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A piercing scream shot through the dark, untethered to reality and ricocheting off the empty halls of a house yet to be properly furnished. Grace scrambled to her feet before her mind had the opportunity to catch up and checked the digital clock on the bedside table with bleary eyes. It was just a little past midnight now.
Another scream came, this one choked by terror, and Grace slipped out the door in an instant, forgoing her slippers and stumbling down the hall in the dark, the frigid hardwood not too unlike the linoleum of the care center. It was muscle memory that caused to her fumble for a lighter that she no longer had, that caused her eyes to flick upwards towards the ceiling. The exhaustion combined with pit in her stomach sent her mind unraveling.
Her own mother. Body limp as Grace grieved over her. The stench of Gideon as he gripped her throat and squeezed. Her vision fading. The guttural screams of mutated creatures. They used to be people. She killed them anyway. She had to. The soft cries of Emily as Grace carried her through the hospital. The screams of terror when Grace failed Emily once, then twice, and then a third time. The gunshots as Grace watched her die.
Grace swallowed back the fire rising in her throat as another scream shook the walls of the house. Emily, she thought. It brought her a few seconds of clarity. Grace burst through the door in a panic, her chest heaving erratically as her eyes swept over the room. Her mind kept receding despite her efforts to remain grounded. She slammed a hand down to turn on the lights. A sharp rush of relief flooded her veins when she saw Emily huddled at the head of her bed.
"Hey," Grace said softly. The bed dipped beneath her as she sat beside Emily, one hand reaching out for her knee to rub circles over. "Hey, Emily, what happened?"
The soft, orange light smeared in Grace's vision, making everything look foggy like a dream. Emily had a stuffed animal clutched in her hands, a dog with floppy ears that Leon had gifted to her. The light caught on the tears streaking Emily's face. Grace squeezed her knee gently. I'm here.
"I—" Emily tried to answer, but she choked on the built up saliva in her mouth. She drew one hand up to rub at her eyes as she coughed. Her breaths after came in short, congested puffs.
"Shh, you're okay, we're okay," Grace soothed. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Emily nodded. She squeezed the stuffed dog tighter before letting go with one hand to hold onto Grace's, her grip almost painful. Grace endured it. "I– You– I couldn't find you, and you—"
Grace frowned and pulled Emily into her lap, cradling her shaking form close and running her fingers through tangled hair. "Shh, I've got you, Emily. That must have been scary, huh?"
"Yes," she admitted quietly against Grace's shoulder. "I thought you left me."
"No, Emily. Never," Grace said firmly, her cheek pressed against the top of Emily's head. She could feel the tears beginning to stain her t-shirt. Grace rubbed circles against her daughter's back as she rocked back and forth slowly. "I will always be here for you. No matter what I have to do."
"But what if you never—"
Grace pulled back for a moment, brushing a few strands out of Emily's face to look at her. She already knew what Emily was about to say. "No, no. Look at me, okay? No matter what, I would have stopped at nothing to bring you home with me. I never would have left you, Emily. I promise. Not now, not ever."
"In my dreams, I can't... see anything. I just hear sounds." Emily wrapped two trembling arms around Grace's neck, tethering herself there. "It scares me."
"I get scared, too," Grace whispered against her ear. She was always honest with Emily. "What sounds do you hear in your dreams?"
"I don't know. Hissing. Like– It's like a cat. But it sounds wrong. And I can hear the ground shake, like giant footsteps."
As much as Grace sympathized with Emily's predicament, she was still grateful that Emily would never have to remember the faces of the creatures in Rhodes Hill. The description instantly brought a face to Grace's mind. Bulging, uneven eyes. Rotted teeth. Sharp claws. Impossibly tall. The remnants of a child.
Emily was still a child, only nine now. Grace was honest with her in ways that she could understand. How could Grace explain monsters and mutated humans to a girl her age? She continued to rock and rub circles against Emily's back, steadying her own breathing to calm Emily down. When she felt ready, she let out a lengthy sigh.
"At the care center, a lot of people were sick. It… The sickness changed them and made them angry and confused. Then Leon and I found a cure to help them," Grace explained in the most child-friendly terms she could find. "Do you remember your room in the care center?"
"I remember it being cold."
Grace pressed her lips into a line and shifted Emily's weight in her lap. "It was, that's right. Do you remember your friend? She stayed in the room next to yours?"
"Marie? She disappeared and never came back. She… She left me."
"She didn't leave you, Emily," Grace whispered. She sucked in a sharp breath to hold back the tears brimming her eyes for a little longer. "Marie… She got very sick, and she couldn't be cured, she… Marie died, Emily. She never wanted to leave you."
"Like your mom?" Emily asked as if it weren't the most gut-punching question.
The tears fell from Grace's eyes anyway, and she held Emily a little tighter. "That's right. You're so smart, Emily. My mom never wanted to leave me. A very bad man killed her and took her from me."
"Are you going to die?"
The second question twisted Grace's gut even further; she couldn't give a concrete answer. "We all die some day—when we get very old—but that is so far into the future. You'll be bigger than me before you ever have to worry about that, so no, Emily. I'm not going to die."
Emily sighed into Grace's neck and nodded. "Good."
"Tell you what," Grace started as she stood up with Emily, securing her against her hip with one arm, "Why don't we pick out a book and take it to my room? I'll read it to you while you fall asleep."
"Wait, we can't leave Leon behind."
Grace watched Emily reach out for the stuffed dog still laying against her pillow and hummed gently. "Nobody gets left behind," she reassured as she collected the dog to hand to Emily. She then turned to the small bookshelf beside the door. "Now, what story do you want to read tonight?"
"The one with the wolf."
"Little Red Riding Hood?" Grace asked to confirm. She was a bit hesitant, no longer particularly fond of the whole 'beast pretending to be human' bit, but Emily nodded vigorously, and who was Grace to deny her?
Grace grabbed the book from the shelf and turned out the light before stepping into the dark hall. The darkness didn't scare her this time, not with Emily resting calmly against her shoulder. When Grace entered her bedroom, she set Emily down on one side of the bed and rounded to the other side to turn on the lamp.
As soon as Grace climbed into bed, Emily scooted over to snuggle into her side, the stuffed dog situated beneath her arm. Grace wrapped one arm around Emily to pull her close and opened the book with her free hand. Just as she was about to start reading, Emily said, "Wait."
"What is it?"
"Can I read it?" Emily asked, her voice hopeful.
"Of course." Grace shifted the book closer to Emily. As she started to read off the page, Grace couldn't help but smile ear to ear; Emily had come so far with reading since they had escaped their nightmare together.
She still stumbled over the occasional word, looking up at Grace for assistance, but her confidence had skyrocketed over the course of a year. Grace listened patiently until Emily inevitably trailed off during the middle of the book, her head resting against Grace's chest. Sleeping soundly again.
Grace gently pried the book from Emily's fingers and set it on the nightstand before slipping her arm out from beneath her. She tucked Emily in, ensuring her stuffed dog remained with her, and watched her carefully for a few minutes. Her breaths were calm and even. Her face was relaxed, unburdened.
Grace brushed a few strands of hair behind Emily's ears and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Good night, Emily," she whispered as she reached to turn out the lamp. "Sleep well. I love you so much."