Angelique tossed and turned in her sleep. Her cotton sheets entangling her legs, binding them together. Sweat soaked her silky nightgown as her dream took over her reality. She stood motionless at the edge of an abyss. Suddenly, the sensation of plummeting into its blackness gripped her. Her head began spinning and her heart hammered against her chest. She screamed.

A brilliant flash of light renders her unconscious. She wakes to find she is lying in the middle of a glade. She hears voices. Who are they? Are they coming to help or to hunt her down?

A shot is fired. She cries out in pain like a wounded animal as the bullet grazes her flesh. She has her answer. She must hide, but where? She crawls to the portion of the glade that is thick with brush and bushes. It must be spring or summer because the trees and grass are lush and green. The voices speak again. They are closer than before. Panic strikes her heart. She covers her mouth, so she doesn't make a sound.

A twig snaps. She is very aware of her surrounding. But how did she get here? She struggles to remember, but all is lost. Another shot rings out, the sound of it echoing in her ears. A dog barks. He knows her hiding place.

A boy laughs. His voice sending chills down her spine. He has come looking for her. His face is coming closer, closer. He is now within inches of her. What did he want? What did he plan to do to her? He reaches for her and she screams.

Angelique shot straight up in bed. The image slowly fades from her mind's eye, but the feelings it invoked still labor her breathing.

"That dream again," Angelique, mumbles.

She rubs her weary eyes and tries disentangling her legs from her covers. That dream has always plagued her. Not even a dream really, more of a reenactment of the day she was found.

Angelique trudged over to her bathroom, flicked on the light, turned the faucet to cold, and splashed the freezing water over her face. She always had the same dream, but never has she dreamt it so often, almost every night this week. Glimpsing her appearance in the mirror, she could see the toll those sleepless nights were taking.

Her skin looked unusually pale, making the dark circles under her eyes more noticeable. No amount of makeup would hide them. She glanced at the clock above the toilet. Five thirty a.m.

"No sense going back to sleep. Got to relieve Alice in an hour," Angelique said with a sigh.

For the past four years, her life has followed the same routine. Up at the crack of dawn, quick breakfast, and then off to St. Gabriel's until four when another volunteer would relieve her. After another hopeless attempt at repairing the ravages of sleeplessness, she surrendered. She shuffled over to the kitchen and picked up her ground coffee. She doubled the scoops, dumping them into the filter to brew what she now referred to as her 'elixir of life'.

Dressed and ready to start another day, Angelique grabbed her coffee and bagel and sat at the dining room table. Flipping open the morning paper she retrieved from outside her apartment door, she wondered if reading the news first thing really was the smartest approach to the day.

Reading the headline of the New York Times, she found her answer. "Progressive Properties Proposes New Developments for Manhattan Area."

"Oh, no. Why can't they leave well enough alone?"

The news left such a foul taste in her mouth, not even her overly strong sugared coffee couldn't kill it. She attempted to read on, but the words just blurred together on the page. She decided to take it with her to work.

Angelique had become the owner of St. Gabriel's Shelter, keeping it barely in the black. Her gift shop "Heaven Sent" helped, but she could only run it after her shift at the shelter. It would be more profitable to have it open during normal business hours, but she couldn't afford the overhead of hiring someone to run it for her.

Angelique parked in the back of a cinder block building, painted a cheerful yellow, and climbed out of her red Volkswagen Beetle with her backpack and newspaper. Unlocking the door she slid inside quietly shutting it behind her. Most of the children would still be asleep, and she dared not wake them by using the front entrance.

Alice greeted her with a smile. "Geez girl, you look like hell."

Alice didn't. In fact, she looked too good, her chocolate skin glowed, and she wore her hair styled into an attractive weave. You would never know she celebrated her sixty-fifth birthday just last week. There wasn't a wrinkle to be found. Angelique scowled at her cheerfulness. Only twenty-eight and she felt like a woman in her forties going through a mid-life crisis. Alice ignored her look and handed her a cup of coffee.

Alice has been Angelique's business partner for the past three years. She was a Godsend. She signed up originally as a volunteer. Her services were invaluable as she had thirty years as a pediatric nurse. Alice loved that job but was forced to retire early when her husband took ill. After her husband's death, she spent almost every waking moment at the shelter, saying the children were her refuge from her thoughts. So, Angelique offered her a permanent position, helping to manage the place. Between the two of them and their handful of volunteers, the shelter ran like a well-oiled machine.

"I see you've read the good news," Alice said taking the paper from under Angelique's arm.

"Actually...no," Angelique said, tossing her backpack in the corner.

"Really?" Alice asked surprised, knowing Angelique to be an avid reader of anything regarding Progressive Properties.

"Don't get me wrong, I tried. I just don't have the brainpower to comprehend it right now."

"That's because you work too darn hard," Alice admonished, ushering Angelique to her chair. "Still having those dreams?" she asked, concerned about the dark circles under Angelique's eyes.

Angelique shook her head yes and then pointing to the paper asked, "So, what's the good news?"

Alice tossed the paper aside and crinkled up her face in disgust. "You know how much I hate being the bringer of bad tidings."

Angelique shook her head in confusion. "I thought you said it was good news?"

Alice huffed. "It's called sarcasm." Then looking over at Angelique and her dilapidated state she relented giving her a hard time. "Oh, all right. Their plans involve our section of Manhattan. They said there is prime real-estate around here, and it's time to revamp the neighborhood to attract more tourism and money to our city."

Resting her head in her hands Angelique felt more tired than before if that were even possible. "Nothing ruins a neighborhood faster than Progressive Properties. Just what we need," Angelique said annoyed, "fewer homes and more tourists. Tell me something? You've lived in this city your entire life, do you feel New York has trouble attracting visitors?"

Alice grinned. "I like it when you're mad. It's the only thing I've found brings color back to your cheeks. Of course, you'd be in better shape to fight if you got some sleep. What you really need to end those sleepless nights is a man."

Angelique picked up a paper clip, pondered on it for a second before placing it back down on her desk in search of something larger to throw at Alice. Alice positively beamed as she deciphered Angelique's intentions.

"Alright. Alright. I know when I've worn out my welcome. Off I go. Not another word," Alice said, pretending to zip her lips and throw away the key as she backed out of Angelique's office and closed the door behind her.

Angelique laughed. It felt good. Since she's known Alice, the woman has been playing cupid for her non-existent love life. Trying desperately to fix her up with various men, from members of the volunteer committee, to the UPS guy who drops off the shelter's medical supplies once a week. Angelique just wasn't interested, and she flat out refused to psychoanalyze why, despite the numerous mentions of getting her head examined by Alice.

Looking at the digital clock on her file cabinet, she wondered if she had time to catch a quick nap before setting up breakfast for the children. Closing her eyes briefly, she became acutely aware of the dull ache behind her eyelids and rested her head on the back of her office chair.

She heard the door open and sighed. "Okay, okay. If you must know, the real reason I haven't slept in days is that my new lover is keeping up at night with his demands of wild and passionate sex. Okay? So, you can go home now and stop worrying about me."

"Glad to hear you're doing so well, Angel."

Angelique's heart dropped into her stomach. That voice. She opened her eyes, stunned, as the vision of John McDougal filled her doorway.