When I Sleep:Chapter-2

The plane had landed. The pilot had made the announcement and had said something about the weather.But I wasn't paying much heed to that.I just had a weird dream,a dream in which Mr Daniels had come, and in a voice much different than his, had said,"You caused my death, Mark. Know that."

I quickly threw the remnants of this dream into the recycle bin in my brain and flushed it.No. I had not done anything.It was just a trauma. That's it.

I went to the baggage area and took my bags.Kept them in the trolley, and headed towards the exit.I booked a taxi to take me to my hotel, and after a few minutes of waiting, which involved my brain making some jokes on the Brits about tea and Mr Daniels blood dripping into it from above, I was sitting in the taxi, taking in the view.

"So, Sir, where have you come from?", the driver asked.

"Iceland", I replied.

"Reykjavik? Oh, I saw the tag on your luggage.", he said.Then why did you ask me, I thought.

"So you must have heard about the murder that took place there, eh?Made quite a bit of news, that did", he said.

"Yeah. I read about it in the newspaper. Mr Daniels."

"Oh yeah, that's him alright.They say it was impossible for someone to kill him with a knife and dump his body in that water tank. It was so bloody high, with the gates being locked and all.Whoever did it, must have climbed the wall, eh?" he said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.

"Hmm, yeah, I suppose so."

He then changed the  topic to his life, and for the next 20 minutes or so, I took in the view again,Mr Daniels far out of my mind. As I reached my hotel, and as the driver rambled on about the distinct types of English tea that I must drink or at least try before going, a noise started coming from my luggage at the back.

No, not a noise, it was a mobile phone ringing."That yours, Sir?", the driver asked.

I didn't reply. My phone was in my pocket, and I carried no extra phones with me.

I quickly got out of the car, and by the time I reached the back, the ringing had stopped.The driver came out and took out my luggage. I gave him a tip, and as he left, he wished me good luck for the rest of my stay at London.I though of looking for that noise afterwards, and with my baggage, went to the reception of the hotel.

I made my way to the desk, and was greeted warmly by the receptionist. They checked my details, and verified the booking that I had done earlier,and gave me the keys to my room.

My room was on the third floor, and as I walked down the aisle, the ringing started again from my luggage.I panicked a bit to be true, and as I bent down the trolley to check from where that infernal noise was coming from, the door beside me opened, and a young girl stood there, along with her mother.

" I am sorry, Ma'am. Just give me a minute.", I said and opened the bag. As soon as I opened it, the noise stopped, and I saw nothing but some clothes,books and that antique that I had bought sticking out an angle that made me think why hadn't it broken by now.I closed the bag,and moved the trolley ahead. The woman gave me a curt nod, closed the door and went towards the elevator.

I reached my room, and went inside. I removed my shoes, took off my coat and got my luggage in. I made a mental note to myself to check the bags tomorrow morning as soon as I get up. I was tired by now, and wanted to go to sleep. 

I ordered some food over the phone, and sat down in front of the TV. I watched some movie channel for some time, and then switched over to the news. The reporters were talking about the recent polls that had happened, and by the looks of it, there was a chance of rain tonight. They ended it grandly, with a joke on a guy, who, by the way , had somehow got himself stuck in his own car for 9 hours, without his pants.

Then came the news, that my mind was waiting for.No, hoping for.

Death of Mr Daniels.

It was not a major news of course, it just flashed by.

The police still hadn't got a clue yet, and the only thing that they had got from the investigation was the name of the hostel at which I had stayed.

Well, I had hoped more.

I switched off the TV, and kept the plates aside. The phone from my luggage hadn't rung again till now, and I expected it to remain silent for the remaining night.

It took me some time to go to sleep.

 Someone touched my arm, and the touch was so cold, so real that I woke up with a sudden jolt. And I found myself in a dark room, with a single window.

Heck,where am I ? I thought. Maybe I am still dreaming. Okay.

Let's go with it.

I went to the window, and after a few seconds, someone pulled me down.

I fell to the floor. The feelings, the smell, the noises, they were all so real that it didn't at all feel like a dream.

But it was. I believed in Science. And if I had entered deep sleep, then such dreams are completely normal.

That's what science says, and I believe in it.

After all, I am a physicist.

And when I looked up, I saw Mr Daniels face. Rotten, shriveled up. His eyes rolling, cheeks sagging, to reveal the bones beneath his eyes.

"It's all your fault that I died.It's all your fault. You released him. Now he will come for you.Unless you find someone else, he will destroy you."

And with that, his hand came for my neck.

I woke up with a sudden jolt.The clock on the bedside table told the time as 3 am, and then the phone in my luggage started ringing again.