Elle couldn't remember much of her dream, but she knew it was terrifying.
She awoke in a dark room, or at least, what she suspected was a dark room. It was pitch black, with only a small, white light in the distance. Confused, she sat up, staring at the light source, trying to work out it's origins. As she sat, she realized she could hear voices, originating from the darkness. She turned her head, trying to locate the source of the sounds, but it was no use. Everywhere she turned, the voices just began emanating from elsewhere.
And then she heard her voice. Her mother's voice.
In the distance, she could see a blurry silhouette of a couple. One looked like it had something coming out of it's back. She squinted, trying to make out the blurry people. Instead all she heard was a whisper of 'We love you, Elle.' and then they were gone. There were other voices, too. More menacing voices. They clamoured at her mind, whispering something she couldn't make out, and then -
She was sat in front of her mirror, curls in their normal state, hanging down to the middle of her back. She was wearing a white floor length dress, and in the mirror staring back was a boy. He had brow hair to his shoulders, and almost black eyes. He also had pale skin, and just smiled at her, although it wasn't in a friendly manner. Finally, he spoke.
"Who are you, Elle? Are you who I'm seeking?" He was replaced with a boy with a lot shorter hair, who had a familiar face, who also disappeared.
Then, the nightmares really began.
Elle stood, paralyzed, in the middle of a battle field when she next awoke. Men and women with feathery wings stood closest to her, holding weapons that almost seemed to be made of light. They stood on green grass which spread out into a beautiful meadow behind them, complete with a blue sky, mountains, and a forest that seemingly spread for miles around. But on the other side of Elle was the complete opposite. Dead, withered grass crunched beneath her feet, and men and women that seemed surrounded by shadows grinned mercilessly at the winged people. Suddenly, they all pulled weapons out of the shadows, and their dark, thunderous sky loomed overhead, crackling with lightning. Elle knew she could stop it, and it was only when the began to charge at each other did she speak up.
"No, wait! I can stop it." She yelled, hopelessly, and the boys from earlier both stepped out from behind me, and said at the same time. "We know, but will you?"
The ground opened up, and swallowed Elle into it's darkness. When she woke up for the last time, she was sat in a chair, and immediately screamed. Crawling all over her body were spiders. Shaking and sweating, Elle screamed out for help, but none came. "This is what you get if you stop this war." A voice in the darkness purred, before cutting a perfect nine pointed star in her collarbone, just like every night.
Elle's eyes flew open, and she made sure to stifle her screams with a pillow as she sobbed with fear and sadness. She couldn't even remember her mother's voice. Tears still streaking down her face, Elle glanced at the alarm clock on the side of the table. 5 AM. Great. Knowing she wouldn't get back to sleep, Elle sat up and decided to go for a shower. She hurried to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, hoping it would wash away the signs of the tears. She turned the hot water on and climbed in, rhythmically washing everything from her hair to her toes, and then she just stood there until the hot water ran out. She climbed out slowly and dried herself with a towel, before pulling on her favourite pink argyle top, leggings, and knee length black boots, before combing and drying her hair, and finally, pulling on her mother's locket. She always wore the necklace, just because it was her mother's, and the only thing she had left of her. She placed her index finger on it, looked at herself in the mirror, and sighed slightly. Perhaps she could escape the fear for a little bit. She wandered downstairs and grabbed a granola bar, carefully unwrapping it and using her fingers to pick apart the chewy oat bar until it was in tiny pieces. She ate each one slowly and thoughtfully, before grabbing her brown leather handbag, her phone and car keys, as well as her agenda and homework, before heading out to her truck.
The sun was only just beginning to rise, much to Elle's disappointment. She'd hoped it was a little later, but her car's dashboard said it was only quarter to 7. She decided that she'd take her car to school and sit in there until class started. She got in and started the ignition, thinking about her dreams, or at least, the parts she could remember. She shivered whenever she thought of the spiders crawling across her skin. The idea repulsed her.
Elle drove slowly, and was soon at the school. She made her way to class, despite what she had planned earlier, as it was much later than she had planned, and visited her locker, grabbing her book and pencil case, before heading to English class. She sat at the back, at her desk, and began reading - Jane Eyre, currently. This particular copy was given to her by the orphanage in Montana, which she greatly appreciated. She sat there reading to herself quietly, totally alone. Not even the teacher was there yet, and for Elle, it was bliss.
But, obviously, bliss wouldn't last for long.