The stars dotted the night sky in an odd pattern today. Sporadic, yet clustered at certain points. Almost as if someone was fishing, using black holes as bait. A scary yet really fascinating thought. Honestly though, thinking about it, my treks back home from the bar were always filled with very strange thoughts. I guess that's what the dead of night does, numbing your mind with the slow and rhythmic hums of nature.

My guitar sat snug in its case, swung across my back. The wind slowly swept across my face; taking the remnants of the bar's clammy atmosphere away. I really do love that place, but gosh it gets extremely hot in there. Makes my anxiety tick up a few notches, which I could really do without.

The forest started fading from my view as quickly as it had entered it. The smell of home immediately kicked my nostrils. Mildew and cheap cigarettes. Home sweet home. The street lights flickered, ruining my cadence, and the sounds of drunk men arguing entered my ears. Usually, that was accompanied by various gunshots, screaming women, and fists being thrown. Just the usual melodies of the Willowwood domain. Poverty district we are, but wow do we have spirit. Luckily, I didn't have to deal with all of it for long. I could see my small, worn-down abode nearing in the distance. Hopefully, my parents weren't awake.

The door handle felt cold as ever, and a bit too rickety for my liking. Of course, the actual door itself was super loud too. Looking around the living room I tried to scan everything I could. Even though there happened to be a pretty thick layer of darkness over it all. Thankfully though, I think my family is all asleep.

"Phew" I muttered meekly.

I slowly crept inside and shut the door behind me. I amble along our chipped wood floor, quickly flicking my head to the left and right, even while knowing no one would be lurking there. Ahh... stairs. The biggest killer of making it to my room undetected. Need to take these real slow; and after some centuries, the start of the upstairs unveiled itself. My brain kept subconsciously making sounds on the way up, like random footsteps around the house or clinks from the garage. Pure torture.

Just as I lifted my foot to the top stair, a bang from further down the hallway froze my feet in place. That couldn't have been my imagination. I could feel a scream start to build up in my throat. My mind was now creating thousands of thoughts a second, trying to come to a conclusion on what happened. Well, what I do know is that standing here won't get me any closer to figuring it out. The only way is to walk down this hallway, illuminated by just a single window. I tried to maintain a slow, yet consistent pace, which was extremely difficult on these bending floorboards.

Even after passing the window, there wasn't another sound. What if something was lurking in my parent's room? It was only a couple steps further... yeah, anxiety levels are definitely on high now. I cautiously peeked my head just enough so I could see inside their room. Just like with the living room though, I couldn't make out anything in this darkness. The smart thing to do would be to peek my head in further, but I don't think my heart could handle the thought of doing that and someone grabbing me or something.

After a minute or so of twiddling my thumbs and squinting my eyes, I position myself right next to their door; back against the wall. Trying to think of what to do, I stood still; and before I knew it, a giant hand pressed against my right shoulder.

"AHH-" I yelped and flicked my head to the side.

"Calm down, calm down, it's just me Rei." Landon sighed.

"Was it really necessary to sneak up on me?!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Rei, but to be fair you left yourself wide open for a scare."

I sighed with relief. "Ahhh.. whatever, it's alright."

Now that I know it's just Landon in here and not a stranger, I let myself loosen up. "Are May and Lilia home too?" I asked curiously.

Landon's eyes shifted away from me, and beads of sweat started to gather on his forehead. My body felt jittery waiting for his response.

"Dad?"

"Your mother and sister had to take care of your 'older sister'... You know it's that time of the month right?" Landon explained.

I stood in silence for a second, completely forgetting what time of the month it was. I always hated when my sister and mother had to go deal with my biological family. It wasn't fair to them, and I can't help but be terrified that they won't come home someday.

"Oh.. right. I had forgotten. Do you think they'll be okay?" I asked worryingly.

Landon smiled warmly, warding away the thoughts of my past— at least for the moment. "Of course, Rei. They'll be fine, and if something were to happen, I'll destroy the Knights myself!"

I giggled a bit and let out a sigh of relief. Landon is truly the best. I feel bad for keeping parts of my life hidden from him and the others, but they already have too much to deal with. The last thing I'd want is to add to their mental stressors.

"Thanks, Dad, really."

"No need to thank me, Reimi. Your mother and I are always here for you, okay? Don't forget that," Landon said gently and warmly.

I smiled and nodded. Before he could even shift the conversation to what I was doing tonight, I swiftly walked all the way to my bedroom at the end of the hall and closed the door. Knowing him, he probably wouldn't mention it the next day or anytime soon. As my mind started to relax, the deep and rich scent of Lilacs hit my nose. Reminiscent of roses, mixed with a hint of vanilla. The gentle light from my candle still burned, illuminating the small space where I resided. The place where I escape the world and its troubles.

At the end of the day, it really was just a plain old room, but it has always brought me so much comfort. I never had a room of my own before... so when Landon and May bought me, I was quite ecstatic. I laid my guitar beside the bed, reminiscing on all the terrible songs I made. Who am I kidding, I'm probably still making some garbage. Garbage I'm passionate about though. As I was drifting through thoughts and memories, I slipped onto my bed and sunk gently into the mattress. I shut my eyes and slowly floated away into the dream world.

My eyes stung a little, bright light prodding my eyelids— begging me to wake up. This has to be the part I hate most about the morning. I pulled my soft blanket over my head in defiance. Feeling so warm and drowsy, I was inadvertently lulling myself back to sleep. Before I could actually fall asleep though-

"REI!! WAKE UP!"

"Ugh..." I mumbled and rolled the other way.

Lilia burst through the door, the second thing I hate most about the morning. Bleh, I'm really not in the mood for this today. My sister and I both help out with my Father's mechanic shop. The garage was quite run down, the decades of age really showing through the rust and quaint appearance. Due to our, let's say, dire financial circumstances; neither my sister nor I could attend school. So here we are, with my sister waking me up basically every morning.

"I know you're awake," teased Lilia.

"You don't see me right now," I groaned.

Lilia sighed and forcefully ripped the blanket off me. The chilled morning air slashed my skin. Our broken AC really did keep the room at either scorching or frost-bite temperatures.

"Ugh.. Why.."

"Since we work this way! No days off. 24/7, 365, sissy."

I couldn't even work up a response, so I just rolled the other way. I love her, but gosh sometimes I wish she could just let me sleep a bit longer.

After a mind-numbing amount of back and forth with my sister, I finally caved and went to go get ready. Putting up my hair into a ponytail and throwing on some dirty clothes, I walked with my arms crossed all the way to the garage.

Why must it be so damn cold? I rubbed my arms to warm myself a little.

My father and sister were both tampering with a barely-surviving bike that most definitely came from a scrapyard. Anything to get by right? Both of them were swimming in sweat, even in the freezing cold. Cramped between broken-down cars and motorcycles, my feet barely stepped into the little spaces. With that being the case, I didn't want to get in their way, so I took it upon myself to hand them the tools that they needed. I totally just didn't wanna do work and move around, totally not.

Landon didn't end up questioning my whereabouts, thank everything, and with that, a huge weight had been dragged off my chest. I know if I were to tell them about the bar gigs, they'd overreact like crazy. Even though I'm not biologically their child, they definitely still treat me as if I were one of their own. Which is amazing yet also terrible. Amazing since familial love is something I thought I'd never get. Terrible since they're always keeping tabs on every part of my life; a girl needs a bit of freedom. I should probably talk to them about this all one day, but today isn't that day.

While we were all cleaning and closing the garage for the night, I initiated my daily plan to get out of the house. I don't really have any friends so, I couldn't exactly say I'm gonna hang out with a friend or anything along those lines. Instead, I tell dad that I'd be going around doing community tasks. Many things in the Willowwood domain weren't exactly up to 'standard,' and that's wording it kindly. As a result, many store owners and community leaders put up tasks around the domain. Ranging from cleaning up litter to repairing old buildings. Sometimes they've even asked for people to take out criminals, which was generally quite dangerous since weapons are commonplace here; but the reward was always generous.

Money has always been tight here, and people would do just about anything to get their hands on some.

With all that said, dad, as usual, wasn't exactly pleased with my proposition. Though, after enough puppy dog eyes, he caved in. In all honesty, if it wasn't so dangerous to roam around the domain at night, he would probably just force me to do tasks every day; instead of reluctantly agreeing to me doing them every now and then. After we finished closing, I left to "complete some tasks." What I actually did was sneak into my room, through the windows outside of course, and just waited as quietly as I could.

As the hands on the clock approached nine p.m, I swung my guitar case across my back and gently opened my room window. I leaped out of it and kicked the lock back in place, gliding down to the lush green grass. The moonlight illuminated the dewdrops all around, along with the roaming fireflies. A warm breeze squared me right in the face, signaling to me that this was gonna be a great walk to the bar. I tried to keep my pace steady yet quick, so I wouldn't garner any unwanted attention.

"Here's to a good night," I said, with a subtle yet warm smile.

If I ever somehow got lost on the way to the bar, the drowsy smells of alcohol and sweat would lead me straight there. Even though this place was like my second home, the odor had never been a part of the family. I made my way inside and immediately noticed a bunch of unknown faces in the crowd. Which wasn't unusual, since this bar was located in a popular spot for travelers. Though I couldn't lie and say that I didn't miss the regulars, since I did. They always enjoyed my music and made sure to respect my personal space.

I looked to my right to see if Sil was working the counter, but I guess he's off today. The place is full of new people huh? I can feel my palms start to sweat and large lumps of saliva slide down my throat.

"The stage is ready for ya," the new barkeeper said.

Ready it was. The stage was empty, aside from the lone microphone standing there. The wide-open space was growing larger and larger by the second. All these new eyes were piercing into my skin; I couldn't help but shake a bit. I gently took out my guitar, snuggled up in its black leather case, and took my place on the center stage. The crowd quelled as my presence filled the space.

My fingers gently strummed against the strings, setting the melancholic tone for my performance. I keep my eyes closed and let my fingers do the motions they've practiced thousands of times. As I open my lips, I could feel a slight quiver in my throat. I took a deep breath and forget the lyrics I had prepared. Let's just make something off the cuff, shall we? I bring the microphone closer to my lips and pour my heart out, letting everything on my mind bounce around the walls.

Time flew by, but it really didn't register. My mind was locked, entranced by the music. This is the kind of trance I love being trapped in, just you and whatever you're passionate about. By the end of my performance, all I could register were screams and yells. To be quite honest, I'm really not sure if they liked it or not. Sure they're being loud but was it for the 'right' reasons? I took a deep bow anyways and exited the stage as gracefully as possible; which was hard to do when filled with adrenaline and dripping in sweat. Gosh, my back is so sticky with the guitar case on.

Before I could properly regain my composure, mobs of people started to swarm me. I'm barreling between so many strangers, and they all feel so... gross. I'm not used to this at all; the loud noises piercing my eardrums and everyone's gaze creating holes in my skin. I-I hate this. I don't know who's doing it, but I feel hands touching places on my body they really shouldn't be. I start pushing my way through the crowd, scrambling between moving people aside and keeping people's grimy hands off me. The further I go the more my heart is starting to feel like a ticking bomb.

I continued barreling through people like my life depended on it; holding back my surge of tears. I shove the last two people in my way aside, barely making it through the exit. Shit, I didn't even collect my pay. Whatever though, there's no time for that. All I know is that I need to get away from these people as fast as possible.

My legs kept moving as fast they could, for as long as my body could handle. I could feel my lungs starting to fiend for air. This isn't good, not at all. Surely I made a wide enough gap between myself and those people. Either way, I can't take much more. I leaned up against a tall tree, at the forefront of the ever-familiar forest. Trying to relax and compose myself, I close my eyes and start taking deep breaths. The sweat started to dry, and my heart slowly went back to its usual rhythm.

Though, before I could fully have some peace, the distant sound of feet stomping against the dirt jolted my senses. People were calling my name; I knew what that meant. My legs were so wobbly, there was no way I could run from them anymore. I stumbled my way into the forest as fast as possible, unable to pay attention to anything in vision. I think the people were far enough away though, no way they could hear my footsteps crashing against these brittle leaves.

My ankle connected with a twisted branch, breaking my balance. I crashed into the grass as my guitar case flew from my back. I couldn't even make any more sounds, just husky breaths. The earth felt still and calm, a great change of pace might I say. Though, the longer I lay here the more uncanny the forest started to feel. It felt like something was lurking in the darkness, yet at the same time; it also felt like nothing was there.

It was as if the darkness itself was what was lurking. Wisps of black fog slithered in the grass, carrying a frosty aura with them. I can't tell if this was real, or if I was stuck in a dream. The visibility of the forest started decreasing exponentially, not even the moonlight could pierce it anymore.

The wisps started wrapping around my ankles, draining the senses from them. It's such an unnatural feeling. It was like all the energy in my body was being siphoned away before my very eyes. Before I could move, everything was cocooned in the dark. The thumping of my heart echoed through this infinite void. All my senses were null, my body was asleep; yet my mind was fully conscious. I couldn't even move— or shut my eyes for that matter.

The only thing I could do was focus on the blackness ahead of me. Staring more and more, my brain was starting to lull to sleep. Before I could drift off, a gentle yet rough hand pressed against my cheek. Long hair, with glowing red eyes, a woman stood before me. She had short yet sharp horns protruding from the ends of her forehead. The region between them adorned with a crown of black thorns. It felt like I was in the presence of a queen.

"There's no need to be afraid... It's your lucky day after all."

"I wish you well, Voidwalker. The demons don't bite, usually." the woman said, in a silky yet commanding tone.

The words just went in and out of my ears. This had to be a dream right? I could tell she was serious, yet her words themselves couldn't process in my brain. My eyes felt like loose blinds, ready to shut and stay closed. Everything was growing bleak. I couldn't help myself, but drift off to sleep. When I woke up, the familiar feeling of grass poking my skin came to my attention first. Everything was the same, so was it all actually just a dream? The forest felt a lot more.. pure now though.

The darkness was gone, and there was no more fog. Moonlight bounced off my skin, and a faint blue glow surrounded the trees. I didn't even feel fatigued anymore. Which was odd. Even the time of day seemed not to have advanced.

"Something is very off..." I muttered.

I grabbed my guitar case and made my way towards the forest exit. The faint blue light started to bend and curve around the space; guiding my path forward. I didn't even think much of it; in fact, it felt normal. That can't be right. Was my mind still my own?

I still felt in control but... something else was pulling my thoughts. Trying to grapple with what's going on, I stumble out onto the dirt road. Mud and shadows were all I could see. The silhouettes of people. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew who was there. Eyes of a hundred, all focused on me.

I lift myself off the ground and was greeted by the crowd of people from the bar. Now, taking a closer look at them, they were much worse than I thought. I took a step back, almost falling over myself. The men all started grinning, exposing their rotten yellow teeth and horrid breath. Their mouths were moving, yet I couldn't hear a word.

All I could hear was deep growling, accompanied by sadistic giggling. Hissing, screeching, bellowing, all blending together. There was something else inside of me. I know it now... monsters, clawing at my soul to get out. Tears flowed from my eyes, I couldn't hold them back anymore. The dirty hands of all these men were in front of me; reaching out to grab my body.

I shut my eyes and whimper, unable to even let out a scream...

I was ready, ready to give in to death, or whatever fate had in store, but at that moment; the monsters inside suddenly became quiet. I didn't want to open my eyes. Screaming, bones shattering, profanities, and laughing... I kept my eyes closed.

Morbid curiosity eventually pried my eyes open, and a nightmare was all I could see.