• "They're...dead? No. It’s not possible... no…”

    "If there's another chance in my life should I take it? But... anything is better than this hell I’m living.”

    "What do I do?! Should I fight him? No. I can’t stop him. But the sensation..."

    * * *
    Munich, Germany: 1950

    Ame awoke from her dream, gasping. Three nights in a row, she’s been having the same dream; about people she didn’t know dying. Yet somewhere in the collision of voices, she heard her own. But, she couldn’t figure out what was she was talking about. Ame looked out the window and the sunlight came pouring in through her thin curtains. She groaned and kicked off her covers. She cracked her neck and headed down the stairs to the smell of something delicious. Her mother, Cassandra, was cooking eggs and bacon on the stove. She heard Ame’s dragging footsteps and said, “Hey, your finally awake!” Ame nodded and sat at the table with her head against the surface. It was nice and cool, unlike her room on top of thick goose feather blankets. She almost drifted into sleep when she was woken back up with the sound of a plate hitting the table. Ame’s eyes flung open. She picked up the fork and started eating. Cassandra sat across from her. They began to eat when Ame realized that her father and her older brother weren’t in the house. “Where are Dad and Alex?” She asked with her mouth full. “They went out. They should be back soon.” Cassandra answered. They talked for a while; Ame finished her breakfast and headed upstairs to get dressed. She rummaged through her dresser drawers and through her closet. Finally she chose. She pulled off her P.Js and slipped on her black skirt that almost went to her knees and her plain long sleeve red shirt. Ame started to walk down the stairs when her mom rushed past her, almost knocking her over. “Wha…” Ame started to say.
    “I just got a call from Alex from your dad’s phone. I could barely hear what he was saying. He was whispering as if he didn’t want to get caught by anyone. He said it was urgent so I’m going to the address I was told.” Cassandra said quickly.
    “But then, let me go too!”
    “No! If there is something wrong, I don’t want you to get caught up in it. You stay here.” And with that, Cassandra was gone. Ame stood there, speechless. She sat back down on the stairs and ran her fingers through her long blond hair. “I only just woke up an hour ago and everything starts to happen.” She said to herself.

    About 3 hours past, and Ame started worrying like crazy. To distract herself, she turned on the T.V. All at the wrong time. She began pacing back and forth in the living room floor when the T.V news reported, “And here we are at the scene. It seems that a speeding semi-truck had slammed into a black Goliath Hansa.” Ame gasped. A black Hansa? But that was the car Cassandra drove. But other people in Germany have the same exact car. Especially in Munich. Reluctantly, Ame turned her head to see the new report.
    “And the driver of the black Goliath Hansa has been identified as…” Ame’s heart raced.
    “Cassandra Arashi.”
    Ame inhaled and screamed at the top of her lungs. She clutched her head and fell to the ground. Sobbing loudly, she subconsciously grabbed the keys to her car and stormed out the door. She remembered her mom’s words in her head. She was sorting them through to remember where she said Alex and her father where. During Cassandra’s urgent call, Ame was able to just barely hear her. The only bit that she caught was, “Deutshe Bank 24 AG.” A bank in Munich, she had to get there in time. On her way she saw where the collision that took her mom’s life was. The Mercedes had already been towed so it was easier to pass through. She gripped the steering wheel tightly in anger until her knuckles turned completely white.
    Finally, she arrived at her destination. She climbed out of her car and she saw two men run out of the Deutshe Bank. The men got in their car quickly and drove off. Ame hurried and ran to the door. They had been sealed shut but there wasn’t a need to go in. She could see everything. Bodies, blood, everywhere. Ame stood there, frozen. She saw no movement and no one was breathing. The first thing anyone would do would be to call the police, but Ame’s reaction to this was to run as far away and as fast as she could, not calling anyone.

    After a while of running, she ran into a heavily wooded area and rested there. She was panting when she started coughing so hard, it hurt her chest. As she coughed, she felt a liquid substance hit her hand. She looked at it when she had calmed down and gasped. It was… blood. But, how?
    “Oh no…” She remembered. The epidemic that had been in Germany for a long time. “But how could I have Tuberculosis?” She asked herself. But that question was the least of her worries. Her entire family was dead. How could she live on her own? And also something else was getting to her. “When am I going to die from this?” She thought. Then she heard a twig snap behind her. She turned around quickly and saw a man, most likely in his late 20s, standing in plain sight. “Who…” Ame said. And then, the man vanished. Ame gasped and looked everywhere to where he could’ve gone. While her back was turned, she felt a cold hand on her neck. Once again, she spun around. The man was now very close to her. Finally she asked,
    ”What…are you?” The man clasped his hand in hers and she tried to run away, but the man’s grip was too strong. “Calm down.” He said sweetly. He finally restrained her with his other hand around her side. “It’ll all be over soon.” He said brushing her blond hair out of her face. Then, Ame began to feel different. As if she was being rocked to sleep. Almost being soothed away. The last thing she heard the man say was, “And from one side of pain to the cure…” Her eyes shut completely as she drifted into a deep, calming sleep.