If Only

Rosie Lopez stared at herself in the mirror as she slowly brushed her teeth. Her eyes traced her features, noting the deep dark circles from under her eyes. Her jaw was sore from all the clenching the night before. Rosie gagged, spitting the remainder of the toothpaste from her mouth. She was trying her best to lengthen her nightly routine so that she wouldn’t spend too much time asleep. Every night for the past two weeks, she has had the same recurring nightmare. Rosie cringed to herself as she remembered the horror she felt as she slid into her bed. Putting on a show on her TV, she settled into bed, hoping that the show could spark any other dreams. Her eyes started to feel heavy, and as much as she tried to fight it off, darkness embraced her, and sleep took over.

Rosie opens her eyes and she’s back in her nightmare. She could feel her heart start to race, palms sweating so much it felt real. She tried to snap herself awake, but of course she was stuck. Panicked, she did what she always did, which was take shelter in an abandoned house. She was back in her hometown; it was a gloomy day. Rain poured and the sound of thunder was getting closer and closer. A loud crash of thunder made her scream, she held herself as she looked out the window. He was coming down the street. The Grim reaper; a tall being, piercing red eyes in his hood. His scythe gripped around his hand; the blade was caked with dried blood. Rosie watched from the corner of the living room window, she was crouched down and was hoping that he wouldn’t see her. But to her dismay, he whipped his head towards the house and started to walk hurriedly towards the house she was hiding in. A sudden wave of his hands and his demon dogs were summoned, sniffing, and running towards the door. They slammed into it, barking and growling knowing that Roise was inside. She finally found her strength and lifted herself up to run out the back door. On que, the barking got louder, Rosie ran as fast as she could down a hill and headed into the forest behind the house. She looked behind her and the reaper was hot on her trail and his dogs even closer. Adrenaline was pumping through her; lungs were burning as she weaved through the trees. To her dismay, her feet gave out on her, she tumbled down, and the wind knocked out of her. The demon dogs have now cornered her, evil looks in their eyes. Large shadow dogs, soulless black eyes and razor teeth that started to bite at Rosie’s legs. Her screams echoed throughout the forest, but no one was there to help her. The reaper gets closer to her.

“You always put up a great fight to get away. But you know you can’t escape me. You will be mine.” The reaper grinned at her. Rosie trembled as his skull for a face got closer to her. He wound up, bringing his scythe high into the air before swinging for her head and-

Rosie woke up with a screech, a sheet of sweat covered her. Shaking, she got out of her bed and drank a glass of water. The eerie feeling didn’t leave her as she got ready for work, a chill would run down her spine every other hour. She grabbed a cup of coffee and got into her car to start the trek to work. Rosie’s eyes were so heavy, she felt herself try to drift into sleep, but she shook her head. She stared at the road and her head slowly started to rest. The light that she was approaching just turned red and a large semi-truck was barreling down the opposite side of the road. Rosie’s foot on the gas pedal was like lead, she was now in the intersection, and she gasped awake. She had no time to react as she looked to her left. The semi-truck was honking desperately as the driver couldn’t slow down. Everything slowed down for Rosie as the truck connected to her car. The car spun and crashed into a pole; the front of the car smashed into Rosie. Metal parts stabbed her legs, she was gushing with blood; another piece had stabbed her chest hitting her heart. Her body started to go cold and limp, her vision grew fuzzy, and her breaths were shallow. She saw a shadow come near her and she thought someone must have contacted the police and paramedics. The glimmer of hope she had was crushed, and her face twisted in horror. She was met with the face of the Grim Reaper, he smiled knowingly at her.

“Didn’t I tell you? You’re mine.” He said before swinging his scythe and piercing her. Rosie’s eyes drained of life and a last breath left her. If only she could have pieced together that her nightmare was a warning.