ephialtes (n.) || a nightmare, often caused by demons

gasping for air in complete panic.

Her bed creaked, her body violently jerking, and she wrapped her arms around herself in some sort of comfort. As if it would ease the terror freezing her blood. Every time she blinked, she could see the forest behind her eyelids. She could see the darkness - feel the sinister cloak that surrounded her.

It was too vivid, too real.

She shakily turned on her beside lamp when her limbs calmed a bit and the luminous light pierced the early dawn glow. Her bed was a mess of tangled blankets as she flung them away, sweat drying against her skin upon exposure to the cool air. Her head spun, tilting her vision, and she stayed seated in the side of her bed for several moments.

She didn't dare close her eyes, staring at the floor until her head stopped swimming, and then she took several deep breaths. It wasn't the first time she'd woken severely terrified, this nightmare had haunted her every waking moment for two years after her accident. No matter how many therapists her father sent her to, they could do nothing for her. She developed PSTD and that threatened to take her life again until her father decided to move their lives - for both their sanity's.

Within the first month, she had been able to sleep peacefully for the first time, and it had been four months of bliss. She hadn't had the nightmare in so long, it almost paralyzed her in her sleep when it finally made a reappearance. She was lucky not to suffer from sleep paralysis.

She planted her socks on the bare floor and slowly made her way into the hall. The house creaked beneath her, protesting her early rising, and she hugged herself tighter as she nervously glanced at the shadows in the corners. She constantly checked over her shoulder the entire way to the bathroom, paranoid that the nightmare was reality and she had never woken up.

In the bathroom, she splashed cold water onto her face and took another deep breath. Usually, her Dad would rush into her room and hold her upon her first cry of terror, but she felt utterly alone as she knew he was miles away at work. She didn't have anyone to comfort her and as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she could only see a broken, lonely girl.

For so long, she suffered from this nightmare. This world that crafted its way into her mind from reality. She couldn't tell herself that it wasn't real because it was. The nightmare was a version of her accident, a constant torture; and because of it, she lost so much of herself.

She had tried to overcome it, she truly did believe that she had finally beat the nightmare, but she was only fooling herself. It was always there, lurking in the back of her mind, waiting to come back as it had and destroy what she had tried to rebuild. She wanted to scream and cry, curse the world for its cruelty, but she had already tired; she never won.

So, she stared at the girl in the mirror and watched her straighten her shoulders. She heard her fathers words resonating through her mind and a fire grew in those reddened eyes. She lifted her chin and then she turned away from the mirror. She had let the nightmare break her once, not knowing how to fight, but she couldn't let it break her again. She would fight for what she earned. Somehow, there had to be a way to beat the nightmare.

Her Dad always called her a fighter.

When she was awake, the nightmare couldn't reach her, and she took strength in the advantage. A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom freshly showered and she made her way back to her bedroom. The sky beyond her window was a pale peach tint, quickly becoming richer, and she knew the sun would be rising soon.

She relished in the fact that the darkness had to retreat, because unlike that in her mind, this darkness couldn't fight back. The sun always conquered, and she wished that she could say the same. Her gaze fell from the sky to the snowy landscape and she squinted through the dawn light when she noticed a disturbance in the snow a few yards away.

Her heart skipped a little in her chest when she remembered last night and suddenly she knew why her nightmare had returned. The wolves had triggered her. She was awake the majority of the night, listening to the wolves rule the land beyond her house. After the initial group of wolves had moved through, she could still hear their howls long after midnight.

It was strange to her, despite her fear, because the area was known to be locally barren to wolves. There hadn't been a single wolf heard or seen since January and that was an entire year ago. Occasionally, in the winter, they'd find dead wolves who didn't survive a bad snowstorm, but it was unlikely for living wolves to be in the area; it was part of the reason her father moved them to the area.

Sure, she had heard a few howls, but she never really thought much of them because they were lone howls and she figured they were moving through or on their death row. Her stomach grew heavy as she thought about last night. There was more than eight wolves, from what she counted, and they moved together like a pack.

Had pack moved into her area?

She sucked in a sharp breath, quickly exhaling on the glass and fogging her view of the forest. She blinked and turned away.

"Everything's okay," She muttered to herself.

She pushed aside her worrisome thoughts and set about her day. She made herself a bowl of hot oatmeal with raisins and enjoyed a cup of coffee while Netflix played a random show she last watched. In the back of her mind, she was still afraid, but she knew that she had split enough firewood to last her the night so she had no reason to venture outside anyway.

She never left her house that day. A few times she glanced out the window to see snow fluttering by but it never darkened the sky. At the end of the day, she was curled up in her favorite armchair by the living room window and watched the sun fall.

She watched the drifting snow glitter through the brief blossom of colors, a symbol of how truly magnificent nature could be, and her thoughts wandered to Avery. She had an urge to pick up the phone and call, just to hear her friend's voice, but the urge quickly passed as she turned back to her book.

She had just started the Fallen Series by Lauren Kate. She enjoyed paranormal books and when she saw the recommended book collection on amazon, she couldn't resist ordering. So far, she was hooked and she had to know what happened next.

And it turned out to be a very good series because she spent the night indulged in the fantasy world, unaware of the world around her for long periods at a time. The warmth of the well stoked fire kept her warm and the light of her lamp kept the darkness away. She never even thought about sleep and she never heard anymore wolves. Before she knew it, the sun's early light was creeping through the window once again.

With a resigned sigh, she reached out and grasped her coffee cup. She was determined to stay awake, at least until her Dad came home later today, and when the sun had fully risen outside she was forced to set aside the last book in the series. She knew she had to face her fears sooner than later and she went to the back door to dress herself in warm clothes.

She told herself to be brave as she twisted the knob and opened the door. As usual, a gush of frigid winter air instantly brightened her cheeks and she let out a little sigh of content, smiling as gentle snowflakes kissed her cheeks. The clouds were heavy above her head, attempting to intimidate her, but she paid no mind as she picked up her axe and set up the first piece of firewood.

She didn't let her mind wander down the dark holes in her mind. She didn't think about the wolves, or her past, she simply enjoyed the weather she was so fond of and nothing else. Her muscles ached and she removed her heavy coat as she started to sweat. Deep inside, she was proud of herself, although she still got the faintest feeling that something was different. The forest felt vacant, the air fresher ... almost as though something was lost.

Suddenly, she heard the rumble of an old truck engine and tires crunching against the frosty snow. She paused in her task and her face morphed into a wide grin as she glanced towards the side of the house. Sure enough, a familiar old pickup rolled forward to occupy its usual spot and she was never so relieved to see her Dad in the drivers seat.

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