Every midnight, Christine experiences strange, vivid dreams-dreams that feel more like hidden messages than illusions. As she, Nathan, Mickey and Ford navigate the complexities of their friendships and unspoken emotions, they begin to realize that t...
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I’m back in the real world. Mallow and I couldn’t go to the park because I wasn’t feeling well. I was only out in the rain for a short while, and besides, it was just a dream… So why do I still feel sick, as if my dream wasn’t just a dream? Mallow seems sad now because we can’t go outside.
"Mallow, let’s just go tomorrow, okay? Ate Christine isn’t feeling well," I told him. He barked in response.
---
(Mickey P.O.V)
Since it was too quiet, I decided to break the silence.
"Nathan, why are you so grumpy?" I asked, but when I looked at him, he was pale. I immediately rushed to his side.
"Hey, you’re burning up," I said.
"Does he have a fever?" Ford asked. I nodded.
"He was soaking wet yesterday," I explained.
"Here, I have a handkerchief. Christine, you and Ford find some water so we can cool him down," I said as I handed my handkerchief to Ford, who quickly took it.
(Ford P.O.V)
I woke Christine up, and she opened her eyes right away, but something seemed off when we looked at each other.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"It’s cold," she replied.
"Huh? But it’s not," I said, but she simply closed her eyes again, as if she was about to fall back asleep.
I decided to leave, not wanting to disturb her rest.
(Christine P.O.V)
Since Ford woke me up for no reason, I tried to go back to sleep. A moment later, Mickey called my name loudly, making me open my eyes. He sat beside me.
"Why didn’t you go with Ford?" he asked.
"Huh? Where?" I replied.
"I told you two to find water and wet the towel for Nathan. His fever is really high," he explained.
"He didn’t tell me," I said.
"Oh… I see," he nodded.
"It’s really cold," I said.
"Huh? No, it’s not," he responded.
"Really?" I checked my temperature. He looked at me and did the same.
"You have a slight fever," he said.
"Looks like Ford is taking a while. Wait here, both of you. I’ll go find some water. But I don’t have a handkerchief anymore," Mickey said.
"Here," Nathan handed him his light blue handkerchief.
"Alright, just wait here, okay?" Mickey said as he walked away.
I turned to Nathan, but he was already looking at me. He quickly looked away when our eyes met.
"You shouldn’t have followed me yesterday. Now, you have a high fever," I told him. He didn’t reply, so we sat in silence. The only sounds were the birds singing, which at least filled the quiet air.
(Ford P.O.V)
When I returned, Christine was asleep, leaning against Nathan. Surprisingly, Nathan wasn’t in a bad mood about it.
I checked their foreheads. Nathan was burning up, while Christine had a slight fever.
Mickey came back shortly after, taking care of Nathan while I attended to Christine.
Nathan woke up as Mickey wiped his face.
"Sorry," Mickey said, realizing he had disturbed him.
Christine woke up a moment later. She looked at Nathan first before sitting up straight.
"Looks like we found water in different places, Ford. But at least now we know where to get more," Mickey said with a smile.
---
"I’ll go find some food," Ford said.
"I’ll go with you. Nathan, Christine, stay here, okay?" Mickey said. I nodded.
Since it was just Nathan and me again, the silence returned. The birds had stopped singing, making the quiet even more deafening. I was about to start a conversation when we suddenly heard rustling. Nathan immediately turned toward the sound.
A moment later, something emerged from the tall grass.
Our eyes widened as we saw a tiger.
"Stay here," Nathan said, grabbing my hand and pulling me closer to him.
We slowly stepped back as the tiger carefully advanced toward us.
My chest tightened, and my hands trembled as fear took over me. What do we do? Mickey! Ford! Hurry and help us!
Suddenly, Nathan let go of my hand and ran away.
He left me!
Why did he tell me to stay put? Was it so I’d get eaten instead of him? That guy… Seriously?!
I kept stepping backward until I had nowhere else to go. The tiger opened its mouth, ready to attack—
Then, out of nowhere, a large rock hit it. Nathan had thrown it.
He came back?
He glanced at me before quickly shifting his focus back to the tiger.
I had no idea he could fight like that. He was skilled in defense. But if he could fight, why didn’t he do this when that man with the axe tried to kill him? That would’ve been much easier to handle than a tiger.
Moments later, Mickey and Ford arrived. They dropped what they were carrying and rushed to help Nathan.
Eventually, the tiger couldn’t hold on anymore—
But then, it vanished into thin air.
That wasn’t an ordinary tiger.
"It wasn’t an ordinary tiger," Nathan confirmed. "It disappeared completely, so it’s hard to tell if it’ll come back or not."
Ford knelt beside me, his eyes scanning for any injuries before meeting mine with deep concern.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" he asked.
"I'm fine…" I answered flatly, still in shock from how concerned he seemed.
"I'm okay. Thanks to Nathan," I added, turning to Nathan with a small smile. But he simply looked away.
