My Purgatory Hell

Chapter 19

"What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark? It would be like sleep without dreams."

― Werner Herzog

Contacting Austin in his dreams was a little easier than I had imagined, except Austin was skeptical he was actually talking to me. This was understandable, and I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. I would have probably felt the same way if I were in his shoes.

"Clearly, I'm dreaming," Austin stated to himself aloud. He seemed dazed as he saw me approach him. His eye brows furrowed together as he tried to discern this series of events.

His room was the backdrop for Austin's dream, which had a realistic quality to it. Jack was nowhere in sight--it was just Austin and me. The door to the hallway was closed and the windows were black from the night sky outside. I made my way to perch on Jack's bed, slightly in awe at how real this felt. The cloth beneath me and the familiar stench of younger boys' odors. Austin must have had doubts on this being real, because he was still questioning his sanity. It would have been funny if I wasn't trying to communicate with him.

I shrugged. "Yes, but I am trying to talk to you." I tried to keep my voice calm and patient.

Austin frowned at my comment, focusing his attention on me. "Why?" He clearly was confused at why we were having this conversation. "Are you even real?" he added for clarification. "Is this even real?" Austin gestured to the surrounding room.

"Yes, I am real. I also need your help," I stated with a little impatience, hoping this would light a fire under his ambition pot. It seemed to at least wake him enough for him to sit up in his bed and hone in on what I had to discuss. He folded his lower extremities beneath him and looked at me expectantly waiting for me to continue.

When I didn't explain myself, Austin questioned, "Okay, what exactly do you need me to do?" He motioned with his hands for me to continue.

"So do you know the other person in the car accident?" I didn't know how else to start our conversation, and maybe this way wasn't the right way to go, but I had no other idea. I also knew what his response would be before he even opened his mouth. What I did not expect was his reaction to my question. Austin's face became dark as I asked my question, and I immediately lamented asking it.

"Clearly. David. He murdered you," Austin stated as if this was common knowledge and that I was being ridiculous. He seemed so sure of himself, and he looked like he would tear David's head off if he saw him. I hoped for David's sake that Austin would calm down a few notches.

I shook my head; of course Austin would believe my casualty was David's fault. However, Austin's reaction was in the wrong, and I had to straighten things out before I continued with my request. "The accident was my fault," I assured him sternly. My words didn't seem to register with Austin. Nor did my stern tone of voice. He still had a murderous expression on his face. I repeated myself with more authority, hoping he would snap out of his attack mode.

Luckily, Austin did snap out of that mode. "Okay, what exactly do you want me to do?" he sighed, sounding a little resigned. Austin managed to get out of his bed and started to pace the length of the room, waiting for my explanation.

"Well, David is taking the accident hard," I started to explain slowly.

Austin stopped in his tracks and swiveled in my direction. He had an angry look on his face, and I felt as if we were back to square one in our conversation. "As he should!" Austin huffed. I was also relieved we were just in his dream, because I was sure he would have waken our parents otherwise. However, I hoped he could revert back to his somewhat calm state for the duration of the rest of my request.