ᴄʟᴏsᴇʀ ʜᴀɴɴɪʙᴀʟ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (Discontinued)

Chapter 15: Nightmares

You felt yourself jump up in your bed, eyes shooting open. Gasping for air, you reached over to the small table beside your bed and turned on the lamp. A dream. It was a dream. Covered in sweat, you swung your legs over the bed and rested your feet on the carpeted floor. The rain continued outside. You stared at the window, watching as the droplets absorbed one another and streaked down the glass quickly. You then glanced at the clock. 3:42 A.M. Picking through the events of the day, you remembered the conflict with Danum and the blackmail. The incident with the woman and the deer was real. You really had helped her call the cops and the deer really was dead. Everything else was a dream.

One thing was certain for you, and it was that you weren't going to kill Will. You could kill anyone without a second thought, but Will was out of the question. Will had an interesting effect on everyone he met. And you wouldn't let go of the feeling he gave you.

Reaching for your phone, you decided to call Hannibal. It wasn't something you wanted to do, but you knew that Hannibal would figure something out. The phone rang and it rang. Not that it surprised you. It was almost four in the morning and you were sure he was asleep. When it went to voicemail, you hung up. The conversation wasn't something to have on the phone anyway. But you still sighed in disappointment.

The thought of your uncle showing up in your dream crept into your head now. You hadn't told Hannibal about his death. In fact, you hadn't even thought of the whole ordeal in years. After his death, you stopped talking to the entire family and focused on your career. The fact that you would think of him now made you angry. "Try not to think about it." You murmured aloud. Not wanting to be alone with your thoughts, you called Will. Again, the phone rang longer than you would've liked. But before you could hang up, you heard Will's groggy voice answer.

"H-Hey," You started, knowing you had woken him up. "Sorry to call you. I just wanted to check and see if you're okay."

"Oh." Will said, clearly confused. He laughed awkwardly. "Is that how we're gonna keep greeting each other? Always asking if the other is okay?"

You smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "I guess so."

"Well, alright then. If there's no other way around it." You knew he was smiling too. "What about you? You're the one calling. Are you doing okay yourself?"

You took a moment to respond. You couldn't just tell him that he was wanted dead and you were supposed to be the executioner. "Yeah... I just had a strange dream and I didn't want to be alone right now. But I can let you go now if you want. It's late and I can't ask you to deal with my issues."

Will quickly interjected. "No, no. It's, uh... It's okay. I get it. Did you...want me to sleep on the phone with you?" He sounded flustered again.

"Oh, you don't have to. I mean, you can if you want. But I'll be okay either way."

"I could go for it myself." Will insisted, as if he had already been struggling to sleep before you called.

"Sure." You surrendered. You had to admit, you wouldn't mind it either. Just knowing someone was there. Someone like Will. It calmed you. It was enough for you and you quickly fell asleep. Only this time, there were no monsters waiting for you. There was no death. You just slept. But it was one of the last good nights of sleep you'd be getting.

The sound of your phone ringing woke you up. It was Jack. This meant that at some point the call between you and Will had disconnected. You peaked at the time and saw that it was after six thirty. And this meant that something happened.

"What's going on, Jack?" You asked, wiping your eyes clear of slumber.

"We've found another body." Jack said, his tone always so strict. This caused you to sit up, suddenly fully awake.

"Another girl?"

"Yes."

You went quiet, but inside the rage stirred. "Send me the address. I'll be there as soon as possible."

---

The girl's corpse was laying in the open in a public park. Only mulch covered her exposed and mutilated body. Your hand twitched, again, against your leg. You didn't understand why Danum killed again. He told you that you had time to figure something out. But here you were, standing over another body.

"There's a difference between this girl and the others." Beverly pointed out. She approached you and Will.

"This one doesn't have any clothes." Will replied, his eyebrows furrowed.

Beverly nodded, her eyes moving between the two of you. "The others were all killed in similar fashions, but this one...is worse off." She looked at you, but you had nothing to say. Instead, you maintained a grim face.

"Our killer is becoming more agitated." Will observed. "If he somehow is communicating with one of the other killers, he's upset that he hasn't heard a reply."

You found yourself walking away. No, you were running. Beverly and Will called after you, but they sounded far away. You just ran until you found a quiet place to hide from everyone. You slouched over to vomit, gasping for air. "Son of a bitch." You managed to groan in between gasps. 'I'll kill him.' You thought. 'I'll kill him.'

"Y/n!" Beverly's voice came from behind you as she was slowing her own run after you. "What happened back there?"

You straightened yourself up and spit to try to get rid of the wretched taste in your mouth. "I-It's nothing."

"We both know that's bullshit, Y/n." Beverly retorted, finally coming to stand in front of you. Her face was a mixture of concern and dissatisfaction with your answer. She crossed her arms. "Seriously. What just happened? You know if Jack saw this, he'd freak the fuck out on you."

You nodded. Of course he would. You were supposed to be better than this. You weren't someone that ever reacted this way. "It's just a lot." You said. It was more than a lot.

Beverly reached out and rubbed your shoulder, trying to be as comforting as she could be. "I know. But people are depending on you. And they're depending on Will." Will was depending on you and he didn't even know it. And these children were also unknowingly depending on you. "We have jobs to do. After work is a great time to break down. I do it plenty of times myself. But right now, on the clock, we all need to keep a steady head."

Again, you nodded. She was right. But in your position, it was difficult to separate those personal feelings from work. Especially because it all revolved around you and Will. "I'll come back in a minute." You said. "I just need a minute." Beverly nodded and walked away. When she was far away enough, you reached for your cell phone. Hannibal would have a solution. As you listened to the phone ring, you glanced up and saw a deer in the distance, watching you