Dream Trap || ONC 2021

Chapter Eighteen: Strike One

First Matt turned, he opened his eyes suddenly and then total darkness covered his eyes. He woke up in a church. It was filled with people, those people. They sat on the seats like mannequins, all of them looking forward. Nobody moved, Matt was tied down with the invisible ropes. His head was turned to the front, a man came from the side door, he was smiling but Matt's heart turned to ice. It was that smile which was made a serial killer or a psychopath, it was fixed with no warmth or love. It was like plastic; the man had his hands folded below. He moved them and turned back; Matt looked at the celestial looking creatures. He tried to shift his body weight, but he couldn't move, he was made to stand still. The man turned to Matt again this time revealing a sharp pointed knife. Matt instantly hoped that the man would stop. But he moved, one step down the small stairs. His eyes were stern, and anger flared out of them, but he never shook nor did he talk, he just came towards Matt one step at a time and Matt watched him, unable to move away not even close his eyes. The creature wasn't forgiving now. It was hungry.

Second in the count, Jenny was back in high school. Only this time she felt different, she was in the boy's locker for the first thing and her hair seemed short. She went towards the mirror and looked at herself. She was muscular and tall, little amount of beard on the cheekbones, her chest was shrunk. She began crying, of course she remembered the guy in the mirror she had been with him so much that she had fallen in love with him, she was John Langhurt a.k.a Jack. She wiped her tears, she was the boy she loved. But how could she be like that unless... She looked around, there were students. The same ones from before, she walked past them looking for home science class. One of the girls tried to stop her but she shoved the girl and went past.

"Right, then third class." She said to herself,

She reached the class, peeping inside she saw herself. Jenny from seven years ago, she was petite with long curly hairs and glasses which she later removed through surgery. The real Jenny looked at the younger Jenny, then a crazy thought entered her mind. She went for the door, but somebody hugged her from behind, she looked behind it was girl but not just any other. She had straight blonde hairs and a pointed face, she fumed for a moment, then the face revealed to be Carrie Hutson. Carrie moved closer to her, her lips curling for a kiss. Jenny moved back but somehow, she wasn't able to avoid Carrie, the lips moved more closer. Jenny shivered but then she automatically began to move towards Carrie, then slowly their lips interlocked, tongues entwined and so they kissed.

Jack was the third to get into his dream, he was back in the snowy Rosalind. He was made to stand up by the "Higher Power" as Jack thought of it, then he went closer to the door and this time he allowed himself to open the door and all the village houses lit up in an orange light and all the doors opened at once. Jack was used to it, but it still chilled his spine, it was bizarre thing. Then the starry people came out of the houses, they stepped on the snow which was not cold at all. Then as earlier they formed two lines and began to walk to the end of the village like stringed puppets and Jack was also made to walk along the line. Each step met resistance, but it was overcome almost instantly, he moved towards the hole in the ground. He passed the big statue and he found it eerily matching with the face of Lisa. He kept staring at it, before he had just glanced it through the corner of his eye and gone over thinking about the villagers and the strange dreams. He looked straight ahead ready to jump this time, but as he crossed the statue something was audible from far away. Now that hadn't happened before, he tried looking through the corner of his eyes but since they wouldn't move so there was not much visible. He moved closer and closer to the hole and the sound was increasing, it was like tinnitus, but it was not real, like it was mimicked by a human. He direly hung on to that thought, if Matt, Jenny or Lisa or any fucking person was here with him then he needed to try to and go for it. Nevermind the fall, he wasn't sure if that was the right thing, but this humanly sound gave him more hope than that. He began resisting the control over him, slowly at first by trying to move his arm but they only twitched then he began to apply more pressure on the joints and there was some improvement. But he looked at the people they were beginning to notice the change in the course, and he knew they would come for him, but he still tried.

It was white light everywhere, but it shone from a point, Lisa shielded her eyes and then the light was gone. Complete darkness, she felt through her hands and found something soft in front of her, she began to move it and they moved away, they were curtains, and the light came from a surgery light. She walked into the room, there was an old EEG machine kept at one side and a body lay on the slab covered with white sheets stained with blood. The whole room was empty and big, her footsteps made sounds, she went over to the table next to the body covered in sheet. There was a file on it marked with fingerprints. She picked it and opened. The patients name was Mark Kulper, he was dead because of a brain hemorrhage. Reports said that he had been experiencing severe shocks and often blackouts, he was starting to forget everything from his country to his name.

"So a wasted man." Lisa thought, she kept the file down and looked at the body. She sucked in some air and lifted the sheets.

The person was missing its top part, it was broken off. Like with a surgical hacksaw perhaps, if that's a thing but it looked like poor Mark was destroyed completely. He was certainly missing his brain for the main thing. The veins were sutured with threads and the skin was sewed with the skull which was cut. Lisa had never seen such a revolting picture, she could see the eyes and the optical nerves lying their dead, the nostrils were flared. But the inner ears could not be seen. Whoever did the job had zilch experience in what she/he was trying to do. She placed the sheet back put a hand over her mouth, she felt like puking, but can somebody vomit in their dreams? It was a funny thought, but she doubted that would happen. She picked the file again and checked for a date and thankfully there was one.

/4/1809 it said on the date. The day was missing but the years was clear, 1809. She looked at the address, "Nuver street, 4th shop, Rosalind."

She read the address again but then the light began to flicker, she looked around. The outside light was glowed and went out, then glowed again and went out. She adjusted her vision, but it was going hazy. She could see Matt then suddenly Lisa and then Jack. She could see them through a hole-like something, but it didn't last long, and it kept changing pictures. Then as the lights flickered, she could make out a shadow. Its eyes glowed like two yellow light in the dark and it would come and go from time to time, when the light went off Lisa could see those eyes peeking through the door of the office then they were gone when the light came, and they came back when the lights were off. Lisa's heart stopped for a moment. She gripped the table tightly. Then she could see more light and her vision was becoming more distorted. The eyes kept coming and going. Then in her fogged eyes she could see Jack looking at her, then he was gone but the eyes stayed, the light bulb fused. Now the eyes didn't need to hide. The yellow balls probably realised that could move now and so they came into the room on top of a creature's head. Lisa moved to lock the surgery door, but the yellow eyes moved too. They both placed their hands on the doorknobs. Lisa struggled to turn the lock as pairs of pitch-black hands began to grab them from her elbow. She pushed them but they were strong. One quick push from the celestial person and Lisa was on the ground. She got quickly and tapped on the EEG machine. It did nothing but she still tried it, the machine made a ping sound.

The monster drew closer to Lisa, in the darkness, she couldn't see it but it made grumbling low noises. Then she felt three four rope like fingers grab her by the elbow. Then with a sudden pull she came towards the monster who opened it mouth revealing a fleshy mouth with teeth sticking out the tongue. Lisa screamed as she began to faint.

Jack reached the end but this time there was nothing below, no starry space, no building floating but he got ready to jump when a scream ringed in his ears. The creature must've heard it too because in the next instant Jack was impaled with an axe to the lower buttock. He screamed too. Them Jenny, who was still kissing Carrie, heard it too. Everything was fading for her, vanishing into thin air, she felt her hair growing longer and Carrie began to scream in her ears. She shut them and closed her eyes. The man came close to Matt and heard the scream, but it was too late, the man took the knife back and shoved it inside Matt's chest. Pain blasted inside him like a volcano. He looked at the man and he felt free, quickly he punched the man in the face then as he went for choking the man to death he was pushed into the white zone. They all floated in here, Matt saw Jenny, then Jack and then Lisa. They all saw each other. They lost in the first match. But surprisingly, Rose was in Lisa's arm. She was awake and looking at all the elders floating.  

Word count: 1817