Chapter 138 2-10 NIGHT TERROR
Sleep paralysis: when you cannot move or speak while waking up or falling asleep. It can be scary but harmless and also be accompanied by a sleep-related hallucination, which can be simple images or more complex.
\-VALEN'S POV-
"Oh my God....someone....help me!" The girl ran through the nicotine -brown forest screaming.
Even though the charring autumn sun was beating her down, she appeared to have an exceptionally porcelain white complexion, and her multi-toned beach wave hair of deep grey to teal blue was tied in a delicate knot at the nape of her neck, giving the impression of being very long.
A ferocious pride of lions relentlessly chased her as she tried her best to get away from them and jumped into a yucky algae-covered pond. Swimming a few meters to provide space between her and the
hunters, she re-emerged on the muddy banks. Footprints carved their memoirs as her black high-top sneakers walked on. She fell twice in the slippery dampness, resulting in her hands, knees, and feet being caked in mud.
The pounding of heavy paws alerted her that she hadn't lost them. Once again, her feet sprinted into the thicket. The grey and white oversized sweater that seemed to hamper her agility, in the way it clung to the prickly stems of the tall Common Hawthorn among the plant community she intruded, was pulled over her head and discarded into the bushes. Unfortunately, the denim jeans shorts did nothing for her legs, as they scraped and punctured from the plants' hostility, leaving blood marring the green leaves after their assault.
She gritted her teeth in agony as the lacerations scorched. Nevertheless, she persisted in her battle for survival despite her injuries.
"Stop right there!" A savage male voice barked.
She scoffed. What an idiot would she be to heed to the enemy's demands? She'd be handing herself over on a platter. Fucking assholes, she thought, as her own sweat trickled into her right eye, burning. Quickly, she lifted the back of her hand to rub her slightly red eye to soothe the impact. Then, using the same hand, flashed the other forming beads of perspiration from her forehead, since the only top that she had on was her white bra to conceal her tear- dropped bouncing breasts.
Ever so often she looked behind her, panting in shallow breaths. Swallowing hard, she ran up a steep slope, dodging trees, but then was tripped by a large log when she tried to jump over it. Her bruised legs were too short to be successful and she tumbled down.
Helplessly, her frail body rolled down towards the predator lion. The gripping fear that swarmed her tried to convey to her mind that her death was now.
"No-no-no-no," she whined, knowing the fate that landing in their hands would symbolize.
It was the perfect opportunity for her pursuers until she managed to dig her nails into the sturdy ground to stop the barreling roll of her body.
Quickly she got up as they gained in on her and she regained her sprints up the slope. Her breathing slowed down and her chest burned. Her air passage needed moisture due to the exhausted oxygen.
"Grrraaauuu!" The lions roared, almost unitedly, to intimidate her. Furious at her resilience.
Looking back, she hissed with impertinence, "Damn pussycats!"
They were faster than her, and they were getting closer. Just a brief distance to go for her to get to the precipice and completely evade the land walkers. Blurry vision, tight lungs, and aching legs persisted as she dashed for survival.
As she went through the last stand of trees that led to an opening of the extensive cloudless blue sky and a mountain of moss-rock boulders, she climbed her way up, scratching her knees and arms.
The werelions shifted into their naked human forms as they pursued her through the boulders, and the brawny one in charge shouted, " Get her!"
"Goddess, whether you help me or not, I won't let them catch me. Not on my fucking birthday!" She prayed to the heavens, and thought to herself, is there no hope for me? There was no one to rely on. She was alone in this world and no one cared about her.
Tears streamed down her face as she earnestly supplicated in her heart not to be captured. Where was her family? Why was she so
lonely?
She wondered to herself, how did these people find me? I thought that I had hidden well. The werelions had been diligently tracking
her.
"Damn it!" She cursed as a sharp edge of a boulder sliced through her shin. "Ahhh!" Her blood trickled down, leaving marks as she climbed up. Her eyes misted but this wasn't the time to cry.
Mistakenly, as she looked down, her foot slipped, and her body slammed against the stones. Her back nearly broke. She bit her lower lip, grunting from the agony. She was conscious that she was getting close to the top as her nose trailed the saline sea air that wafted. Likewise, she could almost taste it.
At a stone's throw, the brawny naked man in charge grabbed a pistol from one of the men clad wholesomely in black military attire, who had not shifted. He put what looked like a tranquilizer dart into it. Shit! The drumming of her heart increased as she hurriedly went over the last boulder at the top. He fired and it pierced her left calf as she went out of their view.
Stopping from the prickling sensation in her leg, she bent down to remove the dart and tossed it among the boulders. She must get to the edge before it took effect. Sadly, her body slowly started to numb from the feet upwards. She fell to the ground, crawling and struggling with the enemy of her own weight.
"Please, please, please, Nereides. Where the hell are you when I need you? For once in your pathetic reign as a deity, help me!" She wailed,
feeling hopeless.
She looked back to see fingers touching the top of the last boulder to get to the flat clearing where she was. Therefore, she put in every effort to push herself further. If they caught her, she was as good as
dead.
As the brown-haired naked man erected himself to jump over the boulder to get to her, she finally reached the edge of the cliff and
shoved her body off.
Falling.
Falling.
At last, I glimpsed the fullness of her face. The woman who haunted me in my sleep for the previous months has finally revealed herself in this dream. I stirred in my king-sized bed, deeply immersed, unable to wake up. She trapped me in this nightmare, every time.
The profile of her was the ideal proportions of a piece of art with small, delicate features, a perfect diamond-shaped face filled with downturned, mulberry eyes, and gently curved lips. My heart hitched. Her eyes, which seemed to be staring back at me with immense sorrow and two sparkling rivers of tears on her white marble cheeks, were what really captivated my sixteen-year-old mind. Yet, she stalked me in my dreams like a spooky ghost.
Falling.
Falling.
I felt myself falling instead of her. My body stiffened in bed as my hands gripped the covers, digging into the mattress. Uncontrollably, I flailed with recurrent grunts. My heartbeat escalated to the terror of doom that crept over me from sharing her disastrous fate.
Falling, she hit the body of crystal-clear blue water, causing a large splash and the noise echoed off the rocks. Her body glowed as the water covered her fully.
"Valen!" She called out to me as water bubbles formed and rose to the surface while her body was deeply submerged and her beautiful aquamarine tail with golden glitter completed its shape.
Was she even real?
Just like that, she vanished amidst the fizzy bubbles, leaving me in
the darkness. In this state, I had no wolf and no guardians.
Only blackness.
Akin to a cemetery, the deep chasm engulfed me. Blackness. I was losing cogency.
Water passed through my nostrils and I struggled to breathe. Deeper
and deeper I sank, clutching at the turbulent, cold sea that engulfed me. The inability to hold my breath triggered agonal gasps. A plethora of bubbles formed around me. Nothing was visible to my engorged emerald eyes, except for the salt water, which burned them when my floating black hair was not getting into my face.
Blackness.
Shit! I switched places with the woman in my dream. Its phantasm,
which gave every imagery and sensory perception the weight of reality, toyed with the logical areas of my brain. My arms and legs wouldn't allow me to swim and the heavy weight of my body was
causing me to delve under the freezing ill-natured currents,
experiencing cold shock.
Blackness.
My swim stroke length reduced while my stroke frequency rose,
showing a clear path towards swim failure. My soul was slipping.
Blackness.
Vast quantities of water aspirated into my lungs with a scalding sensation as I involuntarily swallowed. Drifting down, down, down with coughing reflexes. Death drew near. Too dulled by fear, panic, and exhaustion to recognize any pain.
Blackness.
Mournful images of my loved ones flashed in my head. My Mom and
Dad, my brother and sister. This cannot be my end. Not without saying goodbye. Next came tetanic spasms and convulsions. My airway closed, my brain lost function and my body laxed.
My eyes slipped shut. My heart flatlined.