Wednesday 19th July
6:21 PM
Mist was rising from the ground heading to the skies in front of the same hospital that Ashley had seen too many times before. Of course, Ashley was dreaming again. She bent her knees and was about to take flight, her usual technique to get away from those traumatic memories she'd rather avoid. She was human after all.
'Ash?' a voice behind her called out to her.
A familiar voice to her, a voice she hadn't heard for a while. Ashley turned her head around slowly almost forgetting this world wasn't real, that this was all in her head. A man, maybe in his 40's with light brown hair and freckles. Ashley felt tears well in her eyes.
'D-Dad?' her voice broke.
'Hey chick.' He smiled back at her as he closed the distance between the two of them.
They wrapped their arms around each other in a warm, firm embrace.
'Dad, I miss you so much.' tears ran down her face that she could no longer contain.
Her dad pulled away to look deeply into Ashley's blue eyes.
'I miss you too, more than words can say.'
'I wish that this moment was real, I wish that you were real.'
He smiled, which Ashley didn't expect.
'Just because this is a dream, that doesn't mean it's not real.' his smile faded. 'Remember, I've been watching over you this entire time. You've made me so proud but you must know, from here on your life is going to take a drastic turn. But you're my little girl, I know you'll come out of it stronger than ever.'
A puzzled look appeared on Ashley's face.
'What, do you mean?'
'I'm sorry, I can't tell you more than that. I have to go now…' he looked off in the distance, staring at something that wasn't there.
He began becoming transparent and he turned to look Ashley one last time.
'What's happening? What's going to happen to me? You can't leave me like this!"
Tom gave her one last smile before vanishing completely. The moment he left, Ashley felt an intense wave of emotions. She didn't understand for one, she wanted to believe what had happed was real but dreams are only in the mind. It wasn't her real dad. Just a projection from her mind.
despite this, Ashley couldn't contain her emotions. Her legs buckled and she hit the ground hard with her knees cracking the concrete around her. Cars were driving past the front of the hospital dodging the cracks that appeared to be getting larger by the second. Ashley extended her arm with her palm facing one of the cars. She let out an ear-piercing scream a moment before the car crashed into a wall that didn't exist. A wall she had conjured in her mind. The wall appeared to be completely invisible. Other people standing nearby were in shock and confusion. Some were staring at her and others at the destroyed car. Ashley didn't care about them, they didn't have emotions like people in the real world after all. Ashley sobbed for a moment before glancing up at the scenario she had caused. People were no longer looking at the car but at her. Everyone was staring at her. They all had an eerie expression plastered on their faces. Like they were looking into her soul. A shiver ran down her spine making her quiver. Alright, time to leave, She thought to herself, panic beginning to build in her chest. She closed her eyes firmly then forced them open again. Just like she had done thousands of times before, without failure. Except this time, when she opened her eyes, nothing had changed, she remained kneeling on the concrete in front of that dreaded hospital.
'What?' Ashley's panic tightened in her chest.
The destroyed car that had collided with the imaginary wall remained in place but had caught fire. The warmth was becoming unbearable and the smoke was burning her eyes. She quickly got to her feet, feeling a little light headed from breathing in the smoky air. She closed her eyes again, this time for a little longer but once she opened them she remained in the same location. The only difference being the fire, it had grown substantially. Ashly let out a cough and covered her mouth with her shirt to deter the smoke from entering her lungs. It didn't help much. Her attention shifted to the people around her. Each of them were still staring and behaving as though the fire and smoke had no effect on them. She turned away from the burning car and made a run for it, pushing past the dream characters. The smoke was no thinner here than where she had been before. It was so thick that it was blocking the sun light. Ashley couldn't breathe properly, which seemed unusual considering this scenario was just a dream. The smoke was actually hurting her lungs. Dreams aren't meant to cause physical pain. It's not possible. She was still running despite barely being able to see. Suddenly things were getting hotter, quite significantly to her surprise. Fire! Ashley stopped running immediately. There was fire blocking her path from a totally different angle. After running around aimlessly she found herself back where she started, in front of that building. That hospital. She hesitated for a moment before entering in a sprint. Ashley did everything she could to avoid going into this hospital again but this situation didn't give her a choice. The smoke was still too thick to breathe or see properly but she followed the wall with her hands until she found a door handle. This led her into a room that returned some of her vision to her. A hospital bed was presented before her. There was a sheet draped over what appeared to be a human body.
'Dad?' Ashley spoke with a raspy voice.
Ashley began coughing uncontrollably in an attempt to take in some breathable air. It failed. She couldn't hold her own bodyweight anymore, so gravity dragged her down to the floor. With one last cough she rolled onto her back staring at what would be the ceiling if the smoke wasn't blocking her view. She tried one last time to wake up. Eyes closed… eyes open…. It was unsuccessful. At least she could feel her life slipping away, then she will wake up back in her bed, away from all this chaos. Ashley took her last breath and things began to turn white.
'Take my hand. Now!' A voice commanded.
Ashley refocused her vision to notice a shadow standing before her extending their hand down to her level. She obeyed and took the strangers hand.
White, everywhere. So magical in its vastness. It went on forever. It felt somehow cool but warm at the same time. How was that possible? It was like complete bliss.
'Come on, open your eyes.' That same voice demanded.
No. I don't want to. Ashley protested. Things began getting darker again. That bliss started to dissipate and reality was sinking in. Ashley slowly opened her eyes. The surface below her was firm, the roof was blue. Wait, that wasn't a roof. Her eyes darted around her before lifting her head. A tent… she was in a tent.
'Are you stupid or something?' He questioned offensively.
Ashley tried to sit up but couldn't muster the strength so she let her body collapse back down onto the sleeping bag.
'What's happening to me?' Ashley could barely speak.
'You were nearly taken until I had to save your ass.'
'Taken?'
'Going around, flashing him the curse.'
'Curse?' Ashley had managed to lift herself onto her elbow to look at the stranger.
It was Hank. The one from that weird vision she had. The two of them appeared to be in some shrubbery beside a meadow taking shelter inside a tent.
'How did I get here?' Ashley panned her head around looking for clues. 'Where is here?'
'Don't you know anything?' He grumbled.
'Know what?' Ashley was completely clueless and getting fed up with knowing next to nothing.
'How did you get the curse?' Hank pushed, still avoiding her questions.
'Look, I don't know what you're talking about!'
Ashley could feel her strength returning so she pulled herself up into a sitting position but even that left her breathless.
'They didn't tell you anything?' Hank screwed up his brow.
'NO! nobody's told me anything. Please, just tell me what's going on!' Fear was rising inside her.
Hank folded his arms in and leant back in disbelief.
'The curse' Hank began. 'You've experienced death. Yes?'
'Yes' Ashley gulped realizing now what he meant by "The curse".
Hank looked down at Ashley's bare wrist as though looking for something that was missing.
'Where is your number?' Hank asked, now he was the one confused.
Ashley looked down at her wrist clearly knowing there wouldn't be a number written there. She shifted her gaze toward Hank's wrist. A tattoo was marked there, the number "001".
'Where did you get that?' Ashley asked.
Hank stared at his wrist blankly at the number.
'You got that from "Suit guy" didn't you?' Ashley was trying to piece together the hints that were presenting themselves.
'Zed, you mean?' Hank was still staring at his wrist. 'The one wearing a full black tuxedo?'
'Yes. His name is Zed? Like the virus Zed-34?'
'Exactly like the virus.' Hank lifted his gaze. 'He created the virus.'
'What?' Surely Ashley miss heard what he'd said. 'tell me everything! Because right now, I've never felt so confused in my life!'
Hank looked up at her with almost, pity in his eyes.
'Okay, I'll explain what I can…'
What Hank went on to tell Ashley, complicated everything. But she didn't know what to do with all this information.
Firstly, the virus Zed-34 was created by an organization to turn ordinary dreamers into powerful lucid dreamers. These rare few were to be used practically as lab rats. Being pumped with Zed-34 with one experimental goal, power. You see, the "Suit Guy", Zed, was born with the ability to control his dreams naturally. That might not seem very powerful, but he was able to transfer those powers from the dream world over to the waking world. How he did so, Hank didn't know. All he knew was that Zed required these rare dreamers. Once he found this discovery, his search for power only grew. Zed conducted experiments on himself until they became too sinister to do so in that manner. When he couldn't get his hands on these dreamers, he'd experimented on innocent individuals, mostly the homeless.
Ashley asked how someone is turned into a rare lucid dreamer.
'You have to die.' Hank said blankly.
Ashley's face went pale by just the memory of her death. Hank continued to explain but Ashley could feel the dream slipping away.
'I'm waking up!' She shouted. 'No! I have so many questions!'
'I'll find you.' Hank said with almost comfort in his voice, maybe he felt sorry for Ashley.
Things around Ashley lost their colour and darkness began surrounding her until she couldn't even feel her body.
Friday 10th August
Ashley was waiting patiently for what felt like forever for Hank to find her. Would he find her in the waking world? Or the Dream world?
School was functioning again, which made things harder than ever. Trying to focus when she had so many questions. It seemed as though the information she was told only left her with more questions. Sam Nathan and Ashley were seated in the school's cafeteria by the corner, away from the other students. The floor was still wet from when the janitor had been cleaning. The area was loud amongst all the talking and laughter. It'd be nice to laugh and actually mean it, Ashley thought. The dream She'd had in July had been playing on her mind every day since. The urge to tell her closest friends was too overwhelming because she had kept it to herself this entire time, fearing they wouldn't believe her. Just like the accident.
'Guys.' Ashley spoke finally.
Sam and Nathan turned their heads in her direction. Ashley hadn't said anything other than Hello and a few head nods here and there.
'She speaks at last.' Nathan joked.
'I have to tell you something.' Ashley said but hesitated.
'Sure,' Sam said reassuringly 'What's up Ash?'
Ashley explained in full detail about the dream of Hank, the vision, "suit guy" Zed and the virus Zed-34.
'that's all I know. Yes, I'm aware that this doesn't make much sense and it's not much to go on.'
Nathan wore his best poker face while Sam seemed to be shocked.
'You don't believe me do you?' Ashley said while feeling frustration build inside her.
'Ashley, I can tell you're getting upset and I'm worried about you, but I think it might be wise to talk to someone, like a-' Sam was cut off.
'That won't fix anything, you don't understand!' Ashley said sourly through her teeth slamming her fist down on the table.
She got to her feet and stormed out of the cafeteria with many of the students eyes on her. Ashley could feel the judgment from them all but today, she was beyond caring. Sam and Nathan were in shock at her behavior, having never seen that side of her.
'Sam, look..' Nathan whispered.
Sam followed Nathans gaze with his own. Nathan was staring at the table. The hard, metal table. It had old graffiti over its surface and gum stuck underneath, but that wasn't what the two of them were paying attention to. A large dent had been made in the shape of a closed fist.
'Was that… her?' Nathan asked.
'I think so. That dent definitely wasn't there before.' Sam's brain began swimming with guilt. 'What if she's right… about everything?'
'Maybe, Let's go, we have to go after her.'
The sun was dropping fast behind the willow trees as they swayed in the breeze. In the center of the willow trees was a lagoon with murky water and little spiders darting around on its surface. The sky was turning red which reminded Ashley of a saying her grandma would tell her. "red skies at night, sailors delight, red skies in morning, shepherds warning". Ashley wiped away the tears running down her freckled cheeks. She'd been sitting here alone, on a tree stump by the water for what felt like hours. Crying. Hank should have presented himself by now but he hadn't. This made Ashley feel more alone than ever. Experiencing these weird phenomenon's on her own. Any time she wanted to be understood, her best friends wouldn't believe her. This thought set her off again, making her vision blurry with tears. Ashley noticed a perfect stone for skipping across water, right by her feet. She reached down to pick it up feeling her anger building. All her pain and suffering since Tom had passed away right up to this present day, was projected from her into the stone. She wish she could throw her problems into the lagoon too. Just like the stone. She gripped the stone firmly feeling the tears run down her face. Fuck you! She shouted in her mind, throwing the stone faster and harder than she'd ever tried before. The stone made contact with the water and began skipping across the water at an impossible speed. A speed not capable for any human being to throw. Ashley squinted to watch for when it would sink. But it didn't, instead, it landed amongst the grass, across the lagoon, no longer in sight.
'Whoa?' Ashley gasped.
This must be another dream, she thought to herself. She raised her hand and began counting her fingers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. weird… her hand appeared normal. Maybe a different reality check… she pinched her nose and attempted to breathe through it. In a dream if you can breathe then you're dreaming. She couldn't breathe through her nose. Both of Ashley's reality checks proved to her the world around her was real, not the dreaming realm. But how was this possible? Damn, I've been asking that a lot lately.
'Ash!' a shout echoed around Her.
It sounded as though it were Sam's voice. Ashley didn't flinch, she remained focused on the ripples left by that unusual stone. Nathan's voice began calling out too. She rolled her eyes, not interested in hearing how they would attempt to convince her that she was delusional and needed "help".
A minute or two later, the two boys ceased their calls once their eyes had landed on a figure kneeling by the water. The figure had long blonde hair. That was enough evidence for them to assume it was her. The two boys exchanged looks and began to walk downhill toward her.
'Ash. We wanted to say that-' Sam began, until Ashley cut him off.
'What? That you think I need to see a Shrink? That I need help? What is it that you wanted to say?' Ashley turned around revealing her flushed face that appeared both angry but also scared.
'No…' Nathan said firmly.
'Then what?' She cocked her head to the side holding back her rage and the sense of betrayal.
'We believe you." Sam confessed.
'You believe me?' Ashley didn't expect that to be the answer. 'Why?'
'The table… didn't you see the table?' Sam was surprised.
'What about the table?' she remained clueless.
Sam shoved his hand into the pocket of his blue skinny jeans to retrieve his phone. With a quick thumb print scan and a couple taps he turned the screen toward Ashley. She moved closer toward Sam to get a closer look at the picture he'd opened.
'That's the dent you left in one of the tables in the school cafeteria'
Ashley's mind flooded with confusion and disbelief. How could she have done that? The table was made of metal so denting it with someone's bare hands was impossible. Well it should have been.
'I did that?' Ahsley mumbled only just loud enough for the others to hear.
'Yes!' Nathan said with a small smile. 'You must have superpowers or something.'
Superpowers? If this is what superpowers entail, Ashley wanted no part of it. So far these, powers, didn't seem so super.
'You need to experiment or something!' Sam said with excitement etched in his voice.
'Yeah! And we need to find out what you are capable of.' Nathan added.
'This is awesome!' Sam said.
Anger started to build in Ashley's chest. How dare they say these things?
'Awesome?' Ashley scoffed. 'Awesome? You have no idea what this is like! I have no idea what's happening and I keep asking the same question, why me?'
She began thinking back to the dream she had of her father. How real he seemed. He was right about one thing…
'but you must know, from here on your life is going to take a drastic turn.' Ashley mumbled.
The boys heard what Ashley said but were unsure what it meant.
'That's what my dad told me. He was right! It was really my dad, a dream character couldn't possibly predict the future.'
After a long while of talking, Ashley had managed to explain the entire dream to Sam and Nathan but this time, they actually believed her. And that felt great because that meant she wasn't alone with this burden anymore. The sun was beginning to set, casting a pink and orange hue onto the still water, it was picture perfect. Nature had its own beautiful way of calming a struggling mind.
'I know what you have to do.' Sam decided to speak up after a moment of silence.
'I'm all ears.' Ashley said eagerly.
'You have to find, Hank.'
That sounded like a fair call but only one problem. 'I don't know where to find him. The only time I had seen Hank in waking life was when we brushed shoulders at the skate park.'
'Ahh, you're forgetting something.' Nathan smiled. 'you can find him in the dreaming world.'
'That's great in theory but, I don't know how to find him in the dreaming world. It'd be like a needle in a haystack.'
'Luckily for us, google knows everything…' Sam also smiled.
Ashley was open to the idea but wasn't too hopeful. Google doesn't really know everything of course. This was the best option. She needed answers fast, as these unanswered questions were driving her mad and she didn't know how long she could hold it together.