Nightmare

"Lucille, I'm at the lobby right now, I'll come up to your place soon!"

"Wait, Ody -- You're coming to my place? I didn't tell you --"

"Oh Lucille, I'm a Harrison, there's nothing much in Toucan I don't know,"

I ran in circles. My house is looking like crap. I hate to have a guest with a place looking like this. I told her not to come, and she did anyways -- God I don't like it one bit.

"503 isn't it?"

"Y -- Yeah," I want to say no. I want to tell her off, but the words simply don't come out.

"I'll be right there," and the call was dropped.

I waited for a good 15 minutes. She should have been here, I thought to myself, walking towards the door. Nobody's outside. Only a long walkway and closed doors.

"Ody!" I called out. "Ody, it's not a good time to play hide and seek,"

No answer.

"Odelia?" I walked down the walkway towards the elevator. "You there?"

Only the quiet purr of fluorescent lights answered me.

The walkway seemed to be longer than how I remembered it. I kept walking towards the elevator but I'm still not quite there. Something's amiss...

"Odelia!" A cold chill running down my spine. I began to walk faster. Has something happened to her on the way up? "Odelia!"

"ODELIA!" I screamed. The walkway seemed to grow further and further. I'm already running by now, and the seemingly close elevator door is nothing but an illusion. I'm going nowhere. It's there, within a few steps away, but I couldn't reach it. I fear for Ody's safety.

In a blink of an eye my entire body froze. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. It was so quiet I could hear my own heart beating -- and it's beating fast. Sweat ran down my cheeks. Something is definitely wrong... and that something is behind me. I could feel -- blackness, the void of the world, opening up behind me slowly, towering behind me like a monster. I could feel it... I could feel how close I am with it, and I could feel death.

I want to turn around and look, but if I do I don't think I'll be able to look anymore. I'll be dead. And so I fixed my eyes to the far corner of the walkway, and thought of... Frank.

"Frank..." I whispered. He was all I could think of. If I could just call him now he'd come and save me. Or at least try to.

The blackness, the void, is spreading out behind me, and my heart is drained from all feelings but fear. I'm completely hollowed out. It's a dreadful feeling. It feels exactly like the time when I saw my father's burnt body. I am... hollowed.

Suddenly it bent down in front of my face, and showed me it's horrible true self --

I woke up, screaming at the top of my lungs. I've never screamed that loud before in my life -- I felt like my chest is going to explode anytime. Frank stormed into my room, dropping his tools on the floor, plunged on my bed and held me tight against him.

"Lucille, Lucille, you've had a bad dream, just a bad dream," he whispered to me softly. My tears streamed uncontrollably, holding him tight, limbs still shaking terribly from the fear that hadn't quite left my soul.

"I saw-- I saw--"

"Shh, shh, just a bad dream, just a bad dream Lucille,"

"It was terrible, Frank, it was so terrible," I stammered. It was all the words I could think of.

"Ya don't be telling that to anybody now, not even me Lucille, it was just a dream, ya hear me?" Frank replied.

"I'm scared... I'm scared... please don't leave me here alone..."

"I'm not going nowhere now Lucille, I'm here, I'm right here,"

I looked over his shoulder at the wall clock. 7pm... I must have fallen asleep earlier...

"Please stay... please stay Frank, I'm scared..."

We just sat there holding each other for something that felt like an infinity. I slowly felt better, but I still can't get the feeling out of my system. I've never, ever felt so scared in my life... and I hope Frank will stay here and keep me company.