Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 12 Ava: Nightmares

Chapters 11-17 have been rewritten to improve story flow and pacing. [June 27, 2024]

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Strange dreams disturb my sleep these days.

It always starts the same; being pursued in a dark forest, not knowing what's hunting me. The panting, the crashing of underbrush, the chase.

Somehow the forest becomes mountains, and the mountains turn into the beach. Still I run, as fast as I can, with the threat of something at my heels.

It's daytime. It's night. There are people running with me, and I'm alone. It makes no sense at all, and yet it feels completely normal in the moment.

Then a wolf slipping out of the shadows to stare at me, with blue eyes and sparkling white fur, except for a patch of black at the end of her tail.

The dream always ends there, with me startled awake and staring at the ceiling through the dim light of my bedroom window, soaked in sweat and sore like I'd run a hundred miles, being chased by some monstrous beast.

Getting back to sleep after feels almost impossible as I toss and turn, and I show up to the Novel Grind every day feeling more exhausted than the day before.

The only new change to my life is the daily escape from Animal Control—that silver husky (who, we found out, is actually a girl) who always stops by to see me at the store, waiting patiently for an officer to get her and bring her back to safety.

Carlos jokes that I should keep her, since she seems to like me, but there's no way I can raise a pet. Not when there's a part of me always looking over my shoulder. A part of me waiting for the day I have to pack up and leave again.

By the third day of nightmares, I've developed a low-grade fever that seems to come and go, along with a slight cough. Nothing to keep me from working. It just leaves me miserable enough to think I might need some help getting rid of these nightmares.

If I can't get enough quality sleep, I'm going to end up really sick. A trip to urgent care is something I can't afford.

is expensive. There's a huge list of things on my

body. Thermometers were listed on my want list, not

makes my skin hurt, and my

I'm out of

an impossible task. My arms shake. My muscles protest. My head swims with every movement, especially when I lean down to fumble with my sneakers. It takes five tries to get the

I'm a sweaty,

of sharp pain from heel to pelvis. The sun

to keep putting one foot in front

in my time here, who pass by with a smile and wave. I can barely muster the energy

walk to the store, but today it feels like an eternity. I have to stop and catch my breath every few minutes,

burn and itch. My throat's raw from the hacking cough that's developed from needing to

store, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it back home. It doesn't feel worth the effort. Maybe I can

relief… but

by the apples.

to make smart choices. The basics are all I need today. A small container of milk. Bread.

are easy to carry and require no effort to

is a dilemma.

spiking. Not investing in a thermometer feels like a

bankrupt at the doctor? Or sick enough to make it

way towards the checkout, I

a small bottle of Tylenol instead, hoping it will be

as she rings up my items. It takes me

ever seen a shifter working here

I'm too tired to