Chapter 74

REESE

I jolted awake, a violent shiver running through my body as the remnants of the nightmare clung to me like a cold, suffocating fog. My heart pounded each beat like a drum against my ribs, loud and erratic, like the galloping of a thousand horses.

I gasped for breath, the darkness of my room closing in on me. The nightmare had been so vivid, so terrifying, that for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I was awake or still trapped in that hellish loop.

My body ached from the tension, and my muscles locked tight as though I’d truly been running for miles. I sat up, raking a trembling hand through my hair, my mind racing with the echoes of Valeria’s screams.

"Reese! Help me!" Her voice rang relentlessly in my head, causing me to clench my hands into tight fists as I tried to make the searing pain in my chest disappear.

I blinked repeatedly, hoping it was just a nightmare and not reality.

I gulped down a lump that had formed in my increasingly dry throat.

My eyes darted to the clock on the wal