A•N•D•R•O•P•H•O•B•I•A

A Dream

I stirred a bit, starting to get uncomfortable. I shifted several times, hoping to get a nice position. I growled loudly when I couldn't. I sat up with a groan, rubbing my one good eye. When I put my hand down, I gave a gasp, when I saw that I wasn't in a forest. I was in a lab. "What the hell?" I muttered to myself, as I stood up. I looked up the ceiling and then to the floor. The whole lab was all metal. I shuddered, as my phobia quickly invaded my mind. My hands automatically found their designated places on my arms, covering myself, as if I were shivering. My head whipped around when I heard a shuttle door open behind me.

Two scientists came sauntering in the lab, hauling, what seemed to be a person, with a bonnet over his head. I must be dreaming, because they simply walked through me, like I was some sort of ghost. Since it was a dream, I decided to just go along with it and followed the scientists. They hauled their, seemingly victim up on his feet, and seated him harshly on a chair. The kind of chair where you put people who volunteer for human experimenting. That thought made me think if this dream was from one of my sci-fi novels. One of the scientists mouths' was moving, but I couldn't hear any sound. His hand then went to the bonnet of their would-be lab rat.

I waited in anticipation, wondering who it might be. The bonnet was removed, revealing a boy, no older than me, in a horribly bloodied state. His face was full of cuts, with blood streaming out of all of them. His ebony hair was matted on his forehead from all the sweat and blood he was accumulating. The boy slightly raised his head, so now, it looked as if he was looking at me. Through the blood from his face, his eyes glinted with anger. His eyes which were a beautiful shade of grey. The longer I looked at him, the more I began to think that I knew this boy. His mouth opened, and he began to yell something. One of the scientists, now holding a metal pipe, sent it swinging violently across the boy's face.

I watched in horror, as he did this over and over, and now his companion had joined in. I could only watch, as they beat the boy, senseless, if not to death. What were they doing? How could they?! They stopped abruptly and I quickly looked to the boy. His eyes were closed now, but he still looked very much alive. The two scientists dropped the pipes they were holding. I was expecting that they were going to do something else to the boy, but instead, they tied him to the chair, using a thick chain. They said something else, before leaving the room. I looked after them for a while, before I put my attention to the boy. I walked over to him and stood beside him.

I looked at the wounds on his face. Because of all the blood, I could hardly see his eyes anymore. But I was relieved that he was still alive. I squinted my eyes at him. The feeling of familiarity kept latching onto me. I know this boy. I just know it. But I couldn't put a name on it. "Who..." I suddenly gasped, as the boy, tilted his head, in an angle where he was now looking at me. "Who.. are...you?" He asked me... Then I just stood there.

- - - - - -

I knew that I was probably hallucinating by now, since I've been clubbed, by at least 5 different things consistently the entire night. So it wasn't so surprising if I was going to see things that were out of the ordinary. Though what I saw before me, wouldn't really be considered under that subject. Blood got into my eyes, but I could still partially see. For starters it was a girl I was seeing. So my first thought was: It's probably an angel about to take me away from my misery. But when I looked at her for a minute longer, my first thought went invalid. Her long curvy hair, took on an unusual mauve color. And her other eye, was covered in a thick, leather eye patch. Second thought: A succubus had come to take me to Purgatory.

"Who..are.. you?" I managed to whisper. She held her head back a bit, as if surprised I suddenly spoke up. We both stared at each other, which made no particular difference in what we were doing earlier. When she looked like she recovered from her shock, she came forward to me again. "Y-you can see me?" She asked in a such a shaky voice. Now I know I don't know this girl, and she's probably a delusion I'm having right now, but I've gotta say, that's probably the sweetest voice I've ever heard. "Of course, I can see you..." I cut myself short when I felt my throat burn. I gave a small choke, then I burst into a coughing fit. Blood spurted out of my mouth at each cough. "Oh my God!" The girl exclaimed.

I forced myself to stop so I could look at her. "Why are you still here?" I asked her. "That's what I'd like to ask." She said. Where on earth was this girl taking this? "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked. "I can't believe I'm having a conversation with a guy in my dream.." She said to herself. "You're dreaming? So this is you're dream?" I inquired, giving a scoff. "I won't care if you won't believe me.. I'll wake up soon anyway." The girl said indifferently. "N-no.." I suddenly blurted out. "I'll buy your story for now..." I inhaled sharply, looking at her straight in the eye. "Just don't go yet...." I pleaded. She looked at me, bewilderment, crossing her face. Her face looked that she was debating her decisions in her mind. Finally after a while, she looked at me. "Okay.. then."

I managed to heave a sigh. For some reason, it sounded like a contented one, which made me feel odd. "What's your name?" I suddenly asked. It was really unusual of me to ask that at the moment, since this girl could probably my imagination for all I know, and here I am asking her name. But since, she said that this was her dream than, maybe it's okay to ask something such as her name, if she did have one. "Amber.. My name is Amber Lyons." She said quietly. "Amber..." The name rolled out of my tongue so easily it almost sounded natural saying her name. As if I had known the name forever. "That's a very nice name.." I saw her bite her lip and noticed a faint blush across her face. "W-what's your name?" She asked nervously. I barely managed a chuckle. "It's Christopher..Harvey.." I said breathlessly. I was starting to wheeze, and the faint lights in the room were beginning to flood my eyes.

"You're shaking." Amber said, but to me, her voice was barely above a whisper. She was right. I looked to my hands, and indeed they were shaking like poor little leaves that were threatening to stray away from their twigs. I was catching my breath by then, my sight trying to adjust back to normal, but to no avail. "Christopher!" Amber yelled. I tilted my head to the direction where I knew she was standing. She looked so distorted due to my sight, until, I couldn't see her at all. "Amber.. Where are you?" I said, my voice, hardly recognizable by my own self. "I'm right here." I heard her say, feeling a hand, her hand, hold mine. "I'm right here." She repeated, squeezing my hand tightly. Her hand felt so warm. I don't remember the last time I've held a hand this warm. "I'm right here. And I won't leave you." And, despite my knowing, that this was all just some sort of fake image my mind was playing on me, I believed her.

TO BE CONTINUED