Sleepless nights were getting to be a common occurrence for Valerie, and after the fifth time of rolling over in her bed and sighing as sleep escaped her, she decided that maybe going out for a late night walk through the park would help clear her head. Unfortunately, she didn't count on the level of exhaustion she was feeling to play with her head.
It was because of this that she found herself jumping at every little noise, every brush of the wind through the leaves. Now and again, she'd get flickers of images at the edge of her sight, making her start. It didn't help that the flashes seemed... familiar. Like things she'd seen before. Or perhaps it was only things she thought she had seen before. It was getting so difficult to tell at times.
Finally, frustrated, she began lashing out at the images, her fists sparking as she struck out at phantoms that existed only in her mind. Or at least, she thought they only existed in her mind. When it felt as if the phantoms were actually starting to fight back, she began to lash out all the stronger, until she found herself bowled over, her face pressed into the ground beneath her as a weight settled over her back.
Even now, she could feel herself struggling against the invisible grip of her attackers, an almost tangible grip pressing her down, nearly suffocating her in the scent of ozone and scorched grass and even a hint of blood…
It wasn’t just in her mind. She could feel the burning in her lungs from the lack of air, something that she’d never experienced before with one of these terrors, and her eyes snapped open, panic in her expression as she struggled against whatever was holding her down, trying to draw breath into her deprived lungs.
She twisted where she lay, her eyes glowing brightly as she blinked up at the person pinning her down. “Wha… Who… Get off of me!” She nearly snarled, lack of sleep and confusion muddling her mind and memory, making it difficult for her to discern who this person was, or if she even knew them at all.