Nightmares do come True

Chapter 2

              The first thing I feel is pain. The only thing I see is blackness. At first I think my eyes are closed, but I realize that they're wide open. They're just soaked in blood.

              I see a shadow, and feel Theresa's presence. I don't know how, but I'm sure it's her. I feel a heavy pressure on my chest, as though a one-hundred pound weight is dropped on me. I hear a crack, and then Theresa's voice say, "Shoot." I think she cracked a rib.

              The pain instantly floods over me. I would scream, but I don't exactly like the taste of fresh blood. The pressure builds and builds until it's almost unbearable, then stops. I exhale deeply, and feel a warm, wet cloth rub my face gently. I close my eyes as she gets to scrubbing at the upper part of my face, and when I open them, I see her beautiful face looking back at me.

              "You saved me," I whisper as she embraces me.

              She laughs and says, "Well, yeah, I guess you could say that." I laugh with her, and instantly remember my cracked rib. The pain is overwhelming. My eyes tear up, but I blink them away. I force myself to sit up and look.

              One word. Nasty. My abdomen is caked in blood, and when I suck in enough air, I can see one rib that's missing a large chunk. I look up at her. "Um," she starts, awkwardly, "yeah. About that..."

              I laugh, cutting her off. "Are you kidding me? I'd much rather have a broken rib than die. You saved me. You should feel great about that." She smiles, and we lean in for a kiss. But an odd, beeping noise cuts us off. A manic, snarly, sharp-toothed creature jumps out from the wilderness, and attacks. I wake still hearing the noise.

              Where am I? Is my first thought. I look around, and listen carefully. Yep, there's still a beeping noise. But what's it coming from?

              Suddenly, everything comes rushing back. When I figured out who "Theresa" was, when she said I was right, and when I fainted. That must be why I'm in a hospital room.

              I realize that the beeping is a heart monitor. But I also realize there's another sound, aside from that. I listen closely, and hear a long, steady beeeeeeeep. Many doctors calmly shout, as if they were in seperate rooms, talking about a serious subject. One says much quieter, "It's no use." The others apparently understand, because they soon grow quiet. I hear a click, and the long beep stops.

                Someone just died in the room next to mine.

                I gulp loudly.

                The clicking of a pair of high-heeled shoes distracts my mind, and I look over at the door. A girl's silhouette shows up in the doorway, where she pauses, then continues to walk in. I realize it's Theresa.

                "Hey, Dream Girl," I say, winking. This time, instead of scowling, she gives me a melancholy smile, and sits in the chair next to my hospital bed.

                After gently touching the bandage that wraps around my throbbing head, she clucks her tongue. "These doctors know nothing about healing," she mutters. She looks around cautiously, and lays both hands on my forhead. Digging her fingers into my temples, she presses her hands down. Hard. It hurts so badly, I want to scream.

                "What the heck are you doing?! You crazy---" I start to scream. But then I feel a surge of power running through my body, and all the pain is released. Not only the pain she was putting on me, but the pain before that, too. Everything. It feels amazing.

                I slowly raise my hand to my forehead, and, instead of the usual lump I find under that gauze, I find completely even flesh. I pull my finger back, and stare in awe when I see it's not soaked in blood.

                "How did you..." I start. Then I remember that this is Theresa. I start to realize that, hey, if she can appear in the real world, right out of my dream world, why can't she randomly heal wounds? Who says everything has to make sense? "Um, nevermind," I say instead, and quickly add, "and, hey, thanks a lot."

                The door swings open, breaking Theresa away from our embrace. We both look over to see a uniformed doctor standing in the doorway. "Hello," he says to Theresa. "How are you?"

                She looks at me, and grins. "Spectacular," she responds. "And you?" Aw. She's so polite.

                He smiles and says, "Wonderful." He looks at me now. "And Mr. Lewis. I see your forehead's getting a lot better."

                I hold my gaze with Theresa. "You know what? Yeah, it is, now that you mention it." This makes Theresa laugh.

                The doctor just smiles. "I'm glad to hear it." He scans a clip-board that was on the counter by the door, sets it back down, and says, "Excuse me, miss, but Mr. Lewis is scheduled for anesthesia, followed by a check on how well his injury is healing. I'll have to ask you to leave the room."

                She pouts a little, but eventually leaves. Great. Anesthesia. Just what I want right now. The doctor comes into the room, followed by two nurses I didn't realize were there, and evidently senses my nervousness. The two nurses set up the mask thing while the doctor says, "Don't worry about it. You won't feel a thing." Ugh. I guess he can't tell why I'm nervous. Sigh. Oh, well.

                I lean back and stretch a little, and let the nurses strap the mask on me. "You won't feel a thing," the doctor repeats, getting his gloves on. "Not a thing..." I close my eyes, and repeat it in my head. You won't feel a thing...not a thing...not a thing...

                And then I don't feel a thing.