Chapter 5 The Nightmare

ERINA -

Erina was the first to arrive at the cabin. It was one of the things her mother had left her that wasn't stuck behind a marriage certificate.

She was sitting at the small, round breakfast table in the rustic kitchen and staring at the patterns of the rug beneath it.

She was replaying the dream she had last night. Nightmare was more like it.

Her leg was bouncing in a frantic rhythm as she told herself once more, "It was just a dream. It doesn't matter how real it felt. You're not crazy and seeing things. You're just stressed."

Yet, the nightmare had felt very real. Real and bright, and it wouldn't leave her mind.

It all started with her opening a door that had strange yet pretty carvings cut onto its surface.

She walked through it and paused at what she saw. It looked like some archaic vault room. There were glass bottles that were filled with colorful liquids and chests of all sizes.

A large table in the back had what looked like a laboratory set on it. Glass beakers and bubbling drip stations popped and hissed. The smoke that lifted from the long stem of the largest tube was bright red and moved like it was alive.

"Could it be in that?" She pointed at one of the small chests she saw under the table and turned to her companion. A tall... manbeast that reminded her a lot of the Beast from the cartoon, Beauty and the Beast.

He wore no shirt and only gladiator-like leather pants. Two straps crisscrossed over his massive pecs, which were large, taut muscles, and his skin was blue. Like the color of the sky.

His face was that of a Maine Coone cat, with long tufts of light blue hair that hung long around his shoulders. Protruding from his head, in front of his very cat-like ears, were two long, very sharp horns that reached about half a foot into the air. And his bright yellow eyes seemed to glow as he towered over her to peer at what she was pointing at.

"No." His deep voice all but purred into her ear. "I've checked all of those already. You're sure this is what you remember?"

"Yes. It's in this room. I know it." She moved deeper into the vault.

They were looking for... something, but she couldn't remember what. She only knew it was the most important thing in Wonderland.

She moved around the side tables that were stacked up with odd boxes when she saw a funny-looking door. It was yellow and small, about two feet high and a foot and a half wide.

She moved towards it when the deep voice of the catman filled the air around her. "I've already tried that. It won't open no matter what you do to it."

She turned to him as he was shuffling through brown and black barrels that were in the corner beside the small door. He flexed his hand, and long claws shot from his furry paw right before he slammed it into the top of one of the barrels. He yanked back, and the top popped off with a loud sucking sound.

She looked back at the small door and thought. It will open for me. I know it will.

She moved over to it and turned the knob. With a whisper of wood on wood, the door slid inward.

"Kai!" She said the beastman's name, and he twirled to her, his mouth opened in surprise. She caught sight of his sharp teeth as they peeked out from behind his furry muzzle, and a shiver traveled through her because somehow, she knew what they felt like against the soft skin of her nipples.

"How did you open it?" He said in awe.

Moving forward, she started to shove the small door open wider when a familiar voice spoke from behind them, sending the beastman into a spin as he knelt into an aggressive crouch.

"It's not in there." Regina stood in the open doorway, and she wore the most elaborate getup that Erina had ever seen. It looked like she'd ripped a curtain off the wall and made a dress out of it.

The material was puffy and laced in red and gold. It went low on her breasts, almost like, instead of sewing a proper top, she used the material to make a fan that went up high behind her head. Her white, creamy breasts were shoved up near her collarbones and made Erina cringe from the discomfort Regina had to have been feeling. The skirt of the dress fanned out wide and was embroidered in funny hearts and roses.

Her voice rang out once more. "You'll never find it, but..." She paused and pointed her ruby-tipped staff at Erina. "I appreciate you bringing me the spy. Now, she'll pay for her rule-breaking."

Erina stood in shock as she watched a red blade of smoke pour out from the tip of the staff like some kind of twisted reaper scythe. Before it flew from the staff like a bullet straight for her, Regina screamed mid-grin, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

The blade was about to kill her when the catman moved into its path.

A piercing scream came from Regina, making Erina jerk in surprise as she looked around the catman to her. She watched Regina's body begin to evaporate into red smoke before it disappeared completely.

Then, she watched in horror as the catman's beautiful head slid sideways off his body and landed with a loud thump on the floor before his large body fell forward beside it.

She ran up to his head and went to touch it, but couldn't bring herself to do so. His yellow eyes, which she knew were normally bright blue in his other form, turned to peer up at her. His long blue hair was drenched in thick red blood, and his soft ears twitched one final time before his eyes closed and his body began to dissolve into soft blue smoke.

A scream filled her throat, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't quite get past her mouth. Unbelievable heartache filled her insides, and she fell to her knees.

She'd awoken with a blood-curdling scream and tears pouring down her face. She couldn't breathe because of the heartache that choked her throat off and tore at her chest. She'd thrown the blankets away and ripped her shirt off so she could rub at the skin above her heart and stomach.

Even now, as she sat at the cabin's table, she wanted to cry from the loss of her blue Beast.

Never before had a dream or nightmare affected her so. She breathed in a shuddering breath and went to sip at her tea when she heard a car pull up the drive. It's loud bass booming against the ground, for all the world to hear.

Anne had arrived, and Erina would finally be able to get her mind off this week's events and hopefully the Beastman, even if she knew his eyes would never leave her thoughts entirely.