Dream Eater - Ch. 3 - "Jailbreak"
Title: Dream Eater
Chapter: 3/? "Jailbreak"
Rating: PG (Some scary images if you allow your imagination to see them)
Notes: I don't know what took me so long to finish this. I wrote it over the span of two months, so it feels awkward to me when I read it all together. BUT! I work really hard on it, so I hope you guys will think otherwise. I would be embarrassed if I told you the inspiration of this chapter. But anyway...
Dreams don't make sense most of the time. So I mean not every single event in my writing has to has a proper meaning or significance. I bet you will have a lot of questions after reading this. Beware the nightmares~
Chapter 1: http://themikachu.livejournal.com/10968.html
Chapter 2: http://themikachu.livejournal.com/11124.html
~~
I groaned as I opened my eyes. ‘My alarm didn’t go off…?’ I thought, moving my arms to stretch and rub the blur out of my vision. My hand brushed against something warm, firm. My eyes shot open, and my heartbeat accelerated. I was suddenly aware of myself. I let my eyes slowly travel up to see who… ‘Kei.’ My heart stopped. I was lying next to him, my head on his arm as a pillow, and my hand on his torso. He was staring at me with that unreadable expression of his. I jumped up and away from him, embarrassed. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I was sure my cheeks were glowing.
“You’re awake,” he smirked a little.
“Uh,” I replied. “Good… morning?” My eyes darted around, taking in my surroundings. We were in a small, brick room. Kei was lying on what looked like a cot. I looked up. There was no ceiling; the room was open to the sky, which was dark and littered with stars. “Oh. Not morning,” I corrected myself.
“There’s not much time,” Kai said, getting off the cot. “Let’s go.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to one of the walls. Now it resembled a rusty barred door. Kai pushed it open as if it weren’t even locked. Well, it probably wasn’t locked. As we exited, I looked back. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that room was a prison cell.
As Kai continued pulling me along, I looked around. Next to our cell were dozens of other prison cells, dimly lit by torches hanging from the brick walls. I couldn’t tell how far down the cells went, because it was too dark. Suddenly Kai stopped. We were at a hallway intersection, and he was looking both ways cautiously. I heard him suck in a breath, and he pushed us further back into a shadow. I strained my eyes, but I didn’t see anything. Then I heard footsteps, very faint but approaching. I held my breath as we watched a guard in uniform march right past us. When it was clear, Kai tugged me along again.
Eventually we made it out of the walls of the prison. Here, we could see where the sky touched the ground. Only it wasn’t touching the ground; it was touching the sea. We were standing at the edge of a port. The sky was still a deep black, but the full moon dimly lit our path. As we crept along the docks, I could hear the water swishing against the boats. Only hearing the occasional waves against the complete silence was eerie. Kei, ahead of me, was crouching slightly. He looked around cautiously, but still didn’t say anything to me. Suddenly he made a sharp turn to the right and he visibly straightened. His pace sped up and I struggled to keep up without having to jog.
“Kei?” my voice came out quietly. “Where are we going?”
“Shh,” he answered, not even turning to look back at me. I sighed and let myself look around again. The port was huge, and we seemed to be right in the middle of it now. There were sailboats in every direction. Behind them, I could make out a bay. The water was dark too, but the moon reflected over its surface. Beyond that, I could distinguish the opposite shore. On the shore’s edge was what seemed to be a large, brick fort, but I knew it was the jail we had escaped from. ‘Why were we even in jail in the first place?‘ I wondered. Where I could see the farthest, I could barely make out a soft haze of ‘… Pixels?’ The same as I had seen when I first met Kei in my dream. I furrowed my eyebrows together, wondering if what was happening right now and what I saw in that dream were related.
“OOF!” I had run into something. Oh. It was Kei.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. Suddenly a gasp escaped from my lips. We were standing outside of a run-down shack. The windows were boarded up and the door was broken. Above, a dirty sign read
Bait and Boat Rentals
Kei disappeared inside and I quickly followed, not wanting to get left behind. The inside of the shack was deceptively large considering the size of the building from the outside. The entryway opened up into a large room; at one end there was a counter with an old-fashioned cash register sitting on it. Behind it, there were shelves lined with nothing but dust. Next to the counter was a door. Or rather, a doorway missing its door. I caught the movement of clothing. Kei. I followed him through the doorway, which lead to a long hallway lined with doors. There was a single light in the middle of the hallway, but it was dim and flickered often. I wondered how the electricity could still be working in a place like this, until I noticed Kei.
He was opening each door, one by one, as if he were looking for something. He seemed to grow more aggravated with each door. I wanted to ask, but he seemed so determined; I didn’t want to bother him. Curious, I turned to the closest door and opened it. It was dark. Moonlight shone dimly through the window, but I could tell the room was empty. I looked back into the hallway. Kei was further down, still frantically opening doors.
I was turning to close the door when I noticed a pair of glowing eyes in the middle of the room. They were only a foot off the ground and they were staring right at me. A squeak sounded from my lips as I slammed the door shut and snatched my hand away as if it had burned me. My heart was pounding.
“Keeeeiiiii?” I called, stiffly walking down the hallway. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Suddenly the light above me flickered out, leaving me in darkness.
“Kei…?” My voice choked a little. “Kei,” I said a little louder. There was no answer. The shack was silent; I couldn’t even hear the water outside. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could make out my shadow in front of me. I realized the docks outside would be brighter than in here. I turned towards the entrance, but I stopped in my tracks.
The glowing pair of eyes was there, glaring at me, blocking the entryway. Frozen, I slowly sucked in a breath. Two breaths. The eyes didn’t blink. The silhouette was not human. It was too small, too stout. It was too dark to make out anything else.
‘Maybe I should go find Kei,’ I thought. ‘He must still be inside…’ I took a cautiously step backwards, keeping my gaze down the hall. No movement, not even a blink. Sensing no danger, I turned and took a few steps deeper into the darkness of the shack.
“Kei?” I whispered. I glanced back down the hallway again. The pair of eyes was no longer there.
I looked down at my feet; and there were the glowing eyes staring up at me. I screamed.
Suddenly there was a horrible scratching coming from each of the doors in the hallway. It sounded like claws frantically scraping on the wooden doors. I screamed again and ran further into the dark until I came upon a door. There were no sounds coming from behind this door; I had no choice. I burst through it and slammed it shut behind me.
I was outside again. The moonlight and the sloshing waves were somehow comforting to me, but I struggled to catch my breath. “Kei!” I yelled, not immediately seeing him.
“Yes, I’m right here,” A voice sounded next to me. I flinched and looked over. Kei was sitting against the building looking deflated.
“Kei!” I shouted again and rushed over to him.
“I can hear you just fine,” he replied, the tone of his voice dull and depressed. He looked up at me through his hair. “What do you want? You’re so loud,” he said irritably. I looked at him in disbelief.
‘Why is he acting like this?’ I thought. ‘Doesn’t he…’ I stopped myself and took a quick look at the door I had come through. Nothing had followed me outside. There was no scratching at the door, no peering eyes glaring at me. ‘Did Kei even hear me screaming?’ Kei was still looking at me questioningly.
“Little… tiny… THINGS,” I whispered, unable to find the words to describe the creepy, foot-tall figures. “With strange glowing eyes,” I added. Kei blinked at me and raised an eyebrow.
“Little tiny ‘things’ with strange glowing eyes?” he repeated, eyeing my like I was crazy.
I nodded. “In those rooms-“ He let out a short laugh, cutting me off.
“Those rooms were all empty. There’s nothing here…” he trailed off.
“But…” I glanced at the door once more, but again nothing was there. “Uhhmmm… were you looking for something?” I asked. Kei had stood up and started walking.
“Nothing,” he said, his tone ending with conversation. I sighed in defeat and moved to follow him. Then I heard a rustle behind me. I froze, not wanting to look but I couldn’t stop myself.
Slowly, I turned and was met with a hideous creature. It had a stretched, crusted nose like an elephant trunk, and fleshy arms that ended with long, sharp claws. The skin of its body squirmed as if bugs were crawling over it. It was the exact image of the monsters from my nightmares, and it was not six feet away from me. My body went cold.
I wanted to shout out, scream for help, but my voice was stuck in my throat.
I managed to gulp. “Kei,” I tried again. It barely came out as a squeak. I heard Kei’s heavy steps fading behind me. He was mumbling to himself, or maybe to me.
‘Kei… Kei, please turn around!’ I pleaded in my head. I heard his steps turn left and disappear. My heart was pounding in my chest. I tried to take a step backwards, but my legs wouldn’t budge. ‘No…’ I thought. ‘I’m going to die, aren’t I?’ The monster still hadn’t moved, but now there was a hungry glint in its eyes.
Suddenly I heard Kei’s footsteps approaching. “Why are you so slow?! I-…“
I could picture the look of shock on his face as he came back around the corner. I heard Kei curse under his breath. “Get away from that thing,” he warned. His voice was low and careful, as if not to disturb the creature.
“I-I can’t move,” I managed to mutter between my teeth. My voice shook. “Keiii…” I whimpered. I could hear his footsteps cautiously approaching me.
“Don’t move. Don’t take your eyes off of it,” Kei murmured. It seemed like an eternity before he finally reached me. I felt him grab my arms and gently guide me backwards. “Keep your gaze on it,” he whispered in my ear. I felt myself nod.
The monster before us didn’t move an inch, but a low growling sounded from it as soon as I took the first step back. And with each step we took, the growling grew louder and louder. “Just don’t look away from it,” Kei answered the question I didn’t have to ask out loud.
At that moment, the terrible, horrid sound of claws rasped at the door. I gasped and couldn’t stop myself from glancing over in reflex. “No!” Kei whispered frantically, but it was too late. The monster let out a shriek that left my ears ringing. Behind it, the door burst outwards and the dock began to flood with countless little monsters. Long trunks, clawed hands; they were all the same, and they were all staring at me. Only this time, they could move.
“Run…” Kei muttered, his grip on my arm tightening. The monsters started toward us, the gap between us closing rapidly.
“RUN!!” Kei yelled, pulling me. When he looked back at me, I could see the panic in his eyes. My legs were heavy and stiff. I felt like I was running through peanut butter. Kei managed to drag me along and we turned the corner. We were met with a line of rusted aluminum boats. Kei let go of me to jump deftly into one of them.
“Get in!” he shouted, anxiously pulling the ignition to the motor. It sputtered, but wouldn’t start. He tried again, with no success. He looked around the small boat and came up with two rowing oars. He attached them to their hooks and looked at me. “C’mon!”
“I… I can’t,” I heard myself say. “I’ve never been on a boat… and I can’t swim,” I said, eyeing the water. I…” Suddenly the roars of the monsters sounded closer. They sounded ravenous.
“Do you trust me?” he yelled, holding out his hand. I could see his eyes flickering between me and the dock behind me, where the monsters were approaching from.
“I…” He didn’t wait for an answer before he grabbed my hand and pulled me harshly into the old boat. Then with swift hands he untied the rope securing us to the dock and pushed us away from the abandoned shack.
Getting away from the dock made me feel only slightly safer. I kept glancing back, paranoid, waiting for the little monsters to burst out from around the corner and continue chasing us. But they never came. There was a dull emptiness in my head, and I couldn’t seem to remember anything that had happened before we had entered the shack. It was silent again; Kei’s rowing was the only sound. “Calm down,” Kei said, watching me as he rowed. “They won’t get us out here.”
“Wha-…what were those things?!” I shouted, still searching with my eyes.
He looked back towards the docks even though nothing was there. “…Dream eaters,” he said quietly. He looked calmer now, making me feel safer too.
“Dream eaters?” I questioned. “What’s a-“ I stopped. My vision was blurred. Suddenly tears overflowed down my cheeks and a sob shook my body. ‘Why am I crying?!’ I thought to myself, confused and self-conscious.
“It’s just the adrenaline,” Kei said, as if he had read my thoughts. He put the oars down and moved closer to me. I tried to wipe away the tears, but they kept coming. “It’s alright,” he said gently, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It was just a nightmare. It’s over now.” Another sob escaped from my chest and my hands trembled as I rubbed my eyes.
“Here…” Kei pulled me towards himself, so that my head was resting against his chest. He put an arm around me. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” At first I was embarrassed, but I allowed myself to close my eyes. My stomach fluttered a little, but he felt so warm. So warm that I didn’t notice the way our surroundings were fading or how my crying gradually stopped.
“That was really scary,” I heard myself say. “…Thanks, Kei.”
“Now wake up,” he whispered.
“What?” When I opened my eyes, I was met by my pillow. My blankets were swirled in a mess around me. Disoriented, I turned over and caught a glimpse of the digital numbers on my alarm clock.
I gasped. “Shoot! I’m going to be late for school again!”
Chapter: 3/? "Jailbreak"
Rating: PG (Some scary images if you allow your imagination to see them)
Notes: I don't know what took me so long to finish this. I wrote it over the span of two months, so it feels awkward to me when I read it all together. BUT! I work really hard on it, so I hope you guys will think otherwise. I would be embarrassed if I told you the inspiration of this chapter. But anyway...
Dreams don't make sense most of the time. So I mean not every single event in my writing has to has a proper meaning or significance. I bet you will have a lot of questions after reading this. Beware the nightmares~
Chapter 1: http://themikachu.livejournal.com/10968.html
Chapter 2: http://themikachu.livejournal.com/11124.html
~~
I groaned as I opened my eyes. ‘My alarm didn’t go off…?’ I thought, moving my arms to stretch and rub the blur out of my vision. My hand brushed against something warm, firm. My eyes shot open, and my heartbeat accelerated. I was suddenly aware of myself. I let my eyes slowly travel up to see who… ‘Kei.’ My heart stopped. I was lying next to him, my head on his arm as a pillow, and my hand on his torso. He was staring at me with that unreadable expression of his. I jumped up and away from him, embarrassed. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest and I was sure my cheeks were glowing.
“You’re awake,” he smirked a little.
“Uh,” I replied. “Good… morning?” My eyes darted around, taking in my surroundings. We were in a small, brick room. Kei was lying on what looked like a cot. I looked up. There was no ceiling; the room was open to the sky, which was dark and littered with stars. “Oh. Not morning,” I corrected myself.
“There’s not much time,” Kai said, getting off the cot. “Let’s go.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to one of the walls. Now it resembled a rusty barred door. Kai pushed it open as if it weren’t even locked. Well, it probably wasn’t locked. As we exited, I looked back. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that room was a prison cell.
As Kai continued pulling me along, I looked around. Next to our cell were dozens of other prison cells, dimly lit by torches hanging from the brick walls. I couldn’t tell how far down the cells went, because it was too dark. Suddenly Kai stopped. We were at a hallway intersection, and he was looking both ways cautiously. I heard him suck in a breath, and he pushed us further back into a shadow. I strained my eyes, but I didn’t see anything. Then I heard footsteps, very faint but approaching. I held my breath as we watched a guard in uniform march right past us. When it was clear, Kai tugged me along again.
Eventually we made it out of the walls of the prison. Here, we could see where the sky touched the ground. Only it wasn’t touching the ground; it was touching the sea. We were standing at the edge of a port. The sky was still a deep black, but the full moon dimly lit our path. As we crept along the docks, I could hear the water swishing against the boats. Only hearing the occasional waves against the complete silence was eerie. Kei, ahead of me, was crouching slightly. He looked around cautiously, but still didn’t say anything to me. Suddenly he made a sharp turn to the right and he visibly straightened. His pace sped up and I struggled to keep up without having to jog.
“Kei?” my voice came out quietly. “Where are we going?”
“Shh,” he answered, not even turning to look back at me. I sighed and let myself look around again. The port was huge, and we seemed to be right in the middle of it now. There were sailboats in every direction. Behind them, I could make out a bay. The water was dark too, but the moon reflected over its surface. Beyond that, I could distinguish the opposite shore. On the shore’s edge was what seemed to be a large, brick fort, but I knew it was the jail we had escaped from. ‘Why were we even in jail in the first place?‘ I wondered. Where I could see the farthest, I could barely make out a soft haze of ‘… Pixels?’ The same as I had seen when I first met Kei in my dream. I furrowed my eyebrows together, wondering if what was happening right now and what I saw in that dream were related.
“OOF!” I had run into something. Oh. It was Kei.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. Suddenly a gasp escaped from my lips. We were standing outside of a run-down shack. The windows were boarded up and the door was broken. Above, a dirty sign read
Bait and Boat Rentals
Kei disappeared inside and I quickly followed, not wanting to get left behind. The inside of the shack was deceptively large considering the size of the building from the outside. The entryway opened up into a large room; at one end there was a counter with an old-fashioned cash register sitting on it. Behind it, there were shelves lined with nothing but dust. Next to the counter was a door. Or rather, a doorway missing its door. I caught the movement of clothing. Kei. I followed him through the doorway, which lead to a long hallway lined with doors. There was a single light in the middle of the hallway, but it was dim and flickered often. I wondered how the electricity could still be working in a place like this, until I noticed Kei.
He was opening each door, one by one, as if he were looking for something. He seemed to grow more aggravated with each door. I wanted to ask, but he seemed so determined; I didn’t want to bother him. Curious, I turned to the closest door and opened it. It was dark. Moonlight shone dimly through the window, but I could tell the room was empty. I looked back into the hallway. Kei was further down, still frantically opening doors.
I was turning to close the door when I noticed a pair of glowing eyes in the middle of the room. They were only a foot off the ground and they were staring right at me. A squeak sounded from my lips as I slammed the door shut and snatched my hand away as if it had burned me. My heart was pounding.
“Keeeeiiiii?” I called, stiffly walking down the hallway. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Suddenly the light above me flickered out, leaving me in darkness.
“Kei…?” My voice choked a little. “Kei,” I said a little louder. There was no answer. The shack was silent; I couldn’t even hear the water outside. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could make out my shadow in front of me. I realized the docks outside would be brighter than in here. I turned towards the entrance, but I stopped in my tracks.
The glowing pair of eyes was there, glaring at me, blocking the entryway. Frozen, I slowly sucked in a breath. Two breaths. The eyes didn’t blink. The silhouette was not human. It was too small, too stout. It was too dark to make out anything else.
‘Maybe I should go find Kei,’ I thought. ‘He must still be inside…’ I took a cautiously step backwards, keeping my gaze down the hall. No movement, not even a blink. Sensing no danger, I turned and took a few steps deeper into the darkness of the shack.
“Kei?” I whispered. I glanced back down the hallway again. The pair of eyes was no longer there.
I looked down at my feet; and there were the glowing eyes staring up at me. I screamed.
Suddenly there was a horrible scratching coming from each of the doors in the hallway. It sounded like claws frantically scraping on the wooden doors. I screamed again and ran further into the dark until I came upon a door. There were no sounds coming from behind this door; I had no choice. I burst through it and slammed it shut behind me.
I was outside again. The moonlight and the sloshing waves were somehow comforting to me, but I struggled to catch my breath. “Kei!” I yelled, not immediately seeing him.
“Yes, I’m right here,” A voice sounded next to me. I flinched and looked over. Kei was sitting against the building looking deflated.
“Kei!” I shouted again and rushed over to him.
“I can hear you just fine,” he replied, the tone of his voice dull and depressed. He looked up at me through his hair. “What do you want? You’re so loud,” he said irritably. I looked at him in disbelief.
‘Why is he acting like this?’ I thought. ‘Doesn’t he…’ I stopped myself and took a quick look at the door I had come through. Nothing had followed me outside. There was no scratching at the door, no peering eyes glaring at me. ‘Did Kei even hear me screaming?’ Kei was still looking at me questioningly.
“Little… tiny… THINGS,” I whispered, unable to find the words to describe the creepy, foot-tall figures. “With strange glowing eyes,” I added. Kei blinked at me and raised an eyebrow.
“Little tiny ‘things’ with strange glowing eyes?” he repeated, eyeing my like I was crazy.
I nodded. “In those rooms-“ He let out a short laugh, cutting me off.
“Those rooms were all empty. There’s nothing here…” he trailed off.
“But…” I glanced at the door once more, but again nothing was there. “Uhhmmm… were you looking for something?” I asked. Kei had stood up and started walking.
“Nothing,” he said, his tone ending with conversation. I sighed in defeat and moved to follow him. Then I heard a rustle behind me. I froze, not wanting to look but I couldn’t stop myself.
Slowly, I turned and was met with a hideous creature. It had a stretched, crusted nose like an elephant trunk, and fleshy arms that ended with long, sharp claws. The skin of its body squirmed as if bugs were crawling over it. It was the exact image of the monsters from my nightmares, and it was not six feet away from me. My body went cold.
I wanted to shout out, scream for help, but my voice was stuck in my throat.
I managed to gulp. “Kei,” I tried again. It barely came out as a squeak. I heard Kei’s heavy steps fading behind me. He was mumbling to himself, or maybe to me.
‘Kei… Kei, please turn around!’ I pleaded in my head. I heard his steps turn left and disappear. My heart was pounding in my chest. I tried to take a step backwards, but my legs wouldn’t budge. ‘No…’ I thought. ‘I’m going to die, aren’t I?’ The monster still hadn’t moved, but now there was a hungry glint in its eyes.
Suddenly I heard Kei’s footsteps approaching. “Why are you so slow?! I-…“
I could picture the look of shock on his face as he came back around the corner. I heard Kei curse under his breath. “Get away from that thing,” he warned. His voice was low and careful, as if not to disturb the creature.
“I-I can’t move,” I managed to mutter between my teeth. My voice shook. “Keiii…” I whimpered. I could hear his footsteps cautiously approaching me.
“Don’t move. Don’t take your eyes off of it,” Kei murmured. It seemed like an eternity before he finally reached me. I felt him grab my arms and gently guide me backwards. “Keep your gaze on it,” he whispered in my ear. I felt myself nod.
The monster before us didn’t move an inch, but a low growling sounded from it as soon as I took the first step back. And with each step we took, the growling grew louder and louder. “Just don’t look away from it,” Kei answered the question I didn’t have to ask out loud.
At that moment, the terrible, horrid sound of claws rasped at the door. I gasped and couldn’t stop myself from glancing over in reflex. “No!” Kei whispered frantically, but it was too late. The monster let out a shriek that left my ears ringing. Behind it, the door burst outwards and the dock began to flood with countless little monsters. Long trunks, clawed hands; they were all the same, and they were all staring at me. Only this time, they could move.
“Run…” Kei muttered, his grip on my arm tightening. The monsters started toward us, the gap between us closing rapidly.
“RUN!!” Kei yelled, pulling me. When he looked back at me, I could see the panic in his eyes. My legs were heavy and stiff. I felt like I was running through peanut butter. Kei managed to drag me along and we turned the corner. We were met with a line of rusted aluminum boats. Kei let go of me to jump deftly into one of them.
“Get in!” he shouted, anxiously pulling the ignition to the motor. It sputtered, but wouldn’t start. He tried again, with no success. He looked around the small boat and came up with two rowing oars. He attached them to their hooks and looked at me. “C’mon!”
“I… I can’t,” I heard myself say. “I’ve never been on a boat… and I can’t swim,” I said, eyeing the water. I…” Suddenly the roars of the monsters sounded closer. They sounded ravenous.
“Do you trust me?” he yelled, holding out his hand. I could see his eyes flickering between me and the dock behind me, where the monsters were approaching from.
“I…” He didn’t wait for an answer before he grabbed my hand and pulled me harshly into the old boat. Then with swift hands he untied the rope securing us to the dock and pushed us away from the abandoned shack.
Getting away from the dock made me feel only slightly safer. I kept glancing back, paranoid, waiting for the little monsters to burst out from around the corner and continue chasing us. But they never came. There was a dull emptiness in my head, and I couldn’t seem to remember anything that had happened before we had entered the shack. It was silent again; Kei’s rowing was the only sound. “Calm down,” Kei said, watching me as he rowed. “They won’t get us out here.”
“Wha-…what were those things?!” I shouted, still searching with my eyes.
He looked back towards the docks even though nothing was there. “…Dream eaters,” he said quietly. He looked calmer now, making me feel safer too.
“Dream eaters?” I questioned. “What’s a-“ I stopped. My vision was blurred. Suddenly tears overflowed down my cheeks and a sob shook my body. ‘Why am I crying?!’ I thought to myself, confused and self-conscious.
“It’s just the adrenaline,” Kei said, as if he had read my thoughts. He put the oars down and moved closer to me. I tried to wipe away the tears, but they kept coming. “It’s alright,” he said gently, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It was just a nightmare. It’s over now.” Another sob escaped from my chest and my hands trembled as I rubbed my eyes.
“Here…” Kei pulled me towards himself, so that my head was resting against his chest. He put an arm around me. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” At first I was embarrassed, but I allowed myself to close my eyes. My stomach fluttered a little, but he felt so warm. So warm that I didn’t notice the way our surroundings were fading or how my crying gradually stopped.
“That was really scary,” I heard myself say. “…Thanks, Kei.”
“Now wake up,” he whispered.
“What?” When I opened my eyes, I was met by my pillow. My blankets were swirled in a mess around me. Disoriented, I turned over and caught a glimpse of the digital numbers on my alarm clock.
I gasped. “Shoot! I’m going to be late for school again!”