Transcending Dreams--Jennifer

“I’ll kill you, if it’s the last thing I-” The man's face began to blur into a sea of navy blue, his mouth still moving, but only high pitched beeps sounded. Laila’s eyes opened slightly as her hand instinctively smashed the alarm clock. She slowly pulled the dark sheet off her head and tossed it onto her spare chest with a groan.
No second thought was given to the man from her sleep for hours. His strong, unforgiving grip had left a yellow bruise on Leila’s thin wrist, but she hardly noticed it. It wasn’t until that afternoon with Kai that it was brought to her attention. 

“It’s only been two weeks since I saw you last, yet you’re hardly recognizable.” He gestured to her crimson hair with a grin. “Looks like I’ve been dreaming about the wrong girl.”
“Don’t be stupid, Kai. Red, green, black. It’s all the same. Sorry for not mentioning it when I visited you the other night.” They grabbed hands and sat facing each other, observing what had changed since their last in-person encounter. New hair color, tired eyes. Darker tan, greasier hair. Kai’s eyes stopped scanning once he found it. 

“Laila. Your wrist. Did he visit your dreams again? Is that why you didn’t meet me last night?”
She hesitated and, keeping her head to the ground, explained that it was no big deal. “He was gone quickly. I hardly remember it at all, I swear.”
“He hurt you! We have no idea who he is and he hurt you. He can’t keep invading your privacy like this.”
“It’s not privacy, I mean, anyone can visit anyone sleeping as long as they’re on the same cycle.”
“This is different. When some stranger’s dream of you is so strong that the touch shows up on your body when you wake up? That’s not okay.” He was standing over her in a protective manner that was inviting her in for a hug. She didn’t get the message and pulled him back down on the bench.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now, and he’s probably on the other side of the world anyway. It’s impossible to do much worse than a bruise without physical bodies being toge...” She trailed off, eyes fixated on the broad, tall man in the window of a store across the road. Same balding head, same evil gleam in his eye. “We have to leave.”
She picked up her backpack and yanked Kai’s hand, dragging him around the corner near the building's dumpster. Her heart was racing and her mind couldn't focus on the next step. Was that really him? Should we be running? Should we confront him?

Kai was peering around the corner, piecing it together without knowing who exactly is the problem.
“Let's confront him,” Kai whispered. Laila rolled her eyes and wished her thoughts weren't always loud enough for him to hear, when her dreams are often too weak for him to visit. It’s the exact opposite of what she craves.
“If we go over there... who knows how strong he is? Who knows how he'll treat me in person? I don't think it's worth the risk.”
“It's been going on for months. This is our first chance to change something, we have to take it.” Their interlocked hands squeezed as they snuck towards the danger, unsure of how they'd speak to this man. “We're in a world where nightmares can be avoided and dreams can be with your best friends. There's no reason for him to give you nightmares against your will.”
They cautiously entered the store, startled to immediately run into the man they so feared. He greets them, “Hello you little rat. Rat’s boyfriend.” His grin widens... widens... Laila and Kai can't bring themselves to talk. He continues, “do you remember my promises, woman? I'll kill you, if it's the last thing I-”
The man’s face began to blur into a sea of dark, his mouth moving, high pitched beeps sounding. Kai’s eyes opened slightly as his hand instinctively smashed the alarm clock. He sat up, fear radiating through his chest. Every thought was dedicated to this nightmare for the next several hours, until he held Laila again. The bruise on her wrist was the least of his concerns as he dialed for an ambulance.