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A young girl gasped herself awake. A cold sweat had trickled down her back as she moved her eyes back and fourth in the dark room. It shouldn't have been dark, her mom always left her nightlight on for her! She frowned and reached over to the pink vase-like lamp and pulled on the dangling rope, a soft light illuminating the entire room.

She'd had another nightmare. This was far more vivid and seemed almost real. The little red-head immediately threw her covers off and hopped out of bed, intending on running to her brother's room, seeking comfort since she didn't want to wake her mother or father. Her little brother, however, wasn't that important.

Moving down the hall of the apartment, she'd grasped onto her flashlight her mother had given her a few years ago, when she had been left in the hospital with her grandmother. Shining the beam around in the dark, she reached for the door ahead and pulled it open. Inside, her brother laid in his bed with a big book under his arm.

He was such a nerd, everytime she saw him, he was pushing the middle of his glasses up his nose and reading something. Or perhaps playing videogames with their dad. He was still a lot braver than she was, even for his young age.

She'd moved in closer, pushing his arm a little. He grumbled and rolled over in bed. Pouting, she punched him in his arm, sending him howling out in pain. Clamping her clammy hand over his mouth, to prevent any waking of their parents, she shushed him, drawing her finger over her lips.

"Shhh! You'll wake up mom and dad, stupid!" she whisper yelled.

The boy casted a sinister glare at his sister, then winced and shielded his eyes when she shined the flashlight into his face. Reaching for his glasses, he pulled them on and yawned.

"What do you want now? It's late, Kylie!" he said.

The older sibling frowned. "I had a nightmare."

"Again...?" he asked, annoyed.

"Yeah....this time it was scarier," she replied, her voice seeping with sadness. Her little brother's features softened a little as he knitted his eyebrows together, sympathetically.

"What were they about now?" he asked.

She looked up at his small, chubby, face. "I had a dream that mom killed herself and she had these nasty scratches all on her arms. They said something, but I don't know what it meant," she explained.

The boy drew back his head and stared quietly at his older sister. What the hell could have been going on in her mind?

"That's not all though. Before mom killed herself, she was hugging daddy but he was already dead too. I couldn't even recognize his face anymore. I don't get it...howcome that happened to them, Jake?" she asked, her voice cracking. Jacob hated when his family called him "Jake". Of course this time around, he didn't care. He just looked down at his hands in his lap and then back at his sister, trying to think of something comforting to say.

"Well...what were the words on her arms?" he asked.

She squinted her eyes as if raking her brain for the exact words. It was incredibly vague, but she was sure they were:

"Our blood will atone for our sins," she told him in mild confusion. She didn't even know what "atone" even meant. None of the dream had made any sense.

"That's not all, the entire time before they died, they were running around in the dark. I coulda swore my ears were ringing and it sounded like static when they ran. But that's when it switched on me and daddy was dead and mom was holding him and crying. Then she started scratching at her arms and then..." she tried to finish but the lump in her throat prevented her from doing any such thing.

Her brother shook his head momentarily. "It was just a nightmare, Kylie. Mom and Dad are asleep across the hall. C'mon," he said, jumping off his bed and taking Kylie's flashlight from her, moving it out the room and across from it. He pressed his ear up against the door and hear silence and some light snoring. Cracking open the door further, since most of the time their parents preferred it that way, to keep an ear out for them, it was always partially open.

He and his sister looked in, Jacob shining the light over the bed at both sleeping forms cuddled together. It was obvious they were still breathing since his dad could be heard snoring a little and his mother shifted around in bed, trying to get comfortable.

Smiling, he looked up at his sister. "See? They're alright. Nothin' to worry about," he explained.

Kylie nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah, you're right..." she trailed off. Her smiled uncurled into a frown. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still concerned of her mom and dad's safety. The nightmares had been there for awhile, this was just the first time she remembered them so clearly.

"Well, get to bed, Jake," she told him.

He nodded and returned the flashlight before heading back into his room. Kylie pulled the door closed slightly and looked back at her brother's now closing door before padding along back to her room. She sighed inwardly and sat on the edge of her bed awaiting sunrise. There was no way she'd sleep now.

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Katherine: : < *huggles her kids*

Kylie: Don't die, mama! D8

Katherine: : < I won't....

Jacob: Mom! I can't breathe! You're hugging me too tight!