Spilling Guts

Part 95 - Perchance to Dream

Wednesday, 4:23 AM

Will woke, body jolting at the tendrils pinning down his limbs, and snaking across his upper lip. He tasted blood at the back of his throat.

Where was he? Not his apartment, not a cot at the Watch. He...

The smell of clean sheets and cloves snuck through the smell of blood and body sweat.

Oh, right. The sleep study.

Ambient lights slowly brightened as Doctor Hayman knocked, and then entered the room.

"William?"

"Hm?" The cold had settled into Will's throat like a burr, scratching his voice. Will winced as he coughed into his hand.

"You were able to sleep for a little over three hours. How do you feel?"

"Fuzzy. I did just wake up." Will pulled the nasal tube down, feeling snot creep down his nostrils. The red on the tube made him startle.

"It's the dry air," said Doctor Hayman, handing him a tissue box. "Dry air plus your cold, and stress, equals nosebleeds."

Will nodded, blowing what felt like half his brain into the tissue. Blessings, it was a box of lotion infused tissues. The cheap kind left his nose raw. He glanced to the stuffed toy on the edge of the bed. "Did I fall asleep with the falafel?"

"Yes you did," said Doctor Hayman with a smile. He held up a notebook and pulled up a chair to the side of the bed. "I know you feel groggy, but if you can I'd like you to answer some questions. Do you usually wake up after only a few hours?"

"Sometimes," said Will. "It varies from night to night. I thought I was getting worse, but then the last couple of nights I was sleeping through the night." Granted he had been sleeping after a panic attack and with a small person inside him. What bearing that had on his sleep schedule was yet to be determined.

"What do you usually do when you wake up this early?"

"Try going back to bed. And when that doesn't work I would get up and do chores around the apartment, or exercise." Will would be limited to the kind of stretches he could do while attached to various machines like a human battery from The Matrix. He took another tissue.

"Do you remember what you were dreaming?"

Will's immediate thought was "no", but the wires still pulling at his limbs brought back a flash.

He had been thinking of Louis in a way he knew he shouldn't because while he and Louis had a teeny tiny hope of being partners again, being together sexually wasn't going to happen. Except in dreams where it had been warm, and tight, and wanted. And then the dream melted from soft touches and bare skin to wires crawling out of his navel and ripping apart everything in their path in a bloody swathe. Including Louis.

Will had seen his share of tentacle monsters thanks to a wide variety of sketchy fantasy, science fiction, and anime when he was a curious teenager. They usually didn't end like that.

"Wires growing out of me and killing someone I know," admitted Will. "And then pinning me down, I think. I should write horror movies."

"That certainly sounds terrible, but being able to remember elements of your dream is promising." Doctor Hayman said, soothing and sincere as he scribbled another note. "Let's see if you can get back to sleep instead of stretches. Do you need something to drink or eat?"

I want to swallow down Louis.

Stop it. Not happening. Especially with my sore throat.

"I feel half asleep already thanks to this cold. But I could use another cup of tea." Will pointed to the wires still attached to his head. "Did anything from this show up on your end?"

"The equipment is working fine, but the more patterns I can see while you are moving in and out of an REM state, the better I can see what might be going on in your head." Doctor Hayman helped Will clean and reset the nasal tube, and then moved the stuffed chibi falafel closer.

The tea Doctor Hayman fetched was hot, herbal, honey sweet, and swimming with lemon. The honey and lemon temporarily melted the prickly burr in Will's throat.

"Oh. You know tea," said Will, moaning against the rim of the cup. Perhaps he had found someone who could take part of his tea collection off his hands before the expired. "We need to talk later."

"Indeed. May your next dreams be more pleasant."

The lights dimmed again, and Will curled up with the stuffed toy. "I hope they're more pleasant too."

Doctor Hayman was kind and reminded Will a lot of Balcuwitz. And the room he was sleeping in was nice; no laundry overflowing the hamper in the corner or downstairs neighbors watching loud movies.

Will still wished he was sleeping at home.