Destruction, fire, and hazy heat distorted visages of red surrounded Jenny as far as she could see. Screams pierced through the roar of the flames as large whale-like beings etched with strange and unfamiliar runes descended from the sky, cutting skyscrapers in half with their colossal fins as if they were mere paper.
The enormous beings long drawn-out melodies seemed utterly out of place.
Jenny stumbled back as the ground rumbled under her feet and split open releasing more monsters. As soon as she regained her footing, she looked up again only for a strange cryptid creature, more akin to a decaying demon than to any living being, barrel into her. The scream died in her throat as she was knocked onto the ground and the beast's teeth met with her neck.
The loud incessant beeping of Jenny's alarm caused her eyes to snap open with her heart racing. She groped for her phone in the darkness and turned the offending sound off.
Just a nightmare...
Again.
They were getting more and more vivid.
Jenny rubbed her hand along her runny nose as she was shaking and turned on the light. To her shock her hand was smeared with blood.
It took her a few panicked moments to realize that it was just a bloody nose, and not something worse. She stumbled out of bed and into her bathroom to clean up, holding her hand under her nose.
With her clean hand Jenny flicked on the light, squinting in the sudden brightness as she fumbled for the box of tissues on the counter. She caught a glimpse of her bloodied image in the mirror and frowned.
Her pillow had to be a mess she thought with an exasperated sigh as she looked in the mirror. Even her blonde hair was speckled and smeared with blood.
Annoyed she stuck rolled tissue scraps up her nose and went to shower. After all, she had to get ready for work. By the time she was clean, dressed, and out the door, the scare of the nightmare was all but forgotten.
______________
"Jennifer, are you listening?"
The words of Dr. Tomah, Jenny's therapist, snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Ah, yes, sorry. I'm just really tired…" Jenny sighed in response, rubbing under her eyes to try and wake up a bit more. The nightmares had gotten more vivid and intense, along with the nose bleeds.
"Nightmares still, huh?" Dr. Tomah asked jotting down notes when Jenny nodded absentmindedly.
"Yeah, they're getting worse. Always a sea of destruction, strange whale like creatures diving from the sky and mowing down the buildings, screams, fire… the whole shebang."
"May I try and interpret the dreams for you?" Jenny's therapist asked pushing her glasses up on her face. It took most of Jenny's willpower not to roll her eyes. She hated the attempt at deciphering her dreams.
"Sure, but you know what I think of that," Jenny sighed propping her elbows on her knees. Dr. Tomah gave an understanding smile and scribbled some more notes in the notepad perched upon her lap.
"I know, but reoccurring dreams are more than just 'nighttime entertainment' as you like to call it. Either way, I think the dreams relate to the stress in your life, feeling trapped in a less than ideal situation…"
Jenny zoned out slowly as her therapist went on trying to break down the different aspects of her nightmares. Her eyes unfocused as she listened to Dr. Tomah's voice.
Soon Jenny found herself standing in the wreckage of what could only be described as an apocalypse. The heat of the fires that devoured the drywall made her sweat and she stumbled out of the remains of the building she was in.
The sight on the street wasn't much better. Debris littered the torn-up pavement, turned over cars with the unfortunate no longer breathing victims still trapped within, and lifeless bodies as far as her eyes could see littered the ground.
The ground beneath Jenny's feet shook from an unearthly screech coming from above. Jenny covered her ears as she stumbled, the sound piercing through her eardrums. She looked up just as an enormous flying beast cut through the building she'd just been in, collapsing it into dust and rubble.
With a scream Jenny sought cover with some other survivors, darting from wall to wall as the buildings crumbled around them. The screams of a child caught Jenny's attention. It took her a few moments to find the source of the wails, discovering it to be an overturned car.
With only a split second of hesitation, Jenny raced to the car. The driver was dead already, and the child was trapped under the vehicle and debris.
"H-Hold on sweetie, I'll get you out," Jenny breathed through gritted teeth as she threw the rubble off the crying child, cutting herself on broken glass and jagged metal scraps. The child grabbed onto her arm and suddenly everything fell dead silent.
The destruction all faded away as sudden as it had appeared, and all Jenny could see was the child standing across from her glowing gold, no longer covered in injuries and neither was Jenny. The child motioned for Jenny to come closer. With her heart in her throat, Jenny kneeled to be eye level with the child.
"Find me, save me. Time is running out," the golden child whispered in Jenny's ear and then kissed her forehead. Pain shot from the spot down her body, making Jenny jerk back and her vision blurred to darkness.