Conciliate

Chapter 1

She could feel his hands all over her, reaching the most sensitive parts of her. She moaned as his fingers teased her entrance. Her body began to shake at his touch. 

"You are mine"

An image floated into her vision, but it was distorted. Wrong. There was blood everywhere. Bodies lay at her feet. One pale body turned to her and begged her for mercy. She reached her hand out, and it pulled her towards it. She stumbled and fell onto the mass of bodies below. They grabbed at her, ripping her clothes off. She screamed, but no words came out. 

Eli woke up, sweat drenched her entire body. Her eyes flashed open, scanning the room. It was just a nightmare. Her breath came out in gasps as she tried to control her beating heart. That was the third night in a row she had the same dream. 

It had been almost a year since she had last seen him. Yet he still could haunt her dreams. At first, the nightmares had been daily, every night. Every dream had been different, but they all ended with death. As time grew distance between her feelings, they had lessened. Her first week, nightmare-free, had seemed like she was finally healing. As the weeks went on, she was confident that it was all over, until now. With a vengeance, they had returned, and she never knew why. Nothing had changed. Her life had begun to start. Last month, she had started a new internship with a pharmaceutical company, researching and developing new cancer treatments. It was as if she had found her calling in life. 

At the interview she knew she hadn't stood a chance amongst the higher qualified. Yet she had went into the room with her story and that was what had won it for her.  They had felt the passion she had to save lives of the people affected by cancer. 

Looking at her alarm clock it was just after 6am. She wasn't due to start work until 9am. As she lay in bed staring at the ceiling she realised that it was pointless to try and go back to sleep. Eli pulled herself out of bed and opened the wardrobe. His clothes still hung in his closet. Even after a year she hadn't found it in her to remove them. Now her own clothes hung next to them. She pulled out his silk robe and wrapped it around her body. It used to smell like him but now it was wrapped in her own scent. Making her way to the open plan kitchen, living room she grabbed her yoga mat and laid it next to the window onto the hard wooden floor. Pulling the curtains open, the sunlight hit the mat. If she couldn't sleep she would make the most of the morning. She went through her usual sunrise salutations, putting her thoughts out to the universe. She whispered to herself, "Peace" as she bowed to the higher power in her. The sweat was dripping  down her back by the time she was finished. Heading to the shower, the feel of the lukewarm water on her skin was sensual and rewarding. 

There wasn't a dress code in the lab. You wore your whites and that was it, so there was no need to dress up for anyone. As she arrived at the lab early, the place was deserted apart from the security at the front desk. They greeted her with smiles as she used her pass to get through to the heart of the building. She was the first in. There was a sense of peace arriving first. Once all the staff appeared the place became a hive of noise. Eli settled herself at her desk and picked up where she had left off. She had been sent a sample from a terminally ill patient. She was documenting the growth of the cancer. To get the cure you had to first understand the disease. A hand touched her shoulder pulling her from her hyperfocus. Turning she saw, Dave, her co worker smiling down at her. 

"Piss the bed?"

Eli couldn't help but laugh. 

"Nightmare."

"Tough. What age are again?"

Eli playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"Fuck off. I'm running on five hours sleep without caffeine."