Nightmare

Three… two… one…

Beginning playback.

“Do you mind telling me what’s bothering you, Jeremiah?”

Silence ensued for the next minute. “I keep having this dream…”

“What do you see in this dream?”

“I see… a door. In the middle of nowhere.”

“Can you describe the surroundings?”

“It’s an open field. There’s a massive hill in the distance, with a little snow on the peak. The door… It's red.”

“Where does the door lead?”

More silence. “…there’s a hallway on the other side.”

“In your dreams, do you always go in?”

“Yes.”

“How do these dreams usually end?”

Another pause. “I see something, or… someone…”

Click. The recording has reached its end.

A lightbulb flickered above a man hunched over a desk. His messy black hair contrasted with the white of his lab coat. In one hand he drummed a pen against the wood of his desk.

“That's the thirteenth patient in the last two weeks with the same exact dream,” he said.

Standing next to him was a nurse, her brown hair tied to the side. Her countenance was dark with worry. “How is this possible…?”

The doctor leaned back in his chair, triggering a creaking sound. “What if this place they're seeing is real?”

“You think there's a door in the middle of nowhere with some creepy magic space within?” She sighed. “You're supposed to be treating these patients, Dr. Edgar. I hope you haven't caught whatever it is that's causing their condition.”

Dr. Edgar took his glasses off and folded them as he placed them in front of him. “As a doctor, it’s my duty to find out what's causing their mental decline. The only clue we have is this collective dream of theirs. If there's a place that matches their description, we might figure out how to help them.”

“Even if it does exist, there are other ways to help these people.”

“Thank you, Roxanne. If you'll excuse me, I have a report to write.”

The nurse sighed to herself and left him alone in the office.

“Let's see, where was I…” He returned his glasses to his face and used the pen in his hand to start writing.

Conditions of the recent “dream” patients –

Each patient is plagued by the same nightmare. With one exception, they all show signs of hallucinations, memory loss, and insomnia when they first arrive. However, their condition quickly declines. After only a few days, the patients become schizophrenic. Hysteria, paranoia, and frequent panic attacks have been observed. Previous symptoms worsen. Only three patients have reached late stages of the illness. We've been forced to move them to isolation due to their constant displays of harmful behavior towards themselves and others. It's clear that when they reach this stage, they lose sight of all reality and believe they are stuck in the labyrinth from their dream. Nothing we have tried has proven effective in restoring their sanity. What is most concerning about this situation is how many people are being admitted with these symptoms. Nothing we have tried has led us to any conclusions as to what the cause could be. I will conduct a personal investigation into these matters as soon as possible.

Dr. Stephen Edgar

The pen hit the desk with a click, followed by a sigh from the doctor. Screeech. His chair scraped against the floor. Footsteps echoed off the metal walls as he exited the office and marched through the halls with purpose in his steps. If there were any patients with information he could use, it would be her.

A nurse walking toward him met his gaze and made a minor adjustment to her movement to engage him in conversation. “Dr. Edgar, could I take a minute of your time?”

He stopped in his tracks and raised his chin to signal she had his attention. “Yes?”

“André just had an episode. Should we move him to isolation?”

Dr. Edgar shook his head in disbelief. “What’d he do?”

“While he was in the cafeteria, he hallucinated Jeremiah was the thing they’ve been seeing in their dreams and attacked him,” she explained.

“Is Jeremiah okay?”

“A little bruised and in shock, but otherwise fine.”

He thought for a moment. “Keep a close watch on André’s behavior the next few days. If something like this happens again, then you have my permission to transfer him.”

“Understood,” she nodded and turned to continue on her way.

“While we’re on that note,” he stopped her. “I’m about to visit Caroline. Care to join me?”

“Caroline?” The nurse blinked in surprise. “Has something happened?”

“Besides a flood of patients with an unknown mental disorder classified by a shared nightmare, no,” he said. “I figured she might be able to shed some light on the situation.”

“I’m not opposed to trying, but she’s been unresponsive since she arrived. She won’t speak, eat, or even move while we’re watching her.”

“Perhaps we haven’t tried to approach her the right way yet,” he responded.

“Alright… But don’t be surprised if she doesn’t respond to you.”

“Thanks, Suzanne. I’ll need the moral support,” he said with a chuckle before continuing down the hall with the nurse following behind. After a few turns, they eventually arrived at a pink door standing at the end of a hallway, decorated with star-shaped stickers of various colors. In bold, glittery pink letters, the name Caroline was spelled on the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock. “Caroline, are you in there?”

No response.

“It’s Dr. Edgar. May I come in?”

Silence was his only reply. With a shrug, he turned the white knob and pushed the door open with the gentleness of a new parent.

Inside, the room was decorated with paper stars dangling from the ceiling, and a multitude of dolls and stuffed animals stacked on one side of the room, seemingly untouched except for a teddy bear that was nestled in the arms of a small girl of eight years that sat on the edge of her bed. Her blonde hair attempted to shield the bear from onlookers, but Dr. Edgar could still see that it was missing an eye button. The girl’s eyes were fixated on the wall above the pile of toys, and her expression was blank.

A desk sat against the back wall between the bed and the toys, with papers and crayons scattered across the top.

“Hello, Caroline. What’s the bear’s name?”

Caroline was a statue, unmoved by the doctor’s question.

“Mind if I sit?” He motioned to the corner of the bed. No reaction.

The nurse sighed as Dr. Edgar sat down, dipping the corner of the bed under his weight. “I told you she doesn’t react when we’re here.”

“This dream everyone is having,” he said, ignoring the nurse’s nag, “can you tell me about it?”

His watch ticked along, marking each second that passed in silence.

“Does the door exist?” He tried again, to no avail. “What’s the person or… creature that everyone is seeing?”

Finally her eyes flicked to view him from the corners of her eyes.

The nurse's eyes widened. “She actually responded to that?!”

“Didn't I say we just needed the right approach?” He turned his attention back to the child. “Can you tell me about the monster?”

Without delay, Caroline slid off the bed and hurried over to the messy desk and scribbled something on a slip of paper to bring back to Dr. Edgar.

He accepted the gift from the girl and took his glasses out of his chest pocket, placing them comfortably on his face to see Caroline's drawing clearly.

A scrawny, humanlike form with long hair, arms a little too long, and a lack of a face, all colored in black. Dr. Edgar was unsure how much of it was accurate, and how much was the byproduct of a child's poor drawing skills, but either way it helped him paint a better picture of what the monster everyone was seeing looked like. Other patients were strangely avoidant about describing the thing.

“I see… That is quite scary,” he handed the drawing back to Caroline. “The monster lives behind the red door in your dream?”

Caroline nodded.

“Does this place exist?”

She nodded again.

“Where is it?”

Her face remained expressionless. “Outside of town, in the fields my parents used to take me to play. It only shows up at night, though.”

“What side of town is it on?” He asked further.

Caroline hopped back onto the edge of the bed and returned her blank gaze to the wall, holding her teddy bear in her arms in the exact same position she was in when they entered.

“Done talking? Well, thanks for the info, Caroline. It was nice talking with you.” Dr. Edgar pushed himself up and followed the nurse out of Caroline's room.

“I'm impressed you managed to get her to talk,” she praised him as they walked.

“Perhaps that creature is the only thing she's willing to talk about,” he replied.

“So… why'd you need to ask her those questions?”

“Because I'm going to find out exactly what is causing our patients’ insanity.”

The nurse stopped in her tracks. “I understand where you're coming from, but if that place does exist, you shouldn't go. You might end up being a patient instead of a doctor.”

“That's a risk I'll have to take. Nothing else has helped these people, Suzanne. I have to do something.”

“Fine,” she breathed. “But at least let me come with you.”

Dr. Edgar shook his head. “In case something does happen to me, I'll need you here. You're the only one that would know what happened.”

“Then take someone else with you!” She argued.

“I'll record everything,” he said. “And I'll be careful. Don't worry.”

“You're so stubborn,” Suzanne sighed.

“I'm counting on you to cover for me while I'm gone,” he smiled and continued on his way, mentally planning for what would be the worst vacation he would ever take. Flashlights, cameras, and a handgun just in case. Part of him didn't believe the door existed, but he wanted to trust Caroline. There had to be something he could do to find out what caused the patients’ present conditions and how to fix it.