The engine was off, and the darkness outside was almost suffocating. We turned off the car's interior lights, plunging us into near-total blackness, save for the faint glow of the stars through the windshield. The only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves outside and our own uneasy breathing.
"We'll take shifts," I said, breaking the silence. "One person stays awake while the others sleep. We can't risk getting ambushed."
Ethan nodded from the front passenger seat, his face barely visible in the darkness. "I'll take the first shift," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I don't think I could sleep right now anyway."
I didn't argue. I was exhausted, but my nerves were still shot from everything that had happened. I wasn't sure I'd be able to close my eyes without seeing zombies or the chaos we'd just escaped. But we needed rest. All of us.
Yabe was in the backseat, hugging her knees to her chest. She hadn't said much since we parked, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear. I turned back to her, trying to give her a reassuring look, even though I felt far from calm.
"Kohai," I said softly, "try to get some sleep. I'll wake you up when it's your turn."
She nodded, though her expression told me she wasn't convinced she'd be able to sleep either. Still, she lay down across the backseat, curling up as best she could with her backpack as a makeshift pillow.
"Senpai… I'm scared," she whispered, her voice trembling in the darkness.
"I know," I said, my voice low. "But we'll get through this. Just get some rest."
I leaned back in the driver's seat, closing my eyes, though my mind was still racing. The tension in the car was thick—none of us felt safe, not really. But this was the best we could do for now.
"Wake me if you hear anything," I muttered to Ethan, my body sinking into the seat. "Even the smallest sound."
"Yeah, no problem," Ethan replied quietly, his voice weary. "Get some sleep, man. We'll need it."
The silence stretched out between us, broken only by the occasional soft shuffle of movement from Yabe as she tried to get comfortable. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax, even though my entire body was on edge.
I wasn't sure how long I lay there, eyes closed but unable to drift off. Every creak of the car, every whisper of wind made my heart jump. But eventually, exhaustion won out. My thoughts blurred, and sleep finally came—uneasy, shallow, but better than nothing.
***
In the dream, it was like nothing had ever gone wrong. The five of us—me, Kenji, Malcolm, Raul, Ethan—were sitting in our usual spot, huddled around a table, talking shit and laughing like old times. It felt surreal, the way things used to be before everything went to hell. We were back in the dorms, safe, no zombies, no chaos.
"Dude, did you see the latest One Piece episode?" Kenji asked, leaning back in his chair with a grin.
"Of course I did," I replied, smirking. "You know I never miss it."
Raul chuckled. "You two are obsessed. There's other anime out there, you know."
Malcolm, sitting next to me, chimed in with a mouthful of chips. "Yeah, but none of it hits like One Piece. You guys are missing out."
Everything seemed normal. Too normal. That's when I started noticing the cracks. Kenji's smile was a little too wide, his eyes just a bit too vacant. Malcolm's voice sounded muffled, distorted, like he was talking through water. My heart began to race, even though nothing had really happened yet. Something was wrong.
I looked around the table, and that's when I saw it. Kenji's skin was pale, too pale, and Malcolm had dark circles under his eyes, his lips cracked and bleeding. They didn't seem to notice, though. They just kept eating, talking, like nothing had changed.
"Guys…?" I said hesitantly, my voice shaky.
Kenji's head snapped toward me, his eyes suddenly milky white, his grin splitting wider than humanly possible. "Why did you leave us, Jake?"
My blood turned to ice.
Before I could react, Kenji lunged across the table, his fingers clawing at my arm. Malcolm followed suit, his body jerking unnaturally as he reached out, his hands twisting into claws.
"You abandoned us!" Malcolm screeched, his voice distorted, inhuman. "You left us to die!"
I tried to push them off, but their grip was iron-tight, their nails digging into my skin. Their eyes, those dead, accusing eyes, bore into mine. I struggled, kicking the table over, but they just kept coming, relentless, their faces grotesque, twisted with rage.
"You were supposed to save us!" Kenji screamed, his face inches from mine, his breath hot and rancid.
I backed up, stumbling over my chair, but their hands kept reaching for me, pulling me down. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. The man from earlier, the one who had tried to get into the car, the one I'd left behind. His face was slack, his eyes wide with that same dead, accusing look.
"You left me, too," he said, his voice a hollow echo.
And then they all bit down.
Pain exploded through me as their teeth sank into my skin. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Their mouths tore at me, ripping chunks of flesh away as I thrashed, helpless. Blood poured from my wounds, and all I could hear was their angry voices, accusing me over and over again.
"You left us! You abandoned us!"
I woke with a start, my body jerking violently as I gasped for breath. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could feel the sweat soaking through my clothes. For a second, I didn't know where I was, the darkness around me disorienting. But then I heard her voice, soft and worried.
"Senpai… are you okay?"
I blinked, trying to shake the lingering terror of the nightmare as I realized Yabe was leaning over me, her hand resting gently on my arm. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with concern.
I took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, Kohai."
She didn't look convinced. "You were… shaking. Did you have a nightmare?"
I nodded, my throat dry. "Yeah. A bad one."
Ethan, who had been on watch, glanced over from the passenger seat. "You alright, man? You looked like you were fighting something in your sleep."
I forced a weak smile, though my heart was still racing. "I'm fine, just… just a nightmare."
Yabe's grip on my arm tightened slightly, her voice soft. "What was it about?"
I hesitated, not wanting to worry her more than she already was. But the images from the dream were still fresh in my mind—the way Kenji and Malcolm had looked at me, the way they'd clawed at me, blaming me for leaving them behind. I couldn't shake it.
"I dreamt about the guys," I said finally, my voice low. "Kenji… Malcolm… They were… they were zombies. They asked me why I abandoned them."
Yabe's eyes softened, and she squeezed my arm gently. "Senpai… it wasn't your fault."
"I know that," I said, though the guilt gnawed at me anyway. "But it didn't feel that way in the dream. They just… I don't know. It felt so real."
"They were already gone before we could do anything," Ethan said quietly. "You didn't abandon anyone, Jake. You did what you had to do."
I nodded, though the words didn't do much to ease the weight pressing down on me. The dream had felt too vivid, too raw, and I couldn't help but feel like their voices were still echoing in my head.
Yabe leaned closer, her eyes full of concern. "Senpai, you've done everything you can to keep us safe. Don't let the past eat you up. You didn't leave them. You're still here, and you're still fighting."
I looked at her, the sincerity in her eyes cutting through the fog of my thoughts. She was right. I couldn't afford to get lost in what-ifs or regrets. Not now.
"Thanks, Kohai," I said, managing a small smile. "I needed that."
She gave me a soft smile in return, though the worry hadn't completely left her face. "Just promise me you won't carry that guilt. It's too heavy."
I nodded, leaning back against the seat. "I'll try."
Ethan glanced out the window, his eyes scanning the darkness. "Get some rest. I've got the next watch."
I closed my eyes again, trying to calm my racing heart. The nightmare still lingered at the edges of my mind, but Yabe's words stayed with me, too. I had to focus on the present. On keeping the people I cared about safe.
But even as I drifted back into a restless sleep, I couldn't shake the feeling that the past wasn't done with me yet.
Q: How do you deal with nightmares?