EIRA'S POV
The silence shattered with a piercing shriek.
A baby sat on the cold floor, wailing through desperate, broken sobs. No one came to comfort him.
The curtains hung like heavy shadows. Shards of glass littered the floor, catching the pale light like tiny, deadly stars. The house itself felt abandoned—untouched for days. Dust drifted through the air, cobwebs clung to the corners, and the stale scent of neglect lingered everywhere.
Then I saw them.
Figures cloaked in black moved through the moonless forest like phantoms. Above them, the sky stretched into an endless, starless void. Their footsteps barely disturbed the earth, yet there was something deliberate about the way they moved—as though they had walked this path a thousand times before.
Soon, they reached the house.
The door shuddered violently.
Then crashed to the ground.
The baby's cries rose into something primal, tearing through the silence.
And then—
A dagger.
Silver.
Cold and merciless, it gleamed in one of their hands.
He raised it above the child.
No… no! Please! He's going to kill him—
The blade began to descend—
NO!
I jolted awake, trembling violently as I gasped for air.
My chest ached. My lungs burned as though I had been drowning.
The baby.
The dagger.
The blood—
But it wasn't real.
Just a dream.
Again.
I pressed a trembling hand against my heart, trying to calm the storm raging inside me.
It wasn't the first.
And it wouldn't be the last.
Since I was six years old, I'd been haunted by these dreams. The first one still burned vividly in my memory—three shadowy figures creeping into my home, their faces hidden beneath darkness.
Their voices had been nothing more than distorted whispers, but one sentence had etched itself into my soul.
They would come for me when I turned eighteen.
I'd told everyone.
I'd begged for answers.
No one believed me.
No one knew what they meant.
And the dreams never stopped.
For years, they came once a year.
But recently, something had changed.
They were coming more often.
Each one revealed a little more of the nightmare—my family writhing in pain, my own body bound in chains, unfamiliar places drenched in blood.
And always…
Those eyes.
Watching me.
As though I belonged to them.
But not today.
I wouldn't let them own me.
Today was supposed to be the beginning of a new life.
Today, I was leaving for Wisconsin.
Medical college.
Even now, I could barely believe I'd actually gotten in.
"Eira, get up! God, who else is going to wake you if not me?"
"This girl is always late!"
Mom's voice broke through the remnants of my nightmare, dragging me back into reality.
I bolted toward the bathroom, adrenaline sweeping away the last traces of sleep.
Breakfast was chaos, as usual.
"Eat slowly. The food isn't running away."
"We'll be stuck in traffic today. I know it," Dad muttered, already sounding irritated.
"At least let her eat properly!" Mom snapped, stuffing snacks into my bag with military determination.
Then she paused.
"Did you even pack your nightwear?"
I froze.
Of course I'd forgotten.
"She hasn't," my brother said, a smug grin spreading across his face. "She was up all night pretending to study, as usual."
Why does he enjoy watching me fail so much?
Breakfast ended in a whirlwind of hugs, hurried instructions, and tears.
Mom wrapped her arms around me, her voice trembling beneath the strength she was trying to maintain.
"Take care of yourself. Eat on time. Call me if you need anything. I am always with you, remember that."
She kissed my forehead, and for a moment, I wanted to cling to her and refuse to leave.
"Mom, she's going to study, not fight a war," my brother teased.
But when he hugged me, the softness in his embrace betrayed the affection behind his words.
"Take care of yourself, fatty," he muttered.
I smiled despite myself.
"Let's go!" Dad called from the car.
I took one last look at my family before climbing inside.
As we pulled away, I waved until they slowly blurred into the distance.
Excitement stirred inside me.
But beneath it was something heavier.
The ache of leaving home.
Dad drove with his usual impatience, muttering under his breath whenever another driver did something reckless.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then, unexpectedly, he glanced at me.
"Are you excited?"
"Yes… of course," I whispered.
The answer came easily.
The doubt didn't.
But what if I'm not good enough?
"You will be," he said firmly, as though he'd heard the thought.
"My daughter will never fail."
His expression softened.
Then his voice became quieter.
"Promise me, Eira—you'll never break our trust."
I looked at him.
"I promise."
Four hours later—
A boy sat on a sofa, slowly sipping something crimson from a glass.
His face was hidden in shadow.
But his skin was deathly pale.
I moved closer, desperate to see his eyes.
Then—
Warmth.
Something sticky touched my feet.
I looked down.
Blood.
Thick pools of blood spread beneath me, staining the floor.
BLOOD!
"Eira! Wake up!"
I jolted awake, drenched in sweat, my chest heaving.
Blood.
Too much blood—
"Still having those nightmares?"
Dad's voice was sharper than before.
I swallowed.
"W… water."
He handed me a bottle.
I grabbed it and drank greedily, trying to wash the terror from my throat.
Dad watched me, his expression caught somewhere between concern and frustration.
"These dreams are because of those horror shows you watch, Eira. Stop filling your head with nonsense."
"I had them long before I even knew what ghosts and witches were."
"Rubbish," he muttered.
Then he glanced ahead.
"Enough. We're here. No arguments."
Despite the unease still gnawing at me, excitement began to rise again.
A new beginning.
I had to believe that.
We reached the principal's office a short while later.
I stood outside the door and took a breath.
"May I come in?"
"Yes, dear. Come in."
The warm voice immediately eased some of my nervousness.
"This is my daughter, Eira Banes," Dad introduced me.
"Welcome, Eira," the principal said with a kind smile.
His calm presence was strangely reassuring.
While he and Dad discussed my admission paperwork, I quietly slipped outside to explore the campus.
I tried to focus on my new surroundings.
The buildings.
The students.
The unfamiliar paths.
But the dream wouldn't leave me alone.
Baby.
Blade.
Boy.
Blood.
And the dreams weren't happening once a year anymore.
They were becoming more frequent.
Much more frequent.
This month alone, I'd seen them eight times.
Why?
Why now?
A sound broke through my thoughts.
Footsteps.
I froze.
Slowly, I looked around.
Nothing.
Then I heard them again.
From inside the trees.
I turned toward the back of the campus.
The forest began just beyond the grounds, its dense trees forming a wall of shadows.
I realized I'd wandered farther than I intended.
Every instinct screamed at me to turn around.
To go back.
But something pulled at me.
A strange sensation.
An invisible tether I couldn't explain.
I took one hesitant step toward the trees.
Then another.
The shadows seemed to deepen around me.
My heartbeat quickened.
I should have turned back.
Instead, I stepped into the forest.