The first week of work had been an interesting one, that’s for sure. Let’s just say that Pam Beesly was relieved that Friday’s work day was over. First off, there was the incredibly irritating boss that was not in the least bit funny, even though he thought he was gut-busting hilarious. Her co-workers were all dull and she felt as if she were the only sane one there. All of them seemed as if they had never experienced a single exciting moment in their life. Now, she was driving home to visit her family for the weekend and she was beyond happy to be out of Scranton.

She pulled her car into the driveway of her neighbors house; she was planning on surprising her family. She walked down to the familiar house that held so many memories. Her parents told her that they were out at dinner with her sister when she called so she wasn’t expecting them to be home. When she stepped into the house, her thoughts reversed. The welcoming smell greeted her and filled her mind with pleasant reminiscences. The television was showing a football game but nobody was there to watch it. The sudden sound of a door closing startled her so she called out, “Dad? Are you home?” There was no response. She walked out of the living room and upstairs to her sister’s room. She saw her lying on her bed with her eyes closed.

“Margot, wake up, I’m home,” she said. Her sister didn’t reply so she shook her and then turned her over to her side. She gasped and her heart stopped. Her sister’s neck had a deep, bloody gash into it and red was dripping down to her shirt. Margot wasn’t breathing. Tears instantly sprang to Pam’s eyes and she had no clue what was going on. That’s when she heard a scream.

“She’s not home, I swear!” she heard her mother desperately cry aloud. Pam had no clue who she was talking to or what was happening. Why was her sister killed and who murdered her? She jerked her head to the doorway and saw her mother with a hand around her neck. Instinctively, Pam crawled under the bed as fast as she could without calling attention to herself. She was shaking and crying now and was now beginning to panic. She now saw a man with long hair push her beloved mother into the room.

“Where is she?” he demanded. “She’s at work!” her mother pleaded. Pam knew she was talking about her. The rest of the scene was a blur. She had to throw her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from letting the noises from her sobs escape. The only thing she could remember was the mysterious man swearing to find do whatever it takes to find her while her mother stood up for her daughter. “Why is this man so desperate to find me?”, she wondered. The next thing that happened changed her life forever.

The man drew a knife and pushed her mother to the ground. He held her neck forcefully and raised the knife up high. As hard as Pam tried, she couldn’t close her eyes. She watched with fear as the man stabbed the knife into her mother’s soft flesh. Blood poured out and for a moment, time seemed to stop. She knew there was no saving her mother. She wanted more than anything to crawl out from her hiding space and to punch the murderer in the face but there was no possible way she could do that when this man was so obviously powerful. He walked out of the room and called out to her. Of course, Pam didn’t respond. He threatened that he would find her and kill her. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard the door close and a car drive away. Then, there was a knock on the door. After a few minutes, she figured the killer was gone. She frantically got out from under the bed, dashed down the stairs where she saw her father laying dead and bloody as well. She threw open the door in a horror hoping that the knock on the door was somebody there to save her, but nobody was in sight.

“Help! Help me, somebody! Please!” she screamed, frantically, into the night.

*****

“Pam?”

Her eyes jolted open and she noticed she was shaking and covered with sweat.

“Pam, are you okay?”

She slowly sat up and turned to look at the man next to her; the man that in the past few months she had grown to love and care for. She nodded her head and curled her arms around her chest. His arms snaked around her and he pulled her close. She immediately sank into his embrace.

“What happened?” he asked as he ran a hand up and down her back.

“It was the same one as always. It’s a replay of that night a few years ago; the night where I saw my family killed.”

“Oh, Pam.” He pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

“They’ve been more frequent lately and it’s getting harder and harder to handle,” she replied as a tear escaped from her eye and ran down her cheek.

“Hey, its okay, I’m here. If there were any way that I could go back in time and prevent that night from happening I would. But since I can’t, I’m here to comfort you and no matter what happens, I’ll always be here.”

“I’m just… Scared.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t know… I just think that maybe I’m getting this nightmare more often for a reason. He promised he would come back and kill me no matter what it took and I just have this feeling he is going to try again.”

“No, I won’t let that happen. He’s in jail, anyway, and you’re safe here with me. I promise.”

“But I can just sense it, Jim. And I don’t want him to go after you, too. You’re the only thing I have left and I never want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”

“That won’t happen. I’ll make sure everything will be okay, not matter what it takes.” He placed a gentle kiss onto her lips and the fright within her escaped. All that was left was a feeling of warmth.

“I love you so much,” she whispered.

“I love you too.”