2 days had passed since the bomb, and every hour it was harder for Zeke to get himself out of bed. Every night he dreamt the same thing, so why wake when you can stay in that serenity?
This night in particular, it was different.
The sun beat down, the warmth of summer hitting his face like always.
No clouds in the sky, insanely blue.
She ran past him so fast he felt a breeze blow by as he saw her in the distance
Every time he had this dream, he couldn't use his voice. He always tried to call out, to make his way to her, but nothing came out, and he was never fast enough. But this time, he could yell back. He yelled out her name just as she stopped running. Almost as if something was blocking her path. He slowed, creeping closer.
That was when he saw the demon.
Face to face with the love of his life.
It's mouth was opened wide, sharp teeth ready to engulf her.
But she didn't run.
It was like she was waiting for something. For some sort of go ahead to turn around and answer Zeke's call. To flee from the danger. But why was Mick unable to turn to him?
He called her name again, attempting to get her to run to him. But she stood there, frozen in time. "Michaela!" Zeke screamed, so loud he felt it erupt out of his whole body. "Michaela!" He screamed again.
Then the demon swallowed her.
Zeke woke up in a cold sweat, practically falling off the couch from how hard he jolted himself.
He must've fallen asleep again, because Mick was gone and it was definitely not morning. "Beverly must be with the nurse" he whispered while he stood up.
He thought about calling Mick, but since it was so late he figured she'd be home soon anyways. Besides, he needed time to process. At least with Beverly being taken care of he was able to clean the house.
Cleaning always cleared his mind.
It was oddly therapeutic, something he did when he was bored or needed to calm himself down.
That and cooking.
Maybe he was a freak of nature, but those two things really helped him feel like himself. He did it for Mick all the time at their old place, and it only slightly annoyed her. She was a slob who somehow burned water, so he knew she appreciated it.
In his efforts, he found an old box of pictures, and as he sifted through them, he heard Mick's voice break through the silence.
"Hey." She said as she jiggled her keys out of the door. He smiled, it always took her a while to get them out.
Zeke looked up from the box, taking a seat at the table. "Hey. How was your day?" He asked as she came stumbling into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee pot. For some odd reason, she could drink coffee at any time of day and still fall asleep just fine.
"Ughh. Tiring." She said as she slumped into the chair beside him. "I just wanna sleep."
Zeke chuckled at her reply, her fatigue the last week hasn't been great, and he was starting to worry that she either had mono, or was just completely run down.
"You know you need to take care of yourself. Have you been sleeping?" He asked.
"I've been sleeping fine. I'm just exhausted." She said as she sipped from the mug in her hand.
Zeke's face turned. She was clearly burnt out, and he really hoped it was nothing more.
"How was your day?" She asked, her head now buried in her arms on the table.
he breathed out, leaning forwards. "Fine. I had that calling… dream thing again."
"Every night now huh?" She asked.
"Yeah. But something else happened."
She lifted her head up, that was when he noticed the extent of her fatigue. Her eyes were so tired, she looked like she was gonna fall asleep just staring at her. Maybe now wasn't the time.
"You know what, never mind. Let's just go to bed."
Mick wasn't amused. "No. No. I wanna know. I'll go to bed later." She protested.
She was too stubborn for her own good. Zeke was too lazy to fight it.
"Ok. uh, well, we were in that field."
"Like usual" She added, her eyes taking a long blink before being able to open again.
"Yeah, but there was a demon."
Mick's tired eyes opened wide. "A demon?"
"Yeah. And you were staring at it. I kept screaming out your name but you wouldn't turn around."
Mick was dumbfounded. "That makes no sense." She replied, poking at her temple in an attempt to understand… and wipe the tired away.
"That's what I thought. But it made me realize something." They locked eyes for a moment as he searched for the right words. He reached across the table to grab her hands. "Is there anything you're hiding from me? The calling/dream thing made it seem like you couldn't turn your face to me out of guilt."
She looked down at her hands, taking a breath. "No. I'm an open book." Lies. They both laughed at her response. You could honestly compare Mick to an onion. Lots of layers, and it takes a while to get all of them. She was quiet, but when you got to know her, so ridiculously bold.
"Zeke." She spoke softly. "You know I'd never hide anything from you."
"I know." He replied.
"So maybe it's not you." He added. Something inside of him sparked.
"I get it!" He yelled as he jumped up from his place at the table. He always got like this when he had an idea. As soon as something made sense he (literally) jumped on it. "Maybe It's not you. I mean, I've never seen your face in this dream. Have I?"
Mick furrowed her brow in thought. "No. No I guess not."
"And in yours, did you ever see mine?" Something sparked inside of her too. He was right. She never thought to question if it was Zeke or not? But why? It looked just like him... but from behind.
Her eyes went wide, and she sat back in her chair as she spoke out. "No."
"So it's not us!" He exclaimed. He paced the room, practically creating a draft. "So maybe there are two people we have to help."
Mick thought for a moment. "But who?" She asked.
"A blonde girl, and a brunette guy." Zeke replied. Mick squinted at him, smiling. "I know, that's not specific."
"Nope." She replied. "But at least we know it's a blonde girl, and a brunette boy. That's a start."
You're closer
Mick jolted forward, the calling causing a pit to form in her stomach.
You're closer.
Hey all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Chapter 4 will be out soon. Thank you for all the support, I really missed this :) Let me know what you think here or on twitter (Mendozas_Closet) and let me know your theories!
