Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One)

CHAPTER FIVE: VISIONS

Kevin was having another disturbing nightmare, and he kept seeing four distinct images in this order; houses on fire, blackbirds sitting on a tree, a name written on a paper, and a man screaming while he was being tortured.

His grip on the bed sheet tightened, and drops of sweat gathered on his forehead. His head turned, eyes remained closed, his chest heaving rapidly. Once again, images of a gigantic cloud of smoke rising from burning houses, Crows pecking an oak, a finely written note with a name on it, and a man screaming in pain floated around his mind. His body was hunched, his breathing hastened and fingers clenched together.

Kevin—screaming, woke from the nightmare, a horrified look plastered all over his face. That was the second dream in one night. Panting, he sat up straight on the bed, his palms sweaty and his face covered with sweat. He looked up at the big clock that hung on the wall.

3:14 am

The door swung open, and Cedric rushed in with a lamp which he held up above his head. "Are you alright?" He brought the lamp closer to examine him.

"I'm fine," he breathed, eyes still filled with shock. "Just having another bad dream."

Of course, Cedric knew better than to take his word for it. Kevin wasn't fine—in fact, he was the exact opposite, and it was quite obvious. He held the lamp a bit closer to his face. "I told you already, you need to see a therapist. I could have one arranged for—"

"I said I'm fine," he scowled, slightly raising his voice. "I do not need any therapist." He strained his eyes from the bright lamp Cedric held up against his face. "And could you take that thing away from me? It's hurting my eyes."

Cedric moved the lamp away from him and placed it on the table beside the bed.

Kevin felt his throat burn, and climbing out of bed, he walked to the door. "I could use some soda right now."

"There's one in the fridge."

Without a word, he left the room and went into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a cold bottle of soda, opened it, and gulped its contents while staring at his reflection in the mirror.

He was disappointed at how baggy his eyes looked, obviously from not getting enough sleep. Terror transformed his face when he thought he saw Loretta staring at him in the mirror. She stood behind him, her face covered in blood. He quickly turned and found no one else in the kitchen. When he looked back in the mirror, she was gone.

He emptied the soda with shaky hands and threw the bottle in a waste bin. Then, he looked in the mirror, staring at his reflection, unable to control his breathing.

###

Landry looked over the pencil drawings one after another. "You stayed up all night drawing this?"

"I couldn't sleep. Kept seeing these four images in my sleep. So I drew them—that's the only way I could get them out of my head," Kevin answered, giving him another drawing. "This is the first time this year I've dreamt of something different. Does this mean I'm finally moving on from what happened?"

"Perhaps you've entered a whole new level of depression," Landry countered, looking over the drawings again. They all seemed completely different from each other. "Smoke rising from burning houses, birds on a tree, a note with a name on it, and a tortured man screaming. These visions seem so unrelated in many respects. It certainly means that whatever is going on with you has gotten a whole lot worse. Have you figured out what any of these mean?"

"No. That's why I called you," he said. "I stayed up all night trying to figure out what they meant, but got nothing."

He was quiet for a minute, thinking. "Maybe these visions could be part of your PTSD problems."