Kill the Dream

“Hello! Hello nurse, anyone.”

James Ripley pressed the help button from his hospital bed over and over, but there was no answer, so he started yelling for help. He saw he was in a hospital, but he didn’t know why or how he got there. He looked out the window and saw it was daytime, the sun was out, and a bird was sitting on a ledge outside. The television was on the news, the report talked about a horrible train derailment that killed forty people, injured over one hundred and the police were still going through the wreckage looking for survivors or the dead.

James’s alarm clock beeped, and he woke up sweating from the awful dream he just had, the same dream every night for the past 2 weeks. It got so bad started sleeping in the guest room because he felt bad for his wife.

“There is a sleep study I think would be good for you. I might be able to get you in next week if you can make it?” Doctor David Chen his psychiatrist told him

“I’ll have to ask my director, if I can have the time off. We’re on this big case.”

“Well, I’ll call you when I find out the next few openings, so you have a choice. Dr. Chen said.

The next day David Chen called him and told him there were openings on Tuesday and Friday of next week and Tuesday the following week.

***

“Director, I have to ask a favor.”

“What is it Ripley?”

“I need to take off either this Tuesday or Friday or the following Tuesday.”

“What is it for?”

“I’d really rather not get into why, but it’s a sleep study, I’ll tell you one day but just not now.”

“James you’re one of my best agents, but because you need to go to this study and by your tone its important, I’ll say yes, but keep your phone on in case something big happens. We’ll call only if it’s really necessary, that’s the best I can do. Why don’t we say Friday.”

“Thank you, sir.” James replied. He turned around and left the office.

On Friday at 8pm James walked up to a door that had a handwritten sign that said, “Sleep study here.” He opened the door and walked inside. It was a nice-looking office, white walls, paintings, a TV playing the news. He walked up to the window where there was an attractive woman in her forty’s, brown hair, brown eyes wearing a nice blue blouse.

“You must be Mr. Ripley.” She said in a nice soft voice.

“Yes I am.” He replied.

“Fill out this paperwork and the doctor will call you in soon.”

“UGGG, more paperwork, I do so much paperwork at the station I’m lucky I don’t have carpal tunnel.” James thought to himself.

He sat down and started filling out the intake papers.

About 5 minutes later he was done and 3 minutes after that the doctor called him in. He was an African American in his fifty’s, greying hair, brown slacks and a white shirt and tie under his white jacket.

“So, tell me about this dream.” The doctor asked.

He had told this dream to his wife, partner, shrink, he was kind of getting tired of talking about the dream, but if this will give some insight and hopefully stop this thing what’s one more time. So, he told the doctor the dream.

“Ok, take off your clothes to your underwear then go lay down on the bed.”

James took off his clothes down to his boxers. Then the doctor directed with his hands to sit down on the bed. He felt like he was on a game show and the Doctor was showing him the new prize he can win.”

He sat down on the bed, which was quite comfortable he thought.

The doctor explained he needed to put leads on his head, chest, and legs, then he told him that these leads will monitor his brain waves, eye movement, limb movement…After the leads were put on the doctor gave him a sleeping pill then told him to lay down and get comfortable.

James took the pill and did what the doctor said.

“Now go to sleep, I’ll be in the next room behind that window watching your vitals and making sure everything is ok, you won’t be woken up until the morning, do you want some music on?”

“No, I don’t usually play music to fall asleep.”

The doctor turned off the lights and left the room. About 10 minutes later he was asleep.

“Hello! Hello nurse, anyone.”

James Ripley pressed the help button from his hospital bed over and over, but there was no answer, so he started yelling for help. He saw he was in a hospital, but he didn’t know why or how he got there. He looked out the window and saw it was daytime, the sun was out, and a bird was sitting on a ledge outside. The television was on the news, the report talking about a horrible train derailment that killed forty people, injured over 100 and the police are still going through the wreckage looking for survivors or the dead.

“Was I in this wreck? I don’t remember being on a train.” He thought.

Next to him was a glass of water, he picked it up and took a sip, his throat was sore. He was confused, had no memory of…he didn’t know for how long. He remembered his name, he remembered where he lived, he remembered his wife Gillian, his daughter Mary, and their dog Jasper, but he couldn’t remember anything that happened after that. He didn’t remember getting on a train to work, he didn’t even remember getting up that morning.

“What day is it anyway.” He thought

He lay there looking for a clock to see the time, but there wasn’t one, he looked for a phone to make a call but there wasn’t a phone either. The only thing he could do was press the red service button and yell for help, but no one came. He didn’t hear any traffic out in the halls, there wasn’t even any nurse’s name on the whiteboard in front of him.

He sat there with his finger on the button hoping someone would come. He then thought maybe he should pull the IV from his arm, an alarm would go off at the nurse’s station and someone would come. He did so, he slowly pulled out the IV tube, a little bit of blood trickled out and whatever was in the IV dripped from the needle that was in his arm. The machine next to him started making loud noises.

“For sure someone will come now.” He thought. But no one came. He was starting to panic, pressing the button harder and harder, screaming at the top of his lungs “why is no one coming.” He said aloud to himself.

He sat up in bed and tried to get to his feet but fell onto the cold tiled floor, hitting it with a loud “THUMP” knocking over the IV machine that was just hooked up to his arm. James looked down to find both of his legs had been amputated.

“What the fuck!” He yelled.

There was a wheelchair in the room, he slowly dragged himself to it and sat down in it.

“How am I going to get out of the room by myself in a wheelchair? He thought.”

As he wheeled himself toward the door it opened.

“Automatic doors in a hospital room, that’s new.”

He wheeled himself out of the room and down an empty corridor, not a person in sight.

“Where is everyone? Hello!” he yelled.

Rolling toward double doors, they opened for him as well…still nobody. He went to the nurse’s station and found the microphone for the intercom.

“Hello, is there anyone in this hospital?” his voice echoing in the halls.

James rolled to the elevator which opened as he got close.

“This is just strange.”

Getting in the elevator the basement button was already pushed, but he tried to push another, the button didn’t light up, he tried to run in fingers down all of them like when he was a kid…none lit up. The elevator doors closed, and the car went down and down and down, then it stopped, and the doors opened. He seemed shocked that it was actually a basement and not hall after hall of body parts and blood like in one of his favorite video games.

“Why did ‘whatever’ take me down here.”

The basement was empty like the rest of the hospital. All of a sudden, he hears a growl, it didn’t sound like an animal, not any real animal anyway, it sounded like a werewolf in a movie. Goosebumps started showing on his arms and he got a chill down his spine, but he kept going.

“Am I crazy, going toward the monster.” He said to himself.

The doors up ahead opened and he saw Richard Corning, the one case he hadn’t solved. He was the worst of the worst; he killed fifty-six families all over the world. James was shocked, he went for his gun.

”Shit, that’s right I’m a patient in a hospital, no gun.”

James turned around as quickly as he could and started moving the direction he came in. He went to the elevator and pressed the up button which didn’t light up, he smashed it with his fist…”FUCK” He yelled as he continued rolling himself down the hall. There was a set of double doors, he smashed through them then looked around.

“What going on here, where and how the fuck? How did I get home?” He was in his house. He yelled for his wife “Gillian” then his daughter “Mary” not even Jasper was there to greet him at the door.

He looked at the stairs.

“I’ll never get up there.”

He heard the growling coming closer, he rolled to the stairs, and they changed into a moving ramp. He wheeled himself as far as he could go and put on the brakes of the chair. When at the top he went to his daughter Mary’s room and opened the door and was horrified at what he saw. Her head was ripped straight off like a doll, blood covering the walls of her bedroom. He turned around and went to his bedroom, when he opened the door, his wife was there, eyes ripped out and her throat slit.

“NOOO!” He yelled.

He heard the voice of Richard Coming. “When I get you, I’m not going to kill you, just rip off your arms, rip out your eyes and tongue so all you can do is hear.

“You killed my Brenda, my love.” Richard yelled.

“She was your accomplice, she’s the one who picked out the families and got off by you videotaping the murders. What did you think I was going to do with her running at me with a cleaver.”

He went to his wife and took her hand.

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault.” He cried.

Richard ran up the ramp and through the door.

“Do you like the presents I left you. I think it's some of my best work, what do you think?”

“You’re going to rot in hell you mother fucker.”

“How? Are you going to kill me?” Richard laughed as he walked toward him with an axe in his hand.”

The crazy eyed Richard walked up to him as James started to try and throw punches, the ones that did hit he didn’t even seem to faze the guy. The serial killed chopped off one arm and then the other, then cauterized them with a propane torch. James screamed in pain.

“You’re going to want to see this…say AAHHHH.” As the evil scum opened Richard’s mouth, he tried to bite but it was helpless. Before he knew it his tongue was in Richard Corning's hands as he laughed and jiggled it in front of James’s eyes. All he could do was moan in pain, sadness, and anger.

“Take a good look because this will be the last thing you see, burn it into your brain.”

Then he ripped out his eyes. There was just darkness, he couldn’t scream, he felt like the soldier in the Metallica song “One.” But instead of a landmine it was a crazy fucking serial killer. He could hear Richard Comings laugh, that sick, twisted laugh.

James Ripley opened his eyes screaming. The doctor came into the room and turned on the lights.

“Are you ok? Did you finish the dream?”

Dripping with sweat and breathing heavily James said, “I don’t know, and I hope so.”

“What happened?” the doctor asked.

“Can I tell you, my wife and partner and my psychologist Keith Hernandez, I may even want to record this session for my director, so I don’t have to tell this damn story again.

“Sure, are you up to it today or do you want to wait?”

“I just want to get it over with, tonight after my partner’s shift. I’ll just tell everyone, get the neighbor girl to sit for Mary then we’ll be there. Why don’t we say 4pm?”

“Ok, I’ll see you then. I don’t suggest going back to work today.”

“Don’t worry doc, I’m not. I’m going to go home, kiss my wife and kid, take a shower then chill the fuck out.”

“Good, see you at 4.”

James left the sleep study office, got home, and did everything he said.

That evening he told everyone he wanted about the dream. His wife was shocked that she and Mary got murdered, she jokingly asked if there was anything she should worry about.

“No, I think he’s having these dreams because he’s afraid for you.” The doctor replied.

“This could be PTSD, I’m going to give you a script for olanzapine, I’ll put a rush on it and the 24-hour pharmacy will have it for you before midnight, when you get it, take one right away and, I would take it every night before you go to bed. If you have any side effects call the night nurse right away and stop taking it. Do you have any questions?”

“No, I just want to get something to eat.” James said.

“Ok, I’ll call you in two days to see how you’re doing.”

“Thanks Doc.”

They all left the office, went to eat, and tried to have fun. At around 7pm James got the call that his pills were ready, he picked them up, went home, took one and went to bed.

“Good night, Darling.” He said to Gillian. He lay down and went to sleep.

The End?