The Nightmare Effect

Chapter Nine

        Life went pretty quiet after we found out that the senator was the next target. His name was Phil Billings. Don't ask if I ever voted for him, I can barely remember who I voted for the presidential election. Carter called frequently, but every time I told him I got nothin'. I tried taking the pill a few more times to try and get something, but it all just led back to being in the bed naked with Amy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it every time, but that feeling of dying and getting that rush was something I got a bit addicted. It really shows something about me when I crave nightmares where I'm getting murdered, over the body of a beautiful woman. God, what the hell is wrong with me? I guess it all ties back to that thing I said a while ago. You dream so much that they make you a slave, but when you have a nightmare, it snaps the life back into you.

        I was watching T.V. when I heard a knock at the door. I put out my cigarette and went over to open the door. Amy was on the other side.

        "Well, you ready?" she asked me. She was wearing a winter coat.

        "Ready for what?" I ask her.

        "To pay your tab, smart guy," she held up four fingers, "four days with me."

        "Then what the hell was the sex all about?"

        "That was at night. I said day," she got me there.

        I nodded in defeat. I went over to put on my jacket. The jacket still had the badge from before in it, but I just slipped that into my back pocket. In all the craziness of the case, I'd forgotten that winter rolled in and was determined to stay. "Jesus balls, it's cold out here..."

        "Jesus had cold balls?" Amy asks me.

        "Hell if I know, no pun intended," we went on a walk, going somewhere, God knows where. We ended up walking along a pier, towards an old fair place. I looked over at the ocean to my left. Water must be been freezing as shit, but damn was it nice to see.

        "Go for a dip," Amy says to me.

        "Ladies first," I remark.

        "Why do you like those pills so much?" she asks me.

        "It's hard to explain without sounding crazy."

        "Try me."

        She asked for it. "When I finally do fall asleep, I usually wake up in someone else's body. I can't move, but I can hear, feel, and see what they're doing. Then they usually die in some way and... I wake up."

        Her face was reasonably surprised. "So, what does the pill do?..."

        "It makes everything sharper, so I can remember the details of the dream."

        "When these people die... do they die for real?" she stopped walking.

        I nodded my head. "That's why I'm working with the police. There's a killer out there and we're trying to find him."

        She had a look of disbelief. "So, you were using me for those pills? You weren't interested me?"

        Ah, fuck. This is not what I wanted. "No, no, no, I really like you, Amy. The pills were just to make it so I can remember more details. Look, I really like spending time with you. You got a great body, one hell of a sense of humor, but there's something else." She's looking at my face. "I can't remember how long it's been since my life has been this damn interesting. I'm helping the cops find a serial killer, trying to break the mystery, and I've met a woman that honestly..." I figured that was enough of the lovey dovey crap and just pulled her with a smooch for the ages. I may not be a poet like Shakespeare, but I knew how to show someone the affection they deserved. I let her hang in my arms for a second.