• It was again tonight that the nightmares came, filling my head with the explosion of Misery and Depression.
    When I woke up I would clasp the sides of my skull and push my face into the pillow, trying to get thoughts out of my head.
    When this happened, I wouldn't be able to sleep for the rest of the night, because I know he was standing by my bedside, waiting for me to fall back asleep so he could tear my mind apart.
    "What are you waiting for? He asked me, "You're tired; Go to sleep."
    I covered my ears with the sweaty palms of my hands. ""I won't."
    "You'll sleep at some point; you're only human.
    "Shut up." I said.
    "You're only human," He said again.
    "Shut up!" I screamed, throwing a plate from my dresser. It flew through the air and hit the wall with enough force to rattle the room, then burst into Pieces and landed on the ground.
    "Jesus Christ!" Someone shouted. I hadn't noticed them walk into my room. A dark-haired maid ran over to the wall where the plate had smashed and picked up the pieces with a rag so she wouldn't cut her fingers.
    I rolled up into a ball onto my bed and held my hands over my ears, blocking out the sound of James talking to me and pulling at my arm, trying to get me to sit back up.
    "Lilly," he said, slipping his right arm under my knees. He slipped his other arm behind by neck and lifted me up, carrying me out of the room and into the dark main lobby on the couch.
    I rolled back up into a ball on the couch too, facing the other side so I didn't have to look at anyone.
    The only sound int he room for a while was the rain, pattering against the window of the room.
    "So, what happened tonight?" James asked, placing his hand on my head which I moved before he touched me.
    "He brought me back to June 19, 2003." I said. "7:15 at night."
    James nodded and picked me up again, carrying me across the room and down the long, dark hallway, filled with closed doors to the room of the other sleeping residents.
    "Why don't you sleep in my room tonight, Lilly?" He asked, setting me down on the bed inside of his room; the biggest one in the building. He pulled a blanket and two pillow out of the closet and set them on the floor. "You can sleep on my bed." he said, lying on the pillows he set on the floor.
    I nodded and curled up on the sheets, not even bothering to put a blanket over me as I checked around the room to see if he was there.
    I think I slept soundly fr the first time that night, without having any nightmares. I dreamed about Lions this time, running through a desert and clawing at some trees. It seemed like I was there, too, floating above them and looking down to see them playing. By the time I woke up, it was morning and James was gone. Someone has thrown a blanket over me.
    I opened my eyes and looked around the room, scanning every inch of it, until I saw the couch.
    There was someone sitting on it, a guy who looked about my age, smirking at me with twinkling eyes.
    "Did you sleep well?" He asked me.
    A rubbed my eyes and pulled my messy dark hair out of my face to see better. I had no idea who this guy was, but if he was allowed here while I was sleeping he must have been safe. "Yes," I nodded, stretching out my feet.
    The boy rested his head on his elbow against the arm of the chair, still smiling at me.
    "You're lucky." He smiled, reaching behind him and shuffling into the pocket of his jeans. "That will be the last pleasant sleep you'll have for a long time." He smiled twisted as he pulled a chunk of the plate he had been holding out of his back pocket.
    My eyed widened. "No..." I said, pressing my hands against my ears.
    "NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as the boy laughed.
    James ran into the room and placed his hand over my mouth. "Lilly!" He yelled as my scream died down. I lifted my finger and pointed at the boy in the chair, trembling.
    James picked me up again as I struggled, biting the side of his arm over and over. The boy in the chair laughed a little me as James carried me out of the room, pressing my head against his shoulder.
    "You're lucky!" The boy shouted again. "That will be the last pleasant sleep you have for a long time."