Robert Hunter Oneshots

Nightmare

Word count: 1710

Everything was hazy. Robert was hectic. Running up the stairs. It felt like he was never going to arrive at the top. Reach the door he needed to get to. He had been running for so long that his lungs were burning and he was sure he could taste blood in his mouth. His head felt foggy and his hard was pounding so hard in his chest that he was sure he was going to collapse.

He reached another landing, looking at the door to his left. The name on the sign was blurry and he couldn't make sense of it but it felt wrong. He knew this wasn't it. It wasn't the name he was searching for.

Wood.

He could hear it in his head over and over again.

Wood. Angela Wood.

He needed to move. Faster. Get where he was supposed to get. Another door. Further up. The third floor.

But wasn't he farther than that?

Maybe he had to go down again. Turn around. Maybe he hadn't looked correctly.

He grabbed the railing, feeling himself wonk in his shoes. It felt like he was choking on blood but he couldn't do anything. There was a piercing pain in his sides and he was sure he was going to fall.

He looked down between the railings of the stairs. He was at least fifteen stories high.

His whole body felt like he was swaying from side to side. Ready to tumble down the stairs. Hit his head. Black out.

It would mean it's over. Silent. Forever. No more running.

He would fall down the stairs and never come back to any of this.

But he couldn't. He had to stay focused. There was no time for this. No time for a break. No time to take a break.

He had run too far. Needed to go back. Immediately. Fix his mistake. Get there in time. Stop her.

He turned on the steps and started to run again. Down, this time.

In the blink of an eye, he wasn't on stairs anymore. He was standing in front of a window. Maybe two meters away. Maybe three. Maybe less than two. He didn't know. Everything was blurry. The window seemed so close but when he reached out his arm to grab the woman, all he touched was air.

The room stretched into a long hallway. Like it was trying to keep him away. Trying to keep him from fixing things. Stopping her. Saving her.

He started running again. His lung protesting. Making him cough. He felt himself sway again, trying to grab the wall but it disappeared around his hand like fog. Immediately, he fell. He had expected to have a better balance than this. The world felt like it was spinning and it all made him feel nauseous. 

"No." he whispered, pressing his hands flat against the floor, relieved when they didn't just fall through it again, "No, wait..." 

He wanted to louder. Had intended to scream after the woman. Tell her to stop. 

Her name... He couldn't remember. Just bare seconds ago he had still known it. But now he didn't know anymore. His brain was empty. 

"No!" he screamed again, pushing himself up, "No! Don't do this! No!" 

He wanted to move. Wanted to start running. But his legs wouldn't move. It was like his entire body was crumbling in on itself. His lung felt like it was collapsing. His heart still pounding but seemingly stuttering with every beat. His brain felt like it was made out of viscous wax. He had to cough again and again and it felt like he was coughing blood but he didn't want to look down to check.