The Dream
The dream always began with silence.
Not peaceful silence.
Dead silence.
The kind that pressed against Rowan Hale’s ears until her chest tightened beneath it.
Dust drifted through the darkness like falling ash as she stood in the center aisle of the abandoned theater. Torn velvet seats stretched endlessly on either side of her, faded and rotting beneath layers of gray dust. Somewhere high above, water dripped steadily from the ruined ceiling.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The theater smelled old.
Like mildew.
Like rain.
Like something trapped underground for far too long.
Rowan looked down at herself.
Small hands.
Tiny shoes.
A child again.
Always a child.
Every single time the dream came.
A weak golden light flickered somewhere ahead, casting long shadows across the stage at the front of the theater. Her heartbeat quickened as she stared at the massive velvet curtain hanging there.
Dark red.
Almost black in the dim light.
Waiting.
It was always waiting for her.
She should have been afraid by now.
After ten years of the same nightmare, fear should have rooted itself inside her bones.
Instead—
She felt drawn to it.
Like something behind the curtain was calling her home.
Slowly, Rowan stepped down the aisle.
The wooden floor creaked beneath her feet.
Somewhere deep in the theater, something breathed.
Her pulse skipped.
She stopped walking.
The sound came again.
Heavy.
Slow.
Animal.
The weak light above the stage flickered violently.
For a moment, the entire theater plunged into darkness.
Then the light returned.
And the curtain moved.
Not from wind.
From behind it.
A chill crawled up Rowan’s spine.
Still, she climbed the stage steps.
One.
Two.
Three.
The breathing grew louder.
The air smelled strange now.
Iron.
Smoke.
Wild earth after rain.
Her small fingers trembled as she reached for the curtain.
She knew what waited behind it.
She always knew.
But she pulled it open anyway.
The old curtain groaned across the stage floor, revealing a massive iron cage hidden in the darkness behind it.
Rowan froze.
Inside the cage—
Something moved.
Huge.
Far too large to be human.
The shadows swallowed most of its body, but she caught glimpses of claws scraping slowly against the floor.
Watching her.
Waiting.
Then she saw its eye.
Glowing red in the darkness.
Not animal.
Not human.
Something worse.
Something ancient.
The creature slowly stepped forward, chains rattling deep within the cage.
Rowan should have run.
Instead, she walked closer.
Her heartbeat thundered louder with every step until it matched the violent pounding of the thing inside the cage.
Closer.
Closer.
The creature lowered its massive head slightly, staring at her through the bars.
And somehow—
She knew it recognized her.
A low growl rumbled through the theater walls.
Not threatening.
Almost…
Lonely.
Rowan reached toward the cage.
Toward it.
A massive claw emerged from the darkness, stopping inches from her hand.
The red eye narrowed.
Then a voice suddenly cut through the theater.
“ROWAN.”
She gasped violently as strong arms grabbed her backward.
Her father.
The world blurred as he pulled her against his chest, dragging her away from the cage.
“No,” he said softly, though fear shook his voice. “Don’t go near it.”
Rowan twisted in his grip, staring over his shoulder as the creature rose fully inside the cage.
Towering.
Monstrous.
Its glowing red eyes locked onto hers.
The chains around its neck strained violently.
The entire cage shook.
“Dad—”
“It’s dangerous,” he whispered harshly. “You cannot let it out.”
The creature suddenly snarled.
The sound ripped through the theater like thunder.
The lights exploded overhead.
Darkness swallowed everything.
And Rowan woke screaming.
—
Rowan shot upright in bed, gasping for breath as cold sweat clung to her skin.
Moonlight spilled through her bedroom window.
Her alarm clock read:
3:17 AM.
Again.
Always 3:17.
Her pulse slowly steadied as she pressed trembling fingers against her eyes.
Seventeen years old.
Senior year.
Three months until graduation.
And she was still having the same nightmare.
Outside her bedroom window, something howled deep within the woods surrounding their house.
Rowan froze.
The sound was distant.
But close enough to make every hair on her body stand on end.
Then—
Another howl answered it.
Her stomach dropped.
Because for the first time in ten years…
The sound felt familiar.
