Chapter 4
"No…no, get off! Get away from me! "Leave me alone!" Cries of anger and fear came from Vince's bedroom. Howard, who was a light sleeper, was quickly alerted to the noise. He jumped up and rushed into Vince's room, panicking. Thousands of horrific possibilities flashed through his mind.
When he arrived, his friend was thrashing and shouting in his sleep. Howard walked over to him, a little scared.
"Vince…Vince, wake up!" He said, shaking his friend's shoulder. Vince suddenly sat up, a terrified look on his face. "Vince, you were having a nightmare. Don't worry, it's over now, it was just a dream."
"No, it wasn't. It wasn't a dream."
"It was, Vince. It wasn't real."
"It was. I was remembering…they were attacking me, and I was attacking them…I couldn't get away, Howard. I couldn't get away from them!" His voice cracked, and he dissolved into sobs.
"Who, Vince? Who was attacking you?" Howard asked urgently, but his friend was too hysterical to speak. "Never mind. Come here." He sighed, pulling the small man into a hug. They stayed like that until Vince had calmed down. When he was quiet, Howard gently laid him back down onto the bed.
"Sorry, Howard." Vince said, humiliated at his outburst.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. You did nothing wrong. Go back to sleep." Howard said quietly. Vince's tired eyelids drooped, and Howard left the room, silently closing the door behind him.
"What could have made Vince so scared?" He mused quietly to himself.