Gohan's glazed eyes stared into the mirror of his bathroom. The dark circles under his eyes were becoming even more pronounced with all the sleep he had skipped out on. He wearily rubbed his eyes.
It had been a full week without sufficient sleep.

Of course Gohan had tried to sleep, he'd tried the first few nights...now he just accepted that he would have to never sleep again.
He shuddered at the last part of his thought.

Staggering back to his room, he scooped a full tablespoon full of instant coffee into his mouth and chased it with a can of 'Mountain Dew'. He grimaced past the initial first taste, reminding himself that it would keep him awake for at least another five minutes. he had been surviving on that sludge for the past day-and-a-half, finding it was perking him up.
He shook his head.

The average human could live ten days without sleep, Gohan had read that somewhere. He also read that eleven days without sleep led to severe psychosis,and losing twelve nights of sleep meant that the human would expire. Of course Gohan was no ordinary human teenager, but he couldn't help wonder when the insanity and death came for sleep-deprivation saiyan.

A hand rested on his shoulder, causing Gohan to leap, literally, several feet into the air.
It was his mother, Chi-chi.

"Gohan, sweetie, you have got to get some rest. Look at you, you're exhausted." She cooed lovingly. Gohan had fought with her tooth and nail, trying to convince her that he wasn't tired, or that he had to stay up late to finish a project, or something to that matter. Now that the issue was front and center in his mother's mind, he knew she would have to have her way.
Chi-chi continued to speak soothingly to him as she escorted him over to the bed. As much as Gohan hated to admit it, the bed look incredibly inviting at the momment, and he was finding it hard to stick to his vow to never sleep again. He gave in as his mother asked and slipped below the sheets.
It wasn't long before his fatigued body forced him to sleep.

Gohan's eyes shot wide awake, and his breathing quickened.
He was now in his own dream.
He stood on an empty street, in front of a house with the address 1428.
"Shit! I didn't mean to really fall asleep. Fuck!" He cussed ina crushed whisper to himself. He ran a hand through his hair. Trying to fathom a way to wake himself up before...

That's when he heard it. It was someone crying. More precisely, to his ears it sounded like a smallgirl crying. His compassion overtook his common sense.
"Hello?" He said shakily. There was no answer, but the crying remained the same, evenan extra whimper or two was thrown in. He took a few steps forward, craning his head around to find the source of the child's cry.
"Is anyone there?" He asked, louder this time so that the child might hear him better. He began to walk down the street, calling more for the child. He walked into the yard of one of the houses, and almost tripped over a young girl.

She wasn't that old, maybe five or six; seven at the very most. Gohan could only see her from the back, but he could tell that she had shoulder-length brown hair, and she wore a white t-shirt with jean overalls. Her shouldersheaved with her quiet sobs. Gohan's heart went out to her.
"Hey...hey, kid. What's wrong?" It was then that the girl turned around.

Gohan's throat closed as he tried to scream, but his face betrayed a look of absolute horror. The girls eyes had been gouged out, and her throat had been slit. Gohan unconciously backed away. The child's face contorted into a sick smile, and her voice changed to that of an adult male.
"Hello Gohan."
Gohan turned to run, and then he ran into the source of all his nightmares; a horribly burned man in a dirty brown hat, wearing a brown and orange sweater, and a glove with five razors for fingers.

Gohan woke up screaming in a cold sweat. He swung his legs out over the side of the bed and began his ragged breathing. He carefully looked himself over. It was a rarity that he was not injured during his sleep. He shook his head; he needed something to help him stay awake.

Ordinarily, Gohan did not take any drugs of any kind. He even hated taking antibiotics. He felt weak and inept when he had to take such things, therefore he avoided them at all costs. But these were desperate times he lived in now. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Gohan groggily rooted through the medicine cabinet of the family bathroom. He concentrated on finding something powerful, so he wouldn't have to worry about it wearing off after four shitty hours. He finally found an anti-sleep drug; not a brand name like he wanted, but something that would do.

He reached down and took a hold of the cold water faucet. He knew quickly that something was terribly, terribly wrong. He couldn't let go of the faucet...something was holding him to the faucet. He dropped the bottle of anti-sleeping pills and tried to pull his hand off the faucet, his panic growing larger and larger every second.
That's when he noticed the hot water faucet.
The hot water faucet was changing. It was becoming...a hand. A hand with five razors for fingers. The cold water faucet closed over his hand, and began turnig over his arm, exposing his wrist. Gohan's last thought was, "Oh my god! I didn't wake up."
The gloved hand swipped at his wrist.
His scream was what finally woke up his mother and father.

Goku broke open the door with minimal effort, only to find a dazed looking Gohan with one wrist slit wide open...and his other hand holding a double-edged razor. Gohan only looked at them, and then collapsed.