She was standing in the middle of a ring of trees. Oak, Texas Ash and black cherry trees towering all around her. It was night, everything dark except the light of a campfire. She could smell the smoke mixed with the wet earth at her feet. A young woman, no older than herself was hunched over something, whispering. Her back was to her, her long brown hair covering her face. Taya took a step forward, carefully. The young woman had stopped her chanting and slowly, sat up straight before turning around to face her. Her skin was pale, brown eyes narrowed to slits, her mouth open and teeth clenched like an angry dog. Taya backed away and turned around to run. An all too familiar figure appeared before her, pitch black with only hollow white eyes staring at her.

       She felt a sob rise up in her throat as the shadow placed his cold hands on her shoulders, the cold going down her arms to her legs and up to her neck. The tears threatened to spill over. No necklace to help her. Unexpectedly, a pair of warm hands grasped her shoulders.

       “Taya.” The girl whispered pitifully from behind her.

       Trisha...

       Taya woke with a gasp. She turned on her bedside lamp so quickly she almost knocked it over. Everything in her room was still and normal. From her window, she could see the orange rays of sunlight from the coming dawn. Too shaken from the dream Taya got up and headed to the kitchen to make herself some coffee. It had been that same dream. The same one, every night for the last four days. It wasn't like any dream she'd had before. It felt almost as if she was there, seeing it happen. She turned on the lights in the hallway as she moved, uncomfortable in the darkness. It was Friday and with the Astronomy Lab and its Lecture Hall closed off to students and faculty she had nowhere to be today. Switching on the coffee maker, she wondered what it meant.

       She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Trisha. This nightmare was disturbing, like something out of a horror movie. Bad enough she could still see that thing when she closed her eyes. Now she could see it when she went to sleep. Dreams like these mean something. What it could mean troubled her. The shadow, these dreams, and Trisha. Taya knew, deep in her bones, that Trisha and this thing were connected.

       "You're up early." Her father said as he stepped into the kitchen, already dressed.

       "I went to bed early." Was her answer. "Where are you going at this ungodly hour?"

       Her dad walked over to the fridge. "I'm meeting a Detective Lokki today. We're going over the...incident." He closed the fridge door, a pint of yogurt in hand. The coffee maker beeped, signaling it was done. Taya went to the cupboard to grab some mugs.

       "Do you need me to come in with you?" She asked, pouring herself a large cup. Caffeine, every college girl's best friend. She poured a cup for her dad. He took it gratefully, putting a generous amount of creamer in it.

       "Thanks, Cielo. No, there’s no need today but she will come back later to speak with and your friends." Her dad explained. "We still don't know when you'll be allowed back in the StarLab.”

       Thinking about the Star Lab made Taya's stomach churn. They would have to re-open the lab again sooner or later. Taya realized, to her horror, that Henry would go back to that place where that shadow thing was. He was stubborn. Even after everything, they went through he refused to believe it was a ghost. He’d go back to the Star Lab as soon as he was allowed to and he'd be easy prey for that thing. Taya wouldn't go back there, not after everything that happened.

       Her dad put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “You are safe, cielo. I promise.”

       I’m safe. She assured herself, leaning into her father’s protective hug. Her dad was here, her mom would be home in a few days and she could tell her everything. For now, all she could do was wait.