Chapter Five

"Nicole are you ready"

"Who are......... Yes I am" she replied to the strange man who held her hands firmly and walked towards a cliff. Nicole never wanted to reply but it was as if she was programmed to do so.

She saw herself in a red gown which was a little bit above her knees and she had a pair of flat black shoes on "when did I wear this?" she thought to herself. Although she was surprised on how she got there, the place looked oddly familiar and the entire setting of the place felt like a Deja vu , from the chirping of birds, to the smell of the trees, the slight movement of wind across her body, even the brightness of the moon and the darkness of the night looked so familiar like she had seen them all before. After much thought she said "No.......no, no, not again, this isn't real, it's all in my head" Nicole said this to herself when she finally knew where she was.

"I don't want to be here......Oh God... how am I here?" after she said those words her breathing became heavy and the pacing of her heart beat increased. The strange man turned to her and asked "Nicole are you okay?" She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the face of someone who had become a memory staring directly at her "Michael?...... how?....how are you here?..... this is impossible....." she said. After much doubt Nicole broke down in tears and said "I'm sorry I shouldn't have left you, I'm so sorry, please forgive me Michael.....please I've not been the same ever since I lost you"

For some reason he couldn't hear her plea and she replied to the question he asked earlier "I'm fine", she never wanted to give that reply but she said it anyway and that made her confused.

"Michael I'm begging you to forgive me, please forgive me, I'm sorry" Nicole kept begging Michael but he didn't respond to her.

"Michael why aren't you saying anything, I'm asking for your forgiveness please say something Michael..... please I beg you say something, Michael!! Michael!! please say something"

Michael didn't respond to anything she said but kept moving forward. Nicole cried bitterly because all she needed from Michael was his forgiveness, she blamed herself for his death and she carried that burden for years. She needed him to forgive her so she could be free. As they got closer to the cliff, her heavy breathing worsened so she laid on the ground and struggled to breathe.

As she laid flat on her back, she tried the breath in-breath out technique which helped her breathing a little bit. She slowly turned her head towards Michael who didn't stop but kept moving forward. She called out to him and said "Michael? .......Michael?......please help.... please....." immediately she called out his name he stopped and stood still paying no attention to her but gazed at the cliff continually.

All of a sudden she heard the sound of water dripping slowly. "What the hell?" She said as Michael stood in a little puddle made from his own wetness. "Michael?...... why are you wet?" She asked slowly as the water continuously dripped from his wet clothes. "I can breathe normally now" She said to herself. She felt relieved because her breathing exercise worked for her but she realized she couldn't get up "why can't I move? What's going on?" She asked.

Michael slightly turned his head towards Nicole and she saw a little bit of his face but it was covered in blood flowing from the huge injury on his forehead. The blood kept dripping in the puddle he stood in and it turned red. "Nicole you left.........Nicole why did you leave me?..... I trusted you.....why did you leave me?...". he asked. As he turned around slowly the once verdant grass around him became black. "Michael.....please listen..... I...I ...I didn't mean to.... please believe me...".

With each step he took the grass around him blackened and fear came upon Nicole who laid on the ground paralyzed "This isn't my Michael" she said sorrowfully.

"Nicole you left me.....why would you do that Nicole?....why?...." as he said those words he was filled with rage but sounded so heartbroken.

Nicole was so scared because Michael looked angry but she was also sad because she saw how heartbroken he was. He couldn't control his anger so he screamed and said "You left me Nicole!!......I saw you as I fell to my death!.....Look at what you did to me.....look at me Nicole!!.... I need you to look at me Nicole!!!.....open your eyes and see the monster you've created!!..." Nicole closed her eyes and said "this isn't real, No way..... it's all in my head".

He knelt down next to her and he brought his face closer to hers. The blood from his face slowly dripped on her face.

"Nicole.... closing your eyes doesn't matter..... I have always been with you..... You just can't run away from me....I live inside you......"

Nicole cried bitterly when he said those words "please go away..... please..... please!!"

"You locked me up and you forgot about me......I lived in darkness for years Nicole!!......years!!......I patiently waited till the hour was right and then I broke the chains..... and now you're telling me to go away?" ....No love I'm not going anywhere..... All you need to do is embrace me Nicole...."

Nicole cried with her eyes closed laying on the ground paralyzed. "This is isn't rea........." she couldn't complete her sentence because Michael placed his pale sticky hand on her face. "Oh God no..... No!!!! ...... get your hands off my face" Nicole screamed trying to move her face away from his hand.

"Shhh..... Nicole listen..... don't struggle, don't fight it.... feel it, embrace it ..... feel me, embrace me Nicole....." he spoke to her in a calm soothing voice and Nicole is a big sucker for Michael's soothing but dominant voice. Michael cleaned the blood on her and at that point she felt a warm hand on her face. His touch was no different from the Michael she fell in love with years ago.

"Nicole don't doubt it, I'm here......open your eyes....."

"How are you here Michael?.."showing disbelief, Michael brought down his hand to her neck "oh my gosh Michael it is you....." Nicole couldn't control herself anymore submitting completely to his gentle touch.

"Open your eyes Nicole"

"I don't want to believe this is real"

"Okay how about now" Michael leaned in and gave Nicole a kiss. As their lips touched, Nicole reminisced on the beautiful kisses she shared with Michael years back.

"Michael stop.... I don't want to believe this..... Michael please stop"

"Be quiet Nicole..... submit to me" he kissed her again but this time with more passion. He lifted her up but she didn't realize she could stand. His right hand was on her neck while his left on her waist as he pulled her closer to himself.

"Michael you're not......real....Michael......Michael....stop...." she tried stopping him but she couldn't stop kissing him. She never wanted it to end. Michael moved his lips down to her neck and that had always been Michael's trick whenever Nicole didn't submit to him. Nicole couldn't ask him to stop because she missed his soft lips on hers and she also missed how he kissed her neck whenever they made love so she didn't want the experience to end though she doubted if any of it was real.

"Open your eyes and look at me " Michael said.

"Why?" Nicole asked as she laid her hands on Michael's head caressing his dark woolly hair. "Wait I just moved my hands......." she thought

As she began regaining control over her body, she opened her eyes and she saw Michael kissing her nonstop. She was confused and she didn't know what to believe anymore because Michael's kiss was something she never forgot and she missed the tingly feeling she got whenever his lips were on her neck.

"This is too good to be true" Nicole thought. She pushed Michael's head away from her neck. "Stop ......you're not real".

"Nicole feel my face.....come on...bring your hands" Michael took her left hand and placed it on his face. "Does this feel unreal to you?" Michael asked. He brought his lips to kiss her again but she refused.

"you're not Michael....Michael's dead..." Nicole said taking a few steps backward.

"I am Michael, Nicole"

"No you're not.... I watched Michael die.."

"Nicole where are you going to?" Michael asked as Nicole kept walking backwards slowly. "I need to wake up......this is not real..... come on Nicole wake up". Nicole kept slapping her face so she could wake up from her nightmare. Wake up Nicole......Wake up please" Nicole kept crying because she couldn't wake up. "What's happening?" Nicole asked.

"Nicole you can't run away from me......I'll always be with you wherever you go" Michael said while walking towards her.

"No I watched you die...... get away from me..... come on Nicole wake up". Nicole slapped her face even harder so she could wake up but it didn't work.

As she kept slapping herself in order to wake up, Michael said to her "Yes Nicole wake up......wake up Nicole"

"Get away from me ........you aren't real..... you're just in my head"

"Yes I am and you know it....... So wake up Nicole....wake up" Michael started laughing like a maniac. As he laughed his skin became pale again, his eyes were teary, he bled from the injury on his head and his face was covered in blood.

"Is this real enough for you?" Michael asked Nicole. She got scared when she saw Michael's scary look so she immediately ran away but fell before she could escape from him.

"Wake up Nicole...... wake up!". Michael started screaming telling her to wake up.

"Wake up!......Nicole wake up!......wake up!!!!" Michael kept on screaming as he approached Nicole. She laid still on the ground too scared to move. Michael stood before her and he had this horrible smile on his face "am I real now?......am I real enough for you now Nicole?.....answer me!!!" As he screamed at her she kept hearing "Wake up!!......wake up.....please Nicole wake up".

"I know that voice...." Nicole said.

Michael grabbed her hands and said "You're not going anywhere".

But she kept hearing the voice saying "wake up Nicole please.....".

"Kate?....Kate?!!.....Kate I can hear you!!..... Kate!!!." Nicole kept calling out to Kate whom she couldn't see but could hear. Michael looked at her and said "you'll be seeing me again" and immediately she woke up and found herself laying down on a hospital bed with doctor Shamen and Kate beside her.