“Jessica! Take a cab and go home, okay? I’ll see you in the house!!” Yuri shouted and quickly moved out; even without hearing the latter’s answer.

Oh-okay, sure.

After what happened, Jessica remained on the same spot she had been standing since Yuri left.

Jessica. He usually calls me Sica, or baby, or koala bear. Jessica.

Hearing it feels weird especially coming from him. There’s also this pinching pain somewhere inside her. She can’t describe what she felt.

The party now has come to an end and little by little, people left. She then gathered all her strength to walk her way towards the exit. Just like her insides, the weather seems bad. The sky was frequently lightened up with small but far lightning. She gulped and squeezed her chest, her breathing, hitched as she walked.

‘Where to go?’

She recalled Yuri’s instruction. ‘Jessica! Take a cab and go home.’

Jessica, she repeated. There was that feeling again. She wanted to wince. Take a cab and go home. She lifted her head and looked around. She can’t see a cab. She looked at her watch, it’s near midnight. Is there still a cab at this hour? Right I’ll call Myungsoo. She stopped. Call Myungsoo? she repeated. She looked down on her hands, they are empty. Great. She bitterly snorted. Her purse wasn’t with her. She must have left it in the car when Myungsoo drive her to the party earlier. Her phone, money and their address was there. How to go home? She thought. Not that she don’t know how. It’s just that… Oh, well… Let’s just look for a cab, she decided.

She began walking again with no idea where she’s going. With her body moving, her brain is freely doing its tricks on her. It keeps playing the earlier scene like a pirated CD. That reaction on Yuri’s face, how worried he was for Hyuna and… and…

Oh no, she looked up. The rain had started, followed by an ear-deafening thunder. She began walking faster even with her hurting feet but the rain poured stronger. And little by little a throbbing pain in her head started to get stronger. Trying to look for a shield from the rain, squinting her eyes and holding her temples, Jessica stopped. The pain she was feeling now was unbearable, not to mention her body shivering from the cold breeze, thanks to her off shoulder white cocktail dress, Jessica didn’t felt as cold like this before.

She inhaled deeply. It’s no use. Her head is now pounding and her eyes felt heavy. She softly heard an incoming footstep. She weakly turned to that direction. Footstep become louder and she saw a dark figure running towards her. Suddenly this felt like her nightmare, her heart began beating irregularly. She felt the need to run away, she has to. Together with another strike of lightning and thunder, suddenly she’s on the ground.

“Hel….p,” her voice seemed mute before the sound of the strong rain. She tried talking again but Jessica had already used up all her energy and lost her consciousness.

****

“Honey you need to run,” said the woman, fear and anxiety in her eyes.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to.”

“Baby, listen to what Mommy says.”

Tears began dwelling in her eyes. The thought of leaving her mother scares her; she wants to go wherever she was. But an incoming footstep tells her not to. Her mother’s eyes widened in horror, while she can’t help but mirror the same expression. “Mommy.”

“Shh…” her mom silenced her. “You’ll run okay? No more buts or Mommy will be very angry at you. Don’t worry Appa and Yeonie Oppa are waiting for you. You just have to run straight and don’t look back.”

Her tears fell down her cheeks as she nodded.

“Good girl. Now remember. Mommy loves you.  Tell Appa and Oppa as well, okay?”

The sound rang louder together with their pounding hearts.

“1… 2… 3…” she heard her mother counted softly.

Not too long after, a block-suited man appeared but was quickly pushed by her mother to the wall. “Run!!!! NOW!!!”

She began running at her best speed. She hasn’t gone far but stopped when she heard her mother’s pained scream.

“Don’t stop running! Run and don’t look back. GO!!!”

She ran again.

“Do you think it’s that easy? Go after her!!!” a deep voiced man said.

“NO!! I won’t let you.”

BANG! BANG!

She stopped for the second time and turned around. There she saw her mother lying on the floor.

“Mommy,” she mumbled, and began running back towards her mother.

“RUN!!!”

BANG!

Her eyes widened as she saw how her mother was shot not too far from where she was standing. Her whole body is shaking as tears dwell on her eyes. She can see her mother’s face as she tried very hard to lift it up. ‘Run.’ She read her mom mumbled. And so she does. She turned around and run.

BANG!

Another shot.

Her face had hit the ground. What happened? She didn’t know. An ear splitting thunder rang on the abandoned house and suddenly it started raining. ‘Run. I need to run’ she repeated once more. She lifted her head to see her mother; she’s also lying on the floor except that her mother is not moving anymore. She cried harder.

“M-mom-my.”

“Do you want to follow where Mommy goes?” the same deep voiced man asked. She moved her eyes and saw the man her mother attacked.

Suddenly, there was a black shiny burning metal in front of her, as things started to get blurry.

“Follow mommy you want?”

BANG!

His face was suddenly on the floor, too. Crimson red liquid started flowing out of him. She’s too weak to feel anything.

Suddenly, someone calls her name but as much as she wants to turn to it, her eyes are on their way to close themselves.

“I’m going to kill you,” she heard last before losing her consciousness.

Her eyes shot open. Its here nightmare again, more clearly this time. really true. It felt so true. She sat up. Everything is moving around. She’s dizzy. She shook her head. She wants to get away, so she jumped out of the bed. Obstruction alert! Something’s attached on her arm. She looke