Leila sighed, turning off her lamp. The Dolphin Shifter knew tonight would be one of those Nightmare-filled nights, as her boyfriend wasn’t with her. It was a bit odd, but every time she was sleeping with Sam, her nightmares would disappear, replaced with blackness, that was sometimes, as scary as the dreams. She could sleep through the blackness though, without waking up.

She yawned, and snuggled in her bed, watching the dots in the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. It didn’t take long, ten minutes and she was passed out, moving recklessly, Nightmares already starting. Why did it have to haunt her? Why couldn’t she just get over what had happened so many years ago?

***

The sun was shinning in Paris France, with the Eiffel Tower rising above them, just a few miles away. The young Leila was smiling all over, her mother tagging along as the two blonde girls roamed the busy streets of this wonderful French City. “So, what do we do first?” Mrs. Harte asked, as Leila turned around, about to ask the same thing. She bit her lip for a second, “We could go do some shopping, then visit the Museum. They have fabulous art work there! Then, we can go to that nice little Café downtown…” her mother was laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Leila asked, her lips forming a nice little, irresistible pout. “You have the whole day planned out don’t you?” Mrs. Harte grinned, unaware that this day would be cut very short. In the shadows of a building nearby, stood two cloaked men, waiting to pounce, just like Wildcats. “Well, we need to do everything in two days! Why can’t daddy stay in France for a little while longer? J’adore ça ici!” she said, laughing.

“Okay, let’s go to the Boutique on the other side of the road. We’ll start with some shopping, and see where the day takes us.” her mother said, and the two started walking again, arm in arm. “I wish we could stay, where do you think Dad’s taking us after this part of the Tour? Do you think he’ll go to Rome? I always wanted to go there. Or Egypt, that place seems really great!” she laughed again.

The entire street seemed to be in slow motion as the two men walked out of their hiding place and grabbed Leila and her mother. “NO! Leave me alone!” Leila yelled, as her mother did the same. She aimed a kick at the man’s stomach, but he squeezed her tightly, cutting her airways. “Don’t…” she breathed, but the young fifteen year-old was unconscious already.

Leila’s breath was ragged, and there was an odd, hospital-like sent in the air. Had the scary dark men been caught? Was she in the Hospital because of what they’d done? At the sound of her mother’s screams, Leila’s eyes snapped open. Oh no, they were in some kind of dark Laboratory. In that same instance, Leila realized she had tubes in her body, and an IV stuck on her arm.

Great, this was just great. She couldn’t move and her mother was screaming on the other side of the room. Her teary eyes got used to the lack of lighting, and she screamed a loud, terrified scream of pain. Someone had just hit her in the ribs and she couldn’t breathe.

“MOM!” she yelled, as her other screamed once more. She tried breathing normally; even with the pain this did to her. “Don’t hurt my mother! You guys are freaks! OW!” a second blow at her ribs was sent her way, and she began crying. “Mo…Mom!” Leila cried out. “Honey, honey I’m okay! Be careful, don’t let them hurt you…” she drifted off, and Leila’s heart crashed in her stomach. No!

“It’s your turn girlie.” a dark, slightly familiar voice said in her ear. Leila was down right terrified, what was he going to do to her? She heard her mother yell out in pain again, but she didn’t have time to do anything, she was being held down on the table, a huge needle was sinking in her body. She gasped, and fell silent, her body was limp.

It was like a dream, she was burning inside. It all started from her heart, and went throughout her body, burning it. Was she being burnt alive? It was as if her entire body was on fire. She remembered vividly her mother, and the screams. A lot of screaming, was she alright? Where was she? Leila tried getting up, but a weight kept her down on the stone floor. Where was she?

She couldn’t even open her eyes, the fire was burning her, and the weight was unbearable. She had to give up; there was no way she could do this. She was dead anyway, burning. She was in Hell, that’s why there was so much heat. She was already dead; the bad men had killed her. She screamed, the pain had just gotten twice as intense, and her spin seemed to have broken in half.

‘What a great trip!’ she thought sarcastically, and then she screamed again. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t dead, but she knew she was very well on her way. What about her mother though?! “MOM!” she was able to yell out again. “I’m here…Hun…I’m here.” her mother’s voice was faint, was she dying also? She was definitely crying, could she hear her daughter screaming?

Leila’s stomach twisted, bringing a new kind of pain. It wasn’t only the pain of the liquid that was swimming in her veins anymore. Now she felt sick, hurt. Her mother was watching her dying. Leila sobbed, “Mom I’m sorry. It’s all my fault...” she screamed again, trying to ease the pain, “…We should of stayed at the Hotel… Do our Nails like you wanted to do.” she felt so dizzy now, her head throbbing painfully… A few seconds later, she was unconscious again.

Screams again. They weren’t her own though, not this time. Leila’s eyes snapped open, the burning feeling was gone, but the pain in her ribs was making her eyes water. Not only that, but she could feel some very uncomfortable tingling in her body. The poison, had it not worked? Why was she still alive? Screaming, her mother was in pain! Leila gasped, her mother was close. She was right beside her. Leila tried to pull herself up in a sitting position; there was no one else but them in the cell.

“Mom, mom!” Leila cried softly. “Mom wake up, please wake up! It’s okay… You’ll be fine..” she drifted off, as the woman opened her eyes, trying to make words come out of her mouth. “Promise me…” she whispered, her tone pained, barely more then a whisper. “Mom…” Leila sobbed. “Promise me you’ll try your best to get out of here.” Leila started crying, tears falling down on her mother’s face. “I promise, I’ll bring us both out safely.” she said. Her mother shook her head. No…. You’ll be coming with me.” Leila cried.

“I’m sorry honey, but I don’t think I’ll……” she closed her eyes again, and Leila did the same, taking her mother by the hand. “It’ll be okay.” she whispered, trying to convince herself as much as trhe dying woman before her. No, she couldn’t be dying. Leila should be the one to die, not her mother. “Are you with me?” she asked, and her mother nodded. Leila tilted her head, squeezing her mother’s hand tightly. “Stay…” she breathed.

How long had Leila been sitting there, holding her mother’s hand? She did not know, but really, she did not care. “Stay with me Mom…” she kept saying every time her mother would stop breathing, or make a sudden movement. “You’ll be okay. We’ll get out one way or an other.” she let the tears fall down on her face as the minutes ticked by, this couldn’t be happening.

The two men made a lot of noise when they entered the room again. “Ah, you’re awake. Good, we have a little surprise for you missy.” the man that had punched her in the ribs earlier was saying. The other man held something in his hands, Leila couldn’t quite tell what, but she didn’t care. “Why are you doing this?!” she yelled, right at the men.

They didn’t answer; instead, they opened the Cell and tugged Mrs. Harte out. “Don’t do anything to her or I’ll—“ Leila screamed, but the men simply laughed. “You’ll what? Scratch us with your manicured nails?” the men chucked evilly and Leila gritted her teeth together, they were really pushing it now, Leila knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight. It would be for her mother, she’d fight hard for her mother.

Her mother was strong, Leila knew that. What would they do though? What was that thing the other mysterious man was holding? “Remember Leila, get out of here safely.” her mother whispered, and the men chuckled even more. “She’ll never get out of here woman! I’m doing this for a reason, I don’t usually torture and Mutate woman for fun.” the man said, his voice strong and dark.

Leila imagined this man with scars all over, and some red eyes. He seemed so cartoon-like in her head, that it was odd thinking this was all real. And what had he said? Mutate? Leila couldn’t think much of it however, because her mother had started screaming again. Leila sobbed, “No!” she yelled, but her voice was weak and strangled.

“What did you say girlie? You want more?” the man said, chuckling as he stabbed the woman before him once more. Leila closed her eyes, ‘I’ll het us both out safely.” she’d promised. She would keep that promise. Leila couldn’t see what her mother was doing now, tears had blurred her vision. All she knew was that this wasn’t looking too good. She’d broken her promise, neither would get out of here alive.

“Why are you doing this?” Leila got the courage to ask, her voice as steady as possible. “We told you, we are working on Mutating woman to build an Army. You both were the first, just to test out how this will work. Fun, isn’t it?” the man said. Leila’s teeth gritted together again, “Not exactly my idea of fun.” she hissed.

She got up from the floor and watched as the men laughed still, not paying any attention to her. She launched herself after the man that had so brutally hurt her, and punched him in the face, only to notice the bullet passing in front of her. “NO!” she yelled as her mother screamed once, and fell silent. “You. Killed. My. Mother!” she yelled angrily, her throat aching as she tried to repress the melt down. She aimed an other harsh punch, right in the man’s private part.

Leila heard the bullet whipping at her head, missing by a few inches. The man she’d punched had stumbled to the ground, and now, she was facing the other man, the other man who needed to pay for what he’d done. Leila had no idea who this bastard was, but she didn’t want to find out, nor did she really care. Ignoring the gun that was aimed at her chest, she pounced on him, kicking and punching whatever flesh she could find.

The man simply laughed. Why was he laughing? Leila hoped she was doing enough damage, but why was he laughing? She kicked him as hard as she could, but he did not stop, even after he hit the floor. “What’s so funny?” she snarled, slightly frightened by the way she sounded. The man looked at her, and Leila wished she could see his eyes, see what was below that hood.

She grabbed the gun from the man’s limp hand and aimed it had his head. Could she really kill him? Even after what he’d done? Leila really wasn’t certain, she wasn’t a Murderer, she wasn’t evil. Even after all of this, she didn’t want to be known as a killer… She wasn’t like that. She dropped the gun to the ground, sighing as the tears fell. “I’m not a killer,” she whispered, her voice strange and broken.

“I’m not a killer, but you don’t deserve to live.” she crashed to the floor, not even aware that she was crying like she’d never cried before, the pain, the heat. She didn’t even realize that the man was hugging her tightly against him.

“Go kid!” the man hissed. Leila found the voice slightly familiar, just like the other one had been. She looked from the cloaked man’s silhouette backing away, to the unconscious body on the floor. She lowered her head and then looked at the final body, the one she didn’t want to see there. Her own mother’s motionless body was sweaty and cold. “I can’t believe this.” she whispered. “My mother’s dead…” she drifted off, fresh tears invading her vision.

She walked towards a hole on the ground, not exactly sure what she was doing now. Her mind seemed to be acting of its own accord somehow. She jumped in, and the pain she felt as her body contracted was total hell. Torture almost as bad as everything she’d went through in the past…day, week? “What’s happening to me?” she cried out, as she took the appearance of a glorious Dolphin.

***

“NO!” she yelled, sitting upright on her bed. She looked at her Alarm Clock, 2:54. She’d been sleeping for nearly half an hour. Only half an hour of sleep, really? She felt the tears coming, and the young blonde buried herself in her pillows, crying herself back to sleep. When would the nightmares end? This one had been so vivid, so real… The worse one she’d ever had.