𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞!𝐚𝐮) 𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙

CH. 59 ~ Nightmares

For the umpteenth time this week, I jolt awake, a terrible amount of adrenaline pumping through my heavily-beating heart.

Ever since Captain and I attended that meeting with the other captains, my unconsciousness has been haunted by daunting and petrifying images. Always waking up in a cold sweat and a distant ache.

They all repeat the same pattern. First I'm playing hide and seek with Taehyung and as I look for him I begin to see a trail of blood that leads me into the deepest part of a castle where his body lays limp, eyes cold, and mouth left ajar. The blood comes from a bullet wound in his chest and when I run over to him in horror, he morphs into Yunho. Before I can retract my hand, the dead brunette grabs it, looking me dead in the eye and swearing that everyone I love will end up the same.

But what scares me the most from these dreams is the vision I see in Yunho's lifeless eyes. Visions of the crew's dead bodies sprawled across the floor in pools of blood. Severed limbs and heads, all located in different areas. And those same words that "Dream Taehyung" and "Dream Me" spoke to me all those nights ago in Ocleavear, echo in my head:

They'll forget you as you've forgotten me. They'll abandon you, it's what you deserve.

At first, the dreams were bearable, I could get over them pretty quickly and they wouldn't disturb me again until the next night. But sadly, as the days passed by, the dreams only worsened for me, coming back to remind me of my inner afflictions and worries every time I fall into what should be the sweet stillness of sleep.

I'm being driven to the point where I'm scared to even close my eyes, seeing the terrible, terrible images of my deepest fears behind my eyelids.

It even scares me to blink.

It's night outside, the Aurora steadily rocking against the waves of the water that are transporting us to where we're supposed to go in preparation for the attack we will be launching. An attack that I'm supposed to lead, but I'm not sure I can.

I haven't slept peacefully in days and the effects of sleep deprivation have started to catch up with me. Even as I sit up, on my cot, trying to steady my heart rate after that scare, I can feel fatigue washing over me, lulling me back to sleep. My head almost nods off but I catch myself, forcing my eyes wide open to take out the blur.

I don't think I can go back to sleep after those horrendous images.

I feel so alone, so isolated, but I don't think there's anyone awake at this ungodly hour. There's a chance Captain might be awake but if he's in his cabin, and if Yeosang is sleeping, I might get shooed away. I weigh my options for a moment, them being either going back to those torturous nightmares or to go talk with Captain and I choose the latter.

Half-asleep, I kick my legs over this bed, getting out and feeling the cool wooden floor under my barren feet. I don't even bother to put on shoes, too sluggish to get them.

With what power I can manage in this terribly drained state I'm in, I lumber over with heavy steps to Eye-patch's cabin, noticing that there's a faint glow of what I'm guessing is from his oil lamp that's still turned on, emitting from under the cracks of the doors.

The night is a pleasant mixture of air and warmth, enough to keep me awake and not tempt me with the deceiving promises of rest.

I stretch out my hand to knock on the door of Eye-patch's Cabin but I don't get to actually knock because the door clicks and opens up before that to reveal a disheveled Hongjoong standing before me in his night gear: an old and worn-out black tank top, some ugly, mismatching socks, and what I'm guessing are his... boxers?

The look on his face is enough to tell me that he was getting just about as much sleep as me. He tries to give me a sorry excuse of a grin and moves out of the way, widening the door. I take that as an invitation. As soon as I step foot inside, I notice the absence of a certain blond friend.