alone in the dark: alone in the dark

TITLE: alone in the dark
AUTHOR: Kichi
PAIRING (if applicable): N/A
RATING: PG
WARNINGS: angst
NOTES: Drabble 49 for [email protected]
ARCHIVE: www.geocities.com/kichisama666/drabble.html
SUMMARY: some things only come out at night, and sometimes, being alone in the dark makes facing them more difficult.
WORDS: 308


He sat up with a gasp, his eyes darting back and forth in fear, his hands clawing at his throat as though he was fighting suffocation.
He saw nothing, but knew that nothing had woken him. He awoke by himself, the only escape from the dream that continually haunted him. He didn't have the dream every night, but for the past year or two he had it at least twice a month.
He dreamt of Frieza beating him until his bones shattered, and that naked, clammy tail that had wound around his throat and slowly strangled him.
His chest heaved as he sought to regain his breath and rein in his emotions. It had been so real! He had tasted his own blood! His hand slowly rose to his lips and then he drew back his shaking hand, but saw nothing in the pale moonlight. He shivered and his eyes clenched shut as he fought a wave of fear.
He didn't want to go back to sleep, but he was exhausted, what else could he do? He could not get up and train, he had only quit a few hours ago and that was only after he had nearly fainted from exhaustion. He had been pushing himself to his limits, and he had to have time for his body to rest.
Reluctantly he lay back down, shifting until he was comfortable. He would fall asleep and the dream would continue where it had left off and he would wake, nearly screaming. He detested it, and the fear it generated. His only salvation lay in the fact that he was alone and everyone else was asleep. No one knew that he dreamt of things that reduced him to a whimpering wretch. The night hid his inadequacies and weakness form everyone.
He shivered under the blankets and closed his eyes.