Burning!
Pain consumed Anya along with the flames that covered her body.
She rolled around on the ground down a filthy alley in a desperate attempt to extinguish the fire. It was slowly melting away her skin right down to the bone.
The smell of singed hair and sizzling flesh filled her nose and mouth. She tried to fill her lungs with air so she could scream for help, but barely a sound made it past her parched lips.
“Help me!” She screamed as loud as she could, but nobody could hear her.
Nobody would come. Nobody else would be stupid enough to walk down an unlit alley, in the bad part of town, in the middle of the night. The only people who were likely to go down there were the homeless and less fortunate.
“Help me!”
Again, she struggled to force the words from her ravaged throat. Again, she failed. 
Tears evaporated from her eyes before they even had a chance to reach her cheeks.
Scuffling sounds from the dark shadows surrounding her broke through the pain that racked her body, giving her a moment of hope before being quickly dashed.
Instead of the help she so desperately needed, she was met with a vicious snarl as an animal approached her. Undeterred by the flames consuming her, the animal pounced on her.
She could feel its breath against her face as it crushed her chest under its enormous weight. A second later, it sank its teeth into her neck, sending a shock wave of pain through her body.
Shit!

​

***

Anya bolted upright in bed. Her hands instantly flew to her throat, to where the animal had sunk its teeth into her. But there was nothing there.
There were no cuts or marks of any kind that she could feel. It was exactly the same as normal.
Her heart was racing as she leaned over to switch on the bedside lamp. Her hands were shaking so badly, it took her several tries before she was successful.
She blinked rapidly as her eyes adjust to the bright light. By the time she was able to see, the nightmare had begun to fade from her mind, but she still checked her neck and body for signs of blood or burn marks.
Her skin was hot to the touch and she was covered in sweat, but there were no signs she was ever on fire or bitten by a wild animal.
Exhaling with relief, she flopped back on the bed as she looked over at her alarm clock. 
“3:27a.m. Perfect!”
Her alarm wasn’t set to go off for another four hours.
“Stupid fucking nightmares,” she grumbled as she kicked off the duvet and sat up again.
There was no way she would be able to get back to sleep after that nightmare, so she decided to she might as well get up for the day. 
“On the upside, at least I’ll be able to catch up on some housework before work.”
As much as she didn’t enjoy doing housework, it sounded like a lot better idea than lying in bed thinking about the nightmare for four hours. Which she knew would be the case.
She was already sat on the side of her bed thinking about the dream. That’s when it occurred to her that she couldn’t recall getting into bed. Nor how she got home from work.
The last thing she could remember, she was saying goodbye to her work colleagues as she headed towards the bus stop. Obviously, she made it home okay, but how? And why couldn’t she remember?
It didn’t matter how hard she tried to recall what happened after work, nothing came back to her. So, she gave up trying.
There was no point trying to force her mind to remember something. The more she tried to force the memory, the less chance she had of remembering. Generally, when she stopped trying to think about something, it would come to her naturally.
Anya slid her feet into the fluffy slippers she kept at the side of the bed and then stood up. She stretched out her muscles before making her way to the bathroom, turning on all the lights along the way.
Normally, the dark didn’t bother her. She knew the layout of her flat and could find her way around with her eyes closed, so she didn’t need to have the place lit up like a Christmas tree all the time.
But tonight was different. The nightmare had scared the shit out of her so much, that for the first time since she moved into the apartment five years ago, she didn’t feel safe.
Once she was in the bathroom, she turned the shower on. It would take a few minutes to heat up, so she turned around and headed straight back to the bedroom to strip the bed while she waited.
It was times like this that Anya regretted not having more than one bedding set. Fighting with the sweat soaked duvet, she swore several times when it refused to do as she told it. She found herself tangled up in it more than once, and was completely out of breath by the time she was finished. 
Huffing, she grabbed the pile of dirty bedding and took it to the kitchen. She threw it in the washing machine and switched it on before turning her attention to the coffee machine.
Steam billowed out of the shower by the time she returned to the bathroom. She quickly stripped out of her sweat soaked night clothes and stepped under the hot water.
Anya let out a sigh as the heat worked its magic and began to ease her tense muscles. After a few minutes soaking up the heat, she picked up the shampoo bottle and squirted a dollop on the palm of her hand. Massaging the suds into her scalp helped relieve the tension headache that was building.
She rinsed her hair before scrubbing her body twice. The remnants of the nightmare disappeared down the drain along with the soap bubbles.
When she was finished, she turned off the taps and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around her hair and then dried her body before wrapping another around her.
Before leaving the room, she stopped at the sink to brush her teeth. 
Anya instantly regretted wiping the steam off the mirror above the sink. Dark circles surround her eyes. They were bad enough on their own, but coupled with paler than usual skin, and she looked like a panda.
“Ugh,” she grunted as she pulled a face at her reflection. 
Despite knowing it had been nothing but a nightmare, Anya couldn’t stop her eyes from going to the spot where the animal had sunk its teeth into her.
As she expected, there wasn’t a single mark on her. Not even a scratch or a faded bruise. 
Anya could have sworn the circles around her eyes were getting darker by the second though.
Spitting out the toothpaste, she wiped her mouth. And with one last look at her reflection, she left the bathroom.
The coffee machine gurgled in the kitchen as she walked back through the open plan living area to the bedroom.
“Mmm.”
There was nothing better than the smell of freshly brewed coffee first thing in the morning. The only thing that would make it better was if it was mingled with freshly baked pastries.
Admittedly, she would prefer not to smell either at that time of the morning, but what was she supposed to do? There was no way she could sleep again after the nightmare she’d had. Plus, she didn’t have any clean bedding.
Even if she did manage to get back to sleep, she would just wake up in a bad mood later. And that would not go down well at work, so it was best not to bother.
She pulled on a pair of black yoga pants and a light grey vest top before drying her hair. She may be up, but it didn’t mean she had to get ready for work just yet.
Anya grabbed her slippers from the bathroom before heading back into the kitchen to pour herself a large mug of coffee.
Deciding against doing the housework, she settled for watching the sun rise from her balcony. It was still pitch-black outside, but it wouldn’t be long before the sky started to lighten and people began to emerge from their homes.
Anya didn’t need to step outside to know it was going to be cold. So, she grabbed her dressing gown from the bedroom first. As she walked past the sofa, she picked up the blanket hanging over the back of it for extra protection against the cold and then headed outside.
An icy blast hit her as soon as she opened the door. Anya shuddered as she pulled the dressing gown closed and tied the belt. 
With a mug of coffee in hand, and a blanket chucked over her shoulder, she stepped out onto her balcony, closing the door behind her. It wasn’t the largest of balconies, but it was plenty big enough for her.
A small table with two chairs were on one side, and a two-seater bench with a table in the middle were on the other. Potted plants lined the edges, turning it into her own little haven when they were in bloom.
Cocooned in her dressing gown and blanket, Anya sat on the bench and inhaled the crisp morning air. Letting the mug warm her freezing hands like a mini hot water bottle, she leaned back and relaxed as she waited for the sunrise.