The man’s eyes open with a start. Fear and anxiety washed over the man, wrapped in a cold sweat, soaking the surface of the couch. The image burned into his mind. He felt dread etched into his body, terror coursed through his heart. He slowly took a look around the room, observing his surroundings, but failing to take in anything as his heart raced. The moments passed were an eternity to the man, until a sound reverberated throughout the room, originating from the ottoman beside him. As the sound continued, he stared at the ringing object, holding his arms, closing himself into a ball as he sat on the couch in a skittish manner. A mouse crawls out from the corner and crawls under the ottoman. An indescribable sound escapes from his shivering, chapped lips, as light footsteps approach the living room with hushed swiftness. Fear, followed by a drop of relief, soon turned to indescribable despair as he glanced upon the face of his lover. Every gaze upon her appearance made him recall that scene, stressing what felt like his very soul, causing his body to eject the contents of yesterday’s meal in her direction.
“Disgusting,” she said, with disturbing calm, as she walked away at a quickened pace.
“Hey… Wait….” He stood up shakily, taking small steps forward, nearly tripping over himself, as he tried to pursue the woman who hurried away. The man with shortened breath and an unsteady gait, soon collapsed in a pool of his own sweat, eyelids slowly closing as a loud three-series knock rings through the door, and hurried footsteps approach it.
He awakes to a ringing object in the distance behind him as he lies on the floor, covered in his own sweat still wearing yesterday’s clothes. The object stops ringing, and as he gets up, it starts again, followed by a knocking at the door. As the man glances at the object, he realizes that it is his phone, and is reminded of the night before. As he recalls that night, he is reminded of the torturous image that floods his mind. His fear takes a different form than last night, as his worries shift from himself to his lover, and he rapidly calls her. Putting the phone to his ear, he pleads to whatever higher power saw him for her to answer.
*RING*
*RING*
*RING*
The call boots to voicemail, he attempts to call her again, but to no avail did she answer. The sound of knocking becomes a banging at the door, snapping him back to reality, and readying himself for his unknown guest. Stricken with fear and worry, he approaches the door deep in thought, unaware of the hushed whispers of several men outside. As he unlocked the door, he realized his mistake, and the door swings open, forcing him back. A large man in dark clothing pushes in, aiming for a punch, to which the now surrounded man attempts to duck, falling onto his behind. A swift, lithe man swoops in to blindfold him, as he begins to black out, hearing the assailant’s confirmation of victory.
“Objective 2 has been completed, moving to detain…” The man hears before he finally faints.
He rises to his same surroundings this morning, with the same knocking at the door and the ringing phone, but he quickly assimilates, and searches the house for her.
“Alice! Alice!” The man shouts as he examines the entire house twice over, with fear and anxiety growing with every step, until the knocking at the door stopped, followed shortly by a large slam into the door. As the man inspected the front room, he found his door broken on the floor, his former assailants funneling in, and his adrenaline soaring. “I need to get out of here!” With this one thought in his mind, he charged through the room with incredible speed, and made it outside, to which he rushed to the nearest neighbor’s house, sensing his hungry pursuers. As he sprinted down the street, he rushed to the front door, and without skipping a beat ran through the front door protecting his head, with impressive hidden strength. Shaking his head from the impact, the smell of smoke and fire fills his nostrils, and he looks up to see the image he never wished to see again, cursing his vision. Alice and their kid, surrounded by the burning debris, pass out from the lack of oxygen. The man left with no choice, dives into the raging fire in a desperate effort to rescue them. Burn marks and cuts from the falling debris covers his limbs as his vision cuts out mere inches from his family.
The man gasps for air, as his parched throat heaves and desires the smallest ounce of water. After a moment of respite, he realizes he is still blindfolded, and his arms are tied behind him. He hears voices coming from in front of him, and calls out in fear, “Hey! What’s going on here?”
“Be quiet back there, or else,” A deep, but anxious voice answers back. The man keeps his mouth closed as he searches for any method of escape, but alas none come to him. His fear continues to grow until a familiar voice whispers to him.
“Tom, is that you?”
Every thought of fear, and nervousness that flooded him evaporated in an instant, as he recognized the voice to be Alice, “Oh my God, Alice! I’m so gl-”
His speech was cut short by the sudden blaring of several police sirens surrounding their vehicles, quickly followed by the revving of the engine of their occupied vehicle. The men up front frantically shouted their commands to the driver, as many large turns were made in an attempt to dodge their pursuers. The constant turning made the man feel retched, to which he assumed the same of his lover. With the movement, the vehicle was unable to keep up, and they eventually tipped over. Moments passed, until the police shouted over the loudspeaker, “Come out quietly with your hands up.” From the man’s perspective, it sounded as if they were giving up, and let out in laugh in shock, “Looks like we’ll be fine, right Alic-”
A sudden explosion erupts from in front of the man, launching him out of the vehicle, covering him in cuts and burn marks. In his surprise, he called out to his lover in vain, as his voice wouldn’t come to him. He blacks out for minutes to find he is being dragged away when he comes to. He asks his rescuer where she is, but his voice still does not reach him. He faints, and the scene of fire is cemented into his mind as he recalls his nightmares.
The man awakes surrounded by fire, seeing Alice and the child walking through the door of light. Trapped by fire, the man resigns to his fate praying they find peace, as the debris falls upon him.
A beam of sunlight fills the room, forcing the man to squint, as he rises to find himself in a hospital bed. A nurse as she examines the man, calls in the doctor and leaves the room for the next patient. Alone he sits in the loudest silence, until quiet greets the doctor and a busy looking police officer. They speak to him, but none of the words appear to register until the “I regret to inform you sir,” the officer takes his hat off, “your wife has unfortunately passed away.”
The man’s eyes widen, and the memories of the kidnapping rush back to him. The officer continues “We would like to ask you a few questions about that incident, to ensure nothing like that happens again. Do you know why?”
The man without a moment’s hesitation lies to the man’s face, as he glances to his arms. Without a doubt, he recognizes the cuts from his vision of the burning house fire, and he asks the doctor and officer to leave, as tears stream down his face. The man knows why he was targeted. It was because his nightmares hold some truth.
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