The rain began to patter on my window just as I came out of the bathroom adjoining my bedroom. I had just finished taking a shower and got dressed for bed, hoping it would help me recover from the horrible flashback I had today. I was still very shaken and still trying to pull myself back together. My scars were still pulsing with heat, but the cool water from the showerhead helped with that.

I flipped the bathroom light off and went to my bed, flopping onto it with a sigh. It had been a rough day. I was more than ready for some shuteye.

"Good night, Uncle Sam." I heard a voice from upstairs say.

"Night, Hailey," I said back. I yawned. "Sweet dreams."

"Do you need anything?"

"No. But thank you for asking."

"G'night. Love you."

"Love you too."

Hailey went to her room, switching the stairs light off.

I yawned and stretched. I felt my eyelids getting heavy, so I crawled under the covers of my bed before switching off the lamp that sat on my nightstand.

Most nights, when I had a flashback, I couldn't really seem to sleep, no matter what I tried. Even sleep syrup didn't work half the time. But tonight was different. As I lay in my bed, I could feel my body go into "sleep mode" as the sound of rain falling in the rooftop and the gentle rumbles of thunder and the breeze blowing through the trees lulled me to sleep.

Or so I thought.

A few hours after I had closed my eyes, I was in a deep sleep, peacefully snoring away.

Then something, a feeling, started creeping, slowly creeping from the pit of my stomach and up to my throat until the sensation suddenly seized my throat like an iron fist. It was a feeling of horror. It was a feeling of dread.

I grunted in my sleep and turned to my other side. When I was asleep and it was happening, it wasn't as obvious as opposed to me being awake.

Then the sounds came. Explosions. Screams. Gunfire. The moans and cries of dying. The whizzing of bullets and shrapnel.

I groaned this time, my heart started to race, and I started to sweat, my breathing becoming irregular. Even though I in my conscious mind didn't realize what was happening, my brain did.

The sharp smell of partially molten and singed metal, blood, and gunsmoke began to fill my mind also.

I tossed and turned. "No…" I muttered in my sleep. "Nono…"

But as much as I would consciously not want it to, the nightmare began.

...

Samuel found himself standing in a snowy clearing surrounded by pines and evergreens. He was in his Mountain Guard suit and holding his rifle.

The wind howled through the treetops, making the falling snow swirl around in the icy breeze. The pines rustled. Icicles hanging from the branches rattled. There was the occasional WHUMP! of snow falling from a tree.

Samuel looked around, the cold wind stinging his eyes. All around the clearing, dead bodies, based on their uniforms Mountain Guard soldiers, were scattered, and the ground was covered in blood. The smell of gunsmoke was thick in the air.

"Samuel…"

A groan made Samuel look down. There was a body of a man with reddish blonde hair.

Samuel turned it over with his foot, and what he saw made him cry out with surprise.

It was his best friend, Christopher. His whole face was covered in dark red blood. There was a gaping hole in his chest where blood was gushing out. His eyes were open and glazed over.

Samuel backed away, gaping and horrified, when he tripped over something. Getting back up, he saw it was another body.

Tony's body.

His mouth was wrenched open and his lifeless eyes wide, as if he had died screaming. One of his bloody legs was almost in two pieces, because the knee had been blown off. His greasy black hair was matted with blood.

Samuel scrambled up, hyperventilating. He felt sick to his stomach.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Samuel saw a dark lump in the snow about five yards away. He went over to it. Another body.

It was laying facedown, so with a shaky hand, Samuel reached for his rifle and turned it into its back.

Samuel's heart skipped a beat as he blanched and gasped, trying not to throw up.

It was Rolland. There was a huge bleeding hole where his stomach was supposed to be. Dirt and blood streaked his face. Blood trickled out of his mouth. And one of his hands was gone.

Samuel's knees started to go weak as he had a hand over his chest, breathing heavily, shocked and horrified at the scene before him. His friends. They were all dead.

"Oh my god…" He muttered. "Oh my god….oh my god…"

Samuel slowly started to back at the sickening sight, when he again almost tripped over something. He looked down.

It was yet another body. But this one was different.

This one was smaller than the rest. It had long brown hair. And less bulky. It was actually really thin. This one was also dressed differently. It had on a tattered and ripped red flannel shirt and blue bootcut jeans that were splattered with blood.

But it wasn't just that. Something about it struck Samuel as familiar. Very familiar.

Samuel knelt down and lightly pushed its shoulder. When he saw the face, he screamed.

"OH GOD!" He shrieked, bolting back up.

It was Hailey's face. It mangled and was covered in red. She was surrounded by a pool of her own blood. A huge gash was ripped across her chest, where blood was spilling into the puddle, which slowly spread across the snow.

Samuel stood there, shaking, hand over his mouth, gaping, horrified at his niece's dead body.

"No…" He said, backing away. "Nonononono…this can't be happening…"

And then there was a voice. A whisper.

"Why…"

At first he wasn't sure if he had heard it. The voice was almost carried away by the wind.

But then it came again.

"Why…."

Samuel looked up.

Rolland was looking at him, hole in his stomach in full sight, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Why…" He whispered. "Why didn't you help me…"

Samuel stared in shock. He shook his head and started hyperventilating even faster, backing away.

Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Samuel cried out with surprise and whirled around to see Hailey standing behind him. Blood was still pouring from her gash.

"You could've saved me…" She said. "But you didn't…"

"I-I'm sorry-" he began to say, but stopped when someone grabbed his ankle. Samuel looked down and saw it was Tony.

"You didn't help me…" He said. "Why? I thought we were friends…"

Samuel gaped in horror. He tried to say something, but no words would come out.

Someone seized Samuel's wrist. He gasped and saw a dying Christopher looking up at him.

"You deserter…" He said, voice gurgling slightly from the blood seeping to the back of his throat. "I could've lived...but you ran and left me to die…."

Samuel yanked his wrist away and started to back away from the advancing bodies, who were now screaming at him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME?!"

"I'M DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"YOU LEFT ME TO DIE!"

"YOU COWARD!"

"I-I'M SORRY!" Samuel screamed back. Tears were spilling onto his face. "I TRIED! I TRIED TO HELP YOU! I JUST COULD'NT-"

Suddenly he stopped, because there was a click and the feeling of solid cold lead being pressed into his back.

Samuel whirled around came face to face with a man. He was all dressed in black robes, face covered save for his eyes, with an AEK-971 slung over his shoulder. He was aiming a glock (pistol) at Samuel's chest.

"You could've saved your friends." He said icily. "But you didn't. They're all dead now. And it's all because of you." He glared at Samuel with piercing blue eyes.

Suddenly a few pairs of hands seized Samuel's shoulders. His knees suddenly gave out as they were kicked from behind. He cried out with surprise as he was thrown and pinned into the snow by the corpses of Rolland, Tony, Hailey, and Christopher. He struggled and kicked, but it was no use.

"And you'll be joining them."

The man in black pulled a bullet from the folds of his robes, loaded it into his clock, and pressed it into the Mountain Guard's chest.

"NO!" Samuel cried. "STOP! LET GO OF ME! PLEASE!" He thrashed against the hold of the deceased, harder this time.

"Goodbye, Samuel. Enjoy your time in hell."

With that, the Calusán soldier pulled the trigger, sending a bullet right through Samuel's heart.

...

"AAAAAAAHH!"

I bolted upright, screaming. I was terrified. My heart was racing. I was clutching my chest. Sweat was pouring down my face. I was still hyperventilating. My adrenaline was a tidal wave through my body. My stomach roiled. My mind was in a rush, so much in a rush that I had no idea what was currently happening. I thought I was still in the dream. I was tense and ready to strike out at any moment.

My eyes darted around the room, which to me still looked like the clearing, looking for the soldier that had shot me or the dead bodies that were screaming at me.

I felt someone or something put a hand on my shoulder and I instantly seized up, my fight-or-flight instinct triggered, thinking it was one of the bodies.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" I yelled at the top of my lungs before swinging my fist.

CLANG!

There was a cry, a loud thump, and a sharp pain through my wrist as it made solid contact with something metallic.

There was a gasp.

"ZANE!" Said a familiar voice. There was a groan. "Oh my god! Are you okay?!"

"I think my vision system has been slightly damaged…"

All of a sudden I snapped out of my semi-dream state. Then I saw what had happened, and I gasped.

Zane lay sprawled on the floor, holding a hand over one side of his face, groaning. The closet door behind him had cracks and splinters sticking out from where he must've hit his head. Hailey was next to him, keeping his head up and asking if he thought anything was broken.

But what shocked me most was the fist-sized dent in his face.

For a second I didn't know what happened. That was until I saw that my fist was still clenched and poised like I was about to strike a second time.

And then the realization hit. I breathed in heavily, lowering my balled fist and staring at it, still not believing it for a second. But the reality was something I couldn't avoid.

I hurt someone. I had punched Zane in the face. I was the one who gave him that dent. I was the one who knocked him off his feet and into the closet door. I possibly knocked his eye out.

All of a sudden, I felt horrible. I hurt enough people already. I ruined enough lives. I didn't want Zane to be next in my path of destruction. It was the last thing I needed.

Another groan made me look up. I saw Hailey helping Zane up off the floor, who was still covering his face.

"Here, follow me." She said to him, leading the nindroid out of my room by the arm. "Let's get some ice on that…"

And before I could say anything, they had already vanished down the hallway.

I stared after where they disappeared, gaping, before sighing and hanging my head.

I didn't even get to apologize to Zane. He just walked out. What did Zane think of me now? Did he think I was dangerous? A threat to his personal safety? Did he feel safe around me, or did he think I would pull a gun or a knife on him without any warning at any given moment? Did he think I was starting to lose my sanity? Would he hate me for this?

I sighed again and buried my face into my hands. I had been hated enough. I had been considered a threat. Both by the two people which I loved most. And they left me.

I felt my eyes start to get wet as I remembered all those nights after that day where I woke up from a nightmare, alone. There would be no one to comfort me. No one to wake me up before it got out of hand. There would be no one to tell me it was just a dream. No one to tell me everything was going to be alright. No one for me to vent and share my feelings to.

I looked up from my hands and looked around the room. It was just me in my dark bedroom. Alone.

I rested my face into my hands again quietly started crying. I couldn't help it. I thought it was happening all over again. It felt so much like the lonely nights years ago, I honestly thought it was one of those nights. The feeling…it was just...terrible.

I sat there and cried for how long I don't know.

"U-Uncle Sam? Are you okay?"

I looked up from my hands, and through my tear-blurred vision, saw Hailey standing in the doorway.

I was about to speak, but my emotions caught up with me and I dropped my face into my hands and cried harder.

I felt someone sit on the bed next to me.

"Hey." Hailey's gentle voice said. She rubbed my back. "You're gonna be okay. It was just a nightmare, that's all. It ain't real. You're gonna be just fine…"

I kept crying for a few moments more before a thought crossed my mind.

"H-Hailey?" I sniffed.

"Yes?" She asked, getting up. "Is there something wrong?"

"Can I ask you a q-question?"

"Of course you can."

I looked up at her, trying to blink the tears away.

"Wha-what do you d-do when you wake up fr-from a n-ni-nightmare?"

Hailey stopped and stood, thinking.

"Well, gee, Uncle Sam." My niece said after a few seconds. "Whenever I had a bad dream when I was younger, you were always there for me. Normally you would sing me a lullaby and then fall asleep with me or let me sleep with you." She looked at me. "You were always ready to comfort me when I needed it."

I sniffed a few times, nodding.

"Right…" I said, my voice cracking. "I remember that…"

"Hailey?"

"Hm?"

"D-do-do you…do you think…can I…" What I was about to ask of her I didn't know if she would do it, but it was something I really needed. I needed it badly.

"What is it, Uncle Sam?" I heard her say. She crouched to my eye level.

I stared at Hailey, tears still muddling my vision.

"C-can I have a hug?"

"Of course," Hailey said before taking me into her arms.

In return, I wrapped her into a bear hug, buried my face in her shoulder, and just became completely unhinged. I just couldn't help it. I was still scared. I still felt rotten. I was still horribly shaken by that nightmare.

As the crying racked my whole body and tears soaked the shoulder I was sobbing in, I felt Hailey lean into me, rubbing my back and stroking my hair.

"Ssshhhh." She said soothingly. "Easy, Uncle Sam, easy. It's all gonna be okay. It's just a dream, nothing's gonna hurt you now. You're alright. I'm right here. Relax, it's just a bad dream. You're safe."

I pulled Hailey in tighter, feeling a blanket of comfort and security seem to fall over me as we sank into each other's embraces and as Hailey continued to calm me. Each second of it was so important to me, because, who knows how much longer it would be before I had to wake up alone again?

After several minutes, my sobbing subsided and I stopped trembling. My heart returned to its normal speed. My stomach no longer felt sick.

"Do you feel okay now?" Hailey asked, gently pulling away.

"A-a lot better…" I sniffed. "Hailey, listen…"

I paused to rest my hands on my niece's shoulders and gaze deep into her bright, kindly, spirited, and fiery eyes.

"Thank you so much for that," I whispered. "That was something I really needed. I feel so much better now. Thank you, Hailey."

Hailey smiled at me.

"Of course, Uncle Sam." She said. "Now, try to get some sleep while you still can." She hugged me again, kissed my cheek and ruffled my hair. "Goodnight."

I chuckled and returned the embrace. "Goodnight, my girl," I said. "I love you. With all my heart."

"Love you too, Uncle Sam." She said. "Do you need anything?"

"No," I said. "But thank you for asking." I let Hailey out of my embrace. "Now, I think you should be somewhere?"

Hailey yawned and nodded. "Uh-huh." She said. "Good night."

"Goodnight, Hailey," I said. And with that, Hailey went back upstairs to her bedroom.

I watched her go, sighing. Hailey always lightened up my day. One smile from her and it always made me feel like the luckiest man in the world.

The thunderstorm had passed while I was asleep, but the rain was still falling, a steady pattering against my window, a sound that was making me sleepy. I yawned and was about to let my head fall into my pillow when I realized I had my glasses on.

"Huh," I said quietly. "Must've been that tired…"

I took them off and saw how dirty they were. They were smudged and covered in fingerprints. I would clean them tomorrow.

Folding them up, I reached out to put them on the nightstand-

Thump!

"Ow!" I hissed quietly as I felt the bottom of a knob yank at the skin of the top of my hand.

Grumbling to myself, I found my glasses and put them back on.

I looked at the knob that had nagged me. It was one that was attached to a little drawer in the nightstand.

"Hm," I grunted. I opened it out of curiosity.

There was nothing in there, save for a little piece of cardstock.

I raised an eyebrow before taking it out of the drawer. I couldn't see it in the dark, so I switched on my lamp to see it better.

Turns out, it wasn't a piece of cardstock. It was a picture.

For a moment I didn't know what it was, but then when I did-

"Oh…" I muttered. I felt tears coming back into my eyes and a feeling of sadness rising into my chest.

It was a little five by four picture of me, Heather, and Ash at Travers lake. Ash and I had fishing poles. I was proudly holding a rainbow trout with one hand while wrapping my arm around Heather's shoulders with the other. Ash was holding his first catch, a five-inch bluegill. It was a beautiful sunny day when the picture was taken.

I turned it over and saw some writing on the back, and I almost couldn't read it from the tears blurring my eyesight.

"Travers Lake, North Shore

July 17, 2004

3:08 P.M"

I felt a tear slip down my cheek as I looked at the picture, running my finger along the edge tenderly.

"Lord…" I said, on the verge of crying. "Look at that. We were all so happy then…"

Then I remembered that one day that changed everything, sending it all crashing down. All the horrible things…

I covered my face with a hand and started, again, to cry softly.

"Where…" I gasped, my voice quavering. "Where did it all go w-wrong?"

I dropped the picture and buried my face in my hands, again crying harder by the second.

It was me. All me. I drove them away, being the drunken fool I was back then. I terrorized them for years until Heather finally had enough of it.

And I thought of all the suffering and pain I went through, physically, mentally, and emotionally the year after that. I was so destroyed. I was so dispirited. I was so broken.

I started to sob, so I quickly thrust the picture back into the drawer and slammed it shut before covering my face and losing it, hot tears pouring down my face.

I was crying so hard I didn't even notice the sound of someone rushing back downstairs and through the hallway to my bedroom.

"Uncle Sam!" I again saw Hailey standing in my doorway. "Are you alright?! I was about to fall asleep when I heard you."

I couldn't think of anything to say, so I kept crying. I didn't know how I was supposed to explain all this to her. As if I could figure out a way now.

I felt someone wrap their arms around me and again I bawled into my niece's shoulder. I pulled Hailey in tight and cried harder.

'I'm so sorry, Heather..' I thought mournfully. 'I'm so sorry, Ash. This was all my fault. I'm so sorry that I threw you into the middle of my mess…I never meant to…but boy, did I.'

"It's alright, Uncle Sam," Hailey said. "It's alright. You're gonna be okay, everything's gonna be fine."

I literally sank into Hailey's embrace. My bawling eventually turned into sobbing, which then turned into crying, and that waned to just tears. I was still sniffling by the time I had stopped.

"Ha-Hailey…" I muttered, trembling.

"Yes?" She asked. I watched as she knelt down in front of me. "Oh…" She said, looking at my face. "Four Legends, you don't look so good…"

"I know…" I mumbled. "Listen…I don't think I'll be…able to sleep tonight…unless…"

Hailey looked at me.

"Unless what?"

I drew in a shaky breath.

"I just won't be able to sleep tonight by myself…" I began.

"I'll sleep with you if you want." Hailey offered. "You've done it with me. I should return the favor."

I gave her a feeble smile.

"T-thank you so much, Hailey," I said. "You won't know how much that helps me…"

"Anything to help you, Uncle Sam," Hailey said as she came onto the other side of the bed, rolled over, and looked at me. "You always help me."

I gave her another grin, a little stronger this time. Just being around her helped my dampen spirit warm-up.

"Glasses," I said, holding out a hand.

Hailey handed me her pair and I slipped mine off, putting both on the nightstand. I switched out the lamp and let the dark settle around us.

I wrapped my arms around my niece and pulled her close to me.

"Love you, Hailey," I whispered.

"Love you too." Came her reply.

I stroked her hair. "You're my whole world, y'know that?"

It was true. After the disaster with Heather and Ash, I was near the edge of the destruction of myself. But when Hailey came into my life, and even though she may not realize it, she was my salvation. She gave me a reason to wake up each morning. She gave me something to live for. She made me smile. She made me laugh. She made me happy in a way no other could. She always gave me a shoulder to cry on. Life was perfect with her in every way.

I looked down at her, wrapped in my arms, fast asleep, and I couldn't help but grin.

Hailey was a gift from above, no doubt. She was my precious treasure. I loved her with everything I had. I would do any to protect her, even if it meant laying down my life.

I felt my eyelids begin to droop, so I pulled the covers over both of us. I nuzzled closer, gently brushed some hair from her face, and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight, my girl," I whispered. "I love you so much."

And with that, I let the soft rain falling on the roof and the deep even breathing of my sleeping angel lull me to a night of deep, peaceful sleep.