The Recurring Dream (short story)

      “You said you're having a recurring dream. Tell me about it.”

       It always begins with a scream, followed by silence. Suddenly I'm standing outside of her bedroom window looking in. She's motionless on the bed. She's not alone. There's this guy with her, but he's just this shadowy figure looming over her. He killed her. He turns and looks right at me. I can't see his eyes but I can feel them burning through me.

       I start running. I'm screaming for help but everyone ignores me as if I don't exist. I grab someone and turn them around to face me, to get their attention, but their eyes and mouth are sewn shut. And their ears... their ears have been sliced off. I fall back and continue running.

       “You can't escape me.” I hear him yell at me as he gains on me.

       I keep running, but as I run, the city falls apart around me. The buildings crumble and the streetlights fall. Trees burst into flames. This goes on until I'm running in and through ash. I can't see anything but I can feel him behind me. The ash gets ankle high and I slow down.

       Then all the ash turns to snow and he's gone. I can barely see it, but there's a cleared path ahead of me. I follow it, and as I do, the city reforms around me, as if erupting from the snow. The path stops at her front door. I put my hand on the doorknob, turn it, and slowly open the door. I step in. The door slams behind me and there's a scream. Then everything is silent.

       I call out to her. She doesn't reply so I investigate the apartment. Everything is clean and pristine, cleaner than I'd ever seen it. Her bedroom door is closed so after checking the rest of the apartment, I come back to it. I stand there for a bit before I open the door and walk in.

       She's lying on the bed motionless. She's dead. I stand there and stare at her until I feel eyes watching me. I look at the window to see a shadowy figure looking in at me. Then I wake up.

-Zero