~ 7 ~ Waking Up To Dreams And Nightmares

'Sofia's father screamed out her name. "Sofia!" The world was pitch black, nothing surrounding Sofia. Sofia saw her father reaching out to her. His long slender fingers weren't able to reach her.

She shouted back. "Daddy! Reach!" She watched as zombies appeared and jumped on him, biting every part of him. His arm was still stretched out towards her, so Sofia started running towards him. No matter how fast she ran, she never moved an inch. "Daddy! No please! I need you! Mom needs you!!" She cried as she stretched her arm towards him. The distance from him never changed. The cruel pitch-black world.'

"Sofia!" Sofia quickly gasped as she opened her eyes, getting out of that nightmare. She looked around. She was still in the car, but the car was not moving. The car was parked in the middle of the street in a rather small town filled with fog. She looked at the person who screamed her name to see Monica smiling lightly. "Get up. We need gas."

Sofia slowly sat up and noticed she was sweating like crazy. She quickly wiped the sweat from her forehead and fanned herself. "Where are we?" Monica shrugged and looked around. Sofia noticed no one else was in the car. "Where is everyone?" Monica turned towards her.

"They went looking for supplies. They told me to wake you up and keep an eye on the car." Sofia nodded and picked up the bat next to her.

Sofia looked down, still shaken from her dream. "Hey, Monica?" The friend looked at Sofia. "The people back at the school." Sofia looked at Monica. "Do you think anyone survived? It was filled with zombies when we left, and us escaping was by chance. If Desirae weren't there to figure out what attracts the zombies, we would've-"

"What matters now is that we escaped, right?" Monica smiled at Sofia, cutting her off. "We lucked out a lot, and here we are. Now we just keep it up, right?"

Sofia stared at her friend, hesitant. "Yeah, you're right." Sofia frowned. "I miss my brother though. And my dad."

Monica gently patted Sofia's head. "Talk to me. Why do you miss them?"

"What do you mean why?" Sofia was taken back until she realized. 'She didn't have a good family,' Sofia thought to herself. "Well," Sofia started. "My brother, Max, was in college. He was supposed to graduate next year actually." Sofia paused, trying to regain her composure. "Every weekend he would call the house and talk about all the things he did. With dad, he talked about the girls he met that week. With mom, he talked about some foods he ate and what he did at school. With me, he asked about my week and told me what he planned on doing next week." Sofia frowned, wiping her eyes. "And my dad. He was the best dad ever." Monica looked out the window. "He would always know when I was sad, or angry. He would make sure I ate and left me alone while studying. Even though he was always tired from work, he always made time for me."

Monica huffed in envy. "You know," she started, "listening to you talk about your family makes me envious."

Sofia quickly looked at Monica in shock. "Oh I'm sorry! I-"

"It's fine." Monica smiled at Sofia. "I found someone better." There was a short pause. "You, my best friend."

Sofia laughed lightly, changing the depressing mood for a moment. "Can I ask about your family, Monica?"

Monica kept a straight face as she looked out the window. "My family?" She scoffed. "Where do I begin?"

"From wherever. I'm here for you." Sofia smiled.

Monica rolled her eyes. "My mom wasn't with my father when she was pregnant with me. They were broken up but wanted a kid together. When I was born, my father left the state, and my mom was a single mother taking care of her only child. However, she wasn't there for me at all. She worked a lot, and when she was not working, she'd drink her stress away. She," Monica sighed, hesitating, "hit me, as another way to relieve stress." Sofia covered her mouth, shocked. "I ran away from home when I was 12. I called my father from a stranger's phone and asked for help. He gave me money for a small apartment I could rent every month and money for food." Monica looked at Sofia. "Somehow, she kept finding out where I lived, and my father always had to take legal actions." Sofia glanced at Monica's bandaged arm. "One day, I broke my arm and got it checked out. There it was; the tracking chip my mom installed on me as a kid. My father had it removed, and I haven't really seen her since. Father...He was there, but he also wasn't." There was a small pause, as if Monica were careful of what to say. "I kept to myself until that faithful day in high school."

"Faithful day?" Sofia questioned.

Monica smiled warmly at Sofia. "The day we met. I bumped into you and fell. You helped me up and asked me if I was okay. You took me to the nurse and made sure the cut on my knee was treated." Monica sighed, as if reminiscent. "Then you helped me home. After that you became my friend. You helped me out so much. I'll never forget it, Sofia."

Sofia ruffled Monica's hair softly. "I barely did anything, Monica."

Monica laughed lightly. "You saved me from the eternally darkness I thought I was trapped in." Sofia blinked, surprised at what Monica said. 'She's human, just like me,' Sofia thought to herself.

"I see. I'm glad to hear that then, Monica." Sofia smiled.

Monica smiled lightly and yawned. "I'm gonna take a nap." Monica gently pushed Sofia into the passenger seat of the car before laying in the spot Sofia laid. "Let's take turns keeping watch." Monica quickly closed her eyes before Sofia could respond. Sofia groaned in annoyance, unable to process what just happened and looked around. The town was a normal one with painted houses and destroyed lawns. Flowers were flattened and grass had some tire marks. Sofia frowned at the sight. In the distance, Sofia saw a shadow approaching the car. She couldn't tell if it was a zombie, or a human.

Sofia shook her friend, Monica. "Hey Monica, wake up." The girl groaned and opened her eyes slightly. "What do you think that is?"

Monica sat up and looked at the shadow, eyes widening. "Duck!" The pair ducked into the car, trying to control their breath. "If it's a human, and they have a gun, we're in deep shit." Sofia's eyes shifted to the side mirror, watching the figure slowly approach their car.

"Monica, they're getting closer," Sofia whispered. "What do we do?" Sofia looked at her friend, who gripped her bat tightly. "Fighting?"

Monica nodded and looked at the side mirror. A few feet away from the car, the figure pulled out their gun and aimed it at the window of the car.

"Get out the car. Now." A man commanded. Sofia trembled. Monica opened the car door, exposing her and Sofia, and slowly walked out of the car. Sofia followed nervously. The person was a man, around mid-40s, with a bulletproof vest, cargo pants, combat boots and an assault rifle. He had a rough brown beard with white streaks and a bald head. He pointed the gun at the girls, watching their every move. "Any others with you?" Sofia looked down. "I said!" The man shoved the gun to Sofia's head, growling. "ARE THERE OTHERS WITH YOU?!" Sofia looked at the man, whimpering. He had a scar across his cheek with a closer inspection. She shook her head at him viciously. Monica watched the man, wondering what she can do. He scoffed, laughing lightly, his voice booming. "I see. Well then, you're useless to me." Sofia's eyes widened as he hit the side of her head with the gun, causing her to black out.

Monica glared at the man. "You BITCH!" Monica shrieked and swung her bat at the man, hitting his head. The bat cracked at the force and caused the man to stumble and hold the spot in pain. "Leave us alone! NOW!" She sounded as intimidating as she could before swinging the bat again.

The man caught it and looked down at Monica, a small smile on his face. "You're feisty, I see." He broke the bat and grabbed Monica's arm roughly. "Don't worry, you'll be safe with my group. For sure." His deep voice and sinister tone sent shivers down Monica's spine as he dragged the pair into a nearby truck. Monica tried to fight against the man, clawing at him. "I'll wait for your group before we go back." He roughly threw them into the back of the truck and locked the doors, leaving Monica and Sofia in complete darkness.

'Sofia heard her name again. "Sofia!" She looked all around herself. The pitch-black world. She was back. "Sofia!" Her mom called out to her. Sofia panicked, looking for her mother. Her family. Her only family.

Sofia looked around frantically. "Mom? Where are you? Please answer me!" Sofia's mother screamed in fear. Blood fell from the pitch-black sky, landing in front of Sofia. When she looked up, nothing was there. "M-Mom?!" Her mother screamed more, more blood falling for the sky. One drip fell onto Sofia's cheek and suddenly-'

Sofia quickly opened her eyes, waking up once again. In front of her was her mother, getting beaten by two men with metal pipes. Sofia's eyes widened. 'My dream... it is real.' "Sofia! My baby!" Sofia's mother managed to sob out in pain and terror as the men beat her down even more. Her mother's blood was spilling everywhere, staining the carpeted floor. Sofia's eyes blurred from tears as she struggled to break free.

"Mother!! STOP IT!" Sofia tried to move her hands, but they were handcuffed together. Sofia's legs and torso were tied to the chair she sat in. All she was able to do was scream with her mother and watch. Every hit weakened her, but her mother still tried to stand up. She took one glance at Sofia, her eyes were red and swollen from crying so much. Their eyes connected and for a second, Sofia saw all types of emotions; fear, worry, pain, and a hint of happiness. 'Why was she happy? She's about to die!' "MOM!!" With one final blow to her head, Sofia's mother laid there, limp. The men chuckled and dropped the metal pipes onto the floor. The pipes were painted with her mother's blood. Sofia stared at her mother in horror, hoping she would make a movement to show she was still alive. She never did.

The two men turned to Sofia and stood in front of her. They both wore black suits, as if they were working for the government. Maybe they did before the apocalypse. One man had black hair while the other had pure white hair. They both had a black mask with the symbol of a white star with the letter P over it. The man with white hair knelt until he was Sofia's height then removed the mask. There was red liquid all over his mouth. Sofia hoped it wasn't blood. He grinned as he spoke. "You'll be next, little girl." Sofia's eyes widened as she started to struggle again.

"Where are my friends?!" The man pulled the mask over his mouth again as he stood up next to his friend. He walked over to the pipes to pick them up as the black-haired man stared at her.

He crossed his arms. "Dead." Sofia stopped struggling. 'That's not possible. There's no way that's possible. My friends are much stronger than that.' Sofia couldn't believe it; She didn't want to believe it. The two men bowed to her before exiting the room. Sofia looked around in the pitch-black room. It was a very small room and smelled as though it was a basement. The room had nothing but empty bookshelves and boxes. Nothing that could help her get out, and with her mother's dead body in front of her, Sofia's hope was falling quickly. She sighed. 'What do I do?'