Eleanor P.O.V
(Fourteen years old Eleanor )
I know it is just a dream, but it feels so real. Every time, I try to convince myself that it is just a nightmare ,nothing more than a product of my imagination but nothing works. No matter how many times I wake up from it, the vividness remains.
I saw a blurry image of two people in my dream. The details were never clear, but it is enough to make my heart race. They were running, running so fast it is as if the wind itself is struggling to keep up with them. It feels like they are fleeing from something.
The two figures were of a man and a woman. I could not make out their faces; it is like trying to see through a frosted window. They were speaking to each other, but the words are muffled, lost in the chaos of the moment.
The forest around them is thick and dark, a place where sunlight could not penetrate. The trees are tall, their branches twisting together like the claws of some unseen monster, forming a canopy that blocks out the sky. The air feels heavy, like it's alive with danger.
They run deeper into the forest, the man clutching the woman's arm, guiding her. Their movements are quick, almost inhuman, as if desperation is fueling their speed. Suddenly, they stop. There was a moment of hushed urgency as they talked, glancing over their shoulders. Then, without warning, they split up, each running in opposite directions.
The woman keeps looking back as she runs, her fear palpable. Her movements are frantic, her body language betraying her terror. The man, too, is running as though his life depends on it. Their speed is unnatural, like something out of a storybook, but the fear is very real.
Finally, they both stop at the edge of the forest. They are panting heavily, their breaths coming in ragged gasps. They hold onto each other, not in an embrace, but at arm's length, as if silently ensuring the other is still there, still alive.
The man helps the woman sit beneath a tree. He kneels beside her, his shoulders heaving as he tries to catch his breath. Now that they are still, I notice their clothing. The woman is dressed like a princess, wearing a long white gown that seems too pristine for the chaos surrounding her. The man is dressed sharply, in a white silk shirt with the first three buttons undone, revealing the strong line of his chest. He pairs it with black trousers, giving him an air of nobility.
I do not know how I missed it before, but shadows begin to emerge from the tree line. My stomach twists as I see some creatures that resemble dogs, but they are far too large and feral for being dogs. Their eyes glint with a menacing light, and their growls send chills down my spine.
I try to scream, to warn the couple, but my voice would not work. It is like I am a ghost in my own dream, trapped and powerless.
The man stands quickly, placing himself between the woman and the advancing creatures. One of the beasts lunges at them, snarling. With a swift, almost effortless motion, the man raises his arm to shield himself, grabs the creature mid-air, and throws it aside with unnatural strength.
The other creatures are undeterred. They snarl, hackles raised, their jaws snapping. They are waiting for the perfect moment to attack. The couple begins to back away, inching toward what they think might be safety. But before they can make a move, a blinding light fills the forest.
Out of the light steps a figure cloaked in shadow, wearing a long, dark robe. I can not make out the person's face, but I can tell it is a woman from her lilith figure. She holds a dagger in her hand, the blade gleaming ominously. The cloak was covering half of her face , upto her nose.
The couple freezes, clearly recognizing her. The man begins shouting at the woman in the cloak. The forest echoed with the fierce growl of his voice, though his actual words were lost in the din of his anger . The cloaked woman does not respond. Instead, she raises the dagger and moves toward them.
The couple is trapped now, with the monstrous dogs on one side and the cloaked figure on the other. Just as the dagger-wielding woman lunges forward, the other woman who is in the white gown throws herself in front of the man in the split of the decision.
The dagger pierces her heart, sliding in with a sickening ease. Her mouth falls open in shock, her hands instinctively clutching the hilt of the weapon. She staggers, her legs giving out beneath her, and collapses into the man's arms.
He lowers her gently to the ground, his hands trembling. His face crumples as he takes in the sight of her blood spreading across her gown, staining the pristine white fabric with deep red.
She touches his face with a bloodied hand, her fingers weak and trembling. Their eyes lock, and she whispers something to him. Whatever she says breaks him. He shakes his head violently, tears streaming down his face as he lets out a heart wrenching sob.
The woman's hand falls limply to her side, her chest stilling. She is gone.
The man's cries turn into a roar of anguish. He looks up at the cloaked woman, his eyes blazing with fury. He yells at her out of desperation .
The cloaked woman does not flinch. She steps forward, bends slightly, and grabs the man by the throat. He struggles against her grip, but it is futile. With a cruel smile, she pulls the dagger from the other woman's lifeless body and, with a quick, brutal motion, plunges it into the man's heart.
He gasps, his hands flying to the hilt of the blade as his body convulses in pain. She twists the dagger, ensuring the fatal blow. Then, with a shove, she pushes him to the ground.
As he lies there, choking on his own blood, the cloaked woman places a foot on the dagger still embedded in his chest and presses down. Her voice cut through the air, cold and sharp, but her words were lost on me as she spoke rapidly . It felt like I was stuck in a different dimension from their's.
Finally, she steps back and turns to the monstrous dogs. With a simple nod, she gives them permission.
The beasts pounce on the lifeless bodies, tearing into them with savage hunger. Flesh and blood fly as they rip the couple apart, their growls and snarls filling the forest.
I try to look away, but I can not. My breath catches in my throat, and I feel like I am suffocating. The gruesome scene fades into a blur, and I jolt awake, screaming.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
My chest heaves as I struggle to breathe. My entire body is drenched in sweat, and my heart feels like it's about to burst out of my ribcage.
The door to my bedroom bursts open, and my mom and dad rush in.
"What happened, sweetheart?" Mom asks, her face etched with concern.
"Dream…" I manage to choke out.
"It is nothing, Eleanor. Just a nightmare," Dad says soothingly, brushing the damp hair away from my face. "You are safe. Go back to sleep. We're here."
They gently guide me back down onto the bed.
Mom sits beside me and begins running her fingers through my hair, a calming gesture she's done since I was little.
But I can not calm down. For nine years, I have been having these dreams. Sometimes, they are different, but they always involve the same man and woman. I have never seen their faces clearly, but I feel like I know them somehow.
Whenever I try to tell my parents about my dreams, they act like it is nothing. But once, when I mentioned the strange dogs to Mom, her reaction was…different.
They have taken me to so many child psychologists, but the results are always the same: "Eleanor is perfectly normal." They say it is common for kids my age to have vivid dreams. But these do not feel like normal dreams.
They started when I was five, and they have not stopped since.
As I lie in bed, thinking about the nightmare, sleep slowly pulls me under again. The images haunt me, lingering in the darkne
ss behind my eyelids.
Who are they? And why do I keep dreaming about them?