Rose lay down after showering, tapped her phone for a while and soon enough, she was fast asleep. While she slept, she was pulled into another nightmare:
She stood in the center of a vast body of water. Although, the sun stood proud and sure, its rays scorching her skin, there was a maliciousness in the air she couldn't place.
What do you want from me?!
There was no response. Suddenly, there was a chill in the atmosphere. The light faded away into pure darkness.
Terrified, she heard that voice again.
I want you.
Before she could understand what was happening, she was being pulled into the water. Rose screamed and thrashed against the cold, clammy hands that fought to drown her but her effort to get away wasn't triumphant as she was sucked into the cold darkness, no one to hear her screams for help.
Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
She jolted up from her bed. The fear the nightmare had evoked, caused sweat to drip from her body like water coming out of a leaking tap. She hastily turned on her bedside lamp, the light which used to be an annoyance, was now a shield from the nightmares that haunted her.
She gasped feverishly and tucked her legs in while looking around frantically. She hadn't prayed ever since she left the Catholic church after her parents died but tonight...tonight she would. She came down from her bed and went to her top shelf where she kept her old rosary. Then, she came back and knelt down beside her bed to say the Lord's prayer:
Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done on Earth,
As it is in heaven,
Give us this day,
Our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those,
Who trespass against us,
And lead us not into temptation,
And deliver us from all evil,
Amen.
She exhaled and laid down but this time, she left the lights on.
"It's just two factor authentication." She said quietly.
*
Rose, Isabella and Abbey were seated in the canteen, eating lunch which consisted of poorly cooked baked beans and corn bread - it was what the school had to offer that day, it usually wasn't that bad.
"Feels like I am eating dog food," Isabella complained as she put her second spoon of baked beans into her mouth.
Rose sighed, "I don't even think dog food tastes this bad,"
Isabella grunted in agreement.
"You look like you didn't get much sleep last night." Abbey pointed out.
Rose gave her a small smile, "Just fatigue, I guess,"
Despite her two factor authentication, she had been too scared to go back to sleep, and was only able to fall asleep when dawn started to creep in. She had spent the entire night scrolling Tiktok and she had faced the consequences - she had dozed through all her classes that morning.
She glanced around the canteen and caught Adam, who was seated with Chanel and her snobby friends, looking at her weirdly. They were back together and while she didn't care about that, she cared that he was looking at her that way. She scoffed out loud, he was so stupid if he thought she was going to respond to whatever game he was playing.
"Why did you scoff?" Isabella asked.
Rose decided to ignore him. "Just thinking about boys and why I don't give a shit about them." She replied with a shrug.
Isabella rolled her eyes like she had heard those words a million times, "Right, you only like grown men but you made out with Adam, didn't you? You thought I wouldn't find out, huh?!"
She laughed like a maniac.
Abbey gasped in surprise, "She did?!"
Oh, Isabella was very good at getting information that didn't quite concern her. She thrived in digging up secrets. Rose did not understand why she thought she could keep what happened between her and Adam from someone as devious as her sister. Sometimes she wished Isabella was more like Abbey, clueless and unbothered about what was happening around her.
She chuckled dryly and sipped her orange juice, "Uh-huh, you probably drilled Adam till he confessed, do you deny it?"
She didn't deny it.
"So, I am feeling a bit wild, say we go get high at club X today?" Isabella changed the topic.
Abbey nodded immediately and Rose agreed with her. She could use some aphrodisiac to forget her troubles, which now took the form of nightmares, for a while.
"Good. I will come pick you up by eight, Abbey." Isabella stated and they continued eating their food.
*
Club X was their favourite and most regularly visited club. They entered into it and as usual, it was a riot of sight, sound, and smell. The music was pumping through the speakers, thumping in time with the flashing strobe lights. Patrons danced on the crowded floor, their bodies moving in unison to the beat. The air was thick with the scent of sweat, perfume, and alcohol. Behind the bar, bartenders worked at a feverish pace, pouring drinks and taking orders. People laughed and shouted, their voices raised to be heard over the music. It was a scene of chaos and energy, pulsing with life.
"Oooh, I love this club!" Isabella hollered. They soon began vibing to the hip-hop music blasting through the speakers.
"Isabella, Rosa and la ragazza più bella, Abbey!" Matteo, a usual at the club and a junkie, approached them while throwing up his hands in excitement. He loved to call Abbey beautiful anytime they came by. Rose thought it was because he liked her but wasn't confident enough to approach her, so he hid it under mushy words.
"Hey, Matteo...nice of you to join us! Any goodies?!" Isabella shouted so she could be heard over the music.
He grinned mischievously, "Anything for you, milady!" He shouted back and reached into his pocket to bring out two small plastic bags. Isabella collected them from him.
"Thank you!" She said and proceeded to bring out ten euros from her purse. He took it with a smile and began dancing away, definitely to look for someone else to sell drugs to.
"Who's ready to get fucked up?!" Isabella hollered.
They popped the pills and within some minutes, the effect hit them. They began dancing and screaming, their adrenaline rushing like a stream. Rose closed her eyes and laughed in ecstasy, feeling herself run free. The feeling of freedom was abruptly cut short when she heard it again.
Rose.
She opened her eyes and saw someone looking at her. She closed and opened them again...and they were gone. She groaned as that sharp pain coursed through her head again.
What was happening to her?
The room started closing in on her and suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Rose found herself pushing through sweaty bodies in a bid to go get fresh air. She successfully got outside and kept walking till she got to an alley, not too far away from the club.
As she tried to catch her breath, her phone vibrated and she picked Isabella's call.
"Are you okay?!" She exclaimed worriedly into the phone.
"I just need to clear my head for a bit. I will be..."
Her words got stuck in her throat when she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see a man looking at her. He seemed ordinary but something told her he was far from ordinary, there was a dark matter hovering around him and her instincts screamed at her to RUN!
As though hearing her thoughts, he started walking faster. She wanted to run but her legs were stuck to the ground. Suddenly, she was thrown back forcefully and found herself pushed further into the alley, hitting the wall hard. She groaned as intense pain coursed through her body.
Her phone had fallen down not too far away from where she was. She crawled to reach it but the man with an unnatural speed, placed his foot on her hand and attempted to crush it. Rose screamed in pain, tears flowing down her eyes. She could hear her bone cracking as he crushed harder.
"I said you would wiggle like a vermin I would soon crush under my feet and here you are!" He laughed menacingly as she fought to pull her hand away. She remembered those words very well, had her nightmares become flesh?
He stopped crushing her hand and gripped her throat. Rose choked, furiously scratching at his hand and kicking him.
She wouldn't go down without a fight!
But with each passing second that her oxygen was being restricted, her thoughts turned sober.
Was she was going to die in an alley with her sister and friend just a little distance away from her?
Why didn't they hear her scream? Why didn't they come for her?
Different thoughts drifted through her mind at that moment.
Maybe she should have done three factor authentication instead and gotten a pepperspray,
At least she would be reunited with her parents now,
The evil man could easily snap her neck, but he didn't and just let her keep choking. It seemed like he was waiting for something to happen.
After some painfully excruciating seconds, he smirked and dropped her to the ground like a ragdoll, leaving her coughing violently and gasping for air. She heard footsteps and painstakingly looked to the direction it was coming from but...there was no one there. A blow was landed to her head and she passed out immediately.