The Birth of Freedom

Of Dreams and Hope

I was within a meter of her shaking body when something wrapped around my ankle and began to drag me down and twisting around I watched in horror as the bodies I was crawling over were now reaching out and grabbing my arms and legs. Fear bubbled in my chest as I tried to fight back, but the more, I struggled, the tighter their hold became and a scream tore from my throat as my body was being engulfed by bloody limbs.

Twisting forward I went to warn the child to run but the words stuck inside my throat as she stood untouched, watching with a grief-stricken expression as my face became the only thing not submerged in the corpses.

"Help me" she whispered as the mass of bloody bodies swallowed me whole.

**********

My eyes shot open as I laid in sweat-drenched nightclothes, the nightmare already receding to nothingness, this is exactly why I don't sleep, because my mind does stupid things like this. As if I didn't already have enough to think about, I go right ahead and add more nightmares to the list, though what that one was about I couldn't say.

The room was quiet except for the deep breathing of Nanaba, Nifa and Petra who slept soundly and I envied their peace of mind. Knowing I would not get back to sleep, I decided to get up and wiping the tears from my eyes, I quietly dressed so as not disturb the others before leaving the room.

Heading out into the courtyard, the wind caught my loose hair, making it dance and tickle my face as I made my way over to the stone stairs. I hoped some air would help me clear my head and the best place for that would be the roof and when I was barely at the foot of the stairs, about to make my climb, a prickling sensation at the back of my neck suddenly appeared, letting me know I was no longer alone.

Sensing who was following, I continued on to the rooftop, making no effort evade him and climbed over the balcony so I could lay down on the tiles. The air was surprisingly warm for the late hour, and the stars shone beautifully in the sky. Usually, they wouldn't be able to be seen in the populated Trost thanks to light pollution, but since the attack, the streets had remained dark save for the barracks and the few brave souls who had returned to their homes so lying on my back, I took advantage of the lack of unnatural light and traced the stars with my fingertips, when the tiles began to shake.

He took his time.

"You're not as apt in the art of stealth as you believe," I said softly knowing he could hear me perfectly. It's strange how for two years I had purposefully gone out of my way to avoid him, and now here I am sitting in the dead of night wanting nothing more than for him to be close.

What's become of me?

"Says the woman sneaking out of HQ in the dead of night" Levi drawled as he took a seat beside me and I did my best to ignore the fluttering in my stomach as I turned to meet his questioning grey eyes, no doubt wondering why I was up so late and skulking about the joint.

"I don't sleep well" I explained as I turned back to the stars "My mind has this scary ability to be able to conjure dark and demented visions."

"You are afraid of your dreams?" he asked softly but I gave no answer as I continued tracing the sky. I was sure I didn't need to explain the horrors of nightmares to him, he had seen plenty living ones.

Time passed by us slowly as we sat in strangely comfortable silence. The sky had begun to lighten some signalling the coming dawn, but the stars were still bright for the moment and I continued to trace the star constellation of the scorpion than was only visible this time of year. A tingling feeling spread over my face, and I turned to catch Levi studying me intently before frowning because even with a sky full of stars above us, he chooses to sit and watch me with dark unreadable eyes.