He woke up just then; sweat dripping from his face in thick channels.
Sighing, he peeled the covers off of his body, and the blast of air that
hit him cut through his flesh like a knife. Shivering, he got out of bed
and walked across the room to the alarm clock. Reading it slowly, he
realized it had said that the time was four fifty-eight. He could no
longer sleep because of the dream. It kept happening over and over again,
amazingly realistic and overpowering. He remembered every detail of it,
and it scared him. The way the thoughts stayed in his mind, it appeared to
be something more than a dream. Yawning, he ambled over to the computer on
the other side of the room and turned on the monitor.
His friend Michael had E-Mailed him yet again with the details of the RPG they played together. For some reason he really didn't want to read it at all, so Robert stuck it in the garbage can. The next E-Mail was from his doctor at the city hospital, Dr. Caplin. Shaking his head, he read the E- Mail quietly, mouthing the words:
"Dear Robert, I hope my computer will be done soon! I'm hoping that I can get it by this weekend so I can read the sports pages in the office. I'll be waiting for you after hours in my office on Saturday. Please give me a ring if this isn't good!"
Sighing, Robert trashed the E-Mail. The worst thing about the dreams were that they involved real people; people he knew. The Elizabeth from the dreams was his secret love; a girl in his Physics classes at school that was really quiet and shy. Doctor Werlen was the man at the clinic always hovering around Doctor Caplin. That's what made the dreams even more sickening. Yawning, Robert looked at the clock again. School was in two hours, and if he didn't go back to sleep soon he would never be able to last the day. So with that, he shut the monitor off and crawled back into bed. He was awake for a few minutes, pondering the question most boys in his situation did: When would he be able to gain friends? When would he be able to say he honestly had someone to believe in him? Robert Dawwes was a lonely person. He had lived in the neighborhood of Emporium for years, but yet, nobody truly accepted him for who he was. He was constantly picked on at school for the way he dressed and what his attitude was like, but he was always helpful. He shed a single tear, and it rolled off of his face slowly. Then his eyes closed and sleep grasped him once more.
No more dreams were waiting for him in his slumber. He woke up at Six thirty on the dot, thanks to the alarm clock his father had bought him for his birthday. It chimed out the local radio station every morning, with the same loudness and the same attitude.
"That guy always sounds cheery. I wonder if he'll ever have a crappy day and admit it?" Robert asked himself as he poured Corn Flakes into a bowl. Eating and going onto the internet at the same time was always a staple of the morning. He would hold the spoon in one hand, bowl in lap, and right hand on the mouse, surfing through the pages to see what had happened the night before. Usually he was on mIRC talking to Michael, who was just getting ready to go to sleep when Robert woke up.
"Time zones are a bitch." He stood, taking the bowl out to the kitchen.
He got dressed, and was soon out the door. It was a snowy, chilly day, and as usual, his dark coat draped over his body like a giant sheet of leather. It whipped and cracked in the wind while he cleared the windshield. He had twenty minutes to drive to the other side of the town. Jumping in, he fired up the car and rolled toward the edge of the driveway.
He arrived at school to see an amazing sight. Fire trucks were everywhere and so was the massive amount of smoke that covered the entire property. Orange flames shot from windows while the fifty or sixty students that had arrived stood on the edge of the property. Stopping the car on the edge of the drive, he hopped out and jogged over with a look of disbelief on his face. He spotted Elizabeth in the crowd as always, toward the back and all alone. She had her dark hair pulled down in front of her face and a bright blue dress on. She saw him and quickly looked at her feet.
"Hey Bob!" Someone cried out. Looking around, he spotted Brett, his best friend. They ran to meet each other.
"Brett, what the hell?"
"School's on fire, dude! Nothing today!" Brett exclaimed happily. "This is something kids DREAM of! The principal said we could go home but I've just been watching it burn now for a while, probably a half an hour. It's sweet!" He laughed loudly, and a couple of the people in the crowd began to point and whisper at the two of them. Robert seemed to be the only one who noticed. Sighing, he shook his head.
"Come on, Brett.let's go to the arcade or something. I've got a few extra bucks. I think I can Dance-Dance you under the table today."
Brett laughed at Bob, then slapped him in the arm.
"You're on, buddy!"
Together they jumped into Bob's car and went south, toward the city of Johnstown. Johnstown wasn't a very big city, but it had a fairly respectable arcade. It was the mainstay of every youth within a fifty mile radius. Once they reached the city, Robert found a parking spot in a garage and paid the toll taker. They settled the car into its resting place then began the slow walk from the car. The two boys turned and began walking down Clinton Street, toward the arcade. Its neon sign was glowing bright in the early morning haze, and could be spotted nearly a quarter- mile down the road. They walked a short distance, talking casually about what they were going to do with their free day together when all of a sudden, Robert's stroll became a meander.then stopped. He cocked his head to the side.
"Brett. Listen. There's someone over there." Off in the distance, emanating from a dark and far off alleyway, a feminine voice was pleading with someone. Brett nodded. "What do you think it is?" He exclaimed. Robert shook his head, then took off in a half-jog toward the alley on the other side of the road. Peering down the dark alleyway, Robert spotted the source of the noise immediately. It was a woman in her early years, with two men slapping at her. The one laughed while the other began poking at her with his right hand. The woman was crying.
He did what came natural to him: He ran down the alley at full speed toward the men. They heard him coming from a far way off, and tossed the woman into a pile of rotten garbage when they saw him coming. The bigger of the two confronted him.
"Go back, little boy, before you realize how big of a mistake you're making." He laughed loudly. Suddenly anger prevailed in him.
"Why not leave her alone?" He said. The man took a swing at him. Robert immediately reacted, pulling the man's arm toward him, throwing his assailant off balance. Using his other arm, he made a half-fist and drove upward. It struck the mugger directly in the nose, causing its bone to shatter into a dozen pieces. Blood splattered on Robert's shirt and on the wall beside them. The man recoiled. Growling, he brought his arm forward again, aiming for Robert's stomach. This time, Robert judged the speed, catching the hand in mid-flight. He pulled it downward and wrapped his leg around it. Quickly, he tensed the muscles in his thigh and kicked, causing the arm of the man to crack and crunch. The attacker howled out in agony as his elbow was pulverized. The woman, crying, ran off just then. The other mugger seemed to follow her a bit, but then turned. He saw his accomplice holding his arm, blood drenching his face. It angered him and he pulled out a gun, pointing it directly at Robert's chest.
Brett watched the whole situation from afar. He wanted to help; to do anything he possibly could, but he was scared as well. He spotted a police officer far down the street, and took off running in that direction.
Laughing and choking on his own blood, the one assailant pushed Robert into the other who held the gun. He felt the cold barrel of the weapon, as well as deja-vu, in the air. The one robber used his good arm to rip Robert's wallet from his pocket. He flipped it open, spilling his library card and identification onto the dirty pavement. He took the money and threw the wallet on the ground.
"Is this all you have, little man?" The injured robber spit.
"Just enough for a good time with your mom."
The barrel of the gun dug deeper into his back.
"You'd better watch what you're saying, little man. Or else you'll be tasting lead."
The policeman stepped around the corner. All three individuals froze in their tracks. The robber with the gun angled the weapon upward toward Robert's heart and spoke: "If you come any closer, pig, I'm going to kill him."
The policeman didn't move. He simply held his ground. The two were staring each other down. The injured robber went to grab the policeman's gun. He walked between the two of them and demanded it. The policeman threw it to the ground. Smiling, the robber that held Robert hostage went to relax a bit in his stance.
His foot slipped on the garbage in the alley.
A gunshot rung out.
Robert felt a dull numbness in his back and in the center of his chest. He collapsed onto the dirty alleyway while both robbers fled the scene. The policeman began barking into his handset for an ambulance. And the whole time, Robert was staring at the sky, wondering why dreams have a bad habit of becoming real.
His friend Michael had E-Mailed him yet again with the details of the RPG they played together. For some reason he really didn't want to read it at all, so Robert stuck it in the garbage can. The next E-Mail was from his doctor at the city hospital, Dr. Caplin. Shaking his head, he read the E- Mail quietly, mouthing the words:
"Dear Robert, I hope my computer will be done soon! I'm hoping that I can get it by this weekend so I can read the sports pages in the office. I'll be waiting for you after hours in my office on Saturday. Please give me a ring if this isn't good!"
Sighing, Robert trashed the E-Mail. The worst thing about the dreams were that they involved real people; people he knew. The Elizabeth from the dreams was his secret love; a girl in his Physics classes at school that was really quiet and shy. Doctor Werlen was the man at the clinic always hovering around Doctor Caplin. That's what made the dreams even more sickening. Yawning, Robert looked at the clock again. School was in two hours, and if he didn't go back to sleep soon he would never be able to last the day. So with that, he shut the monitor off and crawled back into bed. He was awake for a few minutes, pondering the question most boys in his situation did: When would he be able to gain friends? When would he be able to say he honestly had someone to believe in him? Robert Dawwes was a lonely person. He had lived in the neighborhood of Emporium for years, but yet, nobody truly accepted him for who he was. He was constantly picked on at school for the way he dressed and what his attitude was like, but he was always helpful. He shed a single tear, and it rolled off of his face slowly. Then his eyes closed and sleep grasped him once more.
No more dreams were waiting for him in his slumber. He woke up at Six thirty on the dot, thanks to the alarm clock his father had bought him for his birthday. It chimed out the local radio station every morning, with the same loudness and the same attitude.
"That guy always sounds cheery. I wonder if he'll ever have a crappy day and admit it?" Robert asked himself as he poured Corn Flakes into a bowl. Eating and going onto the internet at the same time was always a staple of the morning. He would hold the spoon in one hand, bowl in lap, and right hand on the mouse, surfing through the pages to see what had happened the night before. Usually he was on mIRC talking to Michael, who was just getting ready to go to sleep when Robert woke up.
"Time zones are a bitch." He stood, taking the bowl out to the kitchen.
He got dressed, and was soon out the door. It was a snowy, chilly day, and as usual, his dark coat draped over his body like a giant sheet of leather. It whipped and cracked in the wind while he cleared the windshield. He had twenty minutes to drive to the other side of the town. Jumping in, he fired up the car and rolled toward the edge of the driveway.
He arrived at school to see an amazing sight. Fire trucks were everywhere and so was the massive amount of smoke that covered the entire property. Orange flames shot from windows while the fifty or sixty students that had arrived stood on the edge of the property. Stopping the car on the edge of the drive, he hopped out and jogged over with a look of disbelief on his face. He spotted Elizabeth in the crowd as always, toward the back and all alone. She had her dark hair pulled down in front of her face and a bright blue dress on. She saw him and quickly looked at her feet.
"Hey Bob!" Someone cried out. Looking around, he spotted Brett, his best friend. They ran to meet each other.
"Brett, what the hell?"
"School's on fire, dude! Nothing today!" Brett exclaimed happily. "This is something kids DREAM of! The principal said we could go home but I've just been watching it burn now for a while, probably a half an hour. It's sweet!" He laughed loudly, and a couple of the people in the crowd began to point and whisper at the two of them. Robert seemed to be the only one who noticed. Sighing, he shook his head.
"Come on, Brett.let's go to the arcade or something. I've got a few extra bucks. I think I can Dance-Dance you under the table today."
Brett laughed at Bob, then slapped him in the arm.
"You're on, buddy!"
Together they jumped into Bob's car and went south, toward the city of Johnstown. Johnstown wasn't a very big city, but it had a fairly respectable arcade. It was the mainstay of every youth within a fifty mile radius. Once they reached the city, Robert found a parking spot in a garage and paid the toll taker. They settled the car into its resting place then began the slow walk from the car. The two boys turned and began walking down Clinton Street, toward the arcade. Its neon sign was glowing bright in the early morning haze, and could be spotted nearly a quarter- mile down the road. They walked a short distance, talking casually about what they were going to do with their free day together when all of a sudden, Robert's stroll became a meander.then stopped. He cocked his head to the side.
"Brett. Listen. There's someone over there." Off in the distance, emanating from a dark and far off alleyway, a feminine voice was pleading with someone. Brett nodded. "What do you think it is?" He exclaimed. Robert shook his head, then took off in a half-jog toward the alley on the other side of the road. Peering down the dark alleyway, Robert spotted the source of the noise immediately. It was a woman in her early years, with two men slapping at her. The one laughed while the other began poking at her with his right hand. The woman was crying.
He did what came natural to him: He ran down the alley at full speed toward the men. They heard him coming from a far way off, and tossed the woman into a pile of rotten garbage when they saw him coming. The bigger of the two confronted him.
"Go back, little boy, before you realize how big of a mistake you're making." He laughed loudly. Suddenly anger prevailed in him.
"Why not leave her alone?" He said. The man took a swing at him. Robert immediately reacted, pulling the man's arm toward him, throwing his assailant off balance. Using his other arm, he made a half-fist and drove upward. It struck the mugger directly in the nose, causing its bone to shatter into a dozen pieces. Blood splattered on Robert's shirt and on the wall beside them. The man recoiled. Growling, he brought his arm forward again, aiming for Robert's stomach. This time, Robert judged the speed, catching the hand in mid-flight. He pulled it downward and wrapped his leg around it. Quickly, he tensed the muscles in his thigh and kicked, causing the arm of the man to crack and crunch. The attacker howled out in agony as his elbow was pulverized. The woman, crying, ran off just then. The other mugger seemed to follow her a bit, but then turned. He saw his accomplice holding his arm, blood drenching his face. It angered him and he pulled out a gun, pointing it directly at Robert's chest.
Brett watched the whole situation from afar. He wanted to help; to do anything he possibly could, but he was scared as well. He spotted a police officer far down the street, and took off running in that direction.
Laughing and choking on his own blood, the one assailant pushed Robert into the other who held the gun. He felt the cold barrel of the weapon, as well as deja-vu, in the air. The one robber used his good arm to rip Robert's wallet from his pocket. He flipped it open, spilling his library card and identification onto the dirty pavement. He took the money and threw the wallet on the ground.
"Is this all you have, little man?" The injured robber spit.
"Just enough for a good time with your mom."
The barrel of the gun dug deeper into his back.
"You'd better watch what you're saying, little man. Or else you'll be tasting lead."
The policeman stepped around the corner. All three individuals froze in their tracks. The robber with the gun angled the weapon upward toward Robert's heart and spoke: "If you come any closer, pig, I'm going to kill him."
The policeman didn't move. He simply held his ground. The two were staring each other down. The injured robber went to grab the policeman's gun. He walked between the two of them and demanded it. The policeman threw it to the ground. Smiling, the robber that held Robert hostage went to relax a bit in his stance.
His foot slipped on the garbage in the alley.
A gunshot rung out.
Robert felt a dull numbness in his back and in the center of his chest. He collapsed onto the dirty alleyway while both robbers fled the scene. The policeman began barking into his handset for an ambulance. And the whole time, Robert was staring at the sky, wondering why dreams have a bad habit of becoming real.