Convergence

Chapter 1 cont.

"How-"

"After I found out your name I tracked you down through the internet."

"But-"

 "I don't know. I live all the way in Tahoe." He sat back in his chair, as if it were going to be a long explanation and looked down at the floor. "I've been having these... dreams, and then I finally got a clear one of you asking for my help... Well, not asking exactly, more like screaming..." He looked up to see my reaction, but I didn't move. I just continued to listen. "And then I felt this need to help you, like I knew you were real. And now that I'm here I feel this-this pull toward you." He stopped. He looked as though he felt had said too much. I still didn't react, I couldn't. I was staring at the lines in the cherry wood dining room table, hoping that he would continue. "That's it."

I exhaled, suddenly feeling as though I had just woken up out of a trance.

 "W-why do I need help?" I could feel a stiff lump forming in my throat as I tried to hold back tears that were suddenly flooding my eyes. I wanted a cold glass of water to sooth the rough feeling of sand in my throat. It was a strange feeling, I wasn't usually so emotional, especially in front of strangers, but then again, that's not what he felt like. Finally, I looked up at him, and his expression relaxed. Without another word he stood up and walked into the kitchen. He searched through the cabinets, and found my mom's blue Christmas mug, and started to fill it with water.

"What are you doing?" I asked puzzled. The feeling of sand clogging my throat was suddenly overpowered by confusion.

"I'm getting you water." he said plainly, walking over to me. "What does it look like?" He seemed taken aback by my reaction. As if it was perfectly normal for some stranger who I talked to in my dreams to come into my house and comfort me with the water that I had been silently craving.

"Why did you think I wanted that?" I asked. He looked at the glass as though he was inspecting it.

"I-I don't know actually." He looked up at me as if he thought I could give him the explanation. "I just thought you would want it"

"I did... actually." His face changed back to relaxed as I reached up and took the mug from him. As I watched him walk back over to his chair, I took a long gulp of water and placed the mug gently onto the table. I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them tightly. We both looked down at the table. "Why don't you think it's safe here?" I asked suddenly remembering the urgency of his warning.

"Oh." He said taking on the same tone of urgency. "Well, on my way here I kept getting the feeling that I was being followed. He looked up at me again, studying my face to see if I had experienced this too. I hadn't; he could tell. "Anyways, when I got off the bus downtown to walk over here I kept hearing footsteps behind me, but no one was there, it made me feel... uneasy." Bus? Was he not old enough to drive? "Like this person, whoever it was, wanted something that I was getting in the way of."

He stared straight into my eyes when he said that, hoping I would make the connection and I had.

"The dreams..." I finished. He let out a long exhale, happily, like I had confirmed his sanity. He rocked foreword a little in his chair. "So... What were you planning on doing when you got here?" I asked.

"I don't know... I just felt like I could keep you safe, just being here... I guess."

He trailed off. I stared at him for a few seconds trying to figure out what was happening. I then realized that the weirdest part about him was that he wasn't surprised. How could he be so level headed? He left his home in the middle of the night to come rescue some dream person, and he wasn't even the slightest bit perturbed.

All of the sudden, I felt tired, exhausted. Like my sleep debt was catching up to me all at once. I yawned a long wide-mouthed yawn and rested my head on my knee.

"You should sleep; I'll stay up to make sure everything is safe." I felt like I should have been surprised by his plan, creeped out even, but all I felt was the weight of my hours of sleep dept closing my eyelids. He stood up all of the sudden, waking me from my almost-sleep state and said, "You should go to your bed."

I stood up too; his observation sounded more like a command, but I felt compliant. I walked toward my room and could feel his magnetic pull behind me, I didn't have to look. I knew he was there. When we got into my room he walked straight over to my rocking chair to the left of my bed and sat down in it. He picked up the remote and flicked the TV on.

"Can you sleep with this on?" he asked me.

I was still standing in the doorway.

"Uh, yeah I usually do actually."

I walked over to my bed and got in.

"Good." He said, looking back toward the TV.

I laid on my left side, my head tilted down toward the TV, but also in his direction. I watched as he flipped through the channels until my eye lids felt too heavy to support any longer.

 

Good, she's finally sleeping. As I flipped through her nine hundred channels I watched her fall asleep. I was glad she did too; she looked exhausted at the table. I searched, stopping at random channels then continued, until finally settling on an infomercial. Those things always seemed to draw me in, even if they were boring. As I watched an older blonde lady smile and describe the uses of the Mega-Toaster I drifted off into thought.

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Okay, I got on the bus and felt totally normal, no followers, but when I got off, someone was there, like they had been expecting me. I thought about it for a while and then looked back at Emily. She looked peaceful; her long black curls shifted over her neck and shoulders as she readjusted her pillow. I didn't know what had happened these past few weeks. Although I was having nightmares about her, I slept soundly, but she obviously hadn't. I looked back at the bags under Emily's eyes. She definitely hadn't been sleeping. But then how come she was so calm? How could she remain completely oblivious to the severity of the dreams if she couldn't even sleep because of them? Had she been expecting me? Did she know that I would keep her safe? No, she couldn't have; she didn't even recognize me at first.

My thought was interrupted by a clap of thunder. I guessed it was raining again. Emily turned over, away from the window and let out a small snore. I felt odd, not tired like I should have been since it was almost six in the morning and I hadn't slept all night. I just felt...protective.

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