Shivers

Pitch-black nothingness surrounded her; not even the slightest glimmer of light could reach her wide-eyed gaze. Her hand reached up, desperate to touch something, to feel anything that would tell her where she was. But all she felt was air. Her heart rate threatened to spike, but she forced it to calm down. She lifted her leg to take a step forward, but her foot wouldn’t move off the ground. Frowning she tried again, but she couldn’t budge. Then she felt it, something cold and confining slowly crawling up her calves, past her knees, over her hips. Her entire body was being engulfed by what felt like a thick, icy glue.

Her hands swatted around her, but her fingers grazed nothing other than air even as the sensation crept higher. It reached her heart, and she swore she could feel her pulse stop. The air in her lungs hardened, and she gasped for breath. She wanted to hyperventilate, tremble, scream – but she couldn’t. Every muscle and every fibre had become solid as stone.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as her mind fogged over and consciousness slipped further and further away….

***

Nyssa shot up, bedcovers flying off her as she gasped. Sweet, comforting air filled her lungs as she grasped at her heaving chest. Every muscle and limb was trembling; her entire body was covered in sweat. Barely able to keep her arm steady, she fumbled around for the glass of water on her nightstand. Taking another deep breath, she brought the glass to her lips and let the cool liquid glide down her aching throat.

It was quiet – and dark. Nyssa sat clutching the glass to her chest for a moment, staring with blurred vision as her eyes gradually adjusted to the dark. Then, she set the glass aside, wrapped her arms high around her knees, and nuzzled her face into her arms. A still steady stream of tears seeped through the thin cotton of her sleeves. The moisture was cold and sticky, and she shuddered.

Different night, same dream.

After so many months of being haunted by this one nightmare, Nyssa craved sleep. But the thought of closing her eyes made her choke on fear. Her muscles were constantly stiff from nightly trembling, and her eyes were always swollen and red.

The chill in the air dried the sweat that had drenched her, leaving a residue that made her skin crawl. She threw her head back with a sigh and dragged herself from her bed. A shower would wash the remainder of the sweat and angst away. Moments later, icy water was gushing from the showerhead, and she stepped underneath the steady stream.

A chilling sensation pooled at her feet, covered her body. Instantly, Nyssa shut the water off and jumped out, nearly slipping on the tiles.

A strange sound escaped her, halfway between a wry snigger and a frustrated scream. She sank to the floor, wrapping her towel over her knees as she pulled them closer. Fresh tears began flowing down her cheeks, but Nyssa didn’t feel them. She just stared blindly in front of her. There had to be a solution, a way to end this, but her mind refused to form thoughts. Her head was pounding too loudly for anything to stick.

A wailing outside her window caught her attention, and she glanced up at the window. A large tree stood just outside, its branches shaking fiercely in the wind. Nyssa followed the movement with her eyes as she listened to the wind’s howl. It sounded as desperate and dismal as she felt. Somehow, the thought comforted her, and she gradually let her eyelids drop.

***

Waking up a few hours later, Nyssa found herself bundled up half-on, half-off her shower matt. Her limbs were stiff as she sat up and wrapped her towel closer around her shoulders. She got up and stretched a bit before she slipped out of the bathroom and headed to her nightstand.

Her phone stood next to the empty glass of water. She tapped the screen. 08:47. Nyssa nearly laughed. She had actually slept for more than five hours straight. In fact, she had overslept. Granted, the bathroom floor wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but if that was what it took to get through the night, she would try it again.

Grinning and feeling energised despite the lingering stiffness in her limbs, she jumped back into the shower, making sure the water was hot this time, and washed the night’s fear away.

Her phone rang just as she finished getting dressed. She snatched it up, saw her best friend’s name flashing across the screen, and answered.

‘I know, I was supposed to be there at nine, but can you believe I overslept?’ Nyssa chirped.

‘You overslept?’  Laura asked, and Nyssa could almost see her friend’s eyebrow shoot up. ‘You’ve never overslept in your life, even before the nightmare began.’

‘I guess that’s the result of barely sleeping for five months.’

‘Well, great; it’s about time! How did you do it?’

Nyssa paused. ‘I fell asleep on the bathroom floor listening to the wind,’ she admitted sheepishly.

There was a moment’s silence on the other end of the line before Laura answered, ‘The bathroom floor? That can’t have been comfortable. Please don’t tell me that’s your latest solution.’

‘It was an accident, but yes, if this is what works, I’ll do it. I’ll try anything at this point. I need to sleep,’ Nyssa whimpered.

Laura sighed. ‘I know. But maybe there is a better alternative. Just get to the café, and we’ll see what we can come up with.’

‘Alright, I’ll see you soon.’

Nyssa hung up, grabbed her coat and purse, and made her way out of the garage of the apartment building. She was greeted with a brutal gust of wind and a darkening sky as she drove up the street. The grey of the road seemed darker as the sun struggled to break through the clouds. It hadn’t started raining yet, but eyeing the clouds, Nyssa guessed the storm would break before the end of the day.

Twenty minutes later, she was pulling up in front of a quaint, little garden café. Wrapping her coat tightly around her, Nyssa rushed across the parking lot and ducked in through the door with a gust pushing her from behind. Smoothing her hair back into place, she scanned the slightly crowded room for Laura’s face. She finally spotted her friend at the back of the room and went over.

‘Wow, I realised the wind was bad last night, but it seems worse this morning,’ Nyssa said as she sank into her chair.

‘Yeah, it’s been building up since yesterday evening. It’s going to be a hectic storm once it breaks,’ Laura answered, glancing out the window.

‘Well, I’ve always slept better when it rained, even while this nightmare has been making it damn near impossible. Hopefully, that means I won’t even need to fall asleep on the bathroom floor tonight,’ Nyssa said, grinning.

Laura shook her head. ‘I still can’t believe you would even consider that as a permanent solution.’

Nyssa shrugged. ‘None of the other things I’ve tried seem to work; even the sleep specialists I’ve seen couldn’t make a difference. I’m more than a little desperate by now.’

Laura’s gaze shifted to the table, and she tapped her fingers against the wood. She took a deep breath and looked back up at Nyssa. ‘Really desperate enough to consider anything?’ she asked slowly.

‘Yes,’ Nyssa answered with a frown.

Laura studied her face and nodded. ‘Alright, then I might have found something.’

A waiter came over to them, and Laura paused. They placed their order, Nyssa eyeing her friend keenly.

‘You were saying…’ she prompted once the waiter had left again.

‘I may have found something about recurring dreams that could answer a few questions. I don’t know if it could help end the nightmares, but it may explain it a bit better.’

‘What is it?’

Laura hesitated. ‘It’s a bit out of the ordinary. You know I’ve been researching this for a while, and I’ve always ignored this option because it’s just so bizarre, but it’s the only answer left you haven’t looked at.’

‘Laura, out with it.’

Laura’s face tensed in a nervous smile. ‘What do you know about reincarnation?’

Nyssa’s jaw dropped. ‘You can’t be serious.’

‘I am completely serious,’ Laura said, holding her head a little higher. ‘I said it’s strange and out of the ordinary. But I’ve done a lot of research about this. It’s possible that this nightmare comes from a memory of a past life.’

Nyssa slumped back in her chair and sighed. ‘I really thought you had a plausible solution about this.’

‘But it is plausible,’ Laura insisted. Nyssa gave her a pointed look, and Laura rolled her eyes. ‘You said you’re desperate enough to consider anything.’

Grimacing, Nyssa closed her eyes. She was desperate, but past lives and reincarnations? Even if it was possible, even if the nightmare was a memory, how did this knowledge help her?

Laura’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. ‘I know this wasn’t what you expected to hear but give me a chance to prove it. I knew you wouldn’t jump at this without proof, so I’ve been researching.’

‘And…?’

‘Well, it’s admittedly a bit spiritual and all over the place, but I do have a few things at home to show you why I think this is the answer.’

‘How is it the answer, though? How will this help end the nightmare?’

Laura rubbed her neck and winced a bit. ‘I’m not exactly sure about that yet, but my theory is that whatever the memory is of may be telling you to confront something that happened in a past life.’

‘That’s asking a lot. I don’t even know what the memory could be about. There isn’t a lot of detail in the nightmare; all I see is darkness.’

‘We can use what you do see and feel to narrow down the possibilities. Come on, please? It couldn’t hurt to try this. Or are you committed to sleeping on the bathroom floor for the rest of your life?’ Laura huffed.

Nyssa gazed out the window at the darkening sky. It was unquestionable, all-out madness.  She didn’t believe in past lives. But then again, she never believed a dream of all things could drive her mad – perhaps just mad enough to try this.

‘We’ll go to your place after brunch, and you can show me what you found,’ Nyssa finally said with a deep sigh.

Laura’s face broke into a broad grin. ‘Great; I have a good feeling about this.’

Nyssa huffed and shook her head with a small smile. Their food arrived, and the rest of brunch passed without any further mentions of past lives. Once they had finished eating and paid, they headed out and met back at Laura’s apartment. When they reached the door, a mechanical whirring echoed on the other side.

‘What…?’ Laura breathed before her face lit up in realisation. ‘Oh, right, the printer broke at the precinct. My father asked if he could print a few things here.’

The door was unlocked, and they went in. Laura’s father, Lieutenant Kevin Dale, stood by a desk at the far side of the room, scanning through some papers.

‘Hello, Dad,’ Laura said as she walked over and hugged him. ‘You manage to print everything?’

‘I did,’ he said distantly. ‘Just finishing up with the last batch now….’ He trailed off and flipped to another page. ‘What are you researching?’

‘Oh, it’s nothing. We’re just trying to find a way to help Nyssa with her recurring nightmare,’ Laura said with a sheepish smile.

‘By researching past lives?’ her father asked, glancing at her with one brow raised.

Laura shrugged and slipped the pages out of his hands. ‘It’s weird, but nothing logical seems to work, so now we’re trying the illogical.’

‘And are you planning to write an article about it?’

Laura frowned. ‘No, that wasn’t the plan.’

‘Pity,’ Lieutenant Dale said with a teasing grin, ‘it could’ve been an interesting feature.’

Laura laughed and shook her head. ‘I’m probably going to need more than this to go on for my editor to accept it.’

Lieutenant Dale picked up a stack of papers from the printer and turned toward the girls. ‘Well, I’m off. Good luck with your research. Bye, honey; Nyssa, it was good seeing you again.’

‘Goodbye, sir,’ Nyssa said as Laura walked her father to the door.

‘Alright,’ she said when she got back. ‘Let’s get to it.’

She handed Nyssa the papers her father had been reading, and they settled down into the living room.

‘So, those are just a few articles I were able to find on what past lives are, people who remember their past lives, and how to know you’re remembering a past life. But I think what we’re most interested in is how to access past life memories. That’s the last article,’ Laura said as Nyssa scanned over the pages.

It still felt weird to consider it, but a lot of what she read resonated with her. Each article named recurring dreams and nightmares as one of the most common ways to know whether you’re remembering a past life. It was almost comforting. Somehow, coming to terms with this crazy notion made her feel less crazy.

Finally, she reached the last article about how to access past-life memories. The first recommendation was hypnosis with a therapist, but Nyssa wasn’t keen to wait for an appointment. If this was a way to get answers and end the nightmare, she wanted it to be over as soon as possible. But the next recommendation made her brows shoot up.

‘What the hell are Akashic Records and spirit guides?’ she asked, glancing tensely between her friend and the article.

‘Yeah, those are a bit strange,’ Laura said with a small laugh. ‘Maybe a bit too spiritual for what we know. But there is another option for self-hypnosis through meditation if you’re up for it.’

Nyssa flipped to the next page and scanned over the steps, nodding. ‘Yeah, okay; this seems doable. I mean, I remember the nightmare pretty vividly, but the details in the nightmare itself are a little hazy and obscure.’

‘Well, hopefully, this will help make things a bit clearer,’ Laura said as she took the papers and placed them aside. ‘I got a few things to maybe help….’ Laura grabbed a bag from beside her desk and started packing things out. ‘You have the blanket and pillows next to you, a bottle of wine or some tea, a bit of lavender room spray, and some candles if you want to go full séance.’

Laura grinned up at Nyssa, holding out a bag of candles with varying heights, and Nyssa burst out laughing. ‘No, I think we’ll stick with just the blankets and pillows, maybe the room spray. And a glass of wine; that would be perfect.’

‘You got it,’ Laura said as she got up and headed to her kitchenette. She came back with two glasses and poured the wine.

Nyssa took the glass, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. ‘I don’t know how to start; I haven’t exactly meditated much before.’

Laura plucked another article from her pile and handed it over. ‘Here, this explains it. Basically, it’s about breath control, clearing your mind, and focusing on the moment; in your case, a past moment.’

‘It sounds easy,’ Nyssa said, sipping as she read. ‘You don’t by any chance have something that makes white noise, do you? Apparently, that helps with keeping the mind clear.’

‘Hmmm, I have a fan. Do you think that will work?’

‘Yeah, sure.’

Laura got up again and disappeared into her bedroom. She came back with a small electrical fan, which she plugged in behind the couch. By the time everything was set up, Nyssa’s glass was mostly empty. She took a deep breath, downed the last sip, and settled back into the couch.

‘Alright, I guess it’s time to try this,’ she said as she laid down against the pillows and threw the blanket over herself. She closed her eyes and began taking deep breaths, counting five seconds breathing in and five seconds breathing out as the article recommended. The consistent droning of the fan lulled her senses, and she imagined herself sitting in a forest, listening to the wind.

‘Is it working?’ Laura’s voice broke through. Nyssa started.

‘It was, I think. Maybe don’t talk until I talk to you, okay?’

‘Oh, yeah, right. Sorry.’

Nyssa nodded and closed her eyes again, counting her breath, listening to the fan, imagining the trees swaying around her. Suddenly, her surroundings changed. The forest was overcast by complete darkness, but the wind was still there, gusting in the background. A familiar sense of fear and panic crept into Nyssa’s veins, and she took another deep breath.

‘I’m here,’ she whispered, her voice sounding far and small.

‘What do you see?’ she heard Laura ask through the droning in her ears.

‘The same as every night. It’s pitch black. There’s nothing around me. But I do hear wind raging, which I’ve never heard before.’

‘Could just be the wind outside, but maybe focus on that if it’s helping. Try looking around you, looking up. There must be something that can tell you where you are.’

Nyssa let her mind focus on the wind as she counted another breath of five in and five out. Her mind’s eyes wandered around her. It was black as night. She squinted. No, grey… like the storm clouds outside. Her head snapped up, and sure enough, there were the clouds, gathering in thick, eerie darkness above her. She was in a hole.

The details of the walls came into a bit more focus. They were coarse, man-made. Nyssa looked up, peering at the glimmer of fast-fading light above her. Just over the edge of the hole, something seemed to be sticking out. It was a hard outline, towering over her even in the distance. It seemed incomplete or broken down, like a stack of bones left to rot in the middle of nowhere.

Then it hit her. She knew exactly where she was. She had no idea why she was there or how she got there, but there was no doubt about it.

‘Canter Alley,’ Nyssa gasped as she shot up on the couch, wide eyes and heart racing. ‘That’s where I was, in Canter Alley, but when it was still being built.’

‘That’s almost twenty-five years ago,’ Laura said as she poured another glass of wine and handed it to Nyssa. Nyssa took a large gulp and sank back into the cushions. ‘What were you doing there?’

‘I don’t know, but I was in a hole, too deep to get out of.’ Nyssa shuddered and took another mouthful. ‘I think this is the memory of how I died.’

‘Wow, that’s intense,’ Laura said, her face long as she stared at her friend with wide eyes. ‘I wonder how you ended up there.’

Nyssa gazed at the window, the clouds bundling together in a now-too-familiar scene. ‘Yeah, me too.’ She emptied the glass and jumped up. ‘I’m going to find out.’

‘What, now?’ Laura asked, also getting up and looking ready to pin Nyssa down if she made a run for the door. ‘That storm’s about to break loose, and you want to go to the place where you potentially died twenty-four years ago?’

‘On a night like this, yes. There was a storm that night as well,’ Nyssa said, her skin tingling. She felt like rushing out and running right to what was now large apartment buildings. But Laura looked at her like she had lost her mind.

Nyssa sighed. ‘Come on, Laura. You’re the one who brought all of this past-life stuff up, and now you want to stop me from getting all the answers? This may be my best chance to understand why this nightmare is haunting me. I’m going. If the storm breaks out, I’ll duck into the building. It’s not a skeletal construction anymore, at least.’

Laura bit her lip and glanced back out the window. ‘Alright, fine. But we have to go now. I don’t want to get caught in the rain.’

‘No problem, let’s go!’

They headed down to the parking lot and got into Nyssa’s car. It took all her self-control not to speed, but finally, they pulled up beside Canter Apartments. They got out of the car and stared up at the gargantuan building. The clouds hung low above it, gradually devouring the top floors bit by bit.

‘Alright, we’re here. Now what?’ Laura asked, scoffing as the first drops of rain began to fall. The corner of her mouth twisted as she lifted her eyebrow at her friend.

‘Just give me a moment. Maybe standing in the same spot will jog more of the memory,’ Nyssa said, gradually backing up until the building was more or less the size it had been in her memory. ‘I think this is it.’

Laura peered at her from a distance, not looking overly eager to join her. ‘You mean, that may be where you died?’

‘I guess so,’ Nyssa said, wincing as she looked at the ground beneath her feet. It was solid concrete now – no sign of any holes. She glanced behind her. An aluminium shed stood a few paces away, and she walked closer.

‘What are you doing?’ Laura called after her.

‘Just checking it out.’

There was a half-rusted lock on the door, but the chain it was supposed to lock had broken loose. Nyssa reached out and wrapped her fingers around the handle. Bits of weathered aluminium scratched against her skin. She pulled at the door, and it gave way with a loud screech that made her heart skip a beat. It was dark inside with a few steel racks standing about. Most were empty, but one had a few worn-out, rat-eaten boxes stacked on top.

Nyssa crossed the threshold and walked closer to the boxes. Big, red letters that may have once spelt ‘EVIDENCE’ were just visible on the side. A noise behind her made her spin around, and she saw Laura creeping in, looking around with her nose scrunched up.

Nyssa turned back to the box, took it off the rack, and lifted the lid. Inside were a few dusty newspaper articles, photographs, and books. She lifted the nearest article; a chill spread across her skin into her veins. Quickly, she snatched another article, her hands trembling as she carefully held the fading, coarse paper.

The first heading read: ‘Lennen Girl Missing’. The second article was titled: ‘Construction Site or Burial Site?’ Both articles showed the picture of a young girl smiling at the camera with dark brown hair and green eyes; barely perceivable variations of how Nyssa herself looked. The text in the second article made a shiver run up her spine, and she swallowed hard to keep the bile from rising in her throat.

‘The body of a young woman was found in a block of cement. DNA tests confirmed her to be Sergeant Carly Lennen, the missing partner of Sergeant Kevin Dale.’

‘What is it?’ Laura asked, glancing over her shoulder. Nyssa handed the articles to her and sank back on her knees.

‘I died getting buried in cement. And, apparently, I knew your father.’

Laura read the text again and again, her eyes wide. Then, she knelt next to Nyssa and began scanning through the rest of the contents.

‘I know this is probably very traumatic and overwhelming for you, and I told my father I wasn’t planning to write an article about this, but do you think there is any chance I could?’ Laura asked, pausing her rummaging to face her friend with a sweet, pleading smile.

‘Seriously, that’s where your mind goes?’ Nyssa asked, not sure whether to be amused or upset. ‘I was buried alive in a past life, and you want to write an article about it.’

Laura grimaced and sat back as she pulled a book from the box. ‘I know; it’s not the time. I’m sorry. But this is the best break I’ve had since I became a journalist. And, of course, I wouldn’t write anything without your permission, but I really, really want to.’

Nyssa sighed and stared blindly at the box. ‘Just give me time to process this, then we’ll talk.’

‘Yeah, sure, of course,’ Laura said, frowning as she began reading the book on her lap.

Nyssa sat back and leaned awkwardly against a nearby rack. The roof of the shack wasn’t in any better condition than the rest of it, and she watched as the thin sheet of rain that had begun falling outside dripped down through small holes. It was hard to wrap her head around it, the fact that she was sitting near where a past version of her had died, surrounded by articles and evidence of the event.

Nyssa shot up, brows furrowed. Why was there a collection of articles and evidence about her death conveniently gathered in a shack near where she died? Who would have gone through the trouble, and why? She turned to Laura to voice her questions but stopped short when she noticed her friend’s ash-white face. Laura was staring at the book with wide eyes, trembling and mouthing something Nyssa couldn’t make out.

‘Laura, what’s wrong?’

Laura finally met her gaze. ‘Oh, hell; oh, hell; oh, hell,’ she rasped, handing the shaking book over to Nyssa.

Heart pounding with an odd creeping sensation running over her skin, Nyssa slowly looked down at the browned, fragile page.

Journal of Sergeant Kevin Dale

First entry: 17 October 1996

My partner discovered my involvement in the drug ring. She threatened to expose me to our superiors, so I invited her to dinner to try and make a deal with her. She refused my offer, said she was going to hand me over the following day. I couldn’t let that happen. I promised I would give myself in. Naïve and trusting as she was, she believed me. Her faith didn’t last long. During the ride back to her apartment, she grew quieter. I saw her hand slipping to her phone, so I snatched it away. She began struggling, and I had to knock her out.

We drove to the construction site at Canter Alley. I dropped her in a pit and began filling it with quick-drying cement. She woke up shortly after I started and begged me to stop, but I just watched as the pit slowly filled with the already thick substance. Her eyes filled with more and more panic. The cement reached her neck, and she looked at me one last time before the light faded from her eyes. I waited until the cement covered her completely before I left.

I should be sad, or at least feel guilty. She was a nice girl and a good partner. But I don’t. Remorse, guilt, regret; I don’t feel any of that. Watching her heart give in, watching the light fade from her eyes – it was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

I want to feel it again.

‘My dad’s a murderer!’ Laura wailed, bursting into tears.

Nyssa couldn’t answer; she couldn’t move. She just sat frozen, staring at the words and willing herself to breathe again. A loud clap of thunder snapped her out of her daze, and she faced her weeping friend. She reached out and pulled Laura into a hug, fighting to stop the shivers tearing through her limbs.

‘What do we do?’ she whispered. ‘Do we report this? Do we call the police?’

‘He’s my dad,’ Laura squeaked. ‘How do I turn him in for murdering my current best friend twenty-five years ago?’

‘I don’t know,’ Nyssa breathed, shuddering. ‘I don’t know.’

‘It’s easy, really,’ a voice broke out from the door. Nyssa and Laura spun around, squinting to make out the silhouette. ‘You don’t. You get up, you go home, and you forget about all of this.’

‘Daddy,’ Laura whispered, ‘what have you done?’

Lieutenant Dale took another step forward into the murky light. He gazed down at the two girls still clinging to each other, his mouth drawn in a thin line and brown eyes void of emotion.

‘I did what I had to if I wanted to stay out of prison,’ Lieutenant Dale answered. He turned to Nyssa. ‘When my daughter came home with her new college friend and I saw you, I was convinced I was seeing a ghost. Of course, I wasn’t, and you had no idea who I was, so I let it go. Until this afternoon, when I read Laura’s research.

‘I knew you were starting to remember, so I followed you to find out just how much you remembered. It’s a pity you had to drag my daughter into this, but killing the same person twice isn’t something I would say no to.’

He pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Nyssa. Laura cried out, and Nyssa froze, staring at the weapon as her heart began racing. The detective cocked the gun, and Nyssa met his cold gaze. Suddenly, she was thrown back to that night twenty-four years ago – and she remembered everything.

***

A cold sensation pooled around her as she woke up and got to her feet. The grey liquid was already hardening while it crept higher and higher up her body. Her eyes shot up. Her partner was standing on the pit’s edge, his mouth drawn in a thin line and his brown eyes emotionless.

Behind him stood the skeleton of a tall building. He seemed to merge with it – a monster of a man towering over her beneath the greying sky. A flash of lightning streaked across the horizon, followed by roaring thunder. The clouds broke loose, and rain began pouring down in torrents. Soon, Carly was soaked, feeling like she was drowning from above and below as the cement continued its steady flow up her thighs.

‘Dale, please, don’t do this,’ she begged. ‘You can still stop this, all of it. You can go straight again, be the man your wife married; the man who loved his job.’

Dale scoffed. ‘I was never that man. I realised early on in training that police work has so much more to offer from the crooked side. But appearances help keep that up, so I can’t let you tell anyone and ruin it for me. Goodbye, Carly.’

The cement had reached her waist. Carly pushed through the thickening matter and tried to get a hold on the wall. But the sides were smooth; there wasn’t a single crack or dent or hollow she could grab onto. She tried to jump, but the cement weighed her down, and she fell back into the pool with a yelp.

She heard Dale chuckle in the background, and she scowled up at the edge of her tomb. She cried out to him again, but there was no answer. The cement had reached her chest, and she felt her heart rate grow more and more erratic. She began to hyperventilate, tears flowing down her cheeks in torrents that could almost compete with the rain. Finally, she couldn’t breathe anymore. The cement crept up her neck and grazed her chin.

She lifted her head and looked up at the sky. Dale was standing closer to the edge again. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She felt her heart race uncontrollably; then, it just stopped. The world grew black.

***

Nyssa blinked as the memory faded. The lieutenant was still standing with his gun pointed at her. His eyes darted to his daughter. Disgust, hurt, and disappointment danced in Laura’s teary eyes. Indecision broke through his cold mask, and Nyssa took the opportunity to dodge behind the nearest rack.

A shot rang out, and Nyssa felt the bullet miss her by millimetres. Laura cried out again and also ducked behind the nearest cover she could find. Footsteps echoed in the shack as Lieutenant Dale rushed closer. Nyssa met her friend’s bewildered gaze and nodded gently towards the exit.

Another shot rang out as she jumped up and raced along the wall, half-ducking, towards the faint glimmer of light. She burst through the door into the downpour outside. She wanted to pause and wait for Laura, but she could also see her car just a few metres away. A scream echoed from within the shack, and Nyssa spun around. She took a hesitant step toward the door, but the lieutenant’s silhouette blocked it seconds later.

‘Enough,’ he hissed, raising the barrel of the gun again.

Nyssa yelped and dodged to the side. With every bit of strength she could summon, she sprinted down the street. Rounding a corner, she just narrowly missed tumbling into a large, deep hole in the sidewalk with a leaking pipe.

‘Seriously,’ she muttered as she regained her balance and side-stepped the construction. She continued running, noticed an open door, and ducked into the lobby of the building that had witnessed her murder all those years ago. She silently prayed it wouldn’t witness her murder a second time.

For a moment, she stood crouching by the door, scanning the lobby for someone to call. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Lieutenant Dale come sprinting around the corner. But he didn’t notice the hole. Nyssa watched with wide eyes as her murderer lost his balance and disappeared into the sidewalk with a scream.

Nyssa remained fixed to her corner by the door, breath caught in her throat as she watched the hole. Minutes passed with no movement. Slowly, she got up and left the building. She inched down the sidewalk, arms wrapped tightly around herself until she reached the hole and peered over the edge.

Lieutenant Dale was sprawled on the ground, his back and neck twisting in unnatural directions. Blood was seeping from his head. Nyssa sank to the gravel, ears ringing. He was dead. He fell into a hole. If she hadn’t been struggling to get her breathing right and her heart to calm down, it might have been a bit funny. Except it was Laura’s dad. Nothing about it was funny.

‘Laura!’ Nyssa gasped.

She jumped up and ran back to the shack. Practically diving through the door, she nearly tripped and had to steady herself on the wall to let her eyes adjust. Everything looked more or less like she had left it. The box they had taken down was sprawled on its side, its contents scattered on the ground. But behind the rack lay a lump that wasn’t there before.

Nyssa crept closer, holding her breath. The distance seemed to grow with every step she took, but finally, she reached her friend and knelt beside her. She put a trembling hand on Laura’s shoulder and gently shook her as she whispered her name. Laura snivelled, and Nyssa nearly fell over in relief.

‘I’m okay,’ Laura muttered. ‘I tried to talk to him. He hit me over the head and ran after you.’ She took a shuddering breath before she croaked, ‘I called the cops on him.’

Nyssa pulled her into a hug. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘You shouldn’t be sorry; I’m sorry. My dad tried to kill you, for the second time. I just can’t believe….’ Laura began sobbing quietly, and Nyssa winced.

‘No,’ she said softly, ‘I’m sorry. Laura, your dad’s dead. There was a hole in the sidewalk, I think they’re fixing a pipe, but he didn’t see it. He fell in, and he’s not moving.’

Laura sat up slowly and gazed blindly out the door. ‘He’s gone?’

‘Yeah, he’s gone.’

Laura sank back into her friend’s arms and wept silently until the police arrived. A paramedic took her to an ambulance while Nyssa showed the officers where the lieutenant had fallen. He was right where she left him, wrapped around the pipe, unmoving. They got the body out, carried him to the ambulance, and covered him in a sheet.

When Laura saw her father’s still silhouette, she burst back into tears. It took a while to calm her down enough for the police to get coherent statements from both girls. But finally, they were told they could go, and Nyssa drove them to her apartment. The road passed in a blur, and she wasn’t sure how exactly they got to the door. The day’s events felt more like a dream than the nightmare had felt. She got Laura to take a shower and took one herself once Laura had fallen asleep. When Nyssa finally sank beneath her covers, she was still trembling but somehow, she felt free. As her head hit her pillow, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Written: April 2020; Rewritten: August 2024