"Before Dawn"

Chapter 6: The Dream

"I'm watching TV in my apartment," Cat starts as Dawn listens in. "I mean, I'm just sitting there but nothing is on the screen. Then I realize I'm dreaming, so I wait because I know something is coming. Then I see Bishop show up on the screen."

"Does this mean I'm going to be a tv-star?" Bishop jokes.

Dawn stifles a laugh. Her dad isn't a bore but he doesn't joke often. When he does, sometimes he's funny, but corny-funny. "Hush," she hears Martha say.

"So, Bishop, you're on the screen but you're not really doing anything, you know? I just see you there. Then, I see this black force surround you and—"

"What do you mean a 'black force'? You mean, like, smoke?"

A pause.

"Not smoke...more like a black formless shape," Cat explains.

"Sounds like smoke to me," Bishop said.

"No, no, no. Definitely not smoke. It had like a person to it," Cat said.

Another pause. Dawn leans forward, making sure that they sensed she's there. She doesn't need to be caught droppin'-eaves.

"Felt like a life-force of some sort is what you mean," Martha offers.

"Yeah!" Cat shouts. "That's exactly it!"

"Okay, Cat. Calm down," Bishop said. "So what happened with this, uh, life force and 'ol sexy-Bishop-here on your damn dream-tv."

Dawn has to bring her hand to her mouth to keep the laugh from escaping.

"The life force starts to surround you. Then it attacks you and hurts you. I mean it starts kicking your ass until you start yelling like a little girl and what-not," Cat said.

Bishop laughs. "Screaming like a little girl? Me? Pa-leease. You're exaggerating like hell."

"Heh, I'm just telling you about my dream, dude. Seriously sounded like a little girl, though."

"That's some serious bull—"

"Shut it, Bishop and stay focused," Martha said. "Jimbo, get back to it."

Dawn has both of her hands around her mouth, trying desperately to keep quiet. She feels her face flushing as she tries to control her breathing. She knows Cat is indeed exaggerating, using this moment to get under her dad's skin, get a rise out of him as he enjoys doing. Her dad always seems to fall for it. It was so hard not to laugh that she thought of aborting her little sneak-tip move to run back upstairs and let it all out.

Jimbo continues. "This is where it gets creepy-weird," Cat said, seeming to pause of effect. "I hear Eve's voice."

A hush falls over the basement. The humor in Dawn's spirit escapes her as if it were never there. Visages of the woman she had only met through photos of her captured beauty and stories of her personality and heroism enter her mind. "Mom," she said, wondering if she'd spoken too loudly and alerted them to her position.

"And?" Bishop said. He's barely audible, as if he's choking.

Cat doesn't respond, and everyone else is left in suspense.

"Well, go on, Jimbo," Martha urges him. She, too, sounds a bit distraught.

"I heard Eve's voice, as clear as day...as clearly as you hear my voice right now," Cat said. The energy is gone from his voice, too. "She was saying, 'It's found you...it's finally found you...it'll make you pay'. She kept saying it over-and-over. She was in pain. Even when I woke up, I couldn't get her voice out of my head."