Again Eric awoke, his body drenched in sweat as he sat up in his bed, “Mother” he whispered the only thing he could remember about the dream, nightmare or whatever it was. Taking deep breathes to calm himself he looked at the clock like he always does when he wakes up like this, to his surprise he saw that it had just turned 00:01am, he had only been asleep a few hours and already he was wide awake.

The dreams were coming more often now, and with them the feeling of dread that he just couldn’t shake. Eric looked over at Drew and saw him asleep, his face peaceful with a dopey smile plastered across it, he couldn’t help but smile slightly at the sight; at least one of them had good dreams. Eric let his eyes travel to the cards laying on Drew’s bed, he must have fallen asleep before he could clean up their game of go fish. Drew often asked him to play a few rounds with him before bed so Eric indulged him those few rounds, truth is it helped him take his mind off of which ever nightmare would plague him that night.

Not wanting to wake Drew up Eric laid back down hoping to fall back asleep though somehow he knew that he wouldn’t be able to, because he was afraid of what he might see next. Every few minutes his eyes would travel back to the clock on the wall and every few minutes he would sigh when he saw that it had only been a few minutes. After what felt like the hundredth time Eric looked at the clock again, it now read 01:34am and once again he sighed, turning onto his side he tried to fall back asleep again but a while later he turns back around and looks at the clock, 02:54am and finally he couldn’t take it anymore and got out of bed making sure to not make any noise as he tiptoed out of his shared room and through the orphanage to the front door making sure to grab some clothes and shoes along the way.

The orphanage wasn’t too big but big enough for them to still have room left after they had taken up so much already; standing three floors high and rumored by the kids to have a floor or two below too it wasn’t small either. Hayden had given him and Drew the large room on the first floor closest to the front door so that they wouldn’t wake anyone else up if they wanted to go for an early morning run. Drew could also have gotten his own room with how many empty ones there was on the first floor alone but he had decided to share with Eric to be close in case he was needed, never mind the empty room they shared their bathroom with.

Once outside in the spring air Eric felt himself relax slightly, he sits down on the bench by the door and stares out at the night. Everything was quiet and peaceful as he sat there, and once he had relaxed a bit he felt that uneasy feeling he had felt all day yesterday, the feeling that not all was right, the feeling that told him that something was coming, that something very bad was about to happen. He shivered and felt goose bumps make their way up his arms which he rubbed to try and ease the feeling and warm the slight chill that crept from the morning air.

“Couldn’t sleep again” Eric heard Hayden’s gentle voice say next to him, again she had startled him out of his thoughts and once again like always he didn’t hear or feel her coming. Eric nodded without looking at the young woman, “Want me to make you some tea?” Hayden asked but a shake of the head answered her question, “Want some company?” she asked again but once again she didn’t get any words but only a nod, she sighed before sitting down.

She was also fully dressed, and Eric would have thought that she didn’t go to sleep at all if she hadn’t been wearing different clothes. Hayden had always been a mystery to him, the young woman never giving away more than she needed to, to gain their trust and, then there were the paintings and pictures of the caretakers that came before her that hung in her study that all resembled her.

The first day that he could remember coming here she had taken him there to talk to him, and he could still remember how frightened he was at being in that room with the old dark door. He had been in there a few times after and still been frightened, there was just something about that room and the other door like the one leading into it that made him feel uneasy; he wasn’t the only one either, all of the kids were afraid of the “haunted room” as they had begun to call it.

The two sat in silence for a long while, it had been years since Eric had really talked to anyone other than Drew or Maddie, and Hayden knew not to push him too much because she more than anyone else knew what the boy had been through to make him like he is now. It wasn’t long before Eric nodded off and leaned against her shoulder as he slept, Hayden smiled at the boy but then she remembered what the boy would endure in his future and the smile faded, she turned her gaze away from him and looked up at the moon which shone bright red, the fact that it was red could only be seen by those with witch blood, “Blood sees blood” she said into the night air with an ominous voice which made the wind stir in the trees.

Eric woke up outside, he found himself on one of the benches that stood on the front porch with a blanket over him and a pillow under his head, he looked around and saw the sun out and Hayden nowhere to be found, but the sound of chatter from the dining room past the front door which was open told him that it was already breakfast time. When Eric walked into the dining room only Drew and Maddie looked up at him, the two showing their worry for him before making room for him to sit and eat and when he saw that they had saved him a plate he smiled a small smile.

He didn’t join in on the conversation of the morning, not that he ever really talked when others were near enough to hear but he always listened in to what the others were talking about. Today’s topic was about asking Hayden if they could go see a new movie that came out, so Eric mostly tuned them out in favour of eating his breakfast so that he could go about his day.

After breakfast Eric went straight to his shared room to shower away the smell of dried sweat, by the time he came out he heard Drew saying to Maddie “We’re going to have guy talk right now so you can’t be here” before he closed the door and locked it, the boy giving him a playful smile when he saw Eric looking at him. “So, how are you feeling today?” the boy asked to divert attention away from himself and how uncomfortable he was becoming.

Eric gave his friend a weak smile, “Better” he said as he made his way over to the mirror to check on his unwanted tattoo while Maddie was muttering from the other side of the door about boys and their rudeness. He got his answer that he was going to check on just as he turned around and his bare back was exposed to Drew when the boy exclaimed, “It’s gone!” when he heard those words he hurried over to the mirror and turned to look at his shoulder and sure enough the thorny vine mark was gone and only his smooth skin was left where it had been.

The boys locked eyes in the mirror and they could both see that they were thinking the same thing, “How?” but neither could bring themselves to ask the question. Eric thought that he saw something else besides relieve cross over his best friends features but the banging at the door and the yelling shook him out of those thoughts, “Are you two okay in there? I heard you shout, open the door or I’ll break it open and you…” they tuned her out but Drew sighed and with one final look at his friend in the mirror he turned towards the door to console their other friend; that last look had shown the same emotion that Eric couldn’t place or understand but like before he didn’t dwell on it for too long. Something told him that that look was going to be the cause of something soon, and it scared him a little to think about what just that one look could bring.

As Drew left the room to talk to Maddie Eric turned back to the mirror to give his shoulder one last look, the tattoo was still gone, but Eric couldn’t help but feel that it would be back and that it was tied to the bad feeling he has had these last few days. Shaking the thoughts from his head and taking a deep breath to steady his worrying heart he continues to get dressed and ready for the day ahead.