Only in Her Dreams Read Online Free
Author: Christina McKnight
blossoms.
Chapter 4
She ran in terror. The trees lashed at her face, her arms and her legs as if seeking blood. They ripped at her clothes. They tore her skin. Her bare feet pounded the uneven ground. She fought to get away. The bottom of her feet ached from the jagged rocks and logs she scrambled over. Fear coursed through her veins and leached the warmth from her body. Darkness had fallen long ago and still the man followed her, stalked her.
She hurried through the forest toward an unknown destination. The dark forest didn’t conceal her and it appeared to urge him on. She darted a look behind her. Darkness. Only darkness.
Her foot snagged on the root of an overturned tree. And she crashed face down in the muddied leaves. Move! Don’t give up! Get up!
She rolled and grasped a vine to pull herself upright, but a body stood over her--blocking any means of escape. He had caught her.
Lucessa writhed out of a deep troubled sleep, her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat; the memory of the nightmare was fresh in her mind. The dream was the same, but the predator was different somehow. He looked like the quiet watcher, but he no longer appeared harmless. Threat radiated from his being, this was a predator and she was his prey. So she’d run.
A door closed below. She sat up in bed, waking Goosey, who slept next to her. The dog hadn’t made a noise. Damn dog!
Slipping from bed, she made her way to her bedroom window and drew the shades aside. Two men stood in the shadows next to gate that led out of her backyard. One man held an object in his hand, reflecting the glow from the moon. The object looked vaguely familiar and with a start she realized it was the framed photo of her and her father. The picture was one of the last taken before the car accident. As she watched, the men hurried out the gate taking the treasured picture with them.
A movement deep in her yard attracted her attention. Another man appeared from the shadows, headed toward her back door. Lucessa drew back from the window, panic seizing her insides. Her stare darted around her room. Where’s my phone? She’d left it charging downstairs. What the hell was I thinking? Idiot!
She peeked out the window again, but the man was gone. The sweat from her dream had not yet dried on her scalp when a new one broke out.
Goosey hadn’t made a sound behind her. Lucessa turned; her faithful watch dog was fast asleep, snuggled deep within the covers on the bed. “Damn dog.”
She heard the scuff of the man’s boots as he moved through the kitchen and into her living room. With deep-seated dread, Lucessa started toward the bedroom door, careful not to make a sound.
# # #
Maxim inched through the quiet house. He lightly ran his fingers over obscure items adorning every nook and cranny. While he didn’t know much about the things humans collected, most of the knickknacks appeared from an earlier time. He continued his progress through her living room and started up the stairs. The first step creaked. The staircase was lined with pictures, many featured the girl at a young age, from when her father resided on Earth. The weak street light guiding his steps revealed images of a happy childhood filled with love and laughter.
A pang of jealousy pounded through his heart. He wished he possessed happy memories. He pushed this from his mind and continued up the stairs that wound to the second floor. As he rounded the last curve and stepped onto the final landing, a creak sounded to his left.
A shadowed shape hovered there for a moment and then moved with lightning speed. His head exploded in fireworks of pain. Losing his balance, he fell backwards down the stairs. The shape retreat into one of the rooms, slamming the door shut. He continued his fall down the stairs repeatedly hitting his head and elbows as he rolled, unable to stop his downward trajectory.
# # #
Lucessa’s breath came out in a rush, as she closed the door and
Chapter 4
She ran in terror. The trees lashed at her face, her arms and her legs as if seeking blood. They ripped at her clothes. They tore her skin. Her bare feet pounded the uneven ground. She fought to get away. The bottom of her feet ached from the jagged rocks and logs she scrambled over. Fear coursed through her veins and leached the warmth from her body. Darkness had fallen long ago and still the man followed her, stalked her.
She hurried through the forest toward an unknown destination. The dark forest didn’t conceal her and it appeared to urge him on. She darted a look behind her. Darkness. Only darkness.
Her foot snagged on the root of an overturned tree. And she crashed face down in the muddied leaves. Move! Don’t give up! Get up!
She rolled and grasped a vine to pull herself upright, but a body stood over her--blocking any means of escape. He had caught her.
Lucessa writhed out of a deep troubled sleep, her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat; the memory of the nightmare was fresh in her mind. The dream was the same, but the predator was different somehow. He looked like the quiet watcher, but he no longer appeared harmless. Threat radiated from his being, this was a predator and she was his prey. So she’d run.
A door closed below. She sat up in bed, waking Goosey, who slept next to her. The dog hadn’t made a noise. Damn dog!
Slipping from bed, she made her way to her bedroom window and drew the shades aside. Two men stood in the shadows next to gate that led out of her backyard. One man held an object in his hand, reflecting the glow from the moon. The object looked vaguely familiar and with a start she realized it was the framed photo of her and her father. The picture was one of the last taken before the car accident. As she watched, the men hurried out the gate taking the treasured picture with them.
A movement deep in her yard attracted her attention. Another man appeared from the shadows, headed toward her back door. Lucessa drew back from the window, panic seizing her insides. Her stare darted around her room. Where’s my phone? She’d left it charging downstairs. What the hell was I thinking? Idiot!
She peeked out the window again, but the man was gone. The sweat from her dream had not yet dried on her scalp when a new one broke out.
Goosey hadn’t made a sound behind her. Lucessa turned; her faithful watch dog was fast asleep, snuggled deep within the covers on the bed. “Damn dog.”
She heard the scuff of the man’s boots as he moved through the kitchen and into her living room. With deep-seated dread, Lucessa started toward the bedroom door, careful not to make a sound.
# # #
Maxim inched through the quiet house. He lightly ran his fingers over obscure items adorning every nook and cranny. While he didn’t know much about the things humans collected, most of the knickknacks appeared from an earlier time. He continued his progress through her living room and started up the stairs. The first step creaked. The staircase was lined with pictures, many featured the girl at a young age, from when her father resided on Earth. The weak street light guiding his steps revealed images of a happy childhood filled with love and laughter.
A pang of jealousy pounded through his heart. He wished he possessed happy memories. He pushed this from his mind and continued up the stairs that wound to the second floor. As he rounded the last curve and stepped onto the final landing, a creak sounded to his left.
A shadowed shape hovered there for a moment and then moved with lightning speed. His head exploded in fireworks of pain. Losing his balance, he fell backwards down the stairs. The shape retreat into one of the rooms, slamming the door shut. He continued his fall down the stairs repeatedly hitting his head and elbows as he rolled, unable to stop his downward trajectory.
# # #
Lucessa’s breath came out in a rush, as she closed the door and
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