Eyes Wide Open

C.1. Dreaming and Home

 I stare blankly up at the instructor as he lectures. My head gravitates towards my hand, resting there for a brief moment. My eyes wander around the blank walls of the classroom, and the equally empty expressions of my peers, all acting as they were taught. then to my dull green blazer, the exact same as everyone else's. the instructor drones on, his brown eyes glare at me from the board and his voice rises an octave. But something else catched my attention. Sleep. I haven't slept in three days. they say that's when the Walking Dreams take place. Dreams you get while you're awake and moving. Your mind falls into a deep, sleep-like state and the dreams are vivid. Some even say they predict the future. I doubt it.

 White.

 It falls upon my heavy eyelids, pushing into all of the places around me. Silence bears down on my ears, causing them to ring. I look around, swaying on my feet. My senses are becoming disoriented. I blink, my senses grasping for something in the white silence.

 And then I see them.

 Two boys, running. In slow motion. their cries of laughter muffled. I watch as the joy in their faces fades away. Turning into a quiet terror. A creature steps forth, hunched in form, brown hair splayed in the air. the creature lunges towards the boys, frozen in shock. the smaller boy turns to me, still in slow motion, desperation clear in his widened eyes.

 I turn my head from the scene in front of me, closing my eyes. But the boys face is etched into my mind and his screams fill my ears. A voice cries for me, a distant voice that seems almost panicked.

 Almost sounds like Melly. the voice continues to pester my hearing, but I shake it off, glancing around the now blank whiteness. the boys scream still rings in my ears and muddles my thoughts, but one rings clear.

 How did I even get here? Following that came, Where am I?

 Perhaps it's all just a bad dream. 

 My ears register the hum of the air moving through the air vents before anything else. then, the sound of someone breathing behind me. then my mind registers the pressure on my right side. Almost as if I'm laying on it. My eyes flutter open in curiousity. A blank white wall stares back. I slowly roll onto my back, duly noting the pain in my left arm as it rests on the bed. I slowly look over to my left, the side from which the breathing had come from. I hear a small amount of shuffling before my eyes reach the sight of Melly,sitting on a white chair, rubbing sleep from her eyes. I watch as she yawns and moves an accusing glare in my direction. I think it's supposed to be intimidating, but Melly and intimidating don't go together at all. Melly, with her bright blonde hair and petite figure, is in no way intimidating. And she knows it. I groan at my best friend, my voice raspy.

"What did I do now?" I ask her. She opens her mouth to respond. "No, wait, can I have some water first?" She rolls her eyes at me but hands me a small cup of water. then glares at me from her chair, arms crossed.

 "Sleep deprivation?" She asks, cocking her head to the side. "Starvation?" Her eyes widen and her face turns red. "What were you thinking, Lun?!" She cries out, tears filling her eyes. I shake my head. 

 "You wouldn't understand, Melly, I had to." I say, softly, not meeting her eyes. Melly let's out a scream of frustration, her face turning redder.

 "Wouldn't understand? Wouldn't understand?!" I watch helplessly as the tears begin to stream from her eyes. "I'm your best friend,Lun. I'm here understand. You're the one who doesn't understand." With that, she storms from the room. I close my eyes and run my hands down my face. My eyes sag from the pressure of the stress, the fighting wearing me down already. the pull of sleep becomes so great that it turns into a heaviness, yanking me down into a continuous darkness. I resist at first, I'm gradually losing the battle against sleep. My mind fading slowly, I catch a single phrase.