The dream returns...

Vicky felt the constricting weight of breathlessness return and tried to move or cry out, but her body didn’t want to obey her. She concentrated, tried to screw her eyes shut and banish the nightmare, but she was still trapped in a body shackled by weakness.

“Shh, relax,” came a woman’s voice beside her. Not the same voice as before, but familiar. Vicky tried to place it, but all her strength was focused on forcing air in and out of her lungs.

“It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Vicky felt a hand begin to gently stroke her exposed chest, drifting slowly from her collar to her stomach, but it felt so wrong. Something was wrong with her body - the sensations weren’t just dull, but somehow… misplaced.

Light **** her to shut her eyes in pain, and then vanished. Another woman - the one from the other dream - spoke in a voice and accent that were both familiar and she knew did not belong together.

The words made no sense, just a babble of nonsense, and the warm body beside her rose to answer. A kiss on her cheek was the last thing she felt before it left her alone in the dark.

“Sleep well.”

Light poured in again, and then vanished.

Vicky lay in darkness, the sound of every **** breath filling her universe.