Heather tossed and turned while murmuring in her sleep. It was the nightmares again eating away at her. A loud clap of thunder jolted her awake. She lie awake in her bed, drenched in cold sweats with her eyes darting around the dark room as if the creatures that plagued her nightmares somehow made it out. The only thing that could be heard was the blanketing sound of rainfall and the occasional faint roar of thunder.
Heather took a few moments convincing herself that every shadow wasn’t a bloodthirsty monster before she finally turned on the light on her nightstand. Her clock read 3 o’clock in the morning. It didn’t surprise her. Heather felt that her nightmares were more than just bad dreams. She felt that maybe they were either a sign or maybe even a vision. Her nightmares happened so often and on top of that they were so vivid. So much to the fact that sometimes Heather had a problem figuring out if she was truly awake.
The girl reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out a small journal. She flipped through it quickly to find a blank page. As she skipped through the book each page reminded her of every terrible dream she recorded. Sketches of monsters that stood out to her in her nightmares filled the pages. The book was almost filled.
After filling out the latest entry in the journal Heather placed it back and settled herself back down into her bed. Drowsiness was surfacing again since it was the middle of the night. She reached out to turn off the lamp but froze halfway. Instead she grabbed her necklace of a crucifix and put her lips to it before turning in her bed and closing her eyes.
It seemed like Heather had only shut her eyes for a second when she was awakened again. This time by knock on her door. The girl noticed there was some faint form of light outside. It was morning but the clouds still dominated the sky. The clock now read that it was seven in the morning.
The knock came again at the same rhythm as the last. Heather stood up from her bed and slowly made her way to the door. She released the deadbolt but left the safety chain on as she opened the door. Standing in the hallway was her friend, Hannah. She was fully dressed and wore her usual thin smile.
“Good morning.” She greeted. Heather found it to be too early for the morning to be good and couldn’t form any strength to form a smile to match her friend’s. Instead, Heather shut the door to undo the chain and reopened it to let Hannah in.
“Coffee?” Heather managed to form the question as she closed the door behind her friend and was already making her way towards coffee maker that was in the kitchen area inside the hotel suite she stayed in. Hannah always had coffee. Heather asking was more of a formality than an actual question.
“Yes, thank you.” Hannah answered anyway as she sat down on the couch. “I suppose you want to know why I’m here so early.”
“Maybe.” Heather answered. She did wonder who could possibly be knocking on the door so early in the morning. But upon seeing it was her friend she dismissed the thought.
“I have somewhere I want to take yo-”
“Uh-oh.”
“Trust me. It’s completely for your benefit.” Heather looked at Hannah with a curious expression. “I found someone may be able to explain to you what these nightmares, you have, are.” Heather let out a disappointed sigh and Hannah immediately continued. “It seems like they have higher source of energy than others. I think they might be the real deal. It couldn’t hurt to check it out. Especially, if that person has answers to your these nightmares you have.” Heather narrowed her eyes at her friend.
“This is the last time.” Heather said through gritted teeth. Hannah seemed pleased with the answer. Hannah was going out of her way to help Heather. The least she could do is put up with it until it became frustratingly annoying which would be after this if it proved to be another fraud.
The streets of Cambridge, England were still very wet and a light drizzle continued from the storm of the previous night. There were a few people out and about but it wasn’t busy like it was during mid day.
As they approached their destination they noticed a small crowd. As the two girls got closer they noticed people were gathered around a man that seemed to be giving a speech.
“There are some that say the Earth will end in fire! Others say in Ice. Even now you have books and movies that speculate and entertain the idea of how our humanity will reach its end. Will it be a zombie apocalypse or will we meet an end at the cause of our own hands; Nuclear destruction.” The man paused for a moment so that the crowd’s murmurs would die down.
“I say humanity is not ready to go extinct. The End that will happen will only shape us and bring us forth into a new age. We will adapt and evolve and the ones that are the strongest will move on as the rest of humanity will die off.” The man’s eyes shot towards Heather and he quickly pointed a finger in her direction. Heather hadn’t even noticed she stopped walking. It was like she was pulled in and entranced. There’s no way she’d even consider the ramblings of a man who looked dirty and homeless.
By the time Heather came back to her senses the man was standing right in front of her. The crowd was now formed around Heather and he.
“You-your aura is different.” Heather thought for a mere second that this man had to be talking to someone else. “You are conflicted. You are at struggle with something but you don’t know what it is, do you?” With that the man turned and walked back to the wooden pedestal he stood behind earlier and continued his speech.
Hannah must have found out that she wasn’t being followed anymore and quickly looked around for Heather. It didn’t take very long to retrace her footsteps and find the girl mixed in with the crowd.
“There you are. Why are-” Heather held up a finger and Hannah stopped speaking. Then she, too, seemed to be drawn into the man’s speech and listened silently. After a few more minutes he finished and the crowd dispersed, going back to whatever they were going to do prior to listening to the homeless man’s message.
“You there!” He was looking directly at Heather. “Come.” The two girls exchanged glances before moving towards the pedestal.
“As I said, you have a conflicted aura. It looks like it is being suppressed by a lingering shadow.” Heather tensed when she heard this.
“Is there a way to get rid of the shadow?” Hannah asked and the man scoffed.
“I don’t fix the shadows. All I can do is tell you they are there. Every man has his own demons to face. But I will say that under the shadow is a light trying to get out. It’s funny isn’t it? A shadow suppressing light? It’s normally the other way around. It’s why you stand out to me. You’re a girl different amongst the rest. I would easily spot you in a crowd of hundreds.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Heather asked this time. She hadn’t felt this antsy in a very long time. It’s the first time she came to anything close resembling answers.
“Sometimes people walk around their whole lives not knowing what to do. They may write it off as hauntings or possessions. That’s what happens when you don’t deal with this issue. Those are the people that don’t face their monsters. They try to rationalize it away. The only thing you can possibly do is accept it is apart of you. That way you can control it and then send it back to the darkness from whence it came.” A rumble of thunder was heard and the man picked up his small pedestal.
“I believe that’s all I can help you with, but trust me. I don’t think you’ll get a better answer. I have seen the shadows. At the moment all I can do is call on the lord’s help to keep them at bay until i can find a way to confront them. But they are closing in on me just as your shadows are closing in on you.” And with that the man walked away leaving both Heather and Hannah stunned.