Just a Dream

Klaus looked around. Everything seemed unnatural and blurry. He was in a brick corridor lit by torches. At the end of the tunnel a huge iron gate blocked the path. Klaus ran towards it. He could look through the grille into an arena. The sand was discolored by the blood of old fights.
"Luther!" called Klaus, startled. In the middle of the arena stood his brother. He was already bleeding from several wounds. An angry gorilla faced him.
"Luther!" cried Klaus again. His brother straightened up. He growled angrily and lunged at the monkey. Klaus shook his head.
"Luther, no!" he shouted and Luther turned his head to Klaus.
"Go away Klaus! This is my fight!", He turned back to the gorilla, which gave him a blow at that moment. Luther landed in the sand and groaned. The gorilla smashed his skull with a single movement.

"LUTHER!" Klaus cried.


Sobbing, Klaus woke. He gasped and grabbed his head, then slipped out of bed and walked barefoot down the hall.
"What happened?" Ben asked, but Klaus ignored him.
Hastily but as quietly as possible he slipped into Luther's room and felt his head and his face. Luther blinked tiredly.
"Klaus? What do you want?" he asked sleepily. The slender boy whimpered against Luther's chest.
"Just a dream," he sobbed, relieved. Luther sighed. He pulled Klaus to him and gently rocked him back and forth. After Klaus fell asleep, Luther carried him back to his room.

- - - - -

With wide eyes Klaus looked at the flashing lights and sparkling gems on the necks of the rich and beautiful. The long dresses and fine suits made him feel shabby in his pants and t-shirt.
"Allison?" He tried to push through the crowd to reach his sister.
"Allison! Allison!" he called. She laughed. She talked to a man.
"I heard the rumor that an attack is supposed to happen today. What nonsense," someone said behind Klaus.
He noticed something in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a man screwing a silencer onto a gun.
"ALLISON!" Klaus rushed to his sister. Two security men grabbed him.
"What do you want, civilian?!" asked one.
"Klaus?" Allison joined them. "That's my brother, let him go!" she demanded.
The shot tore the noise, causing silence first, then panic. People screamed and tried to escape. Allison looked down at her chest, confused. The blood colored her cleavage. She slumped, but Klaus could not reach her. The masses pushed him out.

"ALLISON!" Klaus cried.


Klaus sat up jerkily. He touched his chest, then tangled into his blanket, he jumped from his bed and fell.
"What happened?" Ben asked, but Klaus ignored him.
He scrambled free of the blanket and scurried across the corridor.
"Allison!" Klaus whispered loudly. He reached for her and put his ear to her breast. He heard her heartbeat.
"Klaus?" Tired, Allison stroke his hair. He shivered and wiped his tears away.
"Just a dream," he murmured softly. Allison put her arms around Klaus and slid aside so he could sleep with her.
"Everything's fine, Klaus," she whispered and kissed his forehead.

- - - - -

Klaus looked down at himself. He was 13 years old again. There were shots and explosions around him. He looked around completely confused. They were in a park and there were shooters between the trees.
Again and again Klaus noticed the sound that Five caused when he jumped through the dimensions. One shooter after another went to the ground.
"Five?" Klaus asked uncertainly.
"Don't be so useless!" exclaimed The Boy. "Help me!"
Klaus looked around desperately. How should he do that? He patted his sides to see if he could find a weapon. A tall man grabbed Five.
"I know him!" called Klaus. "That's one of the ones that tortured me!" He laughed, then he went pale. "These are the ones who hunt you! Five!"
He took two steps and cried out. A bear trap closed and dug metal teeth into his leg. Klaus collapsed.
"Five!" He shouted. Hazel clamped a hand around Five's throat. He kept going.
"You jump nowhere," he growled.
Klaus tried to open the bear trap. Hazel dropped the lifeless body and walked away.

"FIVE!" Klaus cried.


Klaus grabbed his throat and got up unsteadily from his bed. He stumbled to the door, slumped briefly and remained kneeling on the floor, panting.
"What happened?" Ben asked, but Klaus ignored him.
Then he dragged himself up and walked his way along the wall to Five's room. He was shaking. He stood in the door for a while, watching as his brother slowly breathed. In and out.
Klaus slid to the ground and dropped his head against the wall.
"Klaus?" Five looked up, tired. He had Dolores in his arms. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.
Klaus shivered.
"Just a dream," he held back a sob. "I'll leave you alone."
Five shook his head. "No, that's ok. Come here. Want a drink? "
Klaus nodded.

- - - - -

Klaus jumped in alarm as a car honked its horn. He stood in the middle of the street. The rain pattered hard on his bare torso. He only wore a skirt and high heels.
"Off the road you freak!" shouted the driver of the car.
Klaus looked at him in confusion, then started walking. With a numb feeling all over his body, Klaus stood lost in the street and looked around. He spotted a dark head across the street.
"Vanya," whispered Klaus. He started to run.
"Vanya. Vanya!" He reached out to wave to her as she turned to face him.
"Klaus? You're going to get sick you idiot!" she called.
Klaus wanted to reply something. His heel got stuck in a drain grate and he fell. He tore his knees and chin.
"Klaus! Oh god, pay attention!" Vanya took two steps towards him.
The truck hit Vanya with destructible force. Klaus heard her bones break, as her body was deformed. He tried to free his heel. Vanyas body fell on the ground. It made no sound. The screming of the people around them didn't reach him.
He heard the rain and nothing else.
Her violin case landed broken beside her. The bow had gone through her neck.

"VANYA!" Klaus cried.


Klaus moaned. Everything hurt. With difficulty he struggled out of his bed and staggered down the corridor with leaden legs and aching knees.
"What happened?" Ben asked, but Klaus ignored him.
Luckily, Vanya's room was next to his. Sobbing softly, Klaus scrambled to her bed and touched her neck.
"Klaus?" Vanya gripped his face wearily. "What's going on?" She asked.
Klaus reached for her throat.
"Just a dream," Klaus whimpered, making sure she had no broken bones. He curled up next to her and Vanya gently pulled him close.
She ruffled his hair and softly hummed a night song.

- - - - -

"This is the police talking! Open up!"
Klaus looked around. He was in a warehouse. The pale light from a neon lamp only illuminated the center of the room. He felt heavy chains on his hands. His arms were numb and burning at the same time from holding his own weight. He could not touch the ground.
"Did you snitch on us?" Cha-Cha asked angrily. She passed Klaus. Her steps led to another body on the wall.
"Diego?" Klaus murmured, exhausted.
Cha-Cha grabbed a knife and stabbed Diego in the stomach. He was coughing blood. Klaus felt tears running down his cheeks as Cha-Cha slit Diego's stomach and gutted him like a fish.
"Diego!" He whimpered. His brother could not speak anymore. He coughed blood again. Klaus sobbed, he tugged at the chains and screamed.
Cha-Cha glared at Diego. "You do not mess with us," she whispered softly and turned the silver knife in her hand before she rammed it into his chest.

"DIEGO!", Klaus cried.


Klaus choked. He struggled to keep from puking. He leaned forward and somehow stumbled out of bed.
"What happened?" Ben asked, but Klaus ignored him.
He hurried over to Diego's room and tore off the blanket.
"Are you crazy?!" shouted Diego, who reflexively pressed a knife to Klaus throat.
Klaus shivered and pulled up Diego's T-shirt. He gasped, exhausted.
"Just a dream," he murmured shocked and dropped to his knees. His arms felt so heavy. Diego dropped the knife.
"Hey." He looked anxiously at Klaus and pulled him onto the edge of the bed. Uncertain, he rubbed Klaus back.
"Hey. It's all right," he said, hugging Klaus.

- - - - -

Everything was full of blood. Torn body parts lay everywhere and the blood even dripped from the ceiling. Startled, Klaus looked around and began to search for his brother.
"Ben? BEN?" He rummaged through the body parts, hoping not to find him.
"Please do not be here. Please do not be here," Klaus prayed to himself as a jacket came into his hand. It had a patch with an umbrella. Klaus grabbed his hair.
"No no no no!" he sobbed and continued to rummage.
"Maybe he lost the jacket. Of course he just lost it. Nothing wrong here, right? Just a lost jacket- Hey Ben! I found it! I found your jacket! BEN! BEN! "
In the corner of his eye, Klaus noticed something. He turned around. There was an arm. Klaus picked it up and wiped the blood away. A tattoo decked the spot under the wrist. Klaus collapsed.

"BEN!" Klaus cried.


Klaus remained curled up in his bed. He shivered and whimpered until he finally got up. He dragged himself into Ben's room.
"What happened?" Ben asked sitting on the windowsill.
Klaus looked at his brother's gaze with watery eyes. He sobbed and sank down on Ben's bed. He whimpered and pulled the blanket to him.
"Just a dream," he assured the worried ghost. He grabbed the jacket that hung on the chair beside the bed and breathed Ben's smell.
Ben sat down on the bed with him, but he could not touch Klaus. He could only talk to him.
"Once upon a time, there was a boy," he began.

- - - - -

A siren tore Klaus from his sleep. Without thinking, he dressed and grabbed his rifle. He barely got what happened around him.
As if in a trance, he quickly went with the other men.
He knew exactly what was about to happen.
And yet he could not prevent it.
He had done that many times before. He saw the grenade coming. It struck right behind them. Klaus ducked behind the trench. Forced down by a curtain of fire.
He heard himself say, "That was close, Dave."
He looked over at the man he loved more than anything in the world. This loving, strong, vulnerable and beautiful man.
He turned him over and watched him die.
"Klaus," gasped Dave. Klaus kissed him on the lips.
"MEDIC!" he heard himself shout. But he knew that nobody would come. No one could come.

"Dave," Klaus whispered. He cried.


He cried until he could not hold on to himself anymore.
And then he screamed.
Ben could not do anything. He raised his head as Grace rushed in. Behind her in the door stood Luther, Diego, Allison, Five, with Dolores in his arms, and Vanya.
Grace sat down with Klaus and pulled him tight. She ruffled his hair and gently rocked him back and forth. Klaus saw how worried his siblings looked at him.
He clung to Grace and screamed again. Grace kissed him gently on the head.
"Shh. It was just a dream," she whispered softly. Klaus sobbed. He bit his lip and nodded.

"Just a dream," he whimpered silently.