Good evening darlings,
Yes, I know it’s a bit late, but here it finally is. So I’ll be giving us a prompt to write about. Can be a short story, a poem, flash fiction, doesn’t matter. Whatever you want to write! And I’m going to write about it too and show you the unedited version right here.
As dreams went, this one wasn’t half bad. At least I died at the beginning and wasn’t dragged through tragedy after tragedy until it finally ended like before. Though, I’m not really sure what to make of that.
Alright, so here’s my attempt, here goes:
As dreams went, this one wasn’t half bad. At least I died at the beginning and wasn’t dragged through tragedy after tragedy until it finally ended like before. Though, I’m not really sure what to make of that.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed and take a deep breath, letting the dream sink in. It was the same as it usually is, only this time I died at the beginning, not the end. My brows furrow as I stretch my arms overhead, working out the kinks in my body before standing and making my way to the shower.
As I wash I imagine the remnants of the dream washing away down the drain along with the soapy water, but when I step out and wrap in a towel I’m sorely mistaken. The dream still lingers, swirling in my thoughts. Why did I die at the beginning? Does it mean something? Did something change to make the dream change? Should I even be putting any stock into the dream at all?
I shrug and check the time. I quickly throw on some clothes and grab my purse before heading out the door, tossing my hair around in the breeze to help it dry.
The sun is hot on my back as I close the door, locking it behind me and I frown. A shiver races up my spine and I spin around thinking I’ll catch some middle-aged man starring at my ass. My eyes widen when I glance up and down the street and there isn’t a single soul. Strange. I make my way down the street toward the cafe, I’d promised Jill I’d stop and grab her a coffee. I’ll still make it on time if I’m quick.
I hurry through the door preparing to stop at the end of the line, but there’s not a person inside. Every table is eerily empty, where is everyone? They can’t all have foregone their caffeine addictions for the newest health fad, could they? It didn’t seem plausible.
I shake my head and march up to the counter, but no one moves to serve me. I lean over the counter and not a worker is in sight behind the counter. No one is working or making coffee or chatting. I slap a bill onto the counter and sit on the ledge, swinging my legs over. Thank goodness I’d worked as a barista for a year during my gap year in college.
I move around putting all the ingredients together and finally snap a lid onto the cup. I slide back over the counter. Someone’s paycheck is going to be very low, they may even lose their job. I head out the door, flipping my hair over my shoulder. The street light switches and I walk across. The city around me is unnaturally quiet. I stop in the middle of the road glancing both ways, the street on all sides is empty of traffic. Maybe I should have driven, but I figured the traffic would be a nightmare as it usually is. Guess I was wrong, but why? Of all the years I’ve spent here, in that apartment I’ve never once seen the traffic stop in this area. It’s always constant, even in the middle of the night.
I scratch my head, a slight burning tingeing my temple. My brows furrow, the streets beginning to throw me off. How did the dream end? I rub the soreness at my temple as I try to recall. How had I died? Was it the same as it always is or was it different?
I stop for a moment in front of the building normally crowded with bodies heading in and out, then quickly head inside. Where had Jill said to meet her? Would she be there? No one else seemed to be anywhere. A frown molds my mouth and I hurry to the second floor to Jill’s favourite spot. I take a hasty seat and pull out my phone shooting her a quick text.
Did you forget? Are you on your way? I’m here!
I take a deep breath and resist the urge to take a sip from her coffee as I wait. But as the minutes tick by without even so much as a text, concern begins to set my jaw. I furrow my brows and check my phone again.
Missing a coffee date is very unlike her. I send one more text before standing, leaving the coffees untouched on the table.
I left. Looking for you.
As I hurry down the street toward Jill’s apartment, glancing down every alley and side street just in case, remnants of my dream surface. An image of a cloaked figure takes the forefront. I gasp, stumbling back a step, but the image disappears as quickly as it came.
I release a long breath. Just a snippet of a dream from last night.
But just as I take another step another image captures my mind’s eye. A dark muscled figure on a large black and red bike. He glances at me over his shoulder as though offering.
With another gasp I trip, quickly catching myself on a lampost. I blink, but the image is gone, the rough, weather-worn sidewalk the only picture before my eyes.
What is up with this? I rub my temple as a dull ache begins to throb there. I flick my hair over my shoulder and keep going, quickening my pace as I turn down her street. Nearly there.
If I ever come across that guy on the motorcycle, I should be sure to remind myself to never get on the back of it. It seems a sure-fire bad idea.
Just then a rock tumbles along the sidewalk behind me and before I can glimpse who it might be, a black streak whips across my vision. When my eyes land on the spot behind me where I’m sure the sound came from, it’s empty.
I shake my head, but as I right myself, another streak whips by me like a gust of wind, throwing my hair back. Okay, that was definitely real.
I suck in a sharp breath as the airs on the back of my neck stand and a tingle races down my spine. I nod to myself. Okay, it’s fine, it’s fine. Everything is fine.
My heart spikes as an engine revs up the street turning to a low rumble when it stops next to me. I turn, mouth gaping at the figure from my dream. His muscles hard and well-defined, his jaw sprinkled with stubble. All complete with a toothpick between his lips in replacement of a cigarette. A much healthier choice, honestly.
“Get on.”
I shake my head brows furrowed in confusion. “I-”
“No time, get on or be taken.”
I shake my head, taking a deep breath before throwing my leg over the side and gripping his waist.
The engine rev once before he peels away from the curb just as black streaks across the spot I’d been standing.
“Good choice,” he says over his shoulder, the spitting image from my dream.
“So, what now?”
He shakes his head. “Honestly, you’re not going to like it.”
“Why-?”
“Because you haven’t made it very far in this one before they found you. I’m sorry but this really is the best way. We can escape them and when we come back, we can have another chance. I’m sorry I can’t give you anything better.”
“I don’t understand. You’re talking like you know me.”
“I realize you don’t know me here, not in this one. But you do know me and you’ve gotten to know me well over a hundred times over the years. And you’ll do it again. We’ll do it again.”
“I still don’t.-”
“I’m sorry there’s no time to explain. In about a minute we’ll be done.”
“Done? What does that mean?” Mentally, my mind counts down the seconds as they pass, worry about the impending doom we’re about to experience in the next minute of our lives and what that doom is.
“We’re going to die.”
“Die? I don’t-” I shake my head. “No, we can’t die. Wait… Are you going to kill us?”
“Like I said, it is the only way to escape.” He cocks his head over his shoulder. “To escape Mr. Creepy back there.”
“No, there must be-”
He releases a long breath then eyes me over his shoulder as I wrap my arms tighter, fear gripping me with icy fingers. “Do you trust me?”
I shake my head. “No.”
He shakes his then, pursing his lips. “That’s not what I mean. Think about it, think about the feeling deep in your chest. Do you feel it? What does it say?”
I do as he asks and he’s right, a light, electrified crackle throbs in my heart as it beats. I shift my hands along his abdomen and the crackles grow. I gasp.
He nods. “Yes, see there. What does it say on this matter?”
I sigh with pursed lips. “It says it trusts you.”
He smirks. “See? You trust me, you just don’t know it yet because there was no time to do it this time around. So trust me when I say this. This is the best way.”
I nod, setting my jaw and gripping him even tighter.
“Hold on, princess, it’ll be over soon.”
I shut my eyes tightly, seeing stars behind the blackness as I count out the last seconds. I loud crash jolts me, then nothing.
I sit up in bed, my heart racing and eyes wide. I glance around looking for the source of my panic, but everything is silent, calm. I release a long breath and scrub my hands down my face trying to understand the bizarre dream.
There, that wasn’t terrible. Yes, there are still some kinks to work out in it, but I think it isn’t half bad. And the ending surprised me. I had no idea it was going to end up being like a many lives or past lives kind of story or that it would have another dream sequence? But hey, it isn’t terrible and it is creepy in the beginning and has you questioning everything you know. But it is very very rough. But that’s okay. As like it said, I haven't edited it, I haven’t even looked at it a second time.
Well, thank you so much for hanging out and for joining me for a writing prompt! It was fun. A pretty good post for a cozy Sunday morning. But this will be it for me. Thanks for stopping by. This was fun. Lots of love! Happy reading and writing. Until next time, bye for now.
Celine Rose Marie