Eli's eyes flashed open quickly, his breath catching as the screams from his dream faded from his ears. Silence enveloped him, his eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness around him. What bit of moonlight that shone through his window illuminated the single bed, chair, and wardrobe inside. He wiped sweat off his feverish forehead and sat up.
The same dream again..
The dream was already fading, details becoming too blurry to accurately recall. It left only a feeling of familiarity. A dream he had had for months now. He threw the thin covers off of his body and got up, searching for his discarded shirt somewhere on the floor. Once he found it, he pulled it on and stared out of his window.
Through the dusty glass he saw the church beyond. The wood and stone structure wasn't grand, but it was still beautiful. The courtyard between the orphanage and church was full of luscious trees, just beginning to change color with the early fall. Gentle rustling through the leaves made the moonlight shimmer back and forth across Elis face and room.
"How long has it been..?" He thought, remembering vaguely when he had first came to the orphanage so many years ago. After wiping the rest of the sweat from his face, Eli decided to take a walk, hoping the cool night air could calm his burning skin.
A sigh of relief escaped from Eli as he stepped outside. The breeze blew his long hair around his face, some strands sticking to his sweat glazed skin. He looked up as he walked, seeing the stars and sparse clouds in the sky. A beautiful night.
He was still jumbled from his nightmare. The details always became fuzzy after he awoke, but after having the same dream so many times in a row, he was able to remember small pieces. Small feelings.
Flames. Burning everywhere.
Screaming. So much screaming.
The smell of burning.
How long has it been since these dreams started? Two, Three months? The dreams always left Eli feeling shaken.
He sat there in silence for a while, finally letting his mind clear out into nothing. He almost began to doze off outside, when a soft thunk from the church made him jump.
Its too early for father to be there..
He got up, peeking around the last of the courtyards trees before the churches side entrance. The door was slightly open.
Someone was inside.
He Crept closer, looking around just in case it was an armed intruder trying to rob the church. Maybe they had an accomplice? Eli shuddered, and slowly creaked open the door, slipping quietly inside. It was darker in here, not as much moonlight coming in to the stained glass windows. Crouching down, around the corner he saw a faint candle light flickering near the alter. He took a deep breath in and continued to creep into a row of pews, trying his best to stay out of sight of whoever may be inside.
He looked over the top of the pew in front of him for a second, seeing the lone candle that was lit. It sat in a holder next to the alter, no one else in sight. He listened hard, not hearing anyone or anything else inside. Only his own heartbeat and silent quick breaths.
As he neared the end of the row, he mentally began to prepare himself to attack whoever had came inside, not confident in his own strength to take down any intruder.
Suddenly, Eli heard the wind outside pick up, slamming the side door shut with a loud Bang, making him jump up. The candle light blew out, leaving him in near pitch black darkness. He braced himself and began to run out into the middle aisle, his eyes not having time to adjust to the darkness before he ran into a hard object. Not any object. No, a hard, much taller object.
A person!
The silence in the church began ringing out with the screams of not just Eli, but the bigger person he ran into! The intruder who broke into the church!
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