It’s another dreadful morning for Stacy Brown, for she just had another terrible nightmare. Although the details were still fuzzy, she could still clearly remember what happened to her in her dreams: a shadowy figure, which constantly changed its shape and position, but always remained on her tail and wouldn’t stop following her, while constantly switching from giggling and moaning in pain.

 

No matter how hard she tried to run, escape or hide, the shadowy figure seemed to always find her. She dared not face it or even look at it directly. But she felt that she somehow knew the figure from somewhere. And she also felt like the figure also knew her. 

 

In the final moment of her nightmare, the shadowy figure came within an arm’s length to her. She could practically feel its foul and cold breath and the chill and dread radiating from its constantly shapeshifting body.

 

When she woke up, she actually could feel the soreness on her back and shoulders. And after checking on the mirror, she found that there were bruises and light scratches on her back and shoulders. To her great horror, the bruises on her back looked a bit like hand prints.

 

Stacy put on her clothes, then immediately picked up her phone and dialed the number of one of her friends.

 

“Hey, Amanda? Can… can you come over?” Stacy tried not to weep on the phone.

 

“Yeah, I am coming right over, what happened?” Amanda asked.

 

“I… something terrible happened to me.” Stacy sniffled.

 

When Amanda came over, Stacy almost broke down by the sight of her friend immediately.

 

“What happened? What’s happening?” Amanda was scared, she never saw her friend in such a frantic and freaked out state.

 

“The dream I told you about, it never stopped! It still haunts me to this day” Stacy answered while crying: “And this morning when I woke up, I found this!” Then Stacy turned around and showed Amanda her back.

 

“Holy crap, did that son of a bitch do this to you?” Amanda stood up and took her phone out: “We should call the cops!”

 

“No! No! You don’t understand!” Stacy grabbed Amanda by the arms: “It’s not him! It’s not anyone! It just appeared when I woke up!”

 

“What do you mean? You mean...” Amanda stammered: “This was … from your sleep last night?”

 

“Yes!” Stacy cried: “I think it’s from my dreams! I … the shadow keeps chasing me and it gets closer and closer - every time it gets too close to me I wake up. But every time I dream, it gets even closer! Last night… last night in my dream, it almost touched me! It almost fucking touched me!”

 

“Okay. Okay.” Amanda held Stacy in her arms and tried her best to comfort her shaken and trembling friend: “I … I think we need help. We should find a medium.”

 

Stacy did not answer, and just kept sobbing on Amanda’s shoulder.

 

“Look, Stacy.” Amanda gently helped Stacy sit straight and looked her in the eyes: “Are you sure this is not from that fucking jerk or anyone? ”

 

“No.” Stacy sniffled and shook her head: “It definitely is not.”

 

“Okay. Let me see if I can find someone.” Amanda sighed and started scrolling through contacts on her phone, and before long she already found a name: “We could ask Caroline.”

 

“Car … Caroline?” Stacy stayed silent for a brief moment, then nodded: “Yeah, can you call her? I… I don’t want her to hear me like this.”

 

“She’s doing some training program overbroad, so she can’t run back and give your man a hard time even if she tried.” Amanda patted Stacy on her shoulder, then tapped on the name of Baker, Caroline.

 

“Amanda? This is not a good time.” Caroline sneaked out of one of the reading rooms in the common library in Grant Academy and answered the call in a low voice: “What is it?”

 

“Hello Caroline, where are you? Why are you whispering?” Amanda asked with a frown.

 

“I’m in a library. So I can’t talk loud.” Caroline said: “What’s up? Anything urgent?”

 

“Kinda … ” Amanda looked at Stacy, who shook her head at her: “We’ve had some trouble, we think it’s possibly… probably … maybe… related to… something unusual.”

 

“Something unusual?” Caroline spun her pen in her hand: “What kind of unusual?”

 

“Like … constant nightmares, weird scratches and bruises on the body, unusual.”

 

Caroline almost dropped her pen: “When did this happen?”

 

“I just this week. Right after you left for your training.” Amanda sighed: “I remember you told us you are into the paranormal and occult stuff, do you know anyone from that circle that can help us? Like a medium or an exorcist?”

 

“Okay. Let me ask around, but first tell me everything.” Caroline let out a long sigh and asked.

 

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After around fifteen to twenty minutes, someone knocked on the door of Stacy’s apartment.

 

“You’re expecting someone?” Amanda asked Stacy with a frown.

 

“No… I don’t know who that can be.” Stacy appeared a bit scared.

 

Just this moment, Caroline called Amanda back.

 

“Hey, sorry that took a while. But I found someone who can help.” Caroline sounded like she was still worried: “His name is Dave, he agreed to help but you’ll have to promise me and him that you’ll never speak of this to anyone, got it? He may or may not ask you to sign an NDA...”

 

“What? Is he some kind of big shot?” Amanda was a bit weirded out by what Caroline said.

 

“He’s really good, and really… nice. But he told me he would only require that if he would help.” Caroline said: “He should find you soon.”

 

“Any chance he’s just nearby? ‘Cause there’s someone knocking on the door right now.” Amanda asked.

 

“ … yeah I think he’s nearby.”

 

Amanda looked through the peephole on the door, and saw a nerdy and dorky looking young man outside, holding a big glass jar in his hand.

 

“Hello? Stacy and Amanda? My name is Dave. Mr. Yu…um, I mean Caroline said you could use my help. May I come in?” the young man asked through the door.