Dreaming Forever

Dreaming Forever

Kody Prosser

 

I woke up in a cold sweat. My blanket was tossed aside; my pillows were lying on the floor. As I turned to look at the clock, I sighed. 2:35 AM. Have being only asleep for four hours, I was exhausted. Normally I don’t have nightmares, and when I do, they aren’t as bad as this one was. It seemed so real. It was almost like all of my senses were awake and working in the dream. I picked my pillows up and placed them under my head. I curled up like a small kitten in the cold and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately for me, the dream decided to return as soon as I closed my eyes.

 

It was dark, probably almost one o’ clock in the morning. There was no moon, no stars, and half the street lights were out. I felt a cold wind biting at my nose, and I pulled my hat down further to try to protect my face. My heavy brown trench coat protected the rest of body, and my work boots protected my feet. I was hungry, and didn’t have any money. I didn’t want to resort to crime, but what else was I supposed to do. All I knew was that I wouldn’t do it myself. Hiring a thief to steal a small amount of cash from a small store had seemed like a good idea. I was going to meet him where he would give me the money, and I would hand over his cut. Grief swept over me. I don’t do things like this. I love the world, and I know the store owner. She is a really nice lady. This was my last option though; my family was starving, and the city repossessed the house. I had no other option. However, I told the thief not to harm anyone, and I hope he kept his promise. As I turned the corner into the alley, I remembered that this guy was not one you could trust.

         

          He stood almost 6 foot six and was built like a truck. His head was shaved, and he had a simple goatee on his chin. It was dyed red, which he said was a remembrance to the last person he killed. He was muscular beyond belief; I could tell by the tight shirt he was wearing. I didn’t dare look into his eyes, for they just seemed to be black bottomless pits that showed no remorse. Muttering to my self, I stood straighter and walked towards him. He was silently standing in the middle of the alley holding a burlap sack in one hand and a .45 revolver in the other. He smiled when he saw me, and I mustered up all my courage not to run away right then and there. He was missing three front teeth, but what was most freighting, was that all the other teeth had been filed to a sharp point. He pulled out a piece of meat and bit a large chunk out of it, all the while staring at me. I continued walking forward until I was arms length away from him. No words were to be exchanged here, in case some one was listening. He handed me the sack and I slowly opened it to check the contents. Three hundred dollars in total was what the bag held. I gave him one hundred and fifty as we had agreed on before.

          As I nodded my head, he turned away and I did the same. When I turned the corner, a gunshot rang out through the night. I leaned against the wall and started crying. I had seen her peak around the corner, and yet I walked away. Her voice was pure and high, pleading him. I heard him say something as another gun shot rang out, and I heard the thump as the body fell over. I softly said, “I’m sorry” and silently cried as I walked back home.

 

          “Sheryl! Wake up! We have to leave by eight if we want to catch our plane!” I slowly pushed myself up, trying not to remember the dream. It woke me up three more times in the night, and I was pissed off from it. As I was putting on my pants, my excitement grew as I remembered where we were going, New York. I had never been to a big city before. We lived in Bellefonte Arkansas, so this was going to be a big experience for me. As quickly as I could, I dressed and packed my clothes for the trip. We were going to visit my aunt for two weeks and I had forgotten to pack the night before. As I walked out of my room, I felt a cold chill shoot down my spine. For some reason, I thought, this will be the last time I see this room.

 

 

 

 

~~~Ω~~~

 

          We arrived in New York a few hours later than scheduled because of rain delay. The sky was dark and dreary, but I was still excited. Down below me, stood Manhattan; a huge city with massive buildings and bustling crowds. I’ve never seen this many people in one spot before! There were thousands of people in the airport, probably even hundreds of thousands. Some were standing around talking, some were running to their terminal, and others were yelling at each other. Laughing, I remembered how people in Bellefonte said New Yorkers were always rude. We walked out of the airport after getting our bags and hailed a taxi. The stout yellow car pulled up to the curb and the driver got out and put our bags in the trunk. My dad rode in the front and discussed politics with the driver as me and my mom slept in the back. About an hour and a half later, after having to deal with traffic, we arrived at my aunt’s house.

          She had spent most of her life saving up for a small store that she lived above in a small yellow apartment. Luckily, there was enough room for all three of us visiting. When we opened the door to the store, a little bell chimed; a sound I would soon never forget. I was looking around the store when suddenly I was picked up and squeezed like a teddy bear.

          “SHERYL!!! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up! You’re so adorable!” Being sixteen and what not, I was a little bothered by this. But, at the same time I liked the attention. Her reaction was understandable since she hasn’t seen me in ten years. I pushed my self out of her hug and laughed as I walked around the store and she talked to my parents. It was a curious store, lots of trivial pieces that you wouldn’t see in most stores. I picked up a small bird looking thing and almost dropped it when it squawked. I looked at it again and saw there was a small battery and speaker in it. Shaking my head, I set it down.

          My aunt led us all upstairs to our rooms. My room was little bigger than a closet, but it was cozy. I pushed my luggage under the bed and walked out into the dining room for dinner. We had mashed potatoes, meat loaf, and green beans. After eating, we all sat down to play Scrabble. My dad won, being an English teacher gave him an advantage, and my aunt claimed he cheated. She was just playing of course. As they were playfully arguing, I said good night and went off to bed. The effects of jet lag were starting to catch up to me. As I closed my eyes, I was struck by another dream.

 

          I gently pushed open the door after breaking the lock. My lock picking wasn’t the best, but this one was simple enough for me. I had to be very careful around this store as not to break anything. There were strange glass pieces every where, and if one of them fell, they could wake up the residents. I slid my tongue over my sharpened teeth, savoring every moment of this. The thrill I got from slipping in and out of the darkness, to achieve goals that people would deem evil. It was exhilarating. The man gave me the instructions of where the safe was. The only problem was getting to it. It was behind the counter, which was not meant for a 6’ 6”, 365 pound guy like me. So instead, I just reached over the counter and grabbed it with one hand. It was a small iron crate, about two feet by two feet. There was no lock on it, so I was able to open it pretty easily. Inside was six hundred dollars. I smiled, the guy had only asked for three hundred, splitting it with me. I pulled that amount out and put it in my bag. I grabbed one hundred more and put it in my pocket. I was a respectable man, so I left two hundred for the store owner. That way, she wouldn’t lose to despair. As I closed the chest and put it back, my arm hit something on the shelf. Luckily, before it hit the ground I was able to catch it. It was a bird looking thing, and as I was putting it back, it squawked. I held still, listening for any movement upstairs. When I thought it was clear, I walked out of the store and turned into the alley to wait.

          After waking up, I quietly walked to the bathroom and washed my face. I looked in the mirror, trying to convince myself that it was just a dream. He had been in my aunt’s store, and I had no idea what to think of it. I sighed and was walking by the door to the store when I heard a sound. It was a clattering sound, then a few seconds later, a squawk. Then I heard the door bell chime as it was opened and closed. Holding my breath, I waited a few minutes before opening the door and stepping into the store. Seeing nothing, I sighed in relief. But just to check, I opened up the stores safe. Sure enough, there was only two hundred out of the six hundred dollars in it. And the bird thing had been moved three shelves down. Shaking now, fear pounded through my body. I didn’t wake up my parents because I didn’t think they would believe that I had seen a robbery in a dream and it was coming true. Who would? I know I wouldn’t.

          I stepped out of the store and winced as my bare feet touched the cold pavement. There was no moon or stars in the sky, and only half the street lights were on. I slowly stepped forward, the cold wind biting through my night gown. Hearing the sound of boots walking, I stopped at the entrance to an alley. I slowly leaned around the corner and held my breath as I saw two men standing there, exchanging money. One was clad in a long brown trench coat, a winter hat, and work boots. The other one was massive, almost six foot six. His muscles were clearly defined under the tight shirt he was wearing, even though his back was to me. His head was bald, and I felt a menacing feeling radiating from him. The trench coat man looked down and sighed as he walked away. I went to walk back towards the store when I heard a grunt behind me. I whipped around, and heard an explosion as I fell to the ground.

The pain was indescribable. It hurt so much that it didn’t hurt. I sat there, stunned as I looked at the bullet hole in my stomach. I touched it and saw my hand covered in blood. I looked up as I felt the hot barrel of a gun press against my forehead. Behind the .45, I could see the bald man staring at me. From some where, I heard crying and sniffling. The bald man smiled as I tried to plead with him. Things like, “Please don’t” or “I’m too young”. His teeth were like shark’s, sharp and deadly. Tears streamed down my face as he said, “You’ve seen too much.” He pushed the gun harder against my forehead, and the last thing I heard was someone softly cry, “I’m sorry.”

          

          

Author's Note

I looked for grammar problems, but if I missed some, please let me know.

Reviews

[Katherine S.]

I really liked this, it's filled with tension and it really sucks the reader into the story. I liked how it changed from different POVs, it made it a lot more interesting. Wonderful write. :)

[Laminators Dubai]

this is really entertaining and readly.
thanks for sharing^^

[The Chosen]

I need to edit this. I have a revised copy I'm going to put in. So after 10/16/2013, it will be the revised version.

[Dreamer]

Wow, I loved this story.. it was very intense and I couldn't stop reading it! very well done

[The Chosen]

Thanks. I wasn't for sure how it would turn out because it kind of seemed like I was rambling. But I like it. I'm glad you do too.