Fever Dreams

They found themselves spending the rest of the evening flipping through old history books on her couch, enjoying the soft glow of the fire. Salem curled up on Madison's lap, growling at Tom if he got too close to her. As the moon rose higher into the sky, she told Tom goodnight and left their time together at that. Ever the "gentle man" he kissed her hand before leaving for the night. Once the door was locked, the fire dowsed, and the kitchen tidied she slowly walked to her room. She changed into a large t shirt before she flopped on her bed, staring at the ceiling. "What am I doing Salem?" She asked as her silky cat curled up next to her head and began to purr. "I don't date! So why is he any different?" She sighed deeply, turning over on to her side. She closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

She woke in a field she had never seen before. The wind blew lightly as she began to look around, seeing no one. There was a large stone to her left that she began to walk towards, her body moving without the direction of her mind. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand. She started to see that this was not a stone. Upon stepping closer she saw the body of a massive black wolf, bound by chains. She walked past him as he snarled at her, snapping his giant maw, drool dripping from his fangs. Taking a step back she stared at him, feeling a small panic build inside her. Begging her feet to run, she gasped as she was taken by her hand, led forward by a hooded figure. "Don't worry." It whispered smoothly. "He won't hurt you." The wolf began to calm down, bringing its head down to the ground and looking at Madison. She cautiously reached out and laid her hand on the wolf's snout, stroking gently. She turned to look at the cloaked figure that led her here, watching as they removed their hood, revealing a face that was half corpse and half woman. She smiled and then vanished almost as quickly as she appeared. In a flash Madison was running through a new field, the wolf no where to be seen. Her legs were moving on their own again, the soft rustling of grass beneath her feet. She was flanked by enormous cats that followed her to a burning tree, guarding her. There was chaos. Everything was burning around them as a beautiful woman clashed swords with undead soldiers. In an other flash of light, it was all gone, and she was surrounded by companions and friends, laughing and drinking. The beautiful woman smiled at her, handing her a mug that tasted of honey wine. Music played softly in the background, soft candle light flickering around all of them. They were surrounded by warmth and cheer. The part ended abruptly with a blood chilling scream.

She woke up in a cold sweat, bolting straight up in her bed. "What was that?" The taste of honey wine lingering in her mouth. She looked at her clock. 3am. She groaned as she closed her eyes, flopped back down and tried to get more rest.

The sun shone through her curtains as she decided to give up on sleeping. A person can only stare at the ceiling for so long before she loses her mind entirely. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed she slipped her feet into her slippers and shuffled off to her kitchen.

She set up her french press, blooming the coarse coffee grounds with barely boiling water, then pressing the plunger down. While she waited she pulled some breakfast out for Salem and scratched him behind his ears. "You're a good kitty." She murmured. The light pouring in from the break in the curtains provided a spotlight for a necklace there that certainly wasn't hers. She slowly raised the pendent, inspecting it closely. It had more of those strange symbols on it. She decided what she was doing today. Library it was.