She was rubbing again. She pushed against her eyes with the heels of her hands, trying to erase the images. But the flashes of light only reminded her of the fires and the grass. The fear when she forced it to grow. The pain when it started to burn.
The peace when it died and knew that such a thing was meant to be.
She shivered and got up. Her parents kept melatonin pills in the medicine cabinet, and even though they weren't home, Allison knew they wouldn't mind if she took a few. She wasn't getting anywhere awake; she needed to sleep the whole thing off. The last thing she wanted to remember was the chill serenity of death.
__________
Allison was woken from the terrifying tranquility of her nightmare by her plants.
She could feel them in their pots around her room, where they'd been resting until only moments before. Now they were uneasy, almost agitated. Something was wrong.
...strangers in the garden...
...many quiet strangers...
...tender must run, must flee the strangers...
Allison frowned, still sleepy. Tender? Did they mean her? What did they mean by strangers? And why could she hear them without trying, let alone in her sleep?
She got at least one answer when white-robed men opened her door and ran to her bed. Allison tried to get away, but the melatonin slowed her down and let them catch her easily. The plants in her room started to go beserk, bursting out of their pots and grabbing attackers with stalk and root alike. The men paid the plants no mind, stifling Allison's yells with a strip of cloth. They tried to tie her up, but the rope was made of some sort of natural fiber and writhed out of their hands. The cotton cloth untied itself and Allison yelled, "Who are you people?"
Something dark jumped into her room and slashed at the closest assailant. It moved in a blur, attacking the attackers and forcing them to flee. The last one it simply held, then let fall to the floor. It turned and looked at Allison. "Are you okay?"
Allison frowned. She knew that voice. "I'm fine."
Screams erupted across the street, making the rescuer swear and jump out the window. The moment she left Allison lunged for her cellphone. Tristan needed to know.
