Theoretically Speaking

Hear It In The Night

MIKE

Plane.

Ketchup.

Soda.

"Keep an eye on your brother."

Frisbee.

Car engine.

Running.

Everything happened the way it always did in the dream, and Mike failed just like all of the times before. Just like the first time. The kids weren't there. There was no sign of them at all. It was like the dream had been reset.

The dream still felt different in the way that Mike was more aware of himself. He once again appeared as his present self instead of as he was when he was twelve years old, which blurred the line between the dream and reality. Mike was fully aware that he was in a dream. Even though he couldn't see them, he knew the kids were there. They were hiding in plain sight, watching. They were waiting.

What do they want?

In terms of progress, it felt like he had taken several steps forward and one mile back. It made him want to scream out his frustration. An abandoned pizzeria in the middle of nowhere was probably the most ideal place to do that.

Mike came home feeling less tired than most nights, but twice as disgruntled. He could already sense that Ness was awake the moment he started to unlock the door. Mike knew by now to expect a lecture at the very least for whatever it was that he had unknowingly done, and how stupid he was for doing it. After a solid minute of standing discontentedly at the front step, Mike ripped off the bandaid and pushed open the door.

The house was dark. No kitchen light and no TV. Without the faint sound of dripping from the kitchen sink, it would've been dead silent. Mike cringed at the booming sound of the door shutting behind him. If Ness had been asleep, he definitely would've been woken by that.

Mike slowly entered the living room with careful footsteps. He squinted through the dark. As he got closer to the couch, he could see a faint glow. He could hear the faint clicks and taps of fingers on a keyboard. He stepped close enough to find Ness sitting there, with legs crossed and head bent down, staring intently at the laptop.

Click. Clack. Tap. Click. Clack. Tap

"Ness?"

Ness's head perked at the sound of his name, but he didn't look up. There was another long string of taps and clicks before he finally spoke.

"Hey."

Click. Clack. Tap. Click. Clack. Tap.

Ness made no other acknowledgement of his arrival. He just sat and stayed fixated on the laptop. Mike didn't know what was more strange, the way Ness was acting or the fact that he actually kinda wanted to be scolded at. He preferred that over being ignored.

"What're you doing?"

"Research."

Click. Clack. Tap. Click. Clack. Tap.

Mike lifted an eyebrow as he stuck his keys in his pocket. "On what?"

Click. Clack. Tap. Click. Clack. Tap.

"Come here."

After a moment's pause, Mike shrugged off his jacket and walked over to the couch. He looked at the laptop's screen as he sank down next to Ness. There were at least a dozen tabs open, and counting.