Am I dead,
or am I still alive?
No… what is happening to me?
I am running,
running,
faster than I ever have before, as if this is my last chance to exist. Yes I am in another bad dream where I shouldn't be .
But why am I running?
Those creatures…
why are they chasing me?
Now I can see them more clearly.
They are not just shadows.
Their bodies are twisted, unnaturally long, as if stretched beyond human limits. Their skin looks burnt and cracked, a mix of black and dull grey, like ash that never cooled. Some parts of them seem to dissolve into smoke, only to form again, as if they cannot decide whether they belong to this world or another.
Their eyes… if those hollow spaces are eyes… glow faintly, like dying embers buried deep inside darkness.
Their movements are wrong.
Too fast. Too smooth. Almost gliding, yet every step echoes like something heavy dragging across the ground.
Their fingers are long, sharp, almost claw-like, reaching forward as if they are not chasing me… but pulling something invisible out of me.
Do they want to kill me,
or take something deeper than life itself?
My breath trembles.
My heart pounds so loudly it feels as if it will tear through my chest.
They are getting closer.
Closer.
Closer than before.
I know it now.
I am going to die.
And still… I keep running.
Until my very last breath.
Then suddenly…
A car rushes toward me.
A blinding flash.
Everything disappears.
Where am I?
I am still running.
My body is weaker now, each step heavier than the last. But they are still there.
Following. Watching. Waiting.
Their whispers reach me now. Low, broken sounds, like voices trying to remember how to speak. It feels as if they are calling me… not by name, but by something deeper.
They are almost near.
This is the end.
And then…
Something pulls me.
Strong arms wrap around me from the side.
I struggle. I try to break free.
But the hold only tightens.
A deep voice speaks, calm yet terrifyingly certain.
"If you do not want to die, do not move."
I freeze.
He is not what I expected.
A boy… but not entirely human in the way he feels.
Tall, around six feet, his presence alone feels heavier than the entire chaos around us. His grip is firm, protective, as if nothing could reach me as long as he holds on.
My eyes close for a moment.
When they open again, there is a circular barrier around us.
It is not just a shield.
It shimmers faintly, like a thin layer of light and shadow mixed together, moving slowly as if it is alive. Whenever the creatures touch it, ripples spread across its surface, like something resisting them with silent force.
The creatures hesitate now.
Not afraid… but cautious.
They know him.
They circle around us, their hollow eyes fixed on him, their forms twitching, unstable, as if his presence disturbs their very existence.
They begin to speak.
A language that sounds broken, stretched, almost painful to hear.
But he understands.
And in the chaos, one sentence reaches me clearly.
"Not this girl."
His voice is deeper than before, colder, carrying a quiet authority that even those creatures seem unable to ignore.
He is still holding me.
It feels safe.
Too safe.
Yet something about it feels… strange. Too intense. Too close.
Why can I hear his heartbeat?
It is slow. Steady. Unnaturally calm.
Completely opposite to mine.
Why does it feel like it is echoing inside me?
Why the hell his hands are on my chest??? I screenshot in the my mind.
His hands are still around there , firm yet careful, as if he is holding something fragile.
Then suddenly…
Silence.
The creatures begin to fade, their bodies breaking apart into smoke, dissolving into nothing as if they were never truly there.
He loosens his hold and steps away slowly, leaving a small distance between us.
For the first time, I see him clearly.
His face is partially hidden by soft, dark strands of hair falling over his eyes. The visible part of his face is sharp yet calm, almost expressionless, but not cold.
His skin seems to catch the dim light differently, as if it carries a faint glow of its own.
His eyes… I cannot fully see them, yet I feel them. Deep. Observing. As if they see more than what is in front of them.
"I will tell you everything," he says quietly, "but for now, come with me."
I follow him.
The place we reach is dim, lit by a faint yellow glow that barely touches the ground.
People are there. Moving. Living.
But something is missing.
They are quiet. Too quiet.
Their faces are empty, their movements slow, as if they are present but not truly alive.
I see someone I know.
A neighbor.
But there is no recognition in her eyes. No expression at all.
It feels unreal.
He tells me to sit on a staircase.
He returns with a bowl.
The food is bitter, like crushed leaves and something older, something unfamiliar. Still, I taste it.
I do not question it.
He sits few distance away .
The dim yellow light falls across his face.
Half hidden. Half revealed.
Not fully seen, yet impossible to ignore.
He looks unreal.
More like something imagined than real.
Why am I staring?
What is wrong with me?
"Look down," I whisper to myself. "Focus."
" Focus on your meal Rachel"
But then…
Everything begins to fade.
The light.
The place.
Him.
Where is he?
Where am I?
Am I dying again?
Cold air surrounds me.
Mountains.
Silence everywhere.
And then…
He stands in front of me again.
Closer than before.
More real than before.
As if this time… he does not belong to the fading world.
But before I can speak…
Everything disappears.
Darkness.
I open my eyes.
My room.
My bed.
I am alive.
It was only a dream.
At least, that is what I tell myself.
But something lingers.
Not fear.
Not relief.
Something in between.
A quiet, unsettling thought.
What if those creatures were not just chasing me…
but searching for me?
And what if he did not just save me…
but knew me?
I sit still, trying to calm my breath.
It was a dream.
It had to be.
And yet…
the memory of those hollow eyes,
the echo of that steady heartbeat,
and the feeling of being held so tightly…
feel far too real to belong only to sleep.