Ellette found it nearly impossible to sleep that night; tossing and turning when her normally vivid and lifelike dreams failed to come. She could partially blame that on the fact that she really didn't want them to. Finally, she sat up on the pull-out couch where she slept, the shadows hanging across the room like dark, gauzy veils, and listened to the night. Somewhere in the distance, a car alarm was sounding, a dull background sound that blended with the chirping of crickets. Closer was the soft rumble of the occasional car and the buzz of the neon lights.

Bits of conversations and laughter drifted through the walls from the apartments around her as well as from the street below. In his room, she could hear Rand moving in his sleep and the soft rhythm of his breathing. Above something thudded and laughter followed the sound. Ellette wrapped her arms around her legs, unable to block out the sounds, but not exactly sure how much she really wanted to. A TV droned next door, and some cats engaged in a duel in the alley.

She got up, the cot springs voicing their protest, and stared at the apartment around her, transformed by the night. The shadows seemed to pull at her, rousing childhood fears and nightmares in their depths. Warily she moved through the shadow-filled room to the sliding door of the small balcony. The scraping sound of the door as she slid it open seemed to echo through her head, a sound that didn't fit in the dream-like setting. She stepped outside, the heavy night air pressing around her. She stared out at the once man-made world of Old Town. Her heart fluttered in her chest, like a bird trying to escape. She longed for something, something more. The wilds of the night and this ancient part of the city reclaimed by wilderness held that something.

"Ellette?" Rand's inquiring voice shattered the tranquility. She turned slowly as if the air had thickened to a restrictive gel. He stood in the dark room, his face eerily obscured by shadows. A cool wind rose up behind her, causing the hair on her arms to rise and the curtain she could not remember being there before, to flutter. She opened her mouth to explain that she just couldn't sleep, but it just fell open once Rand stepped into the light.

She failed to hold back her cry of horror and despair as she saw all his scars once again open and oozing, his fingers broken and disfigured. His face was bloodied and bruised, just as it had been that night long ago when he'd been attacked. Only this time there was no life left in his eyes, they stared lifelessly past her, and she backed away. His body like a puppet on strings, limp and inanimate, yet still moving, imitating life.

She knew there was nothing she could do for him this time. She felt hot tears of both grief and terror burning trails down her cheeks and backed away once more. The balcony railing stopped short her retreat. She glanced briefly at the street below and the world began to shake. The creature that had once been Rand called her name again through his rotting lifeless lips. She screamed again, her heart thumping wildly and tears streaming down her face. "Ellette... Ellette..."