THEM

Chapter 4

Isadora's alarm rang. Aithne continued staring at the ceiling. She hadn't slept at all that night. She had almost dozed off at around three in the morning, but the hint of a nightmare had crept in, scaring her enough to keep her wide awake for the rest of the night. She had never known this level of fatigue existed. Isadora tossed in her bed, finally hearing the alarm after five minutes. Aithne had heard her regular breathing throughout the whole night, suggesting she had slept the entire time. She didn't understand how someone wha saw the same things she did was able to sleep. Maybe her visions were more mundane. But then why was she even here?

"Turn it offjshdh." Isadora mumbled from her bed.

Aithne reached over and turned the alarm off, having had enough
herself of the high-pitched ringing. She threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, glanced back at Isadora who seemed to have drifted off again, and left.
Oh, well. She was probably going to be late.
Today was Aithne's first day of treatment, whatever that meant. She had been given a room number and been told to show up at nine in the morning. She had learned that out of the four wings of the building, one was the girls' dormitory, one was the boy's and the other two were the treatment units.

Aithne walked past the same door for the third time. Her heart rate
accelerated and her palms started getting sweaty as she felt the anxiety well up inside of her. This place was a labyrinth. Added to that, she was so tired she could barely hold herself up and the walls around her seemed to be falling down on her. Every time she passed someone, they stared unnervingly. She probably looked ridiculous. She felt like she was looking at herself from outside of her body; her own mechanical movements and empty eyes creeped her out.

Just when she was about to give up and sit on the floor, the room numbers started approaching the one marked on her paper. B06. B07. B08. One foot in front of the other. B09. She had made it. She let out a breath of relief.

She knocked.

"Come on in."

She stepped inside a white room with two couches, a desk with three
different desktops on top and a woman sitting behind it.

"You're late." The woman stated.

"Sorry, I got a bit lost."

"Think about leaving earlier next time."

The woman looked Aithne up and down and her lips made a thin line.
"When's the last time you slept?"

Aithne scoffed. "Well? A month."

"Looks like it." The woman replied. Aithne knew she had huge bags under her eyes and a face as pale as a ghost, but it still hurt to hear it.

"Thanks."

"Okay, let's get started then shall we? You can call me Kathy. As for you, I already know your name. I read the descriptions of your visions, but how about we try to observe your reactions in real time?"

Aithne furrowed her eyebrows. "... In real time?"

The lady gestured towards a device that looked like a helmet next to her that Aithne hadn't noticed before.

"Yes, using a sensor. Have you ever used one before?"

Aithne shook her head.

"Well, it's pretty simple. You slip it on your head and it will measure your respiration rate, your temperature, your eye movements, and brain activity."

Aithne stared at the small contraption in shock.
It could do all that?
She hesitated, her heart already accelerating.

"And how will that help me with my dreams?"