Dream Trap || ONC 2021

Chapter Nine: Thoughts

The feeling of dread and fear crept into their mind very slowly. None of them had talked much about it for a long time. There were often these periods of depressed silence. Sometimes someone would ask for something and then they would go back to their original state of dreamy worry. Soon Lisa had laid lunch and it was time they conveyed their thoughts on the matter at hand.

'Is it stale?' Lisa asked Jack, who simply shook his head like he did for every question asked. Lisa was dying to know their theories and also to tell her own. She had been expressive since childhood and this silence made her afraid and angry.

'Okay, one of us has to start talking about it. Right now.' she said,

Jenny looked at her, then back at her tinned tomatoes. She did speak forth after some time,

'I think it's the black people, the one you saw in your dreams. Maybe this town is cursed by some old magic. I read about that, though priests in early years yielded no magic but there was a strong suspect of black magic among those who showed unnatural talent like being able to understand animals or predicting future.' she piped in.

Lisa looked at her with a deadpan face. Jenny looked at her,

'What? you said somebody needed to speak.' she said,

Jack began to speak now, his voice had become quiet and slow. He spoke as if there was someone who might hear them. He was terribly shaken to his belief.

'What Jenny said could be part-true. Maybe this is all a dream, maybe we are living in a dream and when we dream it is the reality. . . Or its the other way round. I don't know,' he licked his lips, 'I don't know what's real and what's not and it scares me.' he spoke.

'It's like Inception movie.' said Jenny smiling. Jack nodded.

'Jack is right,' said Matt, not looking at anyone, 'He is correct in some manner. Look guys, we can't sit here and think about it. I know why we are so slow and confused it's because we don't know what we are facing. Like we are in the dark here, that's what scares us now.' explained Matt,

Lisa felt a bit better hearing them all speak. And it looked like all this silence seemed to have paid off because they were theorizing better. But as slow as the conversation had started, quickly it got shut down.

They finished their lunch and baby Rose fell asleep again. Jenny found it funny, all little babies do is eat, sleep and repeat. She remembered, she had read something like that on a T-shirt. Lisa moved over to Jack,

'Did Matt tell you?' she asked, Jack looked at her. She was bony, her nose straight and cutting cheekbones. She kept her hair small. He noticed her beauty the first time since they met at Denver.

'Tell me what?' he asked, 'About the map. That there is no place such as Rosalind.' said Lisa. Jack nodded.

Time passed with an unnoticed amount. Lisa became tired of this silence which held confusion, suspense, and terror in the air. What would they do? What will happen ahead? Make a move! This ain't no chess!

Slowly as the night came, the dinner was laid. They talked very little and soon it was a lullaby sleep for all. That's when the gears began to work.

Word Count:- 578