"Come on, Luce," the voice that belonged to her closest companion urged, "give me like five more minutes and I'll be done." Beside her, his onyx eyes blazed with a hopeful look, yet there was a hint of seriousness in the back of them as he ran a hand through his pink hair.

Lucy's lips quirked with amusement, knowing that "five minutes" in Natsu Dragneel's terms really meant something along the lines of "another few hours". Shaking her head, she told him, "Really, Natsu, I'll be fine. I promise." She smiled encouragingly and gave him a playful wink. He frowned, not looking convinced, and she held up her phone, wiggling it in his face. "See? I'll call you when I get home."

She could understand his concern, of course. It was nearing ten at night. It was dark enough to not notice shadows that shouldn't be there, and with the strange disappearances going on, it would have been smarter on her behalf to wait for at least the petite Levy McGarden to get done so that they could walk to their cars together.

But Lucy had promised to be home hours ago, and her father was all ready getting irritable about the matter. So she gave Natsu a firm look and poked his arm. "I'll be fine, Natsu."

He looked unsure, but nodded. "I guess if you're sure…" He ruffled her blonde hair, earning himself an agitated look. He only laughed and then pressed his forehead to hers in a brief touch. She softened. "Be careful, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured, reaching up to touch his cheek for a moment before turning away.

"Don't forget to call me when you get home!"

"I won't," she sighed, and then gave a final wave and slid from the doors at the back, not at all scared of the darkness of the night. She'd walked the streets with Natsu a thousand times growing up, and the stars felt more like friends than warning signs. Thanking the heavens for the lights, she made her way towards the parking lot. She caught sight of her truck - a gigantic silver machine that Levy hated her for - and unlocked it, crossing the road that allowed drop offs at the building.

At least she didn't park in the back like Gajeel. That would have been a pain in the ass.

Lucy was hauling herself into her truck when she noticed a car, driving slowly along that drop off road. She paused to give it an odd look. She knew all of the cars in the parking lot, every car that belonged to her group of friends, and that most certainly wasn't one of them-

It suddenly stopped and Lucy's unease grew. She hoisted herself into the driver's seat. It was a struggle, with the height of the truck, but she instantly felt better after closing the door. She reached for her keys, putting them in and twisting, and the truck started immediately.

Suddenly, she realized that the car had backed up. It was an SUV of some sort, and when she flicked her eyes up, she found herself looking into a man's dark eyes, staring at her through two car windows. Lucy's stomach plummeted in fear, and she snatched up her phone, locking the truck door as the SUV backed up some more before stopping. A man got out and Lucy checked her mirrors to see if anyone else was out.

As the man climbed out of vehicle, a chilling realization smacked her in the face. She checked the right side mirror and felt panic seize her. Somehow, it looked as if the wheel had been wrecked. The tire was shredded, the tire rim bent at an odd angle and the hubcap way too far back to be considered normal.

A tap on the window had her breath catching in her throat. Her head snapped up and the man stood there, tugging at her truck's door handle thoughtfully. Without hesitation, Lucy's phone was in her hand, the emergency number dialed and ringing.

The man scowled when she glared warningly and showed him through the window. He slammed on the window with both palms, and she shrieked. Nearly in tears when someone picked up, Lucy watched the man leave, going back to his car. Lucy rapidly fired off answers to the calm woman on the phone, her gaze flickering to the place she knew her friends were in.

When she looked at him again, her heart skipped a beat and she shot into the passenger seat with a scream, finger hovering over the unlock button. She was ready to throw herself from the car and run if she had to. He was coming back, this time with an axe in his hand. It wasn't too large, but the blood drained from her face at the sight of it. Lucy shook violently, ready to bolt.

She gave it a moment, repeating what was happening to the woman on the phone, and then said breathlessly, "What should I do? Should I run? For the building?"

"You said there were people inside? Friends of yours?" The woman sounded a little worried, but kept her voice calm, reassuring. "Do you truly think you can make it there and get in without being caught?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But I don't think I want to stay here and find out what he wants to do with that axe." Her voice trembled.

"Keep me on the phone. When you get inside, let me know."

"Right." Lucy took a deep breath to try and steady herself, hearing the scraping of the axe, and then unlocked the vehicle. She threw herself out of the passenger side, knees screaming in protest when she hit the ground. She flinched, but didn't dare stop for even a second as she bolted for the building. The man snarled in annoyance, and she could feel him just barely miss grabbing her by her hair as she lunged forward.

"Son of a bitch," he gritted out, giving chase.

Lucy gasped for air, driving her legs as fast as she could, taking advantage of her slim build to dart around a car that would slow him down. She wanted to cry when she reached the glass doors of the brick building, swearing at the difficulty of opening the one unlocked door. It was heavy, weighted to keep them from flying open and shattering in the wind.

She just barely slipped through the second she could and then opened the second layer of glass doors before sprinting down the hallway. She didn't stop to look if the man got in, too, didn't stop to think if he was right behind her.

She flew towards where she knew safety would be: Natsu.

She was too busy running to take notice of the figure walking and barreled into them with a scream of surprise, immediately panicked when they caught her with a grunt. She thrashed and shrieked until they pushed her back.

"Jeez, Lucy, calm down! What's wrong?"

She shivered, briefly recognizing that it was Gray - one of the friends working that night - and groaned in relief, sinking to her knees. Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she lifted it to her ear.

"What's going on? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," she stammered, sliding a hand through her hair. "I found one of my friends. I'm...I'm fine."

"Lucy?" Gray repeated, his black eyes filling with confusion and concern. He crouched in front of her, frowning when he realized just how pale she was, how scared she looked. "Lucy, what's going on?"

"Good," said the woman on the phone, "stay with them and wait for the police to arrive."

Lucy agreed and hung up before swiping at her cheeks when she realized she'd started to cry. "I'm okay," she said, but the words were clearly a lie. She shook her head. "I...I was getting in my car, and this man...he came out of another one and when I didn't let him in the truck, he went for an axe-"

"Holy fuck, Lucy," Gray breathed, stunned. He shoved a hand through his black hair and then tugged her to her feet. "Come on, let's go get you something to drink...Gajeel has a flask of something much stronger than water, so we'll go pry it from his hands…"

Lucy let him lead her through the halls until they reached the massive room where everyone had been working. They were mostly lazing about now, waiting for Erza to finish hanging a banner, but they all looked over when they heard Lucy and Gray approach. Lucy scanned them all. Erza, on a ladder, and Natsu, Juvia, Gajeel, and Levy at one of the round tables that had been set up. Including she and Gray, that was seven people in total - and that didn't include the cat that Natsu had managed to sneak in with him. Happy was curled contently in Juvia's lap.

Natsu looked confused. "Luce! You're back! I thought you went home."

Lucy cleared her throat, suddenly exhausted. "I, um, ran into a situation with a guy and his axe, so-"

Erza's ladder nearly tipped and hit the ground when she jerked around. She caught her balance. "What?!"

Natsu was on his feet in an instant, horrified, and Gajeel, mid-chomp on an apple, choked. Juvia and Levy exchanged worried looks. Natsu scampered over to stand before her, a frown on his face as he huffed, "I told you-"

"She knows, Natsu," Juvia said gently as she put Happy on the table and stood as well. "Are you hurt, Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head. "No. Just...freaked out. I don't know if he followed me in. But he hasn't shown up, so…"

"Fucker," Gajeel growled, and Levy gave him a look alongside Erza for his language before coming over to give her friend's hand a tight squeeze. But Lucy didn't want her comfort, even though she appreciated it.

She gently took her hand back and then reached for Natsu. Natsu lunged, sensing what she wanted, and crushed her to him. She clung on for dear life, a sob leaving her lips. Distantly, the sound of sirens filled their ears. Even with the police just now coming, Lucy felt safer, feeling Natsu's warm body against hers. Levy reached up and rubbed her shoulder soothingly.

"You're safe now, Luce," Natsu said softly, pressing his face into her hair as she buried her own in his shoulder and cried. His voice was a soothing rumble.

"I've got you."

So this is based off of a nightmare I had last night. The truck is actually the truck I drive, and the building is actually the high school I went to. It scared me so much. I've actually been having a lot of nightmares lately, so. Maybe we'll have more of these kind of one-shots to help me chill? The nightmare itself ended right before Lucy bolts from the truck, but I felt the need to make it end nicely.

Thanks for reading my demented mind's terrorizing dream. :D