• Gotta get away... gotta get away... Dorothy Carter didn’t know what she was running from anymore. In the day, it had been her mother, but as she slept it became all sorts of things. Monsters, hungry for her flesh. Teachers with failing report cards. Her siblings, twisted in the way dreams twisted everything.

    All she knew was that if she stopped, whatever it was would catch up. Rain pounded around her and her legs pounded against pavement as she ran through an empty city of vague grey shapes. Empty, save her and the source of the footsteps following behind. On and on she ran, the tears that streamed down her face falling to drip into the puddles caused by the rain. She had to do something. If this kept on it would catch her, and she couldn’t let it catch her. She didn’t know what would happen but she knew it would be bad. Her legs were aching and she gasped with the burning in her lungs.

    Up ahead was a building that was more than just a grey shape. It looked like the performance hall the theatre club at her school performed in. A safe haven! The very sight eased her heart slightly. Doe pushed her legs just that little bit harder and ran through the door, slamming it behind her.

    It was mostly dark, though the stage was gently lit by a couple of backlights. A lone ballerina danced on it to music that Doe could only half-hear. The ballerina was maybe ten, a bun of slightly frizzy blonde hair tied tightly back. Her eyes were open, looking at Doe with a startled expression.

    “Oh!” she said. “You’re... come! It’ll open the door soon.” She jumped off the stage and took Doe’s hand, tugging her to rush up onto the stage. “Hide in here!”

    The little ballerina pulled at the red curtain and wrapped it around the two of them in a swirl of dusty velvet. In the pitch black, Doe felt arms wrap around her waist and the girl hugged her tight. “It won’t find us in here.” As she hugged Doe, the girl seemed to change, though Doe was next to blind. She felt age but innocence, like an ancient but childish spirit, wrapped around her in protectiveness.

    Suddenly, light began to filter through the curtain, and Doe looked closer at her rescuer. She was wide-eyed in an unafraid and sweet sort of way, - those eyes were soft and a dark teal. “Trust me?” She asked softly, tilting her head to one side.

    Doe nodded. “Uh huh.” And she did - she could tell that this was something different from her normal dreams, and there was nothing to fear in this girl, just a little younger than herself.

    “It’s okay now, Doe. It can’t get you here!” The girl beamed. She let go of the curtain and it whipped away, the red velvet disappearing into nothingness to reveal a beach on a beautiful spring day. Sand was speckled with wildflowers and beach grasses, and bees buzzed over the dunes, far enough away to not be frightening. The sun felt like a tonic to Doe, restoring an incredible amount of strength as it shone on her skin. The tears dried off of her face, and the feeling of urgency evaporated with them.

    The girl - the leotard seemed to fade into a cute, ruffled green dress as Doe watched - turned to the sea and waved her hand. A blanket appeared on the sand, a picnic blanket set with cheese and lemonade and crackers and cookies. The girl beamed and sat down on one side, leaving the other plate free.

    Doe hesitantly sat down beside the second plate. When she tried to eat a cookie she couldn’t taste it like food, but it felt warm and comforting when she swallowed. She smiled and took another bite. “Thank you.”

    “You’re welcome! Things are hard sometimes. I’m gonna be your friend.” The girl beamed and looked out to the sea. “I like the sea.”

    “I like the sea too.” Doe smiled.