It had been five days since Nina went missing. The police were investigating, but they still had no leads to where she was. I wondered if she was safe or not. What would I do without my best friend? I had barely made through the week, and it was the weekend now. I had some time to rest and figure this out. I looked at the clock and yawned. It was 11:15 PM. I trudged to my room, pulled on my PJ’s, and dragged myself into bed. A little sleep would clear up my head. Drowsiness took over, and soon I was snoring. That’s when I had the dream.

Footsteps pounded against the ground. She was breathing hard, but she wouldn’t stop running. She was as fast as a cheetah. Her jet black hair slapped against her face, and her piercing green eyes looked determined. I knew that face… it was Nina! The sky was pitch black, and the moonlight shone down on her brightly, illuminating her face. Trees surrounded her, wrapping her like a blanket. She would look back once in a while, but it didn’t look like she really knew where she was going. Or even what her destination was. It looked like she was….. escaping from someone. She slowed down to stop and sat on a tree stump for about a minute, and then she was up and running again. Suddenly, I heard faint footsteps. The sounds gradually started to get louder, and I saw them. They ran towards her, shouting. She turned back, and her eyes widened with fear. I could also see sadness in her eyes. She ran as fast as she could, and her cheeks were bright red. No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t escape them. There were three of them, agile and swift as they weaved through the maze of trees. They kept gaining on her, and she came to a halt. She knew it was no use running, because at the end, they were going to catch her. They grabbed her, but she didn’t restrain. She looked straight at me and said, “Help me, Isabel.”

I jerked up in bed, my body trembling and covered in sweat. I wanted to cry, to scream, but I couldn’t. The shock left me beyond emotion, I was numb. For a while, I sat in my bed and wondered about what my dream meant. Was it some kind of message to me? Was I supposed to be Nina’s savior? Suddenly, I realized the horrifying truth. I could feel it in the dream too, but I just couldn’t accept it. That dream was something that had already happened to Isabel. I was too late. Isabel was dead.