By the time Eva had reached Sigmund Corps, explained the incident with the car, arrived home and got into bed, it was already time to get up for breakfast. She adjusted her position in the bed, trying to make it as comfortable as it could be while still wearing her work clothes. With a quick flip of the pillow and a snuggle under the duvet, she was ready to catch up on some much needed sleep.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
In a sudden fit of rage, Eva raised her hand and slammed it on the alarm clock, cracking it and causing it to fall onto the floor. Despite the pain in her hand, she simply curled up into a ball and pulled the duvet over her head, snuggling herself into the bedsheets.
She laid there for a while, occasionally moving to make herself more accustomed to the position she was in. Her eyelids drooped, but when she closed her eyes they seemed to have a deep need to open again.
It only took a couple of minutes for Eva to slip into a state of sleep. Darkness filled her vision, and her breathing slowed until it was barely there at all. Time seemed to melt away, and her state of conciousness went to hop from one moment to the next. Dreaming was rare for Eva, as she had a tight schedule and lived on just enough hours of sleep each day. However, that morning she was lucky.
Eva's vision drifted from a black void to pure white. This new world she was in was blank and clean. Slowly, pixels formed from thin air, gathering like bugs to a light. They whisked around her, before each small group took place in an area spread out from one another. The pixels grew in size, and slowly darkened, forming cubic trees.
She stepped forward, holding her hand out to touch the tree. As the tips of her fingers brushed over the surface, the pixels dissipated, making an adorable noise. Eva flinched a little, but soon her face held a smile.
She took one step forward, and then another. Her legs moved forward and back, and Eva began to walk. Her pace fastened, and she ran. With her arms out by her sides she dragged them over as many trees as possible, relishing in the symphony of small noises. Her heart raced, and she sprinted into the light.
A sudden jolt of pain caused Eva to stop in her tracks, almost making her fall over. Her hand felt as if it were being cut with small pieces of metal, and she cried out in pain. The smile that had rested on her lips was shot down, and replaced with a frown. Her eyes wandered from the light to her hand.
The tips of her fingers were becoming pixelated, and her hand was slowly beginning to float away into the air. The pain spread slowly up her arm as she began to pixelate, the small dots that were once her fingers carelessly flowing away in the breeze.
One by one, the cubic trees around her made a peculiar noise. It sounded similar to the noise they had made before, but somehow it seemed colder. Harsher. The noise melded into the laughs of children, closer to madness than joy.
"Stop it!" Eva yelled, grabbing her dissipating hand with her good one. "For the love of God, stop!"
Silence filled the world. The trees had stopped laughing, and the pain in her hand subsided. Eva looked to her hand again, but now it was gone. Her wrist seemed to be pixelated slightly, but that was the only remaining evidence that there was of her hand.
A bright light filled her vision, blinding her. She moved her good hand from her arm to above her eyes, trying to shade herself. The light continued to shine, growing stronger. Eva was blinded by this and struggled to find shelter, covering her face with her hand. Her attempts failed, and the light shone through her body. She touched her face and moved her hand in front of her eyes, but she could not see it.
The dream ended as quickly as it had begun, and the white light that blinded her was replaced by the endless black void. For a moment it was if she was falling, and a second later her eyes shot open, taking in the surrounding of her bedroom.
Eva sat up, her breathing quickened and her heart racing. She took in the details of her room. The messy closet, the dresser covered in small knick-knacks and beauty products, the towel hanging over the door to the bathroom. Everything was normal.
Memories of the pain in her hand flooded her mind, and her eyes trailed down the bedsheets to her left hand. There were no pixels anymore, and the pain she had felt was nothing more than a thought. She breathed a sigh of relief, and fell back on her pillow, smiling.
It was good to be back.
That was, until the phone rang with the distinct ringtone for Dr. Watts.
