She hesitantly replaces the medallion on the nightstand and crawls into bed.

“Good night, sweetheart,” I say, pulling the covers up to her chin. “Big day tomorrow. Get some sleep.” I kiss her forehead and go to leave.

I step into the hallway and begin to close the door behind me.

“Dad!”

I quickly push it back open. “What? What’s wrong?”

“The night-light,” she says, pointing at the outlet by my feet.

“Oh. Right. Sorry.” I flip the little switch and the light softly glows. “There.”

She slowly lies back down and turns away from me.

“Good night, pumpkin” I say, closing the door.

*

“DADDY!”

I’m awake in an instant.

Caitlyn is screaming. They are the desperate, terrified screams that fill every parent’s heart with panic.

I spring out of bed and race into the hallway.

Caitlyn’s door is open. I sprint down the hall and into her room.

Her bed is empty. She’s not here, but her screams continue.

“Caitlyn?!”

I take a step towards the bed and my foot lands in a small puddle of water.

Her screaming stops.

In the light from the night-light, I can see that there are wet tracks, like footprints, leading back out into the hall.

I follow them down the stairs, through the living room and dining room and into the kitchen. The back door is open.

“Caitlyn?”

I rush out the back door and onto the deck.

It’s unnaturally quiet. The night air is perfectly still.

The tracks lead off the deck and into the grass. I follow their direction towards the water and stop.

I see her. Caitlyn, clad in her nightgown, floating face down in the lake.

“Caitlyn!”

I sprint across the yard and crash into the water, kicking up my knees to fight the resistance. The water is up to my chest when I reach her.

I grab her and turn her over. She’s ice-cold and her lips are blue. She’s not breathing.

“Caitlyn? Sweetheart?”

Panicked, I seal my mouth over her lips and breathe. I feel her chest rise and fall but she doesn’t respond. I do it again with the same result.

“Caitlyn, please! Please, don’t leave me!”

Her eyes stay closed. Her body is cold and stiff.

She’s gone.

I cradle her in my arms and press my face against her cheek.

“Now, we can be a family, again,” a voice next to me whispers.

I turn my head.

The bloody, broken Nicole I saw in the dream last night is standing next to me. Her eyes are still lifeless, unseeing. Only her lips move.

Suddenly, her eyes focus on me. “Just like you wanted.”

I stare at her in horror.

The bottom falls out from below my feet and I’m pulled under the water by a terrible weight. Caitlyn’s body is gone. It’s only me, plummeting down into darkness.