Karissa could hear the screaming as she turned around in the darkness. She turned around and around, but there was nothing there. However, she was not alone. The fear rose to a fever pitch within her as she tried to see through the inky blackness surrounding her. She could sense fear and death . . . Relentless desires to survive . . . but always death. Death was near . . . Death was coming . . . Death was there!
Suddenly, she awoke with a start. Her breath was rapid and shallow, and she was soaked with perspiration. She found herself on her back in her bed. Ryan's hand resting on her abdomen. She didn't know why . . . She couldn't remember the dream she'd had all that well, but it had left her shaken. In fact, her body was trembling. She hadn't had a nightmare like that for a long time. She couldn't seem to settle down her nerves or her breathing, though she tried to take slow, deep breaths.
Suddenly, the hand on her abdomen moved. As she sat up, Ryan looked into her eyes in the darkness. Concern was etched on his face.
"Are you all right?" he asked, moving to sit up as well. He gently pushed away a damp curl from her face.
She nodded. "I'll be fine," she said.
"You don't look it," he replied, gently caressing her cheek. "In fact, you seem to have gone pale . . . As pale as your nightgown. I can see that in the darkness . . ."
"I just had a nightmare . . . That's all," she explained softly.
"What was it about?"
She shook her head.. "That's the weird thing . . . I don't know . . . But I heard screams . . . And I just had this sense that death was coming . . . That it was coming for me . . . yet not me . . ." She sighed. "I don't know . . . It was just a stupid dream. Nothing more . . . "
He wasn't entirely convinced. He hadn't seen her so shook up before. "Oh, Kari," he replied, gently pulling her into his arms. He could feel her body still trembling. "Emotions are running high on the ship with the Kelvans so close by . . . Maybe you're picking up on others fears . . ." he suggested.
She shook her head and shrugged, unwilling to move from his embrace. "I don't remember feeling fear like this before . . . So maybe you're right . . ."
He looked into her eyes as they glittered in the minimal light. He could see the unrest there. "Will you be able to go back to sleep?" he asked with concern. His free hand again went to her growing stomach. He felt a gentle kick against his hand. "You do need your rest . . ."
"I don't know . . ." she replied. The fearful nightmare still very much in the forefront of her mind. "But I'll try," she said. She nestled back down into the bed, laying on her side facing him.
He joined her and pulled the covers over them. He reached over and gently caressed her face once more. Leaning forward, he kissed her tenderly. "I'll be right here," he said.
With that, she smiled softly and allowed her eyes to close, attempting to sleep again.