Death’s DREAM
A New Nightmare from Alexander English
Chaper 1
Wade Boggs ran to the intersection of Flood and Main. He looked both ways. Empty. No one at all. It was the middle of the day and no one was around. Except him. Where did he come from? Why is he bothering me? These are the thoughts that plagued Wade as he ran for his life.
Wade caught his breath and then moved on; around the Walgreen’s parking lot and toward his apartment. Wade hadn’t run so much in a long while. It was becoming painfully obvious that he couldn’t run for much longer either.
In a few moments, Wade was facing his apartment door. His keys were held out toward the lock like a magnet, but he was reluctant to allow physics to play out. Wade was afraid what he would find. The last time he entered his apartment, someone was inside to meet him. It wasn’t a robber, but Wade hoped to God it had been. He scared Wade half to death then began to tell him such wild stories. Wade of course kicked him out of his house. The man that day troubled Wade a lot. What was worse, the man would not leave him alone. Everywhere he went, the man would follow. Wade eventually called the police, but when the man answered, Wade lost control. He couldn’t take anymore of the man’s stories. They were angering Wade. Wade decided he would go to the police station directly. The man was at the door; trying to get Wade to listen to his nonsense. That’s when Wade ran. He had no other course of action.
Wade ran as far as he could. He also looked for help and no one was around. He didn’t understand. Why is this happening to me? This life was so perfect! No crime, no pollution, no noise, and no work. Why did this man have to come and ruin everything?
Physics finally won the battle between Wade and his door. He unlocked the door and opened it to a small apartment. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. He looked right, to the kitchen and then left to the living room. That’s where he saw him. The man was sitting right on Wade’s couch.
“Just listen to me,” the man said, “I just want to help you.”
“Help me! You mean scare me half to death!? What do you want with me?”
Wade could not help but yell at the man. It made him feel a little better, but it didn’t solve any problems. The man was here and he wasn’t leaving.
“Just listen, that’s all I ask.”
“Fine.” Wade sat in the arm chair next to the couch. “Let’s hear your wild stories.”
“Thank you.” The man relaxed and then began to speak. “My name is Dr. Robert Glasgow. I am here to assist you with your condition.”
Wade began to speak but the man held out a hand to stifle him. Wade remained silent yet uncomfortable.
“You are in a medically induced coma. I am speaking to you via an invention of mine. You are a chosen volunteer. We’ve never met before. My job is to prove to a room of representatives that I can actually contact individuals while they are in a comatose state. Momentarily, we will revive you and when you fully awaken, you will tell this room of representative what my name is and what I named my cat.”
Wade shook his head and realized what he was being told. That couldn’t be could it? Was he really dreaming all of this? That would explain all the weird occurrences and how so many people could have disappeared in an instant. Wade made up his mind and spoke to Dr. Glasgow.
“What’s your cat’s name?”
“Ah, his name is Alucinor.”
With that, the Doctor disappeared and Wade was alone. Wade looked around and couldn’t make out what he had just seen and heard. Did that really happen? Wade was not a cursing man, but he could not hold the phrase in.
“What the f…”
Dr. Glasgow removed his visor. The dim light of the conference room glowed perfectly. He began to appreciate the most mundane things in life after he ventured into peoples’ worlds of fantasies. It always took a moment to adjust to his surroundings, but he was getting good at faking full awareness. He had a job to do, and a DREAM to realize. Dr. Glasgow stood up and moved to the front of the stage.
“What is a sleep? It is most literally defined as when you are not awake. What is a dream? It is a vision seen in sleep. What is a coma? It is a state of prolonged unconsciousness. What is the difference between a coma and sleep? In a coma, the individual can not respond to stimuli nor can the individual be aroused from the coma. This is the key difference in the two. These are noted and documented. What the real question is, “What do you dream in a coma?” Anything? If it’s not really sleep, then does a dream really occur? These are all questions that mankind sought to answer since we understood what a coma was. If we hypothesize that dreams do occur in a comatose state, then we know that the mind is still active. I want to know the answer to another question: can we arouse individuals from a coma by interacting with them in there dreams?”
The words ran from Dr. Glasgow like water from a pitcher. They flowed into the minds of the representatives from every major hospital in the US. Many drank in his words; others allowed the glass to pass them by. Everyone’s thirst was quenched when Mr. Boggs sat up in the bed and said:
“Dr. Glasgow’s cat’s name is Alucinor.”
