The Silverclaw Chronicles: Where will Fear take You?

Stuck

Chapter Eight

Amelia

Have you ever felt like you are stuck in a dream, no a nightmare? I mean it can't be a dream if you are stuck there unable to escape, right? All I know is that one minute I am in Aiden's arms feeling completely at home and then Addison is yelling while she pulls me away from him and sinks her claws into my arm. I instantly felt so foggy and everything was heavy. I couldn't lift my arms or legs; but when my eyelids finally fell victim and I couldn't open them, I knew something was very wrong.

I guess that I just gave into it though, because then I woke up here. Where is here exactly...it smells familiar and I remember these walls?!?! I sit up in bed to look around the room better. It is pink with little dressed up teddy bears and bunny rabbits on the wallpaper border. As soon as it hits me, I feel the tears streaming down my face before I even realize that I am sobbing. It doesn't last long though, because the door to the room flies open and two figures rush in, moving to both sides of the bed I am in. One grabs my hands to hold them while the other lights the lantern beside the bed. All I keep hearing is "Shhhh....it's alright! We are here!"

When the light hits their faces, I am in shock, but immediate joy fills me. They both sit on my bed trying to reassure me that everything is okay and calm me down. I am in the arms of Momma Marie and Daddy Tim. I lay my head against their chests and start to calm while listening to their heartbeats since they have me squished in between them. I feel so at peace with them both there and I can't explain it.

"Shhh sweetpea. Momma and Daddy are right here! We aren't going anywhere." Momma coos to me while she rubs my back and hugs me to her.

"That's right, Precious. We are right here and there's no need to be scared anymore." Daddy agrees with her as he gives me a kiss on my head and hugs both Momma and me to him.

I feel safe and I can feel the calmness from them wash over me. It is like this peace that they are spreading to me that settles my frightened spirit and I can feel my body relaxing more and more in their embrace. As I start to slip back off to sleep, I can still hear their voices before they leave my room, even though it is a bit hazy.

"Why is she waking up crying like this again, Tim? She has not done this in so long...not since she was a newborn and we first got her. And these nightmares, they are getting worse!" Momma whispers.

"I don't know, Dear. We will just keep helping her through it. It'll be alright." Daddy says and kisses her on her forehead. "It is all going to be fine. There haven't been any vampires seen anywhere near these lands since our Pack claimed them. We are safe, Love."

As I fall back to sleep, I hear their words running through my head over and over like a record that is stuck. I feel myself slip back into the darkness and then the next thing I know it is morning. The light shining through the window wakes me and I stretch before jumping up out of bed. When my feet hit the floor, I look down curiously at them. They look very small and then I see the hem of my nightgown, which is a pink ruffle. I shake my head to try to clear it and nothing changes. I run over to the mirror by the closet quickly. I feel like I might faint when I see my reflection...I can't be over 4 years old. It is definitely me with my long dark locks bouncing around my shoulders and my blue eyes piercing back at me from the mirror, but I am 16...not 4! What is going on here?!?!?! I have no time to figure out an answer as my door opens and Momma smiles at me.

"Good morning, Sleepy Head!" She says with a laugh. "Are you ready to get dressed and come down to eat breakfast? I made your favorite!"

As soon as she says those words, I freeze. I remember this day! I will never forget this day! I lose them on this day!! Why am I here?!?! Wait...am I getting a second chance to fix this? Could I stop them from disappearing out of my life? I have to try!

I run over to Momma and I wrap my arms tightly around her legs.

"I love you, Momma!" I tell her just as I did that day.

She kneels down to my height and wraps her arms around me. "I love you too, Amelia! You are my everything, Baby Girl!" She says as she sweeps me up in her arms and carries me downstairs.

The front door swings open and Daddy comes in with an arm full of firewood. "Well, there's our little Sleepy Head!" He says with a big grin.

I reach out for him just like I always did and he eagerly takes me into a big bear hug. "I love you, Daddy!" I tell him happily, but on the inside I can feel an ache growing in my chest as I know what is coming for them today.

"I love you too, Precious!" He replies, kissing my cheek as he sits me down in my chair at the table.

We have the most wonderful breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, sausage, bacon, and fresh maple syrup. I gobble it all up, but inside I am trying to figure out how I am going to stop what is coming. I am so preoccupied with my thoughts that I almost missed the knock on the door. Daddy gets to the door and I see the Alpha and Luna at the door with three of their pups.

"Well, we were thinking that before winter hits us full force, it would be nice to have a Pack wide picnic and fun day today." The Luna tells Momma and Daddy.

"I think that is a wonderful idea." Momma agrees. "Amelia and I would love to help you with the prep work. Just let me get her upstairs and change quickly." Then she turns to me and says, "Alright, let's go get changed."

She reaches for my hand and we go up the stairs quickly. After I am dressed in a cute little white dress with blue flowers all over it and a big blue sash, she brushes out my hair and hooks it up into two pigtails. I look in the mirror and freeze again. This dress...my hair...I looked just like this in my nightmare last night except that it had some red on it. Why would I remember a nightmare like that? Momma takes my hand in hers and we walk back down to join everyone else to head out of the house together. I want to change something, but I am not sure what to do as I feel like I am just stuck running through this role. The day goes by quickly and it is time for the picnic and games to start. I can't seem to deviate from the events of the day so far, but I will find a way to try and stop them from being killed.

I play games with all of the other kids and we are all having fun. My nightmare from the night before keeps dancing through my head. I am trying to ignore it and focus on the task at hand. It is starting to get darker and I know that I am running out of time. Momma comes over to check on me and wraps a little jacket around my shoulders, zipping it up as she kisses my cheek. My heart is starting to pound out of my chest as I feel the pain coming for me and I don't know how to stop it. I just smile up at her and run back off with the other kids.

The next thing I know we are packing up to leave because it is getting late and everyone is heading home. I have to stop everyone and we all have to go to the Pack house instead. I try to get my little body to yell, but nothing happens. I am yelling inside, but nothing is coming out. Instead, I wrap my arms around Daddy's neck as he is carrying me back towards our house. There are about 5 other families walking back to our neighborhood with us. Several kids like me are being carried and falling asleep already. I try again, but nothing will come out of my mouth. How can I just be stuck reliving this horrible day? This can't happen.

Then, before I can do anything, it is happening and there's nothing I can do. Vampires seem to be dropping from the sky and onto all of the adult werewolves in our group. Children are being dropped to the ground and told to run. Some are just standing there frozen crying as they are watching their parents fight with Vampires right in front of their eyes. Daddy had one drop right down on us and grab him around the neck. There was red stuff spilling down the front of him, but he still tried to run with me to the nearest bushes and fight the Vampire at the same time. I looked up and saw the horrid red eyes of the Vampire shining at me. It reached for me and pulled at my hair some, but Daddy stopped it and lightly threw me into the bushes. Before he let me go, he told me that he loved me and I had to be brave and run to the Pack house as fast as I could. Then he was gone fighting the Vampire.

I ran just like he told me too and didn't stop until I reached the field where we had been having the picnic. As I got there, I could see several big wolves running back toward our homes, but I just kept going until I ran into someone. He pulled me with him the rest of the way to the Pack house and then as we got inside, I looked up and saw Wilson staring down at me. He got a tissue and wiped my face with it. I looked down at my dress and stopped...I looked exactly like I did in my nightmare the night before. Why am I having to relive this? I start crying and Wilson wraps his arms around me, trying to help me calm down some.

Aiden

I take Amelia's hands in mine as I kneel at her side. I have never felt this weak and vulnerable in my life. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath as I begin my prayer to the Moon Goddess.

"Moon Goddess, I am asking you to watch over Amelia. She has been through far too much already. Now that you have blessed me with her in my life, all I want to do is keep her safe and happy. Thank you for protecting her tonight from something that she couldn't come back from. I don't know why this happened and I am sorry that I wasn't prepared to protect her myself in that moment, but I won't fail again. I know what a gift you have given me and I will not ever take it lightly." I say all of this quietly.

I look back up at Amelia and place a kiss on each of her hands before I stand to move to the other side of the bed. I sit down and move over closer to her in the bed. I am just lying with my head on the pillow staring at my beautiful little Luna. I still can't believe that she is mine. I only hope that when she is of age, she will want the same thing as me. I brush the hair back from her face and watch her as she sleeps.

I doze off holding her hand in mine, but the peace I feel doesn't last long. I am woken up by panic and sadness spreading through me. This feeling scares me awake and I check over Amelia quickly. She seems fine, but then I see tears running down her cheeks. I wipe them away and am waiting for her to open her eyes since she must be waking up, but she isn't. I can feel her heart racing, but then all of the sudden a calm washes over her and me. She seems to settle down and finally be sleeping peacefully. As much as I want her to wake up, I know that her body needs time to heal and flush out the Wolfsbane. I try to rest my eyes some, but every time they close I worry more that I will miss her opening hers. Staying awake just to watch her sleep feels like the only thing that I can do, but with the peace that I feel coming from Amelia, I have no choice as sleep takes me over.

I suddenly wake up feeling a mixture of emotions coming from my little Luna. I look at her and she is still asleep, but there is panic, pain, and so much fear running through her and I can't understand why. I watch her sleep soundly, but feel the most intense fear that I have ever experienced in my life.

I run my fingers through her hair and talk to her. "Amelia, please wake up. I don't know how to help you." I lean forward and kiss her forehead. "My Luna, what is going on inside this head of yours? I will fix this for you. I promise." I take her hand in mine and place it on my chest, thinking that maybe our contact can help her through whatever she is going through.

Amelia

When I finally open my eyes, I am shocked again by what I see. I am sitting in the middle of another pink room with princesses and crowns all over the walls. I am crying again, but this time the two people that come running into the room are Mommy Dianna and Daddy Christopher. This can't be happening...I can't live through all of this again...I won't be able to handle it! Just like Momma Marie and Daddy Tim, I am sandwiched between Mommy and Daddy while they try to calm me down. The amazing thing is that, once again, when I hear their heartbeats, I instantly start to calm down. I feel at peace surrounded by their love for me and for each other.

"Quiet, Love! It was just a nightmare! It is all over and we are right here." Mommy tells me as she smooths my hair with her hand and kisses my head.

"That's right, Princess. You are totally safe here!" Daddy adds, hugging us both in his arms.

I look up at both of them and try to say something, but as before nothing will come out. They tuck me back into my bed as sleep starts to take me away. Just as before, I can hear them as I am drifting off.

"Chris, why is she starting to have nightmares again? I thought since they had stopped, she was going to be free of them. It was so horrible when she had them when she was 4. I don't want her to have to deal with this fear anymore." Mommy told him quietly.

"I wish that I knew, Dianna. They were expected when she first came to us, but now after all this time, I just don't understand it." He told her with a small kiss. "But we will get her through this just like last time." With that, they closed my door and sleep took me fully.

I wake up the next morning and didn't want to get out of bed, but my body is not listening to me. When I see my reflection, I know once again why...I am my eight-year-old self. There is a knock on my door and it swings open to Daddy standing there with a big smile on his face.

"Good morning, Princess. I hope you are ready to have a fun day today. Mommy has some of your friends coming over to celebrate your birthday since we couldn't have your party during the week." He tells me and I smile back at him. "Go ahead and get dressed. Make sure to put on that dress that we got you for today." He adds as he leaves the room.

I throw on my new dress. It is a light blue dress with a dark blue sash. I do a twirl in my mirror as the door to my room opens again and Mommy comes in. She stands behind me and pulls my hair back into a low ponytail and then twists it through itself. I smile up at her and she kisses me on the cheek.

"You look beautiful, Amelia. I love you so much." She says, giving me a hug which I return.

"Thank you, Mommy. I love you too and I love my dress." I tell her sweetly.

"Well, come on downstairs and we will eat breakfast before we get things ready for your party." She adds as she moves toward the door and I follow her.

When I come into the kitchen, Daddy is sitting at the table drinking his coffee. He looks up and smiles at me, motioning for me to twirl for him. I giggle and then spin around as my dress twirls around me. He claps his hands for me and his smile grows exponentially. Just seeing him smile like that at me makes me feel so pretty.

"I knew that dress would be perfect for our little Princess." He says, grinning.

"As usual, you were right. She looks very pretty in this dress." Mommy agrees, hugging me from behind. "Blue is definitely your color." She adds, kissing me on the cheek.

We all sit down for breakfast. It is amazing, just like I remember. Mommy is a wonderful cook and loves to make special things for us to enjoy. I gobble everything up that she puts in front of me and she laughs at me when I ask for more, please. We all finish eating and clean up the kitchen together. After everything is back in its place, we start setting up things in the backyard for my birthday party. I am blown away by all of the balloons and decorations in our yard. It truly looks like a magical place.

"I love it, Mommy!" I tell her as I run up, hugging her around the waist.

"I am glad, sweetie." She tells me as she hugs me back so tightly.

I relish every moment with them, every hug, the happiness they are filling me with, the love that I can feel from them, and the life they have blessed me with. It all feels so perfect and so right, but there is this lingering pain for what is to come. I couldn't stop what happened to Momma Marie and Daddy Tim, but I was younger then. Maybe now that I am a little older, I will be able to fight through this and change what we are all living through. I try to make the smallest of changes right now, but am not successful. I take a deep breath and decide that I will change this if it kills me. My nightmare will not come true this time.

I move through the rest of this day trying to change anything, but also enjoying every moment of this day for now. My party is wonderful and all of us are having a blast. All of the kids in the pack came to celebrate with me and it is so exciting. I even remember Dante and Brock are here. They aren't exactly thrilled to come to a girl's birthday, especially since I am three years younger than them, but they even have fun in the bounce houses. This day is a perfect day until nightfall.

As my party wraps up, everyone starts going home and everything is getting cleaned up. Daddy lights the grill for dinner and I find myself getting excited because I know that he is making my favorite dinner. They spoil me so much. Dinner is over far too quickly and it is time for bed. I know what is coming and I know I have to stop it. I can feel my heart racing again, but everything I try isn't working. They tuck me into bed and both kiss my cheeks.

"We love you, Princess! Sleep tight." Daddy tells me as he is closing my door.

They are gone and I want to jump up to warn them about what is to come, but my body won't respond. It is no big surprise as I have been trying all day unsuccessfully. I can feel sleep washing over me and I try desperately to fight it. I lose the battle and sleep takes me.

The next thing I know, Daddy busts through my door and grabs me up in his arms. We run down the stairs, meeting Mommy at the front door. Daddy keeps peering out the windows, but it is hard to see because there are boards covering most of them. He hands me to Mommy, who just keeps kissing my head and running her fingers through my hair. Daddy starts pounding on the door and I watch as he turns into his wolf. He is working on breaking the door down, but it is so hot in here.

As he breaks part of the door, arrows that are on fire start flying through the opening at us. Mommy ducks out of the way just in time to keep both of us safe. Daddy runs to the back door and starts this whole process over again. With no success in getting us out, Daddy leads us to the cellar. He changes back from his wolf and gets dressed quickly. Mommy gets sheets wet and wraps them around us as the flames are getting bigger and closer. I can hear fighting happening nearby, but then Mommy starts coughing a lot. All of the sudden, both Mommy and Daddy shift into their wolves and I hide under the sheets. I can smell something horrible, but I am not sure what it is. I hear screams from inside our house and outside. It is so hot and I am having a hard time breathing. I can't believe that I am reliving this night. The screams get worse and so does the smell until it all just stops and there is nothing. Someone picks me up and I look up to see one of Daddy's friends before I close my eyes again because I can't keep them open anymore.

When I wake up, I am alone in a white room. There is a nurse there with me and she tries to talk to me, asking me questions, but all I can do is ask for my parents. She doesn't say anything for a long time and then the Luna comes in to sit with me. She takes my hand in hers and tells me that my parents are gone. I start crying uncontrollably. The pain and horror roll through my mind over and over while I sob. Fear is taking me. I thought that I had learned to live with these nightmares by burying them, but now here they are again. I am stuck living through these horrible nights again! I can't do this! I can't beat this fear that is overtaking my soul! I am done and my body shakes as I cry with no end in sight.