Dream Walker

Chapter 27 | The Games We Play

There were certain times that studying was mentally impossible for Callie, though, luckily, it was a rare occurrence. She had been staring at her notes and printed lecture slides for half an hour without absorbing anything when she decided to call it quits. The semester was winding down, and she had two tests and a paper to complete in the next week. No matter how many times she reminded herself of the necessity of productivity, the only thing she could focus on was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

She was in a quiet, secluded section of the library, so the clock was the only sound penetrating her ears. Every tick of the second hand made her wince. She had tried to use her ear buds to block out the noise, but every pump of blood through her head seemed synchronized to the beat of the clock. If she had stayed in the library any longer, she would have gone mad.

Gathering her things into her bag, Callie made her way down the stairs and out of the building. The security guard looked up at her as she pushed open the door, then went back to looking at her phone. The extra security was still all around campus, even if the attacks had momentarily stopped. Hopefully they were over for good.

The sun was setting early by then, and the temperature had dropped quickly. Callie walked briskly to stay warm, digging her hands further into her pockets. By the time she arrived back at the apartment, her nose was numb and her thoughts were back in order. She was grateful for the warm air that greeted her inside the front door as she kicked off her shoes and hung up her keys.

The sounds of fake gunshots and yelling voices coming from the living room suggested her roommates had company over. Just as she expected, when she walked past the entryway, she saw the forms crammed onto the couch and chairs. Quinn was sitting on the floor in front of the TV to make space for the others. Jonah and Nat were splayed across the couch, while Alex and Lyn took up the chairs.

All were staring intently at the screen where four small screens showed a first-person view of a gun-wielding character. Lyn was the only one not gripping a game controller, but she was no less invested in the action. The players were all twitching and jerking as they tried to survive on-screen.

"Where is everyone?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you."

"Jonah—fuck—stop killing me. Pick on someone else," Quinn whined. His character's screen had been briefly covered with blood after someone—Jonah, apparently—had shot him. As a dead man, his eyes had time to waver from the screen just long enough to notice her. "Hey, Cal."

"I see I'm not the only one around here that wants to kill you sometimes," Callie responded. She dropped her bag on the dining table and pulled out a bar stool from the island so she could observe the drama. Despite the flush creeping up the back of her neck, she tried to push through the embarrassment and look at Alex. After seeing him as one of two starring roles in her previous night's dream, she had a hard time thinking of him without getting flashbacks. Seeing him, unexpectedly, in her apartment made it worse.

As soon as Quinn announced her presence, she felt the weight of Alex's gaze. When she mustered the courage to return his gaze, she saw a gleam of pleasure in his expression that went beyond his warm smile. Though he only took his eyes off the screen for a few seconds at a time to look at her, it was long enough to ensure his demise. He cursed softly when he noticed his character was dead.

"Get your head in the game, Zidane," Quinn lectured.

"Don't be a bully to Alex just because Jonah is bullying you," Lyn admonished. "Stop the cycle."

Quinn rolled his eyes without wavering his focus from the game. Callie had never found a video game that enraptured her attention the way it did for her friends. It was amusing to watch them get so worked up about killing each other, but she felt no urge to join. If she'd had popcorn on hand, it would have been quite a fun show.