As his feet practically flew on the ground, the thunderous murmur of Alexis’ heart resounded in his ears. He didn’t know exactly how long he’d been running. The only thing he knew, the only thing that prevented him from stopping and surrendering to the strain that was gnawing at his body, was that someone was chasing him. And whoever it was, he was dangerously close.

The darkness pressed against his eyes, so it was impossible for him to tell apart his hands even at an inch from his eyes. He didn’t know where he was running, he didn’t know if any obstacles would stand in his way, he didn’t know how far his attacker was. The only thing he knew was that, however much he wanted it, he could not stop.

The boy heard a voice behind him, so close that he seemed to perceive how his attacker’s fiery breath tangled itself in the hairs on the nape of his neck. Alexis tried to force his legs to move even more hastily, but it was as if they no longer obeyed his brain’s orders and had begun to act autonomously. Again, the strange voice, almost like a grunt. This time, the heat brushed his neck with greater intensity. His attacker continued to eat up the distance that separated them.

The heat, which he could still feel pressed against him, spreading all over his neck, licking his shoulders, back, arms, surrounding him to invade his chest and descend to his aching legs. In a matter of seconds, his whole body was flooded by that terrible heat that seemed to threaten to melt his very skin away.

And, with the heat, light came.

An immense expanse of land emerged, taking up the entirety of his field of vision. High above his head, Alexis saw the bright sun, which was spewing out its rays in all directions. However, there was something to that sun that didn’t seem normal. Its light left bluish flashes and, rather than heat, it seemed to be giving off a strange cold. As if it were a sun of ice.

Still on the move—he still felt he was being chased—, the young man took a fleeting look behind his shoulder. He saw it a few yards away, approaching at full speed. A shapeless mass of stretched legs and arms, of a black so deep that his eyes hurt. Alexis let out a shriek and, forcing his sore legs to the maximum, he set out to run even faster.

After a few minutes, he turned his attention back to what was chasing him. Now that he could see it better, he realised that it wasn’t the shapeless mass he’d first thought it was. He could now tell apart the infinite number of elongated bodies, running so close to one another that their blackish bodies almost seemed to have fused together. To his surprise, Alexis saw that the creatures seemed to be keeping their distance. They were still running toward him, but the youth could clearly see how the distance between him and those monsters was growing ever larger. I’m gonna make it, he thought. I’m gonna get away, they won’t get me…

An intense and blinding flash seemed to engulf all the light of the universe. Alexis found himself running, once again, in the most absolute darkness. The youth’s legs, frazzled after running without moments’ pause for who knew how long, finally gave up, letting Alexis drop dead, his face hitting the hard ground, an intense metallic taste flooding his mouth. Blood.

In the midst of the darkness, lying on the ground, Alexis turned, trying, to no avail, to stand. His legs, which refused to respond, lay clinging to his body like a dead weight that kept him anchored on the ground.

Again, heat. A powerful growl made the floor tremble. With him, a powerful red light illuminated his environment for just a fraction of a second. During that time, Alexis’ eyes were met by a set of huge red eyes, dilated pupils fixed upon him.

The boy felt how the cry that escaped him scratched his throat painfully. His whole body began to tremble uncontrollably as the darkness returned and the heat dissipated.

A very loud noise resonated in Alexis’ eardrums, hammering them and causing them to shatter, blood emanating from his ears at once. And yet again, an intense heat enveloped his body. Only, this time, it was an unbearable heat. His body burned. Flames sprang from his skin, and Alexis started to burn uncontrollably, while those same giant eyes he’d seen earlier approached him.

“No!” Alexis exclaimed, stirring in desperation. The youth fell from the bed, his side hitting the floor.

“What’s wrong? Alexis, are you okay?” It was Christian, eyes wide open, very pale, an expression of horror engraved on his face. He had approached Alexis who, tangled between the sheets, was twisting on the floor, soaked in cold sweat, unable to stop screaming. “Alexis, wake up! You’re dreaming, you’re okay. Wake up, it’s just a dream.”

The boy, still twisting, opened his eyes. For a fraction of a second, Christian saw the most absolute terror reflected in in his brother’s eyes. He was still shouting.

“Alexis…” Christian said, helping his brother to stand up. “There you go Calm down, it’s all right. You’ve had a bad dream.”

“It was a dream?” Alexis asked, chills causing him to tremble lightly. His brother surrounded him with the sheets while he nodded.

“It’s all right, you’re okay.”

“It felt so real…”

“What happened? Are you okay?” A voice behind them said. The two brothers turned around. It was Anastasia, tangled hair. Behind her, Ana peaked into the room, watery eyes.

“Alexis had a nightmare, but he’s woken up already. He’s fine,” Christian said.

“A nightmare?” Anastasia asked, sitting at the edge of Alexis’ bed. “And what happened in the dream?”

“I was being chased,” Alexis explained, his voice choppy and hoarse after all the screaming. “In the middle of darkness. And then, I fell and… two eyes looked at me and… then I started burning…”

Anastasia looked quietly at Alexis for a few moments.

“And you couldn’t see anything in the dark?” she asked.

“Well, for a while, there was light. And I saw that I was being chased by… some black monsters. Christian arched his eyebrows, trying to meet Anastasia’s gaze, but the woman’s eyes were still fixed in Alexis.

“But it’s over now,” Christian said. “It was just a dream. Now, let’s go back to sleep.”

“Yes…” Anastasia said. “Yes, don’t worry, Alexis.” “It was just a dream.