Chapter 3 - Nightmare
Michael left the camp in direction of the little town. He was still fuming, silently cursing Mairi under his breath. Something was amiss. He could not quite pinpoint what it was, but still, he had the suspicion that it had something to do with him. And that made him angry. He didn't know why it made him so furious. Perhaps he had hoped, that she would trust him a little more. After all, they had been through, he had thought, she would not be scared of him any longer.
Damn! She puts up with fucking Jason Voorhees! That guy's a tank in comparison!
He thought, angrily kicking a big rock down the road. He shook his head, taking a big calming breath.
No... she's not afraid of me, that can't be it. She never really was, not at Smith's Grove, not when I came to Haddonfield and broke into her home. Definitely not then...
His thoughts trailed off for a moment when memories emerged from that time so long ago. But he pushed them back, concentrating on this matter again. He still could not figure out, why she would flinch at an accidental touch, but it angered him to no end.
And now he needed to vent his anger and he knew where to go for letting off steam. He would just break into the next home he liked and murder everyone unlucky enough to be home. However, he did not find a house he felt like breaking in and that did nothing to calm his inner storm down. Still fuming, he wandered through the outskirts of the town. He didn't know why, but something compelled him to follow the train-tracks until he came to an iron railroad bridge. He knew that bridge from Mairi, it was the very same, she wanted to leap down, in a suicide attempt. He sighed, wondering why he came out here instead of going back to the camp, especially since it had started to rain. Not that he minded getting wet much, but it was a nuisance. He didn't like the way the jumpsuit hung off his legs and clung to his upper body. Not for the first time this night he released an annoyed sigh and turned around to head home. It was then, he saw something reflect in the dark which immediately drew his attention. Beneath his white mask, he squinted his eyes and stared over to the other side of the small creek. In the dark, he could make out the outlines of a dark car parked just a couple of feet away from the iron bridge. One eyebrow wandered up in surprise while a smirk appeared on his lips. Maybe his trip out of town wasn't as futile as he thought after all. Carefully minding his steps he quickly crossed the bridge and moved closer to the car. The windows had been fogged up, yet he was able to see the outlines of a couple having sex inside. Michael huffed in disgust, yet his grin did not disappear from his face. Now all he had to do was watch the show and wait.
The killer found himself a spot in the thick foliage, where he was hidden by the shadows and halfway shielded from the rain. He waited motionless while the time went by and the rain turned into a soft drizzle. First faint fingers of mist began to rise, creating evershifting ghostlike shadows in the dark. Michael began to toy with his knife, watching the car move up and down in that ancient rhythm which made the buffers squeak slightly. Michael rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Gee... if they take any longer, I'll be an old man.
He thought, narrowing his eyes on the old car. It was dark and edgy, though he could not make out the brand.
That's actually a nice car...
His thoughts died down as the squeaking stopped and his head snapped up. A moment later, the door opened and a boy emerged. His pants were still open and he was topless, dirty blond hair tousled. Sweat mixed with the light drizzle, while the boy made his way over to the bushes. His girlfriend, a blond girl in a pink bra and pants, lay on her stomach over the front seats.
"Lemmy? Where are you going?"
She called after him, her voice soft. He looked back over his shoulders, just before the foliage swallowed him up.
"Taking a leak, Doro. Back in a minute."
Michael's grin widened beneath his mask. The young man had passed him by without even noticing him.
Oh, you won't be coming back. Ever...
He thought carefully placing one foot in front of the other until he stood directly behind Lemmy. It would have been so easy to kill him now, but that wouldn't nearly be as fun as playing with his prey first. He could see the young man shiver and shift uncomfortably, pulling his zipper up and closing his belt more hastily than he needed to. Lemmy took a deep breath, feeling that the atmosphere had suddenly changed and turned around. He was greeted by the darkness of wet leaves and an eerie silence. Again a shiver ran down his spine and he rubbed his upper arms.
"Damn, I must have gone deeper in than I wanted."
Lemmy mumbled and took a careful look around. Something didn't feel right, it made him more than a little uncomfortable. For a moment Lemmy pondered over running straight back to the car, jumping in and locking the door. But he discarded that thought. It wouldn't look cool if he came running back to his new girlfriend like a scared cat. He took a deep breath and took one step forward. Then he heard something that let him freeze dead in his tracks. A slow deep rhythmic breathing. Lemmy swallowed hard and slowly turned into the direction of the sound and jumped. There in the bushed nearly directly behind him stood a dark-clad man with an eerie white face. Lemmy stumbled backwards with a sharp inhale and bumped against a tree, scraping his shoulder. With round eyes, he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but could not get his voice to work. He let out a small nervous laugh, straightening up.
"Dude. You scared me to death."
He finally mumbled, his voice weak and shaky. But the man in his white mask did not answer, he just stared blankly at the young man. Lemmy backed up against the tree further, nervously licking over his suddenly dry lips. He opened his mouth again but was not able to produce any words. He felt like shrinking under the unwavering hard stare of the masked stranger. The sounds around him seemed to dim down. The only sound he could hear was the sound of his pulse in his ears and the slow heavy breathing of the shape. Shaking the young man stared into Michael's black eyes, feeling that something horrible was about to happen. Yet he could do nothing as fear held him in a tight grip. He didn't even notice, that the man slowly closed their distance. Lemmy still could not bring himself to move as he saw the knife in Michael's hand. Slowly the knife came up and then made a swift motion. The young man wanted to cry, but all that came out was a breathy gurgling sound. Something warm and sticky ran over his chest and torso. Lemmy's legs suddenly felt wobbly and he sunk down on his knees. Feeling lightheaded he then knew, that his life was about to end. In one last effort, he raised his hand to his throat, fingers dipping into the gaping wound that was there. His dying mind did not register what he felt. And the world around him faded to black in silence.
Michael huffed.
Lemmy, you're pathetic...
He thought, cleaning his knife on the man's trousers. Straightening up, he turned and gazed over to the woman, wondering if she would put up a little more of a fight.
Doro still lay on her stomach across the front seats of Lemmy's old Impala, playing with one single flower in front of her as the door behind her opened. She did not look back over her shoulder, yet a smile lighted her face up. The seat shifted underneath her.
"You know Lemmy, I've dreamed about this for so long."
She said, her voice dreamy.
"Spending time with a cute guy, having romantic trips. Maybe spending the rest of my days with him."
A warm hand began to draw patterns on her back, causing goosebumps to wander down her arm. She giggled, leaning back a little against the warm body pressed against her. His other hand appeared on her back, massing her a little, before unhooking the bra. Her smile widened, melting into his warmth. Doro felt her body already reacting to his tender touch, as he gently slid the bra straps down her arms. She raised them willingly, as he unhooked it and took it off. Doro captured one of his hands and pressed it against her small firm breast. She felt him leaning in, his weight almost heavy atop of her.
"I love you, Lemmy."
She said but was not granted with an answer. Only heavy breathing. Her smile diminished a little and her brows knitted together in a small frown. She took a deep breath.
"Lemmy, you're smelly!"
She huffed, her excitement suddenly gone. She wanted to shift under him, wanted to turn, but he pressed her down with his weight. And then the bra was around her neck. Doro's eyes shot open with sudden panic as the strap bit merciless into her neck. She wanted to scream. Tried to pry the strap away, tried to scratch him and tried to buck him off. But her efforts were in vain. It made Michael smirk, however. This girl was a bit more fun than the guy he had killed earlier. She still clawed at anything within reach without success, but her frantic movements already began to slow down. His smile widened as he pulled the strap a little tighter. And then out of a cruel notion, he let loose for a moment. Let her gasp in some desperate breaths. Let her recover enough so she could fight a little longer. Michael lifted himself off of her, allowing her to turn around and face him. Doro tried to scream, as she looked into the white emotionless mask, but her throat was already too damaged to produce a sound. Michael stared down at her, breathing heavily. He was more than a little excited by now, his erection throbbing with each pulse. He enjoyed hunting his prey but he enjoyed it, even more, to watch the light die in their eyes. Tilting his head to the side he threw the bra away. There was a gleam of hope in Doro's eyes. Hope, that he might let her live after all. Something that would not happen. Michael adjusted his weight on her a little, moving into a little more comfortable position. Almost gently he brushed his index-finger down her jawline. He could feel her shiver. His hand wandered down her already bruised throat. He tightened his grip around her slender neck without warning. Her eyes went even wider and again she tried to struggle, tried to pry his hands open. His breathing got heavier as he watched little red dots appear in her scleras. Her movements got slower, her struggling slowly began to cease and then finally stopped. Slowly Michael let go of her neck getting aware of the almost painful throbbing in his pants. He took a deep breath.
Well. That was fun...
He thought crawling backwards out of the car and stretching his back out. He looked around. The raining had stopped and it was absolutely silent. He took a couple of deep breaths, waiting for his excitement to calm down before he grabbed the young woman's legs and pulled her out of the car quite roughly. Getting a tight grip on her hair and pulled her towards the thick undergrowth, making sure she would not get found easily. He did the same with the boy but searched his pockets first. Satisfied with his work, he sat down in the car again.
That's great. All I need is a little trip to the town now...
Jason Voorhees, masked killer of Camp Crystal Lake sat on a comfortable looking couch in front of a TV- set and looked down at the sleeping form of his little nurse. She had fallen asleep a while ago, her head resting on his thigh. Gently he reached down and stroked one stray lock of hair out of her face. She had a content little smile on her face that gave him a warm fuzzy feeling deep down in his stomach.
I think it's time to go to bed.
He thought, shifting ever so slightly to turn the telly off before getting up without waking her. Still smiling, Jason went down on his knees in front of the sofa and carefully put his arms beneath the sleeping woman to lift her up like a child. Just then, as he cradled her in his powerful arms, he heard the floorboards creak behind him. Jason first turned his head into the direction of the sound, before letting his body follow. He found himself face to face with Michael Myers. A deep frown appeared on Jason's face.
Where do you come from?
He sent Michael through their psychic link while squaring his shoulders a little. The smaller male shrugged, but just as he was about to answer he was cut short by Jason.
Let me rephrase. Where have you been for the last two days?
Again Michael shrugged.
Ah you know, I was off for a little fun and game
Fun and game?
Jason repeated with slight annoyance.
Michael nodded.
Hunting stuff and killing things.
The smaller male pulled his mask off with a gleeful smile but decided to change the topic. He pointed at Mairi.
Gee, she's wasted. Must have been a hard day at work.
Jason nodded.
Ah, well. She's always extremely tired after morning shift. Besides she was worried quite a bit about a certain moron.
Is that so? Well, what have you been up to again, that she's worried half sick?
Jason huffed but then chuckled, before turning towards the staircase. Michael watched Jason's massive back retreat, before plopping himself down on the couch and giving his back a good stretch. Feeling a slight pang of guilt he bit his lower lip. He had been so lost in his hunt, that he had not thought about Mairi and that she might be worried. Michael decided, that he had to talk to her in the morning after a good nights rest.
Jason carefully turned on his heel and pushed the bedroom door shut with his shoulder just as Mairi moaned softly in his arms. As she opened her eyes, she found her head resting against his shoulder. Blinking she looked up into his smiling face.
Did I wake you?
He asked her, but Mairi shook her head tiredly, her hair brushing against the crook of his neck. His smile widened as he put her down on the bed. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, while Jason knelt down in front of her.
Come on, sleepy head, let get you out of your clothes.
He said, softly tugging on her shirt. Mairi smiled, leaning forward, kissing him gently on the mouth while lifting her arms. He pulled the shirt over her head, trailing his fingers lightly over her shoulders and to her back, undoing the hooks of her bra. She put her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her, kissing him more wildly. His hands roamed over her back to the shoulders and finally, they cubbed her breasts. As they parted for air, she grabbed the collar of his jacket pulling it down. He shrugged out of it easily, giving her another long passionate kiss. Her hands roamed over his chest and down his abs until she found the hem of his shirt. She tugged on it and he obediently raised his arms. His shirt went flying onto the heap of clothes that were already piling up on the floor. Her hand slipped between his legs, rubbing over his penis before massaging his balls. He made a sound deep back in his throat that sounded almost like purring while he slowly rose, kissing her, pushing her back onto the bed, crawling over her like a hungry predator. His fingers hooked into the waistband of her jeans, pulling her closer to him before he undid the button of her jeans. She lifted her hips so he could pull it down and off of her legs. He kissed her again letting his tongue explore her mouth before licking and kissing his way down to her breasts. He twisted his tongue around her nipples before leaving a trail of kisses all the way down over her flat stomach until he reached her undie. With a low growl, he bit the waistband and pulled the pantie down with his teeth. It was discarded along with the rest of the clothes. He returned to her groin licking her, sucking gently on her labia, while he undid his belt. He was fully aroused by now and his throbbing member begged to be released. Mairi arched her back up and moaned every time he slid his tongue in and twisted it around. While sucking her happy spot he slid his finger in wriggling it around. She moaned, grabbing the sheets tight. He knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer and neither was he. He felt like he was about to explode. He crawled up, finding her mouth and kissing her passionately, before he finally gave in and slid into her, making passionate love to his nurse.
Mairi cuddled up in Jason's arms with a satisfied smile, still panting slightly.
"I love you."
She whispered. As a response he pulled her closer against his massive body, nuzzling her hair.
Love you too.
They fell asleep together, Mairi feeling safe in his strong arms, while he enjoyed her body heat.
Mairi walked through a green field peppered with red flowers. She wore nothing but a light white summer's dress. Butterflies danced around her, shimmering red and green in the sun. Everything felt so peaceful, it just made her smile. She looked around. As far as she could see, she was alone. It made her yearn for Jason's company.
He would love it too...
She thought while she walked on with light feet. That place felt both familiar and strange. Mairi wandered on until she came to a red door that stood between to giant oak trees. The door intrigued Mairi but the closer she came the more her hair stood on end. In front of the door, she spied three little girls in plain white dresses, that looked quite similar to the one she wore herself. Mairi knitted her brows together. The girls seemed to glow in the bright light of the sun, as they skipped rope. And as they did, they sang a tune along, to which Mairi paid no peculiar heed. Her attention lay on that ominous door. She walked around the trees and the door, but it did not seem to lead anywhere. It was just a plain red door on a meadow. Yet something compelled her to grab the door's handle and walk through it. Mairi bit her lip still hesitating, but finally, she shrugged and reached her arm out.
"Ah, curiosity killed the cat. What's the worst thing that could happen?"
She said to herself, as she clasped a hand around the handle. The door opened easily and Mairi stepped through. Behind her she could hear the girls chant:
"Three, four, better lock your door."
Mairi turned and a sense of dread gripped her heart, just as the door slammed shut. Startled she reached out and tried to open the door, only to find it locked and a moment later the door disappeared altogether, leaving a solid brick wall behind. The feeling of dread and danger nearly overwhelmed the small woman and she secretly wished to have her boys around. She swallowed, knowing that there would be only one way left for her and that was forward.
Sweat began to form on her forehead as she walked through a steamy hallway. Everything was tinged in red and it was hot as hell. The hallway was crossed by old rusty pipes, and hot vapour escaped through cracks that age had corroded into the metal. The place she was in looked like an old factory or a huge boiler-room. Her naked foot landed a puddle of lukewarm water and Mairi silently cursed under her breath.
How can such a creepy ass place be next to a beautiful field?
She thought, but then her attention was captured by a sound echoing through the vast space of hallways, walkways and pipes. It sounded like the wail of metal scraping against metal. It let Mairi's hair stand on end and despite the heat, she shivered. It suddenly felt crowded here on the ground, so Mairi climbed up the next staircase she came across. The perforated metal plates of the stairs dug deep into the soles of her feet, making every step painful. She hoped, that the walkway would be made of solid metal but to her dismay, it wasn't. Carefully she walked close to the handrail. Again that screeching sound echoed through the silence of this eerie place, followed by a sinister laugh. A laugh she had heard somewhere before, though she couldn't tell from where she knew it.
A pipe burst just in front of her, nearly burning her with hot steam. Mairi jumped back with a shriek. The laughter grew louder and she finally was able to make out a shadowy figure approaching her from the other end of her walkway. The steam distorted the figure, but by the way, he walked, the way sparks went flying from his right hand Mairi immediately knew with whom she was dealing. Besides, she only knew one person that would combine a striped Christmas sweater with a fedora. Mairi frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The steam died down, finally revealing Freddy Krueger in his full 5'9" glory. He looked her over with an evil smirk. Mairi cocked her head to the side.
"Really? I had to give up my beautiful dream for this shit?"
A sour look came to Freddy's face, yet he remained glaring at her without saying anything.
"And don't you think, I'm a little too old for you?"
Freddy scowl deepened as he hissed.
"Still mouthy, bitch? Let's see if I can shut your gob!"
Mairi huffed, yet refused to back down. He did scare her a little, but she had seen what her boys could do in the real world. Both of her boys were a lot more intimidating than Krueger was and they used only one sharp knife. Mairi stepped closer towards the dream demon and hissed.
"That I'd like to see!"
The smirk reappeared on his face.
"Don't play brave, bitch!"
He paused a moment. The smirk turned into an evil grin, as he looked her over.
"Well then, little Mairi. Challenge accepted. Here! Catch!"
He threw something black and furry at Mairi. Out of reflex, she caught the hairy ball and for a moment she just stared at the black thing in her hand. Then the ball began to move. Legs shot out of its sides and it turned into a giant black spider. Mairi screamed in terror and threw the spider away while stumbling backwards blindly. Her back connected painfully hard with the low handrail behind her. Mairi yelped in panic, as she lost her balance and fell over her handrail. For a moment she felt almost weightless but then the wind was knocked out of her lungs as she hit the ground hard. Above her, Freddy looked over the rail with a menacing grin plastered all over his burnt face.
"Grounded!"
He said with a sneer before appearing beside the still dazed Mairi. He swiped his claws over her dress, ripping it apart right above her chest. Mairi's eyes snapped open and out of reflex, she slapped him across his face hard, before rolling away from him. She heard him snicker as she got up. He was about to slash at her again. But Mairi ducked down at the last moment and the claws embedding themselves into a pipe. Smirking she whirled around and kicked Freddy in the groin. He just smiled a sinister look in his eyes. Mairi frowned.
"Got no balls, Krueger?"
She hissed. An angry look crossed his face before he slapped her across the face.
"You can't hurt me. This is my world, bitch!"
Mairi held her burning cheek and backed away. Freddy gloated, slashing at her again, this time leaving four cuts across her upper arm. Confused Mairi looked down, seeing that her wounds would not close. She heard an evil chuckle.
"You know I liked you better when you've lost your head!"
She hissed in pain and anger, yet still backing away. He stared her down.
"Why are you here anyway. What do you want from me? And you know, Jason will break every bone in your body, if you hurt me."
He managed to cut her again, this time across her thigh.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but nothing will ever kill me! Not even your precious Jason."
Freddy held his arms out, turning around himself.
"In dreams, I am forever."
He stopped, staring at her with cold green eyes.
"Too bad you are not!"
With a quick motion, he ripped the dress from her body, leaving her in her underwear. He laughed, while Mairi tried to cover herself up, without succeeding in that part. He held up one clawed finger to get her attention.
"It's travelling time!"
He exclaimed gleefully, while a hole opened beneath Mairi. Screaming she fell into a black abyss. Her decent seemed to take forever before she hit the ground hard. For the second time this night, the wind was knocked out of her lungs and a moment she was just too dazed to take her surroundings in. She was however snapped back to reality as she felt the cold steel of Freddy's clawed fingers trail up her inner thighs. Her eyes snapped open and she was met with Freddy's cold stare. Mairi tried to move, yet her arms and legs began to melt into the floorboards. She was pinned beneath the dream demon. He straddled her, squeezing her breasts before trailing a hot tongue up her throat to her ear. Mairi started to tremble as she felt the excitement radiating off of Krueger. Again, he roughly groped her breasts before biting the crook of her neck.
"AHH."
He drawled.
"I've always had a thing for the bitches of this house."
Only then Mairi realized, that she lay on the floor of her childhood bedroom. The one that had been upstairs, and belonged to her before Lori was born. Confusion crossed her face, which made Freddy cackle.
"You forgot, where you came from, kid."
He ran his claws over her body, drawing blood all the way down from her chest to her hip. Mairi winced in pain.
"For a woman your age, you actually have a nice body. No wonder that dimwit of a deadfuck gets a hard-on."
He snickered. Mairi's eyes widened.
"What do you want from me?"
Freddy got up as the floorboards went soft and retracted from her limbs. With a wide demonic grin, he said.
"Jason had his fun. The psycho had his fun. Now it's my turn to have a little fun with you, bitch."
He pointed his clawed index finger at her. With a look of confusion, she looked at her arm and began to scream. It was crawling with black little spiders, a whirling pulsing mass. And so were her legs. Freddy watched her trying to get up, trying to get rid of the millions of small creatures. And then suddenly Mairi vanished from his dimension.
Michael Myers eyes snapped open as a bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence of Camp Crystal Lake. For a second he thought, Jason was on the prowl again, but then he realised that the screaming came from within the cabin. In one smooth motion, he jumped from the couch and grabbed his knife and mask.
Mairi!
He thought.
He's killing her!
Driven by rage and fear, Michael flew up the stairs and nearly stomped down the bedroom door. And stopped dead in his tracks, knife raised in a painfully tight clenched fist. He couldn't help but stare at the scene in front of his eyes. Jason had straddled a still sleeping Mairi, keeping her up by the shoulders while she was screaming at the top of her lungs and flailing her arms around.
Jason shook her gently, trying to wake her up.
Mairi! Wake up! WAKE UP!
Cautiously Michael stepped into the room, knife still at the ready and looked around.
What happened? Jason what are you doing?
He asked, letting his knife finally sink down. Apart from the distressed nurse, there was nothing else in the room, that raised his alarms.
She's having a nightmare...
Jason answered, letting one of her arms go to pat her on the cheek.
Come on Mairi wake up.
But while the big killer tried not to hurt the little woman, he was not succeeding in waking her up. Michael sighed, stepping over to the bed and grabbed the glass of water from the nightstand. Nonchalantly he threw the water into Mairi's face.
She awoke gasping for air, blinking confused up into Jason's concerned face, before looking over to Michael.
Mairi?
Jason asked, letting go of her shoulders while sitting back on his heels. She wiped her dripping hair out of her face with shaking hands, glad to see that there were no marks on her. She hugged Jason tightly.
"I... I had a nightmare."
Jason rubbed her back.
So I've figured. Mairi, you really scared me there.
Michael cocked his head to the side, sighing deeply.
Yeah, I will have some serious nightmares too... Jason, would you mind to cover yourself up?
Both looked at Michael before Jason crawled down from Mairi drawing the blanket over his groin. Michael's grey eyes lingered on Mairi's face.
You seem to have a lot of nightmares lately. What was it about?
Mairi's eyes widened for a brief second before she cast her eyes down.
"Spiders. A lot of them..."
She finally answered. Michael's eyes didn't leave her face, she almost could feel his stare penetrate her soul. His voice was cold and filled with suspicion as he finally stated.
Spiders. Is that so.
Mairi sat back pulling her legs up hugging her knees. She was not able to look into Michael's eyes out of fear he could tell that she was hiding something. Jason frowned, laying his huge hand on Mairi's shoulder.
"Yes. Spiders"
She finally answered in a flat timid tone of voice. Jason sighed, turning to Michael.
Knock it off Myers. You know she hates them.
The big man reached for his girl and hugged her to his frame.
Come on Mairi, let's get back to sleep.
Mairi nodded, meeting Michael's intense stare briefly. She could see, that he wasn't satisfied with her answer, that he had his doubts about it. But then he just shrugged and went for the door.
Fine.
He said before he disappeared in the darkness of the hallway. Mairi scooted closer to Jason.
"Please hold me tight, Jason."
He turned on his right side while she rested her head on his upper arm, wrapping one arm around his massive chest. The sound of his heartbeat relaxed her yet she was not able to fall asleep. She didn't want to worry Jason, maybe Freddy would just leave her alone after a while. Maybe if he had his fun with her, he would just move on. After all, she was no teenager. But most importantly, she did not want to see Jason fight the demon again, did not want him to get hurt again. She squeezed her eyes shut, snuggling even closer against his chest, while Jason held her tight.
"When did Michael come back?"
She mumbled against his chest after a while, trying to get her mind off the dream. She could feel Jason sigh deeply.
In the night, shortly before we went to bed. And no, he did not tell me where he had been.
Mairi nodded, understanding that Jason did not want to talk about Michael. And for a moment she wondered if the boys would ever be able to live together in some kind of harmony.
They need to learn...things will change here. I need them to get along...
Mairi thought, before the slow beating of his heart and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest finally lulled her to sleep. A blissfully dreamless sleep.