I can't understand why I'm reliving past realities through dreams. I assume they must mean something. The first, only gives me anxiety. Reliving the same moments over and over. 

The hot breath in my ear, whispering indistinguishably, gripping my shoulders so hard I can feel their nails pinching my skin. 

In a way, reliving this isn't strange. 

I'm stressed, my dreams reflect that. And to the extreme. 

But this recent one, doesn't make as much sense. 

I mull it over again and again. 

I wake up to a dog licking my face, I'm injured so I can't travel. I decide to stay in the area until Im better. The dog stays with me. After many days, I've taken care of myself and said dog, then I'm killed and the dog stays with me until I die. 

Why did this dream evoke such a feeling of unrest? Im missing something. 

My eyes open wide, my breath catches. 

The woman who killed me. 

She was exactly like the things terrorizing the people here. 

I don't know what this means, or what to do with the information. 

Even if I told anyone, what good would it do?

I begin to feel my self spiral, thoughts become more frantic, what if I'm the reason it's like this? Will I ever be safe? What is it like to feel that you aren't the sole cause of the earths problem?

My arm is holding Sebastian close, at some point in the night we had shifted so I was holding him to my chest. I let my fingers run up and down the length of his back as I stare at the ceiling of the car. 

~~~ 

I didn't ever fall back asleep. 

The next person to wake up is Jon. He sits up and glances over to us. But probably really Sebastian. 

He glares at me. Getting up he opens the door and slams it behind him. 

Everyone wakes up to the noise and the shaking of the car. 

"What the heck." Erin says yawning. Steph rolls her eyes. 

Sebastian sits up face red. 

"Sorry, you could have pushed me off of you." 

"No it's fine, pay back for the other night." I say, referring to when he held me after my nightmare. 

He smiles. Jon opens the door getting back into the drivers seat. 

"Are you guys ready to go? I don't want to make any more stops." 

We all make a sound of agreement. 

~~~~~

We drive for a few hours more, then we pull up to an old house. Still in good standing. The street has three others like it, and some more rundown. Seemly unusable.

Jon parks, as he does woman about Haileys age comes out of the house. She's got short blonde hair, pushed back with a red bandana. 

We all climb out of the car, ready to greet her. I stand behind everyone. 

"Hello ladies," she says hugging Steph and Erin. "Sebastian it's so good to see you." She says making her way to him. She takes him into her arms. Not noticing me til she is holding Sebastian. 

Startled, she gasps and giggles in embarrassment for not noticing me sooner. 

"Oh dear. I'm sorry for not seeing you there. I'm Amber what's your name?" She introduces herself, holding out a hand. Grabbing it I shake her hand firmly. 

"I'm October." I say. She smiles, letting go of my hand. 

"What a lovely name." She says. She squints, not in an unkind manner, more curious. "Where are you from?" 

I clam up instantly, unsure what to say. Luckily Sebastian senses my discomfort. 

"He's from here, we've told you about him. He lived with us for a while but left suddenly." 

She didn't seem convinced but didn't push the matter anymore. 

I feel like she is looking into my soul, like she can see every single memory, every thing I've forgotten. She gives me a feeling of unease. 

"Well, dinner is about to be ready. Come inside." She says leading us in. 

We follow her through her home. Busy, but still clean and properly managed. 

"Where did Jon go?" I ask, noticing he had been gone since we got here. 

"He went to trade the items we needed and get the car fixed." Erin said quietly. 

I couldn't tell if she was being quiet out of politeness or fear of Amber. 

We sat at a large table. Half of the seats unusable because of how many seats there were, and how many people there were. A seat next to me was left empty for Jon.  

Before anyone of us could start eating Amber asks that we pray. We begin to do such, but as we now our heads, Jon bursts in. He's sweaty and panting. 

"Don't take any food or anything like that from her." He said. Hands on his knees he kept eye contact with Amber. Glaring at her hard.