Living Nightmare

"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it"

- Jean de La Fontaine

When you believe in something you give everything you have to make it come true; otherwise, you do not truly believe in it. These words often ring true in the hearts of many people, but it is in one woman that they did not stand accurately.

Unlike everyone around her, the woman tried with all her might, every fiber in her being, to stop things that only she could see. Events that she believed were wrong, that needed to be changed forever. This woman saw the future, and of the horrid things to come. Her tale begins like many others, on a dark stormy night.

If one stepped into the room to try to discover what the source of the strange whimpering was; one would think that the figure on the bed was merely having a nightmare. But upon further inspection they would notice her hands, trapped to her sides viciously by an unseen force, her legs, tangled in an invisible struggle for dominance. Kaoru Kamiya was not having another nightmare, she was living the future.

Dark curses lifted from her cherry colored lips, horror and despair lifting involuntary groans from her throat. The wild sapphire orbs danced in fear, wishing nothing then to inflict harm to the creature holding her. However, unlike what her body and mind told her, she could not bring herself to do more then scream.

Brushing his lips near the edge of her ear her captor whispered harsh words, so quietly she could not understand what they meant. Her voice, rough from the screaming, repeated the words over and over, the expressions, "no, no, no!"

Her heart longed to turn back, to run to the dead woman on the floor. Not only did her captor refuse her, but her mind knew that no matter what she wished, turning back would only confirm the terrible truth that death had come and gone. The man, monster, pulled her through a large crowd, barking orders to those staring. Her beautiful black hair smacked against her face as she was dragged, leaving a trail of thick liquid behind: blood.

Numb to the pain of her body she tried to recall what had occurred, what exactly had happened to the woman on the floor? Disgust seemed to roll out in waves towards her captor, even as her struggles grew weak and forgotten.

It wasn't until the tears ran down her face did she realize she was crying, sobbing from an event she could not even remember. The man once again whispered, this time his words coming through her panicked thinking. He believed she had been standing alone for too long, that he would remain by her side forever. He promised that he would watch over her; take care of her as none other had done since the passing of her own family. His words, everything, were lies.

Lying passively within his hold Kaoru was not surprised to find herself dragged up into awaiting arms, giving her a clear view of the situation behind her. Empty, glassy eyes stared straight into her own, her friend was dead. Immediately her struggle renewed, as she remembered what she had first begun to fight for.

She needed to be free of the monster, needed to run back, to keep screaming until someone helped her, someone saved her. Kaoru knew, without a doubt in her mind, that this was not real, not yet. It would be something she would attempt to change with all her might, but like most of her visions would end up the same.

This creature, he was feared among society. He had denied her friend the chance to live beyond that night; he was the reason behind all her grief. The creature kept dragging her towards the door at an alarming speed, he wanted her for himself; the vampire.

Alarmingly she noticed the corpse move, the mouth opening as she spoke. Despite their distance the blond smiled, and whispered to her softly, "Wake up."

Twisting she found herself looking straight into the eyes of her captor, her breath was taken from her. Fire burned in his eyes, dark amber that screamed danger and seduction; she attempted to stifle a gasp and failed miserably.

Once again the corpse spoke, and the man's gaze was gone from her eyesight, to be replaced with a beautiful light blue she had only seen on one person; her best and only friend Yuki Narito.

Rolling away from the bent figure Kaoru held in the bile that worked itself into her throat, leaning near the edge of the sheets and staring at her dark carpet. Sweat seemed to drench her entire body, seeming to mock her fear of the vision. As sound returned to her ears she came to realize the harsh breathing was coming from her, her chest shaking to calm into a steady rate.

The sheets entangled themselves around her body, allowing little room to escape if she were being attacked. Each of her wrists were hidden from view so that she could not determine whether the dream had been a glimpse of reality or not. Kaoru had watched the man rip out the throat of her friend, and she had sat by and watched it happen. Her mind spun webs, trying to decide who the man with fire eyes was; why would he kill Yuki so simply? How could he kill so easily?

A hysterical laugh escaped her as she looked upon her blond friend with a smile, glad to see her standing and alive. Without warning Kaoru threw herself at Yuki, giving the girl a quick hug before tripping over her own covers with a slam. It was her friend's turn to laugh, despite being confused by the sudden cheerfulness Kaoru omitted.

Yuki was puzzled, her eyes flashing with curiosity as to what had made Kaoru turn into such an emotional wreck. Kaoru Kamiya had moved into her apartment only weeks before, after having lived alone for years and listened to Yuki beg for a roommate the girl had given in. Many times Kaoru would awake screaming, crying, or even attempting to run from the house in her pajamas in the middle of the night. Every time she claimed they had been nightmares, Yuki didn't believe it.

Never in her life had she seen a person awaken from sleep and be disturbed as greatly as Kaoru. Many times Yuki had imposed questions, and each time Kaoru avoided them with a change of subject or an exclamation that they were late to work.

Helping Kaoru off the floor she held up a tray she had originally brought into the room, almost having it knocked down by Kaoru's pounce. "Made one for you." She smiled.

Thanking her friend for the food Kaoru rubbed her chin, having landed on it when she fell. Yuki seemed to laugh at the movement which caused a spurt of angry words to be exchanged between the friends, although the blonde's came out amused and laughing.

Placing the tray on her dresser Yuki sauntered out of the room, going to retrieve the mail before they decided to head out to work. Both had opened up a store in which they sold the greatest of desserts. However, Kaoru was not allowed to go near the food, so while Yuki baked she often took care of the customer service and handled bad employees. Kaoru had a knack to instill fear in anyone that decided to mouth off.

Looking down at herself a small frown turned both sides of her lips; her black pajamas clung to every inch of skin, the sweat having them sticky and disgusting. Deciding that a shower was in order Kaoru peeled away her clothing, leaving only her undergarments on as she made her way to the bathroom connecting her to Yuki's room.

Moving carelessly towards the tub she quickly flipped on the water, turning on the showerhead with a quick pull of the faucet stopper. Turning towards the mirror, her mind wandering to dreams of the books she so avidly read, Kaoru realized she could not stop thinking of her nightmare.

Unlike most her visions it had felt closer to home, the man's hands capturing her wrists a remembrance of pain. It was an intense feeling, pinpointing to her wrists where he had first pulled her from the sight.

Sighing Kaoru turned towards the shower and stepped in, relaxing as the warmth enveloped her body. Sitting on the ground of the shower she allowed the water to hit her skin, her movements slow as she washed her head. It was as she put the bottle of conditioner on the ground that she realized how badly her arms seemed to shake.

Curious as to what might be causing the ache she glanced down at her hands, bruising away the loose strands of hair that feel into her face several times.

Kaoru screamed bloody murder. For on both her arms stood two dark bruises that encircled around her wrists, fingerprints. The dream had been a vision unlike any other; it had inflicted something real onto her.

Even as Yuki broke into the bathroom, trying to discover what had happened, Kaoru's panic grew louder. There was nothing that could be done to change the future, nothing that would change the fact that in a matter of weeks Yuki would be dead, and she would be dropped in the hands of a madman.

Thusly, she did the only thing that she could. She cried.