Serena

I wake up screaming my lungs out. I grasp my blanket and try to calm myself down. Judging from the light in the window, it must be about six o'clock in the morning. Think, think, think. What happened yesterday? The anger? The forest? It's all a blur. I scan the room. I'm alone.

"Aly?" I call. "Kathryn?" No response. I jump out of bed and throw my sweatshirt on. I sprint downstairs and into the sitting room. The others are crowded around the table, pouring over a map. All of them except Trenton. He's probably still asleep, or refusing to come down. I stand on the last step to catch my breath. Eric looks up and smiles.

"Hey come join us!" he says, walking towards me. Something seems wrong here. They all look... different. They look healthy, clean, normal. I back up the stairs, shaking my head.

"Why not?" he smiles and grabs my wrist. I scream and thrash around. Eric's grip tightens and his eyes turn red.

"LET GO OF ME!" I kick him but it doesn't faze him one bit. His nails dig into my hand, yet his smile remains creepily fixed.

"I'm coming for you," he whispers in a voice very much unlike his own.

I wake up screaming... again. I cover my mouth with my hands and hold back tears. I don't do a very good job though. My body shudders with sobs and I bite my sheets to keep from screaming. I hear thumps all around me and light fills the room.

"What in the world is going on?!" Kathryn asks worriedly. I throw myself back into my pillow so it muffles my sobs. Aly jumps down from her bunk and I hear her mutter some things to Kathryn. Then, the bedroom door closes.

"What time is it?" Kylie mumbles sleepily.

"It's four in the morning. Go back to sleep." Kathryn says consolingly. Footsteps follow and I feel her hand on my shoulder. I jump and push up against the wall.

"Shhh it's just me," she smiles, but she can't hide her worry. My hands are shaking like crazy. Kathryn covers my hands in hers and makes me look her in the eyes.

"Nightmare?" she asks. I nod and wipe away tears on my blanket.

"It-it was t-terrible." I whisper.

"You're alright now. It's all bet-" Aly races into the room and yells come from hallway. Kathryn jumps up.

"The boys?" Kathryn commands. Aly nods and runs out of the room with Kathryn at her heels. I throw off my blankets and follow them to the boys’ room. Dawson and Trenton thrash around on their beds, both of them yelling their heads off. Kathryn tries calming them both down, but they can't seem to wake up.

"Serena do something!" Aly yells at me from over by Dawson. I close my eyes tight and jump into the boys’ minds. Fire, rage, and fear are the only things I see. I attempt to replace the rage with the little joy I have and the fear with a sense of security. Their yells stop and their minds become less chaotic. I open my eyes to find them both sitting up in confusion.

"That-that was terrible." Dawson stutters and covers his eyes with his hands. Trenton look at us then collapses back onto his pillow. His shoulders shudder with sobs. I motion for Aly and Kathryn to follow me out. We close the door gently and make a circle in the hallway.

"What was it?" Aly whispers.

"I'm not really sure. It was different from me. I just saw... well I just had a bad dream. This was just chaos and fear," I reply, my voice a little raspy from my own screams.

"I'm worried about you three," Kathryn mutters.

"What do you mean?" I ask. She reaches over and touches my shoulder gently. I flinch.

"That's why."

"What does her flinching have to do with this?" Aly demands.

"Well, she knew I was going to touch yet she flinched anyway. Ever since they came back from the anger, all three of them are different. And these aren't ordinary nightmares by the looks of it." Aly and I nod. Moments of silence pass by when I decide to break it.

"Are we going insane?" I ask tentatively. Kathryn doesn't reply for a moment. "Well?" I command.

"I don't think you guys have ever been normal."

I sit on the giant rug and stare into the fire. I haven't moved in the past two hours. Kathryn and Aly went back to sleep. I tried too, but failed.  Another hour passes, when finally one of the doors opens. Footsteps bound down the stairs.

"Good morning," Kathryn's voice says quietly. I turn to watch her. She walks into the kitchen and pans bang around. She pops out of the doorway.

"Do pancakes sound ok?" she asks. I shrug. She sighs and goes back into the kitchen. The bedroom doors open again and Kylie and Aly come downstairs. Kylie helps Kathryn in the kitchen and Aly sets the table. The doors open once again and all three boys come down. Eric's hair sticks up in places and Dawson looks groggy. Trenton looks like he got no sleep. I watch them all sit at the table.

"Ok breakfast is ready!" Kathryn chirps, holding two platters filled with pancakes. I turn back to the fire. "Serena..." she starts. I shake my head. Kathryn sighs and sits down. The table is completely silent except for the clatter of forks.

"Where do we go next?" Kylie asks. I groan and flop onto my back to stare at the ceiling.

"We stay here until he kills us," I mutter.

“Serena..." Kathryn warns.

"Just let her say what she wants," Trenton growls. "I heard her screams last night. We’re all in a bad mood."

"But she can't-"

"Just ignore her." I frown and look at the table. They all stare down at their plates, focusing intently on the pancakes. Something catches my eye around Kylie's neck. My necklace. Think, think, think. That was so long ago. New York. That was only about five months ago maybe? I don't know, I lost track of time. Something about that necklace always creeped me out. What was it?

"I'll be back," I mumble to anyone who cared to listen to me. I rush upstairs and into my room. A gust of air sweeps over me and a note lands on my bed. The writing is all too familiar: red, child-like handwriting.

"The circle must be broken. And it shall be soon."

Great. Slender's back.