Without a sound it came tiptoeing through the dark. Genevieve awoke with a start. She didn’t know who or what it was but it had been waking her up every night at 3 AM for three days now. She was getting desperate and rather cranky as well.

She didn’t feel like getting up. Instead she turned around and pulled the duvet over her ears muttering “go away I’m trying to sleep”. The something retreated into a corner and kept quiet. But Genevieve could still feel it’s presence in her room.

“I can’t sleep with you lurking in the corner over there. So either you figure out a way to say what you want or just leave because I’ve had it.”, she said. For a moment, it seemed like she could almost hear a whisper. Then the curtains fluttered and the room felt empty again.

Genevieve sighed. It would take her some time now to fall asleep. Genevieve tossed and turned until she had to go to the bathroom. On her way back she noticed a little bit of light coming from her living room. Which was odd since she hadn’t left any lights on.

She snuck up to the door which she had left slightly ajar and peered around it. There was a creature there that seemed to be made of light. It sat in the middle of the living room floor, staring at her bookcase. The creature wasn’t human and probably never was. She had seen human ghosts when she was young and unable to keep the visions at bay. She wondered what sort of creature this was and why it had come to see her.

‘Because around here you’re the only one who can see me.’ The words had formed inside her head as if the creature had rummaged through her mind and plucked the words it needed out of her memories to present them to her. It was an odd feeling.

“Get out of my head, I don’t want you here.”, she replied in a stern voice. The creature turned and nodded its head to her. “Sorry about that but I needed to borrow some of your words. I’ve never spoken this language before.” “What do you want? You can’t just steal stuff from inside people’s heads you know, it’s very rude.” Again the creature nodded.

“It’s the quickest way for me to learn though. I’m exploring your sphere and my time is limited.” A sudden pang behind her left temple was the first sign of an oncoming headache. Genevieve put it down to the sleep deprivation of the previous nights.

“Look it’s the middle of the night, do you have to do this investigating now? I’m sure it can wait till the morning or even you know the world’s a big place you could go explore someplace else?” “It’s easier to do this with someone who can see me. I’m sorry but you really are the only one for miles around.”

“Surely you can wait till tomorrow then? I say much more useful and intelligent things after I’ve had some sleep you know?” The headache was getting worse. It felt like the entire left side of her head was tearing itself apart. The creature ignored her plea and pushed on.

“What are the known dimensions of this universe?” It was hard to concentrate now and moving made her nauseous. It’d be better to stay put and answer the stupid questions. “Uhm, I don’t know, eh dimensions? I guess, time and space… Space has three dimensions so there’s four in all?” The room swam before her eyes and she clutched her stomach.

The creature stood impassively watching while Genevieve collapsed on the living room floor. It did nothing to stop her head from hitting the ground. A moan escaped the woman as her body shook on the floor. The parasite was glowing more intensely with the knowledge it had already stolen from Genevieve’s mind.

It tasted sweet and there was more. The creature started toward the helpless figure but as it reached out a hand to her something flashed and blocked it. The parasite frowned. It moved forward again only to be thrown back with force.

It landed hard on its behind. An angry hissing escaped the creatures mouth. Its colour shifted to a dark red while its hands turned into sharp claws. With a howl it leaped across the room claws poised to rend the shield protecting Genevieve.

A pair of luminescent eyes lit up in front of the parasite as it came down. There was a flash in the air and its claws connected with the blade of a sword. The creature screeched as its claws slipped and grazed along the sharp end of the blade. It could feel its enemy squatting before Genevieve as it crashed into it.

The two creatures fought in a tangle on the floor. When the parasite got away it detached itself from the universe. Standing between the spheres it drew itself up to its original height. From here it could see the guardian trying to block its path.

The creature pounced on Genevieve’s guardian. When the guardian saw the parasite coming, it planted one of its feet firmly next to Genevieve’s body. The guardian gave itself as much height as it could in this position and hacked at the enemy’s elbow.

A piercing cry rang through the spheres as the sword caught in the creature’s arm. The guardian sent lightning chasing along the blade of its sword sinking it deep into the parasite’s arm. The creature howled and pulled away. The guardian stood and made sure the parasite retreated into its own sphere before going back to tend to its charge.

Genevieve hovered between dreaming and waking when she saw a familiar face sitting down on the edge of her bed. ‘I tried to warn you but this dream business is harder than it looks. I’m sorry I couldn’t figure it out sooner but I went and told your guardian. Not that it needed telling but you know how I get. I suppose some things never change. You rest now. I’ll try to come along and have a chat when you’re feeling better.’

A presence left the room and Genevieve woke up wondering who she’d dreamt about. There was a card on her bedside table. She picked it up and saw it was the prayer card for her guardian angel. She always kept the card in her day planner there was no way it could’ve been here.