They had been coming more frequently now. It didn't matter what she did, whether she had a glass of water before bed, whether she didn't eat for several full hours before going to sleep, whether she called her mom and told her she loved her, they came unbidden at random intervals, each week more often than the last, until she she had gotten to the point where she tried not to sleep, focusing on schoolwork or patrolling Destiny City with a fervency that was almost scary in itself.

Tonight, however, there was nothing. No homework, no patrol, no distraction.

Rea lay motionless on the top of her comforter, the side of her head laying flat against the mattress as she stared blankly at the smooth white walls of her dorm, body half-curled around a pillow. Beside her, the red letters of her alarm clock glowed the time 1:28 am – the only light in the room, with the exception of the full moon shining through her window. Feeling a little lonely, she searched for the familiar presence in her mind.

Helios...?

… I am here.

I'm afraid to sleep... I've been having these terrible nightmares...

There is nothing to be afraid of.

Helios...?

… yes?

Please keep me awake...

… you're not awake.

Rea felt a flood of icy water flood her veins, adrenaline making every nerve feel like it was been needled, and she whipped around in horror (wait... when had she stood up...?) her blue-green eyes meeting Helios' gold ones, wide with terror. Around them, the room darkened around them, until it was almost pitch-black, the distinguishable thing in the room herself and the form of the Priest in front of her, her dress seeming strangely gray... and her eyes seemed kind of washed out... great gaping holes where feathers had been torn away...

And Helios smiled.

“No... no Helios... no.... no, No, NO!”

She screamed, a blood-curdling scream that made the edges of her vision go black, the pressure in her head throbbing with the effort. In the same breath the Priest was gone, vanishing as if she had never been there, only to reappear in an instant in front of her, clawed fingers lashing out to wrap tightly around her jaw, palm clasped roughly around her mouth, effectively silencing her scream. Rea felt the back of her head slam against the wall of her room, the walls melting away in a puddle of thick black sludge. It oozed over her body, burning and searing flesh, eating at her as Helios' held her there, a warped grin spreading across her face, blood-red fingernails (or were they red from her blood...?) digging painfully into her face.

“Oh yes, you can't escape this time...”

And then the Priest too was changing. The sludge had started dripping from the ceiling as well, falling in thick, sticky globs around them, on them, twisting her further. Fine strawberry blonde hair began to clump together, forming black tendrils, the locks of hair twisting and hissing as if they were alive, face blackening as it became covered completely with sludge. Even the smile changed, curling in on itself as rows upon rows sharp fangs replaced teeth, filling her mouth. Rea's blue-green eyes grew wider, and she tried to scream again against the palm, pulling at it with her own fingers, thrashing and writhing in terror as the monster reared back, cackling at the terror-stricken student.

YOU WILL GIVE ME BACK ALL OF YOUR BLOOD. EVERY SINGLE DROP!

It's jaw unhinged. The clawed hand released her mouth, and the scream continued as if she had never stopped, the sound becoming swallowed by the cocoon of sludge, and suddenly she was the one being swallowed, rows of razor teeth cutting into body as she was devoured whole like a mouse by a snake, ripping the skin to shreds. But she didn't die. Every contraction of muscle pulled her further down into the suffocating dark. From somewhere in the back of her panicked mind, she remembered her biology teacher saying it took at most a human body eight minutes to die of lack of oxygen to the brain.

Two hundred and sixty two mississippi... Two hundred and sixty three mississippi...

~~~~~

Rea awoke with a gasping breath, sucking air deep into her chest in panicked panted breaths, her eyes staring wide and unseeing at the Crystal dorm ceiling. Her arms were clutched painfully at her sides, digging into her ribs and making every breath difficult, her legs rigid and straight along the length of her bed. She didn't know how long it took, (eight minutes) but eventually her body unlocked, and she was seized by fits of trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks, and she searched for the familiar presence in her mind as she coiled her body around her pillow, forcing herself to relax.

Helios...?

… I am here.

I'm afraid to sleep... I've been having these terrible nightmares... please keep me awake...

… you're not awake.

The clock by her bed clicked to 1:29 am.