The joy of sleep, a peaceful dream, pleasant thoughts.
Gone.
Ross Gellar's eyes flew open, and he didn't know why. No loud noise was made, he wasn't having a nightmare, and his alarm clock wasn't going off.
"Ross?" Ross rolled 180 degrees so that he was no longer facing the wall, and was instead facing his wife, who looked as though she hadn't slept at all. She didn't look tired, or in pain, she just looked...different. Enchanted, possessed…Ross couldn't find the right word.
"Pheebs?" He expected her to answer, to explain why she was awake, and why she looked so odd, but she didn't. She continued to stare at him, so he tried again. "Pheebs?"
"It's silent." Ross wasn't sure what to make of her reply, he was hoping for something a little more detailed. He stayed for a second, and noticed that it was indeed silent around them.
"Yes it is. But it's also four in the morning."
"It's been silent for six days." Her expression was blank. She didn't seem to be thinking about what she was saying…she was just saying it.
"Pheebs, hun, it's late, or it's early, and I'm not sure what you're getting at." He stifled a yawn as he struggled to stay awake and continue to give his wife his attention.
"There's no life out there. No crickets, no cats, no dogs…everything is hiding."
"There are people out there Pheebs. None of them are hiding." He suddenly found himself talking to her as if she was a child. He started to wonder if he was still dreaming.
"People are ignorant. They can't sense what is coming like animals can."
"And do you know what is coming?"
"Yes."
"Phoebe, what is coming?" All thought of sleep had left him. All he wanted was to find our what was bothering his wife so much.
"That's the wrong question Dr. Gellar." Dr. Gellar. She rarely called him that. It was a name she only used in a teasing manner…or in a seductive one.
"Then what is the right question?"
She was silent for a moment, as if she was deciding whether or not she could trust him with her information. She didn't blink, she barely seemed to breathe…she just stared at him, she was blank.
"The right question isn't 'what is coming?' The right question is…'who is coming?' " Her eyes fell closed, and her body seemed to come back to life from her previous motionless state. Her breathing returned to that of which it always was when she slept, and Ross stayed there wide awake, utterly confused as to what had just happened.
He forced his eyes closed, and continued to tell himself that this was all a dream.
It was just too weird to be real.