That night turned out to be rough for Nick as he tossed and turned in his bed. He had nightmare after nightmare, each one becoming more vivid and felt more real. Finally, he gave up on sleeping all together and woke AJ up.

"AJ. . . AJ," he shook a sleeping AJ. AJ yawned, "Chill Nick. What's going on?"

"Can I lie down next to you?" Nick asked, the sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Gross man. Go sleep somewhere else," AJ replied groggily. Nick ignored him and placed a pillow beside him. Again, he counted to 1000, hoping that once he fell asleep, the fear and tension would go away. But it was useless. The moment he closed his eyes, he saw the same scene running through his mind.

He was alone in the middle of the night near a lake, lost. He didn't know where he was and things started getting creepy as he heard the howls of wolves in the distance. Frightened, he snuck behind a tree and hugged his legs for comfort. However, he soon felt the coldness so he began rubbing his arms.

Then from behind the bushes, he thought he heard something-footsteps maybe.. He remained as quiet as possible, but the person seemed to know that he was sitting there by the tree. Nick began to panic. He tried to keep his breathing down and closed his eyes, telling himself that this was just a dream.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped. Nick slowly opened his eyes and raised his head and found himself staring at a pair of feet. Nick gulped, the fear radiating through his whole body. He felt goose bumps all over his body as he raised his head even more and saw her face! "Katie?" he smiled in relief at first. "Katie? It's you, right?" He stood up to face her, but what he saw in those eyes weren't affection. Her face was green, probably due to the reflection from the lake. Her eyes were blood shot, and she did not answer him. She looked cold, determined-like a predator ready to lash out at its prey.

He took a deep breath. He knew that she was there for one reason only-to make sure he would never be able to tell her secrets to anyone. He slowly turned around to run when he heard her wail, the sound of a banshee out to seek revenge. But no matter how far he ran, she seemed to be right behind him, blowing chilling air into his neck. He didn't even bother to look around to see what was going on. He only knew that he had to get away. After a few minutes of useless running, he felt the sharp jab as if she had snapped him in two and all was pitch dark. . .

Nick woke up, drenched in even more sweat. His breathing was so hard that AJ woke up, concerned. "Nick, what's up man?" AJ saw the fear in Nick's eyes and instinctively grabbed Nick into a big hug. "It's okay. Everything's all right Nick. I'm here for ya."

Nick leaned his head against AJ's shoulders, not trusting himself to speak.. AJ felt Nick panicking and only held him tighter. "Whatever it was, Nick, it's over. Don't worry. I gotcha covered." AJ tried to sound as soothing as possible. After a while, Nick fell back to sleep. The nightmares, though still disturbing, had become less violent.

Meanwhile, Katie had a different sort of dream, but one that kept her tossing and turning in her bed as well . . .

She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but the blood on her hands had dried by the time she woke up. She looked at her hands in horror and ran to the bathroom to wash the fetid odor from her body. She was unsuccessful because as soon as she washed the blood away, her hands were coated with more blood. Katie washed even harder. She was so consumed in her handwashing that she failed to see the blond teenage boy staring at her.

"What's going on, Katie?" his voice startled her. She turned around sharply.

"Nick, why aren't you in bed?" she asked, half relieved that he was there. She felt safe around him because he brought to her sanity. He kept her head down on the ground when her life was in turmoil.

"I thought I heard some noise. Katie, your hands-they're bloody. Did you hurt yourself?" the blond boy asked her innocently, never once thinking that the blood wasn't hers.

"No, um, yes," she stuttered. "It's hurting. I'm hurting." Katie cried out, hoping for him to come and help her. To her relief, he walked closer to her and took her hands in his, and he began to wash her hands gently. After a few minutes, her hands were wiped clean of the evidence. She looked to him warmly, and he smiled back at her. She kissed him on the cheek, showing her gratitude, which she never had for anyone.

But the moment she kissed him, he morphed into a hideous monster, his face and body eroded and blood-streaked. No longer did she see the angelic good looks, but rather, she saw a hatred that distorted his face and put fear into her heart immediately. "You're an ungrateful creature, Kate!" the thing said in a rough, almost unrecognizable voice. "After all that I've done for you, how do you repay me?"

Katie stepped back in horror. "Nick, no . . . I didn't mean it, honestly. I didn't want to hurt you. It wasn't my intention. It was an accident. You know I love you." She tried to defend herself, but the creature didn't seem to listen.

"An accident that was perfectly planned, right Kate?" the creature, now looking an ugly hue of brown, its eyes nearly falling out of its sockets, stepped forward and grabbed Katie by the arms. "And for that gift of death that you gave me, I shall show you the meaning of vengeance!" The creature placed both hands around her neck and squeezed the life out of her. She screamed her guts out . . .

Katie woke up, drenched in sweat. She was gasping for air by now, the fear subsiding a little when she realized that that was just a dream. However, she still saw those vivid play before her eyes as if what had just happened was real. She began to cry hysterically. Please, she begged to the merciful beings up above, let this nightmare stop. I'm sorry. It was an accident. I never wanted to hurt him.

>>>>>

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