THE AUTHOR (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER 13 - IF IT WAS JUST A DREAM

I woke up feeling uncomfortable. Numbness had spread over my two arms as I had fallen asleep with my head on top of my desk. I raised my head as I slowly opened my eyes and then I looked around- I was in my office? I glanced at the clock and it read eleven in the evening. I surely remembered Adie driving me home so why was I at my office? Didn’t he help/dragged me up to my room? I wasn’t sure. I only know that I had drunk a lot but when I sniffed out my sleeves I didn't smell like liquor at all. I was intrigued and out of habit, I raised my eyebrows, wondering until I noticed the pile of papers in front of me. Did I leave all of this work undone? I thought I hadn’t had that much work left. I wasn't in the mood to do it, so I decided to go home- where I should have been already.

"I thought Adie brought me home. It must’ve been my imagination gone wild. The guy probably thought it easier to bring me here, rather to my home." I told myself as I approached my car.

On the road, the confrontation with Grace hit me- almost like a slap to my face. I didn't want to remember it and so I knew right away that the liquor’s magic of amnesia had worn off. My heart felt stuffy and I had a sense of being closed away. I wanted to breathe some fresh air so I let down my windows, but then I noticed the red flashing light. I knew it was familiar. I knew I had seen it somewhere else... I slowed down as I approached the source of the light. I was shocked to the bone as I saw two guys in blue loose clothing carrying a stretcher with a bloodied man on it- nostalgia? The police stood aside as they took notes of the investigation and some bystanders gossiped about something. Did another guy have an accident- in the same place? Might just be a similar situation, but then I heard what the two guys were saying.

"I heard he was drunk."

"Then he just run out of luck! You really never know when you'll die." The other man replied.

"At least I want to enjoy myself before I die!"

"Before you die, you better fix your relationship with God, you punk or you'll go to Hell!"

"Well, I'll go to Heaven for sure, even what I do right? God loves us right?"

"You in Heaven? Are their thieves and drunkards in Heaven? I don’t think so. You might be better suited in Hell!"

I felt as if time had stopped and then I was sure that somehow I had returned to the past- or maybe everything that just happened wasn't real- a premonition of sorts. So if everything wasn't real, then why could I clearly remember Grace? Was she also part of the dream? The book! If I did have the book, then everything I remember is real. I searched for the book in my car, where I remembered placing it, but the book wasn't there. It couldn’t be anywhere else since I would always keep it near me. I felt my shoulders sag forward as I felt lost. Then, I noticed that I was already at the part of the road where I would make a curve to the Red Light District. If everything that just happened was a dream or a premonition, I should meet the mother and son in a few seconds. I took a deep breath before making the curve expecting to spot the mother and son, but I was shocked to actually see another familiar face. He was wearing his usual black suit with his deceptive smile. He raised his right hand engulfed in flames and soon a black gun appeared. I instantly stopped the car as I knew I was in danger.

"What is happening here?" I asked myself confounded, but Belial soon fired his gun. It went straight through the windshield yet at the last second, luckily, I bent down. I heard screams outside so I tried to unfasten my seatbelt as fast as I could. I rushed to open my passenger door and soon began running, going backwards. However, as I turned to face the street, Belial stood in front of me with his gun pointed directly at me.