Chapter 6

An unknown forest with red bloody roses, black bushes, obscure woods. The raw, pure scent of the roses filled her nostrils, making her feel dizzy. That was all she could see, feel, when walking barefoot into that path with grass which seemed to last forever. The grass was damp, cold. Just as the cold wind blowing, making her realize what she was wearing. It was a turquoise gown that hugged her small waist, cascading down like a waterfall.

The wind wasn't stopping. At least not until Regan saw red locks over her pale arms, and a precious ruby necklace hanging on her. Red. It was a color that mirrored the very sky. A crimson sky with purple clouds, and a red fire of sun disappearing quickly behind the woods, not even giving her time to react. It cast a red glow over the forest, making it even more ominous.

The smooth, calming sound of water made Regan feel slightly more at ease apart from the wind playing with the trees. But there was no waterfall. No sight of it. The place was beautiful, but the coldness, the fear, it was a living thing that seemed to be whispered along the dark leaves playing the wind's tune. Regan shivered, but not from the cold.

The red hue of the sky hadn't blackened completely, but the forest was dark. Regan wrapped her arms around herself, feeling exposed in that dress. Not just from the neckline, but from the growing feeling of being watched.

What was she even doing here? She didn't know how she got here, didn't know the place, didn't know what she was wearing and didn't know how to get back home.

She kept on walking like a lost puppy. No trace, no plan. But she stopped, when she saw a black shadow from far, standing in the middle of the dark woods. Regan squinted, she could make out a masculine silhouette. It stood still and quiet, like a statue. But when it started to walk towards her, Regan took two steps back, not one.

The figure approached, the red hue begining to illuminate it slightly. It was a man with messy black hair that fell over his eyes like a protective dark curtain. He was wearing a dark long jacket and black pants. But under the jacket, was a white shirt that looked damp, showing his flawless abs.

"Si-Sirius...." Regan stuttered, the name feeling foreign and familiar at the same time. She could see a smirk on his face as he came closer. The wind gushed past her shoulders even more colder, as if it was plotting with the red roses. She was glued there for a moment and when he stopped just a few feet from her, she sprinted into a run.

But it was really slow, really clumsy, and really unforgiving. The harsh twigs and leaves were stinging and digging her bare feet, and it wasn't the most comfortable thing to ran without shoes. Her run didn't last. A mass of large trees appeared in the way and passing through them required handiness and knives. The vines were full of spikes and thorns that looked deadly. The woods towered miles above her, without any branches where she could climb.

And then she felt a hot breath on her neck. She turned around slowly, her breath catching in her throat as she saw the man was awfully close to her. He was so much taller than her, his height like a tower, dark hair falling down on his face, making him look even more dangerous.

He stepped closer, if that was even possible and Regan backed away, her back hitting the harsh trunk of the tree. His features were more visible now and she could see he was very pale and had siren-like eyes that were a cold, icy blue. His cheekbones were high, hollow and his jaw was sharp. She had never seen someone so beautiful and terrifying before. And the way he looked into her eyes, was like he was looking into her soul instead.

But her daze ended when his hand wrapped tightly around her throat, not strong enough to cut her air supply, but strong enough to make her freeze.

"Wha....what do you want?" Regan choked out, her voice coming as a weak whisper.

"Your soul," he said gruffly, a cold smirk on his lips. His grip on her throat tightened and Regan's anxiety raised. She tried to pry his hands off, but it was futile. His elbow rested on the wood beside her head, making it impossible for her to move away. He leaned closer, his breath warm on her ear, "You'll never, ever escape from me," he said in a voice that was chiller than the night.

Regan's heart felt like it would burst. She could feel his grip tighten, his breath hot and minty on her face, and she was trembling. His eyes were cold, a smirk forming on his lips. Her hear sank when she realized he was enjoying this. The air grew charged, hotter and she felt something other than his leather cologne fill her lungs.

It was smoke.

A fire had...started around them. Large flames dancing and twisting, growing like hungry beasts. They blocked Regan's ears from hearing anything else, and she was stuck, her eyes boring on his. But his were dull of anything worth it. It was just oppression, a cold, calculated oppression.

The flames became even more colossal, not to the point to burn her, but to the point to make her eyes burn. She couldn't look at him anymore, his presence suffocating, his grip tightening like a vice.

She wanted to cry from help, but her mouth remained sealed. Her mind ran with the worst possible scenarios and for some reason she only wanted him to choke her and end the struggle. She could feel the lack of oxygen on her throat.

"G-get away from....from me," she tried to say, her hands desperately trying to remove his from her throat. His grip loosened slightly, only for him to lean closer. However, she didn't know what happened then. Because it ended.

The flames disappeared and she was no longer trapped. He was gone, she could feel the cold breeze caressing her hot face. It was peaceful, silent and she felt no pain.

As she opened her eyes, she was back in her bed, the blankets thrown on the floor. She was drenched in cold sweat. What kind of dream was that, she thought.

The room was pitch black and Regan couldn't see anything. She turned on the bedside lamp with trembling hands and threw something on the floor that seemed to be her phone. The bedside lamp illuminated the room with a soft warm glow. Regan saw the balcony's door was opened and she felt a surge of fear. She remembered closing it before she fell asleep.

She rubbed her eyes and dragged herself off the bed. Stupid dream, she thought. The man had been handsome at least. It had been the first time she had seen something so gorgeous. Both in reality and both in dreams.

She walked downstairs, seeing there was no water pitcher in the room. As she took a bottle of water from the fridge and drank, then it finally hit. That dream wasn't gorgeous. It wasn't the most terrific either but it was chilling for sure. The events of the day washed all over her, worse than a nightmare.

The roses in the dream had been like that rose in her room, full of thorns and velvet petals. She had been overthinking about it for two days, it was obvious they were going to appear in her dreams. But that man, that was something else. She was getting chased and choked. It seemed almost....familiar, that place and that man.

"Who's Sirius?" Regan muttered at herself in disbelief. She had never met someone named Sirius. But then she thought something, what if he was the one following her? She shrugged it off. She was being just paranoid. He was just a dream character and nothing more.

"That's nonsense," she murmured. She set the bottle of water on the counter. Her mind drifted back to the roses. She didn't understand why they had such a heavy smell and sharp thorns.

Then, she turned back in the kitchen and sat on a chair, sunken in thoughts for a while. No, there was definitely something strange going on.

She didn't want to think about it, the best thing to do was to eat and lose her mind somewhere else.

She made a simple toast of ham and cheese and tried to remember as she chewed on it. The dress she was wearing was a mockery to her usual clothes. She looked almost.... beautiful. But it was a joke. A well calculated joke. Not only she saw herself as ugly, she didn't even entertain the idea she'd ever get the chance to dress that way. She was just an ordinary girl, not some sort of rich princess.

Everyone was sleeping, her aunt was sleeping, too and here she was, eating and thinking in the kitchen in the middle of the night.

But then her mind wandered to the dream again. It had been so vivid.

Why did he want to kill her?

She shivered again at the thought.

She searched for her laptop but it was nowhere. It must've been in her room.

She sighed in frustration. Why did she have to take it there?

She walked in the living room and sank on the couch, surfing through the channels. There was nothing good to watch. She suddenly felt exposed, like when she was wearing that dress in the dream, like something or someone was watching her.

It was happening even at her own house. It was inexplicable and was driving her crazy. And the red roses were proof she wasn't being paranoid.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep in the couch, before she could finish watching that movie.

***

When she woke up, her neck was sore and she winced as she tried to sit. She couldn't move it to the side and immediately thought about the dream. When he was choking her. "Oh God," Regan murmured. She was scared, the dream now feeling even more disturbing.

She cursed under her breath and got up, not wanting her aunt to see she slept here. The TV was left on and she switched to the news network to see it was seven AM.

She tried to stretch her neck, but it ached even more. Eventually, she called it one of the usual off days and walked upstairs to get ready for school.

Her aunt suddenly appeared from in the stairs.

"Good morning," she greeted. She was wearing her job's attire, looking more ready than ever.

"Morning," Regan replied quickly.

Monica went to the kitchen to drink her morning coffee, while Regan wished it was a weekend.

As she stepped into the room, the vivid dream came like a flashback to her and she tried to shove it away. The desk was messy as she stuffed the books on her bag. It was full of scattered notes, pens, books etc. A complete mess. Everything a mess.

But that didn't matter. What mattered, was there was another red rose on the bed. She had thrown the one on her pillow outside the window yesterday. And this other one....it looked like they wouldn't stop appearing if she kept throwing them away.

As she left the room, a deep chuckle echoed in her head, and made her halt. She had heard it before.

***

The school was packed up as always, and all she got from trying to stay invisible, were eyes on her. She didn't know why the hell they couldn't just stop looking at her. The classes passed in a blur of focus and unfocus, with Regan's mind racing with the events of these days. Lunch came, and she didn't have any appetite. The knot in her stomach, when she remembered yesterday, it only grew stronger.

Anyway, she walked there with Vesper, who almost forced her. Olivia was there, her hair trimmed in a clean cut. There was no obvious damage from the fire. Regan didn't know what to think but she let out a sight.

"Pathetic humans," she heard Vesper say, and followed her gaze, landing it on Olivia, who was kissing the blond guy. But Regan said nothing.

The unknown voice in her head, the dream....the creature. He didn't look like some sort of beast. But his eyes were like sirens and his hands were....his nails were like claws. He definitely didn't seem human. She was having a headache about all of it.

"What's that face?" Vesper suddenly asked, noticing her expression.

"What?" Regan blurted out.

"You're acting off," Vesper scoffed. "Did you fall in love or what?"

Regan choked hard on her drink, this was literally the most unpredictable thing that she expected her to say. "Ew....What? Love?"

Vesper laughed, enjoying her friend's reaction. "Relax, I was joking," she said, while controlling her laugh.

"I'm just tired. Didn't sleep well," Regan mumbled. She wanted to tell Vesper about the other red rose, but she was self conscious. How would Vesper take it? And she didn't know if it was Mike, who Vesper had talked about.

"You're sure?" Vesper asked with a smirk.

She didn't know how she got a sore neck. She didn't want to think about it. The more she thought, the more terrific it turned. It seemed as if her mind was trying to make the headache worse.

Their conversation went off for a while. It wasn't really noticeable. The crowd in the cafeteria made enough sound to have what to listen to.

While on that, Regan kept looking at her phone, although her mind was to the mysterious otherworldly creature who was trying to kill her. She couldn't get him out of her mind. She tried to find a reason why he seemed familiar. She couldn't focus on anything else.

"Did you snap out?" Vesper's voice snapped her out of thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You're so lost. If you keep doing this, the lesson will start and you'll be here, still."

"The bell hasn't rung yet," Regan retorted.

Vesper chuckled and suggested that they should go to the library to find some useful books. Regan was very fond of the idea. At least, she needed something else to think about.

The library was a large area with a lot of book sections. Regan didn't know Vesper's preferences, bu for herself, she was an extremely picky reader. She'd rather not read than cost time to a book that in the end wouldn't end the way she wanted.

The librarian gave them a curt nod and raised her glasses. The girls separated as as they disappeared behind the bookshelves. Regan found no book appealing. Instead, she found herself feeling watched, like something or someone was watching her every move, her every touch of the books.

She started to panic, and quickly got a random book, almost stumbling to the librarian's desk. The librarian, Mrs. Beth, gave her a reproachful look and Regan's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She sat on the couch nearby and waited for Vesper to come.

The weird thing was that her friend came, but came from the door, not from in the library at all.

"Where were you?" Regan asked confused.

"Just around. You didn't notice me," she replied. Vesper held two old books in her hands. For some reason, looking at their old cover, which seemed similar to those of manuscripts, Regan found them intriguing.

"What are these?" she asked, when she stood up and leaned over to see the books. She caught only the title of one, "Charms and Manipulation". The book had a green cover and the title was written in Gothic style.

Vesper quickly flinched the books away, not allowing Regan to see anymore, who huffed annoyed in response.

"I'm going to get these," she said as she placed the thick books on the librarian's desk.

Mrs. Beth looked at her with a surprised expression. "Where did you get these?" she asked, as she looked at the books.

"In the library, where else?" Vesper said, like obviously.

Mrs Beth's eyes narrowed, "Why are you interested in these? They aren't even written by a proper author."

"I want to read them. Is there a problem, Mrs. Beth?" Vesper asked, her voice tingled with annoyance.

Regan, who was hearing their conversation, wondered about the books. That title was intriguing. But Vesper had them turned on the back.

Probably psychology books, she thought.

Mrs. Beth looked at Vesper with a reproachful look and sighed. She took a cardstock where she registered both their books. Vesper stuffed hers in her bag as soon as possible. When the girls stepped out of the library, Regan asked.

"Vesper, what are these books about?"

"Just psychology books, nothing important. My sister needs to read them," Vesper replied, her eyes on her phone.

"Which section did you get them from?"

"I'll tell you when we go again."

Regan nodded and walked over to the classroom. The books seemed very mysterious though.