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Strong winds blew through the trees. It was quiet and the wind was the only sound she heard. Dried leaves crunched under her feet as she walked. She was outside and all she could see was a house behind her--her house.

But something was wrong.

She had come out of the house because she had heard something. She continued walking, and she heard angry voices which quickly turned into screams. She ran towards it. She didn't know why. And she covered her ears as she came closer. The screaming stopped but she heard something that sounded like a dull slap with some crunching. Over and over again. Like a beat but not in a pattern. And then everything was red. It was everywhere except on her. Then there was another scream but this time it came from her lips.

***

Nancy's body shot up in her bed. Sweat trickled down her back and her blonde hair was plastered to her face. She drew in quick breaths. She got up out of bed and opened the door to her room. Then she ran across the hall to Lawrence.

He was still sleeping when she entered his room. She jumped onto his bed and shook his body in her attempt to wake him. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a furrowed brow.

"Lawrence! I-I had a really bad dream. I heard screaming and this weird sound and-" she said between breaths. He sat up in his bed and dragged a hand across his face.

"Did you see someone? Who was screaming?" Lawrence placed his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with intense eyes.

"I didn't see anyone."

He sighed deeply and then ran a hand through his brown hair.

"Do you know what my dream was about?" she questioned.

"No. Just tell me if you have the dream again." He hopped out of bed and went into the hall. She followed after him as he went down the stairs.

The smell of sausages and eggs filled the air as she took the last steps. She ran to the kitchen to greet her mother with a hug. Myrtle stood at the stove, a yellow apron tied around her waist. She returned the favour, being careful to not touch her with her greasy hands.

Nancy and Lawrence both sat at the round table draped with patterned cloth. Plates full of eggs, sausages, and a side of toast were placed in front of them.

"Why are you guys up so early?" Myrtle asked.

"Nancy got up early then she woke up me up." Lawrence gulped down a mouthful of food.

"Well, that's weird. It's usually a hassle to get this one up."

Nancy gave her mother a mocking smile and they both laughed. They turned their heads when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Wallace and he walked over to Myrtle and placed a kiss on her cheek. He waved goodbye and then opened the front door.

"Oh the milkman left some milk here," he said, holding open the door. Myrtle stretched her neck a little to look at the doorway. There was a box filled with glass bottles of milk sitting on the stone steps.

"I wonder how long it has been out there." She ran to the door to pick it up and then gave Wallace a final wave goodbye as she inspected the glass bottles. "Well, they're still cold so that's a good sign."

***

Lawrence stood beside the car as Wallace pulled himself from under its hood. He wiped his gleaming forehead with the back of his hand.

"You miss doing this with Roland, huh," Wallace asked.

"I guess." Lawrence didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to talk about it either so he changed the subject. "Is it fixed?"

Wallace looked up at him. "Well, it's good for now." He held the busted cap in his hand that he had just replaced. "So, why don't you take after him, fixing cars?"

"I don't know," he said. "Not for me."

"It's more realistic for you. You can run your own business, like me." Wallace closed the hood and leaned on the front of the car with one hand.

"How does your business work, again?"

"Well we produce food in the factories and we sell it to the stores in town. I deal with all the technical stuff that you probably wouldn't understand." He looked down at Lawrence.

"So what does Darrel do?"

"He deals with the money that's coming in."

"If you need me to take over your business in the future then-"

"No, it's okay. I know you feel like you owe us after what we did for you but you don't have to." Wallace said, holding Lawrence's gaze. "I don't want to force you into something you don't want to do."

Lawrence wondered why every time they talked about his business he would brush away the subject. "Then who will take it over?"

Wallace sighed. "Just someone I trust," he said. "And in this world, that's one of the hardest things to find."