The Dreamer

Chapter 5

          Travis’s nerves were still on high alert when his smart phone rang. He picked it up and answered it.

          “Hello?”

          “Hello Travis.”

          “Hi Mom,” Travis cautiously answered.

          There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

          “We’re coming to see you in an hour, 9:30 or so. Will that be okay?”

          “Yeah, that’ll be fine.” Travis didn’t feel like having a conversation, especially with his parents.

          “See you then.” Travis hung up.

          He still wasn’t sure why they were coming in the first place. It didn’t make sense. He was going to be fine, so why did they suddenly care about his well being?

          Travis dialed Britt. “Hey, Mom called and said that they’ll be here at 9:30.”

          “Okay. How did she sound?”

          “What do you mean?”

          “We haven’t talked to her in such a long time. Was it weird talking to her?”

          Travis didn’t answer right away. “I guess. I mean, she didn’t say much except that she was coming. I wasn’t in the mood for talking a lot.”

          “How come?”

          Should he tell her what he dreamt? No, not yet. He still wasn’t sure what it meant, if it was real.

          “Just tired. When can you get here?”

“My class ends at 9:45, so I’ll get there about 10:15 or so.”

“Alright, see you then.”

“Get some sleep. It might help.”

Travis wasn’t sleeping anytime soon. “Yeah I’ll try.”

“Okay, I’m off to class. Bye!”

“Bye.”

Travis set his phone on the table next to his hospital bed, and leaned back.

A knock on his door broke the silence.

It was his nurse, Linda. With a tray of food.  

“How you feeling kiddo?” She walked over and handed him the tray.

“Better. Still a little groggy I guess.” Travis sat up straighter and started to eat.

“That’s normal. In a few days it’ll be totally gone. Just don’t think too hard.”

She chuckled. Travis laughed too, mostly from politeness.      

          “My parents will be stopping by in an hour, just so you know,” Travis said in between bites.

          She smiled. “Oh good! I’ll keep an eye out for them.” She gave me one last grin, then left.

          As Travis ate, he contemplated his dream again. If it was true, than he had a choice to make. Either to accept the…what did he say he was? A fallen angel? Yes, he said he was the Fallen Angel. So either accept him or to reject him.

          Rejecting seemed pretty pointless. If was already in Travis’s body, than rejecting might just make him made, and he didn’t want that.

          But Travis was afraid of accepting. Was there a third alternative? Maybe some way to remove this...thing. Travis didn’t want to say demon, but his mind couldn’t shake the idea that a demon was what it really was.

          Did rebuking a demon work? Casting them out, or an intervention? When Travis studied the Bible, he read about Jesus and his disciples casting out demons. But was it true? Travis wasn’t sure if he believed it or not. He was still picking a religion that was right for him. But if it was true, could the same thing work for him?

          Travis’s head started to hurt. He was doing what the very thing the nurse warned him against, thinking.

          But he couldn’t help it. The next time he feel asleep, he would have to face the Fallen Angel with an answer.

          Could you stall a demon?

          Travis decided not to think any more on it. When he got back to the apartment, he would skim his textbooks for information about this. For now, he would just enjoy his meal.

          Or try to.

*        *        *

          “Hello? Are you awake?” Linda knocked on the door quietly.

          “Yeah, I’m awake.” Travis replied from the hospital bed. He was watching the news from the television in the top right corner.

          “Good. You’re parents are here.” Linda stepped aside and Travis’s parents walked in.

          They looked older than they physically should have been. Travis and Britt were only in their second year at CSU, but both the parents seemed as if they’ve aged three times that.

          “Hi Travis.” Lynn Ryland approached her son, with her husband lagging behind.

          “Hey Mom, Dad.” Travis hit the power button on the remote to shut off the TV.

          “How are you feeling?” His mom asked.

          “Aside from a little headache, not too bad.”

          Before anybody could reply, Linda interjected, “Travis, if you need anything else, just ring.” She smiled and waved at his parents. They returned the kind gesture and Linda disappeared from the room. Now it was just the three of them.

          “When is Brittney getting here?” Travis’s father asked.

          “She’d rather be called Britt. And she’ll be here in a half hour or so. But why are you guys even here? I mean, you never really cared about us when we were kids, and now you suddenly decide to fly out to see me because I hit my head?” Travis’s voice was filled with suspicion.

          Both parents glanced at each other.

          Michael started. “I changed after you left.”

          Travis’s eyebrows rose up, urging his father to continue.