Chapter two

When she was little, she has an imaginary friend named Bennett. She would play and talk with it but as she grew up, she started to forget about it.

She still remembers how it felt to have one because it sometimes appears in her nightmare.

    Emily sighs, her nightmares has become worse since the last few years. She daydreams a lot, thinking of monsters and all other creatures. She even writes about it or draw them sometimes.

  Emily lay on her bed and closes her eyes, she listens to the chirping sounds of the birds outside her apartment.

  Three am in the morning, the door to her room creaks. Emily jolts up from her tiny bed, she looks around, nothing.

  She secure her robe tightly in front of her waist when she drops her cold feet on the floor.

The floor creaks under her weight, Emily search for her phone and turns on the flashlight. 

   She moves around her small apartment checking if someone wants to break in. 

 When she was done with her investigation, she went back to bed.

 The whooping sounds of the wind pushes her window open. The air in Emily's room becomes still. 

 Emily frowns, she tries to get up but realize her body is pinned to her bed.

She opens her eyes in time to see an eerie shadow above her as it cling to her ceiling.

    She has been seeing it for the past years now, that is why she is always scared to sleep.

   Emily recites her bible verses silently, the same bible verse her mother taught her when she was young.

' even though I walk through the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for the lord is with me.......

   The shadows moves swiftly from her ceiling to her floor. 

  Emily tries to make out the shape of the eerie shadow but she can't, in her mind, she keeps on reciting her bible verse until it disappears into the thin air.

  Emily gasps for air, she clutch her robe tightly and she scrambles out of her bed.

    That is enough sleep for tonight, she curls up on the cold floor and struggles to keep her eyes open.

  This is how she has been living for years, her nightmares comes to get whenever she sleeps.

   She even told the priest that comes regularly to the prison her problem, he always tell her to pray.

   Emily shivers on the cold floor, she prays silently for morning to come by soon.

It is the witching hour, the time she always have nightmares.

  Morning came by faster than she blink her eyes, Emily remains stiff on the ground. 

  The sound of bell increases as someone is probably outside, Lucas.

  She hears the lock been picked but she care less. Emily stares ahead in shock, slowly she is succumbing to madness and it is eating her soul slowly but deeply.

   " Emily?", Lucas calls out to her but she can't even open her mouth to speak.

He finally finds her in her room.

" Emily!", He rushes to her side as he gently shake her.

 Emily blinks, she look at him before trying to sit up which he help her with.

" Are you okay?", He asks as deep frown etch on his face.

" I am okay", she replies gruffly as she pushes his hands off her.

Lucas didn't mind that instead, he follows her to the kitchen where she opens the fridge to drink water.

" You don't like the house?", He mutters as he observe her.

She refuses to speak, Emily moves to the sitting room and Lucas trailing behind her asking her questions.

Will it be nice if she shares her problem to him, he is after all her parole officer not her therapist.

" I can't sleep", Emily confesses, the words spills out of her before she can stop it.

   She stares at him with her empty eyes that has dark circles underneath it. Lucas eyes twitch, he is just seeing that now.

" Why?"

" Because... Because I always have this nightmare anytime I sleep. I don't know why, it feels like demons are luring around me ready to devour my fear", Emily breathes.

    She shudders as she remembers the shadow she saw this morning. " There is this shadow, it comes for me every night."

" Do you think about scary things before you sleep?"

" Yes, I imagine things a lot. When I was younger before the death of my aunty, I have this imaginary world that I created up here", she points to her head.

Lucas didn't rush her, he rubs her arm in a soothing way. There is something about Emily that amuses him. He finds himself checking up on her when she was in prison. When he was told that he will be her parole officer, he felt happy that day.

  " It is alright", he coos her like a child missing her mother.

He didn't judge her or make her feel uncomfortable. 

" Did you kill your Aunty?", He asks the question running in his mind.

" No", she whispers.

" I am happy you told me this."

 Enough of her personal life, Emily removes his hand from her body.

" I will be in the shower."

     Emily removes her robe and turn on the shower. 

  The warm water run down her body and relieve the tension in her shoulder.

 Emily sighs, she lean against the wall and close her eyes.

    Shit!

She forgot her towel, did she even have one?

  Emily puts on her robe when she finally manage to untangle the knots in her hair.

Lucas looks up when he heard her soft footsteps.

" Here, I got this for you", he drops the shopping bag beside her bed. " I am not sure I got the size right but it should be enough."

" Thank you."

   After getting dressed, Emily sits on her stool as she munched on the cereal Lucas prepared for her.

   She stares outside through her window and watches the little children playing with ball.

Emily didn't realize there is a smile on her face until she feels her cheek aching from smiling too hard.

" I am staying here with you tonight in case the shadow reappears", Lucas announces to which Emily nods.