Inception

Her head was pounding even before she opened her eyes to the bright sunlight in her room. She had collapsed into bed early last night and still felt as if she didn’t sleep at all. The dreams were becoming more and more vivid, and lasting for more of the night. The one last night felt the most real out of all of them, and she was absolutely exhausted from it.

 

She moved to roll out of bed, but suddenly froze as a ripple of pain spread throughout her body. She rolled up her tank top to see a large bruise covering her side, exactly where she had been hit during her dream last night. She stared at it for a long minute before slowly lowering her shirt, as a feeling of dread slowly settled in. How was this possible? It was just a dream…

 

As she slowly sat up, she winced as her side spasmed. It must have been caused by something in her sleep. She recalled reading some article about people accidentally hurting themselves or physically reacting to threats during dreams, so that must be what caused it. Her hand slowly rubbed her side as she moved into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Almost immediately, she changed her mind and put the plug in the drain so the tub started to fill. A nice relaxing bath would be a good way to shake off the terror from last night’s dream.

 

As the bathtub filled, she slowly disrobed and examined herself in the full length mirror on the wall. The dark bruise covered her side from her hip to just above her waist, and continued around nearly to the middle of her back. There were four long claw marks on her right shoulder blade from the beast that had slammed into her during her dream. The impact had winded it which allowed her to escape. Frowning, she tied up her long hair and slipped into the bath to reflect on last night’s adventure.

 

After the beast hit her, she remembered running until she collapsed then crawling into a cave she spotted across a shallow river. Quickly, she’d obscured the entrance with fallen tree branches and a couple uprooted bushes before allowing herself to rest. The beast appeared a few minutes later, having followed her scent to the river. It had hissed at the water and looked around, seeking her out. Then it turned to follow the river downstream.

 

She remembered allowing herself a sigh of relief as she leaned back against the cave wall and closed her eyes, only to wake up in her bed what seemed like only moments later. The fear began to rise again as she thought of the beast, so she tried to recall earlier and more pleasant parts of the dream.

 

The area the dream took place in was alien to her, with its dull grey-green vegetation and red sky. The sun shone huge in the sky - it had to be at least five times the size of Earth’s sun - and was accompanied by three moons that hung so close she felt she could almost reach out and touch them. She began to explore, as she did in most of these dreams. A large hill rose in the distance, so she made her way over to it to gain a better vantage point. Upon the hilltop, she was able to see a huge city sprawling throughout a shallow valley. The buildings seemed to be made mostly of steel and glass, but their construction was very alien to her; instead of the rectangular skyscrapers she was used to seeing in cities, these buildings resembled very tall, rounded triangles. Some made her think of the Space Needle in Seattle, as they were very tall and thin with a huge sphere at the top.

 

She slowly spun and saw a forest with odd grey trees to her right. The entirety of the trees was grey - both bark and leaves. Having no desire to explore a strange forest with who-knows-what kind of animals lurking in it, she turned to her right once again to see a vast plain as far as her eyes could see. It looked as if it turned to desert far in the distance. Given the choice between the forest or the city, she carefully made her way down the hill towards the distant city.

 

It took her a little over a half hour to make it to the edge of the city. She found it odd that there were no smaller buildings around the periphery, like how suburbs spring up around the cities back in reality. The buildings just simply stopped at the border of the city. She made her way through a narrow alley to a main street to find it bustling with people. Upon closer inspection, some of the creatures looked human though most did not " many had at least one defining feature that was a little odd or just downright strange. As one creature who looked like a normal man from behind turned around, she saw his face looked reminiscent of a snake’s - slitted nostrils, beady black eyes, and a thin forked tongue that darted in and out of his mouth. As he moved closer to her, she noticed that his seemingly human skin was actually scaled.

 

The snake-man walked past her into a crowd of creatures that looked like teenage girls with legs like satyrs. They bleated affectionately at the snake-man as he tipped his hat to them. Beyond the girls, she saw what looked like a plain old woman leaning against a building. She cautiously approached the old woman. As she began to ask the woman where she was, strange gibberish poured from her mouth. The woman replied in the same language, informing her of the city name. When she asked what planet she was on and what year it was, the woman gave her a strange look and replied as if she was chiding a child, then gathered a bag by her feet and walked away.

 

Across the street was what looked like a small café, so she made her way over to one of the outdoor tables and sat down. People-watching was one of her favorite hobbies, so she sat and observed the creatures milling around the area until the sun was high in the sky. She began walking towards the center of the city. She walked slowly, observing the strange customs of the residents and peeking through shop windows to stare at odd and foreign products.

 

It was late afternoon before she approached the huge garden that lay in the center of the city. Unlike the forest and grass outside the city, the plants here were vibrantly colored. Many of the plants were also very animated, seemingly dancing for the passersby. She approached a bright purple plant that looked like sea grass moving underwater. As she drew closer, it appeared to bow then offered two tendrils to her. She smiled and curtseyed in response and took the plant tendrils in her hands, and as she did the plant began to make a lovely, if haunting, tune that sounded of wind blowing through the reeds of a flute. She enjoyed a lengthy dance with the purple plant, after which she curtseyed again as the plant bowed then returned to its previous upright state.

 

Smiling, she continued exploring the garden. She enjoyed a short conversation with a squirrel-like creature the size of a dog, who warned her to stay away from the yellow plants - they were expert pickpockets. He also encouraged her to visit the wishing fountain at the center of the garden. Upon her request, he gave her directions through the maze-like hedges that were between her and the fountain, then bid her good day as he continued on his way.

 

She made it through the hedges with little trouble. As the she emerged, she felt her jaw drop at the absolute beauty of the fountain. It was a perfect circle at least the size of a baseball field with a marble volcano that had to be at least three stories tall in the center. The volcano spewed water another ten or twenty feet into the air in a constant stream, but before the water could fall back down it turned into mist that spread over the fountain. The mist cloud hung over the entire pool of water, mostly transparent and riddled with rainbows from the sun hitting the water droplets. Throughout the rest of the fountain, small islands were scattered with fantastical marble creatures resting on them. She recognized a large fairy on one small island, and what looked to be a mermaid resting against a siren on another. Most of the other marble creatures were unfamiliar to her, but no less beautiful.

 

Looking into the water, she found it teeming with large fish resembling koi, but with shiny multicolored scales. At the bottom of the pond she saw an abundance of vibrant green plants that she observed providing both food and shelter for the fish.

 

She spent the rest of the day admiring the beauty of the fountain. As the sun began to drop in the sky, she thought it time to return home and began making her way back to the field where she appeared in this world, next to the hilltop that provided her first view of the city. As she made her way back through the city she followed much the same route, but found that she walked alone; the streets were virtually empty. She saw maybe three others on her way to the edge of the city, and each time they seemed to be frightened while they scurried along as close to the buildings as possible.

 

She should have taken that as a hint to find shelter indoors before the sun set.

 

Though it was blocked by the tall buildings, she knew when the sun dipped fully below the horizon as the temperature noticeably dropped. As she reached the small café she’d rested at earlier she began to see her breath. As the alley she entered the city through drew closer, she heard a low noise that sounded like a strange growl behind her. Her eyes widened as she glanced over her shoulder and was suddenly frozen still.

 

The beast had the overall appearance of a tiger, though much more feral-looking and at least three times the size. Its head was overly large and looked almost like that of a hammerhead shark. Its orange and grey fur was as long and shaggy as a sheepdog’s, and tangled with sticks and twigs that looked like they were from the grey trees in the forest she saw. She was suddenly grateful she’d chosen to visit the city instead of the forest, though that thankfulness faded completely when she saw the beast lower its head as its claws emerged from its paws. As the hair on the scruff of its neck bristled, she bolted towards the alley. She was almost to the alley when the beast caught up to her. White hot pain erupted on the back of her shoulder as its claws ripped down her back, and only moments later the beast slammed into her, propelling her forward into the alley. The beast also continued forward, its shoulders ramming into the buildings on either side of her. She was a little dazed from the impact, and laid on the ground a few moments, terrified, as the beast paced outside the alley, baring its teeth at her.

 

As it caught its breath, it began to try to force its way into the alley, teeth snapping. Her eyes followed the beast’s body to the sides of the buildings it had hit. Her eyes widened as she saw the huge dents it had left, and how they continued to grow as the beast forced its way towards her. Her heart leapt up into her throat as she scrambled to her feet and ran all the way back to the hilltop. She paused for a moment at the crest of the hilltop, unsure where to go next. To her left was the forest, which was sure to hold more of those beasts, but to the right and in front of her was nothing but open plains. She bit her lip.

 

The distant sound of steel wrenching behind her made up her mind as she dashed towards the forest. She kept to the forest outskirts and ran for what seemed like forever until she collapsed near a wide, but seemingly shallow river. She continued moving, on hands and knees, to the edge of the water. The three moons provided more than enough light to see that the river was indeed shallow all the way across. A small cave opening sat on the opposite bank, which gave her the boost of energy she needed to quickly and carefully make her way across the river.

 

The cave opening was little more than a low rock overhang a few feet above the ground, but she thought it should provide enough shelter to keep her safe. Looking around for something to hide the entrance, she found a few broken tree branches that she laid over the entrance. She uprooted a couple small bushes and arranged them in front of the opening as well, then squeezed through and flattened herself against the ground.

 

As she was just beginning to get her breathing under control, she saw the beast appear across the river with its nose to the ground. It reached the shore and looked up, growling. It approached the water slowly, then pulled back hissing as a small wave hit its paw. It looked around for a few minutes, appearing to be searching for her, then turned to follow the river downstream.

 

She let out a silent sigh of relief and rolled onto her back in the little cave. For awhile she heard nothing but the sounds of the slowly-moving river and her slowing breaths. As the adrenaline began to wear off, she again felt the sharp, white-hot pain in her shoulder. She propped herself up against the cool stone wall of the cave to let it dull the pain, and allowed herself to close her eyes for a few moments of rest.

 

Her body jerked in the tub. She’d almost fallen asleep; that was the last thing she wanted to allow herself to do right now. Sighing, she pulled the drain plug with her toes and allowed the water to drain around her. The chill of the water evaporating off her body helped to make her feel a little more awake. At least enough to make it down the stairs and turn the coffee maker on. She tossed on the robe hanging from the bathroom door, left her nightclothes on the bathroom floor, and made her way to the kitchen. She always filled the coffee maker with fresh beans and water the night before, so she pressed the ON button and sat on the countertop as the coffee maker began grinding the beans.

 

She felt like her blood ran with caffeine with how much she’d depended on it the past 8 years. She’d begun to have these ultra-realistic dreams when she was 17 years old, but they always seemed like just that - dreams - with the exception that she remembered them as if they were memories and woke up as exhausted as if they were real life. As she got a little older, the dreams became...something more. At first, it was like she was watching herself in a movie, but as the dreams became more frequent she began to be able to control small actions. More time passed, and now it was as if she was fully awake during her dreams; she completely controlled her actions. Eight years since she’d had the first vivid dream, and this was the first time she’d ever woken up physically harmed. It terrified her to her core.

 

The coffee maker’s grinder finished its whirring, and she heard water begin to bubble through the grounds. She breathed deeply as the kitchen began to smell of her favorite caramel-vanilla coffee. She jumped a little when she heard a thump from upstairs, again picturing the tiger-like beast, but calmed as she heard her dog stretch and roll around on his back before making his way down the stairs. His tail wagged as he jumped up and put his paws on her thighs so he could lick her face. She gave him a big hug and finally felt like she was safe from the beast from her dream.

 

It troubled her a little that around a year ago he had started to sleep in the spare bedroom; he almost always slept under the covers right next to her in bed. He usually only slept on the bed in the spare room when she was out of the house. She figured she must be tossing and turning during the night and waking him up.

 

Glancing at the coffee pot, she saw it was only about halfway done brewing. Sighing, she slid off the counter and opened the fridge and freezer doors to try to decide what she wanted to eat. She eyed the bottle of Grey Goose on the top shelf of the freezer for longer than she wanted to even admit to herself before closing the freezer. Her dog almost knocked her over as he stuck his nose into the fridge and directly against one of the drawers. She smiled and opened the drawer, pulling out a few slices of deli cheese. Her dog sat at attention, tail thumping against the ground. She closed the fridge and returned to her spot on the counter, sharing the slices of cheese with her dog.

 

She reached over and grabbed her favorite coffee cup from the sink and rinsed it out. As she was drying it off, the coffee maker finally beeped. She added her cream and sugar to the cup, then filled it up with coffee. After finishing about half the cup, she moved back up to her bedroom to get dressed. Well, she meant to at least; instead she set down her cup on her dresser and let herself fall backwards onto her bed. Her dog immediately jumped up and laid against her, his head laying across her chest and his tail thumping against her leg; big brown eyes looking straight into hers.

 

She was so tired, she toyed with the idea of attempting to sleep. Laying here with her dog against her made the memories of the beast from her dreams seem so distant. She always felt safe with him snuggled up against her. She ran her hand along her dog’s back as she again contemplated just a quick nap, and against her better judgment she closed her eyes.