Five Seconds

Dreams

Andy

In the dream I was running. I hid behind a tree as a group of people turned lunatic from bug bites ran past. They charged through the underbrush of the forest, not caring about the noise they made. I crept around my tree, keeping a close eye on them as they disappeared. I backed into something that was most certainly not a tree, and a hand covered my yelp.

"It's okay," the stranger whispered. The young girl was normal.

We ran through the forest, in the opposite direction of the Loonies. The forest grew greener, and long moss hung from tree branches. There was a small clearing ahead where people stood in gear that reminded me of poison control. They wore masks and goggles, with blue gloves and heavy boots.

The stranger pulled me aside, and we crouched beneath a bush. "Hide!" she said in a low voice. "Whatever you do, don't get caught. They'll kill you if you're a loony. Rumor has it they send you away and they lock you up in some jail somewhere. They do inhumane things there... something about drilling a hole in your id."

"What?" I responded. "What's an id? Who are they? Where is this prison?"

"Don't let them find you." She had crept far away now, disregarding me to save herself.

A growl beside my ear captured my attention. What was in the shadows? Fear crept through me. Did 'they' send out monsters to capture people?

The growl was growing more urgent. I could feel the vibrations through the dirt. A twig snapped under me. Something was wrong. A hand came out and latched onto my shoulder. It shook and shook.

That's right. I was asleep, this was a dream... but sleep was a nice escape from everything... the shaking was relentless.

Five more minutes.

My eyes opened to a dark truck and closed again. My dream continued. A loud bang. Strong hands gripped my arm and I snapped awake.

The arms were real, and they were pulling me out of my truck fast. But Parker was on me. He was gripping me tight and using all his strength to keep me in.

"Parker keep me in!" I screamed. I was screaming and screaming, words and sounds and syllables. Fear and adrenaline raced through my veins. My dog was barking, and another sound was reaching my ears, but I didn't have the focus to make it out.

"You gotta help me!" he growled through clenched teeth.

I spun around, and kicked at the man reaching through the broken window. Blood sprayed as my foot met his nose, but the relentless batter from my feet did nothing to loosen his grip. We struggled and struggled, my shoe fell from my foot, and there was another loud crunch when my barefoot connected with his teeth.

It took one more stomp to knock him to the ground. I looked over at my fallen shoe and decided it wasn't worth it.

I turned the key in the ignition, and it sputtered away but didn't start. I groaned in frustration. Now of all times. I tried again with the same results.

"Dammit!" I slammed my palm against the wheel. "This stupid broken piece of-"

"Andy!" Parker yelled. "We don't have time for you to scream at an inanimate object. Get this thing moving!"

I tried again to no avail.

"Let's go! Let's go!"

"I think it's the battery," I shouted back. My headlights were dim, only illuminating a meter in front.

Parker snatched the flashlight from the glove compartment, and shined it on a terrifying sight. We were surrounded by them. Women and men of all shapes and sizes were closing in on us. The worst part – they had weapons. I didn't see any guns, but I did see hammers and shovels and axes.