Nate

It was dark.

Why is it always so dark?

I spun around, searching for something, anything, besides this suffocating blackness. A sound echoed through my skull. It was sweet pleasant and crystal clear. I knew that sound anywhere. It was the sound of Clarissa's laughter.

My face split in a huge smile, and I turned around. I wasn't alone! Behind me, where there was nothing only a few seconds prior, was a column of light. The most purifying, life-giving, warm light I'd ever seen. Standing there, directly in the middle, was Clarissa.

She was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but, to me, she looked beautiful. I started to run toward her, calling her name.

When I was only a few feet away from her, she turned her back to me and ran off at a super-human speed. I stopped in my tracks. What just happened?

The light and Clarissa was fading away quickly, and, in noontime at all, I was left in the darkness once more.

Pain erupted from my back and I doubled over. What's happening? I curled in to ball, and stated to sob. I started to shake, and could faintly hear a familiar voice calling my name.

Hey, Nate, it's alright, you can wake up. We won't hurt you."

My shaking stopped. I returned into a deep sleep, the darkness comforting this time.