It always started here. My nightly ritual.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

I matched the rhythm and took deep, calming breaths. Each breath pulled the light, lingering fragrance of lavender from my scented candle. I snuggled deeper into the comforting embrace of my weighted blanket and yawned. My eyelids fluttered and my consciousness slowly descended into a dense fog.

My last thoughts as my mind settled into the nothingness:

Please don't dream tonight.

>>>>>

I open my eyes and blink. A deep red blankets the sky.

This can't be right.

I close my eyes again and breathe listening for the rhythm of my watch - my link to reality.

Silence.

Shit! Wake up Lucine!

I open my eyes again, hoping for a difference, but the same blood-red sky floods my vision. I feel my pulse start to quicken.

It's just a dream, Lucine! You've been through this before. Get a grip and calm the fuck down!

I swallow hard and start to take in my surroundings. I am standing near the edge of a rocky, white cliff overlooking a scarlet horizon. There is something ominous about the red of the sky, but the sun's rays are so glaring that my eyes can't focus.

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Just breathe Lucine! None of this is real!

I clench and unclench my fist hard, my nails cutting into my palm leaving indents. I feel the heat of the sun prick at my scalp, but as hot as it is, the hairs on the back of my neck stand.

Is it really just a dream? Then why the hell does everything feel so goddamn realistic?

I blink a bead of sweat away.

SQQUUEEEEEEEE!

From behind me I hear a piercing, angry shriek. I instinctively duck, but not fast enough. I feel razor-steel claws slice through my left shoulder. The force sends me reeling. I stumble backwards and feel my foot slip over the edge of the cliff. My heart stops as I realise it's too late.

I am plummeting to my death.

Is this how it all ends? No, Lucine! Get yourself out of this!

The voice in my head jolts me into awareness and I instinctively reach out to the wall of the cliff. I ignore the pain of jagged rocks slicing through my hands as I try to grab something, anything, to stop my fall.

Miraculously, my right hand locks around a small, protruding boulder. I use every ounce of strength in my fingers and grip hard. My body jerks. I grit my teeth through the pain as my shoulder almost dislocates from the sheer force of stopping my free-falling body.

"ARGHHHHHHHH!"

I feel a nail slowly rip away from my finger as my grip starts to slide. The slow torture is excruciating, but I scream and breathe through it. The fear of letting go and dying in this unknown dreamland awakens a desperation in me I did not know I possessed.

I cannot stop here! I have to get out of this place!Come on Lucine, think!

That inner voice yet again spurs me into action. My mind blitzes through my memories and I suddenly call up a dusty image of a lone rock climbing class I had taken way back in high school. I look up and grit my teeth.

I bring my legs up to try and get a foothold but they keep slipping against the smooth white cliffside. Every failure slowly drains the strength from my right arm that is still holding on. The pounding in my chest becomes deafening as I cannot help but imagine myself smashing into the ground.

I decide immediately to change tactics and scan above for another handhold. I notice a small ledge that is just out of reach. I focus hard on it as I know it is only a matter of time before I lose my upper body strength all together. Using the last of my core strength I curl up and push out with my legs, swinging myself hard. Following the momentum, my left arm reaches out, my eyes glued to the goal. My fingertips brush against the edge that is jutting out and I grab on with all my might.

Thank god!

I make the grab and take in a deep shaky breath, soaking in the adrenaline.

As my mind clears, the handhold that I am desperately gripping onto comes into sharp focus. My mouth goes dry. Smooth and bone-white. My fingers were plunged into the dark orifices of a human skull.

Suddenly I feel movement from within the sockets. Tens of hundreds of plump, creamy maggots surge forth from within the orifices and engulf my hand.

In horror, my fingers go numb and I let go.