Verse 29: "Nightmare in the Dark"

As we stood at the edge of the woods, I looked up towards the darkening sky.
          “Hey Niels, I thought you said that the forest was going to be close to Kuzges?”
          “It is.” He replied as he finished setting up his own tent. “This is just a very large clearing; the edge of the forest continues over the horizon until it nearly runs into Kuzges’ walls.”
          “Why don’t we just stay in the forest then?”
          Elisa chuckled, but then Vivian glanced at her and she shut her mouth begrudgingly. Niels spoke up when they were done.
          “Because it’s faster to travel in a straight line towards our destination. Most of the forest is hard to travel through efficiently.” He said calmly.
          That made sense; I could understand why Elisa had laughed at me.
          “How much longer until we get to Kuzges then?”
          “About four or five days if you manage to avoid further injury.”
          I rolled my eyes, then remembered my chest.
          “Hey Elisa, when do I need to take another one of your pain relievers?”
          "Right about now, actually. Can you feel it wearing off?" She replied.
          I shook my head.
          "Huh. Well, to be safe, I'll give it to you anyway." She shrugged, then dug through her large pack of supplies and pulled out a metal flask. She opened it before pouring some of that same disgusting-tasting liquid into a small glass. She walked over to me and handed it over.
          “Thanks.” I swallowed it in one gulp.
          It still tasted horrible. As I wiped the residue of the stuff off my mouth and handed the glass back to Elisa, her appearance changed. She sprouted her cat ears again and her brown eyes narrowed into catty ones. Her tail sprouted as well.
          “Your body shifted.” I commented.
          “Yeah, I know.” She took the glass from me sharply. “I’m not an idiot.” She walked back to her tent and went back to setting it up, and I decided to do the same thing.
          Niels prepared some more of our rations, and managed to convince Elisa to share some of her spices normally reserved for alchemical products to liven up the pretty standard fare we were eating. She enjoyed the food as well.
          Once that was over, we all went to sleep.
~~~
          “Hey. Shinko.”
          I woke up under soft covers and a pillow. There was a standing fan spinning beside my bed. My phone was on the bedside table next to me. Unopened boxes rested near the foot of the bed.
          I looked around.
          It was obviously a dream; if there was anything I could hope for, it was that my method of inter-world transportation would be consistent, and I was definitely conscious when I went from Earth to Firma.
          It was nice to be back for a little bit though, even if it was only a dream.
          “Hey. Shinko.”
          I looked around my bedroom again, searching for the voice. I stood up and peeked under the bed, then in my drawers, then near my bookshelf, but there was no one else in here.
          The voice seemed to be coming from outside my door. I could open it and see who it was, but then that risked ending the dream, and I didn’t want to end it just yet. Ignoring the latest call, I went back to my bookshelf and grabbed a random book off of it.
          Unfortunately, I couldn’t read it; it was full of gibberish.
          “Hey. Shinko.”
          “What?!” I shot back to the voice.
          There was no answer; I didn't know why I'd expected anything from a dream. I turned my attention back to my book, planning to put it away on the shelf and maybe mess around with the dream phone for a little bit.
          The book didn’t exist. There was nothing in my hands. 
          I glanced at the bookshelf. It wasn’t there; all that was left was a wall with an outline of where the shelf should have been. My bed was gone too; so was the dresser; even the standing fan wasn’t spared. I was standing in an empty room. 
          I heard voices from outside the door to my bedroom. I walked over to it and tried to listen to what they were saying.
          “The previous owner of the apartment apparently went missing. The place is for rent if you want it.” I didn’t recognize that voice; it was feminine, but strangely resonant.
          “Oh sure; how much was it per month?” The voice sounded vaguely Hispanic, though it was like a machine was trying to imitate an accent.
          I pounded my fist on the door of my bedroom.
          “Don’t mind the pounding; it’s the pipes settling.” The odd female voice commented.
          “Nothing I can’t fix; I’m a bit of a handyman.” The Hispanic machine replied.
          I was coming back.
          “Hey! I’m still coming! This is my apartment! I pay the rent here!” I shouted.
          “To be honest, I’m here to get away from the past.” The machine said.
          “This place will be perfect for you! Here, we forget about previous owners all the time. It was like they never existed!” The strange one assured the machine.
          The door to my bedroom opened and I fell backward.
          The two nightmares stood in the doorway, looking right at me. They were silhouetted by the light from my hallway.
          “Like what you see?”
          “Yes. It’s perfectly empty. I can’t wait to make it my own.”
          “I’m right here!” I yelled, making eye contact with the strange woman. “Acknowledge me!”
          “Thank goodness. I’ve been having trouble putting this place back on the market.” The woman said placidly.
          “No! No, don’t forget! I’m coming home!”
          The two of them closed the door to the bedroom, leaving me in total darkness. 
~~~
          The following morning, I woke up before everyone else. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon. I sat outside my tent quietly and watched as it began its journey across the sky. In the serenity of the early morning, I could see my nightmare for what it was; the manifestation of the last few days of stress and nothing more. I sighed and kept watching the sun get higher and higher.
          I looked around to make sure no one was watching. Everyone was still sleeping. I leaned back against my tent slightly and shook my head.
          “God…” I fixed my eyes on the brightening sun. “Thank you for something familiar.” 
          Maybe it wasn’t quite the same size or exact right shade of yellow, but it was more than adequate.
          “You need to learn to whisper more quietly.” My heart nearly stopped. I looked over my shoulder and saw Elisa walking towards me from her tent.
          “I thought you were sleeping.”
          “No. I’m good at pretending to be asleep though.” She yawned and I caught a good glimpse of her fangs. They looked impressively sharp. “What are you doing up?”
          “Nightmare.” I said plainly.
          She opened her mouth with a mocking smile, then stopped and shut it. She turned around and her tail swooped over my head as she did.
          “Your medication won’t wear off for another couple hours.” She said as she grabbed her normal travel wear and walked back into her tent.
          “Thanks.” I lifted up my robe and looked at the scars running down my chest. They had healed magically thanks to Elisa’s alchemical elixir.
          I heard Elisa step out of her tent again.
          “Hey.” She said casually as she got closer.
          I turned around and watched as she sat down next to me. Her tail still swished behind her and her ears were perked up. She looked at me, then spoke curiously.
          “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” She asked sincerely.

Edited on 09/18/25