{Chapter 3}

His face was hidden, covered by thousands of lines. Who was he? If only I could clear the lines away.. If only I knew who he was, and then perhaps why he tormented me. I reached forward, to clear those lines from view, when a high pitched yowing sound started up and the facebegan to contort. Whispering started up, and I knew I had to escape. I turned and ran, ran as fast as I could, but that contorting shape never shifted from my view and the whispering was growing louder, drowning out the previous sound that had startled me. All around me was darkness, so I had no idea where I was running to, or where I was running from. Something touched my ankle and I began to panic. I veered to the right, and ran into something solid, like an invisible wall, and fell into the blackness. The whispering filled my ears and as I fell further, a sentence formed in my mind, "You're next..." I woke suddenly, with laughter ringing in my ears. It had been a dream, but the yowing was still there, and the laughter hightened my panic. The voice had belonged to someone I knew, someone who I hadn't spoken to in over seven years.. My father.I sat up in bed, the covers clinging to me - I must have been sweating heavily. I shook my head, and let my eyes ajust to the dim light. The thin white curtains I had hung that night were moving slightly, and I realised I must have left my window open. I peered outside, it was just beginning to brighten as the sun woke from it's slumber. I shivered and closed the window over slightly. The yowing was still prominant, so it wasn't just part of my dream, because the laughter had faded.I looked around, over to the right of my bed, and my eyes landed on a shape I knew wasn't there last night. It was jet black in the early morning light, so I moved closer slightly. I stretched my hand out, and it moved towards me. It stopped where the sun was shining through the curtains, and I realised, with a sigh of relief, that it was my kitten. I laughed at myself quitely, and slipped out of bed. My throat was dry so I suppose I needed a drink of water. I could feel myself being watched intently, and as I reached the door, I motioned to the kitten, "Come on then Archie, let's get you something to eat." The small cottage seemed even smaller in the darkness. The coldness didn't help. John hadn't set up the heating yet, that was due to happen on Tuesday, so I would have to wait for three days until I could wake up to a warm house. I passed mum and Johns room, and shook my head as John's snoring grew louder. I had no idea how mum could put up with that, I would have to sleep in seperate rooms, it was like a chainsaw. Archie ran circles around me as I put some milk in his bowl, and a few biscuits beside it. His yowing stopped and he dashed forwards, crunching the biscuits in delight before noisily lapping at his milk. "I don't know how you eat so much, you're starving and you had three meals yesterday, not to mention a little something extra when no one was looking." He looked up at me, and it was as if he was sticking his tongue out at me, considering that it was sticking out between his lips. I reached down and scratched his ears, before grabbing my coat and stepping out of the front door.I liked walking in the morning, it was the one time where I could be with my thoughts, and see all the beauty around me without either being disturbed.