I was enjoying a deep dreamless sleep when my body lurched awake. I couldn't say why I woke up, but I knew it was sudden. It was still dark outside, and even darker still in the living room, now the window was boarded up. I looked around me, trying to figure out why I'd stirred.

My eyes took a while to adjust to the dark, but as they did, I saw everything was exactly as I'd left it. From the scattered cushions to the discarded wine bottle.

I thought maybe Nightmare had made a noise when she returned, but I could see her curled up on the opposite end of the sofa. From the slow rhythmic sound of her breath, she was sleeping, and she had been for a while.

I knew I should get up off the sofa and go to my bed, but my heavy lids and foggy head thought otherwise. Instead, I grabbed one of the discarded cushions and shoved it under my head, feeling the soft velvet caress my cheek as I let myself drift back to sleep.

I was halfway to Dream Town when something stopped me. A niggling voice in the back of my mind that told me to wake up and pay attention.

Above the soft rush of city traffic in the distance, I could hear the faint rumble of a car outside in the back lane. If it was any other night, I might not have thought much of it, but the residual uneasiness from the burglary and Book Boy meant the anomaly piqued my interest. No one really drove down there except for the bin men, or the odd van when people were moving.

Heaving myself up from the sofa, I headed towards the spare bedroom beside the living room. It was a dumping ground for all the things I had no place for in the rest of the flat, so I rarely spent any time in it. Despite its diminutive size, it had a wonderfully large sash window, like the one that had been smashed in the living room. It was the ideal place to spy from now as it looked out onto the yard.

From my position behind the cheap voile curtains, I had a perfect view of the steps that ran along the back wall of the yard and up to Book Boy's balcony. I saw the white glow of headlights bouncing off the back lane behind the gate.

The soft slam of a car door sounded through the sleepy silence outside. I stood as still as I could as I saw Book Boy's back gate open. The fence that divided our two yards was just low enough for me to see two figures enter.

I watched silently as a petite blonde girl walked side by side with a taller man. I could hardly see them through the fence, but from the way his head lolled to the side, I guessed they'd gotten a taxi back from a night out. Too drunk to face the walk back.

I hadn't seen what Olivia looked like, but Gina had said she was blonde and good looking, so my eyes followed their figures as they headed towards the metal stairs. Whether it was the influence of the robbery or the confrontation I'd had with Book Boy, I was curious to see what she looked like.

They had their backs to me as they started to climb up the metal stairs. The guy had cropped hair, almost sandy blonde, although it was hard to tell in the moonlight. He was obviously drunk because his head drooped forward.

Even without seeing her face, I could tell Olivia was just as beautiful as Gina had insinuated. Shiny blonde curls bounced at her shoulders as she climbed the steps with grace. Despite the brute hanging off her, she maintained a perfect posture with long lithe legs taking sure and steady steps.

At first, I thought they were walking up together, but as they got higher, I could see Olivia was carrying the man up the stairs. Her arms were wrapped under his shoulders as he slumped against her. He was several inches taller than her and built like a rugby player with broad shoulders and thick thighs. Yet, she was carrying him up the stairs as if he was as light as a feather. His feet trailed limply against the steps.

A primordial fear stirred in my stomach. The kind of reaction that was fuelled by instinct more than logic.

I stared intently as they reached the top of the stairs, unable to pull my eyes away from the unnatural sight. She propped the man against the railings for a moment. His body slouched like a discarded rag doll.

I squinted as I tried to make out his face through the metal railings and dim lighting. For a fleeting second the cloud cover shifted, and moonlight filtered down. The silvery light pooled over his limp body. He had a thick well-kept beard, sandy blonde like his hair, and a strong square jaw. I glanced at his eyes, expecting to find them closed in drunken stupor.

They weren't, instead they stared at me, glassy and vacant.

My breathing hitched. Now he was illuminated by the moonlight, I could see how his mouth hung open. His jaw slack and lifeless.

Mesmerised by the frightening sight before me, I was too slow to react when Olivia bent down to pick the man up. Her head turned, but my joints were too stiff with fear to move. Pale eyes slid towards me, flashing with something deadly as they met my own. I felt my blood start to race.

We stared at each other for just a second before she looked away and hauled the man into her grasp, dragging his lifeless body out of view.

As soon as she was out of sight, I felt my body start to react to the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I stumbled from the spare room and rushed through to the living room to get to my phone.

My fingers fumbled as I tried to type in the passcode. On the third try, I managed to stem the shaking enough to get it right. Without a second thought, I dialled 999 with jittering fingers.

A light breeze fluttered my hair. The sensitive skin on the back of my neck bristled and the hairs there stood on end. A reflexive shiver ran down my spine. I spun, my phone in my hand as the dial tone sounded into the silence.

I gasped as I saw her standing before me. Her face was just a stunning as I thought it would be. Large wide eyes looked at me as pouty plush lips dropped open. She looked the picture of innocence with her cherubic blond curls and delicate frame.

"Get away from me," I stuttered, swallowing the fear in my throat.

She inched towards me. "I can explain," she cooed in a sweet endearing voice. Nightmare hissed viciously behind me. In the back of my mind I hoped she'd escape before Olivia finished with me. I hated the thought of her getting hurt.

"Did you kill him?"

Olivia said nothing.

"Are you going to kill me?" I stammered.

"I won't hurt you, Anna." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. They were void of all emotion.

In a motion faster than I could see, she grabbed the phone from my hand and cancelled the call before it could connect.

"Don't touch me," I seethed, fear turning to foolish fury.

The smile dropped from her face, leaving it a perfect porcelain mask. With her curls, and round prominent cheekbones, she looked like one of the china dolls my grandma used to collect. Pretty but terrifying in equal measure.

Before I could shout or run, her hands rested flat on either side of my face. Her skin was burning hot against my own. I tried to move, to get out of her grasp, but she was too strong. Inhumanly powerful.

I whimpered as her strange empty eyes stared into mine. I felt myself getting drawn into their gaze. Falling deeper and deeper into their endless stare. After a timeless moment, nothing else existed. All I could see was those strange silvery green eyes.

And then nothing.

No moonlight.

No unsettling stare.

Just an endless dark abyss.