was just a smidge shorter than Theo, but both stood taller than me by a good bit. I highly doubted either of them had actually staked something in their entire lives.

I took a moment to examine them both a little more carefully through narrowed eyes. The brothers dressed similarly in what appeared to be Doc Martins accompanied by dirtied jeans and red, checkered flannels. Their hair was cropped short, but with enough left to remain choppy. Jack, the individual I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet, had darker hair, a narrow face, and pale skin, contrasting Theo's tanned skin, light hair, and squared jaw. Jack was just a smidge shorter than Theo, but both stood taller than me by a good bit. I highly doubted either of them had actually staked something in their entire lives.

"Brenna Wald." I stuck out my hand to shake both of theirs and finish introductions. They kept their arms crossed tight across their chests and I allowed my appendage to fall back at my side, awkwardly, as Theo continued.

"This place is no laughing matter. There is some serious stuff going on here."

"So I keep hearing," I now folded my arms as well. "But, vampires? Come on. Isn't that a little juvenile?"

"Not just vampires. We also have serious reason to suspect..." Jack jabbed Theo roughly in the ribs. I suspected Jack didn't believe I was going to take whatever Theo said next seriously.

"There are things about this town's past. Things you should know now that you're living here." Jack made a series of head gestures that Theo seemed to understand. He produced something from his backpack and shoved it roughly in my face.

"Take this," Theo ordered. "And check out the link. It will tell you everything you need to know."

"Our phone number's on the back," Jack grunted. "Just pray you never have to call us."

"Oookay." I gently took the business card, pocketing it. "I'll pray that I never need to call you." They shook their heads at me, obviously disgusted, and continued down the hallway, whispering among themselves. I tried to move along on my merry way, watching the brothers disappear around the corner before I turned around to leave, but nearly collided with yet another stranger.

"Sorry!" I tried to sidestep them and avoid eye contact.

"Hey, were those guys bothering you?" Shit. I was hoping to skirt by and avoid yet another awkward conversation, but I really wasn't having any luck this day.

"Nah." I hoped my lie would hold when I was forced to make eye contact. Electric blue orbs peeked out from behind some very stylish black and white Ray Ban sunglasses and a curly mop of brown hair. One of his eyebrows was raised. He wasn't buying it. "They're just weirdos. They didn't threaten me or anything. They're just kinda…"

"Creepy?" He took the sunglasses all the way off and smiled. It was dazzling.

"Well…Yeah...Is that too harsh?" I winced.

"No, they've built up quite a reputation around here by cornering one too many girls in dark alleyways." He crossed his arms and I couldn't help but notice the muscles bulge under his black sweater not so subtly. I wondered if he was flexing on purpose. "So, if they give you any more issues, I'm right across the hall." He flicked his head toward the door and I noticed what might have been an earring jingle in his left ear.

"I'll keep that in mind." I decided it would just be wise to just accept the offer, even if I knew I could handle myself fine. He smirked slightly, heading back toward his apartment, and gave me a wave on his way in with a small flick of his wrist. I only realized that I hadn't caught his name after the door swung shut, nothing but the apartment number staring back at me.

"2202" I noted, heading for the stairwell door realizing that now I would almost certainly be late for class at this rate. "Well…It'll have to do for now."

Class for this evening consisted of mostly boring lectures, but I managed to stay productive by working on study guides for my other courses. By the time my last seminar let out, the sun had drifted well over the horizon and it was time to head home so I could stuff my face with the first food I could find in the fridge. It was the day before Halloween and I could already hear someone blasting music from the upper apartment complex building. I was reminded that hadn't gone shopping for a costume yet, but then again I also didn't have anywhere to go. I frowned at this thought, walking past the party and heading straight for my building. However, just outside the side door I typically used, I discovered a young gentleman with a red crew cut laying face first in the grass blocking my path. I rolled my eyes. Someone had started the festivities a little early, it seemed.

"Hey, dude?" I nudged the sole of his shoe with the toe of mine. "You alright there, buddy?"

"He's fine." The voice came from the doorway, a laugh contained within it. "He just needs to sleep off some bad decisions." I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding, relieved. I had already been running the scenario through my head in which I would need to call for nine-one-one and was dreading it. Fortunately, that was no longer my responsibility. "But thanks for checking on him," the man continued. "That was very sweet of you." I smiled a bit at the compliment, deciding to look over now and actually see who I was speaking with.

The guy in the doorway had curly blond hair and sported ripped jeans and a very eighties patchy leather jacket. It was retro, for sure, but suited him well as he pushed away from the building he had been leaning against, descending the stairs as he puffed away on his cigarette. On his baby face, the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile of his own. He was exceptionally cute.

"I'm Brenna." I tried the handshaking thing again before I was too late, like with 2022, and hoped he had better manners than the Darts.

"Marko," he replied, taking my hand and flipping it over, shell bracelet jangling, to plant a kiss on the back of my hand. "Enchante." He teased with a horrible attempt at a French accent, and I giggled in a way that I was positive sounded utterly stupid. I saw him pause for a second and it appeared that he might have just sniffed my hand. I felt a weird twang in my stomach. "Sorry, are you wearing perfume?" He asked. The minor amount of discomfort melted away immediately and I felt silly for my internal reaction.

"I am, actually. I just picked it up." I was flattered that anyone even noticed.

"It smells like something familiar…" He shrugged. "But it's very nice. Very suiting." His gaze held mine just a moment too long like there was some other meaning he was searching for, but before I could question it any further, he produced something from his pocket which distracted me entirely.

"You smoke?" He offered his pack to me. I hadn't even noticed him put the first one out, but now he was withdrawing another.

"No, sorry." I declined. Why was I apologizing?

"Really?" He seemed surprised. "You seem like the kind of girl who would…Ever try one?" Did I really seem like a girl that would? I felt myself puff up as though I had received some grand compliment.

"Nah." I shrugged.

"You wanna try one?"

"No thanks." I smiled at him. My lips said no, but strangely, I noticed my head bobbing up and down in a sort of "yes" response. "My parents did and it always gave me headaches." What was I even saying? Why did I feel the need to explain myself?

"Suit yourself." He smiled easily, lighting the tobacco. "Some other day."

"Another day, huh," I challenged. I made sure to hurry and swipe my key card to open the door. I needed to make an escape before I lost my cool completely and said something exceptionally stupid. I wasn't exactly what you would consider smooth around cute boys. "You gonna make it a habit of seeing me?"

"Maybe," he smirked, mischief twinkling in his irises. With the hand holding his cigarette at his side, he chewed on the thumb of his other hand coyly. "Goodnight, Brenna."

"Goodnight, Marko," I responded, curiosity alight within my own eyes before I let the door swing shut behind me.

I paused for a moment to collect myself, hiding my face in my hands and trying to vigorously scrub the furious burning sensation from my cheeks. He must have noticed how severely I was blushing. It would have been impossible not to notice. When I decided to move, I continued mentally kicking myself the whole way up the stairs and into the apartment kitchen. I wanted nothing more than to head straight back downstairs, take up his offer for a cigarette and see where it led. I was craving interaction from a human being that didn't involve work or class and the guy was attractive to boot! Aside from my lovely neighbor in 2202, Marko was the only person who took any amount of interest in me that didn't involve my status as a supernatural being outside of Colette and Jordan, and things had been rocky between myself and them lately.

The apartment, I discovered, was quiet as I let myself in, but that was no real surprise. Jordan and Colette were probably spending the night at their respective boyfriends' houses again. I felt a twinge of annoyance for reasons I didn't feel like deciphering and decided, instead, to push everything out of my head that didn't have to do with getting nutrients and glorious, delicious carbs into my stomach. I stuck my leftover spaghetti and meatballs in the microwave for reheating and, when it was finally done, I ventured to my room to begin my favorite nightly ritual.

Illabye - Tipper

It was hard for me to admit, considering all the bad memories this city harbored, but this place was finally starting to feel like home. Movie and video game posters decorated my walls and small Funko "POP!" figurines cluttered what surfaces I had left available. I don't think I ever remade the bed from the first night I fell asleep in it, but I did at least replace the comforter on the window with some actual black out curtains which were utterly invaluable. My window was at eye level with the lights in the parking lot and could make the night seem like day. The blanket just wasn't cutting it. I could still smell the remnants of the pumpkin scented candle I lit the previous night and decided to relight it before flicking the TV on. I wasn't sure why I bothered because minutes later I also turned on Pandora to my favorite station before settling into the pillows of my bed to locate a good fan fiction to read while gorging myself on this evening's leftover feast. I was hardly even listening to any of the background noise, but I guessed it helped make me feel like the apartment was less empty. By the time I finished my dinner and began mindlessly consuming Keebler Fudge Stripes, I could already feel my eyelids sliding shut. I probably wasn't making it much further than the second chapter of this story, but my alarms were already set for the next morning if I did drift off. Making sure I plugged in my phone, I just continued reading until I succumbed to sleep, phone still clutched in my hand, music playing softly in the background, snuggling the empty box of cookies.

I was in a haunted house exploring the hallways and nooks, checking out the different rooms, and enjoying the jump scares, intricate makeup, and costuming. This was a reoccurring dream of mine, so while it might sound like a nightmare to some, I didn't feel bothered or even remotely threatened by it. Though things would pop out, because I knew it came from my own mind, I was never truly surprised when a monster rounded the corner. Furthermore, I knew that they couldn't actually hurt me, either, although I wasn't sure if it was because I actually recognized I was dreaming or because the haunt always followed the major main rule of typical haunted houses: no touching. Well…Except for those few strange dreams where they were allowed to tickle. Those were just odd.

In this particular dream, I was revisiting Disney. Some sort of new ride had just opened in which involved riding in a cart through an animatronics-based haunted house until it dumped the riders into an actual walk-through portion. There didn't appear to be any particular theme to the house in general, it just gave off the vibe of wandering through someone's home which had been invaded by men with chainsaws. Except…Something was different from my usual dream structure. I realized somewhat abruptly that everything was bathed in red light. Maybe it had always been that way, or maybe it had changed at that moment, but it put me off balance on the spot. I just knew that the light was wrong and represented that something had changed in this world. Dream Brenna pushed this aside. I hadn't had a true nightmare in years and so it was easy to get myself to relax and go with the flow, convincing myself that it couldn't happen and this would just turn out to be some new challenge. Unfortunately, soon the dream began to shift even more and it was growing increasingly difficult to ignore.

The transformation was signaled by low, rumbling laughter and the altered mood was practically palpable. I could feel the raw, absolute malice close in on me making my chest constrict and my breaths come in pants. I stopped dead in my tracks suddenly feeling very alone and somehow simultaneously like I was being watched from every perceivable angle. The hallways, with their striped green wallpaper and dark walnut floors, lengthened before me into infinity and recognized that I now stood in the center of some sort of crossroads.

Everything began to spin as I panicked, stumbling into a wall. I wasn't sure which way was the right way to go for once, and that was unnerving. Usually, the plan was so clear in my dreams, or maybe my path was always more linear than I had been lead to assume. This wasn't the case anymore. More cackling coming from an undeterminable direction sent chills running up and down my spine. It seemed like the laughter was reverberating all around me, enveloping me. I shivered. As it can sometimes be in dreams, I could just feel it: the hunt was on. I needed to start moving or they would find me.

I picked up my pace to a brisk walk, continuing to follow the hallway wall straight ahead, but there was no perceivable way out that I could find. The hallways twisted on forever and the lights began to pulse on and off in a controlled pattern. I couldn't shake the feeling that the layout changed with every flicker. The floor tilted in strange angles some places and was completely missing for other sections require me to take leaps of faith. I was being chased, but I was also certain that I was being directed somewhere.

Worse, I could tell the lights were dimming slowly over time. I wasn't sure what would happen when they cut completely, but I was certain it would be bad. As the shadows began to slither around my ankles, I developed the distinct feeling of a mouse trapped in a maze. The laughter resounded as the hallway came to an abrupt end. I could feel their mirth in my very core. Cornered. A hand slid down my arm, but as I twisted to face my captor, I took a tumble. No one was there. I felt another tremor pass through me. It was as though this dream was deliberately breaking my own rules one by one.

"Brenna," a voice whispered. The wall at my right was no longer bricked up, but opened into a hallway curving out of sight. I turned to make a run for it only to be brought to another halt. It was him, the man with the laugh. In the waking world, the track turned over to something new.

Counting Bodies Like Sheep - A Perfect Circle

His hands wrapped themselves around the throat of some pretty blonde thing. His face was monstrous, stained with blood, and eyes like crackling fire, but the terror etched on the blonde's face was somehow more disturbing. It was unforgettable. He reached out with a reddened hand, beckoning me toward him as his frosty blue stare bored into me.

I was, confusingly, torn. Every fiber of my being tensed to turn and run away while a small voice in my head whispered,

"Go to him…"

I swayed slightly before I turned on my heel to flee, but I could hear that he was pursuing. "Brenna…" His voice was in my ear, his breath on my neck and I could smell nothing but copper when he laughed. My stomach lurched. I kept running, but with that dream-like quality where it never seemed that your feet moved fast enough - like I was sinking into a pit of thick molasses.

"Where do you think you can run?" I could no longer feel him pursuing me and I slowed, my feet moving normally again. The lights dimmed considerably more and I came to terms with the fact that I had lost control over this dream. I knew would quickly find myself trapped in a legitimate nightmare if I didn't do something about it.

The hallway began to expand into a foyer, an open room empty and dark save for a lumbering carousel rotating in near silence. I could still hear the creaking of the wood and squeaking of the poorly maintained machinery, but the lack of music was oddly unsettling. As it spun, I squinted, attempting to make out the person standing behind the horses. And, just as they lifted their head to reveal themselves to me, the lights ride's lights extinguished themselves along with any other source of light available to me. I sensed someone too close, chuckling in my ear, lips close to the hollow of my neck. "You should have never come here," they whispered, and I felt the lightest graze of teeth against my skin.

'Yes….' The tiny voice inside whispered as I subconsciously stretched my neck, allowing him better access.

'No.' My mental voice commanded.

"Now, let's find out what you're really afraid of..."

The rules that I set within my own dream would not be disobeyed. I made the rules and I would enforce them if that was what it took, but this was my domain. In an instant, the lights were back on because I willed them to be, but the figure had already fled. He seemed caught off guard. I turned, catching a glimpse of a shadow as it ghosted out of the room and I was motivated to pursue. The tables had turned once more. In a flash, I was charging after the man until I could no longer feel my feet touching the ground. In fact, I realized that I might be flying. With his hand on a door knob, I finally caught up. I grabbed him by the shoulder and flung him backward, but before I could make another move, he was already up and fleeing again.

It wasn't long before I closed the gap once more. I inched closer and closer, almost pulling him back toward me through sheer force of will and I realized suddenly that I was smiling. It felt good to switch things up and be the aggressor; the "villain" if you will. But, like most of these dreams, I found that the more I tried to control the fantasy, the more awake I became and, before I knew it, with my hand nearly grasping his collar, my eyelids started to drift open.

"No more pasta before bed." I vowed, turning on my side to seek out sleep again, the remnants of the dream already slipping away as if it had never happened. Except for that girl's face. That would stay with me all night if not for the rest of my life.

Author's Note: Chapter 2 in the books. Woo! And now we're starting to get into some of the darker parts of this story. Hopefully, that wasn't too much for you guys!

I think I'm going to plan to update once a week on Wednesdays, which should give me enough time to finish self-editing this thing. I noticed this chapter, while shorter than the first, is still a little longer than the average story. I'm still trying to decide if it would make more sense to divide these into 3000-word chapters updated twice a week or that's not going to be satisfying enough.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the reviews! Thanks so much to JakkiiSukaru for reaching out and giving me some excellent advice already, and I'd love to hear from more of you! Should I shorten these things and give you more frequent updates? Was the violence too much? Do you like where things are headed? Who do you think is 2202?

Catch you all next week with some answers!

- A