Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

dream sequence | nine

A high pitched scream shot through the frosty air, echoing through my ears. My lips parted as I gasped for air, my eyes opening wide. It felt as though I had just sprinted a mile at the ache of my heart as it pounded in my chest and my cheeks flushed from the cold. I rested on all fours, my hands gripping at the wet, dead grass underneath them. And again that same scream cut through the darkness like a knife.

I had never heard a sound like that before. Pure terror, was the only way to describe it. It sounded as though someone was fighting tooth and nail to stay alive. I closed my eyes for only a moment, relishing the silence that came next. My forehead creased in confusion as water began to rain down from the sky.

It hurt. The temperature was so cold that it actually stung when it came into contact with my warm skin. My breathing evened out, but as the sound of the screaming returned, I began to hyperventilate. It wasn't me in pain this time, but I feel the nerves that continued to build inside me with each passing second. I curled into myself, covering my ears with my hands to try and stop the noise as it became louder.

Out of breath, I stood to my feet. My knees shook as I stumbled forward through the night. The screams turned to choking sobs as I weaved my way through the dark forest. It had to stop, that noise had to stop or I'd go insane. My heart ached at the sound, because I knew it all too well. It was the sound of someone's lungs taking in water.

The noise overworked my brain so much it began to throb and only out of sheer will power did I continue to push myself through the darkness. It pained me, the closer I got to the noise and as I crept forward through the trees, I knew exactly where I was headed.

Pieces of hair clung to my face as water continued to pour from above, but the stinging sensation had faded as my body grew numb to the feeling. It was as though I was trying to see through fog as my breaths came out in short gasps, the steam from it clouding my vision every time I exhaled. I rested my body against the trunk of a tree, bracing myself for a second as yet another scream hit me at full force. I was close, but was I close enough to save the person who was in danger?

My feet slipped on the mud under them as I trudged forward and I knew then that I was almost to the lake. I picked up my pace, holding my arms out slightly to balance myself so I wouldn't fall. I kept on the same path, almost in a sprint before I skidded to a halt at the tree line. My eyes widened and my heart thumped against my rib cage as I watched the scene in front of me.

Arms thrashed against the murky water, but I was unable to see the person's head as it was already submerged under the surface. But what had me frozen in my spot were the glowing eyes that watched, not only me, but also the person drowning, with satisfaction.

As I took a single step forward, I felt a cold hand grab at the back of my neck and I gasped for air as I fell backward against the muddy forest floor. My shirt stuck to my body as I tried to force myself up, the choking and gasping that came from the stranger made me want to cry out in agony. I didn't want someone to experience what I did on a nightly basis, but as the pressure built on my chest, I couldn't bring myself the sit up.

Tears stung my eyes as I tried to blink them away. My body was still as I laid out on my back, staring up at the nothingness overhead. My own cries mixed with the stranger's and I knew then that there was nothing I could do. This nightmare wasn't going to allow me to help, the weight on my chest increasing with just the slightest move.

So I laid there in the dark, crying along with the unknown person, until the sounds of moving water and choking gasps were no longer heard. And as the pressure on my chest became too much and unconsciousness began to take over, the only sound left were the sobs I was creating.

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