A/N: Another chapter everyone! So I kinda just cut this chapter alittle short XD I just re activated my Facebook account so I'm kinda getting used to that. Besides when I was writing this scene I got to the ending and it all just clicked and I went I'm stopping here so i did lol :p

Enjoy!

Amy kept running through a dark abyss. She could feel hot, panting breaths on the back of her neck and her heart sped up at the sheer presence of the monster behind her. All she had seen before she had started running was the flash of crimson red eyes and a monstrous black shape emerge from the shadows somehow darker than the surrounding area. That was all she needed in order to turn on her heel and run like she never had before.

Amy panted as she could feel her lungs start to ache and almost burst with the strain of her ragged breathing and her forceful push out of her body as she strained herself harder and harder. She could feel sweat start to pull down her face and run down her neck soaking her long blonde hair into ragged, clumped, and a matted mess streaming behind her. She could feel the surrounding temperature start to skyrocket giving her the impression of being in a furnace.

Screams started to be heard around her but yet she couldn't see the source of the noise. Pushing herself she ran faster as she heard the angry snarl become unleashed from behind her. Suddenly, Amy felt her foot become caught on a ledge of some sort and her arms pin wheeled in front of her face in an effort to catch her fall.

Landing on the hard ground the harsh impact knocked the breath straight from her lungs. As she breathed in, she could feel the searing heat seem to scald her lungs burning at them like a fire trapped in her chest. Then Amy felt claws yank onto her leg and she let out a terrified scream. Turning her head, she saw the beast, or whatever it was, looming above her; its mouth open in what appeared to be a wide smile.

A sharp pain seared in her chest and Amy gasped then screamed at the cold and calculated stab. It felt as if she were just stabbed with a knife. Looking down at her chest Amy could see dark blood start to stain the front of her shirt. The creature kept on stabbing and stabbing at her; Amy could feel whatever it was slice into her internal organs over and over again.

'Oh my god please wake up!' Amy screamed out in her head hoping that all of this was a bad dream.

The creature above her laughed and sank its claws deep into the flesh of her abdomen. Amy choked on her own blood as she felt it pool out of her mouth and run down the side of her cheeks to mingle with her mess of hair.

"I am no dream Amy, I'm as much apart of you as you are apart of me," the creature hissed at her jubilantly.

Amy shook her head in fierce denial. The creature nodded and its jaws slathered as its claws dug deeper and started to tear into her internal organs. Amy threw her head back and screamed loud, her screams intermingling with the others around her until she couldn't even tell that it was coming from her own throat.

"I'm looking forward to our meeting Amy, and believe me it will be sooner rather than later," the dark creature pinning her down hissed.

"Gabe where are you?" Amy screamed aloud, "Please help me!"

~x~

Physical World

~x~

Amy jolted awake screaming Gabe's name. Stopping suddenly she blinked her tired, gritty eyes and stared around the small apartment room. Shivering she dragged her knees up and rested her chin against them.

Looking at herself, she realized she hadn't even changed out of her uniform and it was gross now. Sighing Amy wiped her eyes tiredly trying to get the last remaining sleepy drags out. Her head was pounding and everything was incredibly sore. Her legs were even shaking as if she had just run a marathon, throat parched, and her chest…it was hurting directly where she had been stabbed in her dream.

Pulling her shirt down somewhat she looked at the area. Her skin was smooth and unblemished. Frowning Amy shakily swung her legs over and began to stand up slowly.

Her legs almost gave way on her at the increase of weight put on them and almost collapsed out of her shivering. Slowly, Amy walked over to the height length mirror that she had bought and stood in front of it.

Taking in her appearance, even she had to wince at what met her eyes. Her long blonde hair was tangled and matted with sweat. Huge knots sticking like burrs in it. Her eyes were puffy and slightly crusty in the corners and her skin was overall flushed. She really did look like she had just run for her life.

Lifting her shirt up she stared at her chest still clad in her white bra and carefully scrutinized the smooth skin; nothing, not even a hairline of a mark. Lightly Amy ran her fingers along her milky white skin on her chest and stomach. Frowning she lowered her shirt and turned away from the mirror. Clutching her head, she walked out of the room and into the bathroom.

'It felt so real though,' she thought to herself as she stripped out her dirty clothing and threw it into the corner by the door.

Walking over to the shower Amy looked down at the dried blood staining the slightly yellowish tub. Sighing Amy shook her head and turned on the shower faucet. Leaning over she picked up the pink razor blade that had been lying innocently where she had discarded it last night and rinsed it off in the stream of water. Amy watched as pinkish droplets pooled onto the floor of the shower and slowly ran in a light pink trail down to the drain along with the other spots and disappear.

Eventually all the blood had been washed away by the water and Amy stepped into the shower. Her bandages were water resistant so she didn't have to worry about them. She would leave them on until she finished her shower.

Shampooing her hair, she lathered the thick suds generously as she scratched at her scalp gently. Amy moaned out at the feeling as she scrubbed away all the grime that had accumulated on her since she had fallen asleep.

'Passed out is more like it,' Amy thought to herself as she began to rinse out her hair.

The thick suds slid down her slick body, pooling at her feet, they shortly disappeared down the drain. Amy grabbed some strawberry scented shower gel and rubbed it across her body. Quickly the small-enclosed space was filled with the sweet scent of strawberries and Amy sighed in happiness.

As she gently massaged her muscles in the shower she felt them slowly start to unwind and loosen up. Most likely, she was stressed over her job and that horrible dream last night that she had worked them up. At the thought of that dream, Amy stopped and just stood still in the shower as she felt the small droplets hit her body.

'What a dream…it felt so real,' Amy mused silently within her mind.

She could still feel the sharp rake of the creatures claws, its heavy weight as it pinned her down to the ground and the wreak of its hot, putrid breath as it panted in her face. She could still feel the cold slice of what felt like knives puncturing her chest and Amy wrapped her arms around her torso at the thought.

Rubbing her arms comfortingly, Amy turned off the shower and gingerly stepped out of the shower. Toweling herself dry, she wrapped one around her body and then twisted her long blonde hair in a second one.

Walking over to the mirror, she swiped the perspiration off the mirror and looked at her reflection. She looked more refreshed after her shower and Amy smiled slightly at that. Opening her door, she walked out back into her room, a small wisp of steam trailing after her.

Quickly she changed into a tank top and some dark wash jeans. Towel drying her hair she pulled it up into a high ponytail then threw the dirty towels into a hamper. Luckily, she still had an extra work uniform in her closet just in case so she could wait to wash her other one.

Amy walked out of her bedroom and into her main living space area. Turning on the TV again, as per her normal routine, she got out some eggs, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and some ham. Placing it all on, the cutting board she placed a frying pan on the stove and let some butter melt in the center as she started chopping up the vegetables and the ham. Cracking some eggs over the pan she then put her cheese and all of her other toppings on top of the eggs. Waiting a few moments, she flipped the eggs over and made sure they folded over nicely.

The smell of omelet wafted through the apartment and Amy breathed in deeply the aroma that met her nose. Distantly she listened to the news reporter but not really paying attention to anything the woman on the screen was saying. It was most likely the same thing anyways; bad news always seemed to sell.

Finally, her omelet done Amy flipped it over onto a plate and walked over to the couch. Falling back on it with a slight huff she gently sawed off a small piece of the soft, fluffy egg and placed it in her mouth. It tasted absolutely delicious and Amy sighed slightly at the exquisite taste.

As she was chewing on another bite, the news reporter came back on and Amy was suddenly met with a picture of her street and…the waitress from last night? Frowning Amy reached over and grabbed the remote yanking the volume up higher.

"Police were called to the corner of 50th and 37th street last night after a call was placed from a couple hearing screaming going on down a back alley. Upon arriving at the scene, police found a young 24 year old Daphne Grass multiply stabbed to death and appears to have been sexually assaulted. If anyone has any information about this police are urging them to come forward."

Amy stared in shock at the photo of her co-worker displayed on the TV screen. It left her shocked as she stared at it. The smiling, round face of Daphne beamed back at her. Amy gulped a large breath of air in. Kinda hard to believe that just a mere 10 hours ago or so she had seen her and worked with her. Now she was found dead in an alley last night?

Amy gripped herself tightly as a whole rack of shivers assaulted her body. What if she had been walking home that night? What if it had been her that had been attacked? It was all so mind boggling to her that her head pounded with the beginnings of a headache.

Getting up she walked over to her desk and sat down at the small table. Slowly she began to unwind her bandages from around her arms. The bandages pooled out on the table and Amy took one long look at the scars covering her forearms. The cuts from last night were still red and angry looking. They appeared to be slightly healed even already and stung from the brush of the colder air in the room.

Turning her head Amy gazed out of her window at the street below. Some cars drove by in the direction of the diner. Amy slowly allowed her eyes to shut half way as she basked in the warm glow of the sun shining down on her. A dark streak cut across her vision down below and Amy opened her eyes and leaned slightly more forward to stare at it.

The same black cat from the other day was staring up at her window directly at her. It cocked its head to the side slightly as it gazed at her peacefully. Amy frowned at this as she watched the cat stretch and slowly pad away.

Shaking her head Amy sat back in her seat and watched as it disappeared around the corner.

"Huh," Amy said quietly to herself.

She sat there for a while longer as she watched the people walk by and the sun slowly move across the sky. Her scars still burned and stung every once in awhile but Amy reveled in the pain of it. At least she was feeling something. Her thoughts drifted back to her dream that she had just had last night.

"It was just a dream," Amy reassured herself out loud, "just a dream."

But it didn't matter how many times she told herself that she couldn't help a sinking dread fill her stomach. Glancing at the clock Amy blinked in shock as she noticed that it was almost 1o'clock.

Scrambling up from her chair, she ran back into her room, got dressed in her uniform, and ran back out. She had grabbed her forearm gloves and made sure her scars were all safely covered; although they stung horribly. Grabbing her jacket, she rushed out of the apartment locking the door behind her.

Rushing down the stairs, she pushed herself into a light jog. She got three blocks down when she spotted the crime scene tape and a hard lump formed in her throat. The police were nowhere to be seen but the dark alley even in daylight opened like a large, hungry maw waiting to devour its next victim. Swallowing down her nervous Amy sprinted away from the scene not once looking back. She arrived at the diner shortly after; gross and sweating but at least unharmed.

Walking across the parking lot as usual she pushed in the door and was met with the ever expectant rush of customers coming to and fro. Sasha was behind the counter as always, wiping down the surface, and serving drinks to everyone that called. The two of them made eye contact and Sasha looked away in sadness her whole demeanor screaming depression out to her.

Walking into the back Amy hung up her jacket like last time and looked at the empty peg sitting on the side. Even though she had never really known Daphne, her heart still felt a pang of loss…and fear. It had happened way to close, not just to home but also in her own workplace even. Suddenly, Amy heard the door open behind her and she spun around. Sasha was standing in the doorway staring at her sadly; she closed the door gently behind her.

Amy smiled at her but she didn't have any kind of cheer backing her up. Sasha stood in the middle of the room and gazed at the floor her arms crossed protectively.

"So you saw the news?" asked Sasha gently.

Amy swallowed thickly and then nodded. Sasha nodded at this and rubbed her forehead wearily.

"Umm look if you need the day off-"Sasha began to say.

Amy shook her head, "No I should be fine, but you seem to need it."

Sasha shrugged her shoulders, "I'll be fine, besides there are still a lot of hungry customers."

Amy smiled at her as Sasha smiled back. Clearing her throat and blinking her tears back, Sasha clapped her hands in front of her, "Ok so if you're up to serving I could sure use your help. We had a few waiters call in so there's not many of us, and if you could work longer today that would be a great help."

Amy nodded at her, "Sure no problem."

Sasha nodded her thanks and left the room. Amy sighed, this was going to be a long day, but really, she did not have any other choice. Making sure her gloves were secure, she walked back out to the front.

Sasha nodded to her as she saw her pass by. Grabbing her notebook from her pocket Amy took out a pencil and walked up to her first table. As she took peoples orders and jotted everything down, she couldn't help but constantly turn around and look behind her.

Every single time, out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn that she saw a flash of someone with honey colored brown hair. Yet every single time she turned to look at the person they had disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the diner. More than once, she thought she saw a quick glimpse of Gabe but it turned out to be a trick of her imagination.

Every single time this happened Amy's heart rate would speed up and her palms would become sweaty; yet each and every single time she got her hopes up and they were dashed she crashed harder than she ever felt possible. Her eyes became slightly damp with tears but she kept it all in check and kept on taking orders.

As she passed out hot plates, she saw her friend Mr. Yoshiro come in and a genuine smile lit up her features. Placing the last hot plates down in front of the people, she walked over to the same booth that he had been sitting in the other day.

He was still wearing relatively the same things as the other day but this time his shirt was red and his jeans were slightly darker than the other day.

Amy stopped in front of his booth and Mr. Yoshiro turned to look at her. A smile lit up his features, the teeth gleaming white in his dark face.

"Amy! Glad to see you girl, and how are you?" asked Mr. Yoshiro as he took one of her hands in his older knurled ones.

Amy smiled gently at him, "I'm doing ok Taro, so did you hear about Daphne?"

Taro seemed to come over with a somber aura at this news and he sat back and took his hands away. Nodding sadly, he answered her, "I did unfortunately this morning. They say they have no idea who the culprit is and let's face it, it could be anyone."

Amy nodded saddened at this thought. The chance of them ever catching the real culprit was very slim and even then, it wasn't as if Daphne's family would have any real peace after losing one of their family members.

"Well Taro what would you like today?" asked Amy as she reshelf her feelings and tuned back into her job at hand.

Taro seemed to understand her sudden change and only showed he registered it with a flick of his eyes, "Just the usual is fine Amy."

Amy nodded and jotted it down in her notebook as she turned to walk away. As she started to make her, way back to the kitchen to place the order though she noticed another shorter man in the diner. He was wearing a green, faded jacket and from behind his slightly longer hair was styled neatly and a honey colour.

Amy's heart began to pound as she saw him. Her eyes opened wider as she took in his stance and how straight he stood.

"Gabe?" Amy whispered quietly aloud as if she had just blown gently on a candle.

Walking over to the man from behind she reached out when she became close enough and almost put her hand on his shoulder, "Excuse me sir?"

The man turned at that and looked at her. Amy reeled back as she recognized a young fellow but not the one she had been hoping for. The man gave her a surprised look but otherwise didn't say anything.

"I'm…I'm sorry that was my mistake. I thought you were someone else," Amy mumbled quickly and walked away.

She didn't look back but if she had she would have noticed the man gaze at her sadly after her retreating back.

"Amy? What have you done to yourself?" Gabe whispered to himself as he watched after his close friend.

A/N: I hope its ok! I kinda rushed at first so I hope you guys like it! Thank you so much for all of the great reviews too!