In Dream... #2

Only Death & Dream Paralyze

It is a hot night, even asleep I know that. I am in a house I do not recognize, surrounded by young, college-age people, drinking and smoking. I wonder who they are. The host--I don't know why, but I know he's the host--stands and asks visitors if they're ready. I stand to leave, trying to remember where I parked. A flash of a parking lot at the college hits my mind and vanishes. I almost transitioned to the lot, but he host interrupted. "No one leaves," he insists. There seem to be more people now, almost twice as many as before. 

"Start with me," a teen-aged girl says, raising her hand. 

The host agrees with a nod, and the girl faints. The host raises both his hands as if signing applause. More people pass out. Till I'm the only one left awake in my dream. "Your turn," he warns. "Waking up won't help you." My mind spins like spiral, twisting into nothing. The room shrinks till there is no room. 

"Wake up," I say, "it's your vertigo again." 

But it's too late. The spinning stops. The room is gone. I am alone in empty space. No floor. No ceiling. No walls. Just me. And I know I am dead. Yet knowing that I know I am dead, I have a chance if I wake up. I force my eyes open. I'm back in the emptiness. This time I use my fingers to pry my eyelids open. I'm in my bedroom, but in the wrong year. At least my mind is still alive. The vertigo must have been a stroke. 

Breathe in, breathe out. In through the nose, out from the mouth. Slowly. Now pick up the pace. My chest heaves as a raspy wheeze escapes my throat. The sky has returned without stars or moon. A light breeze mimics my final gasp. Till I notice...

Someone... or something is in the room. 

I had come for me. Then I must be dead. This is not a dream. I am in purgatory. But the breeze tussles my hair. Did I leave the window open. Did someone... or something crawl into the room. 

I am in bed again. It is at the foot of the bed. I try to kick at it, but I am frozen. Its eyes glow red. Like a movie monster I think. Yes, a movie. Sleep paralysis. Nightmare. Wiggle that damn toe and wake up. 

I open my eyes. Where am I? Did I die? Was it so bad? I turn, fluff the pillow, and reset the dream.