Reality's Nightmare (Dialogue Version)

Dialogue version of my story.

 

In therapist, Dr. Mary Jo Sullivan’s, office. A.J. is lying on couch. Dr. Sullivan is sitting in a chair beside her.

 

 

 A.J.:   "I don't remember how I got there..."

 

 A.J. closes eyes to recall more

DR. SULLIVAN: "Think deep, A.J., dig for it in that hidden place. It's there and you know it."

 

A.J. opens eyes

A.J.: "...But I was in a mall. A mall that I've seen before...maybe in a dream? It was so familiar. There were other people in the mall, but I couldn't see their faces. I remember my friend Eric was there. It was the last time I saw him before he left for college four years ago. I haven't talked to him since. I feel bad. But anyway where was I?"

DR. SULLIVAN: "You saw your friend Eric."

A.J.:  "Oh yeah, thanks."

 

A.J. smiles at Dr. Sullivan for a moment

 

A.J.:  "As I was saying, I was with Eric. He's one of my best friends...I've known him since I was a freshman in high school...but at the same time, I never got the time to have deep conversations with him."

 

DR. SULLIVAN: "Does that affect your friendship between the two of you?"

A.J.: "Does what affect our friendship?"

 

DR. SULLIVAN: "Not having the deep conversations. Maybe not talking to him in four years too."

A.J.: "Oh. Well, maybe. I don't know. I'm kind of afraid to talk to him..."

 

A.J.’s voice slowly fades

DR. SULLIVAN: "Fear is a wall that one can knock down only themselves. A.J., you know you have to call him and make up for those lost times."

A.J.: "I know, Mary. Can you please stop interrupting me while I'm trying to tell you a story?!"

 

Dr. Sullivan jumps at the sudden mood change in A.J.

 

A.J.: "Eric and I hung out for what felt like a little while. My best friend Sally was with us too. We went into Spencer's. It's a store just to let you know. And he gave me a piggyback ride. But as we were walking out, me still on his back, his dad came around the corner. He had black hair and was pretty tall. He had tan skin that matched Eric's. Eric's dad told him it was time for him to leave. Then he just...disappeared..." 

 DR. SULLIVAN: "Disappeared?"

A.J.: "Yeah. I saw him, and then he was gone in no less than 3 seconds."

DR. SULLIVAN: "Continue."

 

Dr. Sullivan gestures with her hand, looking defeated

A.J.: "After that, when I blinked my eyes, I was at my old elementary school's playground. I was waiting there with someone named Matt."

DR. SULLIVAN: "What were you waiting for?"

A.J.: "A bus...but the bus stop sign was a stop sign."

DR. SULLIVAN: "Okay."

A.J.: "The bus came and it was white, black and well it just looked like those Greyhound busses. That's what picked us up."

DR. SULLIVAN: "Did you know where you were going, A.J.?"

A.J.: "I was going to this boarding school. I don't know why I had to, but I just knew that's where I had to be."

 

A.J. closes her eyes again. Dr. Sullivan sits calmly looking at A.J.

 

A.J. opens her eyes, and Dr. Sullivan looks eager to hear more.

A.J.: "I didn't see Matt on the bus; I was the only one on there. I don't think I even took a seat because once I got on, I was at the school."

 

A.J. looks feared. A tear runs down her cheek. Dr. Sullivan shifts silently.

 

A.J.:  "When I got in the school, I only saw one set of bunk beds in front of a navy blue curtain in a dark room. A lot of kids my age and younger than me were there. Then to my right was an assembly line. It was moving, but nothing was on them at the time and no one was at the sides. Afterwards when I looked at the bunks again and then looked back at the assembly line, there were children on it. And at the end where they were being sent, there was something that when it went down it would crush and kill the children."

 

Dr. Sullivan holds a shocked expression. A.J. stares back, and nods with sympathy.

A.J.: "After that, I looked to find a way out of there. So, I looked at the ground and saw a pile of pennies going down into the ground.....like there was a hole there or something. As a result, I got down on my knees and ultimately wanted to dig for a way out. But instead of a hole there was a puddle of water that appeared once I put my hand in it. Next, a skull and a piece of paper appeared from the black puddle of water. I don't know how I knew this but the information just came to me.....the skull was the skull of someone who tried to escape from the school years ago. I couldn't see what the paper said and I feared to put my hand in again just to look at what it said. And then I had this crazy idea..."

 

A.J. stops. Dr. Sullivan looks intrigued. A.J. continues.

A.J.: "I looked at where the dead children were being dumped after being on the assembly line. I saw that there was light, and I immediately recognized it as outside and a way out. I figured if I timed it right and went through while this thing was up I could make it........I didn't do it. Everything was a blur after that."

Author's Note

I had a better, edited version of this, but didn't save it to the computer and I gave it to someone else =[

Reviews

[Jofer Serapio]

This piece was absolutely enthralling. I love the whole interaction and the intricacy of how you hid your main point under all those misdirections. It was simply amazing.