The Expired

Chapter 10

Aaron groggily lifted his eyelids. His head seemed to be pounding with enough force that Aaron was sure his head would crack. He stared at a metal ceiling that seemed to be held together with millions of screws. It seemed pretty sketchy to him.

Aaron suddenly sat up as he remembered what happened, which was a bad idea as the world started to swirl. Aaron grabbed his head groaning.

"Ah, it'll pass," a man's voice with a hint of a British accent said.

Aaron squinted his eyes up at a man in a black suit, just casually watching Aaron.

"Are you the dream eater?" Aaron asked, his headache slowly starting to fade.

"Indeed I am," the man answered.

"Why are you causing people nightmares?"

"You see, I got bored of the simple dreams. I found out through the years that fear is just so much more delicious. I'm not harming anyone."

"Well, staying in one town was pretty stupid of you," Aaron said, slowly standing on his feet. "Where did you take us? Where is Kira?"

"Oh, young man, just calm down won't you? This is actually an unprecedented event! Enjoy it."

"What do you mean?"

"You're inside you're friends dream. Nightmare, really. And it seems to me like she is reliving a glorious memory," he chuckled. "Memories are always the best. Not the whole zombie apocalypse, or killer clown nightmares that some people have."

Aaron quickly looked around the empty room. "We're in her head? That can't be possible."

"I guess it is if you're touching the other person," the dream eater shrugged. "Oh well, it doesn't harm me any. We are like ghosts to this world, so you can't ruin this nightmare. Now come along, we should find out where all the fun is happening." The dream eater walked casually out of the room and Aaron reluctantly followed. His gun was nowhere to be seen, so it wasn't as if he could kill the dream eater. And even if he could, Aaron didn't know if he would take the chance. What if he would be trapped here?

The two of them walked down a narrow hallway, their feet not making one sound on the metal floor. It really was as if they were ghosts. Aaron watched as a man in a white lab coat passed by them without acknowledging their presence. It was strange to Aaron.

What could Kira possible be doing to be in a creepy place like this?

The narrow hallway suddenly widened into a room that made Aaron freeze. Different kinds of weapons lined the walls and there were chains that were imbedded in the ground in the middle of the room. Chains also hung down from the ceiling.

"Where the hell is this place?" Aaron whispered. "Why is Kira in a place like this?"

"This is a nightmare, my boy," the dream eater chuckled. "What did you expect to see? Rainbows and unicorns?"

Aaron glared at the man, but continued to follow him since he didn't know what else to do.

They left the creepy room and into another disturbing sight. The next room was filled with other mini rooms, all blocked with bars. Some of the small rooms had people in them, cowering and scared.

"What the hell is this place?" Aaron yelled, running over to the bars. He looked over and his eyes widened when his eyes fell on Kira. She was huddled in one of the corners, holding a smaller girl with blond hair to her chest. "Kira! Kira what's going on? Are you okay?"

Kira stared blankly forward, not acknowledging their presence.

"Are you an idiot?" the dream eater sighed. "I thought I told you we are like ghosts in here. Why can't you just sit back and enjoy the show?"

Colby let out a big sigh as the two of them walked aimlessly through the town. "No words can describe how bored I am," Colby groaned.

Jacob laughed. "Calm down, at least we only have to do this tonight."

"I guess. We should double back and see if Kira and Aaron found anything. I'd hate it if they were having fun without us."

Jacob sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

"What's with you? Okay, I get it. It's all pretty strange. But you could at least pretend a little better."

"I don't need a lecture from you too," Jacob groaned. "Don't you think it's a little hard to believe that she has done absolutely nothing wrong?"

Colby shrugged. "Even if she did, I believe she's a good person now."

"I don't' doubt that it's just," Jacob sighed with a shrug. "I don't know. My parents would kill me if they figured out I befriended some sort of creature. I was raised being taught not to hesitate killing them, no matter what they looked like, you know?" Jacob shrugged again. "It's just a lot to take in. I'm still trying to figure things out."

Colby smiled and patted Jacob on the shoulder. "It's fine. Now let's go find them, okay?"

Jacob nodded. "Alright."

The two of them walked back to where Aaron and Kira had walked off. They followed the path the other two went, passing by the one house with no lights.